Healer Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Restoration Shaman abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.1.7).

Single Target

Ensure Water Shield and Earth Shield are active before the encounter begins.

• Earth ShieldView detailsRefresh if expired or close to expiring with Reactive Warding.
• Cloudburst TotemView detailsUse before high group damage or Healing Stream Totem if unavailable.
• RiptideView detailsUse on cooldown for efficient healing.
• Unleash LifeView detailsBoosts next heal; use with Downpour, Chain Heal (with High Tide), or Riptide.

Maintain Earth Shield and use Cloudburst Totem or Healing Stream Totem for group healing. Use Riptide on cooldown and Unleash Life to amplify key heals.

AoE

• Earthen Wall TotemView detailsDouble use with Totemic Recall when possible.
• Healing RainView detailsUse when 6+ injured allies can stand in it.
• DownpourView detailsUse after Healing Rain for high group healing.
• WellspringView detailsUse when multiple nearby allies are injured.
• Chain HealView detailsUse with High Tide or Tidebringer active.

For AoE healing, prioritize Earthen Wall Totem and Healing Rain for group coverage. Follow with Downpour, Wellspring, and Chain Heal for burst healing.

Cooldowns

• Spirit Link TotemView detailsRedistributes health and reduces damage for group stabilization.
• Healing Tide TotemView detailsProvides high healing-over-time to nearby allies.
• AscendanceView detailsAmplifies healing and redistributes it among allies.
• Natures SwiftnessView detailsUse for instant, Mana-free emergency healing.

Use Spirit Link Totem for group stabilization, Healing Tide Totem for sustained healing, and Ascendance for burst healing. Natures Swiftness is ideal for emergencies.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.