Restoration Shaman

The priority

1. Healing Tide Totem — when the whole group is hurt
2. Spirit Link Totem — when four or more allies are hurt
3. Riptide — when the tank drops low
4. Healing Surge — when the tank is low
5. Chain Heal — when three or more allies are hurt
6. Healing Rain — before group damage, or when several are hurt
7. Earth Shield — when it’s not on the tank
8. Healing Stream Totem — when it is ready
9. Riptide — on a hurt ally
10. Healing Wave — with tidal waves, on a hurt ally
11. Healing Wave — on a hurt ally
12. Flame Shock — when everyone is healthy
13. Lava Burst — when everyone is healthy
14. Lightning Bolt — when everyone is healthy

Common mistakes

• Healing Wave without Tidal Waves.
• Chain Heal on one hurt ally.
• Forgetting Healing Stream Totem and Healing Rain.

What’s simplified

• Each turn is one decision (about one global cooldown). Cooldowns and buff durations are converted to turns, so timing is approximate.
• SimulationCraft doesn’t model healing, so these priorities are our own, written from Blizzard’s spell tooltips and long-standing healing practice. Costs, cooldowns and durations come from Blizzard’s spell data. Treat it as a starting point, not a final word.
• The party is five allies. Injuries, a low tank and incoming group damage are scripted moments in each lesson, not a full health model: heals move allies from injured to healthy, and overhealing is not tracked.
• Riptide gives 2 Tidal Waves; each makes your next Healing Wave or Healing Surge faster.
• Earth Shield lasts the whole lesson once it’s on the tank.
• There is no external defensive for the tank here, so Resto Shaman lessons have no "big hit" moments; a low tank is saved with Riptide and Healing Surge.
• Cooldowns in turns: Riptide 2 charges every 4, Lava Burst 5, Healing Rain 8, Healing Stream Totem 20, Spirit Link Totem 120, Healing Tide Totem 120.

Sources

• SimulationCraft: Spell data dump, build 12.1.5.70391 (Oct 16, 2026)
• Blizzard Entertainment: Spell tooltips and Game Data API (spells) (Oct 13, 2026)
• Warcraft Secrets: Patch 12.1.5 content update notes (class changes) (Oct 13, 2026)

A party heal with Earth Shield on the tank. Unleash Life, Ascendance and hero talent effects are not modeled. Reviewed Oct 20, 2026. A training aid, not a damage simulator.