Are Resto Druids broken?

[Daesthanas]

So, I was just in a Heroic Stonecore group, during the first pull one of the mobs started doing the spinny thing that does lots of aoe damage. Everyone died because I couldnt heal through it. After this they told me not only do I suck but that Resto Druids are broken and are bad, which is why no one wants them in their raids, they then kicked me from group. So I'm wondering is this true, am I screwed because I'm resto?

[Bovinity]

So, I was just in a Heroic Stonecore group, during the first pull one of the mobs started doing the spinny thing that does lots of aoe damage. Everyone died because I couldnt heal through it. After this they told me not only do I suck but that Resto Druids are broken and are bad, which is why no one wants them in their raids, they then kicked me from group. So I'm wondering is this true, am I screwed because I'm resto?

Pro tip: The idea is for the DPS to interrupt the earthshapers before they transform. The whirl isn't interruptable and while it could be healed through, that's stupid to judge the healer based on that.

Long story short, they failed at their job and - in standard pug fashion - wanted to blame the healer. You did nothing wrong.

[Airowird]

Next time somebody tells you that, simply reply that if they CC'd or interrupted that mob, he never would've done that massive AoE damage and they'ld all still live happily ever after (untill the next screw-up).

Don't mind Wrath-babies, they just haven't learned to get their ***** out of their ***** yet and think everything can be roflstomped in greens.

[Zaktraw]

Resto druids are still broken. Just not in the way they were thinking. They're pretty awesome in most environments.

[Predakhan]

Resto druids are still broken. Just not in the way they were thinking. They're pretty awesome in most environments.

Really?? Blizz has already admitted they are a bit behind other healing classes currently and will be giving them a slight buff next patch.

[Sebadoh]

Really?? Blizz has already admitted they are a bit behind other healing classes currently and will be giving them a slight buff next patch.

My understanding is that Resto Druids start out strong (good mana regen even in blues) but can't compare once Pallies and Priests get enough mana.

[Bovinity]

As a resto druid currently raiding, I don't feel underpowered at all. In fact, people still complain at me about "OP Trees" when I heal.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that our healing style changed *dramatically* and people are still coping with that.

I will say that our mechanics feel a little....clumsy.

[vasantra]

Are resto druids broken?

Absolutely not.
As far as being behind, we are and we aren't. The general mechanics of healing are reliant really on conservation and basically planning your heals to be mana effective ect. Other classes may not have to have to put as much thought into their next cast. Druids on the otherhand its a debate cast healing touch or nourish in a specific situation which will the tank live through due to the cast time of both and mana cost of both. Basically if you think druids are broken, you should reevaluate what your doing (or maybe your tank is stacking stam and the dps are oooh and awe'ing over that and you have generally messed up group).

With the changes however it might change the general approach of healing it might not. It may just enable more choices in your style of healing or your go to healing spells versus the current standard. In the end it always depends on the particular fight that will determine the value of specific healing spells.

[Rakirne]

I recently just started playing again. I made it to level 82 and was still in my 264 Wrath gear and healing instances. At first it was just the way I had left it, massive mana regen and powerful HoT's. When I hit level 82 I noticed the cost of my spells had nearly doubled. When I entered my next instance I started burning through my mana quit fast. I noted immediatly that I needed to change how I worked. I have learned now how to trust my rejuv and lifebloom spell on the tank and use healing touch and nouish despite the casting time. In the end if things are controled right, mobs being CC correctly, and the tank doing a good job my job still remains easy and I never run out of mana. So are resto druids broken? Easy answer no. Players are broken and need to learn how to play the game instead of smash and grab loot like Wrath was.

[Hable666]

I find they are much better healing in raids than HC's atm, Thats why ive strayed from the agrovation of hcs and just focus on raids.

[Nicki]

If anything Shamans are the ones who are least desired lol but yeah it was the DPS's fault the fact you were kicked just shows they couldn't accept that they didn't do something right =). They really are quite wrong and while Paladins and Priests are dominating atm druids aren't bad (although I am surprised there aren't more nerfs for Paladins and Priests as I feel they are too good).

[Lyelu]

Resto druids and shamans are fine in 5man and regular raiding content. The class balance discrepancies are appearing now in heroic raiding content, but don't seriously affect anything prior to that level.

With that said, don't worry about getting kicked from pugs. I was getting kicked from 2/3 of my pugs so I just quit doing them. Now I wait for a guild tank to be online, or just don't do my daily heroic. It's not worth the aggravation, or the hours of wipes only to be kicked before the end boss, by groups who demand miracles.

If you're worried about knowing your class well, Greentouch has a nice guide:
http://www.intent-kt.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2286

[Dedic]

My favorite healer is a druid so I dunno about broken, maybe they just need a buff.

As far as your situation, if they're stupid enough not to avoid high damage that is avoidable then they deserved to die. That whirlwind is completely avoidable. CC is important in heroics, but still, gtfo of the "fire" is just an expression. It doesn't mean avoid only fire.

And to jump to the conclusion that someone "sucks" after the first pull... sigh, yet another reason to avoid pugs...

[Skiderion]

Resto druids in our raids are already healing for about 12k or better HPS while being able to sustain themselves non-stop. I don't really see this as lacking in any way at all. I am currently running a Holy priest and while I am not completely decked out yet (and certainly not the best player to play the class) I generally manage 7 to 8K HPs and will run OOM before the druid.

[Quinafoi]

Druid is the most self sufficient healer. Innervate is considerably more powerful than Mana Tide for the individual target. The key issue with druids is the ramp up mentality required for it. Our weakness, and our strength, start to show during phases of heavy group damage. When you are required to switch targets frequently, our mastery loses a great deal of its value and going into AoE healing mode there is sort of a ramp up as a Druid. Burning the Tree of Life cooldown however greatly reduces the burden of switching into an AoE healing mode. Once we've started getting HoTs out on all the targets, such as Tree of Life's lifebloom blanketing mode, we are a very effective party or raid healer. However fights don't always have heavy AoE damage, it tends to come in phases (for example, on Omnitron I only ever use Tree of Life on Magmatron, and the cooldown matches the spawning cycle perfectly). Once you get a second HoT on targets your ramp up is complete and you can heal that target more effectively. Casting Wild Growth prior to blanketing Rejvenations in a 5 man for instance is effective. Casting Wild Growth means that your Rejuvenation will benefit from Mastery. Then when Wild Growth is off cooldown, recast it and it will benefit from Mastery since Rejuvenation is on all the targets. Druid healing is always more effective if you can land multiple spells on your target that requires healing. In Tree of Life you would simply cycle Wild Growth and with Lifebloom instead, only using Rejuvenation if you need a Swiftmend (or the Effloresence of it for healing a cluster of people).

The key concept of being an effective Druid healer is getting that second heal on the target (unless damage is so small that it isn't necessary).

[Durà]

As a resto druid myself, I heal 10man raids.
I often top the charts, and I'm able to output very good HpS.
No, you are not broken, resto druids are infact very good healers, if they are played correctly.
If your group fails and blames you, simply be calm and explain why it isn't your fault.

[praetoria]

simple answer : no, infact they are op.

nuff said

[Bovinity]

I often top the charts, and I'm able to output very good HpS.

I'm still putting out high HPS, but in making the transition from normal to heroic mode raids, I really am feeling like HoT's just aren't cutting it for getting the raid topped off quickly. (And they do need to be topped off quickly for some mechanics.)

With the mana cost of Rejuvenation being what it is, and Wild Growth being on a cooldown, I really do feel less useful than other healers on fights where there's significant raid damage and there's no time to "wait around" for HoT's to tick on people.

I think someone on EJ may have hit the nail on the head when they said that druids might be the kings of throughput, but don't do as much useful healing on many encounters.

[Sapphirinia]

Druid heals are op in my resto shammy opinion. Any raid i do the druid heals better than everyone else. They also always have way more mana than the other healers. Actually, everytime i watched recount i wonder why as hard as i try, druid always beats my hps. Lol, made me start a druid to check it out. Also, raids often have druid healers. And i pug and run guild raids.

[Quinafoi]

Better players play better.

If I outheal Paladins and Priests as a Druid is that necessarily because Druids are too strong, or that simply I may be a stronger in skill and/or gear? A great many of class comparisons fall under the flawed perspective of player A beat player B, therefore player A's class is stronger. It may have nothing at all to do with the classes in this context, but rather the players themselves.