Healers a leveling break down - with some end game consideration (a lot of info / talents)
**Priest**
**Endgame** Prayer of Mending (PoM) has to be manually bounced (EDIT- becuase it going to land on high hp targets that don't get/need heals and also aren't taking damage). That means the target needs both PoM’s healing *and* the heal you cast, which is time you’re *not* healing people who actually need it (like the tank).
PoM is good, but never crazy unless it can bounce from *any* healing (like in SoD). It’s solid 100% of the time and only great on a rare few fights with lots of AoE damage.
Prayer of Healing is a giga spell and will carry priests.
**Leveling** Worst healer leveling class (by a lot, strong till 30s , cuz wands). The Shadowform issue is a problem—it’s a priest-only issue. Every other healer gets access to tons of damage, plus better healing talents in the first 1–3 tiers. Priest do not have a leveling spec until 40. Wands it is.
Smite and Holy Fire are more nerfed than Elemental Shaman. It takes ~850 SP before Smites do equal damage to Classic (with SP). Just to catch up to the base classic Smite damage you need 320 SP. It’s doing ~40% of Classic damage and only gains 4% more damage via talents. You could wprc for Holy Nova procs, but those require standing on the target and the damage is bad.
Holy damage priests are the **most nerfed class of any class**, doing less damage than they did in Classic until around 800 SP (there may be an extra raid buff). They are the worst caster DPS/healer and are entirely carried by wands (Smite does less than half the damage while leveling and gets progressively worse).
There is **no good healing-while-leveling priest spec**. Not a single one.
Best option is probably this (still bad when compared to the others): https://talentsforever.com/priest/60/02301400103-30205-305020012-BCEFKIUWSlnjqr-8?b=70425h&d=261024
You could switch to Penance, but it’s so nerfed you’re better off going Shadow (which still does damage).
Alternative: https://talentsforever.com/priest/60/023014001333011-30205-00502-BCEFK2IUWSlnJ1L2JONLK-8?b=70425h&d=261024
Or this: https://talentsforever.com/priest/60/023014001333011--40502201201302-BCEFK2IlnJ1L2JONLKj3qrotujw-8?b=70425h&d=261024
This last one makes you a worse healer than every other healer (class) who needs only 8–13 points in their resto trees—far worse. It also gives worse damage than them. It’s the highest priest DPS spec that still heals at an okay for leveling. You have to use Renew, Power Word: Shield, and Penance to cover burst damage because your heals are slow. Bad if you have a hard-going group—it’s really bad but should still barely be effective. (A shaman gets more healing from 11 points than you do from 22–24.) Don't do this last one if dungeons are viable.
Likely priest are just gonna heal as shadow and people will hate them as healers while leveling. But if you wanna give up shadowform, crazy right. There is one more spec that you can use shadow damage and heals and super high mana regen to be a worse healer but still very valuable.
https://talentsforever.com/priest/60/02330200103--30502201201-BlnjqrotCD2FKID-8?b=70630&d=261027
Basically you are shooting to get your 50% mana regen plus spirit tap as much as possible solo and as a healer. **To give you 200% in 5s rule mana regen** This should work, it did in classic It was 150%. Now that MAX it could be up is 50% (15s on and off). But you'll never hit number like that more likely 33% of the time while clearing trash. If so thast ~116% in combat mana regen. (I mean shaman does this and its just better). But this is likely the best option, I think. Unless you have a very aggressive group then i think you have to keep shadow very low (which is going to be me...).
Whats nice is VE also heals, i don't think you wanna waste your mana here, but its probably not 1/2 bad. And you can keep putting more pts into shadow for more damage.
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**Shaman**
**Endgame** Chain Heal spam on the tank is easy. You still want two shamans even for 10-man raids. Riptide can also be used to spot heal (tank only needs one every 15 s and its CD is 6 s). It heals a ton and has a 6 s cooldown—crazy.
**Leveling** Likely the best healer leveling class by a lot. AoE pulls are even less of a thing now; 3–5 target cleave will be more common, so maxing healing makes even less sense while leveling. Riptide is wonderful—it’s the best new healing spell by a mile—but you don’t need it.
All you need is: - 5/5 Improved Healing Wave - 3/3 Mindfulness
This makes you a very effective healer. There’s also no harm putting 2–5/5 into Tidal Focus (1% hit and 1% less mana cost per point). Then grabbing Water Shield. That’s only 8–11 points in Resto for what takes a priest more than 24 points. Thundering Strikes (Enhancement T1) also gives 1% crit to heals. After that, go into Enhancement.
At level 36 (27 points) respec down to Improved Stormstrike + 5/5 Improved Healing Wave. After that get Mindfulness for 100% in-combat regen (it stacks with everything we know). You can do a ton of damage—more than a healing priest with 40 talent points (just the way it is).
You 100% do not need Riptide to level. You never had it before and we used to heal tanks tanking 10–20 mobs. With just 8–11 points you’re about equal to a Classic full Resto shaman (you had almost no mana regen except Mana Tide Totem, and now you get a lot of +healing). This is without Riptide. Don’t run Riptide unless you’re farming dungeons for XP or can afford dual spec.
Shaman ~level 43 example: https://talentsforever.com/shaman/60/-0510320310041022-523-RUVYXScbfikej-8?b=70425h&d=261024
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**Druid**
**Endgame** No AoE heal until 40 points? *Not true.* You still have Tranquility, and Rejuvenation is now applied 33% faster. Likely the strongest healer with the highest throughput by a lot. But it will get a lot of its healing sniped in 40 and 20-mans.
Unlike priests (who have to pick between ST or AoE healing—and late-game with lots of gear only Disc will be played; PoM is not as good as 15% crit shields), druids are very effective endgame with one spec. Also have Battle Rez and Innervate.
ST healing = 2–3 HoTs + massive heals + Nature’s Swiftness + Swiftmend. Swiftmend is the weakest of the new spells, but druids get two new spells and it scales way better than Penance (though Penance’s ticking aspect is nice).
**Gift of the Earthmother** (turning HoTs + Swiftmend into 1 s GCD spells) is the most OP healing change of any spec.
AoE example – Rejuvenating 5 people: - Used to take 7.5 s - Now takes 5 s
A priest cannot even PoH two groups in that time (it’s 6 s). That’s a ton of throughput. With HoTs critting, Regrowth also looks really strong. You also get 15% spirit for 3 points. Tree of Life may be in the game (datamined in a recent patch)—it’s insane and would make druids the best healer always. Guessing it’s a proc, legendary, or fake.
Wild Growth is weaker than Priest’s Prayer of Healing (which is the priest’s best spell— no one is talking about PoH but its really good), but it’s a 1 s GCD instant. In 6s a druid can place 1 Wild Growth + 5 Rejuvenation, which is more healing than 2 Prayer of Healings which also takes 6s (though PoH has more upfront healing).
In a 40- or 20-man with constant raid damage, **nothing will ever out heal a Resto Druid**. Comparison every ~12 s: - Priest: 3 PoH + 2 PoM - Druid: 2 Wild Growths + 10 Rejuvenations
This leaves 1 PoH +2 PoM vs 10 rejuvs for total healing. The Rejuvs win every day in both HPS and HPM (by a ton), and the druid still has its single-target healing intact. PoM is a bit smarter, to be fair.
**Leveling** Likely 2nd best healing leveling class after shaman. 14 points in Resto is really strong (you could do 13). It’s also excellent for Cat or Boomkin—some of the best points for either. You’re losing almost nothing by going healing as a druid.
- Boomkin takes the no-spell-pushback talent in Resto T1 - Cat goes Furor (go Cat—it’s just better)
The 0.5 s faster healing casts talent is also 5% more damage (all damage), so nothing lost, and 50% mana regen is the best for leveling as always.
Level 23 great healing + DPS option: https://talentsforever.com/druid/60/--05500301-lmpr-8?b=70425h&d=261024
Spend 2 more points in Resto for Swiftmend if you’re healing any decent amount. It’s an “oh shit” button and you don’t have those baseline like a paladin or priest.
Level 41 you go beast mode: https://talentsforever.com/druid/60/-53200030111-05501301001-lmprouQSRYWZa-8?b=70425h&d=261024
If you’re grouping to quest, don’t invest so much into Ferocity (or any at all)—Shred will be your main skill. You’ll likely solo a lot though. At this point you take off. *Shifting Power* = energy (lots of it), and your mana regen is also increasing your DPS.
Level 50: https://talentsforever.com/druid/60/-5320003212100221-05501301001-lmprouQSRYWZ1aZdX1efX-8?b=70425h&d=261024
Rush Berserk next, then maybe Nature’s Reach for 4% hit and the 4% crit next to it. If you’re going to tank at all, take Primal Fury of course.
This is just good—almost no wasted points. They all make you do more damage except 2 points (1 in Swiftmend and 1 in the 1s GCD node). Meanwhile the priest is sitting around with ~15 points that do jack all.
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**Paladin**
**Overall** Way better than people want to think, but like the priest they kind of got the short end.