WoW Dragonflight season one is coming to a close, and as the game transitions to its next season, now is the perfect time to reflect on how its meta has developed through the first six months of Dragonflight.
Particularly, the Healer meta in Mythic+ dungeons remained largely stagnant throughout Dragonflight season one (at least in terms of the classes played most prominently at the highest level). In fact, the most-played specialization across all of WoW in Dragonflight season one was a Healer: Restoration Druid.
With 4.7 percent of the game’s population playing Restoration Druids in Mythic+ runs, the spec was the most popular out of all options in the game this season, according to WoW stats site Raider.io.
Restoration Druid saw popularity throughout the season for two reasons: its overall strength as a meta pick and its dedicated player base. Traditionally, Druid has been one of the most popular classes in WoW history, and when that fact is coupled with a strong Druid spec in Restoration at the top of the meta, the class is bound to see an uptick in popularity.
Related: Everything you should do during the first week of WoW Dragonflight Patch 10.1
Over 25 percent of all runs completed with a Healer were done with a Restoration Druid, as the spec drubbed all others at its role. The next-closest Healer spec in popularity this season was Preservation Evoker, featured in just over 18 percent of runs this season, according to Raider.io.
Halfway through season one, a trending Healer spec—Restoration Shaman—entered the fray as one of the best available options for Healers after a series of buffs to some core abilities. Still, while Restoration Shamans made strides toward the top of the table, the buffs weren’t enough to unseat the dominant Restoration Druids, who finished season one as the most-played Healer and the most-played spec in the game.
Related: WoW Dragonflight Healer tier list (Updated Patch 10.1)
With fewer options in the Healer role than in the DPS role, many Healer players gravitated to the best option available
In season one, many healing specs struggled to get off the ground, such as low-tier options like Mistweaver Monk and Discipline Priest. For a brief period of time, Healers were thrust out of the Mythic+ meta altogether, with high-level players opting to run their dungeons with four DPS characters and one tank.
In season two, though, the Healing meta appears more balanced across the board. We expect Restoration Druids to take a step back from their place atop the meta, while lesser options that struggled in season one should have an easier time in raids and Mythic+ dungeons alike.
