Resto Druid Prepatch FAQ
The Dragonflight prepatch primarily just introduces the new talent system. A few weeks in we’ll also get prepatch events that drop item level 252 catch up gear along with the new class, the Preservation Evoker. Other big Dragonflight systems like the professions revamp will be apart of the expansion release itself. Resto Druid will play extremely similarly in prepatch and you won’t notice many major changes if you played a lot in seasons 3 or 4. We’re still a ramp based healer in raid (and we have a few new tools to further that strength) and an excellent Mythic+ healer. We’ll discuss this further below but we’ve gained a lot of new Lifebloom-centric talents to the point where you can create a build around them. This isn’t viable in the prepatch but we’ll explore it in Dragonflight – it’s likely to be a bit weaker but tuning is ongoing and it has a decent niche around tank healing if your composition lacks a Holy Paladin.
Keep in mind that there is little competitive content available in the prepatch and so this is a great time to experiment with the new talent system. We’ll have recommendations but feel free to try stuff out.
What works / What doesn’t Work
Our covenant spells, soulbinds, legendaries, conduits and special effect items are all in tact. Keep in mind though that if they are in the talent tree then you aren’t able to take both. You can either take the Convoke the Spirits talent, or get the Convoke the Spirits covenant ability but only one at a time since they’ll overwrite each other. The talent will always override the effect rather than vice versa (even in cases where it’s weaker).
Our tier set bonuses are gone. On the bright side we can grab our 4pc bonus from the Reforestation talent.
The New Talent System
In the Dragonflight prepatch our old talents have been replaced by a completely new system that adds significant depth and occasionally some interesting choices. The new talents are split into a “Class Tree” and a “Spec Tree”. Every time you level you get one point in one or the other. Almost all of our old baseline abilities have also been added to the new trees and some of your points will just go towards grabbing key abilities like Wild Growth, Tranquility, Lifebloom and so on.
The Class tree is generally filled with damage and utility, though there are some key healing talents too like Improved Rejuvenation, Nurturing Instinct and Natural Recovery. The highlight of the class tree are the capstone nodes which allow us to contribute significant passive DPS through a fight which has been a key Resto Druid weakness in raid.
The Resto spec tree on the other hand is filled with different kinds of healing increases. You’ll notice a lot of returning effects like Nurturing Dormancy (a Legion Legendary), Convoke the Spirits (a SL covenant) and Undergrowth (a SL legendary) among others. We also get a few new toys like Verdancy, Harmonious Blooming and Dreamstate.
Recommended Builds
Raid Build – Swarm
Note: The Unbridled Swarm talent currently disables the Unity legendary. That means this build is quite a bit weaker since it costs us our 1 minute Convoke cooldown. I’d recommend playing the “Raid Build – Tree” setup for now.
Wowhead Calculator Link: https://www.wowhead.com/beta/talent-calc/druid/restoration/DAQEREFQMAYhQFQlAQQBEOVURRVRBaBECAAEBB
In-game Link: BkGAGX1kx6Mci9Zl2t+S+sRoPSkkoIJRiDQEJA0ikAAAAAAAAAAAAAoIEiIIIJEQwCCIplAAAAAAgIA
Key Changes
- You can swap the Adaptive Swarm set and Spring Blossoms for Embrace of the Dream and Tree Form (Pictured in the next tab). Adaptive Swarm is a great mix of damage and healing, but there are some fight types where it’s significantly weaker like fights with a lot of adds.
- You can grab Inner Peace in exchange for Regenesis if a 2 minute Tranquility is useful on a given fight.
Raid Build – Tree
Wowhead Calculator Link: https://www.wowhead.com/talent-calc/druid/restoration/DAQEREFQMAYhQFQlAQQBEOVURRVRBaBECAAEBB
In-game Link: BkGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQkkoIJJhDoEkAQLSCAAAAAAAAAAAAgiQIJCCSCABLIgkWCAAAAAAiAA
Key Changes
- As above, you can grab Inner Peace in exchange for Regenesis if a 2 minute Tranquility is useful on a given fight.
Mythic+ Necrolord
Wowhead Calculator Link: https://www.wowhead.com/beta/talent-calc/druid/restoration/DAPQUFRAMgIBRFUUgEBANVURRVQVKBFEAECVA
In-game Link: BkGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJJaSSSCpFAJQJtkAAAAAAAAAAAAAQChkACgECBHIUSSQCAAAAAgAA
Key Changes
- You have a key decision to make in Mythic+ builds around whether or not to bring Skull Bash. Skull Bash is one of the more awkward healer interrupts since it requires you to be in Cat Form and melee. Sometimes this is fine, but discuss it with your group and decide whether or not it would be beneficial for you. If you do then you’ll have to drop Lycara’s Teachings, Stampeding Roar and some of Nurturing Instincts.
- You can swap Verdant Infusion for Flourish. Both are very good. Pick based on whether you need more single target healing, or a bigger healing cooldown.
Wowhead Calculator Link: https://www.wowhead.com/ptr/talent-calc/druid/restoration/DAPQUFRAMgIBRFUUgEBAMVURRVQVKBVAQCVA
In-game Link: BkGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJJaSSSCaJBIQJtkAAAAAAAAAAAAAQChkACgECBHIUSSQCAAAAAgAA
Key Changes
- You have a key decision to make in Mythic+ builds around whether or not to bring Skull Bash. Skull Bash is one of the more awkward healer interrupts since it requires you to be in Cat Form and melee. Sometimes this is fine, but discuss it with your group and decide whether or not it would be beneficial for you. If you do then you’ll have to drop Lycara’s Teachings, Stampeding Roar and some of Nurturing Instincts.
- You can swap Verdant Infusion for Flourish. Both are very good. Pick based on whether you need more single target healing, or a bigger healing cooldown.
Covenants
Our covenant choices don’t change too much in the Prepatch.
In raid we are able to grab Convoke the Spirits in our talent tree now, however the recommendation is to keep Night Fae as your covenant and spend your valuable points elsewhere instead. This is mostly due to the raw power of the Dreamweaver soulbind, the Conflux of Elements conduit and the desire to grab key talents like Reforestation.
In mythic+ we have a little more flexibility. We can stay Necrolord and grab big healing talents like Photosynthesis for a healing heavy, safe build. Alternatively you can go Kyrian, grab Convoke the Spirits and Adaptive Swarm from talents and trade a little healing for a little damage. Given it’s prepatch I’d recommend just going with whichever build feels more fun for you. There are talent builds for each Covenant above.
Legendaries
Raid: Unity + Unending Growth
Mythic+: Unity + Draught of Deep Focus (Note that we’ll be taking Circle of Life and Death in talent form).
Prepatch Events
Full Guide: Link
Prepatch events begin on November 15th instead of when it initially goes live. The event involves Primal invasions throughout Azeroth that come in four different types: Earth, Fire, Water and Storm. You’ll clear mobs in the area with others participating in the event, and then fight a mini-boss. You’ll earn rewards like level 252 gear, transmog and a Feat of Strength. It’s a great place to prepare characters for Dragonflight – particularly if they’re a little undergeared.
Quickfire Questions
- Do our stats change in Prepatch? Not in a very big way. Our Mastery value drops slightly due to losing our 2pc tier set bonus however it’s not significant enough for you to need to make many changes to your gear. QE Live will also be updated for the prepatch and you can fine tune your pieces there.
- Which content is available in the Prepatch? All Shadowlands raids will be available on Fated difficulty. You’ll also be able to do all of the Season 4 Mythic+ dungeons, though there are no rewards around score. On November 15th you’ll also gain access to the revamped Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr dungeon.
- Is Grid2 updated? Yes. You can grab the link to the latest version here: https://www.curseforge.com/wow/addons/grid2/files/4040642.
- Do talents stack with the legendary / covenant that does the same thing? In general, no. There are some rare exceptions that are expected to be fixed very soon. Among them is Convoke the Spirits which you can get down to a 30s cooldown by staying Night Fae and talenting into Cenarius’ Guidance.
hey questions ,
so the new ui is a little hard for me to heal , and to keep up the hot , as a druid and with a disability heal bot was great any tips,
i tryed the new maco over in the ui s
Great overview, but got a quick question. Why is starfire and starsurge taken in the kyrian M+ build?
Starsurge itself is actually a very good DPS button in Dragonflight. Once we get more talent points we’ll also take Moonkin Form so that we can spend our offensive Convokes in it.