Restoration Shaman 10.0 Guide
Introduction
This guide presents an in-depth view of the Shaman's Restoration Specialization in WoW Dragonflight patch 10.0! You will learn everything about the spec, such as how to gear, prepare, and then min-max your Restoration Shaman for the most challenging PvE content in World of Warcraft, Season 1.
First, we'll check out the specialization's particularities and see why the Resto Shaman is one of the best healers in Dragonflight's latest season. Then you'll learn how to gear your Restoration Shaman, what stats to prioritize, and the best talents and rotations for different circumstances.
Finally, we'll go deep into min-maxing your character for the end-game content and teach you what gear to use for Mythic Raiding and Mythic Plus dungeons. By the end of the guide, you will become a Restoration Shaman master! Sounds good, right? Let's get started!
Table of Contents
- Restoration Shamans: Strengths and Weaknesses
- Restoration Shaman Stat Priority
- How to gear your Resto Shaman
- Restoration Shaman Rotations
- Best Resto Shaman talents for Mythic Raiding and Dungeons
- Restoration Shaman in Dragonflight - FAQ
Restoration Shamans in Dragonflight: Strengths and Weaknesses
In World of Warcraft, the Shaman class comes with three specializations: Enhancement, Elemental, and Restoration, and they use Mana as their spending resource. The Restoration specialization serves the healer role.
In World of Warcraft, healers have a major responsibility: they use their healing abilities to buff the allies, keep them alive and save them from death. The Restoration Shaman represents one of the best healer classes for Mythic Dungeons and Mythic Raiding in Dragonflight Season 1, providing excellent stacked group healing.
Regarding weapons, the Resto Shaman uses daggers, one-handed axes & maces, two-handed maces, axes, shields, and staves. As for raid gear, the shaman shares the Protector Tier Token with Warriors, Hunters, and Monks for legacy content. In the Dragonflight expansion, the Vault of the Incarnates raid, shamans share the Venerated Tier Token with Paladins and Priests.
In the table below, we present the strengths and weaknesses of the Restoration Shaman specialization:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| + Exceptional spot and stacked group healing | - High cast times outside of cooldowns |
| + Excellent survivability | - Lack of immunity abilities |
| + Instant cast raid cooldowns | - No tank cooldown |
| + Great group utility | - Provides weak damage compared to other healer specs |
Best Resto Shaman Races
When it comes to races, with so many options to choose from, you are probably wondering what would be the best race for your Restoration Shaman. In World of Warcraft, each race has different racial abilities and spells, but no races offer an immediate advantage compared to others regarding the Resto spec. I highly recommend choosing the race you like the most, aesthetically speaking.
Now, if you want to make an idea of what race players generally choose for their Restoration Shamans:
- For Alliance: Draenei, Dwarf, Dark Iron Dwarf, and Pandaren.
- For Horde: Orc, Troll, Tauren, and Vulpera.
Restoration Shaman stat priority
Regardless of the class and spec you roll into in World of Warcraft, the stats are a key component when gearing up and min-maxing your character for the end-game content. Restoration Shamans wear Mail gear with Intellect as the main stat.
As a shaman, the Intellect stat increases the power of your spells and abilities, in other words - the healing you are providing to your allies. Also, please note that a higher and adequate item level will better impact your character's performance than a perfect stat distribution, so always keep an eye on the gear's item level!
Restoration Shaman Stats priority
- 1. Intellect
- 2. Critical Strike
- 3. Versatility
- 4. Mastery
- 5. Haste
So as a Restoration Shaman, you will primarily value item level for Intellect as the primary stat, then Critical Strike, followed by Versatility, Mastery, and Haste as secondary stats.
In other words: Intellect > Critical Strike > Versatility > Mastery > Haste.
Restoration Shaman Stats Breakthrough
Intellect: Increases your spell power and, therefore, all the healing you are providing to your allies
Critical Strike: Doubles the effects of your heals
Versatility: Increases healing and damage dealt and reduces damage taken
Mastery: Increases the effectiveness of Mastery: Deep Healing
Haste: Lowers the cast time of your heals and your global cooldown
Moving on to the next chapter, we will focus on how to gear your Resto Shaman, the tier set, and best in slot items for mythic raiding and mythic dungeons.
How to gear your Restoration Shaman
In World of Warcraft, gearing is one of the most important aspects that enhances your character's overall performance by providing massive amounts of stats, armor, procs, and set bonuses. This guide will teach you how to properly gear up for the most challenging content in WoW Dragonflight, Mythic Raiding, and Mythic+ Dungeons.
Restoration Shaman Tier Set Bonus
To start with, what is a tier set in World of Warcraft?
In WoW, a tier set is a unique class armor set with powerful 2-set and 4-set specific bonuses for each specialization of that particular class. Tier set bonuses change based on the character's active talent specialization, ensuring that the bonus is appropriate and useful to that spec.
So to recap, tier sets are unique pieces of armor that, when equipped simultaneously, provide you with a bonus, different for each spec of the chosen class. This bonus is based on the number of pieces from the set you have equipped, with most tier sets providing bonuses when equipping 2 or 4 pieces.
How to get the Resto Shaman Tier Set in Dragonflight Patch 10.0
There are three ways you can get tier set items in WoW in the Dragonflight expansion:
- Vault of the Incarnates Raid: You can get tier set items from specific bosses in the Vault of the Incarnates raid.
- Revival Catalyst: You can craft Tier armor from non-set pieces of the same item level using the Revival Catalyst crafting system.
- Great Vault: You can obtain tier set items from all activities that normally give Great Vault rewards, such as raiding, Mythic+ dungeons, and PvP.
The fastest way to obtain tier set items is to take advantage of these three sources that can reward you with the Restoration Shaman Tier Set items. The best advice is to complete the Vault of the Incarnates raid weekly - this is probably the fastest way to get your hands on the desired tier armor. In case you don't have a team to raid with, complete some Mythic+ Dungeons or some PvP matches.
Mythic dungeons and PvP are highly beneficial because even if you can't drop the set items while participating in these activities, you increase the chances of getting your set items at the Great Vault or the Revival Catalyst console in Thaldraszus. At the revival catalyst console, you can convert the non-set pieces obtained in dungeons or PvP into tier set items.
Let's have a closer look at the Great Vault feature:
And this is what the Revival Catalyst looks like:
Back to our Restoration Shaman Tier Set. Now that you learned how to obtain the tier set, let's see some set bonuses and particularities, shall we?
The Resto Shaman Tier set is called Theurgic Starspeaker's Regalia. It comes with the following bonuses for two pieces and four pieces equipped:
- 2-Set: Totemic Inspiration - While Healing Stream Totem or Cloudburst Totem is active, your chance to critically strike is increased by 10%.
- 4-Set: Shaman Restoration Class Set 4pc - Your critical heals have 215% effectiveness instead of the usual 200%.
In the table below, we present you the sources for Restoration Shaman Tier Set items:
| Slot | Tier Piece | Source |
| Helm | Faceguard of Infused Earth | Raszageth |
| Shoulders | Calderas of Infused Earth | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Chest | Robe of Infused Earth | Kurog Grimtotem |
| Gloves | Gauntlets of Infused Earth | Dathea, Ascended |
| Legs | Leggings of Infused Earth | Sennarth |
The remaining tier set items (Cloak, Wrists, Waist, and Boots) can be obtained by using the Revival Catalyst in Thaldraszus.
As previously stated, you unlock the tier set bonuses for your Restoration Shaman when you equip any two or four pieces of the Elements of Infused Earth set. For itemization and build optimization, your four pieces of tier set as a Resto Shaman will be the Shoulders, Chest, Helm, and Gloves.
Raid Best in Slot (BiS) Gear for Restoration Shamans
In the table below, you can find the best item to use in each slot from the raid as a Resto Shaman:
| Slot | Item Name | Encounter |
| Helm | Faceguard of Infused Earth | Raszageth |
| Neck | Terros's Captive Core | Terros |
| Shoulders | Calderas of Infused Earth | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Cloak | Acid-Proof Webbing | Sennarth |
| Chest | Robe of Infused Earth | Kurog Grimtotem |
| Wrists | Surging-Song Conductors | Kurog Grimtotem |
| Gloves | Gauntlets of Infused Earth | Dathea, Ascended |
| Waist | Unnatural Dripstone Cinch | Dathea, Ascended |
| Legs | Tassets of the Tarasek Legion | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Boots | Daring Chasm-Leapers | Dathea, Ascended |
| Ring #1 | Seal of Diurna's Chosen | Eranog |
| Ring #2 | Seal of Filial Duty | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Trinket #1 | Broodkeeper's Promise | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Trinket #2 | Whispering Incarnate Icon | Kadros Icewrath |
| Main-Hand | Scepter of Drastic Measures | Dathea, Ascended |
| Off-Hand | Broodsworn Legionnaire's Pavise | Eranog |
Mythic+ Best in Slot (BiS) Gear for Restoration Shamans
In the table below, you can find the best item to use in each slot from the Mythic+ Dungeons as a Resto Shaman:
| Slot | Item Name | Location |
| Helm | Faceguard of Infused Earth | Raszageth |
| Neck | Chain of Scorched Bones | Court of Stars |
| Shoulders | Calderas of Infused Earth | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Cloak | Potion-Stained Cloak | Algeth'ar Academy |
| Chest | Robe of Infused Earth | Kurog Grimtotem |
| Wrists | Runebands of the Worthy | Halls of Valor |
| Gloves | Gauntlets of Infused Earth | Dathea, Ascended |
| Waist | Arcane-Bound Gale Chain | Court of Stars |
| Legs | Stasis-Freed Leggings | The Azure Vault |
| Boots | Boots of Explosive Growth | Algeth'ar Academy |
| Ring #1 | Thunderous Downburst Ring | The Nokhud Offensive |
| Ring #2 | Unstable Arcane Loop | The Azure Vault |
| Trinket #1 | Broodkeeper's Promise | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| Trinket #2 | Whispering Incarnate Icon | Kadros Icewrath |
| Staff | Portal-Ripper's Staff | Shadowmoon Burial Grounds |
| Main Hand | Key to the Halls | Halls of Valor |
| Off Hand | Crystalized Bulwark | The Azure Vault |
Best in Slot (BiS) Trinkets for Restoration Shamans
The best Restoration Shaman trinkets for end-game content are:
| Tier | Item Name | Location |
| S | Broodkeeper's Promise | Broodkeeper Diurna |
| S | Whispering Incarnate Icon | Kadros Icewrath |
| A | Miniature Singing Stone | The Nokhud Offensive |
| A | Voidmender's Shadowgem | Shadowmoon Burial Grounds |
| B | Static-Charged Scale | Strunraan |
| B | Alacritous Alchemist Stone | Alchemy |
| B | Emerald Coach's Whistle | Algeth'ar Academy |
| B | Mote of Sanctification | Halls of Valor |
| B | Flask of the Solemn Night | Court of Stars |
| B | Horn of Valor | Halls of Valor |
| C | Sustaining Alchemist Stone | Alchemy |
| C | Conjured Chillglobe | Kadros Icewrath |
This wraps up everything you should know about gearing your Restoration Shaman: the stats priority, how to obtain the tier set, and what items to use in the end-game activities. Moving on to the next section of our guide, we'll teach you what talents and rotations to use as a Resto Shaman in Dragonflight patch 10.0. Sounds good, right? Let's dive in!
Best Restoration Shaman Rotations in Dragonflight 10.0
Resto Shaman Rotation for Healing
- 1. Use instants Riptide or Unleash Life or quick and expensive Healing Surge or an Healing Wave. Try to avoid Healing Surge as much as possible however as it will eat through your mana pool very quickly.
- 2. Prepare for incoming damage with Riptide (for Primordial Wave), Healing Stream Totem, Unleash Life, Earthen Wall Totem and Healing Rain. This should be a few seconds early at best (excluding Riptide) and you want to use the shortest duration spells last.
- 3. Use your small cooldowns as frequently as possible to reduce how many fillers you have to cast. Under this category falls anything that's a minute or less, as these provide extremely efficient healing.
- 4. Ancestral Guidance is extremely flexible and can be used at any time to help if damage feels tough to heal. This spell is not on the global cooldown, which means you can activate it immediately after a cast, and start the next cast without interruption.
- 5. Use your filler spells whenever you're out of cooldowns to use. During raid-wide damage that is usually Chain Heal and Healing Wave is your main single target filler spell.
- 6.Use Spirit Link Totem and Healing Tide Totem against very large incoming raid-wide damage, ideally in coordination with your other healers. Ancestral Guidance in combination with Ascendance is strong enough to also fall into this category, as it is very potent throughput.
- 7. Nothing to heal? Fall back into the damage rotation and occasionally use your small healing cooldowns in between. They don't need to be all kept on cooldown in this situation however.
Restoration Shaman Rotation for Damage
- 1. Apply Flame Shock.
- 2. Use Lava Burst.
- 3. Use Lightning Bolt.
In the next section of our Resto Shaman Guide, we'll present the best talents to use for PvE end-game content, such as raiding and Mythic+ dungeons. In the end game, it's crucial to use the right talents and prioritize the skills you use depending on the activity. Choosing the best talents will significantly impact your performance as a healer!
Best Restoration Shaman End-game Talents in 10.0
From the PvE perspective, there are two main end-game activities we'll take into consideration: Mythic raiding and Mythic+ Dungeons. We'll treat them separately to keep things clear and avoid confusion.
Best Talents for Mythic Raiding in Season 1 (patch 10.0)
In the pictures below, you can see the best talents for mythic raiding as a Restoration Shaman:
Basic Talent build:
Resurgence High Tide Talent build:
Best Talents for Mythic+ Dungeons in Season 1 (patch 10.0)
As a Resto Shaman, these are the talents you must use to maximize your healing in M+ Dungeons:
Restoration Shaman in Dragonflight - FAQ
1. Are Restoration Shamans good in Dragonflight 10.0?
Yes, Resto Shaman represents one of the best healer specs in WoW Dragonflight for mythic raiding and mythic dungeons.
2. Is Restoration Shaman easy to play?
Not really. Like all healer classes, the Resto Shaman specialization is gear-dependent, uses a complex rotation, and requires some advanced skills and knowledge for the end-game.
3. What is the stats priority for Restoration Shamans?
The Resto Shaman stat priority is: Intellect > Critical Strike > Versatility > Mastery > Haste
4. Which shaman spec is best for leveling in patch 10.0?
The Elemental Specialization is the best spec for shaman leveling.
5. What is the best race for Restoration Shamans in Dragonflight?
- Alliance's best Resto Shaman races are Draenei, Dwarf, Dark Iron Dwarf, and Pandaren.
- For Horde, the best Resto Shaman races are Orc, Troll, Tauren, and Vulpera.
Final thoughts
This wraps up everything you should know regarding the Shaman's Restoration specialization in World of Warcraft Dragonflight for Season 1, patch 10.0. By reading this guide, you should now better understand the Restoration Shaman's spec and particularities and how it performs in certain circumstances and different end-game activities. It's one of the game's strongest healing specs in Dragonflight, so I encourage you to try it!