Best healer in WoW Forever: every healing spec ranked at levels 30, 50 and 60

Which is the best healer in WoW Forever? Healers got some of the biggest changes from Classic - Wild Growth for Druids, Riptide for Shamans, Penance for Discipline Priests, Light's Vigil for Paladins - so the old healer ranking doesn't hold. We simulated all five healing specs at levels 30, 50 and 60. Restoration Druid is the best healer in WoW Forever at levels 50 and 60 in our sims, and Discipline Priest is the best healer at level 30.

Podium of the best healers in WoW Forever at level 60: 1 Restoration Druid 1492.6 HPS, 2 Restoration Shaman 1172.2 HPS, 3 Holy Priest 1035.1 HPS — The best healers in WoW Forever at level 60, in Raid List gear.

Best healer in WoW Forever: the short answer

Best healer at level 60: Restoration Druid with 1492.6 HPS in raid gear, 27% ahead of second place.
Healer ranking at 60: Restoration Druid, Restoration Shaman (1172.2), Holy Priest (1035.1), Holy Paladin (735.3) and Discipline Priest (732.7).
Best healer in dungeon gear: Restoration Druid again (909.7), then Restoration Shaman (619.1) and Holy Priest (617.1).
Best healer at level 30: Discipline Priest (172), just ahead of Restoration Shaman (167.9).

How we simulate healers

Every healer heals the same group: a tank plus a five-player party, for 60 seconds, 1,000 times. Each spec uses our default talents, its best race and its own spells - Wild Growth on the party, Riptide and Prayer of Mending on the tank, and so on. For the filler, the sim picks the spell and rank that heals the most while the mana lasts the fight.

Two things to keep in mind. There's no overhealing: every point of healing counts, which favours healers who heal several players at once. And HPS is not the whole job - shields, cleanses, buffs and saving a dying player don't show up in a number. At level 60 each healer wears its Raid List or Dungeon List; at levels 30 and 50 every healer wears the same healer gear.

WoW Forever healer ranking by level

Chart of WoW Forever healing per second at levels 30, 50 and 60 for Restoration Druid, Restoration Shaman, Holy Priest, Holy Paladin and Discipline Priest — Every WoW Forever healer at levels 30, 50 and 60.

Restoration Druid: 149.6 HPS at level 30, 702.8 at 50, 909.7 at 60 in dungeon gear, 1492.6 in raid gear
Restoration Shaman: 167.9 HPS at level 30, 577.3 at 50, 619.1 at 60 in dungeon gear, 1172.2 in raid gear
Holy Priest: 137.6 HPS at level 30, 469.3 at 50, 617.1 at 60 in dungeon gear, 1035.1 in raid gear
Holy Paladin: 118.6 HPS at level 30, 371.5 at 50, 384.8 at 60 in dungeon gear, 735.3 in raid gear
Discipline Priest: 172 HPS at level 30, 378.1 at 50, 479.7 at 60 in dungeon gear, 732.7 in raid gear

Why Restoration Druid is the best healer

Wild Growth is the reason. It heals the whole party on a short cooldown, and in our raid sim it's 39.5% of a Restoration Druid's healing. Regrowth adds 33.0% (its heal-over-time and the direct heal together) and Swiftmend 12.5% - and in Forever, Swiftmend doesn't use up the heal-over-time it's cast on, and heal-over-time ticks can crit.

Wild Growth arrives at level 40, which is why the Druid isn't first at level 30 (149.6 HPS, third) but leads by a wide margin at 50 (702.8) and 60. Our Restoration Druid guide has the full rotation.

Restoration Shaman and Holy Priest

Restoration Shaman is the best healer behind the Druid at every level from 50 up. In raid gear, Chain Heal does 58.8% of its healing and Riptide 24.0%, with Healing Stream Totem adding 11.5%. In dungeon gear, with less mana and healing power, the sim leans on Healing Wave instead (72.9%).

Holy Priest is third at 60 (1035.1), and nearly level with the Shaman in dungeon gear (617.1 to 619.1). Its new tool, Prayer of Mending, is 21.9% of its healing in raid gear.

Holy Paladin and Discipline Priest

Holy Paladin (735.3) and Discipline Priest (732.7) are almost tied at level 60. The Paladin heals mostly with Flash of Light (59.6%), with Light's Vigil and Holy Shock reaching the party. Discipline has Penance (19.5%) and Power Word: Shield.

Both lose out on things an HPS number can't measure: a shield that stops a death, or a Paladin's strong single-target healing on the tank, is worth more in a real fight than its HPS. And at level 30, Discipline is the best healer of all (172 HPS), thanks to Penance and Prayer of Healing (55.9% of its healing at 30).

Which healer should you play?

Our take: for raw healing, Restoration Druid is the best healer in WoW Forever by a distance, and Restoration Shaman is a strong second with Chain Heal and totems that help the whole group. If you're levelling as a healer, Discipline Priest is the best healer at 30. But healers win fights by keeping people alive, not by topping a meter - pick the healing style you enjoy.

Check the numbers: open the full sim for Restoration Druid or Restoration Shaman, or paste your own character into the simulator to see your HPS spell by spell.

Sources

Forever Upgrades spec rankings and the sim behind each spec (simspec.html): WoW: Forever build 1.60.1.70532 game data, default talents, best race, healing a tank and a five-player party, no overhealing, 1,000 fights of 60 seconds, seed 1 (October 26, 2026)
Forever Upgrades: Restoration Druid class guide (Wild Growth at level 40, Swiftmend and heal-over-time crits)