#0 - Sept. 6, 2007, 4:44 p.m.
Some of you are probably wondering who the flippin’ eck I am. Well, I’ll tell you. I’m no one special. I’m not an expert theorycrafter, I’m not an uber player, not in a BT/MH guild, not in a 2100+ rated arena team. If you don’t believe that someone in this position can offer some advice, or some tips, or try to help other people then stop reading now. I can live without the flaming.
Nehoo, enough with the proverbial horse pucky. This is a RESTO Arena guide for those who want some new tips, or a little help in understanding where our skills in the arenas actually are!
Step 1: Picking the correct spec.
Unfortunately for us a 0/0/61 PvE spec doesn’t suit us well in PvP and Arenas. You are wasting a lot of points in very non-PvP talents and will probably take you so far and not much further (skill dependant of course).
If you are a true blood PvP healer you need to consider all the talents that will make use of our versatility and survivability. Takes all the essential Resto tree talents for HoT’s, instant heals, and versatility you will need when the opposing team is trying its very best to CC you. Also take a few needed survival talents in both the Balance tree and the Feral tree.
Balance Points:
> Improved Natures Grasp: Brilliant tool in pvp if there’s a rogue/warrior/shammy beating on you. Pop into bear form; nip out of LoS of his healer/dispeller and insta root him. Also helps with Warlocks Felguards.
> Control of Nature: Despite people complaining about Cyclone being less than perfect, and Roots being a sub par CC device this is still an essential talent. As long as you don’t SPAM your CC, and have a teammate with some form of CC you can rotate out of diminishing returns very effectively. Thus removing an opposing player for a significant amount of the battle.
> Natures Reach: This talent gives you the ability to Root, Cyclone, Moonfire and Faerie Fire outside of the range of Fears, Counterspells and silence effects. Any range we can gain on lock down skills as these can be vital to winning a match.
Feral Points:
> Feral Aggression: You generally don’t have a whole lot of use for Rage as a Resto Druid in PvP. If your in bear form you are either using feral charge to interrupt a caster, using it to escape from taking a beating, or just generally getting wailed on. Throw out a quick Demoralising Roar. If your getting hit then chances are you will have plenty of rage. Every little helps in this game as far as survivability goes. This won’t do a heck of a lot, but even a small damage reduction in damage from melee classes helps.
> Thick Hide: Despite what you may think this talent does help with incoming melee damage reduction. I have approx 16k armour in bear form in my PvP Resto gear. That’s a 60% reduction on incoming damage. Just that extra little edge gives you the added protection to perhaps survive an extra few hits. Rogues damage on me in Bear form combined with resilience is sometimes pretty laughable.
> Brutal Impact: Every little counts in the stuns game. Be it Pounce or Bash.
> Feral charge: The other three talents are possibly considered by some as just filler points for this 1 talent that I would consider essential as a Resto Druid in arenas. It has a huge amount of usability. Interrupt spell casts; keep an enemy in one position for a short period of time, using it to get out of range of melee opponents by targeting an enemy and then popping into Travel form.
Resto Points:
> Furor: Essential in order to get off Feral Charge. Nuff said. Improved MoTW for arenas as far as I’m concerned is a waste of 5 talent points better used further down the Resto tree.
> Natures Focus: 70% Chance to reduce interruptions whilst casting your Regrowths. Must have.
> Natural Shapeshifter: You’re a hybrid, you WILL be shapeshifting a lot.
> Subtlety: Im not sure some people would even consider this as a talent for PvP. But
reducing the chance that your HoT’s will be dispelled is a huge advantage. Having a Felhunter chewing your furry behind all through an arena match devouring your HoT’s is not a pleasant experience.
Please Note: This talent also affects non-healing spells such as Moonfire's DoT component, Entangling Roots, Insect swarm and Faerie Fire.
> Swiftmend: An obvious one. I’ve had Swiftmend crit for 4-5k on rogues and warlocks.
> Improved Regrowth: You might not be able to get Regrowth off an awful amount in Arenas other than the initial few. But when it hits you need it to hit for as much as possible. Especially with healing debuffs such as Mortal Strike or Wound Poison.
> Natures Swiftness: With a 3 min cooldown on this spell you really need to be carefull when this get’s used. I would almost say this should be reserved 100% of the time for Healing Touch. In normal PvP however it can be nice to throw a NS Cyclone on a flag carriers healer for example.
> Natural Perfection: This one kind of explains itself. Combined with a decent amount of Resilience it makes a nice dent on the incoming Crit damage. This however is only applicable up to 300 resilience. See this post for more info:
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=508261453&sid=1
> Empowered Rejuvination: Your mainstay is HoT’s. If they tick for more, there’s more chance of your teammates staying alive.
Recommended Specs:
8/11/42 :- 'Cookie Cutter' PvP Resto
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=MzjZVMhoZVVIxcq0xsh
12/11/38 :- Kheletarr (New and improved)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0zjM0bZVMhoZVmIxcq0hRh
This spec gives you the ability to Cyclone and Root opposing players outside of the normal sheep/CS/fear range. For this you sacrifice a small amount of healing from your HoT's and one point in Natural Perfection (not an issue if you're over 300 Resilience) but still retain all the essential talents in the Resto Tree.
12/0/49 :- Loneya
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=MzjM0bZZVVIxcqMesx
This keeps a strong healing ability and utility, but removes the Feral talents. If you avoid jumping into Bear form and dont consider it as part of your arsenal this might be a preferable spec for you.
