Post by chevronn7
I am not a raider, I PvP most of the time or heal for 5 mans. If I ever did get into raiding, I would most likely respec to a more appropriate raid healer build.
I have used
this build pre-70 (minus the talents in Moonglow) for PvP and I really liked it. It gives me what I need to be an effective healer, both in PvP and PvE (as I'm not 70 yet I have never used this build in Heroics) and, deal out moderate damage when I need to. There's no spirit on the Merciless Gladiators Kodohide set nor on the Vindicator's or Guardian's pieces, but tons of Int, so I find
Lunar Guidance to be a stronger talent than
Tree of Life. And the 9% mana reduction from
Moonglow may not be as good as the 20% from ToL, but its good enough for me given the other strengths this build makes available to me. Besides, mana doesn't seem to be much of an issue for me in PvE and if I live long enough in PvP to burn through all my mana and my innervate, its not hard to slip away for a quick drink. As an added bonus, forms are not really a concern for me. The only form I use besides my caster form is cat form so I can stealth, sometimes I'll open with a pounce just to stun the target briefly then root them and move away and start burning them down.
I don't use Healing Touch often so I don't see a need in buffing that up at all. It would be nice to see those big numbers, but I seem to do just fine most of the time without it.
Subtlety has dual usage as it is nice so that when I get bored with PvP I can heal in instances, plus its fun to see a priest or pally that I've just rooted busying themselves with casting dispell 2 or 3 times on themselves while I'm chain casting wrath on them.
But I'm curious that I haven't seen any suggestions like it for PvP builds on these boards. It seems that most PvP Resto builds are keen on getting Feral Charge (
example 1 example 2). But I don't find the feral tree to be of much use to my play style in PvP and I can't see the benefit of a healer charging at a target for anything other that to interrupt a spellcast or possible move yourself out of melee range if you are being attacked and there happens to be another enemy 25 yrds away. In fact, the only talent that would be useful is the increase in armor contribution, but even then, its easy enough to get away most of the time. So I would rather spend my points elsewhere.
Does anyone have anything constructive to add or some fine points that I must not be grasping? Particularly, what do you guys think about this build for heroics. I have a 70 priest and holy pally so I'm familiar with healing for heroics? I think this build can handle it but I haven't tried it out myself yet.
P.S. sorry for the absurdly long post. get me started and I just can't help myself but be long winded. =D
Post by Kaitain
There is a well known talent build sort of like what you've linked called
Restokin, but it has some key differences to your build. Firstly, it gets Dreamstate to get a really impressive amount of regen that is lacking on PvP gear. It also takes Moonkin Form for times when you need to be able to cast/CC in a tank form. It sacrifices Swiftmend too, which is the biggest loss to healing potential of the build.
I've got to say i think you've missed to point of Feral Charge a bit. It's a counterspell on a 15 sec cooldown. Utterly invaluable in arena, and pretty amazing in BGs too. It also gives you a mobility unmatched by all other PvP healers. If someone is pressuring you properly, even a druid's built-in mobility can fail. Brutal impact is also a worthwhile improvement to your stuns. The 11 points so often spent in Feral are popular because they are incredibly effective, and a big boost to survivability and control in arena.
Imp MotW is pretty useless in PvP too. Furor can save your life (near instant switch to bear to bash someone, or Feral Charge if you have it).
If you want a build that is great in PvP and will work in Heroics (and most raid situations if you have nice gear), get a
8/11/42 build with Tree, and learn to use Feral Charge in PvP. You might have to alter your play style, but it will be for the better.