Timeless Azeroth

Gear & Stats

Restoration Druid gearing in TBC is about maximizing healing throughput while sustaining an aggressive HoT rotation for the full encounter. Unlike reactive healers, your output is determined by how many Lifeblooms, Rejuvenations, and Regrowths you can keep rolling without collapsing your mana. Healing Power is your primary throughput stat, but Spell Haste plays a unique role for Resto by reducing the global cooldown, allowing you to fit more instant-cast HoTs into critical windows. Spirit, MP5, and Intellect determine how long you can maintain that pressure, and Spirit additionally scales your Tree of Life party healing bonus.

Resto Druid PvE Pre-Raid BiS

Resto Druid PvE BiS (Phase 1)

Stat Priority

Healing Power → Spell Haste (to practical GCD breakpoints) → Spirit → MP5 → Intellect → Spell Crit → Stamina Healing Power is the single largest driver of throughput because it directly increases the value of every HoT tick. Spell Haste is next because it reduces the global cooldown, allowing more HoTs to be applied before Lifebloom refresh windows expire. Spirit and MP5 sustain your rotation and also scale Tree of Life’s party-wide healing bonus. Intellect supports mana pool and crit, while Spell Crit is weaker due to HoTs being unable to crit.

Why Healing Power Comes First

Every HoT tick scales with Healing Power, making it the most reliable and efficient throughput stat. Higher healing allows you to rely more heavily on HoTs instead of expensive emergency casts, which improves both output and mana efficiency.

Spell Haste & GCD Breakpoints

Spell Haste reduces the global cooldown for instant-cast spells. With sufficient haste, you can fit an additional global between Lifebloom refreshes, allowing more Rejuvenations or Regrowths to be maintained simultaneously. This makes haste extremely powerful once basic healing needs are met.

Spirit vs MP5

Spirit provides in-combat mana regeneration through Intensity and directly increases the Tree of Life party healing bonus. MP5 is always-on regeneration and is more reliable during heavy casting. Both are valuable, and the right balance depends on fight length and personal mana comfort.

Stats Explained

Restoration Druids are sustain-based healers. Your effectiveness depends on how long you can maintain rolling HoTs while responding to spikes with Swiftmend or emergency Healing Touch casts. Stats that improve HoT value, reduce global cooldown pressure, or stabilize mana are far more impactful than raw crit stacking.

Healing Power

Healing Power increases the strength of all healing spells and HoT ticks. Because HoTs form the core of Restoration throughput, this stat scales exceptionally well and should be prioritized on nearly every gear slot.

Spell Haste

Spell Haste reduces cast times and lowers the global cooldown. While HoTs do not tick faster, haste allows you to apply more HoTs within the same time window, dramatically increasing real healing output when managed correctly.

Spirit

Spirit fuels in-combat regeneration through Intensity and directly scales the Tree of Life healing received bonus for your party. Even when mana is stable, Spirit retains value because of its unique interaction with Tree of Life.

MP5

MP5 regenerates mana continuously, regardless of the five-second rule. It is extremely valuable during heavy casting windows where Spirit regeneration is suppressed.

Intellect

Intellect increases mana pool and spell crit. While not a primary stat, it smooths long encounters and supports emergency casting when HoT efficiency alone is insufficient.

Spell Crit

HoTs cannot critically strike, which significantly lowers the value of crit for Restoration. Crit primarily benefits Healing Touch casts and Nature’s Grace procs, making it a secondary concern in HoT-focused builds.

Gearing Notes

Restoration gearing is about uptime, not burst meters. The best gear set is the one that allows you to keep Lifebloom stacks rolling on priority targets while still responding to raid damage without running dry. Tree of Life incentivizes Spirit stacking, but this should never come at the cost of losing Healing Power or key haste breakpoints. Always evaluate gear based on real encounter performance rather than raw stat totals.

Tree of Life Scaling

Spirit increases the party-wide healing received bonus from Tree of Life. Even when mana feels comfortable, Spirit continues to contribute meaningful value through this buff.

HoT Uptime Over Overhealing Fear

Overhealing is inevitable for Restoration Druids. Gear should be chosen to maximize HoT coverage and responsiveness rather than minimizing overheal percentages.

Socketing Approach

Pure Healing Power gems are generally preferred. Spirit hybrids can be used if mana or Tree of Life scaling is a concern. Socket bonuses should only be chased if they provide meaningful Healing Power or sustain value.