I’ve been strictly resto spec’d for a long time.  The vast majority of my time as a level 70 Druid has been spent as a healer.  I enjoy healing, I consider myself a strong asset in raids, and I will always be a healer first.

Last night, however, I switched sides, at least for a day or so.  Through my days of raiding, when I saw the first 5 bosses in SSC over and over again, and farmed Kara many times for badges, I made a point to pick up any cat or bear gear that would have been sharded otherwise.  I hate to see a purple go to waste.  So over time, I have gathered a fairly respectable, albeit imperfect, set of gear for tanking.  I have the Heavy Clefthoof set, of course, and I also have some very nice epics to fill things out.  Heck, I have the best tanking weapon for a Bear in the game, I may as well put it to use sometime, right?

I do still have some issues.  I obviously haven’t concentrated much on slots, I’ve just picked up stuff that dropped.  I’m presently sporting a DPS helm and shoulders, and a green pair of bracers.  So I have some spots to fill.  Last night, I was half tempted to pick up the nice badge tanking bracers, but luckily remembered the whole point of going feral.

Farming for badges.

It seems, at least on my server, that the hardest class to get a hold of for heroics is a tank.  We seem to have more than enough healers willing to do the job, and of course more than enough DPSers, we just don’t have all that many tanks. 

So, I figure, why not?

I headed to Darn, picked up all my tanking pieces from the bank, and hit the druid trainer.  My cost to respec had bottomed out to 15g, so no big deal.  (I will have to respec again on Saturday for BT, however.)  I carefully chose my talents, and ended up with 0/47/14 or something like that.  I’m pretty sure I hit all the key talents for tanking, and threw in the DPS talents as well.

I put on all my bear gear, and took a look at my stats.

• 11.4k Health (A little low, but should be doable for a lot of easier heroics with a good healer methinks – this is completely unbuffed, though, I didn’t even have Mark up.)
• 20,800 some armor
• 20.33% Dodge
• 417 Defense (Yay!  No crits!  This is one thing I reworked the gems a bit to achieve.)
• 1600ish Attack Power

Not bad.  I spent the next half hour or so setting up a tanking bar, as it had been a LONG time since I tanked. 

By the time I was done, though, I was yawning.  It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to tank a heroic for the first time fairly tired.  I had stayed up later than usual to watch the Bears get beat by the Chiefs, and then to watch the So You Think You Can Dance finale.  Yes, I’m a sports nerd, and a lot of other nerds rolled into one.  My name is PTD, and I am a gaming nerd, blogging nerd, sports nerd (go Cubs and Bears!), reality TV nerd (especially Gordon Ramsay) and a Bowling nerd.  Beat that!  Oh, and if you ever want to get pwned on the lanes, give me a ring.

Anyhow, I elected not to try to get anything going, but logged off in Shatt with the SP daily heroic saved.  I plan to start with either that or Ramparts.  SP has classically been known as the "easiest" heroic, but I think I might prefer to do Ramps first, as I have a more solid understanding of how all the pulls work.  Hopefully tonight I get a shot at my first tanked heroic, and I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.  Who knows, maybe I’ll love it and finally be everything my class could be.  A Tank, Healer or DPS, whatever you need, for any situation.

Next I’ll have to look at my DPS gear overall.  I know I have a nice epic chest from SSC!

Well, I’ve spent a good deal of time lately mostly ignoring my main.  Things had slowed down in my guild, and I wasn’t raiding regularly as I was missing out on the signups.  I spent some time working on my Hunter, who is now reasonably geared in mostly T4 level epics.  I tell ya one thing, he sure can blow through his dailies much faster than my T5 level Resto Druid.  Sometimes I wonder if I should level HIM when Wrath hits.  But, that’s neither here nor there.

I’ve also gotten my Shadow Priest up to 62, and also worked on his trade skills.  He has tailoring at around 365 and his enchanting is up to about 320.  Two very nice trades to have, and I’m glad I picked them up.

But, as you surely know, I was in Black Temple Saturday night.  It’s time to start working on my main again.

One of the reasons he had fallen by the wayside a bit is that he’s more and more difficult to improve.  It seems the further you go in terms of gear, the more difficult it is to reach that next level.  Well, now that I’m officially in T6 content, the time to refocus is here.

For starters, I’m looking at all the badge gear that’s available, to try and find the best bang for my buck.  The healing leather chest is a nice upgrade, but not game-changing.  There is a nice ring, along with a decent pair of gloves, but neither screams out to me.  I already have the awesome pants that are available.

For pure, huge upgrade, there is really only one choice:  The Gavel of Naaru Blessings. I’ve been carrying the Shard of the Virtuous for, like, ever. I just can’t seem to get lucky with any of the other drops, like off the Prince for instance. I also have not taken Lady V down, and she carried a nice healy mace. I think I finally realized that the Gavel is just the way to go.

It’s high time I start farming badges.  It’s going to take some time to get to 150, though, and I hope I can stick with the program.  I’m sitting at 56 as of now, and the last two days have made sure to do the heroic daily.

The good thing about that is that yesterday it happened to be Shattered Halls.  I’ve never finished SH.  I  have actually only TRIED once — it was long ago, it was a pug, and we didn’t get past the gauntlet.  So it was nice to see content I hadn’t seen before, and I also made sure to pick up the quests there as well.  I still needed the Honor Hold revered head enchant, and I’ve needed it for a long time.  I just haven’t had the heart to beg for heroic HH instance runs.  Heart be damned, I’m going to be begging.

Well-geared Resto Druid LFG — anything that gives badges!

No, I haven’t seen Dark Knight yet, though I’m itching to.  Ledger just looks great as the Joker, much more frightening than the Jack Nicholson version from 1989.

Anyhow…

I don’t know about your server, but over on Whisperwind we seem to be having a bit of a tank crisis.  Take a gander at the LFG channel, and chances are you’ll see multiple groups just looking for one last piece to start a run – a tank.

Let’s face it, good tanks are hard to come by.  It’s a tough enough job running with people you know, it much be semi-nightmaric to try to tank a PUG run.  I don’t even want to get into what a Warrior’s repair bill looks like after a heroic PUG.  Ugh.

Also, in my guild one of our main tanks took a vacation for about 2 weeks and we were short a very important piece.  (Zhen, you’ve got some nerve!)  One of our other main tanks has been suffering from on again off again burnout, which doesn’t help.  Because of all that it’s been difficult to get even guild runs off the ground.

Well, I’ve been considering the unthinkable.  Respecing.  If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I leveled feral all the way, and spent a good 3-4 months when I hit 70 as a feral druid.  Well, I was a little afraid of trying to lead runs at the time, so I was always vying for DPS spots in instances.  That proved to be quite difficult, and my guild was also running a little low on healers.  So it was that Pummra was reborn as a resto druid.

I took to healing like a fish to water (more on that later) and haven’t looked back.  I enjoy my role as a healer, and I’ve come a long way in terms of gear and skill.  In my good healer gear, I’m sitting at about 1900 +heal – not a huge number, but more than adequate for T5 and everything below that.  Since I’ve raided SSC, Kara and Heroics so much, I’ve also slowly been amassing tanking and DPS gear.

I didn’t know how far I had come in that respect until the other night.  I knew I was close to a really good tanking set, but I didn’t know how close.  When I put everything on, I was at 10.2k health, 18k+ armor and 418 defense.  And that’s resto spec’d.  I had kicked around the idea of trying to tank again before, but I just got a couple more recent upgrades to push me over that magical 415 defense number.  I have some fantastic pieces, like the Wildfury Greatstaff from SSC.

So should I take the plunge? I very well might, and even offered to OT Kara Friday night if necessary. I don’t like the idea of paying for respecs all the time, as I still plan to raid as a healer, but I’ll live with it. I’m no longer intimidated by leading or marking on runs, so expect to see Pummra’s Big Bear Butt soon!

It’s been a little quiet around here lately, sorry about that.  I’m a key player in a HUUUUGE project at work, and our launch is this weekend.  It’s been one of those weeks.  I’m sur a lot of you out there can sympathize.  Anyhow, here’s a little bit about the latest goings on with PTD.

The Shammy Ditches the Elekk

As a lot of you know, I’ve been working my Stormwind rep so I can dump the hated Elekk with my Shammy.  I’m so sick of getting STUCK everywhere, I can’t take it anymore.  Well, the deed is done.  I conveniently saved the last couple of turnins that would push me to exalted for the mini quest hub in Elwynn where horses are sold.  The first thing I did was destroy that stupid Elekk mount.  Poor guy, don’t tell PETA.

Do I want to delete? HELL YEAH! I hopped on the cheapest horse on the lot, a beat up Pinto.

Wow, I sure look big on that thing.  I actually feel kinda sorry for that horse.  I hope he has a warranty!

So there it is.  Exalted Stormwind rep with my Shammy.  As an added bonus, I know where I’ll be vendoring and repairing from here on out!

Hunter Gears Up in Karazhan

I also put together a Kara run last night.  It seemed like it might not go off, and I actually half-cancelled it, when suddenly two of our best tanks threw their hats in the ring.  We had 2 priests, a Warrior and Pally for tanks, and a mix of DPS that included my Hunter, 2 Mages, an Enhance Shammy, Kitty Druid and a Fury Warrior.  Interesting mix, to be sure.  Luckily we had the Shammy along who made the melee DPS very strong.

We blasted through pretty much everything.  We had one wipe after the ramp leading to opera, where we accidentally pulled the whole room.  Other than that, we one shot everything, skipping only Illhoof and Netherspite.  We would have gone back, but a couple people had to bail so we called it a night.

Loot-wise, it was both good and bad for me.  I actually got one of the best cloaks a Hunter can have in the Drape of the Dark Reavers.  Nice. I also happened to pick up TWO pairs of gaunts. I got the Gloves of Quickening from Maiden and my T4 gloves, the Demon Stalker Gauntlets from Curator. I already have the Crystalhide Handwraps, so I have some thinking to do there. Anyone have any thoughts on those three? None have enchants as of yet, the Crystalhide are gemmed but with easily replaceable stuff, no epics.

Anyhow, what I REALLY wanted though was a new ranged weapon.  No dice.  No Crossbow from Attumen, no Gun from the BBW (which I REALLY want…I am a dwarf!) and no bow from the Prince.  Bah, humbug.  Someday I will upgrade from my old, blue Valanos’.  I just don’t know when.

Well, that’s about all for now.  I do have some more in depth posts brewing, I just haven’t had the time.  Next week things should start to clear up, right about the time all the adulation and cash starts rolling in at work for the great job I did on the site.  We’ll see.  Thanks for reading!

AH Insanity is killing me.  Honestly.  I had fun leveling my warrior for awhile, got him to 40, and said “yay, time for plate!”  Then I saw the AH.

You have GOT to be kidding me.  10g for a pair of level 40 plate bracers of the Wolf?  25g and up for anything of the Bear or Tiger?  SERIOUSLY??

I mean, aren’t I going to be using this for, like, 5 levels or so?  Which at the present rate of progression amounts to about a week of playing?  /scoff  I guess I’ll be rocking the mail for awhile longer, until I can get some good quest rewards or something.

What I’ve found is that the insanity is all over the place.  Yes, I realize Blizz dumped a crap load of cash into the economy with the SSO dailies, but this is getting ridiculous.  My shammy, now level 45, is still wearing bracers and gloves from level 30.   I refuse to bow to ridiculous prices, and farm with my 70 to outfit an alt.

Now, in some ways I understand the ridiculous prices for, say, level 29 BOE blues.  I know the twinkers fall all over themselves for those.  But this craziness about other sub 70 stuff must end.  How long do we spend in those midlevels anyway?

Now, people -  the only way this will change is if YOU change it!  You must agree to not bow to ridiculously priced green stuff on the AH!  If we work together, we can move mountains, you and I.  We shall overcome!

I’m the Part Time Druid, and I approve this message.

Awhile back I wrote a post about whether it was worth it to level another druid. I started out feral, and there are times I miss that spec’s flexibility. At the time, I didn’t like the idea of spending 50g here and there to switch back and forth.

My how times have changed. Money isn’t nearly the issue it was, since I did manage to pick up my epic flyer. The real difference, though, is gear. In the course of my raiding in Kara and SSC, I’ve gotten most of the healy drops I want. (Well, admittedly there are a few things I’d still like to see, like the [Lightfathom Sceptre] from Lady Vashj, but I haven’t yet killed that blasted Naga.)

Anyhow, I find myself getting the opportunity to roll on a lot of off spec stuff, since if nobody wants something, it doesn’t cost me anything to roll off spec. I’ve ended up with a number of great drops for both tanking and DPS, including the best tanking staff in the game, the [Wildfury Greatstaff].

So, just for giggles, I put on all the bear gear I had collected as an “off spec,” along with gap fillers from my feral days, like some of the clefthoof stuff. What did I end up with? Keep in mind I’m still resto spec’d in this gear, but I was around 20k armor, 10.5k HPs and 401 def. A couple gem swaps and I’m uncrittable.

I wonder. Could a resto spec’d druid tank Shadow Lab?

I realize it’s been some time since I had a big, beefy gear post. Since I’ve been playing my hunter more, and trying to get him geared for 25 man raiding, I thought this might be appropriate. I also found that though there are vast numbers of sites with good lists for Druid gear, the same can’t be said of Hunters. Perhaps its due to the fact that it is much easier to find gear that works for a hunter. They do have both leather and mail available to them, after all, and what they shoot for (Agility, AP, Hit Rating) is pretty easy to find. Anyhow, here goes, slot by slot. I’m going to ignore rings, trinkets, melee weapons and cloaks, as there are just too many choices to pick through. Chances are you’ll happen across good items for these slots as you hunt down the others. All of these items come from normal mode instances (save one that comes from a quest), so if you can get a strong group to pull you through some heroics or Kara, obviously you can do better. It should make for a good starting point, however.

Ranged Weapon

There are three ranged weapons that all hover around the same quality level, one for each type. The Crossbow to get is the [Emberhawk Crossbow]. No agility or hit rating, but it does buff your crit and AP. This crossbow drops in the Arcatraz. The Gun to get, if you are dwarvenly inclined, is the [Telescopic Sharprifle], which drops off the final boss in the Mechanar. This gun has the same DPS rating as the crossbow, with the added benefit of both agility and AP. A solid choice.

Now then, if you’re completely lazy and just want a good starter bow NOW, you can’t do better than a [Valanos' Longbow], which can be had for around 20g on the AH, maybe less. My hunter is STILL using this bow, as I have been unlucky thus far with epic level ranged weapon drops. Some day that Big Bad Wolf will drop his [Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle]!

Head

Now, if you happen to be an engineer, you should have [Surestrike Goggles v2.0], which is one of the best head pieces in the game. If not, go for the [Beast Lord Helm], which also drops off of the last boss in the Mechanar. If you’re hoping for the gun, the Mechanar makes for a perfect instance to farm for multiple drops. This is also a good option because you might want to go for the 2 piece set bonus from Beast Lord, which reduces the cooldown on traps. This is VERY handy in heroics and beyond.

Shoulders

For the shoulder slot, the [Mantle of Perenolde] from the final boss in Old Hillsbrad is a solid choice. It has hit, crit, AP AND two red slots, perfect for +agi or +ap gems.

Belt

The [Rune-Engraved Belt] is a nice choice here. It has agility, AP and Hit rating, and it’s from a quest, so no hoping for it to drop. It comes from the Fel Embers quest in Shattered Halls.

Gloves

While you’re completing the above mentioned quest, you can also find a good pair of gloves. If you have the Beast Lord Helm already, you can get the [Beast Lord Handguards] from the final boss in Shattered Halls. These gloves will serve you VERY well. Sockets, Agility, AP, Stam and Int for a bonus, and a little hit rating if you socket for it. Nice gloves. If Kargath refuses to drop those, he also has the [Wastewalker Gloves] which are VERY nice in their own right. Once you’re into heroics, you can look for other Wastewalker pieces for the nice +hit set bonus. Sure, they’re maybe more for rogues, but they suit a hunter just fine as well.

Chest, Legs, Wrist, and Boots: Magisters’ Terrace

Now, I didn’t realize this when I began my research, but with the release of 2.4, a veritable cornucopia of good hunter gear was brought together in one instance. Magisters’ Terrace. Holy shnikies, Batman, there is some NICE gear in there. There are even epic drops from regular mode.

[Bracers of the Forest Stalker]

These drop off the first boss, just about everything we want in a pair of bracers, Agility, a socket, some AP, and some armor penetration to boot.

[Leggings of the Betrayed]

These legs also drop off Selin Fireheart, the first boss in MagT. Who knows, maybe you get lucky and these and the bracers BOTH drop. Very nice legs here – agility, 3 sockets, AP, and a little haste as an added bonus.

[Hauberk of the War Bringer]

Epic chest. Regular instance. You can’t beat that, eh? Now MagT is a tougher than most other regular instances (I’d call it half heroic), but is doable. You just need to be a little more careful with your group. This is an excellent chest that will serve you well for a good while, probably until you start collecting badges. There is no hit rating to be had on it, but there are those yellow sockets to take advantage of and gem for it a bit. (I haven’t mentioned it before, but for a BM hunter, you want to get to 142 HR to hit the cap.) This chest drops off of Kael’thas himself.

[Sunrage Treads]

Another nice epic drop from Kael’thas. Agility, stamina, a socket, AP and a little more armor ignore. These will last you at least until you get your [Edgewalker Longboots] off of Moroes.

A Note on Crafting Before I Go

You can circumvent a lot of the pain of gear hunting by taking up a tradeskill to make your armor and/or weapons. Like Druids, Hunters can benefit GREATLY from Leatherworking. There are actually three different sets they can make that are useful. Fel Skin, Felstalker, and Netherscale Armor. With all those choices, and the very raid useful [Drums of Battle], Leatherworking may be a VERY good investment for a hunter.

Well, there you have it. Obviously, this is not intended to be the ultimate gear list, but simply a cheat sheet to get you started. That should get you well on your way to heroics and Karazhan, and before long maybe you’ll be putting an arrow in Lady Vashj’s eye. Thanks for reading!

Ya see, even casuals can save up 5k gold! Thank you Shattered Sun! Oh, and just so you know, I am NOT a female Draenei. That’s my Dwarf Hunter who had recently had a mishap with the Toshley’s Station transport!

I spend a lot of time looking at gear. I’m sure most of you do, too. Post 70 it’s really the only way to “progress” your character any further. (At least until Wrath!) One thing I’ve found in my time as a Resto Druid is that though there are plenty of resources for gear, none really FOCUS on what’s good for a Resto Druid. So I’ll do my best to occasionally break down some gear choices for you. Since I’ve been spending my time in SSC (now at 4/6), I thought this was a good place to look next. On to the gear.

Tier 5 Drops

Ohhh, exciting. SSC and Tempest Keep house the various tokens for the Tier 5 armor sets. In SSC you can get your token for the helm, gloves and leggings. Let’s take a look at the healing T5 set pieces.

[Nordrassil Gloves]

The token for these guys drops off of Leotheras the Blind. If you’re wearing [Handguards of Malorne], these are a nice, though minor, upgrade. You get a boost of 4 to stamina, 2 to intellect, 15 to healing and 2 to MP5. Sounds fair enough. The thing is this. I’m not even wearing the Tier 4 gloves, though I have them. I’m wearing [Mitts of the Treemender], and I expect to continue doing so for the forseeable future. The Mitts give me the flexibility of gem slots that neither the T4 nor T5 gloves do. After gemming, they actually have more +heal than either as well. I am losing both spirit and MP5 by hanging onto them, but, frankly, there are other things I’d rather spend my DKP or SK spot on.

[Nordrassil Life-Kilt]

Another good upgrade over the T4 equivalent, the [Legguards of Malorne]. The good things about these legs over the T4 is that they not only have higher overall stats, they also have a gem slot for flexibility. Find the spirit lacking? Gem for it. Need more raw heal? Gem for it. Now, when all is said and done, you’re certainly better off if you already have the [Pants of Splendid Recovery] or [Grovewalker's Leggings] (like yours truly – yes, I got over the fact that the 2.4 legs are really not legs at all, but a skirt.) If you don’t have either of those, however, these are a solid choice in legs.

[Nordrassil Headguard]

Let’s get one thing straight about the head piece. The token drops off the big gal naga herself, Lady Vashj. I don’t know when I’ll see these personally, but it doesn’t hurt to dream! This is a VERY BIG upgrade over the T4 headpiece, the [Crown of Malorne]. A healthy boost to stamina and spirit, a nudge to intellect, and a sizable jump in +Heal. The only real drop is in MP5, which can be made up for if you gem to make the socket bonus. Personally, I pay VERY little attention to MP5 nowadays. Since the changes to mana regen in 2.4, I find I RARELY run out of mana, even though I don’t have any huge number personally. (Around 175 while casting, I believe.) I’d use my SK slot or DKP for this in an instant. Not only because it’s a great upgrade over T4, but also because, IMO, helms are one of the most difficult areas to upgrade. Heck, I wore the [Hallowed Crown] for roughly, well, ever. When you see a slam dunk like this, you take it. All you have to do is take down Lady Vashj, how hard could it be?

Other Armor

• [Soul-Strider Boots] (Cloth) – This is one great pair of boots. The boot slot is also one of the more difficult slots to fill, IMO. Good stats including high spirit, high raw +heal, and a couple of gem slots. Don’t let the fact that they’re cloth turn you off. You go down as fast as any clothie anyhow!
• [Wraps of Purification] (Cloth) – These are nice bracers, but if you’re sporting the anything like the [Windhawk Bracers], I’d stick with those.
• [Gnarled Chestpiece of the Ancients] - Basically, whenever I come across a piece of armor for the chest, belt or bracers slot, I wonder if it’s worthing picking up and breaking up my Windhawk set. If I’m going to waste my spot or points on a piece, I want it to be significantly better than the Windhawk. I don’t think this is such a piece…greater raw +heal, a big boost to stamina…but nary a gem slot.
• [Grove-Bands of Remulos] – See above. These are a good, but not great upgrade over the Windhawk. I like the nice spirit bump, and there is a decent +heal bump as well, even taking into account the lack of a gem slot.
• [Orca-Hide Boots] – These are very close to the aforementioned cloth boots, though I might give the [Soul-Strider Boots] the nod over these due to the spirit. Still a solid choice for the foot slot.
• [Runetotem's Mantle] – I’m going to compare these shoulders to the [Gnarled Ironwood Pauldrons], and I think they come out a little ahead of those badge shoulders. You do lose a bit of +heal based on gemming, and some flexibility, but you gain in the important stat categories. Of course, you have to take down Lady Vashj if you want to get your hands on these.

Other Stuff

• [Pendant of the Lost Ages] – Not much of a healing number, I know. But that bonus affect to combat silence could be golden in some situations.
• [Idol of the Crescent Goddess] – Meh. I do use Regrowth, and more now than before, but this will not replace my Lifebloom trinket.
• [Lightfathom Scepter] - Wow. This is one of the pieces I’m most excited to see drop. The problem is it drops of Lady Vashj. I wonder what will happen first: me saving up 150 badges for the [Gavel of Naaru Blessings] or being in a group that takes down that blasted Naga, and can beat out the other healers should it drop. Hmmm.
• [Wildfury Greatstaff] – Because some day you may be in the raid where the ferals all have it. And at that time, why not pick it up just for show?
• [Coral Band of the Revived] – Darn you Lady Vashj! You have all the best stuff! Anyhow, what a ring! Huge spirit number AND huge +heal number. They may as well call it the Coral Band of the Restoration Druid. (Yes yes, I know holy priests will like it too!)

Phew! You know when you have what you THINK is a great idea, and it will be easy to pull off, but then it snowballs on you? Well, that’s what just happened to me with this post! Now I can only pray that someone, somewhere out there will get SOME use out of it! Thanks for reading!

Another gear post? Seriously?

Yes. If there’s one thing people like to research on the net and on blogs, it’s gear. I know I used it extensively when I first switched to a resto spec to get geared out. I’ve touched on it before, but I thought it was high time for something in-depth with concrete ANSWERS.

What I will give you is this: for each slot, I will give you my recommendation for what to get based on two factors. Overall usefulness, and ease of acquisition. I intend this to be a cheat sheet for you lazy types who just want to get a decent healing item in each slot, pronto. For more detailed guides, check out the great lists on 4haelz and A Tale of Two Druids. Here goes!

Weapon

[The Essence Focuser]

I bought this mace for a whopping 27 gold when I first turned to the resto spec. It’s got a great +heal number, and they seem to drop like mad as they can be had for a song on the AH. This served me quite well until I moved up to the [Shard of the Virtuous] from Kara.

Off Hand

[Unearthed Orb]

A nice off hand with both some +heal and even some MP5. The best thing is it comes as a quest reward. I sure hope you didn’t do it already and pick something else! It comes from Escaping the Tomb.

Idol

[Idol of the Emerald Queen]

This is a no brainer. I’m still using this idol, and unless I get my act together and do the Epic Flight Form stuff, I’ll be using it for the forseeable future. Go to Shadow Lab. Farm the first boss till it drops. Trust me.

Head

[Moonglade Cowl]

Honestly, the head slot is tough, IMO. I’m recommending this piece for three reasons. First, it drops from Botanica, where I will send you for other drops, so you can kill two or more birds with one stone in this instance. The second reason is that you can also work on your Sha’tar rep in here, and therefore if you can’t get this to drop, at Honored with Sha’tar you can pick up [Kodohide Helm]. The third reason is that you might want to pick up two pieces of Moonglade early, as the 2 piece bonus is pretty nice to your tanks.

Shoulders

[Mantle of Autumn]

This is one of the other pieces I was talking about. We’re multi tasking by going for stuff out of Botanica. There are better shoulders out there, but this is a good place to start.

Chest

[Windhawk Hauberk]

Here’s where we go in a bit of a different direction. I HIGHLY recommend you pick up leatherworking, if you haven’t already. In my opinion, the Windhawk set is FANTASTIC for a resto druid, and all it takes is 375 skill and some mat farming. (The total mats for the whole set, Chest, Belt and Bracers, is 18 Heavy Knothide Leather, 48 Wind Scales, 36 Primal Air, 6 Primal Might and 3 Primal Nether. Steep, but worth it!) Also keep in mind that the +heal and +spell damage stacks for +heal, so this chest gives a base of +74 heal before gemming.

Getting the set also covers three slots, so it’s a multi tasker as well. You end up with a chest that’s better than Tier 4, without having to take down Magtheridon. I’m still wearing this in SSC, and may keep it even beyond that. If you absolutely cannot take up LW, go grab the [Lifewarden's Breastplate] from Destroy Naberius. It’s from a quest chain, but not an altogether difficult one.

Bracers

[Windhawk Bracers]

We’ve gone over this, right? Awesome bracers, some of the best you can get, period. The non-LW alternative are the [Goldenvine Wraps] which come from Lost in Action.

Hands

[Prismatic Mittens of Mending]

Look at that! Another Botanica drop! Sure, they’re cloth and not leather, but that doesn’t matter so much, trust me. Even all decked out in leather, a tree goes down about as fast as any clothy under duress. These are nice gaunts, and we get that whole multi tasking thing going. Was Botanica invented for Resto Druids??

Belt

[Windhawk Belt]

Have I sold you on Leatherworking yet? Because there are many other nice patterns besides the Windhawk set, like the [Hood of Primal Life] and [Gloves of the Living Touch]. Come on, take LW already! If you insist against, pick up [The Sleeper's Cord] from the Arcatraz.

Legs

[Moonglade Pants] from the Black Morass will work here. It’s also a good slot to use for that set bonus I mentioned earlier. If you’re not into running this one instance for pants, there is a nice quest reward from Special Delivery to Shattrath City in the [Pants of the Naaru]. I must warn you, they make you look like you’re not wearing any pants, especially if you’re a Night Elf.

Boots

[Curate's Boots]

Boots are another kind of tough slot. There are some green quest rewards, and various drops from instances. I’m listing these due to both their quality and the fact that they are a quest reward from the Fel Embers quest.

Cloak

[Mantle of Vivication]

Hey! More opportunities to Multi Task! Another Shattered Halls Quest, Turning the Tide, will net you this nice cloak.

Rings

There are about a million rings that would suit. Plus, you’ll get a nice one as soon as you start Kara. But if you must have a couple right away, grab a [Brilliant Pearl Band] from a jewelcrafter and maybe the [Celestial Jewel Ring] from Hitting the Motherlode quest.

Neck

[A'dal's Recovery Necklace]

That works. Again, there’s about a million choices. There’s a good chance you have something from an earlier quest anyhow.

Trinkets

There are many, many routes to take with trinkets. I had the hardest time personally with this, as I didn’t even have a second healing trinket until I was able to pick up the [Lower City Prayerbook] when I hit revered with Lower City. Up until that point, I only carried around the [Oshu'gun Relic] from the Gava’xi quest in Nagrand. Go ahead and pick that up and perhaps, in all of our Botanica runs, the [Bangle of Endless Blessings] dropped.

So, there you have it!  I must say, this seemed as if it would be easy when I started, but it turned into quite a production!  I hope this helps you not only gear up your freshly 70 healer, but do it quickly and efficiently.  I’m sure I’ve missed a few good items along the way, but I wasn’t going for an exhaustive list, just a good starting point.  Thanks for reading!