Restoration Shaman Healing Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (11.0.5)

While these are the baseline recommended talents, feel free to swap to different utility talents to suit your group composition, target dungeon, and active weekly affixes.

The idea behind these talents is to give you high baseline healing and utility, including many DPS talents, such as Acid Rain and the reworked Master of the Elements, which allows you to seamlessly alternate between healing and DPS with Healing Surge and Lava Burst, while skipping on casting Flame Shock altogether.

Undulation works well in small group settings, where single target heals are much more used than in raids, but Chain Heal and its support talents can also be useful in a Totemic shell as you will be able to have a very strong Healing Stream Totem with Lively Totems, Reactivity, Supportive Imbuements, Living Stream, and Elemental Resistance to carry your healing on most pulls.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the build directly into your game!

While these are the baseline recommended talents, feel free to swap to different utility talents to suit your group composition, target dungeon, and active weekly affixes.

The idea behind these talents is to give you high baseline healing and utility, including many DPS talents, such as Acid Rain and the reworked Master of the Elements, which allows you to seamlessly alternate between healing and DPS with Healing Surge and Lava Burst, while skipping on casting Flame Shock altogether.

Undulation works well in small group settings, where single target heals are much more used than in raids, and also has significant synergy with the Primordial Wave talent. You will also have access to the maxed-out Preeminence Ascendance Plus, the Deeply Rooted Elements combo is usually enough to carry healing on its own whenever used or when it procs, allowing you to do more damage in the remainder of the pull.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the build directly into your game!

Restoration Shaman provides support for the party through healing, damage, and other additional effects, such as dispels and crowd control, as detailed below:

• Thunderstorm is great for pushing enemies away from ground effects. It can also be used with Thundershock for added crowd control that does not send enemies flying all over the place or with Traveling Storms to knock from an ally's position instead;
• Purify Spirit removes all Magic (and Curse, when talented) effects from a friendly target on an 8-second cooldown. This can often allow the purified ally to survive otherwise deadly situations and usually lowers the damage intake of that ally;
• Purge removes one beneficial Magic effect from an enemy target. This is very useful in Mythic+, as there are a lot of enemies with very powerful Magic buffs that we can remove immediately;
• Wind Shear interrupts an enemy target and prevents spells of the interrupted school from being cast for 3 seconds on a 12-second cooldown, which is the shortest cooldown out of all ranged interrupts. As interruptible enemy casts are, often, some of the most dangerous abilities you will face in Mythic+, you should try to interrupt enemies as much as possible, prioritizing the most dangerous casts / ranged enemies that are hard for melee allies to interrupt;
• Capacitor Totem allows you to place a totem up to 30 yards away that, 2 seconds after being placed, explodes to stun a group of enemies in a 16-yard diameter for 3 seconds on a 1-minute cooldown. When facing dangerous trash packs, 3 seconds can easily be the difference between victory and defeat;
• Earthgrab Totem and Earthbind Totem allow you to root / slow enemies in an area. This is very useful whenever your group has to crowd control powerful enemies;
• Tremor Totem places a totem beneath you that periodically removes Fear, Charm, and Sleep effects from allies within 30 yards. It lasts for 10 seconds on a 1-minute cooldown. This should be used whenever enemies are casting Fear, Charm, or Sleep effects on your group;
• Hex disables a non-boss humanoid or beast enemy for 1 minute. This allows you to disable especially powerful enemies ahead of a pull.
• Earth Elemental summons an elemental with a large health pool and good non-boss tanking capabilities — its taunt does not work on bosses — for 1 minute on a 5-minute cooldown. It can be used for a minor DPS increase or as an emergency cooldown capable of distracting dangerous non-boss enemies. It also serves as a powerful personal defensive since it grants you 15% extra maximum health and -5% damage taken with Primordial Bond;

The following cheatsheet, by ShamrockedGuides, explains what specific utility to talent into for each Season 1 dungeon:

Click the image to also see the reasoning behind picks

Note that the Seasoned Winds talent has use in every dungeon, although it is much more important in some (Dawnbreaker, Necrotic Wake, Stonevault) than in others (Siege of Boralus).

• Ara-Kara:
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Earthgrab Totem roots adds on the 1st boss
  • Spirit Walk or Thundershock can remove the root effect from Black Blood in the last part of the dungeon
• City of Threads
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Thunderous Paws stops Silk Binding from Sureki Silkbinder
  • Jet Stream to remove Ice Sickles on the 2nd boss. Totemic Recall to remove a second set.
  • Spirit Walk removes root effects on the last boss/miniboss
• Dawnbreaker: Cleanse Spirit, Purge
• Grim Batol:
  • Cleanse Spirit
  • Earthgrab Totem roots adds on the 3rd boss
  • Jet Stream (optional)
• Mists of tirna Scithe:
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Purge
  • Tremor Totem
  • Earthgrab Totem can dispel Illusionary Vulpin on the 2nd boss and root adds on the last boss
• Necrotic Wake:
  • Purge
  • Tremor Totem
  • Earthgrab Totem roots adds on the 1st boss
  • Thunderous Paws and/or Spirit Walk can remove the dangerous root effect on the last boss, highly recommended.
• Siege of Boralus:
  • Purge
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Cleanse Spirit (optional)
• Stonevault: Cleanse Spirit, Tremor Totem

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Earthgrab Totem
• Spirit Walk or Thundershock

• Use Earthgrab Totem to root Starved Crawlers when fighting Avanoxx (first boss).
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Venom Volley and Cultivated Poisons when fighting Ki'katal, the Harvester (last boss). Be wary of the waves when dispelling Cultivated Poisons!
• Use Spirit Walk, Thunderstorm with Thundershock or Capacitor Totem to get rid of the Black Bloods that root you when fighting Ki'katal, the Harvester (last boss).

• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Atik to remove Poison Bolt.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Engorged Crawler to remove Venomous Spit.
• Spirit Walk, Thunderstorm with Thundershock or Capacitor Totem can be used to get rid of the Black Blood that root you in the last area.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Bloodstained Webmage to remove Revolting Volley.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Jet Stream
• Thunderous Paws
• Spirit Walk (optional)

• Use Wind Rush Totem with Jet Stream to remove Ice Sickles when fighting Fangs of the Queen (2nd boss). If needed, use Totemic Recall to remove another set.
• Use Spirit Walk to remove Umbral Weave when fighting Izo, the Grand Splicer (last boss).

• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Sureki Venomblade to remove Venom Strike.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Royal Venomshell to remove Venomous Spray.
• Use Thunderous Paws to remove Silk Binding from Sureki Silkbinder.
• Use Spirit Walk to remove Umbral Weave when fighting Elder Shadeweaver (miniboss before the last boss).

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Cleanse Spirit
• Purge

• Bait the Collapsing Night void zone mechanic from Shadowcrown (1st boss) away from the boss. Move towards the boss as soon as the cast begins, as the zones drop where you were at the start of the cast, allowing you to take 0 damage!
• Aim orbs from the second boss, Anub'ikkaj down a clear path, as its damage lowers with distance. Save healing cooldowns and personals for when the area damage cast begins at the same time an orb is traveling.
• On the final boss, Rasha'nan, you can fly directly to the final position without needing to chase the boss throughout, but make sure to get at least one orb on the way to prevent an untimely death.

• Use Cleanse Spirit against Nightfall Shadowmages to remove Ensnaring Shadows.
• Use Purge against Nightfall Darkcaster to remove Umbral Barrier.
• Use Purge against Nightfall Commander to remove Abyssal Howl.
• Use Purge against Sureki Militant to remove Silken Shell.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Cleanse Spirit
• Earthgrab Totem
• Jet Stream (optional)

• Use Cleanse Spirit to remove Curse of Entropy against Drahga Shadowburner (3rd boss).
• Use Earthgrab Totem to root adds against Drahga Shadowburner (3rd boss)

• Use Cleanse Spirit against Twilight Warlocks to remove Enveloping Shadowflame.
• Use Wind Rush Totem with Jet Stream against Twilight Earthcallers to remove Mass Tremor if not interrupted.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Purge
• Tremor Totem
• Earthgrab Totem or Hex

• Use Tremor Totem remove Repulsive Visage on Ingra Maloch (1st boss). Remember the 1.5 sec delay and try to time it right!
• Use Earthgrab Totem or Hex to get rid of Illusionary Vulpin on Mistcaller (2nd boss).

• Use Purge against Mistveil Tender to remove Nourish the Forest.
• Use Purge against Mistveil Shaper to remove Bramblethron Coat.
• Use Purge against Spinemaw Staghorn to remove Stimulate Resistance.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Mistveil Gorgegullet to remove Poisonous Secretions.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Mistveil Nightblossom to remove Triple Bite.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Spinemaw Reaver to remove Debilitating Poison.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Purge
• Tremor Totem
• Earthgrab Totem
• Thunderous Paws and/or Spirit Walk

• Use Earthgrab Totem to root Carrion Worms when fighting Blightbone (1st boss)
• Use Spirit Walk or Ghost Wolf when Thunderous Paws is talented to remove Frozen Binds on the last boss: Nalthor the Rimebinder

• Use Purge against Nar'zudah (optional miniboss) to remove Dark Shroud.
• Use Tremor Totem against Skeletal Marauder to remove Rasping Scream.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Purge
• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Cleanse Spirit (optional)

• Stay near active bombs during the first boss, Chopper Redhook, in order to quickly drive him towards them in case you are fixated by the boss.
• The second boss, Dread Captain Lockwood, needs to constantly be snared or rooted while in its main phase to prevent her from fleeing from melee and shooting random allies for massive damage. Use Earthbind Totem for this purpose.
• Hadal Darkfathom, the 3rd boss, deals massive group damage with his Break Water swirlies which also leave damage areas behind. You will have plenty of time to heal in between these events but make sure to have everyone topped going into one, as it will deal near one shot damage in high keys.
• Last but decidedly not least, Viq'Goth, the final boss, is an absolute menace for us due to its frequent Putrid Waters dot application to two party members. If the dot application lines up with a tentacle's Slam party damage it will one shot, so have defensives or Spirit Link Totem ready for such occasions. Otherwise, immediately dispel a non-tank player and spam Healing Surge on the other until dispel cooldown recovers.

• Use Cleanse Spirit against Irontide Curseblade to remove Cursed Slash.
• Use Purge against Irontide Waveshaper to remove Watertight Shell.
• Use Purge against Ashvane Commander to remove Bolstering Shout.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Ashvane Invaders to remove Stinging Venom stacks.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Cleanse Spirit
• Tremor Totem
• Jet Stream (optional)

• Try to explode all spikes on each arrow set on the first boss, E.D.N.A. to make the burst damage as manageable as possible. This weak aura will give you a sound warning for when to dispel the tank in order to activate the shield just in time to absorb the new boss hit.
• While the main responsibility in the second boss, Skarmorak, is for DPS to kill the shards in a controlled fashion that does not lead to the group being one shot by triple dot applications, you should also make sure to soak at least one orb on each spawn to increase your healing massively and allow you to heal the burst damage from crystals and intermission.
• The third boss, Forge Speakers, is all about interrupting Speaker Brokk's Molten Metal cast, especially whenever he jumps to one of the sides. Make sure to have cooldowns and defensives ready for the Exhaust Vents plus Cube explosion overlaps as well.
• Finally, Void Speaker Eirich is a simple fight, but make sure to drop your circles on the side to prevent clogging up the room needlessly, and remove applications of the Void Corruption dot effect quickly by going near an open portal on the sides of the room, as its damage increases by 25% every 3 seconds!

• Use Tremor Totem against Ghastly Voidsoul to remove Howling Fear.
• You can use Wind Rush Totem to get rid of the Ground Pound effect from Earth Infused Golems
• Use Cleanse Spirit against Cursedheart Invader to remove Void Infection.

Shamans have a lot of tools to deal with this affix:

• Wind Shear
• Purge
• Thunderstorm
• Capacitor Totem potentially twice in a row with Totemic Recall, and available more often if specced into Static Charge

Mobility tools are great for helping soak the Shattered Essences:

• Wind Rush Totem to help your entire party soak them
• Spiritwalker's Grace so you can keep casting and gain movement from Graceful Spirit
• Gust of Wind or Spirit Walk
• Ghost Wolf especially with Thunderous Paws. Winds of Al'Akir can make you even faster, if you really need it

Poison Cleansing Totem will remove all Void Rift debuffs on its own, and you can get a second one if needed with Totemic Recall.

Alternatively, you can also simply heal through the debuff, as it is not a healing absorb and you will still be able to heal your targets fully while they are affected, with any left-over debuffs being easily removed by your Cleanse Spirit.