This article became obsolete as of Patch 2.4. For Spirit and MP5 comparisons relevant as of 2.4, please see 2.4 Mana Regen - Part 1: The Basics and 2.4 Mana Regen - Part 2: The Mana Regen Calculator.

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Within each class, the playerbase debates different game mechanics. Rogues debate Mutilate vs. Hemorrhage. Mages debate Fire vs. Arcane. Warlocks argue about whether they'd like their Fel Fire of Ultimate Win to be green or red. And for Restoration Druids, we frequently argue about the value of Spirit relative to MP5.

According to WoWWiki's calculations Blizzard considers 1 mana per 5 equal in value to 2.5 Spirit. That means, for the same item budget, you could get 100 MP5 or 250 Spirit. Which would you rather have? Let's look at each stat individually to shore up your rationale (whatever it might be).

What Spirit Does

From the official site, Spirit is described as the stat that:

Increases Health regeneration rates out of combat and Mana regeneration rates when not casting spells.

Sounds pretty good. More mana means more healing, right? Sort of. Not all classes benefit from Spirit in the same way. Some classes benefit more than we do from Spirit (like the Priest - boo! hiss!) and some classes — such as the Warlock and Paladin — benefit far less (these classes are inferior and undeserving of our Innervate). Here's how it breaks down among the four healing classes:

Class	Mana/Tick	MP5 per Spirit
Druid (Caster, Tree, Moonkin)	(SPI/4.5) + 15	0.555
Druid (Kitty, Bear)	(SPI/5) + 15	0.5
Paladin	(SPI/5) + 15	0.5
Priest	(SPI/4) + 12.5	0.625
Shaman	(SPI/5) + 17	0.5

As you can see, Priests regenerate the most mana for each point of Spirit, followed by Druids, followed by everyone else (including us when we shift into a Feral form). Interestingly, a Druid with the Living Spirit talent has mana regeneration per point of Spirit higher than that of Priests:

Class	Mana/Tick	MP5 per Spirit
Druid (Caster, Tree, Moonkin)	(SPI/4.5) + 15	0.555
Druid with Living Spirit	((1.15 * SPI)/4.5) + 15	0.639
Priest	(SPI/4) + 12.5	0.625

Spirit and the Five Second Rule

One of the biggest limitations of Spirit is that you only receive the benefit of its mana regeneration if you haven't cast a spell within the last 5 seconds. This is known as the "5-Second Rule" (5SR):

After a character expends mana in casting a spell, the effective amount of mana gained per tick from spirit-based regeneration becomes a ratio of the [the values listed above], for a period of 5 seconds.

The default percentage of mana regeneration within the 5SR is 0%. However, there are several talents and abilities that boost this value, including Priest Meditation and the Druid-equivalent Intensity. Both of these are 3-point talents that afford an additional 30% of mana regeneration "while casting" (i.e., inside the 5SR). Having three points in Intensity is a prerequisite for Nature's Swiftness so it's unlikely to find a Restoration Druid without it.

Class	Mana/Tick	MP5 per Spirit
Druid with Intensity	0.3 * ((SPI/4.5) + 15)	0.083
Druid with Intensity and Living Spirit	0.3 * (((1.15* SPI)/4.5) + 15)	0.096

There are also a few items which can boost your mana regeneration while casting, at least temporarily. Perhaps the most notable is the Bangle of Endless Blessings which has a chance to proc an additional 15% mana regeneration while casting for 15 seconds (at level 70):

Bangle of Endless Blessings Binds when picked up Unique-Equipped Trinket Requires Level 70 Equip: Your spell casts have a chance to allow [15 - max(PL - 70,0) / 2]% of your mana regeneration to continue while casting for 15 sec. Use: Increases your Spirit by 130 for 20 sec. (2 Min Cooldown)

Of course, you already have one of these after reading the article on Getting the Most out of Innervate, right? And speaking of Innervate it's worth noting that since Innervate is based upon its recipients base mana regeneration (outside of the 5SR), the more Spirit the better. This also means that giving your Innervate to a Warlock is less efficient than to a Priest or another Druid (or to yourself).

For more information on mana regeneration and the 5 Second Rule, be sure to visit Egotistical Priest and Priestly Endeavors.

The Tree of Life Aura

With the release of the Burning Crusade (technically just before), Blizzard added new talents for all classes, among them the 41-point Restoration talent, Tree of Life:

Tree of Life Shapeshift 28% of base Mana Instant cast Transforms the Druid into the Tree of Life Form.  While in this form you increase healing received by 25% of your total Spirit for all party members within 45 yards, your movement speed is reduced by 20%, and you can only cast Swiftmend, Innervate, Nature's Swiftness, Rebirth, poison removing and healing over time spells, but the mana cost of these spells is reduced by 20%. The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of Polymorph and Movement Impairing effects.

While in Tree of Life, a Druid causes all heal spells cast upon her party members to receive 0.25 points of +Healing for each point of Spirit she has. At 400 Spirit, that's 100 +Healing (115 with Living Spirit). (For more information about how the +Healing coefficient affects our spells, see Mystery No More: +Healing Explained.) In a 5-man instance, that's effectively 100-115 extra +Healing for the Druid since she won't be healing anyone outside of her party. In raids, this healing bonus generally only benefits one or more main tanks, assuming the Tree has been placed in the MT group and the dynamics of a given encounter allow for the form to be used.

Mana per Five Seconds (MP5)

This term is pretty self explanatory as how many points of mana you will regenerate within five seconds (2.5 ticks). While it's often used as an overall measure of a character's ability to regenerate mana, both in and outside of the Five Second Rule, it's also available as a pure statistic on many pieces of gear. Unlike Spirit, MP5 runs all the time, disregarding the 5SR altogether. Acquiring a new item that grants you 4 more MP5 than you had before will therefore increase your mana regeneration while casting and while not by 4. There isn't much more to describe about MP5 since it's a pretty straightforward stat.

Spirit vs. MP5

According to WoWWiki.com, each point of MP5 is valued equal to 2.5 points of SPI. How much each is actually worth to you personally, however, depends on how much time you spend inside the 5SR. The more time spent outside the 5SR, the more beneficial Spirit is. More time spent "casting" increases the value of MP5 relative to Spirit. A good way to determine how much time you spend inside the 5SR is to run a UI addon like RegenFu (Ace2, FuBar required), which not only summarizes the amount of time spent inside the 5SR by each fight, but also calculates the relative value of Spirit to MP5 for that specific encounter. It is a more significant relative measure on boss fights than for trash when raiding since it's more rare to run out of mana on trash.

Sample Data from RegenFu

WoWWiki.com includes an incredibly useful article on Mana Regeneration formulas (albeit, based upon Priests) that we can adapt to determining the relative values of MP5 and Spirit for Druids. Adjusting the formula to account for Druids' slightly lower base mana regen:

Spirit required to match 1 MP5 =

Applying the above formula, we can derive a graph of the amount of Spirit required to equal MP5 based upon the amount of time spent within the Five Second Rule, both with and without Innervate*. Rather than only evaluating mana regeneration from Spirit at the new 30% Intensity, I also calculated it at the previous 15% for comparison's sake. Once again, I've graphed it over the % time spent within the Five Second Rule and according to the use of the following talents and abilities:

• Intensity (both 2.2 and 2.3 versions)
• Innervate
• Living Spirit
• Possible combinations of the above

Here's the graph of the new Intensity vs. the old Intensity. Future values are shown in a darker shade of the plots of their current values (eg. Red for "2.3 Living Spirit + Innervate", pink for the current value.

From this graph, note the following:

• With 2.2 Intensity, you would need to be inside the 5SR (considered casting) no more than 32.5% of the time for the value of Spirit relative to MP5 to match that which is currently budgeted by Blizzard. With 2.3 Intensity, that number is increased to 40%. With Living Spirit, the number increases from 45% to 53%. With Intensity and Innervate, the number increases from 62.5% to 78%. With Living Spirit, Intensity, and Innervate, the number goes from 75% to 92.5%.
• Assuming a Druid has both Intensity and is using her Innervate at every opportunity, the changes to Intensity with Patch 2.3 will make the value of Spirit much more closely match that currently being assigned in Item Values, especially if she is able to remain outside the 5SR 22% or more of the time.
• Even if you were always within the 5SR (Lifebloom maintenance) and assuming you are using Innervate at every opportunity, 1 MP5 will be approximately worth 3.1 Spirit (down from 4.3 prior to Patch 2.3). With Living Spirit, 1MP5 is worth approximately 2.8 Spirit (down from 3.7 prior to Patch 2.3). That's an increase of value in Spirit by 28%, 24% if you factor in Living Spirit (the additional mana regenerated with Living Spirit is outweighed by the mana regenerated by Innervate so even though you will get a substantial increase, the rate of increase is not as high).

Factoring in Blessing of Kings

By popular request, I've added a graph that compares the valuation of Spirit relative to MP5 with Blessing of Kings, using the 2.3 value for Intensity (30% mana regeneration while casting). Non-BoK values are graphed in a lighter color than their BoK values and, as one might expect, the 1.1 factor on total Spirit causes each plot to shift slightly down:

Related Posts

• Revaluing Spirit
• Spirit vs. MP5, Blessing of Kings Version
• Blessing of Kings vs. Blessing of Wisdom

Hydrar of Uldaman has created an amazing spreadsheet that automatically calculates many healing stats including HP, MP, +Healing, MP5, and tick values for Druid Heals over Time. Possible inputs include “race, gear, set bonuses, gems, meta gems, socket bonuses, talents, buffs, and enchants.” It promises to be an amazing resource with future plans to include calculations for Healing Touch.

Related Posts

• Updated Resto Gear Calculator
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One of the most frequently asked questions on the official Druid Forums seems to be, “How much +Healing do I need to successfully heal in Karazhan/Heroics?” While different players may choose to focus on one stat or another (pursuing longevity through MP5 or a larger mana pool through Intellect), due to the balanced nature of most of the items that can be acquired before entering Karazhan and Heroics, +Healing is a good indicator of the overall quality of a healer’s equipment. But how much healing is enough? For Karazhan, somewhere around 900 is recommended. But what does this number mean and how does it apply to the myriad of healing spells available to the Druid?

+Healing increases the HPM (healing per mana) of a given spell; this is sometimes referred to as “scaling” since it allows the same heal spell to become more and more effective as its caster’s gear improves. However, +Healing affects different spells and spell ranks differently, the degree to which is determined by two factors: the casting time of the spell (or, in the case of Heals over Time, the number of ticks) and the level of the spell’s rank relative to caster level.

Casting Time

There are several types of heals (direct, heal over time, channeled, area of effect), and casting time affects the scaling of each type differently:

• Direct Heals (Healing Touch)

  To determine the scaling of a spell with a direct heal component, divide its cast time by 3.5:

  S_direct = cast time / 3.5

  For example, 3.5 second Healing Touch is afforded 100% of +Healing. Note that talents which reduce the casting time of a given spell (such as Naturalist for Healing Touch) do not reduce scaling.

• Heals over Time (Rejuvenation)

  The scaling of HoTs is directly related to the spell’s duration:

  S_hot = duration / 15

  Rejuvenation, lasting a total of 12 seconds, receives 80% scaling divided over each of its 4 ticks.

• Mixed Method Heals (Regrowth)

  Some spells such as Regrowth have both a direct heal component as well as a portion that heals over time. The scaling for these spells are divided between the two portions and are determined as follows:

  

  

• Area of Effect Heals (Tranquility)

  Because Area of Effect heals hit multiple targets, the benefit of +Healing is divided by 3. Otherwise, it uses the same formula as a direct heal:

  S_aoe = (cast time / 3.5) / 3

  Since Tranquility lasts eight seconds, the scaling for this spell is 76% divided among its four ticks or 19% per tick.

Spell Level vs. Caster Level

Spell Level is defined as the level before which the next rank can be trained. For example, since Rank 8 of Healing Touch is first trained at level 44, the effective spell level for Rank 7 is 43. To discourage downranking (using a lower level spell with a large amount of +Healing to increase its HPM), Blizzard reduces the +Healing awarded to spells whose effective spell level are significantly below that of the caster:

S_downrank = (spell level + 6) / player level

Thus, a level 70 player casting Rank 7 of Healing Touch would have her +Healing bonus reduced to 70% ((43 + 6) / 70). These diminished returns have eliminated the technique of using the faster-casting Rank 4 of Healing Touch that was popular before the release of the Burning Crusade since Rank 4 only receives 44% of +Healing. Note that the ranking modifier cannot result in a bonus to +Healing; the maximum is 100% regardless of how the calculation works for later ranks.

Here are two figures which illustrate the HPM statistic (healing / mana cost) for ranks 4 and 10-13 of Healing Touch as +Healing increases from 500 to 1500. Notice that as +Healing increases the HPM efficiency of Healing Touch Rank 4 increases more quickly than that of ranks 10-13, even after the mitigating penalty is applied. The penalty keeps this spell from being especially viable, however, as an average untalented HT 4 is only 847 with +1000 Healing so don’t let the figure mislead you into reconsidering downranking to such a degree.

Figure 1. HPM of Untalented Healing Touch Ranks

Figure 2. HPM of Talented* Healing Touch Ranks

* Healing Touch talents under consideration include Empowered Touch, Naturalist, Tranquil Spirit, and Gift of Nature.

Bonuses and penalties to a spell’s +Healing benefit are cumulative. A spell that is downranked to receive only 70% of +Healing and that has a 2.0 second cast time (57%) that is cast with +1000 Healing would receive 399 points of healing (1000 * .57 * .7 = 399).

Individual Spell Scaling

Because spells scale according to their cast time, duration, type and rank used, the relative efficiency of Druid heals (measured in HPM) fluctuates as the amount of +Healing changes. Below are two figures which describe the relative scaling of the various heals available to Druids, including talented versions if applicable. Lifebloom has been separated from all other heals to prevent its high HPM values from skewing the graphs:

Figure 3. HPM of Heals other than Lifebloom

Figure 4. HPM of Lifebloom

Clearly Lifebloom outclasses all other heals, even without considering the 20% mana reduction afforded by Tree of Life. Also notable is that, as +Healing increases — representing an improvement in gear — the HPM efficiency of an untalented Rejuvenation eclipses that of untalented Regrowth (although a fully talented Rejuvenation far outperforms a talented Regrowth). Also notable is that, while it would seem that Healing Touch is an underperformer in the HPM stat, it does make a superior showing in the HPS stat, as any Heroic healing Druid can attest.

The two figures below demonstrate the healing power (measured by HPS) of Druid heals. Figure 5 compares the HPS of Healing Touch against the initial direct heal component of Regrowth and the final burst heal of Lifebloom were it allowed to expire. Figure 6 compares the HPS of all heals over their full duration (for example, for Regrowth, total time is 2 seconds of casting time plus 21 seconds of healing over time).

Figure 5. HPS of Direct Heals and Direct Heal Components

Figure 6. HPS of Heals over Time

As predicted, Healing Touch is a better choice under a high damage scenario where mana is less likely to be a factor (such as trash mob fights in Heroics between which the caster is free to drink). The other HoTs such as Rejuvenation and Lifebloom are efficient enough to be used to provide some padding against emergencies, however.

While none of the data collected and presented here invalidates the use of a particular spell or style of healing, it does demonstrate the relative strength — and subsequent prioritization — of certain spells over others under specific conditions. In general, Lifebloom is an excellent choice for low, sustained damage levels. Should DPS increase beyond that which can be handled by a triple stack of Lifebloom alone, Rejuvenation can be applied. At further escalating levels of damage, a Tree should fall back upon a combination Swiftmend and Regrowth. A non-Tree druid would instead fall back upon Swiftmend (if available) and the highly powerful, less efficient Healing Touch. So, too, might a Tree druid, should Regrowth prove insufficient to the task.

The bonuses of Tree of Life are not included in any of the above calculations, due to the fact that — in its current form — it is too impractical to be used most of the time. In general, this would push the HPM efficiency of all HoTs up slightly, but you would lose the ability to handle burst damage (not to mention the ability to decurse and remove poison). The subjective viability of Tree of Life is something that will be addressed in another post.

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Notes:

Assumptions: The following talents were factored into the “talented” statistics for each heal:

• Healing Touch: Empowered Touch (20% scaling bonus to +Healing), Naturalist (-0.5 seconds cast time), Tranquil Spirit (-10% mana), Gift of Nature (10% bonus to the end total)
• Regrowth: Empowered Rejuvenation (14% scaling bonus to +Healing of the HoT portion), Gift of Nature (10% bonus to the end total), Improved Regrowth (50% additional crit rating)
• Rejuvenation: Gift of Nature and Improved Rejuvenation (resulting in a cumulative bonus of 26.5% to the end total (1.1 * 1.15)), Empowered Rejuvenation (16% scaling bonus to +Healing)
• Lifebloom: Empowered Rejuvenation (+10% single stack, 31% for a stack of 3), Gift of Nature (10% bonus to the end total)

References: Many of the formulas and values included in this article were taken directly or derived from the following articles on WoWWiki.com:

• Formulas: Plus Damage and Plus Healing
• Healing Comparison

Download the Spreadsheet
used to calculate these values.

Related Posts

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• Method: Coefficient Testing
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Lately there’s been a great deal of hubbub about the lack of endgame viability for the Restoration Druid relative to that of our healing counterparts, the Paladin, Priest, and Shaman. One of the primary complaints is that our class-specific buff, Mark of the Wild, scales so poorly in comparison to those brought to the table by other healers. The description of the group version, Gift of the Wild reads as follows:

Gift of the Wild Rank 3 1515 Mana 40 yd range Instant cast Reagents: Wild Quillvine Gives the Gift of the Wild to the target’s party, increasing armor by 340, all attributes by 14 and all resistances by 25 for 60 min.

While the spell’s description may sound lackluster, it’s only by comparing Mark to the spells, blessings, and totems that can be brought to the table by other healing classes that the gross imbalance is demonstrated.

Priests: Prayer of Fortitude and Divine Spirit

While it is true that — unlike Prayer of Fortitude — Mark grants a benefit to all stats, most classes benefit only from a few specific stats, usually no more than three. Casters generally rely upon Intellect and Spirit, while melees focus on some combination of Strength and Agility. Common among the two groups is Stamina which benefits all classes. Gift of the Wild grants a total of 14 Stamina. Compare this to Prayer of Fortitude which grants a total of 79. Untalented, Mark grants 140 hit points, Fortitude 790. Are 650 hit points really countered by either 210 mana and whatever benefits can be derived from 14 Spirt (widely subject to the class in question) or 14 more Strength (28 AP for warriors, 14 for rogues) and 14 more Agility (14 more AP for rogues and a negligible amount of dodge)?

Also worth noting: any Priest who has made healing her focus is likely to have picked up Divine Spirit, a buff which grants 50 additional Spirit, further widening the buff gap between Priests and Druids. And, while it costs Restoration druids 5 talent points to grant an additional +4 to all stats, Priests have only to spend 2 talent points to gain the same 35% improvement — a 35% improvement to a spell that’s already much more desirable.

Hands down, Prayer of Fortitude is a vastly superior buff to the Druid counterpart, Gift of the Wild.

Paladins: Blessings

Here’s where Druids are hurt the most. Paladins bring a whole host of available buffs, and despite the hefty upkeep necessary to maintain them, they can afford a myriad of tremendous benefits to a raid group:

• Blessing of Kings: Increases total stats by 10% for 15 min.

  Although this ability requires an eleven point investment in the Protection tree, it effectively affords more than double the benefit of Mark of the Wild. And it scales. As raid members improve their core stats by upgrading their gear, this buff keeps pace by granting them additional stat points at the same rate as before.

• Blessing of Wisdom: Restores 41 mana every 5 seconds for 15 min.

  Untalented, this Blessing affords casters 41 mana per 5. It can easily make the difference between loss and success for a given boss encounter by tremendously increasing healer longevity. And a Holy-specced Paladin will have picked up the talents to improve this blessing (20% for two talent points), increasing its return to nearly 50 mp5.

• Blessing of Might: Increases attack power by 220 for 15 min.

  Compare this to the maximum of 28 AP granted by Mark of the Wild.

• Blessing of Salvation: Reduces the amount of all threat generated by 30% for 15 min.

  This buff can theoretically increase the total DPS output of your raid by an incredible 30% since it effectively raises the aggro ceiling that must be exceeded by the raid’s main tank.

Best of all, Paladins stack incredibly well. Adding another Paladin healer means one more of the amazing buffs listed above to be given out to raid members. Like the dilemma faced by Holy Priests, adding another Druid affords no additional benefit to the raid group.

Shamans: Totems, Totems, Totems!

I admit only passing familiarity with the Shaman class. However, take a look at some of the buffs that can be granted to a Shaman’s group in the form of one or more immobile totems:

• Windfury Totem: Enchants all party members main-hand weapons with wind, if they are within 20 yards. Each hit has a 20% chance of granting the attacker 1 extra attack with 445 extra attack power.
• Grace of Air Totem: Increases the agility of party members within 20 yards by 77
• Mana Spring Totem: Restores 12 mana every 2 seconds to group members within 20 yards.
• Mana Tide Totem: Restores 6% of total mana every 3 seconds to group members within 20 yards.

Any of the above buffs is inarguably superior to Mark of the Wild, and in some cases, more than one can be made available to a Shaman’s party. And — like Paladins — it’s almost always advantageous to bring as many Shamans to a raid as there are groups. They stack almost as well.

“Buffing Our Buff”

What can be done to bring the quality of our class buff more in line with those of other healers? One or more of the following changes would be helpful:

• Change the stats granted by Mark to take into account the fact that all classes do not benefit from an increase to all six of their stats. Improve the power of this buff accordingly (perhaps a 25 to all stats).
• Reduce the cost of the Improved Mark of the Wild talent from 5 points to 3 points, in line with the point cost paid by Priests. This would also help reduce the bloat of the Restoration talent tree.
• Add 40 Resilience to this buff. This would improve Druids’ PvP desirability without tremendously affecting PvE balance. At level 70, 40 Resilience reduces the chance to be crit by 1%.
• Allow the resistances granted by Mark to stack with those granted by other classes’ auras (which are inevitably superior and almost invariably available).

At one point hailed as “the best buff in the game,” Mark quite simply can no longer compete. It is outshone in every way by buffs which grant greater and/or more universally useful stat bonuses. This combined with the fact that Druids stack no better than Priests but have fewer, feebler buffs to bring to the table (Mark of the Wild and Thorns versus Prayer of Fortitude and Divine Spirit) make us a far less attractive addition to a raid group than any of the classes with which we compete for a limited number of slots. Without regard to any of the other issues which plague healing-focused Druids, addressing the disparity between our class-specific buff and those brought to the table by Shamans, Priests, and Paladins would go a long way toward improving our viability as valued raid contributors.

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• 2.4 Mana Regen: Paladin Blessings
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One of the things that makes World of Warcraft unique when compared to many of the MMOs that preceded it are the considerably lighter penalties for dying (repair bills and invulnerable corpse runs). Along with the much lessened penalties, the designers decided to spread the ability to counter these penalties among many classes instead of a few. Shamans can resurrect themselves, warlocks can conjure Soulstones, and paladins, shamans, and priests all have the ability to resurrect fallen comrades. Druids, on the other hand, have the Rebirth spell, a method of resurrection which, unlike standard Resurrection, can be employed in combat:

Rebirth Rank 6 68% of base Mana 30 yd range 2 sec cast 20 min cooldown Reagents: Flintweed Seed Returns the spirit to the body, restoring a dead target to life with 3200 health and 3200 mana.

Of the four classes who can primary heal (priests, druids, paladins, and shamans), druids are the only class who do not have a resurrection spell not subject to a cooldown, the idea being that Rebirth is a strong enough spell — even with its 30 minute cooldown — that druids should not also be able to cast a time-unrestricted version. It has also been stated that Blizzard worries about the combination of an unlimited resurrection spell being used in conjunction with Stealth.

Prior to and immediately following the release of the Burning Crusade, druids were more or less quiet about the issue of not having a normal resurrection spell. However, as more and more druids performed the role of main healer for the new 5-man instances, the concern grew. And today with many druids reaching the threshold where their gear can only be further improved by Heroic instances (or raiding), the forums are cacophonous with complaints about the lack of this ability. Restoration-specced druids struggle to find places among Heroic groups because groups rightfully worry that the inevitable result of using a druid for main healer will be endless, time consuming runs back to the instance. There are ways to get around this limitation, such as being sure to bring a paladin, shaman, or priest along, but this makes druids the only class required to bring someone else along to perform part of what should be considered their role (when specced and geared for it). It also assumes a plethora of available healing-types which does not always exist and imposes a competition for healing items to which other healers are not subjected.

Druitt of Lothar made a post asking those druids clamoring for the addition of a normal Resurrection spell address five issues that he perceives with the spell being given to druids. Like most threads of its type, you have to filter out a lot of superfluous bickering to find logical discussion, but I thought that the points he raised would serve as an excellent framework for this entry.

1. Stealth + Resurrection would be overpowered.

It is possible for a group of rogues and druids to stealth to the back of some instances, assassinate the boss mob(s), and hearth out (this is currently possible in Sethekk Halls and is considered the best way for rogues and druids to acquire the Shoulderpads of Assassination). It is also an instance dynamic that Blizzard has been aware of for some time, dating back to stealth runs for the Seal of Ascension quest in LBRS. When Blizzard wants to prevent this from being a viable option, they employ one or more of the following methods:

• Mobs which have Truesight and have a larger aggro radius toward characters who are stealthed. Partied rogues are frequently unable to sap a given group of mobs because one or more of them see through stealth.
• Stealthed and triggered spawn mobs. These are mobs that you can't see until they're in range to aggro and attack you. These mobs include the assassins in the room with Blackheart the Inciter.
• Narrow corridors in which mobs patrol, making it harder to stay out of the perception range. Sometimes these corridors have the added difficulty of one or more stealthed or triggered spawn mobs, making getting through while stealthed even more difficult.

It's also worth noting that stealth and resurrection is the most difficult and time consuming method of respawn circumvention. A group would be much better off with a Soulstone, Reincarnation, or Divine Intervention. And in many cases, it would often be faster to reclear the mobs that have respawned.

2. Rebirth + Resurrection would be overpowered.

According to Druitt:

"No other healing class has a full-blown IC rez. Soulstones, Ankhs, etc, have specific limitations and do not work like your standard rez. If Druids get an unlimited, OOC rez then a unique IC rez becomes OP."

While it is true that Soulstone, Reincarnation, and Divine Intervention all have specific limitations, it is also true that Rebirth is subject to some pretty hefty limitations:

• Only usable once every 30 minutes (identical to Soulstone/Divine Intervention/Reincarnation).
• Hugely prohibitive mana cost (68% of base mana), forcing you to often forgo its use as wipe prevention for fear you won't have enough mana to complete the encounter.
• Nominal reagent cost (18s).

I feel that these costs sufficiently offset the costs associated with other classes' wipe prevention/wipe recovery abilities. And all of those classes (with the exception of the Warlock) also have a standard Resurrection spell.

3. "All the other healers can do it" is not a valid reason for needing the ability.

To the contrary, the game post Burning Crusade is heavily balanced around creating solid, capable groups, both in PvP and PvE. When a Restoration druid has sacrificed the ability to farm, solo, or kill other players to be a better healer, she does so with the understanding that she will be "compensated" for her sacrifices by increased desirability in groups. A druid should have every reason to expect to be as desired as a Holy priest or Holy paladin. A paladin can even have fewer points in her Holy talent tree and still be more desirable since she has the Resurrection spell which is needed so often for Heroic instances. Just as a feral-specced druid can expect to have tools comparable to those of a warrior so that she is desired as a group tank, so too should a Restoration druid be granted tools that make her competitive with priests, paladins, and shamans.

4. Druid abilities that are not unique to Druids, but are not shared by all healing classes.

This, I feel, is probably the weakest argument presented by Druitt in his post, the basic premise being that we should not ask to have the same abilities of other healers. Some examples of these abilities might be Fade, Blessing of Protection, or Power Word: Shield. The difference is that these abilities, while very strong and helpful, are not necessary to the role of a healer. Resurrection very much is, to the point where druids are turned down for advertised healing spots because, "sorry, we need a rezzer."

5. Druids are flexible in filling roles even when off-spec.

Finally, Druitt puts forth the argument that, because druids can also tank and dps, they should not expect to be on par with other healers. This is a disappointing sentiment to hear from a Druid. Feral-specced, he should recognize that he is far from a stellar healer when he's specced for Bear Form tanking (what is odd is that he claims to be superior to his restoration-specced Shaman when healing from his Feral spec). Similarly, I cannot hope to tank anything (besides possibly 5 STV gorillas) with my 43-point Restoration build. I made the tradeoff to be a good healer and expect to have the necessary tools available to me as a result.

All in all, I don't see that any of the above arguments holds much water when really scrutinized. I can only hope that Blizzard takes some of these things into consideration and levels the playing field among all the healers of various classes.

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Additional Thoughts:

Along with the discussion of whether or not druids should have access to Resurrection, there has been substantial discussion as to the form/limitations that said access should take. Many ferals have expressed reticence at being given access to a spell that would force them into the role of a healer post raid wipe (helping with resurrection). With that in mind, I think that it should probably be a talented skill, on the same level as Nature's Swiftness, 21 points into the Restoration tree. This would allow players who enjoy using the Dreamstate build to heal to pick up the skill as well as the forest of more deeply-specced Restoration druids.

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