A few questions on Resto Shaman healing

So I guess the whole idea of the topic is rather self exclamatory.

Armory link, of course: http://www.wowarmory.com/character-s...ecgos&cn=Leros

My guild's progressing deeper into ICC, in fact we're hitting Sindragosa again tonight from the start. (we've been starting fresh for a long while so we can get geared, but that still eats up time no matter how much of a science you get it down to.) I'm glad to be their healer, but I've got a few questions I'm not so sure on, and as people are asking me about them, I'd like to get answers from the knowledgeable crew here at TankSpot.

Firstly, what's a solid minimum number for mp5 to be at? I know the more the better, but on Tier 10 I'm only seeing spellpower and haste. Which is fine and all, but I'm worried that if I take too big a hit on the mp5 front I'll start having problems. Knowing a solid number not to go under would help me and others immensely.

second is the eternal question: Spellpower or Haste? I've gone around and around in my head about it and I just can't reach an answer. Last I heard it was just personal preference, but that was awhile back.

third: I've been dropping resist totems when I felt they would help. (Frost resist on Sindy, for example.) But I worry about loosing the effect of my usual setup. (Strength of Earth, Flametounge, Mana Spring, Wrath of Air) I'm pretty sure the extra resistance helps make things easier, but is it really worth it?

Fourth: I've noticed on Tier 10 (the basic set you only need Frosties to buy), the actual stat upgrades are...rather pathetic. Should I be looking to get the sanctification marks before I invest in the tier stuff so it can be automatically upgraded? Or is anything better than what I got?

Any other comments or critiques are welcome of course. Yes I do know I have mp5 gems and that's supposedly bad. But I'll be happy to re-gem if I know I won't be in trouble for mana regen by doing it. Also I know the Energy Siphon thing is old, but it was the best I could find for awhile, and I think it helps. Any suggestions for better gear or trinkets is appreciated.

As always, thanks for any help/suggestions/opinions. My fellow guildies thank you as well.

Most resto shamans I see (including myself) stack crit and haste, and often gem all haste until about 1300 haste, then gem spellpower. I think my shammy has about 1100 haste. I mostly have gear from ICC 10, typically don't have mana issues and have very good throughput. Here's my armory

edit: (I thought I had only a few pieces of gear with mp5, but I got rings with mp5, lol)

Resistance totems are worth it when there's nobody else able to provide the resistance. E.g. if a pally can provide frost resist aura, there's no reason to drop a frost resist totem. Less damage intake = less healing needed.

Looking at your gear, you're about where I was in tier 9. I'd suggest dropping the mp5 gems for haste instead, though, especially if you find that you never seem to get low on mana (as I did) when running t9 content.

Oh, and I felt that the t10 set bonuses were totally worth it, even before I could upgrade to 264's from heroic icc10.

SOrry for the serial posting -- I'm doing this from work a bit at a time.

On your spec, I'd suggest dropping healing grace and focused mind, and get thundering strikes instead, as it adds 5% spell crit.

Why? If you need healing grace, your tank is doin' it wrong. Your healing threat shouldn't be an issue without that talent. Focused mind isn't necessary if you are good about avoiding the few boss abilities that do casting interrupts/silences, and even if not, the gain is minimal and I question its overall benefit.

Woohoo, shaman question! I've played my shammy for quite a while and would be glad to help.

1. Your MP5 is good. I wouldn't worry about it being on gear. Usually with upgrades, talents and raid buffs you shouldn't have to worry about mana regen. Only concern yourself with that if it starts becoming a problem.

2. Gem Haste until you hit the cap. Talents and gear upgrades will take care of spellpower. Shaman are slow casters and having a lot of SP won't matter if you can't get the heal out before your target dies. I don't worry about gem bounses in gear and, like Bashal, am around 1100 haste. The soft cap, I believe, is around 1269.

3. Resistance totems can always help especially since the effects of some of the offensive totems can be reproduces by other classes, such as Improved Icy Talons = SoE and warlocks have a spell that mimics Flametongue, and these effects do not stack. And any less damage the raid takes is less stress on you and your fellow healers.

4. Depending on the gear you have the T10 pieces can be kinda meh. I kept the 2 piece T9 until I got 4 piece T10 but that's probably because I abuse Riptide. That being said the helm, chest and shoulders are the T10 pieces you should get. The hands and the shoulders are a toss up but most get the hands and have LWs craft these. Even if you can't afford these, and I don't have them yet, you can still find suitable replacements in ICC. I don't know how much of it your guild has "on farm" but you can get these off PP.

Taking a look at your gear it looks like you just need to run ICC some more for upgrades. Getting to Sindy in what you have is awesome and the better gear you get the more comfortable you'll become. The only other question I had is why you are specced into Healing Grace? If your tank can't hold aggro he/she needs to get better. Aggro is not an issue in Wrath period let alone ICC so I think those three points could be better utilized somewhere else. Same with Focused Mind unless you PvP a lot which doesn't look to be the case with the gear you have. If you take those 5 points you could put them into Thundering Strikes, which grants extra crit chance, which means more SP and mana regen through talents.

Hope this is helpful. Also my armory if you would like to take a look: http://www.wowarmory.com/character-s...o&n=Blackshorn.

Happy raiding.