@Runycat and Ruminarthr: I’ll have to try ToL on our next Lurker attempt. I just know that I have enough trouble getting back onto that stupid wooden ring so if it’s any more difficult, it wouldn’t work for me. =D

I still think that what makes a resto druid special isn’t the aura or the buffs but rather our method of healing itself, and that alone is what makes us raid viable (and highly sought after, despite the fact that resto shamans are ridiculously overpowered with chain heal). What other class can keep a main tank topped off just by utilizing a HoT rotation?

And a quick note on Lurker–I actually do stay in tree form for that entire fight and do all right. Mobility issues that I originally had (when I was MTing, funny enough) disappeared when I got a new computer and my framerate improved. For some reason, SSC was always a ridiculous utility whore, and before I got my new PC, I used to get something like 10 FPS in there. I obviously don’t know if that’s part of the issue, but if it is, maybe you should ask Mr. P for a new vid card for Christmas instead of a figurine. >_>

I’m also a recent victim of the spell haste ridiculousness; I recently picked up the Botanist’s Gloves of Growth from BT, and even though they’re a larger raw +Heal upgrade (and add more STA for that matter, which becomes very very important) I may go back to my Tier 5 so that I get the two piece set bonus again, nevermind the mana regen and SPI. Very strange itemization.

If you’d ever like to discuss/chat about mechanics, please feel free to drop me a line. It’s very interesting being thrown into end game as a resto druid since, for a very long time, I actually raided feral.

You should only ever use Thorns on yourself when you’re soloing because the damage done with each hit is threat that’s directly attributed to you. But when soloing, it’s nice. Think of it as an extra DoT on the mob trying to smash your face in! I would like to see Thorns scale with spell damage; this would be a nice buff for both Balance and Restoration and might actually make Brambles a worthwhile talent to consider.

@Zackoria: From what I understand, yes. A quick search of WoWHead yields the following results for Healing Leather from BT: http://www.wowhead.com/?items=4.2&filter=cr=16:50;crs=3959:1;crv=0:10
That’s two items with spell haste, out of 6 pure healing items. Okay, so maybe not as bad as I had assumed.

@Runycat: I think many complain about Restoration Druid utility because our special class abilities are available to any Druid, regardless of spec (Mark of the Wild, Thorns, Rebirth, Innervate). Our only special ability that isn’t Swiftmend or Nature’s Swiftness is the Tree of Life aura. We don’t get anything special that’s worthwhile for dipping so deep into our tree (har har). Fixing our Tree Aura to rock would, of course, be the ideal solution since you can’t pick it up without firmly committing yourself to Restoration.

You make an excellent point about mobility. Being able to HoT on the run is AWESOME. But a lot of times, I can’t be a Tree anyway because, while I may be able to run and HoT, I still need to move my butt (ex. Gruul’s Lair, Lurker Below, Prince Malchezar, Aran). I can’t even imagine how much MORE trouble I’d have jumping onto that stupid little wooden ring on Lurker if I were to try it in Tree Form. >.<

I agree with you 100% about the CC. If we aren’t allowed to perform the very important role of rezzing fallen groupmates and are instead forced to bring along another “healer” (who do not have CC), why not allow us to perform some CC, as well? It would certainly be extra taxing to heal your group AND crowd control, but it would also be a lot of fun and would help compensate for our lack of rez. Either of your ideas (Roots indoors or a longer duration Cyclone) would be great … as long as our CC doesn’t become any stronger in PvP. I think our forums would overflow with QQ if they were to buff Cyclone in Arenas.

In no case that I’ve experienced so far, has a feral druid or a balance druid (especially a balance druid) been taken to raid over a resto druid for utility (although feral druids have been extremely useful for a million things). As for MotW–I do agree that it could use a buff. It is, however, extremely useful in endgame when tanks need every edge they can get–the same applies to thorns. Any amount of extra damage that a tank can apply to a mob without trying is more TPS they don’t have to work for.

Other than that–I miss the way our aura used to work and I agree that it’d be put to better use as a healer buff rather than a (potential) tank buff. During some scenarios when Tree of Life isn’t even viable (Archimonde), we don’t even have the opportunity to apply it in any useful fashion. Additionally, a standard resurrection spell would be amazing. Five man heroics have been the only place where I’ve felt discriminated as a restoration druid (and desperately sought after when I was a feral druid)–there’s no wipe recovery and no way to quickly pick up and keep going if anyone dies. To that end, if we weren’t going to be awarded a standard rez spell, I’d at least like a form of CC that would also make us more five man viable–cyclone is a lot of fun in PVP, but remains almost entirely useless in PvE. If that’d make us too “overpowered” in PvP, then don’t allow that form of CC to be useable there. Honestly? Being able to use Entangling Roots indoors would solve a lot of problems.

And Spell Haste? Agreed. Useless for druids. Insert joke about actually using Healing Touch again here.

I was wondering on your mention of haste. I haven’t really looked into the BT and hyjal gear too closely but is it really that pronounced in the upper echelons of the game?