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[Resto] Cataclysm (Old/4.1)
For new information please visit the 4.2 thread found here: http://elitistjerks.com/f73/t110354-...a/#post1777982
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[RESTO] Cataclysm pre-raid itemisation
Below is a preliminary listing of the items that you can obtain without having to step foot into a raid instance. They are grouped by armour type and in descending order of item level but, as usual, this is not meant to be a BIS list. Such lists are extremely difficult to formulate because so much depends on your raid size, healing assignment and current level of haste with respect to break points.
I have excluded PvP obtained gear and crafted items with Resilience. While they may fill in temporarily, there is always a better item that can be found elsewhere. By request, I've included items oriented more towards Balance. That said, some rough pointers are: 1. Higher item level is generally better because Int is by far the best attribute and it increases with more powerful gear 2. Helms with a meta socket are better than those without it. Obtaining a meta socket should be a priority. 3. Keep haste slightly above break points. If you drop below then your HPCT and HPM will decrease. 4. Mastery is generally more attractive if you heal 10 player content or are assigned to tank heals. It is worthwhile to note that greens are comparable with (or even surpass) ilvl 277 by the time you get to Twilight Highlands. Unlike previous expansions, it is extremely unlikely that you will want to be wearing any of your WotLK gear when you begin raiding and doing so will probably put you at a large disadvantage. Helm [Camouflage Bio-Optic Killshades] obtained from Engineering. With appropriate Cogwheels, this item is comparable to Tier 11 raid items. [Cluster of Stars] obtained by spending 2,200 Justice Points in your capital city. This is the only other pre-raid helm with haste. [Cowl of Rebellion] drops from Vanessa Van Cleef in Deadmines (H) [Willowy Crown] drops from Ascendant Lord Obsidius in Blackrock Caverns (H). No spirit so it may not be useful. [Helm of Reorigination] is a reward from the quest Doing It The Hard Way from Blackrock Caverns Amulet [Yellow Smoke Pendant] & [Lightning Flash Pendant] are obtained from Dragonmaw: Exalted & Wildhammer: Exalted respectively [Acanthia's Lost Pendant] is a zone drop in Blackrock Caverns (H) [Amulet of Tender Breath] obtained from Altairus in the Vortex Pinnacle (H) [Celadon Pendant] obtained by spending 1,250 Justice Points in your capital city [Quicksilver Amulet] obtained from Karsh Steelbender in Blackrock Caverns [Winking Eye of Love] most likely obtained from Valentine's Day event in SFK [Pendant of Elemental Balance] obtained from Earthen Ring: Honoured Itemised more for Balance: [Charm of the Muse] is a zone drop BOE from Halls of Origination (H). There is also a normal mode version [Charm of the Muse] [Tauntka's Necklace] obtained from High Prophet Barim in Lost City of Tol'vir. There is also a normal mode version [Tauntka's Necklace] [Pendant of the Keep] obtained from Baron Silverlaine in Shadowfang Keep (H) [Pipefish Cord] obtained from Neptulon's Cache in Throne of the Tides (H). This might be quite good for Resto [String of Beaded Bubbles] obtained by spending 1,250 Justice Points in your capital city Shoulders [Gladiator's Kodohide Spaulders] are currently showing as having no resilience. If this bug goes live, they are an excellent candidate. [Mantle of Bestilled Winds] obtained from Altairus in Vortex Pinnacle (H) [Mantle of Soft Shadows] obtained from Anraphet in Halls of Origination (H). There is a normal mode version [Mantle of Soft Shadows] [Somber Shawl] obtained by spending 1,650 Justice Points in your capital city [Spaulders of the Endless Plains] & [Mantle of Wild Feathers] are obtained when Honoured with Dragonmaw or Wildhammer repspectively Back [Azureborne Cloak] obtained from Drahga Shadowburner in Grim Batol (H). There is a normal mode version [Azureborne Cloak] [Solar Wind Cloak] obtained from Rajh in Halls of Origination (H). There is a normal mode version [Solar Wind Cloak] [Springvale's Cloak] obtained from Commander Springvale in Shadowfang Keep (H) [Cloak of the Dryads] obtained from Guardians of Hyjal: Honoured Itemised more for Balance: [Periwinkle Cloak] obtained from Lady Naz'jar in Throne of the Tides (H). [Shadow of Perfect Bliss] obtained from Asaad in Vortex Pinnacle (H). Chest [Chestguard of Nature's Fury] is BOE & craftable by Leatherworkers. It's not perfectly itemised but is the only pre-raid epic chest piece available right now [Cursed Skardyn Vest] obtained from General Umbriss in Grim Batol (H) [Robes of Forgetfulness] obtained by spending 2,200 Justice Points in your capital city. This is the only pre-raid high end blue with haste & spirit [Vest of the Curious Visitor] obtained from Glubtok in Deadmines (H) if you happen to prefer crit to spirit [Robes of the Loving Ursine] drops from Defias Overseer in Deadmins (H) but seems to be 21 ilvls too low. This may be fixed. [Wrap of the Fallen City] obtained from quest The Fall of Neferset City in Uldum Wrist [Manacles of the Sleeping Beast] are a zone drop from Blackwing Descent. You may be able to trade with another guild for them early on [Armbands of Change] obtained from Corla, Herald of Twilight in Blackrock Descent. These are the only ilvl 346 blue wrist with haste [Oasis Bracers] are a BOP zone drop in Lost City of Tol'vir (H). There is a normal mode version [Oasis Bracers] Gloves [Aessina-Blessed Gloves] obtained from Guardians of Hyjal: Revered [Blessed Hands of Elune] obtained by spending 1,650 Justice Points in your capital city [Deep Delving Gloves] obtained from Slabhide in Stonecore (H). There is a normal mode version [Deep Delving Gloves] [Gloves of the Uplifted Cup] obtained from Baron Silverlaine in Shadowfang Keep (H) [Gloves of Baleflame] obtained from the quest Closing a Dark Chapter in Grim Batol (N) Legs [Leggings of Consuming Flames] are a zone drop and BOP. Pray you get lucky. [Blazewing's Furious Kilt] is a BOE with unknown drop location. However, there is a rare phoenix Blazewing which may drop it. Check the AH [Leggings of Clutching Roots] obtained via Earthen Ring: Revered [Leggings of Late Blooms] obtained by spending 2,200 Justice Points in your capital city. This are the only ilvl 346 blue leggings with haste [Leggings of the Path] obtained from Siamat in the Lost City of Tol'vir (H). There is a normal mode version [Leggings of the Path] Waist [Lightning Lash] is BOE & craftable by Leatherworkers [Withered Dream Belt] & [Belt of the Untamed] obtained via Dragonmaw: Exalted and Wildhammer: Exalted [Thatch Eave Vines] obtained by spending 1,650 Justice Points at your capital city [Underworld Cord] obtained from Earthrager Ptah in Halls of Origination. There is a normal mode version [Underworld Cord] Boots [Awakening Footfalls] obtained from Temple Guardian Anhuur in Halls of Origination (H). There is a normal mode version [Awakening Footfalls] [Decapod Slippers] obtained from Mindbender Ghur'sha in Throne of the Tides (H) [Tarvus's Poison-Scarred Boots] obtained from the rare spawn Tarvus the Vile in the southern most cave in Obsidian Forest in Twilight Highlands [Vision-Tainted Treads] & [Treads of Revelation] are obtained from the quests Traitor's Bait (Orgrimmar) and A Villain Unmasked (Stormwind) respectively Ring [Ring of the Boy Emperor] obtained from Archaeology if you get obscenely lucky with Tol'vir fragments [Band of Life Energy] obtained from Ammunae in Halls of Origination (H). There is a normal mode version [Band of Life Energy] [Diamant's Ring of Temperance] obtained via Therazane: Revered [Kibble] obtained from Beauty in Blackrock Caverns (H). There is a normal mode version [Kibble] [Ring of Frozen Rain] obtained from Asaad in the Vortex Pinnacle (H). There is a normal mode version [Ring of Frozen Rain] [Ring of the Great Whale] is a BOE drop from Throne of the Tides [Veneficial Band] obtained from Augh in Lost City of Tol'vir Itemised more for Balance: [Anthia's Ring] obtained from Mindbender Ghur'sha in Throne of the Tides (H) [Band of Rays] obtained from Rajh in Halls of Origination (H). There is a normal mode version [Band of Rays] [Spirit Creeper Ring] obtained from General Husam in Lost City of Tol'vir (H). There is a normal mode version [Spirit Creeper Ring] [Lavishly Jeweled Ring] obtained from Admiral Ripsnarl in Shadowfang Keep (H) [Rose Quartz Band] obtained from Slabhide in Stonecore (H) [Abandoned Dark Iron Ring] zone drop BOE in Grim Batol (H). There is a normal mode version [Abandoned Dark Iron Ring] Weapons Note that there is no specific Enchant Staff type spell in Cataclysm, all weapons can have the same enchants. Note also that Enchant Off-Hand is being changed to +40 (down from +100) Int in patch 4.0.6. This will bring the overall Int of MH/OH in line with Staves and the decision between them will rest more on loot luck and differences in secondary stats. Note also that a ilvl 346 Off-Hand is buyable with Justice Points or craftable and 346 1H Maces are craftable. That raises the bar on raid entry level weapons to pretty much 346 blue. 1H Weapons [Elementium Hammer] crafted by Blacksmithing [Scepter of Power] obtained from Setesh in Halls of Origination (H). There is a normal mode version [Scepter of Power] [Shimmering Morningstar] & [Shimmering Morningstar] obtained from Hellscream's Reach: Revered & Baradin's Wardens: Revered respectively [Torturer's Mercy] obtained from Rom'ogg Bonecrusher in Blackrock Caverns (H) [Gurgthock's Garish Gorebat] obtained from the Crucible of Carnage event Itemised more for Balance: [Modgud's Blade] obtained from General Umbriss in Grim Batol (H). There is a normal mode version [Modgud's Blade] [Elementium Spellblade] crafted by Blacksmithing [Biting Wind] obtained from Grand Vizier Ertan in Vortex Pinnacle [Beak of Julak-Doom] obtained from Julak-Doom, outdoor boss 2H Weapons There are very limited choices for Resto [Staff of Ammunae] obtained from Archaeology if you get obscenely lucky with Tol'vir fragments [Staff of Isolation] obtained from Lord Godfrey in Shadowfang Keep (H) [Soul Releaser] obtained from Earthrager Ptah in Halls of Origination (H) Itemised more for Balance: [Staff of Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan] obtained from Archaeology if you get obscenely lucky with Dwarf fragments [Staff of Siphoned Essences] obtained from Erudax in Grim Batol (H). There is a normal mode version [Staff of Siphoned Essences] [Emberstone Staff] obtained from Foe Reaper 5000 in Deadmines (H) [Cerith Spire Staff] obtained from Commander Ulthok in Throne of the Tides [Insidious Staff] & [Insidious Staff] obtained from Hellscream's Reach: Revered & Baradin's Wardens: Revered respectively Off Hands [Apple-Bent Bough] obtained by spending 950 Justice Points in your capital city [Prophet's Scepter] obtained from High Priestess Azil in Stonecore (H) [Divine Companion] cratfable by Inscription [Bioluminescent Lamp] obtained from Neptulon's Cache in Throne of the Tides (H) Itemised more for Balance: [Hermit's Lamp] obtained by spending 950 Justice Points in your capital city [Dungeoneering Guide] craftable by Inscription [Beauty's Favorite Bone] obtained from Beauty in Blackrock Caverns (H) Relics [Tattooed Eyeball] craftable by Inscription. Not well itemised for Resto however [Book of Dark Prophecies] obtained from High Priestess Azil in Stonecore (H) [Book of the Well Sung Song] obtained from Vanessa Van Cleef in Deadmines (H) [Captured Lightning] obtained from Asaad in Vortex Pinnacle (H) |
Generally, I'm going off the assumption that Trinkets with Intellect as the Primary Stat will be leagues above any other trinkets.
With all the arguing over the best secondary stats to have, people often overlook that we should still be gearing for Intellect, due to all the reasons Hamlet listed in the first post. Spellpower is still our best scaling stat for all of our spells, and with the secondary Regen bonuses that many Intellect trinkets offer, there's not much of a compelling reason to use strict Regen trinkets. We have a plethora of tools at our disposal to regen mana, most of which are tied to our Maximum Mana Pool (which having additional Int helps anyway). Choosing to use 359 Trinkets without Passive Intellect is akin to missing out on approximately 875 Spellpower. That's the difference between using a weapon from Karazhan and a weapon from HICC. Personally, I can't justify using strict regen Trinkets besides Shard of Woe, and I can't actually think of a situation where we would need additional Regen that could not be obtained from Spirit on our other gear. The following assumptions are made when calculating regen: Spirit Regen = Sqrt(Intellect) * Spirit *.016725 Combat Regen = Spirit Regen * Meditation + Base Regen Base Regen @85 = 0.003345 One point of Intellect increases your maximum mana by 15, and your regen from Replenishment correspondingly [Shard of Woe] - (Sinestra) [Tyrande's Favorite Doll] - (Night Elf Archaeology) -Can be pre-charged before a fight -Assumed 4200 mana per 60 seconds, times 5 seconds, on cooldown = 350 mp5, unaffected by Spirit Regen -321 Int adds 24 mp5 regen from Replenishment, along with 4815 mana [Darkmoon Card: Tsunami] - (Inscription, BOE) -Does not seem to proc off of instant cast spells -Has internal cooldown of ten seconds if a spell is cast on yourself; no internal cooldown when direct heals are used on other targets -80 Spirit * 5 stacks = 400 Spirit -Ignoring ramp up time (ideal conditions), Combat Spirit Regen is worth roughly 300 mp5 -321 Intellect adds 24 mp5 from Replenishment, along with 4815 mana [Fall of Mortality] - Cho'gall -Assumed 75 second Internal Cooldown -Variance of 10 seconds for calculations -1926 Spirit for 15 seconds, every 85 seconds = 255 mp5 -321 Intellect adds 24 mp5 from Replenishment, along with 4815 mana [Core of Ripeness] - (Valorous Vendor) -1920 Spirit for 20 seconds, times 5 seconds, every 120 seconds = 241 mp5 when used on cooldown -321 Int adds 24 mp5 regen from Replenishment, along with 4815 mana [Tear of Blood] (Stonecore) -Procs off both Periodic and Direct Critical Heals -1710 Spirit for 15 seconds every 85 seconds = 201 mp5 -285 Int adds 21 mp5 regen from Replenishment, along with 4275 mana [Vibrant Alchemist Stone] -Assumed 351 Intellect adds 26 mp5 from Replenishment, along with 5265 mana -Highest passive Int on a 359 Trinket, along with a large chunk of Haste for reaching breakpoints -40% more mana from Potions is approximately ---3700-4100 extra mana from a Mythical Mana Potion; once per 6 minute fight, this is roughly 55 mp5 ---8800 extra mana from a Concentration Potion; once per 6 minute fight, this is roughly 122 mp5 [Jar of Ancient Remedies] - Maloriak -6420 Mana every 120 seconds = 267.5 mp5 -Assumed 515 Spirit for 90 seconds every 120 seconds = 193 mp5 -Total mp5 = 461 mp5 [Witching Hourglass] (Blackrock Caverns) -1710 Haste Rating for 15 seconds every 85 seconds is roughly 302 Haste -285 Int adds 21 mp5 regen from Replenishment, along with 4275 mana [Blood of Isiset] (Halls of Origination) -Does not seem to proc off of instant cast spells, more testing requested -1710 Spirit for 15 seconds every 85 seconds = 201 mp5 [Gale of Shadows] (Grim Batol) -Provides one of the easiest means of reaching 2004 Haste Rating in 346 gear [Figurine - Jeweled Serpent] (Jewelcrafting, BOP) [Mandala of Stirring Patterns] (Hellscream's Reach/Baradin's Wardens Exalted) [Corrupted Egg Shell] (Grim Batol) [Figurine - Dream Owl] (Jewelcrafting, BOP) [Sea Star] (Throne of the Tides) |
[Resto] Cataclysm Release
Let this post serve as a collective thank you for what is above. Further thanks may be PM'd to the authors directly.
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I thought I'd put up a few tips for the very early pre-raid healing.
First off every level past 80 your healing gets noticably weaker. By the time you hit 85, you can oom yourself in like 20 seconds if you aren't careful. So in the first place, get in the habit of not overhealing. People don't need to be topped off. If they are over 70-80% hp, let the next wg or 2 get them. I'm doing nearly all my healing with Lifebloom on the tank, refreshed by nourish, and wild growth and swiftmend off cd. Every clearcast proc I use for either Regrowth or Healing touch on whoever is wounded most. Which is usually not the tank. My clearcast regrowths are most of my non wild growth raid healing. If you heal with only LB, Nourish, WG, SM, and clearcast RG/HT, you will never oom. Heavy damage you pop tol and start rolling LB's on everyone. Or tranq if tol is down. I still Rejuv some, but its very sparse, they are expensive as heck and will oom you in seconds, and I absolutely only use it on people that already have a WG hot so I get the mastery bonus. With my guild groups we didn't bother ccing the regular dungeons at all. In heroic you will want to mark and cc everything. Your tank should never be tanking more than 2 mobs. If you use CC, and dps don't take extra damage the heroics aren't bad at all. I will probably make a macro for if I need to lfg and spam it everytime someone violates, something like this(in caps): Welcome to Cata! You cannot take extra damage, healer mana is not infinite anymore! You cannot pull threat, you cannot stand in bad stuff, and you must learn to interrupt and CC! |
Finally hit 85 and turned my attention to the gear list for the first time, to figure out what to do next. I'll give a brief rundown here, since it will probably be the same for a lot of people. The immediate goal is to hit 329 average ilvl so you can do heroics. You should be able to do this as soon as you hit 85, due to rep/JP vendors.
If you quested through Hyjal, Deepholm, Uldum, and TH, you should have Guardian of Hyjal Revered, and Honored with the other 4 Cataclysm factions. You can grab cloak and gloves from Hyjal, shoulders from Dragonmaw, neck from ER*, and ring from Ramkahen. However, you can also buy feral/cloth pieces in other slots to bump your ilvl: legs from Dragonmaw, ring/neck from Hyjal, and cloth hat from ER. If you get all these things, you should be at 329 without needing any dungeon drops (assuming quest gear in all other slots). *Even if you didn't go to Vashj'ir at all, you can still reach the ER vendor. You just have to head out to the zone and fly/swim to him. It's not that bad for a Druid to get there without the special Vashj'ir mount. Finally, you want to get at least one JP item so you're not at cap when you start doing instances. Good choices are the slots not covered by rep vendors--hat, chest, and belt. As you start instancing, your first reps to work on should probably be ER (Legs at Revered) and Therazane (Ring at Revered, shoulder enchant at Exalted). |
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Probably do Therazane next. |
Hurricane doesn't have an ICD at the moment. So you should get 450 static haste from it unless for the time being. Also it appears bugged and can proc two separate stacks (one from melee, one from spells). You'll see this on specs like retribution paladin.
I'm not sure yet if the 200 spirit enchant has no ICD anymore. It use to be 20 sec ICD I think. |
Please Delete :)
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On the other hand, I'm having trouble seeing the value in [Swift Rejuvenation] these days. With fewer hectic, reaction-time dependent healing periods, and playstyles tending more towards thought over action, it seems like a convenience rather than the absolute necessity it was in Wrath's GCD-locked environment. For me, it was a very easy talent to axe after testing in heroics. I'd love to hear more opinoins about this as raid reports roll in. A final note about talents: OP doesn't mention the fifth spell affected by ToL, which is [Entangling Roots]. The tree form gives us instant-cast roots with no CD (unlike the [Glyph of Entangling Roots]) which will likely be useful to someone to know at some point (as Blizzard bizarrely provides no tooltip for people to discover how ToL affects this spell in-game), although clearly this isn't going to be a deal-breaker in most circumstances. (Did save my butt in a few heroics so far, with messy pulls or failed cc, though!) Quote:
Finally, a quick vote cast here for mastery>crit, in what will surely be a long, opinonated, and hopefully henceforth math-fueled discussion ;) |
It appears Hurricane was recently hotfixed and now properly has the 45 sec ICD.
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From my experience healing heroics so far (Stonecore/SFK), Swift Rejuvenation seems pretty much lackluster. You won't spam Rejuvenation as much as before, people won't die as fast so the shorter GCD doesn't matter much and, with liberal use of Rejuv, you will pretty much go OOM in about 20 seconds.
On the contrary, having a NS ready for emergency (too-early broken cd etc.) saved our asses more times than not. The experience may differ when starting to raid - however with current mana regen mechanics and the available gear, I don't see Rejuv being used in the blanketing style so prominent in WotLK, hence reducing the value of Swift Rejuvenation even in raids. (Pretty much the same experience as posted before - just meant to throw my hat in.) Additionally, wouldn't it be better to swap one point from Moonglow into Furor? 3% less manacost on heals vs. 5% more mana seems like a no-brainer. I'm personally running 7/3/31 right now, which (considering current content) seems to me like a better choice then the sample spec posted in the OP. |
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I have also noticed that Nature's Swiftness is a very important talent when healing heroic dungeons. However, for the same reason, I find Swift Rejuv useful, saving almost half of a second every time I refresh rejuv. There are plenty of times when you need to heal up the party more than what efflorescence and wg can do and rejuv is our next highest HPS and HPM ability. Using my clearcasting procs for HT instead of nourish appears to be much more effective, so I took the points out of Nature's Bounty. |
In regards to NS thus far I can honestly say it has saved the tank or a rogue quite a few times in the early stages of Cata instances.
As far as Rejuv, I will probably be dropping Swift Rejuv from my spec unless something changes. Only at level 83 so far so I have only done standard instances. However, at 60k unbuffed mana and over 1100 combat regen, Rejuv and Regrow kill my mana pool faster than spec swapping. I am fighting the urge to try and keep the party topped off, as it was so easy for so long. I just feel nervous using Nourish or HT with the long cast times, it really is increasing my hunger for haste. As we learn the fights and when certain mobs or bosses will pound some AoE damage on the party things will hopefully become less "edgy or unnerving". Having only rolled a healer that used instant or short cast heals 90% of the time really makes this a transition. |
Swift Rejuv was useful in 5s and 10s for me. I was assigned to heal tanks, with occasional "raid help" as needed. Because both my tank and I were understandably undergeared, it was not easy to find spare GCDs to spend on the raid. Occasionally I would WG or Rejuv on the raid, and in the cases of Rejuv being able to get back on the tank faster helped a lot, and was worth a point. I would consider dropping the last point in the Regrowth talent into NS, as I found many times I wished I had it.
Finally, the Healing Touch glyph seems better in practice than in theory, as I was using healing touch quite a bit on the tank. Edit: In 10s, popping tree right away, and keeping a lifebloom stack on both tanks permanently with Nourish/Healing touch is a strong strategy in 2 tank fights. The druid loses a ton of mobility but the tanks gain a ton of stability, which means more medium heals can be used, which means more longevity in crappy gear. |
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