60-69 Virise's BfA 69 Resto Shaman Guide

Welcome to the new normal, 69s! BfA's zone scaling brings Northrend quest gear into reach, as well as some additional dungeons to bring significant gear changes. Gem sockets allow for a stats boost, but don't provide as much customization as we might expect. In fact, the quantity of stats offered by gems actually narrows gear choices, since socket gear takes precedence.

The first section of this guide starts with a short summary, then enters in-depth discussion if you want to get into the details and arithmetic of why certain choices stand above others. The proceeding sections discuss the impact of gear choices, and how to leverage talents and playstyle to do the most with our stats.

I'm always interested in suggestions for changes/additions/etc!

Contents:

I. Stat Priority
II. 69s and 60s
III. Gear and Enchantment Options
IV. Gems
V. Talent Options
VI. Playstyle Approaches

I. Stat Priority

Resto shamans see two primary stats (stamina and intellect), plus three secondary stats (crit, haste, and versatility). Our stat priority is as follows:

int > vers = haste >> crit

In essence, a point of int (or spellpower, since 1 int = 1 spellpower) is better than a point of vers or a point of haste, which in turn are both 2X better than a point of crit. Enough BiS gear comes with stamina such that health isn't a concern.

A point of each stat provides the following boost to healing spells (and damage reduction, as noted):

int = 0.15% to 0.12% (varies a little, depending on spell coefficients and consumables)
vers = 0.088%, and 0.044% damage reduction
haste = 0.111%
crit = 0.052% (remember crit is 150% in PvP, not 200%)
armor = 0.094% physical damage reduction (varies slightly on total armor, and assumes a shield)

Since primary stats are additive i.e. they contribute by number rather than by percentage, each extra point of INT makes slightly less of an impact than the point before it. This makes sense, as going from 200 int to 201 int is a bigger deal than going from 600 int to 601 int. For battlegrounds, 69s can leverage the Flask of Supreme Power or Flask of Distilled Wisdom and Superior Wizard Oil for ~88 extra spellpower. While gearing and consumables choices can push int farther up the diminishing returns ladder, int will still provide more benefit than secondary stats on a point-for-point basis.

Shaman healers bring tremendous utility and firepower at 69, often overshadowing the healing that shamans do. Therefore, 69 shamans work best as secondary healers. Prioritize CCs, slows, and interrupts to help teammates, or pile on damage to a target. At 69, shamans use more instant cast spells (riptide, cleanse, numerous totems, flame shock, lava burst instants, etc.) than hard casts, but hard casts matter when called for.

With this in mind, versatility (the stat) allows a shaman to boost healing throughput while providing a welcome damage reduction. If you plan to play a shaman as a primary healer (i.e. spend more time casting healing surge), you'll want to prioritize haste over versatility. Crit normally ranks last for resto shaman secondary stats, but gearing and gemming a 69 shaman runs into a conundrum in that the best options often end up with crit. Whether the extra gem sockets of a given piece outclass non-crit non-socket gear, or the sheer quantity of crit rating supercedes the stats other pieces offer, BiS will see significantly more crit than any of the brackets below 69. Fortunately, the 60-69 bracket runs with deep enough health pools that the sporadic nature of crits leads to very little overhealing.

II. 69s and 60s

As the true original beneficiaries of endgame content, 60s have a lot of great gear from which to choose, plus access to some staple TBC socket gear, and now quest gear from Northrend. Moreover, base main stat scaling (not gear stat scaling) in battlegrounds helps boost stamina and intellect to the levels of a 69, or even surpass a 69 in the case of the crafted engineering helm and expansion-capped trinkets. With that said, the extra socket gear (including gear with better stat allocations) and lack of secondary stat scaling puts 69s slightly ahead, and 69s gain Purge.

The intangibles of staying at 60 make a greater impact. Community interest and organization is simply stronger at the near end of the bracket. While the far end also has a colorful history, the dedication and camaraderie of 60s makes for the best part of the game for longtime players. Many 60s gladly take a slight cut in stats and utility for a chance to do more in the community. With rare exception, 60s get along fine with 69s, but be aware that choosing to go to 69 will limit some community participation for both practical and cultural reasons.

III. Gear and Enchantment options

If it's green, it's Northrend quest gear. The rest makes for a lot of instance runs. The following list omits grandfathered gear and enchantments. Some tooltips may not show the correctly scaled stats, and "Of the X" gear will not show secondary stats.

Head: Mechanized Snow Goggles (of the Aurora) or Plunderer's Helmet.

Neck: Talisman of the Breaker + Mark of the Ancient Priestess or Mark of the Hidden Satyr. Stats will reach higher on other necks, but a 20% reduction of one of the biggest threats to casters makes a soaring impact.

Shoulder: Pauldrons of Desolation + Greater Inscription of Faith/Greater Inscription of the Oracle or Greater Inscription of the Crag. The two-piece set bonus yields 35 crit, comparable to gaining two extra sockets. Of the five pieces of Desolation Battlegear available, this is one of two that lose the least, to gain the set bonus.

Back: Drape of Distilled Hatred + Gift of Versatility. The movement speed enchant stacks with the Minor Speed foot enchant.

Chest: Hauberk of Desolation + Glorious Stats. The other of the two Desolation Battlegear pieces that lose the least, to gain the 35 crit 2-piece bonus. Glorious Stats provides primary stats i.e. extra stam and int.

Wrist: Bracers of the Forest Stalker + Superior Spellpower.

Hands: Gauntlets of the Tranquil Waves + Major Spellpower.

Waist: Tarren Mill Defender's Cinch.

Legs: Wyrmscale Greaves + Silver Spellthread / Mystic Spellthread.

Feet: Auchenai Boots + Minor Speed. Run speed bonuses cap at +10% and don't benefit ghost wolf, except for this +10% speed enchant.

Rings: Earthbinder's Regenerating Band and Circlet of the Forgotten Mercenary + Binding of Versatility. Or, Nimblefinger Band + Binding of Haste.

Trinkets: Abyssal Rune (full proc in battlegrounds), Noise Machine, Mindtap Talisman, Gnomish Poultryizer, Forge Ember (full proc in battlegrounds), Recruit's Distinction of the Adaptable or Aurora (either green or blue version, must obtain at 59 before leveling into the 60-69 bracket).

Main Hand: Mace of the Fallen Raven Priest + Major Spellpower.

Off Hand: Skullflame Shield + Major Intellect. Or, Vanguard Redoubt of the Aurora/Adaptable/Impatient (blue version) or numerous uncommon shields of the Aurora.

IV. All the Gems

Perhaps the easiest way to peruse gem options is by source. Note that some gems are unique-equipped i.e. you can only get one, though other sources may give you gems with the same stats. Any gem works in any socket, except for meta gems, which only work in meta sockets (specifically in Plunderer's Helmet).

Crafted
Nightmare Tear (6 stam, 6 int)
Tireless Skyflare Diamond
Tireless Starflare Diamond
Trenchant Earthsiege Diamond
Trenchant Earthshatter Diamond
Shielded Skyflare Diamond
Destructive Skyflare Diamond
Destructive Primal Diamond
Mystical Skyfire Diamond

Honor vendors
Master Sergeant Biggins / Brave Stonehide (requires 1 Mark of Honor, note that WoWhead says the source is no longer available, but it is indeed available in 8.0.1)
Potent Ornate Topaz
Brilliant Ornate Ruby

Hellfire Peninsula
Tracy Proudwell / Battlecryer Blackeye (requires 10 Marks of Honor Hold/Thrallmar from killing players at any of the three PvP objectives to the west of Hellfire Citadel).
Brilliant Blood Garnet

Blade's Edge Mountains
Requires farming Apexis Shards, and to do the event that triggers Aether-Tech Adept, then Aether-Tech Master.
Imbued Unstable Diamond
Reckless Citrine
Purified Amethyst

While several options above may seem tempting, get the Reckless Citrine and Purified Amethyst via the Aether-Tech Adept (soloable once geared). Fill all other prismatic sockets with the 5 int/5 crit gems. Crit isn't a resto shaman's favorite stat, but getting one more int via Brilliant Ornate Rubies feels underwhelming against getting 5 crit instead from Potent Ornate Topazes.

If you go with Plunderer's Helmet to get a meta gem, several interesting choices await. Given that the BiS neck significantly helps reduce silences, a stun reduction or avoidance meta gem may serve best, but it's hard to go wrong with any of them.

V. So Talented!

Certain talents group well together, creating a chain of consequences for talent choices. Most resto shamans should take Echo of the Elements. Not only does this capitalize on a resto shaman's mobility, but two charges of lava burst adds significant damage potential. If you must be a primary healer, than you'll likely want Unleash Life paired with Earth Shield from the second tier.

Unleash Life remains a good choice for any resto shaman, but if you choose Torrent, you can make the most of Ancestral Vigor, as well as the Rippling Waters PvP talent. The third charge of riptide and insurance against cleanses in the form of extra healing, augment the riptide-focused talents.

Earthen Wall Totem and Ancestral Protection Totem both offer situational benefits, and appear more useful in arenas. Ancestral Vigor makes a bigger impact when healing larger, longer fights (or kites), more typical of battlegrounds.

The third tier goes to Earthgrab Totem unless you're the FC, in which case you'll want Spirit Wolf, and the Spectral Recovery PvP talent. Finally, Gladiator's Medallion remains the superior first-tier PvP talent.

VI. Playstyle Approaches

Gear offers a considerable advantage in the 60-69 bracket, but the deeper health pools and the addition of Purge for 69 resto shamans make for more notable changes. Fights often last longer, so utility and timing make a bigger impact.

Spread flame shock on cooldown (on targets that won't get CC'd) for better chances at lava surge procs. Use your totems to keep melee slow. Kite like crazy when needed, especially with so many instant cast utility spells. Most importantly, play aggressively. Forcing defensive cooldowns sooner on a battlefield gives your team the advantage, and resto shamans have the tools to help with damage pressure when opportune targets appear.

The (relatively) slower pace of 60-69 means that 69 resto shamans actually have more in common with the 39 bracket when switching between healing and offense modes. To quote that guide:

"Solid resto shaman play shifts between these modes very quickly, sometimes per global cooldown. Keep your eyes on the field, and don't get stuck into 'healbot' mode, playing whack-a-mole with health bars. A resto shaman helps to "herd" teammates in a given direction, but also positions according to the needs of the group. If teammates need more heals, back out of the fray and do some casting, while looking for opportunities to slow opponents and create some breathing room for your teammates. If teammates need to push forward, close distance with the front line and let the shears, flame shocks, and lava bursts fly."

In essence, the job of a 69 resto shaman hinges on choosing the best ways to keep your teammates in a fight, and the best ways to keep opponents out of a fight at key times. Resto shamans can handle a disproportionate amount of trouble, so determine the annoyances versus the threats and prioritize your targets to best set up your teammates for success. You'll soon find yourself keeping your squad barely alive against most of the opposing team, while a couple of teammates gallivant unnoticed in the background, achieving your objectives.
 
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Cool guide.

Just a thought:
Intellect is generally better than spellpower as Arcane Intellect will increase intellect only.
This is BIS flask: Flask of Distilled Wisdom

There's also this gem which grants around 320 haste (around 40-50%)
Mystical Skyfire Diamond
This will proc off of any spell, even ghost wolf.
It's unpredictable so other gems may be more worth-while. I just find it hella fun.

I notice you have some quest rewards with inflated stats as bis items - do you know a way to filter results on wowhead to turn up all the quest rewards in Northerend and Outland?
 
Intellect is generally better than spellpower as Arcane Intellect will increase intellect only.
This is BIS flask: Flask of Distilled Wisdom

I need to do more testing with that. I got this flask and found the int gained doesn't match the tooltip. Arcane Intellect may temporarily boost the flask to BiS, but players don't often get rebuffed dying and losing their buff.

There's also this gem which grants around 320 haste (around 40-50%)
Mystical Skyfire Diamond
This will proc off of any spell, even ghost wolf.
It's unpredictable so other gems may be more worth-while. I just find it hella fun.

Good catch! I'll add that.

I notice you have some quest rewards with inflated stats as bis items - do you know a way to filter results on wowhead to turn up all the quest rewards in Northerend and Outland?

God, I wish. I filtered wowhead by all gear available from 59 to 79, and then combed through each slot to find the outliers.
 
VI. Playstyle Approaches

Solo Lumber Mill and force Laernyth to try and peel 5 horde off of you QQ

Jokes aside, it's good to see people fostering the community. All I do is stream and complain. The more we all learn, the better.

To add to the playstyle part: Don't use Adaptation against Hunters, it gives us giddies on lasties when we can blow auto-trinket with Frost Trap.
 
Solo Lumber Mill and force Laernyth to try and peel 5 horde off of you QQ

I laughed at that one -- mea culpa. I gotta get better about tunneling.

To add to the playstyle part: Don't use Adaptation against Hunters, it gives us giddies on lasties when we can blow auto-trinket with Frost Trap.

Nor against rogues. Nor shamans. ...Nor mages, come to think of it.
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I need to do more testing with that. I got this flask and found the int gained doesn't match the tooltip. Arcane Intellect may temporarily boost the flask to BiS, but players don't often get rebuffed dying and losing their buff.

After testing in game, it turns out that the Flask of Distilled Wisdom gives 52 int. Combined with the 5% buff resto shamans get, the Flask rises to 54 int, just under the 55 spell power from the Flask of Supreme Power. As @hom said, Distilled wisdom is better if we can keep another int buff. I'd say losing 1 spell power for the chance to gain 5 more on occasion is probably worth it.
 

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