Totem & Ankh: Restoration Shaman Talent Guide 4.0.1

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Welcome again to Totem & Ankh! Have a glass of the Dalaran Red or perhaps a tankard o’ the house brew while we discuss this week’s topic: Restoration shaman talents since the 4.0.1 patch.

I’ve been researching and tweaking and playing and pottering with the talents and trying to see what I like and what I’m not interested in. Mostly, the patch was kind to resto shamans and other than my natural reticence against change and the turmoil it brings, healing is even more fun than ever since the patch.

There are a few major talent builds for restoration shamans out there. First you have to choose the restoration tree and then you can start choosing your talents. You need 30 points in the restoration tree in order to get the top talent, which costs one talent point. Most talent builds therefore have 31 talents in resto, leaving 5 points for the elemental and enhancement trees. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t do a hybrid sort of talent spec with less than 31 points in resto and the rest of the talent points in the other trees since they are locked until you get the riptide spell at the top of the restoration tree.

So, there isn’t a huge amount of variation in the talent builds and it’s kind of hard to totally mess up the talent tree with so many rules and guidelines in place. While it’s nice to have less room for error, it removes a great deal of the versatility and creativity people had when choosing their talents in the past.

Shaman (0/5/31)

Elemental (0 Points)

None

Enhancement (5 Points)

Elemental Weapons - Rank 2/2
Increases the passive bonuses granted by your Flametongue Weapon and Earthliving Weapon abilities by 40%, the damage of your extra attacks from Windfury Weapon by 40%, and the effectiveness of the ongoing benefits of your Unleash Elements ability by 50%.

The key to this talent is the Earthliving Weapon bonus. This talent is used all the while, on every heal, because you always have Earthliving Weapon on your weapon, don’t you? Of course you do!

Improved Shields - Rank 3/3
Increases the damage done by your Lightning Shield orbs by 15%, increases the amount of mana gained from your Water Shield orbs by 15%, and increases the amount of healing done by your Earth Shield orbs by 15%.

This helps both the Water Shield and the Earth Shield. Take it and make sure you have both shield up all the while.

Restoration (31 Points)

Tidal Focus - Rank 3/3
Reduces the mana cost of your healing spells by 6%.

This one is mostly because you have to have the points to get to the next tier in the resto tree. If I could avoid it, (Ancestral Resolve isn’t worth taking, in my opinion, because I don’t intend to get hit!) I wouldn’t bother worrying about mana cost at this time. Supposedly in Cataclysm it will become an issue, but until then, I’m so full of mana my skin is blue.

Spark of Life - Rank 3/3
Increases your healing done by 6% and your healing received by 15%.

Increases healing, ‘nuff said.

Improved Water Shield - Rank 2/2
You have a 100% chance to instantly gain mana as if you consumed a Water Shield Orb when you gain a critical effect from your Healing Wave, Greater Healing Wave, or Riptide spells, a 60% chance when you gain a critical effect from your Healing Surge spell, and a 30% chance when you gain a critical effect from your Chain Heal spell.

The gaining mana is nice but the key here is the critical effect chance of 60%. It’s hard to get enough crit and here it is in a talent for us.

Totemic Focus - Rank 2/2
Reduces the mana cost of your totems by 30% and increases their duration by 40%.

I don’t care about the reducing the mana cost bit as much as I love the increasing the duration. This includes the mana tide totem, the fire and earth elemental totems.

Ancestral Healing - Rank 2/2
Reduces your target's physical damage taken by 10% for 15 sec after receiving a critical effect from one of your healing spells.

This is nice especially when you’re healing a tank or someone who isn’t a tank but it pretending to be one. We all get those. . .

Nature's Swiftness - Rank 1/1
When activated, your next Nature spell with a base casting time less than 10 sec. becomes an instant cast spell.

LOVE this one, it’s my “uh-oh” go-to spell when things are about to get ugly and I need something instant to save the day. I only wish I could cast it more frequently because it’s just that good. Combine this one with trinkets if you have any with “use” abilities to maximize the effect.

Nature's Blessing - Rank 3/3
Increases the effectiveness of your direct heals on Earth Shielded targets by 15%.

Nice for healing the tank.

Soothing Rains - Rank 2/2
Increases the amount healed by your Healing Stream Totem by 50%, and your Healing Rain spell by 30%.

Don’t have Healing Rain Spell yet but for now, it’s nice to give the Healing Stream Totem a little more oomph.

Improved Cleanse Spirit - Rank 1/1
Empowers your Cleanse Spirit spell to also remove a magic effect from a friendly target.

This is a must have for raiding restoration shamans.

Cleansing Waters - Rank 2/2
Reduces the cost of Cleanse Spirit by 40%, and when your Cleanse Spirit successfully removes a harmful effect, you also heal the target for 2361 to 2661.

If you’re going to cleanse them, they might as well get a free heal out of it. This one is kind of cool, but not in the “must-have” category of it’s little sister Improved Cleanse Spirit.

Ancestral Awakening - Rank 3/3
When you critically heal with a single-target direct heal, you summon an Ancestral spirit to aid you, instantly healing the lowest percentage health friendly party or raid target within 40 yards for 30% of the amount healed.

I just wish you could SEE the ancestral spirit. That would be very cool.

Mana Tide Totem - Rank 1/1
Summons a Mana Tide Totem with 10% of the caster's health at the feet of the caster for 12 sec. Party members within 40 yards of the totem have their Spirit increased by 350%.

Must have Mana Tide Totem. Yummiest of all the yummy raiding totems. At least until my plan for the Cappucino Totem comes into game.

Tidal Waves - Rank 3/3
When you cast Chain Heal or Riptide, you gain the Tidal Waves effect, which reduces the cast time of your Healing Wave and Greater Healing Wave spells by 30% and increases the critical effect chance of your Healing Surge spell by 30%. 2 charges.

You’re always casting Chain Heal and Riptide so might as well boost your other healing spells. Just remember to use them too when Tidal Waves has proc’d.

Blessing of the Eternals - Rank 2/2
Grants an additional 80% chance to trigger your Earthliving heal over time effect when you heal an ally who is below 35% of total health.

Nice little extra heal here, nearly guaranteed heal over time on sometime who desperately needs it.

Riptide - Rank 1/1
Heals a friendly target for 2117 and another 3335 over 15 sec. Your next Chain Heal cast on that primary target within 15 sec will consume the healing over time effect and increase the amount of the Chain Heal by 25%

I’ve got Riptide up nearly constantly. I can Earth Shield a tank, cast Riptide on him and doze for 15 seconds and he won’t die. When I’m in an intense raid, I’ll have several Riptides ticking off heals while I can pop chain heal on them.

And there you have it. After experimenting myself with the different talents and builds I can say conclusively that it is really hard to ruin your healing with poor talent choices. However, by paying attention to your healing style, your play style and your current game experiences and goals, you can tweak the talents to squeeze a little more healing per second out and maybe make the difference between getting that ICC10 achievement or wiping.

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 00:19 Written by Savoire Sunday, 14 November 2010 00:24