Updated July 17, 2026. This WoW Midnight Season 2 Healer Tier List includes Blizzard's latest healer tuning from July 16, the current Patch 12.1 class changes, The Venomous Abyss tier-set bonuses and available raid and Mythic+ testing.
Raid and Mythic+ rankings are separated because the two formats reward different healing profiles. Raid favors planned cooldown coverage, mana efficiency, raid-wide throughput, damage prevention and healing during scripted mechanics. Mythic+ places more value on emergency triage, tank healing, personal survivability, interrupts, dispels, crowd control, mobility and healer damage.
This is an early PTR projection rather than a final live ranking. Every healer can complete Season 2 content, and additional tuning can move a specialization by an entire tier before the season begins.
For talents, rotations, stats and gearing recommendations, visit the WoW Midnight Class Guides hub.
Midnight Season 2 Healer Tier List: Quick Answer
| Content | Best Current Choices | Strong Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Raid | Preservation Evoker, Restoration Druid | Mistweaver Monk, Holy Paladin, Discipline Priest |
| Mythic+ | Holy Paladin, Restoration Druid, Preservation Evoker | Discipline Priest, Mistweaver Monk, Restoration Shaman |
| Best all-around healer | Restoration Druid | Strong in both formats, highly mobile and improved by the latest tuning |
| Best raid specialist | Preservation Evoker | Still projects as a top raid healer despite the July 16 reductions |
| Best Mythic+ specialist | Holy Paladin | Excellent triage, utility, damage and greatly improved Holy Shock |
| Easiest reactive healer | Holy Priest | Clear healing tools and strong emergency recovery, but less utility and damage |
Best default recommendation: Restoration Druid currently offers the most balanced Season 2 profile. It has strong raid ramp healing, excellent Mythic+ mobility, powerful external tools and significantly improved Regrowth-based triage.
Latest Healer Tuning Update
The last major healer tuning update was deployed on July 16, 2026. It substantially changed the expected Season 2 healer balance:
- Restoration Druid: Regrowth healing increased by 25%. Abundance now provides a larger Critical Strike bonus and mana-cost reduction.
- Preservation Evoker: raid-oriented Dream Breath healing was reduced, while Living Flame and Verdant Embrace received major buffs intended to improve dungeon triage.
- Mistweaver Monk: all healing was reduced by 8%, while Gust of Mists received a large increase.
- Holy Paladin: Holy Shock healing increased by 50% and its mana cost was reduced by 11%.
- Discipline Priest: Penance damage and healing increased by 15%, but Atonement now loses more effectiveness when healing more than five targets.
- Holy Priest: Prayer of Mending healing increased by 20%, and Oracle's Prompt Prognosis healing increased by 30%.
- Restoration Shaman: received no direct changes in the July 16 tuning pass.
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Healer Tier List Movement
The movement arrows compare this ranking with the early PTR projection before the July 16 healer tuning.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ↑ | The healer gained relative value after recent tuning. |
| ↓ | The healer lost relative value or moved down a tier. |
| ↔ | The healer's overall position remains similar. |
Healer Tier List Methodology
The rankings assume comparable Season 2 item level, an active four-piece class set, appropriate talents and progression-focused play. They do not rank healers exclusively by theoretical HPS.
Raid ranking factors
- Raid-wide throughput: healing delivered during sustained and burst group damage.
- Cooldown coverage: frequency, strength and flexibility of major healing and damage-reduction cooldowns.
- Mana efficiency: the ability to maintain useful throughput during long progression encounters.
- Damage prevention: absorbs, barriers, externals and effects that prevent deaths before healing is required.
- Movement: healing retained while repositioning or handling mechanics.
- Utility: raid buffs, movement effects, dispels, immunities, external defensives and encounter-specific tools.
- Season 2 set value: strength and reliability of the two-piece and four-piece bonuses.
Mythic+ ranking factors
- Emergency triage: the ability to recover one or more players after sudden damage.
- Tank healing: sustained and burst support during dangerous pulls and boss mechanics.
- Healer damage: damage contribution when the group does not require active healing.
- Interrupts and control: kicks, stuns, knockbacks, roots and other dungeon utility.
- Dispels: access to disease, poison, curse, magic and offensive dispels.
- Mobility: the ability to heal while moving through mechanics.
- Personal survival: defensive cooldowns and self-healing during unavoidable damage.
- Pug reliability: performance without perfect group coordination.
A healer can rank highly without producing the largest raw HPS. Preventing damage, contributing meaningful DPS or bringing a required dispel can be more valuable than additional overhealing.
Midnight Season 2 Raid Healer Tier List
| Tier | Raid Healers |
|---|---|
| S | Preservation Evoker ↓, Restoration Druid ↑ |
| A | Mistweaver Monk ↓, Holy Paladin ↑, Discipline Priest ↓ |
| B | Holy Priest ↑, Restoration Shaman ↔ |
Tier interpretation: S Tier represents the strongest current progression projections. A Tier healers remain highly competitive and can be optimal in specific compositions. B Tier healers are viable but currently provide fewer universal advantages or require more favorable encounter conditions.
Raid S Tier Healers
Preservation Evoker
Preservation remains one of the strongest raid-healing projections even after the July 16 reductions. Blizzard specifically stated that its raid healing had exceeded other healers by a significant margin, leading to reductions to Dream Breath, Merithra's Blessing and the Living Flame triggered by the class set.
Its fundamental raid toolkit remains exceptional:
- Echo duplicates high-value healing across prepared targets.
- Dream Breath and Spiritbloom provide powerful empowered healing windows.
- Rewind can recover the raid after a large damage event.
- Dream Flight combines healing with movement.
- Zephyr provides group-wide area-damage reduction.
- Time Dilation remains a strong external defensive.
- Stasis allows important healing sequences to be prepared in advance.
The Season 2 two-piece creates a Living Flame after consuming Essence Burst, while the four-piece increases green healing and causes Verdant Embrace to grant Essence Burst. The July 16 tuning reduced the triggered Living Flame from its earlier PTR value, but the set still reinforces Preservation's triage and Essence economy.
Main weakness: Preservation's shorter range and positional requirements remain more restrictive than those of most other raid healers.
Restoration Druid
Restoration Druid moves into S Tier after multiple improvements to its direct healing, Mastery and Season 2 set. The latest increase to Regrowth substantially improves recovery when proactive heal-over-time coverage is not enough.
Restoration performs well in raids because it can prepare for predictable damage:
- Rejuvenation coverage creates a stable healing foundation.
- Wild Growth provides efficient group healing.
- Tranquility handles major scripted damage.
- Incarnation: Tree of Life supports extended healing windows.
- Ironbark provides a reliable external defensive.
- Innervate supports healer mana planning.
- Stampeding Roar provides valuable raid movement.
The two-piece can activate Genesis through Rejuvenation and Nature's Swiftness, increasing active heal-over-time effects. The redesigned four-piece guarantees Genesis from major abilities such as Nature's Swiftness, Tranquility and Incarnation or Convoke the Spirits and extends its duration.
Main weakness: Restoration loses value when damage is completely unpredictable and the Druid has no time to establish healing effects in advance.
Raid A Tier Healers
Mistweaver Monk
Mistweaver drops from the early S-tier projection after receiving an 8% reduction to all healing. Its Mastery was increased significantly, but this does not fully compensate every raid build equally.
The specialization still provides:
- Strong sustained raid throughput.
- Excellent movement and melee uptime.
- Revival for immediate raid healing and dispelling.
- Life Cocoon as an external defensive.
- Chi-Ji and Yu'lon healing windows.
- Mystic Touch when the raid does not already have a Monk.
The Season 2 set increases Rushing Wind Kick healing and can reset Rising Sun Kick or Rushing Wind Kick while removing their mana cost. This strongly favors active melee-healing builds.
Main weakness: the set offers less value to alternative casting-focused builds, while the blanket 8% healing reduction creates more uncertainty around final throughput.
Holy Paladin
Holy Paladin is one of the largest positive movers. It had already received an 8% general healing increase during earlier PTR tuning, and the July 16 update increased Holy Shock healing by another 50% while reducing its mana cost.
Its raid value includes:
- Aura Mastery and Devotion Aura.
- Powerful single-target healing and emergency recovery.
- Beacon healing across multiple priority targets.
- Lay on Hands and Blessing of Protection.
- Divine Shield for personal immunity.
- Strong damage contribution for a healer.
The two-piece increases the effectiveness of Infusion of Light, while the four-piece allows Judgment and Holy Light to generate additional Infusion procs. The set becomes substantially more useful when Holy Shock is strong and mana-efficient.
Main weakness: Holy Paladin still prefers close or melee positioning and does not provide the same effortless raid-wide coverage as Preservation or Restoration Druid.
Discipline Priest
Discipline remains a powerful progression healer because Power Word: Barrier, Pain Suppression and absorb-based healing can prevent deaths that raw HPS rankings do not fully capture.
The July 16 update increased Penance damage and healing by 15%, but also made Atonement healing fall off more sharply when affecting more than five targets. This is a direct raid limitation and the primary reason Discipline moves down within the ranking.
The Season 2 set increases Penance and reduces Mind Blast's cooldown. After Mind Blast, the four-piece strengthens the next Power Word: Shield or Void Shield.
Main weakness: Discipline requires precise preparation. A mistimed Atonement ramp is difficult to repair, and the new multi-target falloff reduces large-raid throughput.
Raid B Tier Healers
Holy Priest
Holy Priest improves after Prayer of Mending received a 20% healing increase and Oracle's Prompt Prognosis received a 30% increase. Its reactive healing remains easy to understand and effective during progression.
Holy Priest provides:
- Strong emergency healing through Holy Words.
- Prayer of Mending for repeated raid damage.
- Divine Hymn and Holy Word: Salvation for major damage events.
- Guardian Spirit as an external defensive.
- Flexible reactive healing without complex ramp preparation.
The Season 2 two-piece grants Haste based on active Renew targets. The four-piece increases Renew healing and causes Prayer of Mending to apply Renew through Light's Resurgence.
Main weakness: Holy Priest brings less damage prevention, mobility and unique utility than most competing raid healers. Mana efficiency can also become a concern in long encounters.
Restoration Shaman
Restoration Shaman remains viable through one of the strongest utility packages available to a healer:
- Spirit Link Totem.
- Wind Shear with a short cooldown.
- Poison Cleansing Totem.
- Purge and multiple crowd-control options.
- Healing Tide Totem and Ascendance.
- Strong stacked-group healing through Chain Heal and Healing Rain.
The Season 2 two-piece allows Healing Wave and Chain Heal to create Healing Rain. The four-piece causes allies inside Healing Rain to receive absorption shields.
Main weakness: Restoration received no direct help in the July 16 tuning pass. Its raid performance remains more dependent on stacked positioning, Chain Heal efficiency and mana management than the higher-ranked healers.
Midnight Season 2 Mythic+ Healer Tier List
| Tier | Mythic+ Healers |
|---|---|
| S | Holy Paladin ↑, Restoration Druid ↑, Preservation Evoker ↑ |
| A | Discipline Priest ↑, Mistweaver Monk ↓, Restoration Shaman ↔ |
| B | Holy Priest ↑ |
Mythic+ S Tier Healers
Holy Paladin
Holy Paladin moves to the top of the current Mythic+ projection. The 50% Holy Shock healing increase and lower mana cost directly improve the frequent triage required in five-player content.
Holy Paladin brings an unusually complete dungeon toolkit:
- Strong instant single-target recovery.
- Beacon support for the tank or multiple party members.
- Rebuke as a real interrupt.
- Hammer of Justice for control.
- Blinding Light for additional stops.
- Cleanse for Poison and Disease effects.
- Blessing of Protection, Blessing of Freedom and Lay on Hands.
- High personal durability and strong healer damage.
Its main limitation is positioning. Some dungeon mechanics punish melee-heavy groups, and moving away from the party can reduce the efficiency of certain abilities.
Restoration Druid
Restoration Druid remains one of the safest Mythic+ choices and gains additional value from the Regrowth and Abundance improvements. The spec can maintain healing while moving and prepare the party before damage arrives.
Its Mythic+ strengths include:
- Excellent mobile healing through heal-over-time effects.
- Strong tank support with Lifebloom and Ironbark.
- Improved emergency Regrowth healing.
- Soothe, Remove Corruption and Nature's Cure.
- Typhoon, Ursol's Vortex and Entangling Roots.
- Stampeding Roar and stealth-based route utility.
- Strong damage contribution when healing pressure is controlled.
The main weakness is recovery after completely unexpected damage when no heal-over-time effects are active. The latest Regrowth buff reduces this weakness but does not remove the need for preparation.
Preservation Evoker
Preservation moves upward in Mythic+ because the July 16 changes were explicitly designed to improve dungeon triage. Living Flame healing increased by 30%, while Verdant Embrace healing increased by 40%.
Preservation provides:
- Very strong emergency party healing.
- Time Dilation for dangerous tank mechanics.
- Zephyr for party-wide area-damage reduction.
- Rewind for major recovery.
- Quell, Tail Swipe and Wing Buffet.
- Rescue for repositioning allies.
- High mobility and meaningful damage.
The main issue is 30-yard range. Groups that spread widely can make Echo, Dream Breath and other healing patterns substantially harder to execute.
Mythic+ A Tier Healers
Discipline Priest
Discipline gains more from the July 16 update in Mythic+ than in raid. Penance received a 15% increase to damage and healing, while the additional Atonement falloff applies only when healing more than five targets and therefore does not materially affect a standard five-player party.
Discipline offers:
- Strong damage while healing through Atonement.
- Power Word: Barrier and Pain Suppression.
- Power Infusion.
- Mass Dispel and offensive Purge.
- Power Word: Shield and Void Shield prevention.
- Useful control through Psychic Scream.
The main weakness is reactive recovery. Discipline performs best when incoming damage is known in advance. Unexpected mistakes can force expensive direct healing.
Mistweaver Monk
Mistweaver remains strong but moves down after the 8% healing reduction. It still offers excellent mobility, high personal durability and significant damage through melee-healing builds.
Important Mythic+ tools include:
- Strong group healing through Ancient Teachings and melee abilities.
- Leg Sweep and Ring of Peace.
- Spear Hand Strike as an interrupt.
- Detox for Poison and Disease effects.
- Life Cocoon as an external defensive.
- Revival for healing and mass dispelling.
- Tiger's Lust for movement support.
The main weakness is melee dependency. Dangerous positioning or forced downtime can reduce both damage and healing contribution.
Restoration Shaman
Restoration Shaman remains a strong Mythic+ utility healer even without direct July 16 buffs.
Its dungeon toolkit includes:
- Wind Shear with an exceptionally short cooldown.
- Poison Cleansing Totem.
- Capacitor Totem, Thunderstorm and Hex.
- Purge and multiple dispel options.
- Spirit Link Totem for dangerous group damage.
- Earth Shield and strong tank support.
- Bloodlust or Heroism when the group lacks the effect.
The main weakness is that its healing can feel composition-dependent. Widely spread groups and heavy repeated triage can be more difficult than stacked Chain Heal or Healing Rain situations.
Mythic+ B Tier Healer
Holy Priest
Holy Priest is fully capable of healing Season 2 Mythic+, and the Prayer of Mending increase improves repeated party healing. Its straightforward reactive kit also makes it one of the easiest healers to learn.
However, its high-key case remains weaker because it lacks:
- A standard interrupt.
- Strong healer damage compared with Discipline, Holy Paladin or Mistweaver.
- The same level of party-wide damage reduction provided by several competitors.
- Consistent mobility during heavy healing.
Holy Priest can still be an excellent pug healer at moderate key levels because it recovers mistakes quickly. Its ranking becomes more restrictive only when utility, damage and coordinated defensive coverage determine the result.
Raid and Mythic+ Healer Comparison
| Healer | Raid Tier | Mythic+ Tier | Best Strength | Main Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restoration Druid | S | S | Mobile proactive healing and strong cooldown coverage | Requires preparation before damage |
| Preservation Evoker | S | S | Powerful planned healing and emergency recovery | Shorter healing range |
| Holy Paladin | A | S | Single-target triage, utility and damage | Melee and positioning requirements |
| Mistweaver Monk | A | A | Mobility, throughput and melee healing | Recent general healing reduction |
| Discipline Priest | A | A | Damage prevention and healing through damage | Requires precise preparation |
| Restoration Shaman | B | A | Interrupts, dispels, totems and group utility | Positioning and mana dependence |
| Holy Priest | B | B | Simple reactive healing and emergency recovery | Limited damage and dungeon utility |
Best Healer by Player Goal
| Goal | Best Choice | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Progression raiding | Preservation Evoker | Restoration Druid |
| High Mythic+ keys | Holy Paladin | Restoration Druid |
| One healer for both formats | Restoration Druid | Preservation Evoker |
| Maximum healer damage | Discipline Priest | Holy Paladin or Mistweaver Monk |
| Most dungeon utility | Restoration Shaman | Holy Paladin |
| Easiest healer for beginners | Holy Priest | Restoration Druid |
| Proactive healing | Discipline Priest | Restoration Druid or Preservation Evoker |
| Reactive healing | Holy Priest | Holy Paladin |
Season 2 Healer Tier Sets
| Healer | Season 2 Set Focus | Best Content |
|---|---|---|
| Restoration Druid | Genesis windows that strengthen active heal-over-time effects | Raid and sustained Mythic+ damage |
| Preservation Evoker | Living Flame, Essence Burst and stronger green healing | Mythic+ triage and raid spot healing |
| Mistweaver Monk | Rushing Wind Kick healing and free ability resets | Melee-healing builds |
| Holy Paladin | Infusion of Light generation and stronger Infusion effects | Direct healing and frequent triage |
| Discipline Priest | Penance, Mind Blast and stronger absorb shields | Damage-prevention builds |
| Holy Priest | Renew coverage, Haste and Prayer of Mending interactions | Sustained raid healing |
| Restoration Shaman | Additional Healing Rain effects and absorption shields | Stacked raid groups and grouped dungeon pulls |
See the complete Midnight Season 2 Tier Sets guide for every two-piece and four-piece bonus and all raid token sources.
Healer Tuning Changelog
July 17, 2026 — Tier-list update
- Added the July 16 healer hotfixes.
- Moved Restoration Druid into Raid S Tier and Mythic+ S Tier.
- Moved Holy Paladin into Mythic+ S Tier.
- Moved Preservation Evoker upward in Mythic+ but downward within Raid S Tier.
- Moved Mistweaver Monk from S to A after the general healing reduction.
- Moved Discipline Priest down in raid because of additional Atonement falloff.
- Moved Holy Priest upward after the Prayer of Mending buff.
July 16, 2026 — Official healer tuning
- Restoration Druid received stronger Regrowth and Abundance.
- Preservation Evoker received raid-healing reductions and dungeon-triage buffs.
- Mistweaver Monk lost 8% overall healing and gained stronger Mastery.
- Holy Paladin received a major Holy Shock improvement.
- Discipline Priest received stronger Penance but weaker large-group Atonement scaling.
- Holy Priest received stronger Prayer of Mending and Prompt Prognosis.
July 8, 2026 — Previous PTR tuning
- Restoration Druid received increased Mastery and a redesigned four-piece bonus.
- Holy Paladin received an 8% general healing increase and multiple talent buffs.
- Preservation Evoker received adjustments to Dream Breath and Flameshaper talents.
- Mistweaver Monk received changes intended to shift healing from Spinning Crane Kick toward Ancient Teachings and Mastery.
Future tuning entries should be added at the beginning of the changelog with the exact date and resulting ranking movement.
Recommended Healer Class Guides
- Restoration Druid Guide
- Preservation Evoker Guide
- Mistweaver Monk Guide
- Holy Paladin Guide
- Discipline Priest Guide
- Holy Priest Guide
- Restoration Shaman Guide
- All WoW Midnight Class Guides
Related Season 2 Guides and Services
- WoW Midnight Raid Guides
- WoW Dungeon and Mythic+ Guides
- Midnight Season 2 Tier Sets
- Midnight Season 2 Gearing Guide
- WoW Raid Services
- WoW Mythic+ Services
Final Healer Ranking
Restoration Druid is currently the safest all-around healer for players who want to participate in both raid and Mythic+. Preservation Evoker remains the strongest projected raid specialist, while Holy Paladin has the best current Mythic+ profile after the substantial Holy Shock improvement.
Mistweaver Monk and Discipline Priest remain highly competitive despite their recent reductions. Restoration Shaman continues to offer exceptional dungeon utility, while Holy Priest is the easiest reactive option but provides less high-end utility and damage.
Do not change your healer solely because of a one-tier PTR difference. Encounter requirements, group composition, player execution and future tuning can be more important than a small theoretical ranking advantage.
