Welcome to this Midnight preview for Restoration Shaman. This blog talks about what is coming in the Midnight expansion. You will learn about changes, Hero Talent Trees, and what the spec may feel like when Midnight launches.
This page is always being updated while the Midnight beta is active. It is not a full launch guide. It is here to help you follow how Restoration Shaman is changing and what kind of gameplay you can expect when the expansion goes live.
Below is a quick look at how the spec feels right now.
Restoration Shaman Strengths and Weaknesses in Midnight
Strengths
Restoration Shaman is very strong in 5-man content and small groups. The rotation is more simple, which makes it easy for new players to learn. It is a reactive healer, so you mostly heal damage after it happens instead of planning far ahead. It also has strong tools that help the whole group stay alive, like Ancestral Vigor and Spirit Link Totem, which do more than just raw healing.
Weaknesses
Single target healing is weaker because Healing Surge and Tidal Waves are gone. The spec is also much slower since many cast speed boosts were removed. Raid healing often needs players to stack together because Healing Rain and Chain Heal have short range. Big burst healing is weaker and depends on random effects like Deeply Rooted Elements and the new Stormstream Totem.
Midnight Changes for Restoration Shaman
Core Changes
The developers want to lower the number of buttons and remove always-on buffs. Because of this, Healing Surge and Tidal Waves were removed. To help with this, Healing Wave and Chain Heal now cast faster by default. Mana talents were added so mana matters when needed.
The devs know that removing Healing Surge removes an important choice, and they will watch feedback closely. Healing Rain now lasts 18 seconds when not using Totemic talents. This makes it feel better for builds that are not Totemic.
To lower healer cooldown bloat, Ascendance is now a choice with Healing Tide Totem. This means you only pick one.
Because many cooldowns and procs are gone, gameplay is slower. The biggest changes include:
Cloudburst Totem, Earthen Wall Totem, Ancestral Protection Totem, and Wellspring were removed.
Tidal Waves, High Tide, Tidebringer, Undulation, Spiritwalker’s Tidal Totem, Master of the Elements, Mana Tide, and Tide Turner were also removed. Their power is now baked into spells.
Chain Heal now has 25% more jump range and a 20% faster cast. Healing Wave also casts 20% faster.
Unleash Life was changed to have a longer cooldown but much stronger healing. It also now helps reduce cast time and has talents that boost it more.
Healing Surge was replaced by Healing Wave, which now works with effects like Refreshing Waters. The talent Crashing Waves makes Healing Wave crit more, similar to how Tidal Waves used to work.
Ascendance is now a choice with Healing Tide Totem, and talents like First Ascendant and Preeminence work with both.
While Ascendance is active, Riptide makes the next Healing Wave or Chain Heal instant. These spells also apply Riptide, and healing is increased by 30%.
The Totemic hero talent Reactivity is now called Splitstream. It boosts Healing Tide Totem by 25% and still doubles Healing Stream Totem healing. Totemic now favors Healing Tide Totem, while Farseer prefers Ascendance.
Healing Rain now lasts 18 seconds and has an 18-second cooldown. Without Totemic Projection, players moving can waste healing.
Downpour no longer gives bonus health, but talents like Water Expulsion and Double Dip make it heal much more.
Shaman Class Tree Changes
Therazane’s Resilience and Reactive Warding are now a choice node.
Thunderstorm is no longer available to Restoration.
Stone Bulwark Totem and Totemic Recall were removed and replaced with Spiritual Awakening and Instinctive Imbuements.
Winds of Al’Akir now gives 5% move speed and another 5% in Ghost Wolf.
Static Charge, Brimming with Life, and Winds of Al’Akir are now two-point talents.
Wind Shear now has a 30-second cooldown but still makes Restoration the only healer with an interrupt. It now locks spells for 4 seconds.
Seasoned Winds became Windveil, which lowers spell damage taken after a Wind Shear interrupt.
Hero Talent Tree Changes
Farseer gained Ancestral Influence, Windspeaker, and Mystic Knowledge. Offering from Beyond now lowers Riptide cooldown by 2 seconds. These talents support Whispering Waves builds with fast Riptide use and Ancestor healing.
Totemic gained Totemic Momentum, Elemental Attunement, and Primal Catalyst, all focused on boosting Healing Stream Totem and Healing Tide Totem.
Apex Talent: Stormstream Totem
Restoration Shamans unlock Stormstream Totem as their Apex talent. Riptide has a chance to summon a very strong Healing Stream Totem that does not use normal charges. This becomes stronger as you fully unlock the talent.
More talents unlock at max level for each Hero Tree.
Restoration Shaman Tier Set in Midnight
The 2-set bonus lowers Unleash Life cooldown by 3 seconds and doubles its direct healing.
The 4-set bonus lets Unleash Life buff one extra spell at full power.
These bonuses are easy to use and reward good timing. You want to use Unleash Life on injured players, on cooldown, and follow it with the right spell.
Gameplay Thoughts for Midnight
These changes lower burst healing and make the spec very easy to play. Restoration Shaman keeps its strong group tools and stays very strong in 5-man content, even without Thunderstorm.
Your main spells will be Unleash Life, Riptide, Healing Stream Totem, Healing Rain, and Downpour. You will fill with Healing Wave for single targets or Chain Heal for group healing.
Whispering Waves builds mostly skip Chain Heal and Healing Rain, using more Healing Wave.
Use Spirit Link Totem and either Healing Tide Totem or Ascendance for heavy damage. Keep Earth Shield on yourself and a weak target.
You will want two main builds ready:
For stacked fights, use Totemic, Downpour, and Chain Heal talents. Use Surging Totem with Totemic Projection to hit five injured players.
For spread fights, use Farseer, Whispering Waves, and all Riptide talents. Skip Chain Heal and Healing Rain. This build needs Haste but heals spread targets very well. Unleash Life and tier bonuses work great here and help with mana.
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