Restoration Druid Healer Build Guide & Best Runes – Phase 4 Season of Discovery (SoD)

Welcome to our Season of Discovery (SoD) Phase 4 Restoration Druid Healer Guide. While they were already known as one of the good Healer Specializations in the Classic Era, Season of Discovery vastly improved Restoration Druid’s performance, bringing in many quality-of-life buffs and changes.

This guide focuses exclusively on the Restoration specialization, exploring key components such as Runes, Talent Trees, Stat Priorities, Rotations & Abilities, BiS (Best in Slot) items, and Race Choices. With the new Rune System introduced in Season of Discovery, Druid Healers get a vast array of new healing tools and effects, making their overall gameplay feel much more satisfying while at the same time much more impactful.

Talents

• Standard Talent Build
• Nature’s Focus Variation

Runes

• Helm: Improved Barkskin
• Cloak: Tree of Life
• Chest: Fury of Stormrage
• Wrist: Efflorescence
• Hands: Wild Growth
• Waist: Nourish/Eclipse
• Legs: Lifebloom/Starsurge
• Feet: Dreamstate/Survival Instincts
• Ring: Nature Specialization
• Ring: Defense Specialization

Stat Priority

• Spell Healing
• MP5
• Intellect
• Spirit
• Spell Damage
• Stamina

Rotations & Spell Priorities

With how the new rune system functions, Restoration Druid Healers have the option of also using DPS abilities during encounters, splitting their rotations into a standard DPS rotation and a Spell Priority List for their healing spells. You can choose to opt for this Hybrid playstyle or simply stick to a heavy healer role prioritizing all the Healing Runes.

Healing Spells Priority List

1. Cast Faerie Fire on the Boss if you are the only druid
2. Maintain Tree of Life
3. Cast Wild Growth when multiple allies are injured (Most Powerful Healing Spell)
   • Prioritize Omen of Clarity for Wild Growth
4. Cast Swiftmend on a player who is stacked with the group to trigger Efflorescence
5. Cast Rejuvenation on multiple injured targets
6. Cast Regrowth on targets that require heavy healing
7. Cast & Upkeep Lifebloom on targets that will require heavy healing
8. Cast Nourish while Regrowth and Rejuvenation are on the target (Main Filler)
9. Cast Healing Touch instead of Nourish if you choose the Eclipse rune
10. Cast Wrath while in the Tree of Life form as a filler while you don’t need to heal any ally
    • Cast Healing Touch ( with Fury of Stormrage procs)
    • Use a lower-rank Healing Touch to trigger Omen of Clarity

Hybrid DPS/Healer Rotation

1. Cast Faerie Fire on the Boss if you are the only Druid
2. Cast Starsurge on cooldown
3. Cast Starfire (On full Eclipse stacks)
   • Cast Starfire to generate Eclipse stacks for Wrath
4. Cast Healing Touch ( with Fury of Stormrage procs)
   • Use a lower-rank Healing Touch to trigger Omen of Clarity
5. Cast Wrath (Main Filler)
   • Cast Wrath on full Eclipse stacks to proc critical strikes
   • Cast Wrath to proc Fury of Stormrage

Best Races

Druids have very limited race options in WoW Classic Era, with Alliance only having the Night Elf race as a viable option for the Druid Class while the Horde has the Tauren race as a viable option.

Night Elf

• Nature Resistance, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit

Tauren

• Nature Resistance, Endurance, Cultivation, War Stomp