Leveling Restoration in Legion

Shaikov of Garona (US) writes:

Hey there, I was just wondering how you leveled your Resto Druid in Legion. I feel like a lot of people say choosing a DPS spec is totally viable because of the way artifacts work but at the same time it kind of [frustrates me] to keep on changing between raids/dungeons and [World Quests]. What do you recommend?

Although I leveled as Restoration all the way through Wrath of the Lich King, once Blizzard introduced zero-cost talent respecs, I have been less dogmatic about avoiding at least one of our other two (now three) talent specializations. I recognize that my DPS as a Balance-specced Druid is abysmal, but it is still an improvement over that of my Restoration specialization, so I generally elect to make the switch when engaging in World Quests. However, I think it is totally viable to level exclusively Restoration, especially with the heroics (and a not insubstantial amount of showboating) of our Legion bodyguard, Broll Bearmantle. Simply set him as your focus and ensure your healing macros are set up to preferentially heal your focus if one exists (and can be helped). Something like this:

/use [@mouseover,help][@target,help][@focus,help][@player] Rejuvenation

Likewise, you can set your harmful spell macros to preferentially target your focus’s target, assuming you don’t already have something else targeted yourself. This can be useful when fighting multiple mobs. Something like this:

/use [@target,harm,nodead][@focustarget,harm,nodead][@targettarget,harm,nodead][@target] Sunfire

Note that the [nodead] modifier helps to ensure you’re not happily nuking away at a corpse. The final [@target] modifier may seem redundant but ensures that your spell displays the correct icon, even if you don’t have an enemy targeted.

Building a Following

Broll Bearmantle by Mark Abadier
Broll Bearmantle by Mark Abadier
While there were dozens of equally useful followers to be had in Warlords of Draenor, the limited following size and specific abilities of followers means making strategic choices for which Druids we enlist into our service. To maximize your effectiveness, you will want to choose 5 followers which meet the following requirements:

  • At least 1 of each talent specialization: Restoration, Balance, and Feral (thankfully, Blizzard rolled Guardian and Feral specs into a single category for the purposes of followers)
  • At least 1 of each ability counter: Hazard, Minions, Spell
  • One follower whose Combat Ally ability you want to make use of while in the Broken Isles

You can use secondary abilities to help you choose among two or more followers who meet one of the above-listed criteria. Here’s a table summarizing the specializations, basic counter, special abilities, and combat ally abilities (if applicable) of all eight possible followers:

Spec
Follower Name
Counters
Ability

Balance
Hazard
+15% chance when accompanied by lesser troops
Combat Ally: Mylune will occasionally appear and play her forest song, summoning faerie dragons to assist you in combat. Also, this.

Balance
Minions
+15% chance on missions with Spell
Combat Ally: Nightmarish Visions: Summon Naralex who petrifies your enemy target, putting them to sleep and increasing their damage taken by 50% for 10 sec.

Balance
Spell
+15% success when accompanied by two troops
Combat Ally: Emerald Charge: Summon Keeper Remulos to charge to your target destination, leaving behind a trail of emerald fire that heals allies for 5% of their maximum health and damages enemies for 100% Firestorm damage every sec.

Feral
Hazard
-30% starting mission cost
Combat Ally: Can accompany you as a guardian in the Broken Isles when assigned as a Combat Ally.

Feral
Minions
+15% chance on missions with Hazard

Feral
Spell
+15% chance on missions with Minions

Restoration
Minions
50% chance on success to heal an expired troop for 1

Restoration
Spell
Chance to return from a mission with a Wild Mushroom, usable to heal troops for 1 vitality

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Mylune, My Favorite

Amazing Mylune Cosplay by Lyz (ButtercupBrix)
Amazing Mylune Cosplay by Lyz (ButtercupBrix)

Warlords of Draenor first introduced garrisons, faction-specific strongholds that over time developed into self-sufficient towns providing every service a player could need (with the glaring exception of a barber). And to fill out our garrisons, Blizzard introduced the followers system, a collection of NPCs of a myriad of races and classes that you could recruit into your service. You could then dispatch these followers onto missions that provided personal benefits including gold, gear, garrison resources, and the occasional vanity item. Unfortunately, this system came to be maligned by players as feeling compulsory but inspiring no feelings of personal involvement. Millhouse Manastorm withstanding, our armies of 20 to 25 followers had little charisma and, in many cases, no backstory.

Fortunately, Blizzard listened to the complaints of players and completely overhauled their follower and mission systems for the release of The Burning Legion. Now followers hail from the same class as the player, conveying an instant sense of relatability. There are fewer of them, and the storylines that end with their offer of service are more compelling. None more so — for me, anyway — than the dryad Mylune.

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