Alright, I have to come clean, there really isn’t a rotation to Healing as a Restoration Druid so the title of this post is misleading.  Healing is very situational and depends on a number of factors, so attempting to follow a pre-canned rotation just won’t work.  However, there are some tips that can help maximize your performance. 

Tip #1: Druid healing is proactive not reactive

The majority of Druid Healing Spells are Heal over Time (HoT) spells, this means that if we wait until our target really needs a heal before casting a spell on them, it is probably already too late.  Druid Healing is much more effective once our HoTs are already on our Target.  To better understand this, let’s look at the four Druid spells that have a big heal component: Regrowth , Nourish , Healing Touch , and the “Bloom” of a Lifebloom .   Regrowth’s big heal component isn’t big, but the Glyph of Regrowth  makes this effect stronger if the Regrowth HoT is already on your Target.  Nourish is similar to a Glyphed Regrowth, except that it gets stronger when any other Druid HoT is on the Target. This effect can be further increased with the Glyph of Nourish .  Healing Touch is the only reactive spell Druids have, but it is slooooow and is rarely ever used when not in combination with Nature’s Swiftness .  The final spell is the bloom of Lifebloom, which gets stronger as you stack more Lifeblooms and only occurs when Lifebloom has run its course.  It should be fairly obvious from these brief descriptions that our spells are designed for proactive healing.

Tip #2: Revitalize   boosts DPS output

Revitalize has a chance to restore a small amount of mana, runic power, rage, or energy with each tick of a Wild Growth or Rejuvenation .  This is a great added benefit for the DPSers when they get a heal, however there is no reason why Rejuvenation could not be proactively placed on a DPSer to help sustain their DPS output.  While it is not realistic or mana efficient to attempt to keep a Rejuvenation on all DPSers at all times, this technique can be very helpful to Rogues and our Kitty brethren.

 Tip #3: You can cast Wild Growth on any target

And by any target I don’t just mean any friendly target.  Casting Wild Growth on a Boss, for instance, is an excellent way to heal Tanks and Melee DPS.  Wild Growth will heal the 5 (or 6 with the Glyph of Wild Growth ) friendly targets that are in most need of a heal within 15 yards of the spell’s target.  Tanks and Melee DPS are usually always within 15 yards of the Boss but are normally not grouped together.  Raid Bosses are also usually BIG targets making them easy to click on (or mouse over) in the heat of combat.

Tip #4: Keep Regrowth on the Tanks at all times

The HoT component of Regrowth stays on the target for a long time, 21 seconds to be exact, and it is actually this duration that makes it so useful.  Keeping a Regrowth on the Tanks at all times allows for a quicker response to situations when the Tanks suddenly find themselves in danger.  The presence of a single HoT make Nourish 20% stronger and enables the use of Swiftmend , both of these spells are critical when the Tank needs a quick big heal.  The fact that Regrowth stays on the target for so long, means you aren’t recasting it as often.