Healer Rankings for Vault of the Incarnates Raid - Dragonflight Season 1 Tier List

Posted 2022/11/28 at 3:41 PM by tettles

Disclaimers About This Tier ListTime SpiralMark of the WildDevotion AuraRaid BuffsMark of the WildMystic TouchDevotion AuraPower Word: FortitudeMark of the WildSkyfurySkyfurydoes notthe relative strength of each healing spec on its own meritsHealer Tier List for Raids in Midnight Season 1How We Ranked the SpecsPlease note:

S: These specs don't have many downsides and would fit well into any comp. These specs are often numerically stronger than the rest.

A: These specs are good numerically and bring everything you'd want from a Healer.

B: These specs are solid and can provide enough healing and useful cooldowns to be a credit to the raid team, but they lack some element of damage, damage reduction effects, or extraordinary throughput that the above tiers have.

C: These specs lack either the cooldowns or the throughput to compete with the rest of the specs numerically.

D: * These specs have serious survivability issues that require an exceptionally high degree of player skill and/or tactical sacrifices to kill bosses.

F: * These specs have horrifying weaknesses and are in immediate need of developer attention. We’d be surprised to see them played in many raid compositions at all.

* There are no Healers in this tier.Healer Ranking and Explanations for Raids in Midnight Season 1S-Tier Specs for Season 1 Raids

Restoration Druids are gaining more power back in core spells Rejuvenation and Wild Growth. Healing from Restoration Druid has in recent expansions toed the line of a "jack-of-all-trades" playstyle with smaller burst windows on a 1 minute cooldown. In Midnight we can expect this to be less true, with them moving closer to a sustain healer, with options for some burst healing on a 1 minute or 3 minute cooldown. Their tier set further buffs Wild Growth. Their Apex talent can provide some additional, mostly passive healing through Lifebloom - but several builds do not take the Apex talent as it is fairly weak. Restoration Druids have more agency over their healing than others on this list. They are capable of great throughput and are expected to be an integral part of any healing core in Midnight.

Restoration Druids can struggle with movement during Regrowth ramp healing periods, but outside this do well in high-movement encounters. They also provide raid movement utility with Stampeding Roar and an external, Ironbark. Restoration Druids have decent survivability and can lean on Bear Form when necessary. They also need to manage their mana during longer encounters; utilizing the new Master Shapeshifter talent allows them to regenerate mana by doing damage.

Restoration Druid is one of the best providers of Mark of the Wild, as their healing profile allows them to easily fill gaps in most healing compositions. They are versatile healers capable of incredibly high throughput. Their healing kit is especially good on later encounters that require a mix of priority and burst healing.

Mistweaver Monk is received moderate changes in Midnight, with their core gameplay changing little - several of their changes eliminated buffs and interactions that caused the specialization feel less straightforward. Mistweavers primarily heal through spreading Renewing Mist and cleaving Vivify onto those targets. During high damage periods, they can do decent burst healing by spreading Enveloping Mist during Invoke Yu'lon, the Jade Serpent windows. Mistweaver's Apex Talents Spiritfont brings back some relevance to Soothing Mist. They also have the option to forego their Apex Talent in favor of a build centered around Sheilun's Gift, on fights that require priority healing. Having access to several strong talent builds with different healing profiles has made them highly dominant in Midnight Season 1.

While relatively mobile, Mistweavers can struggle without a Spatial Paradox if there is movement during an Invoke Yu'lon, the Jade Serpent window. They have respectable survivability, and when they aren't in a ramp window, great mobility. They can be mana hungry if they don't properly play around their Mana Tea. Their largest weakness is their lack of raid utility or damage reduction, making them highly reliant on throughput for a raid spot.

Outside of bringing Mystic Touch, Monk's raid utility is relatively weak compared to the other Healers. Mistweaver is capable of highly effective throughput, and versatile due to having several strong talent builds to choose from. A knowledgeable Mistweaver is a very strong addition to any roster in Midnight Season 1.

A-Tier Specs for Season 1 Raids

Preservation Evoker established itself as a premier burst throughput healer in the War Within. In Midnight, they still hold that capability, though neutered. Preservation Evoker primarily heals through spreading Reversion, using the Echos left on players touched by Temporal Anomaly. Reversion is more powerful in Midnight due to their Apex Talent adding a secondary effect to the spell, Merithra's Blessing. With ample Reversion coverage of the raid, Preservation Evoker does good sustain healing. Rewind is one of the best throughput cooldowns available for burst healing. Preservation Evokers are capable of great throughput, especially in the highest tiers of content, due to much of their healing scaling with damage taken.

Preservation Evoker's biggest weakness is its shorter range and reliance on the raid being stacked for healing. They possess great durability with two charges of Obsidian Scales and can help some members of the raid with Zephyr. Time Spiral is a unique raid cooldown that can feel required on heavy movement encounters. Preservation Evoker does struggle with mana efficiency in longer encounters.

Preservation Evoker brings unique utility and good throughput. They do particularly well in higher tier content, as their healing scales with damage taken. They struggle to provide any meaningful single target healing and are the only healer to not bring a "required" raid buff. They are capable of incredibly high throughput, but encounters in Midnight Season 1 put a strong emphasis on priority healing, which Preservation Evoker struggles with.

Discipline Priest is receiving moderate changes in Midnight. These help to simplify a specialization that canonically has been regarded as more advanced. Discipline Priest is well known for its burst throughput; they do this by spreading several Atonements and activating their main cooldown, Evangelism. In Midnight, that set up portion is now much easier due to Evangelism having a Power Word: Radiance cast baked into it, and instant casts of the spell to spend afterward. The resulting "burst" healing is neutered relative to past expansions. Discipline Priests gain more sustain healing from two charges of Penance in their Oracle Hero Talent tree. More Penance casts result in more Void Shield upgrades to Power Word: Shield, a new addition from their new Apex Talents. Discipline Priest is capable of both good healing and damage, but has a lower throughput ceiling than other healers on this list.

While instant casts and more Penances may help, Discipline Priest will still struggle with high movement encounters. It is not uncommon to see spells like Rescue, Blessing of Spellwarding, and Spatial Paradox regularly assigned to them. These spells also aid in their survivability, which is lacking compared to other Healers on this list. Pain Suppression is one of the most powerful externals available and can be used as an extra defensive when necessary. Healer damage has not been as relevant in the War Within as in expansions past, but it is still worth noting that Priest brings Power Infusion. They do the most passive damage of any healer on this list and won't struggle with mana issues.

Discipline Priest fills a strong niche with it's burst throughput and damage in Midnight. If necessary, Discipline Priests have access to another healing specialization, making them more versatile choice for a raid roster. Discipline Priest is a reliable and great choice for Midnight Season 1.

B-Tier Specs for Season 1 Raids

Holy Paladin is returning to a reworked Light of Dawn playstyle, with a more meaningful builder-spender rotation. Compared to other healers on this list, they are losing very little in Midnight, with a play style similar to recent expansions. Holy Paladins generate Holy Power through Holy Shock and to spend on Eternal Flame and Light of Dawn; this healing then feeds into Beacon of Light. Their new apex talents and tier set bonus's increase the amount of Beacon of Light-type healing that is already their signature Beacon of the Savior. Holy Paladins have gained more agency over their healing and lost some of their burst healing capability compared to the War Within. They are solid healers with good throughput and great utility.

Holy paladin is well known for its unique utility, especially Aura Mastery. On several encounters, Beacon of Light has been critical for keeping vulnerable ranged DPS alive. Blessing of Protection can be used to bypass some mechanics and debuffs. Holy Paladin is the only Healer with an immunity, Divine Shield, and have decent survivability cooldowns. Similar to Priests, they can struggle with mobility. They also need to pay attention to their mana, especially on longer encounters.

Holy Paladins struggle with mana and can fall behind other healers in throughput. However, they bring incredible utility, and are capable incredible priority healing. A season Holy Paladin player can bring a lot of utility to the roster - however, they easily fall behind in throughput.

Holy Priest is receiving large changes, including the loss of Symbol of Hope. Several of the changes combat priest button bloat, like making Renew a passive effect to be applied through other spells. Holy Priest healing focuses on harnessing cooldown reduction effects on powerful Holy Words spells, namely Holy Word: Serenity in Midnight. This spell can be buffed by a new talent Ultimate Serenity, making Holy Word: Serenity into a powerful single-target and splash healing tool on a short cooldown. Prayer of Healing is also great for splash healing with no cooldown, though mana intense. Holy Priests Apex Talent upgrades Flash Heal to Benediction, which synergizes with their tier set to summon a Divine Image. Overall, Holy Priests have strong splash healing and good sources of single-target healing; they are primarily held back by mana consumption.

Priest is a class that has traditionally struggled with high-movement encounters, of which Midnight Season 1 has several. Rescue, Blessing of Spellwarding, and Spatial Paradox are regularly assigned to Holy Priests to channel Divine Hymn. Healer damage has not been as relevant in the War Within as in expansions past, but it is still worth noting that they provide Power Infusion. While Holy priest survivability is relatively weak, Restitution acts as a cheat death giving them a safety net.

If necessary, Holy Priests have access to another healing specialization, making them a more versatile for a raid roster. While it isn't always realistic to expect a player to have the gear and aptitude to swap specs throughout the raid, this makes prioritizing a Priest on a raid roster more appealing. Holy Priests are capable of great throughput, but are vulnerable and mana hungry.

Restoration Shaman is losing several core spells and utility in Midnight, including Ancestral Protection. Despite this, Restoration Shaman still plays relatively the same; it is a fairly straightforward kit. They do passive healing through their primary totem Healing Stream and placing Healing Rain. They do more direct healing casting Healing Wave, Riptide and Chain Heal on allies. Their Apex Talent is particularly strong, upgrading Healing Stream to Stormstream Totem. Restoration Shaman is a pliable healer that doesn't shine in any one area. While this makes them versatile, they are expected to fall short in throughput and utility compared to above healers on this list.

Restoration Shaman brings a uniquely powerful raid cooldown Spirit Link. They excel in high movement environments due to Spiritwalker's Grace. Restoration Shaman has decent survivability with one of the strongest personals, Astral Shift. They can run into mana problems when casting Chain Heal.

Restoration Shaman's steady throughput can make them a welcome addition to rounding out any healing roster. Guilds shouldn't hesitate to have a knowledgeable Restoration Shaman player on their team. Their lack of healer identity can hold them back from being "meta", but are more than capable of filling any niche needed on a healing roster.

C-Tier Specs for Season 1 Raidsclass tuning

Comment by SnahkstraszaCan your healer heal?, then they are a good healer *snores*Comment by CrippsterSWhy is Tettles doing a healer tier list? The reasoning here and blind assingment of A for Disc and Holy due to DR shows it... with the 40% health addition there is going to be unlikely any burst dmg where DR is going to be necessary (more good to have). Can we have someone who actually heals do these tierlist? ^^Comment by HathlockLiterally the last person on the planet you would want to try an write a healing tier list even if it is just for clicksComment by Kiezklatsche"It is not to be understated, but one of the big advantages of playing Holy Priest is the ability to be able to spec Discipline potentially on some fights as well."

As a die hard Holy, i straight up want to punch him in the face for that sentence alone. Not even talking his reasoning behind most and completely ignoring other points. Let someone that actually heals do that list..Comment by OldGromm*new expansion is all about the elements.*
*Shaman class is last on the list.*

Seems legit.Comment by ComeAndSeeResto Shaman... C tier? Wow! I hope that gets looked into.

The fact that there's no S-tier, 2 healers are A-tier, and the rest are B-tier means there's not a massive difference in healer performance...Comment by ScaryfoxI know this is a meme list since at least the other two had S-Tiers. Of course, i wouldn't be surprised if Tettles goes by meters, even though there are numerous factors that can explain poor performance.Comment by SchattensangBlizzard says a lot about making this expansion a lot less bursty and even goes so far as to buff overall player-health and with it to make it even more obvious. Yet this whole thing talks all about burst healing? Something doesn't really add up with this.

And considering that Preservation has one of the most ridiculous anti-burst healing tools available, after straight up damage reduction, yet still falls flat is really weird.Comment by PriestVolkovyoure still in tears over Preservation range, just don't heal. 30yrds is 0% an issue. being stacked is nice, but if u...idk....read learn ur spells....you don't need everyone stacked......another dumb ass making dumb ass tier lists LOL