Restoration Shaman Guide: Midnight Season 2 Builds and Rotation

This Restoration Shaman guide covers Midnight Season 2 on patch 12.1.5: Totemic vs Farseer, prepping before the pull, the healing priority, cooldowns, stats, best weapon and trinkets, the utility that makes Shaman a top Mythic+ healer, and Resto in PvP. Blizzard's October 27 hotfixes buffed Healing Stream Totem and Stormstream Totem by 20% in PvP only, so the PvE advice below is unchanged (Icy Veins hotfix summary). Builds and priorities follow Icy Veins' Restoration Shaman guide and Method, cited inline.

Quick summary

• Default to Totemic. Icy Veins calls it "much more forgiving for movement-heavy fights," and Method recommends it "for all content." Farseer got stronger in Season 2 and is viable.
• Stats: Icy Veins lists item level, then Crit, Versatility, Haste and Mastery. Method ties Crit, Vers and Haste in Mythic+.
• Your toolkit: Riptide everyone, keep Healing Stream Totem charges rolling, place Surging Totem where allies and enemies overlap, and spend Nature's Swiftness on Chain Heal (Icy Veins).
• Bring utility: Wind Shear is the only healer interrupt. Capacitor Totem, Poison Cleansing Totem, Purge and Tremor Totem cover a lot of dungeon mechanics.
• Top trinkets: Soulcoiler Ritual Vessel, Twisted Horror's Tendril and Gebbo's Bottomless Bag are S tier on Icy Veins.
• It's the second-best Mythic+ healer this season. Resto Shaman healed 11.2% of the world's top 2,000 timed keys on October 28 (Raider.IO), second only to Holy Paladin, and is A tier on our Mythic+ healer and tank tier list.

Restoration Shaman strengths and weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
The only healer interrupt (Wind Shear) and a utility kit Icy Veins calls perhaps the strongest of any healer	Healing against sustained group damage is only average unless everyone stacks in Healing Rain (Icy Veins)
Spirit Link Totem, a unique cooldown that evens out health across the group	Healing Rain, tier set rains and Stormstream procs make throughput depend on luck
Skyfury, one of the best raid buffs, and a self combat res with Reincarnation	Damage is among the lowest of any healer
Removes Poison, Curse and Magic with Poison Cleansing Totem and Improved Purify Spirit, plus Purge and Tremor Totem	Totem placement punishes groups that spread out

Icy Veins calls Resto a "melee party dungeon star": it's at its best with a melee-heavy group that stacks and values Skyfury.

Best Resto Shaman build: Totemic or Farseer

Situation	Pick	Why	Source
Default, raid and Mythic+	Totemic	More instant casts, Surging Totem can be moved with Totemic Projection, and free Chain Heals from Lively Totems	Icy Veins, Method
Still wearing the Season 1 four-piece	Farseer	That bonus boosts Unleash Life, which favors Farseer	Icy Veins
Stacked raid fights with planned spread healing	Farseer	Ancestor healing and Riptide were "heavily buffed" for Season 2	Icy Veins
Learning the spec	Totemic	Movement is more forgiving	Icy Veins

Method says Farseer is "a much better alternative this season," but still recommends Totemic.

Choose your major cooldown

Healing Tide Totem and Ascendance are a choice node.

• Healing Tide Totem goes with Totemic. Its Splitstream and Primal Catalyst talents boost it, and you can move and cast while it runs (Icy Veins).
• Ascendance goes with Farseer. Healing Wave always crits and heals an extra ally at 50%. Chain Heal jumps to three extra targets and loses only 10% per jump.
• In raid as Farseer, Icy Veins takes Ascendance with Deeply Rooted Elements and Preeminence. Swap to First Ascendant on fights with two-minute raid damage.

Adjust for Mythic+

Icy Veins' Mythic+ builds take Capacitor Totem, Wind Shear and Acid Rain for free damage. For high keys, add Ancestral Vigor to help prevent one-shots. Totemic Mythic+ uses Healing Tide Totem, Totemic Momentum and the new Swelling Tides to keep Riptide on the whole party. Farseer Mythic+ makes Unleash Life mandatory and takes Ancestral Reach over Flow of the Tides, because Riptide's healing over time was "massively buffed." Pick Preeminence or First Ascendant depending on whether your route wants Ascendance more often than every three minutes.

Raid builds skip Downpour for the Riptide talents Undercurrent, Swelling Tides and Wavespeaker's Blessing. Icy Veins says Downpour has potential with the tier set but depends on your procced rains landing well. For runes, see our Omnium Folio guide.

Prepare before the pull

From Icy Veins' checklist:

1. Water Shield on yourself.
2. Earth Shield on the tank and on yourself.
3. If the fight opens with heavy damage, pre-cast Healing Rain and as many Riptides as you can.

Earth Shield doesn't boost a whole Chain Heal by 20%. Only the first hit on the shielded target gets the bonus (Icy Veins).

Restoration Shaman healing rotation and priority

Icy Veins gives one list for both hero trees. Skip the steps your tree doesn't have:

1. Healing Stream Totem or Stormstream Totem for emergencies and whenever you hit max charges. Farseer also uses them during Ascendance.
2. Farseer: Unleash Life and Ancestral Swiftness to spawn Ancestors, trigger Stormstream Totem, and buff your next cast.
3. Totemic: Unleash Life to buff your next cast.
4. Nature's Swiftness on cooldown for a Stormstream Totem proc, ideally spent on Chain Heal.
5. Healing Rain when several allies will stand in it for most of its duration.
6. Surging Totem where it hits the most allies and enemies. Move it with Totemic Projection.
7. Riptide on cooldown.
8. Chain Heal on injured allies who have Riptide (for Flow of the Tides) when group healing is needed.
9. Chain Heal on injured allies when group healing is needed.
10. Healing Wave on the most injured single players.
11. Deal damage when nobody is in danger.

Method's version is shorter: keep Surging Totem active, keep Healing Stream Totem on cooldown, use Downpour before Surging Totem expires (if you took it), use Riptide on targets that don't have it, use Unleash Life on cooldown, then fill with Healing Wave or Chain Heal.

Method's damage opener for when nobody needs healing: Lava Burst with 2 seconds left on the pull timer, Flame Shock at 0, Surging Totem, Lava Burst on cooldown, then Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning.

Use the apex talent

Stormstream Totem is the apex talent. Riptide gets a small chance to trigger a much stronger Healing Stream Totem, and Nature's Swiftness or Ancestral Swiftness also grants one. The proc lasts up to 60 seconds and stacks twice, so you can save it for the next damage spike (Icy Veins). With the full talent, it doesn't spend a regular Healing Stream charge.

Use the tier set

Icy Veins' notes on the Season 2 set:

• Two-piece: Healing Wave and Chain Heal can create an 8-second Healing Rain at the target. These rains use your talents but can't be moved with Totemic Projection.
• Four-piece: every second, one ally in your Healing Rain gets a 10-second absorb shield.

Icy Veins says this set works best in stacked healing fights.

Manage mana, Mastery and movement

• Mana: keep your mana percentage close to the boss's health percentage, and aim to end near 0% (Icy Veins).
• Mastery: Deep Healing heals low-health targets more. When raid healing, prioritize low-health players. Assigned single-target healing benefits less.
• Movement: stand central. Ghost Wolf stops slows from dropping you below normal speed, and Gust of Wind helps with knockbacks. Wind Rush Totem grants a five-second group speed boost every two minutes, and the totem lasts 15 seconds, so you can walk back through it for another.

Example. On a five-minute raid boss, the healer is at 60% mana with the boss at 75%. They're ahead of pace, so they can spend more on Chain Heal during the next spike. If mana drops below the boss's health percentage, they shift toward Riptide, totems and Healing Wave on low-health targets, where Mastery adds the most.

Restoration Shaman cooldowns

Cooldown	What it does	Source
Spirit Link Totem	Every second it evens out health among allies inside, grants 15% damage reduction, and adds a big heal through Spouting Spirits	Icy Veins
Healing Tide Totem	Heals allies within 40 yards. Each heal is stronger when fewer allies are in range, and full value starts at five	Icy Veins
Ascendance	Healing Wave always crits and heals a second ally. Chain Heal reaches three more targets	Icy Veins
Nature's Swiftness	An instant, free cast every minute plus a Stormstream proc	Icy Veins
Unleash Life	Boosts and speeds up your next Healing Wave, Riptide or Chain Heal. Use it on a cast-time spell	Icy Veins

Icy Veins notes that a Demon Hunter's Darkness stacks with Spirit Link Totem for another 20% damage reduction.

Resto Shaman stat priority, enchants and consumables

Source	Raid	Mythic+
Icy Veins	Item level > Crit > Vers > Haste > Mastery	Same. Haste is stronger in M+, and Vers matters more in high keys
Method	Int > Crit > Vers = Haste > Mastery	Int > Crit = Vers = Haste > Mastery

Icy Veins says Mastery is "almost on par with Crit" for progression raiding. Sockets, Leech on your first two or three pieces, and Avoidance can be worth a few item levels.

Slot	Enchant (Icy Veins)
Head	Empowered Hex of Leeching
Shoulders	Silvermoon's Mending
Chest	Mark of the Magister
Legs	Arcanoweave Spellthread
Boots	Shaladrassil's Roots
Rings	Eyes of the Eagle
Weapon	Acuity of the Ren'dorei, with the Earthliving Weapon talent over Thalassian Phoenix Oil

Consumables: Flask of the Shattered Sun in raids and Flask of Thalassian Resistance in Mythic+, Light's Potential with your big cooldowns, and Silvermoon Parade or Harandar Celebration feasts (Royal Roast solo). Gems (Method): one Telluric Eversong Diamond. Races: worth about 0.5%. Dwarf is "the best race for Mythic+," and Tauren and Pandaren are strong.

Resto Shaman BiS gear, best weapon and trinkets

Tier	Trinkets (Icy Veins)
S	Soulcoiler Ritual Vessel ("by far the best trinket of this Season for healers"), Twisted Horror's Tendril (Crit, procs from damage such as Acid Rain and Flame Shock), Gebbo's Bottomless Bag
A	Ruby Whelp Shell, Freightrunner's Flask (align with Ascendance), Drum of Renewed Bonds (delves)
B	Lightspire Core, Vile Vial of Volatile Venom
C	Mycolic Medicine, Stormbound Emblem of Dazar and others

Icy Veins prefers passive trinkets because they're easier to use. In Season 2, catalyzed gear keeps its original stats and special effects, so you can pick tier pieces for their stats.

• Best weapon: Icy Veins' best-in-slot pair is Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang from Ula'tek, with Teldrassil's Sacrifice (shield) from The Blinding Vale. If you lack a Myth-track shield, its first craft is Spellbreaker's Rebuke with Arcanoweave Lining. New alts can craft an Aln'hara Cane with Hunter's Ritual Stone for a quick boost. Our crafted gear guide covers Sparks and embellishments.
• Voidcores: Icy Veins' bonus-roll order is Heroic Ula'tek as Restoration loot spec until you get Jan'thrazet, then Mythic Nek'zali the Soulcoiler, then Mythic Kith'ix for Twisted Horror's Tendril. Since 12.1.5, Orin Straylight near the Catalyst in Silvermoon gives one free Voidcore each week. Our Great Vault guide covers the rest.
• Ascendant Venomstones (live since October 20): weapon first, then trinkets, then the necklace (Icy Veins). Ten stones raise a fully upgraded Myth-track piece from 334 to 340.
• Dungeons: Murder Row drops several best-in-slot items, including Freightrunner's Flask.

For raid loot, see the Venomous Abyss guide and our gearing guide.

Restoration Shaman in Mythic+: utility and dispels

Tool	What it does (Icy Veins)
Wind Shear	The only healer interrupt. Locks a spell school for 4 seconds, 30-second cooldown
Purify Spirit	Removes Magic, plus Curse with Improved Purify Spirit. 8-second cooldown
Poison Cleansing Totem	Removes poisons in an area
Purge	Removes one Magic buff from an enemy
Capacitor Totem	Place up to 30 yards away. Stuns enemies in a 16-yard area for 3 seconds after 2 seconds. 1-minute cooldown
Tremor Totem	Removes Fear, Charm and Sleep within 30 yards for 10 seconds. 1-minute cooldown
Hex	Disables a non-boss humanoid or beast for 1 minute
Earth Elemental	Lasts 1 minute on a 5-minute cooldown. Its taunt doesn't work on bosses. With Primordial Bond it gives you 15% max health

Example from Icy Veins' cheat sheet, King's Rest: Purge Bind Soul (Queen Wasi) and Unholy Mending (Seneschal M'bara) in the gauntlet before Mchimba. Use Earthgrab Totem to stop Animated Gold from reaching the boss in The Golden Serpent. Use Improved Purify Spirit on Hex Volley and Hex, but interrupt those casts when you can. Plan kicks with our interrupt coordination guide.

Restoration Shaman in PvP

Resto Shaman is C tier on our Midnight PvP tier list: fifth of seven healers in Solo Shuffle and Blitz, sixth in 2v2 and seventh in 3v3 on Murlok's October 28 ladders. It wins 49.8% of Shuffle rounds on ArenaCoach. Its PvP tools are the same as in keys: Wind Shear, Purge, Tremor Totem against fears, and Spirit Link Totem to save a partner. The October 27 hotfix raised Healing Stream Totem and Stormstream Totem healing by 20% in PvP, which isn't in those ratings yet.

Common Restoration Shaman mistakes

1. Dropping Healing Rain where the group won't stand. Its value depends on stacking (Icy Veins).
2. Letting Riptide fall off your Tidal Waves targets between pulls.
3. Wasting Nature's Swiftness on anything but a big Chain Heal.
4. Forgetting your kick. Wind Shear is the only healer interrupt, and groups plan around it.
5. Running the wrong utility loadout. Swap Poison Cleansing Totem, Tremor Totem and Improved Purify Spirit per dungeon.

Boosted, returning and alt players

• Returning players: start with Totemic and Icy Veins' import string. Learn Surging Totem placement and Stormstream procs before trying Farseer.
• Catch-up characters: item level first, then Leech and sockets (Icy Veins). Use your weekly free Voidcore. Our weekly checklist covers the rest of the routine.
• Alts: keep Tremor Totem, Poison Cleansing Totem and Improved Purify Spirit in a saved loadout so you can swap per dungeon. For healer comparisons, see our Holy Paladin guide.

If you also play your Shaman as DPS, see our Elemental Shaman guide. For the top Mythic+ tank to pair with, see the Blood Death Knight guide. More Midnight guides are on the World of Warcraft hub.

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If you would rather not grind this part yourself, World of Warcraft dungeon and Mythic+ services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Blizzard's End User License Agreement before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

Is Restoration Shaman good in Midnight Season 2? Yes. It's the second most common healer in the world's top 2,000 timed keys (Raider.IO, October 28) and second by top-player score on Murlok. It's weaker in PvP.

Totemic or Farseer? Totemic by default (Icy Veins, Method). Farseer is viable after the Season 2 buffs.

What is the Resto Shaman stat priority? Icy Veins lists item level, then Crit, Versatility, Haste and Mastery. Method ties Crit, Vers and Haste in Mythic+.

What are the best Resto Shaman trinkets? Soulcoiler Ritual Vessel, Twisted Horror's Tendril and Gebbo's Bottomless Bag (Icy Veins, S tier).

What is the best weapon for Resto Shaman? Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang from Ula'tek, with Teldrassil's Sacrifice from The Blinding Vale as the shield (Icy Veins). Spellbreaker's Rebuke is the crafted shield if you don't have a Myth-track one.

Is Restoration Shaman easy to play? Wowhead calls it one of the easiest healers to play, which makes it a good first healer for Mythic+. Totemic is the more forgiving hero tree.

Related guides

• Midnight Mythic+ healer and tank tier list
• Midnight PvP tier list
• Elemental Shaman guide
• Holy Paladin guide
• Midnight Season 2 Mythic+ dungeons and rewards
• Venomous Abyss raid guide