Restoration Druid Review of Keeper of the Grove Hero Talents - Content Viability Concerns

Live Posted 2024/02/16 at 11:13 AM by Voulk

Sneak Peek

Hero Talents are an extension of the Talent system designed to explore class fantasy with a third talent tree, separate from your class and specialization. With the release of Alpha, Blizzard has previewed most Hero Talents Trees coming in the next expansion, The War Within.
The War Within Hero Talents Overview

Our Guide Writers have provided initial first impressions on the Hero Talent Trees revealed so far. Check out all of our released Hero Talent reviews in our new Editorial Section.

Wowhead Editorials

Restoration Druid First Impressions: Keeper of the Grove Hero TalentsGrove GuardiansGrove Guardianswe start to feel more like a pet classGrove GuardiansKeep in mind when reading through this that there are a lot of unknowns still and we're missing a lot of the picture of how the spec will play.Node WalkthroughGrove Guardian Focused NodesGrove GuardiansGrove GuardiansCat FormMoonfireWild GrowthRejuvenationLifebloomGrove GuardiansNourishGrove GuardiansFlourishIncarnation: Tree of LifeGrove GuardiansRegrowth-Wild Growth-Swiftmend NodesRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendRegrowthSwiftmendWild GrowthSwiftmendWild GrowthRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendRegrowthRejuvenationWild GrowthWild GrowthRegrowthWild GrowthGrove GuardiansRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendConvoke the SpiritsWild GrowthRegrowthPhotosynthesisRampant GrowthUtility & Other Minor NodesCommon Threads: The Regrowth TriarchyRegrowthSwiftmendWild GrowthdiscouragesRegrowthSwiftmendSwiftmendReforestationSoul of the ForestRegrowthFlourishRejuvenationFinal TakeawaysGrove GuardiansRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendGrove GuardiansrestrictschoiceGrove GuardiansThis tree does not function if you pick Nourish.Grove GuardiansNourishGrove GuardiansNourishQuestionably EpicQE LiveDungeon Tips addonProtective GrowthRegrowthRegrowthDream SurgeGrove GuardiansExpansivenessBlooming InfusionRegrowthWrathStarfireTreants of the MoonMoonfireGrove's InspirationWrathStarfireRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendPersistent EnchantmentsReforestationPower of the DreamControl of the DreamIncarnation: Tree of LifeConvoke the SpiritsBounteous BloomGrove GuardiansEarly SpringGrove GuardiansCenarius' MightRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendRegrowthWild GrowthSwiftmendHarmony Of The GroveGrove GuardiansPower of NatureGrove GuardiansRejuvenationEfflorescenceLifebloomDurability of NatureGrove GuardiansNourishSwiftmendCenarion Ward

Comment by TastelikelemonBlizz should take a careful look on druid mana sustain especially in longer fights. At the moment we are the highest CPM class among healers and if we wanna do optimized healing with proper mana return via our Amalgam trinket , we are forced to constantly dump heavily our mana after the nerf of Luxuriant Soil and Abundance and longer fights like Fyrakk without extra Innervate are horrible to deal with.Comment by 2391970I would like to see Grove Guardians on a central choice node with flourish. Make that a core decision druids have to make and balance power accordingly.

The guardians are admittedly pretty good in small party content (PvP, dungeons) and I understand why people are hesitant to have them eliminated completely.. Meanwhile I think almost every druid I know misses the burst ramp power of flourish in raid.

That kind of change would also help with downstream decisions like these hero talents.Comment by AySz88It might be too tempting for M+ groups to fixate on this tree for resto druids' DPS in cat form, figuring we can rely on treants for healing. It's already a bit odd (from a game design and fantasy viewpoint) that healers' DPS contribution is so relevant to M+ builds; I'd think a lot of people playing healers would rather focus on healing, rather than treat it as an obstacle from doing DPS. This tree seems to only encourage that.

(Maybe they can do something that turns overheal into buffs or damage, or a minor debuff or random inconsistency at lower health? One could hope...)Comment by Cyrus19I love Treants, I want to see more of them, I love the idea of a pet healer because it doesn't exist yet and I'm having a blast with the Season 3 Tier set.

Try to keep the articles unbiased instead of bold print stating your opinion that you don't think the class should have pet interactions right at the top. You don't speak for what every one finds fun.Comment by MyFingerIsOnCDI can only hope the non-pet healing tree is better tuned. I hate this GG incarnation of rdroo.Comment by VoulkI love Treants, I want to see more of them, I love the idea of a pet healer because it doesn't exist yet and I'm having a blast with the Season 3 Tier set.

Try to keep the articles unbiased instead of bold print stating your opinion that you don't think the class should have pet interactions right at the top. You don't speak for what every one finds fun.Comment by ChromsJust take a step back on pushing the trees into a mayor role in both resto and balance and maybe look at what else could be interesting without completely uprooting/changing how these specs play entirelyComment by moonlupI don't like playing with trees. I've been comfortable on Druid since Mists but with them pushing trees this hard I'm looking at switching mains for War Within. My Evoker has been fun to play this expac but priest changes are looking interesting, too. It's just a matter of figuring out what I can be most comfortable with. I really hope Wildstalker presents a viable option because I don't really want to learn a new class...Comment by Roshidon1Hey Voulk, can you explain what you mean by this?

"I can think of a lot of different ways I could use this tree in Mythic+, but few in raid. It continues to feel like the core that Resto Druid has enjoyed for several expansions is being chipped away at and I am not convinced this new direction is an upgrade."

Is this in reference to a psuedo-pet being added to the druid class (more of a totem really) or that you think they are setting up Resto Druid to be more of a mythic + healer than a raid healer?Comment by VoulkHey Voulk, can you explain what you mean by this?

"I can think of a lot of different ways I could use this tree in Mythic+, but few in raid. It continues to feel like the core that Resto Druid has enjoyed for several expansions is being chipped away at and I am not convinced this new direction is an upgrade."

Is this in reference to a psuedo-pet being added to the druid class (more of a totem really) or that you think they are setting up Resto Druid to be more of a mythic + healer than a raid healer?Comment by Psyshadowxx
Sure. I don't think they're trying to set Resto Druid up to be a Mythic+ healer (I think their objective is for every healer to be competitive in both). I just think that the Mythic+ aspects of the spec have gotten more positive attention lately. In raid, the spec has struggled with mana and cooldown changes, both of which shifted how you'd traditionally want to play the spec. None of those hurt much in Mythic+ and huge damage buffs made the spec really interesting in that content type.

A traditional Resto Druid raid spec (since Legion) plays around ramping Rejuvenation across the raid and then combining with powerful cooldowns like Flourish, Tree of Life, and sometimes Convoke. A tree like Keeper of the Grove doesn't offer much to that playstyle. There's a little bit here and there (like the healing buff while Grove Guardians are out) but not really enough that I'd be excited to bring it to raid with me in The War Within. At least as it currently stands.Comment by Roshidon1snipComment by ZsozsoGnome Druid pls :)