Cataclysm Druid Healing Tips

Druid Healing Tips

Here are some quick tips for getting through dungeons.Of course, if you end up in a group that is just plain dumb, then you're at a loss. :(

-Keep Lifebloom stacked on the tank. It will help mitigate damage and it's cheap. Also, the T11 4 set involves keeping Lifebloom at 3 stacks for a spirit increase, so start practicing now :)
-Topping off DPS is not a priority. As long as everyone is at least about 60-70%, there is no need to panic. As you go, you will learn which bosses do more then 50% of a persons health, and that way you know to keep them up, but honestly, there is nothing super emergent about healing beyond the tank. I like to drop Wild Growth and let it heal if the dps need some healing.
-That being said, keep the tank hotted up and cast Nourish to replenish his health. Before Cata and after 4.01, Nourish became obsolete. It is now your best tank heal.
-Be conscious of the cost of your spells and who has priority. Mana Conservation is now key to being an effective healer.
-Keep an eye out for when Clearcasting (Omen of Clarity) procs. This is a great free heal, especially an expensive Regrowth. It's good to also understand how long it lasts, so that you can make sure not to waste this free heal. If everyone is topped off, still throw a Regrowth on the tank, just for that extra HoT in case you need to heal with a Nourish (remember, more HoTs = greater heals from Nourish).
-Remember: intellect > spirit > haste > crit > mastery. Although you may feel like stacking spirit is the way to go, Intellect is still by far the best stat we can go for. Higher spellpower means better healing and less mana you will need to consume.

-Be patient. Most dungeons are long (Halls of Origination is 7 bosses long and the size of a mini Ulduar) and many people are going through learning experiences. Hopefully, by you showing patience and a calm attitude, others will follow suite. It is even now more crucial that everyone works together to defeat an instance and yelling at each other and griping the whole time won't help.

The new Cataclysm healing style definitely holds a learning curve. It requires many WotLK healers to break out of habits we've been playing with for a couple years now. But it's possible, and just requires patience. It's easy to get discouraged; God knows I have. 

Happy healing. :)