In the end, all five of the Healer classes in World of Warcraft: Order of the Dead will function, although some will always be superior to others due to spell diversity and utility.
A strong party is built on its healers, who can bolster their comrades and keep them alive, whether they’re battling elite creatures or other players. There is no specific spec that should be avoided when playing a SoD healer in World of Warcraft; all healers are capable of doing the job well.
However, some healers are more useful to a group or possess a more potent and varied range of healing spells. Shamans, for instance, don’t have the HPS of a priest or Paladin, but they still have advantages of their own for the group. The endgame PvE and PvP capabilities of each class are taken into consideration when ranking the greatest healers in WoW SoD; however, this is subject to change when new phases are released.
Updated by Erik Petrovich on February 24, 2024: The second phase of the World of Warcraft Season of Discovery has begun, and several classes have seen a significant change in efficacy. The greatest WoW SoD healers aren’t the same classes as in Phase One at Level 40, yet priests continue to be the most effective because more classes have their class-defining skills combined with new runes. The healing meta at level 40 and new Phase Two Runes have been added to this list of the top WoW SoD healers. It will also be updated with further changes when new Season of Discovery phases become available.
Mage: A Valuable Wild Card Healer for Specific Compositions
In the Season of Discovery, mages get the opportunity to take on the role of Healer for the first time. With the help of three new runes, mages may use Temporal Beacons to target friends and heal them in proportion to the damage they deal. When used skillfully, a healing mage may heal many targets at once or the whole party.
The issue with mage healing is that it’s still relatively new in World of Warcraft, and there aren’t many class talents that mages have by default that would help elevate it. Phase One and Phase Two benefits of bringing a mage healer are the same. They have fewer benefits for team usefulness, but their healing is comparable to that of other classes. They do, however, have by far the most DPS of any healer.
While a mage healer doesn’t replenish party members, they may effectively perform as a DPS with more advanced runes like Living Flame and Living Bomb. Mages are particularly skilled at doing AoE damage. Phase Two did not leave this new spec out, as they now have a new, substantial healing option thanks to the Chronostatic Preservation Rune.
However, healers are always in great demand, so even though Mage healers aren’t as good as they were in Phase One, you won’t have any trouble getting into groups despite their relative weaknesses.
Shaman Healing Still Needs Improvement and Depends on AoE
Through the Restoration spec, Shamans can take on one of the three responsibilities of the Healer in World of Warcraft: Second Order. Despite the fact that no healer in the Season of Discovery is unsuitable for endgame material, Restoration Shamans at Level 25 have the least powerful toolkit. They’re in much better shape at level forty, especially with the addition of new runes like Ancestral Awakening, which instantly applies critical heals to party members with low HP.
Because of the class’s reliance on totems, it can be challenging to sustain healing during high-mobility battles; however, the new skill book Totemic Projection greatly helps to minimize this. More emphasis is placed on AoE healing than individual healing in the restoration tree and rotation. This is advantageous in battles when a large number of party members will be damaged, but it is unsatisfactory when bosses target only the tank.
A Shaman won’t deal as much damage as a Priest or Mage if they don’t heal, but it doesn’t help that they have one of the weakest spell lists among ranged casters. Restoration Shamans aren’t the worst SoD healers per se; they’re simply not as good or efficient as other alternatives just now.
- Paladin
- A Good Option, Though Not As Strong As In Phase One
When it came to being the top SoD healer class in Phase One, Paladins and Priests were almost equal because they could both provide a group with excellent endgame Phase One content assistance. However, with the introduction of Phase Two, Paladins have lagged somewhat behind Priests, who provide somewhat greater utility.
Runes like Inspiration Exemplar and Beacon of Light elevate an already excellent support class during the Season of Discovery. Phase Two’s new runes aren’t as powerful as those available to druids and priests, and other healer classes now have access to more helpful support spells than paladins.
Due to their array of blessings, Paladins are possibly the strongest general party support class. However, Druids’ (Wild Strikes for melee) and Priests’ (Power Word: Fortitude) more specialized buffs are more potent than what Paladins can provide in Phase Two.
Druid
Nearly the Greatest Healer—It Just Lacks Dispel and Stamina Buffs
Restoration Druids are only passable healers in Classic Wow. Druids are quite good at AoE healing and provide the best continuous healing over time, even if they lack the party usefulness and debuffs that the Paladin or Priest classes have.
The Druids lag behind in that they cannot, in an emergency, heal a single victim that has suffered a significant HP loss, and their new runes from Phase One didn’t significantly increase their healing capacity. Priests received the Prayer of Mending and Penance, while Paladins received the Beacon of Light, which practically doubles their healing output. Compared to Druids, both classes provided more party value.
But apart from priests, Druids are now the most potent raid healers in SoD thanks to Phase Two, which brings new runes and abilities at Level 40.
Their new skill books, the Nourish Rune, and their Phase One Rune, Wild Growth, have all been shown to be extremely potent in practically all endgame group gameplay. In addition, Druids provide their own buffs and the very necessary Wild Strikes bonus for melee DPS. Their limitations include not being able to dispel specific effects like a priest and not being able to fully match Power Word: Fortitude’s potency and raid-wide usefulness.
Priest
Still The Best Healer Class in SoD Phase Two
Despite several improvements to other classes’ support skills, priests continue to be the greatest SoD healers in Phase Two for a few crucial reasons. With its assortment of spells that fit practically every healing scenario, the class was already the finest healer in WoW Classic, and now that it has the new Priest SoD Runes, it’s even better.
One of the strongest spells available to priests is Penance, which they get during their Level 2 introductory rune quest. Priests’ AoE healing powers are greatly enhanced by Circle of Healing and Prayer of Mending, and both Serendipity and Strength of Soul are potent passive additions to players’ current spell lists.
Priests received the Shadowfiend skill book in Phase Two, which strengthened their mana regeneration problems in battle, along with a rune that amplifies the effects of Power Word: Fortitude. Dispersion is an excellent technique to avoid taking damage, remove debuffs, and continue healing, and the Pain Suppression Rune is one of the finest emergency defensives in the game.
A crucial skill for priests is Dispel Magic, which takes away an ally’s negative affect. This ability is great for both endgame PvE and PvP. Similar abilities are only available to healers at Level 42 (Cleanse), and they are not available to Paladins at all. Of all the healing classes in WoW Classic, they have the strongest AoE, defenses, emergency mega-heals, and overall support toolbox. Priests remain the best healers, but other healers are fine and will survive endgame stuff.