The newest World of Warcraft expansion is finally here, so we need to talk about the best healers for Dragonflight. Who else is going to keep you alive and kicking as you explore the Dragon Isles? The healers, that’s who!
With pre-patch finally released, players of all kinds can figure out what spec is strongest and what talents they should take into the next expansion.
This guide will cover who are the best healers to play in Dragonflight and why especially now there is a new healing spec on the horizon: Preservation Evoker.
For more Dragonflight guides and lists, we’ve already covered the best Dragonflight DPS classes in pre-patch and a tier list for the best Dragonflight tanks.
S Tier – Preservation Evoker
It goes without saying that one of the new classes to World of Warcraft is incredibly broken. They have some burst damage to go along with their healing, and by using empowered spells, you can heal the whole team in a pinch and deal big AoE damage. By using a combination of spells, you will be able to dish out big heals frequently, but if that doesn’t go to plan, you can turn back time to be able to keep on top of things.
Due to the type of healer that Preservation is, they are reliant on their position, as the range of their abilities is small, but they are powerful. Because of the damage they can output with stacked buffs, they are a great asset to a Mythic+ team. However, their range for healing spells is a maximum of 30 yards. They have their uses, but for situations where players have to spread out, as they won’t be able to reach them as easily.
S Tier – Restoration Druid
Restoration Druid is an amazing healer to take into Dragonflight and is one of the best. This is because their heals are very strong, have plenty of range, and are tanky, too. They work by combining spells like Restoration and Flourish so they can heal for longer. Resto Druids have a high skill cap, but it is worth learning as they’re one of the best healers for Dragonflight. They balance high mobility with the ability to deal a bit of damage with their DoT Moonfire or Sunfire.
While they are good at healing, they lack damage reduction abilities and can burn through mana quickly if they aren’t managing their cooldowns. They are better for Mythic Plus and do little damage in raids, which is something to keep in mind if you play a Resto Druid.
A Tier – Discipline Priest
Discipline Priest is one of the best healers for Dragonflight as they are a great damage dealer and have powerful shields and healing if played correctly. They have a lot of utility by using Power Word: Barrier and Atonement to keep the team shielded and negate damage when needed. They are great for raid healing and in Mythic Plus dungeons. Disc Priests work great at healing tanks because of their shield powers.
Going into Dragonflight, Power Word: Shield has a much shorter cooldown, meaning they can look after their team more easily. That being said, they do have a high-skill floor and high-skill ceiling, and if you aren’t on top of your cooldowns, it can have a lot of repercussions.
A Tier – Holy Paladin
Holy Paladin has changed quite a bit in Dragonflight. It allows for many different builds depending on what you are comfortable with as a healer. Suppose you prefer to be a melee healer using Crusader Strike and Holy Shock. You’re more than welcome to fall into that playstyle! Or, if you prefer, you can stay on the backline and be a healer using abilities such as Infusion of Light and Holy Light as and when needed.
Holy Paladin remains strong as a single-target healer but doesn’t have much room for AoE healing or burst healing. Keep this in mind when you are playing Holy Paladin. That being said, they are still very powerful and have a lot of damage, too, if you prefer to be a damage-dealing healer and want to help out in various ways in raids and mythic dungeons.
B Tier – Mistweaver Monk
Mistweaver Monk is a versatile healer that you can take into Dragonflight that relies on melee healing. They have a lot of great healing abilities, such as Renewing Mists that can be stacked, as well as using Revival and Essence Font. Mistweaver Monk can also easily swap between healing and damaging mobs due to their melee abilities, making it easy to keep up with the team. They are also a great healer to take into Dragonflight because of their self-sustainability, ability to tank a couple of hits here and there, and high mobility. Although they are a B-tier, please don’t sell them short.
However, it can be a lot to learn for those new to Mistweaver Monk. Despite legitimately being one of the best healers for Dragonflight, there’s a learning curve to overcome. Mana management can be particularly difficult for those not used to the spec, as many healing abilities used in single-target healing are mana intensive.
B Tier – Holy Priest
Holy Priest has been a solid healer who has been a great choice through most expansions. Holy Priests have a variety of strong healing abilities that can work for the whole team, with flexibility in single-target and AoE. They also have new talents offering great power, such as Power Word: Life. Divine Hymn has also been improved in Dragonflight, as has Holy World: Salvation.
However, compared to other healing classes, they don’t have as many damage mitigations. They also don’t have great mobility to heal players when they need to scatter during raids or mythic dungeons.
C Tier – Restoration Shaman
Compared to the other healer classes listed above, Resto Shaman isn’t as great as the others. They can be really powerful in certain situations, but their healing relies on situational group settings such as raids and mythic dungeons. Because they excel in group content, they don’t always do great in single-target situations.
Unlike other healers, they do not have the best damage contribution. Because of this, they are only really useful as a healer and have utility such as low cooldowns and mobility spells. They have great survivability, but other than some of their totems and the return of Ancestral Guidance, they are not that viable going into Dragonflight.
