Overall it's a buff. The increased cost really isn't that bad 10% is really a minor increase, but the 20% increase in potency is a HUGE bonus for the spell. It will really help separate it from the other heals and help define it's role. Who knows, resto shaman might actually use it now!

@ Joe:

I don't have a problem with GHW so much except in so far as the cost/benefit comparison with Surge was a little ludicrous (e.g. if they heal for basically the same and cost basically the same, why spend 3 secs when 1.5 secs is better?) My complaint is really about Healing Wave. It really has almost no practical application in heroics right now and it's supposed to be the "base" heal for shamans. I spend virtually all my time tossing Riptide and UE and then following with GHW or Chain. Casting HW has so little effect that I only occasionally do it hoping for a crit and, of course, almost never being satisfied.

I thought that was to chain heal not greater healing wave? They need to look into some more effectiveness of those spells. My attributes are not low by any means, but the spells I do not think are effective enough for me to be anything but a raid healer at this point.

@Jackwraith

Oh I get you there. HW is more of the "damage is pretty mild right now, going to keep things stable" heal while you get situated and wait for the big damage to start up, but you hit the nail on the head with HS and GHW. GHW was supposed to be the big emergency tank heal, but hitting for the same amount(ish) as HS was just... sad really. it basically made the spell almost useless in most cases, there wasn't really a choice. I really think that this change will at the very least make it a separate choice from HS.

@murmaiderxx Chain Heal is getting a 10 % boost in 4.0.6 as it stands right now.

Fixed.

Like a G6.

Also, you have permission to call me Baddicus.

compared with Health pools, i agree that Healing Wave does little to satisfy healing needs.. but the only other currently effective single target direct heal is Surge and you use three or four of those and you're down to 50% mana. If tanks in raids get in a tight spot and at too-low hp adn i have to quick heal them back up with a hand full of Healing Surge's as a shaman, I'm SOL for most of the rest of the fight because now I'm OOM practially, right? : / I spend half raid fights biding my time, not doing much other than soem minor healing waves and RTs just letting others do the job on single target until we need raid heals. I'd freak out if my raid told me to focus tank heals for a night... we have no mana vs output single target effective healing. Sure RT and ES are great, but HW won't keep a tank up and the only other two spells we have for single target are too high cost.. the fights too long.

Maybe it's just gear... ??

I keep toying back and forth with spirit vs int and some mixture of haste food/flasks/trinkets to see which helps out most for output based on boss strat requirements.... we'll see... ><