A Guide to Resto Shaman in Arena
I see Restoration Shaman as a rather underrepresented healer class. It seems like there are a lot more and better skilled healers that play other classes. To me this indicates that Resto is deceptively complicated to play and that many players do not understand the finer inner workings of the class.
To get around that problem I've come up with a lot of the dynamics of the game that present themselves in arena. If your teammates are both dropping in 3v3 do you use Chain Heal to keep them alive? Or do you use Earth Shield and Riptide the other player to slow down the damage. Maybe you have to use Grounding Totem first to prevent the enemy Mage from silencing, like they likely would if you had tried to cast a full Chain Heal from a vulnerable spot. Or maybe you have to go full recovery mode and use Nature's Swiftness, Bauble and follow it up with Gift of the Naaru.
Totems
I want to make a quick note and make sure that people understand that even when a Shaman is silenced they can still cast totems. It is a very effective use of your time while silenced to move into a better position and to place totems.
The default and most useful group of totems consists of Tremor, Healing Stream and Flametongue. This is the goto stack of totems that you will want to use most of the time.
My other two sets of totems are Tremor, Cleansing and Flametongue; Stoneclaw, Cleansing and Magma. If you want you can substitute Earthbind for Stoneclaw.
To explain these totem choices you have to understand that you can mitigate the effect that fears have on your team and that you can also remove the Death Knight diseases as well as the Rogue's Wound Poison that reduces healing by 50%.
Hypothetically if the enemy team has a Rogue and Death Knight as their DPS then Cleansing is vastly superior to Healing Stream. Removing poison-based healing reduction is of the highest priority, just as it would be if you could remove a Warrior's Mortal Strike from a target. Diseases are also the source of most the Death Knight's damage.
If you were fighting a Feral Druid and a Hunter you would want Cleansing Totem over Healing Stream. Sometimes with Shadow Priests it can also be good idea to use Cleansing. Or in the example of an aggressive Discipline Priest paired with a Hunter. Ultimately it is something you will have to figure out from experience and experimentation.
The Stoneclaw, Cleansing and Magma group of totems are useful either at the start of a match against a Rogue or if you happen to get ambushed by a Feral Druid. Magma will keep the Rogue in combat or even get them out of stealth. A well timed Fire Nova can knock a Rogue out of stealth if the Magma totem is in the correct spot. Another strategy for Melee DPS is to use Earthbind and Ghost Wolf to kite them and follow up with Riptide and Stoneclaw. You can either continue to let them chase you or fake cast in one spot while you continuously use Riptide and Stoneclaw as instant casts to deter damage. Interrupt Bar is an addon that helps with fake casting.
In all other circumstances having Healing Stream and Tremor is most beneficial.
Using only three totems and why
If you have just used Grounding Totem and then you move to another spot in the arena and proceed to place a totem set down what will happen is that the Grounding Totem will disappear and be replaced by whatever air totem you've selected to be in the group. For example you use Grounding Totem then you put down all your totems because you noticed most of them are missing. Wrath of Air will replace Grounding even though your Grounding Totem has yet to be absorb an enemy player's spell. You've just wasted Grounding in favor of a passive buff that comes from Wrath of Air. Putting down only three totems excluding the air totem prevents this from happening.
How to only use three totems
Have the default blizzard UI enabled by disabling all addons. Select a set of totems and click on the air totems. It should bring up a list of all the air totems that can be put into the set. Click on the purple empty slot. Test and make sure it works by using that totem set. If your character only uses three totems then it is functioning properly.
You have the above mentioned totems sets. Three foundational options to use in arena to engage different team compositions and handle them effectively. Other totems are to be used individually instead of as part of a group. You may need to also replace only one totem that has been destroyed and in order to conserve mana you place only that totem. It is a tough decision to know when you are wasting a global cooldown versus wasting mana in putting down all your totems at once. If you move to another area of the arena and all your totems are out of range then replace them as a whole. If only Tremor gets destroyed, being such a critical priority, you should quickly cast Tremor Totem to avoid being stuck in a fear.
Searing Totem has many uses. It can keep you in combat, keep a Rogue in combat, it can hurt and even kill enemy pets that are trained on you and it can also deter Melee DPS from sticking on you if you dispel their buffs and put a Flame Shock on them.
Grounding is a super tricky totem. Generally you want to be aware of its cooldown and use it for spells like Hex, Polymorph, Hammer of Justice and Repentance. You can also absorb Mana Burns or prevent Counterspell from silencing you by casting it just before a healing spell. Sometimes saving Grounding until it is absolutely necessary is better than just using it frequently when the cooldown is up. Instant spells will require you to either line of sight them or that you use Grounding Totem at the proper time. If a Priest casts Mind Control you can Wind Shear or place a Tremor Totem down. In other words save your Grounding Totem for the spells you can't Wind Shear and have both Grounding Totem and Wind Shear as an option to prevent from being Cycloned or Hexed.
Magma is very useful against rogues. A good defensive opener is to use Tremor, Cleansing and Magma and then to put Earth Shield on yourself or an ally. Put your back up against a pillar or a wall because the damage that a Rogue can do to to you is significantly less than if they are attacking you from behind. Magma Totem should be used with Fire Nova.
If a Rogue is sitting on you, but you can tell that they are trying to stealth and you have no way of getting back into combat, then you can place a Magma totem on the ground and stand on it. Follow up with Fire Nova. To plan ahead it is better to Flame Shock a Rogue, unless of course your teammates are taking heavy damage, and to keep them in combat that way. The advantage to Magma over Searing is that if the rogues vanishes then your Searing totem will do nothing to get them in combat and they can either use their stealth openers on you or get a Sap.
Mana Tide Totem has a five minute cooldown and that is precisely why I like to use it early so that I can use it again later on. If my mana pool gets close to 60% then I use Mana Tide unless I can get an opportunity to Ghost Wolf away and drink. Remember that Mana Tide can be destroyed in the same way that Innervate can be dispelled.
Stoneclaw Totem has a 21 second cooldown. The Glyph of Stoneclaw only works when Stoneclaw is used, so effectively you only get the extra armor buff every 21 seconds. A Stoneclaw Totem can be instantly replaced by Tremor and the buff from the glyph will still remain even if the totem that gave you the buff is gone. Keeping in mind that Riptide has a 6 second cooldown and that Earth Shield has 8 stacks that dissipate according to the speed of your enemy's damage; that should give you an idea of what you have to juggle and the timings of your primary spells.
Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem:
"Your Stoneclaw Totem also places a damage absorb shield on you, equal to 4 times the strength it places on your totems."
You may not want to waste time placing down a Healing Stream Totem. There are other times where it can be a very mana efficient way of keeping your teammates alive if the enemy DPS is low. Also if you get silenced you can place Healing Stream down; if your teammate use their defensives cooldowns and line of sight the enemy DPS then they should be fine once you can cast again.
Every time that there isn't an incredible amount of pressure on your teammates or yourself make sure that if you have Earth Shield on someone other than yourself that you apply Water Shield. I have my interface alert me when I don't have Water Shield and I'm in combat in arena. You will find that using one extra global cooldown to apply Water Shield is worth it especially in conjunction with Mana Tide and Mana Spring. The idea is that you constantly re-apply Water Shield at all times unless the fighting is too intense. If you get to about 65% of your mana pool and you find that you are still in combat then put down Mana Tide and once it has expired follow it up with Mana Spring. I recommend using Mana Tide early and when the enemy DPS is distracted. You can also hide it behind pillars or around corners to make it less likely to be targeted. Do not wait until you have only 30% of your mana supply to start using Mana Spring and Water Shield as they aren't a "backup plan" to save you from managing mana poorly.
Primary Healing Spells
Earth Shield is your bread and butter. One very good trick to use is to apply Earth Shield not after it has expired but shortly before. Have an addon tell you when Earth Shield has less than 3 stacks. Or less than 2 stacks. If the Melee DPS on your team is taking heavy damage and is far away from you then you don't want there to be a lapse in them having Earth Shield. It is worth it mana wise to waste 2 stacks of Earth Shield in order to keep them protected.
Riptide is a complex spell. It is not the Shaman's version of Renew. Riptide instantly heals the target for the same amount that it applies a 15-second HoT. Yet in 6 seconds Riptide is able to be used again and will once more instantly heal for that amount. Not only should you use Riptide almost every time the spells is available but also understand the other buffs it gives you.
Tidal Waves:
"Cast time of next Healing wave reduced by 30%. Critical effect chance of next Lesser Healing Wave increased by 25%."
In short you can quickly cast Healing Wave. A good combination would be Lesser Healing Wave, followed by Riptide and then lastly Healing Wave. What this will do is have Lesser Healing Wave trigger and end the first global cooldown. Riptide can be used in the same GCD. Then once you've casted Riptide Healing Wave will be able to be casted faster than normal. You could also use Tidal Force or Heroism to make crits more likely and to increase casting haste.
Cleanse Spirit is better than Cure Toxins. There is no need to use Cure Toxins at any point as Cleanse Spirit will remove all the same debuffs including curses.
I recommend a macro like the following;
/cast [harm] Purge; [help] Cleanse Spirit
This macro will purge enemy targets and cleanse allies.
Chain Heal is very difficult to know when to use and generally is best when your teammates are close together and when you aren't the target of interrupts. Tidal Force is a very good combination with Chain Heal.
/castsequence Tidal Force, Chain Heal
/cast Chain Heal
This will both use Tidal Force instantly, saving a global cooldown, before casting Chain Heal and then while Tidal Force is on cooldown it will only cast Chain Heal.
Make sure to apply Earthliving Weapon and check before an arena that that you have it as a buff.
Nature's Swiftness, Bauble and Gift of the Naaru can be used to instantly bring up a teammates health. Remember that even Riptide and Grounding Totem can do the trick to save a teammate if you are out of options.
Offensive Options
Destroying enemy totems with shocks or a melee attacks is very necessary. Don't think that just because your teammates have a pet and are DPS that they can take the time to remove an enemy Tremor Totem placed close by. If it means getting too close to and thus vulnerable to enemy CC, then just wait and stay in a safer spot. Otherwise help your teammates by destroying enemy totems like Tremor and Earthbind. Elemental Shaman's Earthbind will keep your Warrior from doing any damage at all because you can't dispel magical roots. The solution is to Flame Shock or melee Earthbind.
Using Purge and Wind Shear is fundamental to winning. You can Purge your team's focus target and Wind Shear the healer. As I mentioned above, if you dispel a Melee DPS who is targeting you and is far away from their healer then a fast swap by your allies can quickly kill them. If you put a Searing Totem next to you, Flame Shock them and then purge them of their buffs then they are extremely vulnerable and will either retreat to their healer or risk staying on you and dieing.
Use Blood Lust or Heroism right after the enemy teams does it unless your arena partners are capable of playing defensively and hiding until the enemy has their Heroism buff expire. It is difficult to know when to use Heroism but often it is best to use it when healers are being torn between healing two targets, or when a Mage comes out of Ice Block and the team is struggling, or right after a Holy Paladin has used Divine Shield and Aura Mastery.
Heroism can also be used in a defensive manner to increase spell haste so that you cast healing spells faster. Additionally this can turn the tide and make your team on the offensive so that enemy players have to cast defensive spells and they won't be able to pressure your team.
Understanding your enemy's team composition is essential to using Hex correctly. If you come up against Rogue/Mage/Priest then you have to decide if it is better suited to Hex the Mage, who is the only one who can dispel curses, or if is better to Hex the Rogue to drastically reduce damage or to Hex the Disc Priest when their allies are low health. Logic dictates that it would be most effective to Hex the Mage, however, given the fact that you need to line of sight the Mage and that you may not be close enough to cast Hex on them it is often a matter of what opportunity presents itself. The other option is not to Hex at all as it has a chance of being reflected back to the caster.
Hexing a Warrior is generally never a good idea because of Spell Reflect. All Druids can dispel curses, Mages can dispel curses and Resto Shamans can dispel curses. Paladins, Ele/Enh Shamans and all other classes cannot dispel curses. With that in mind you are going to have to decide when and who it is best to Hex knowing who can remove it. If you for example Hex a Disc Priest and the Feral Druid on their team has to shapeshift and run over to them then you've prevented a lot of damage from happening and ruined their pressure. Even though your Hex was able to be dispelled it still was effective.
Healers can also take damage while in a Hex as opposed to CC like Polymorph. This means that if you Hex the enemy healer and they are at 20% health before you've Hexed them that they won't have any options to heal themselves. This is also useful in forcing trinkets and Divine Shield.
Never underestimate using Flame Shock and following it up with Lava Burst. Even if you aren't a Disc Priest you can still do a lot offensively.
Miscellaneous things to be aware of and Conclusion
Apply Water Walking before the arena starts to protect your other buffs from being dispelled.
Be careful of being Hibernated when you go into Ghost Wolf form. It is similar to a Banish when a Druid is in tree form and you cannot shapeshift back to your normal form to remove the debuff like how a Druid can remove Polymorph by shapeshifting into tree form.
Two addons that are extremely beneficial to a Resto Shaman are Koko Stomp Alert and Koko Totem Timers. Power Auras and Interrupt Bar can also help to give you more visual information.
These are the talents and glyphs I recommend to use.
https://wotlk.evowow.com/?talent#hZM...svkbIRt:jqLmcV
If you are curious about what gear to use and how much of a certain stat to have like haste, spell penetration or hit rating then refer to the top Restoration Shamans in Soloque.
https://armory.warmane.com/ladder/SoloQ/Blackrock
I think it is important to understand that Restoration Shamans have very powerful mana recovery. You can almost always be regenerating mana if you plan accordingly. One thing to consider is having Earth Shield on a teammate instead of yourself. The advantage to that is being able to constantly have Water Shield.
Using Mana Spring, Mana Tide, Totemic Recall and drinking when you are out of combat will work well to keep your mana pool up. Be aggressive and use the offensive abilities that you have, however, understand that you can always play with the goal in mind of beating the enemy healer in terms of mana. The pattern is to interrupt casts with Wind Shear, put a wrench in their plans by using Hex, purging the focus target and use Heroism when the enemy team is weak. If those things fail make sure that you have been conservative and thoughtful about your mana supply and you'll find a lot of arena matches going your way due to foresight.
