The first Mythic+ season ofWorld of Warcraft’slatest expansion, The War Within, is well underway and there are certain classes that have risen their way to the top. Here, we take a look at healer classes.
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There are seven healers currently in the game: Restoration Shaman, Holy Priest, Holy Paladin, Restoration Druid, Discipline Priest, Mistweaver Monk and Preservation Evoker. While it’s worth noting that this list isnotall-inclusive and all healer classes are perfectly capable of participating in end-game content like raids andMythic+ dungeons, this list is meant to give an overall view of the current state of healing in World of Warcraft.
This list was compiled using data fromMurlok.io leaderboardsand the author’s personal observations.
7Holy Priest
Holy Priest shines in direct healing, so their placement on this list is not to say that they can’t pump out some big numbers. In fact, Holy Priests probably provide some of the strongest single-target healing in the game withLightweaver,as well as group AoE healing withPremonition of Piety. Additional spells like Power Infusion and Power Word: Fortitude can buff party members and make a run smoother overall.
Where Holy Priest lacks, compared to other healers on this list, is in important dispels. They cannot dispel poisons or curses, which are needed in several Mythic+ dungeons this season, including Ara-Kara, City of Echoes, where a poison cleanse is practically invaluable. This requires more carefully-curated group composition, as you’ll need another class in the group capable of handling those dispels.
6Preservation Evoker
Preservation Evokers bring both healing and damage to the party, but with their high skill ceiling and underwhelming talent trees, they simply aren’t doing either of those things better than other healers on this list. Many of their healing spells are limited by range and several require empowerment, such asDream Breath, which requires both. In a fast-paced Mythic+ dungeon setting, this kind of limitation (as well as the need to “charge up” your spells) can be dangerous. Preservation Evokers work best in coordinated groups or in melee-heavy groups where you know that most people will simply be clumped up together.
Of course, when played well, Preservation Evokers can also be powerful with cooldowns likeReversionand Stasisavailable for mitigating sudden burst damage. They also provide an interrupt and lust for the group (Fury of the Aspects), which most groups will look for if they don’t already have a lust class, earning Preservation Evokers a spot in many parties.
5Holy Paladin
Holy Paladins offer strong single-target healing with spells likeWord of GloryandHoly Shock,andBeacon of Virtue– though cooldown dependent – supplements their kit with group healing. Flash of Light is a quick heal that can be cast on an ally, though at the cost of spending mana. They bring powerful defensives to the party, such asBlessing of ProtectionandDevotion Aura, which provides an overall damage reduction for party members.
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Holy Paladins lack the mobility of other classes, with onlyDivine Steed, a cooldown-dependent spell, to give them a boost. Their strongest spells also rely entirely on spending “combo points,” called Holy Power, which requires good upkeep and management of those points.
4Restoration Druid
Restoration Druids entered The War Within in a weird place. While they were considered one of the best healers in Dragonflight, they started The War Within’s first season at a low point with the loss of their Dragonflight tier set bonus that had once madeGrove Guardiansso powerful. Photosynthesis and Flourish also came into The War Within sharing a node, and with most players choosing Photosynthesis for dungeon runs, that left Restoration Druids without the helpful utility of Flourish.Regrowthinitially felt undertuned as well, and early on in the season, even spamming that spell sometimes wasn’t enough to keep players alive.
Recent healing changes plus talent improvements, however, have buffed Restoration Druids' overall performance, with buffs added to the talent tree to strengthen Regrowth and Omen of Clarity. This has given Restoration Druids a much-needed boost – they are now far more competitive, and with dispel utility, an interrupt and a partywide buff (Mark of the Wild), they’re more well-rounded and more powerful overall.
3Mistweaver Monk
Mistweaver Monks are hyper-mobile, making them a good pick for dungeon runs. With spells likeRoll, Tiger’s LustandTranscendence, they can keep up with other party members and easily stay out of harm’s way. Much of their healing is done while also dealing damage viaAncient Teachings, so they can contribute large amounts of healing while also contributing to enemy damage. Instant-cast spells likeVivifyandRenewing Mistprovide strong single-target healing in moments of heavy damage, and cooldowns such as InvokeChi-Ji, the Red CraneandRevivalcan be used when heavy partywide damage is coming in. With crowd control spells like Paralysis and Ring of Peace on short cooldowns, they contribute utility to the team as well.
Mistweaver Monk can be powerful, but is considered to have a high skill ceiling, as it requires being mostly in melee range (and in harm’s way) during fights. Many of the Monk’s spells are also mana hungry, so it can require practice before being able to perfect the rotation without running out of mana before the end of the fight.
2Discipline Priest
Discipline Priest is coming out close to on top so far in The War Within. Their strengths lay in limiting damage through spells likePower Word: Shield, Power Word: BarrierandPain Suppression, and using party-wide spells like Power Word: Radiance to provide a quick AOE heal and keep Atonement, a passive healing buff, on all party members. Once Atonement is on all party members, Discipline Priests shine in doing passive healing while also contributing solid-enough damage to enemy targets with spells likeMind BlastandVoid Blast.
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What Discipline Priest lacks, however, is a real “emergency heal,” so if they fall behind in healing or damage spikes unexpectedly, it can be hard for them to get caught up again. Much like the Holy Priest, listed earlier, they also lack an interrupt.
1Restoration Shaman
Season 1 is the era of the Restoration Shaman meta. There’s little bad to say about them, after all. They can pump out big group heals withChain Heal, as well asHealing RainandDownpour.Their big AOE healing kit can be supplemented with Riptide, Healing Wave and Healing Surge for single-target healing, and Earth Shield to reduce a player’s damage.
Totems are what really make the Restoration Shaman kits shine, especially this season, as theirPoison Cleansing Totemcan make an otherwise frustrating Mythic+ affix (Xal’atath’s Bargain: Devour) easy to deal with. And of course, Shamans bringheroism/lustto the party, which greatly buffs the whole party and can help groups kill a frustrating boss more quickly. In the interest of remaining fair and listing a negative, Shaman healing is often cooldown-reliant, as spamming their single target heals can cause you to run out of mana before an encounter is over. Using their big spells effectively also requires your group staying close together and nearby your totems.
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