Hey guys...i just recently decided to bring my level 44 NE feral druid out of retirement because my guild is short on druids for raiding. I respec'd to resto for the benefit of the guild. I was wondering if I could just get some basic tips on healing in the 5-man groups on my quick way to 60.

GEAR: what should i try to focus on, of the owl/eagle or +healing? does it make a difference?

HEALS: what rank of HT/Regrowth/Rejuv should be used? should i keep higher ranks on my toolbar just in case? what methods of healing a MT cause the least amount of aggro?

These are just some basic questions. I don't expect all of them to be answered, I'm just looking for some basic guidance on my first healing job :) Thanks in advance

Ill try and toss out some advice.

As far a s gear goes, when I was leveling (I leveled 1-60 as resto) I focused on Eagle gear. I soloed alot so I didnt want to sacrifice to much stamina by going with Owl gear. Im also onm a pvp server so you always need as much hp's as you can get.
Once you get closer to 60 you will be able to start picking up set peices and gear from say diremaul which are very good for healing.

As far as heals go I would think for now you should use your highest rank of HT and always use your highest ranks of rgrowth and rejuv. If you are healing a 5 man using your HoT's becomes very valuable. Keeping atleast rejuv on the tank makes overall healing easier, and ofcourse allows you to toss out a Swiftmend if there is a big damage spike. Tossing a rejuv on someone in your group that has taken a punch or to can top them off without having to cast a big heal.

As your gear gets better and you start getting higher +healing you can start looking into using lower ranks of HT, especially when you get to +300-400 healing or better. Alot of people choose to use different ranks but from what I have seen most use rank 4, 5, or 6 HT once their +healing gets to that 400 mark.

just give yourself some time and get afew runs in. Before long you will know what heal to use at any given time.

Well. Learning to heal comes from experience. You have to see the damage someone is taking, take into consideration what type of armor they wear (cloth, leather, mail, plate). So if you see a clothie taking damage and they're about 500hp down, (depends what they're getting hit by) but you better start a heal that heals for maybe 800 or more.

Gear wise, try to aim for +healing and intellect and then spirit and stamina.

Like Anubrim, I kept "of the eagle" as my prefered green gear. I also ended up using alot of other gear; if an Owl piece droped I'd use that... as I was too cheap/not always in town to AH every piece.

+Healing I didn't really go for at all. It's really best in group/raid situtations where you'll be doing nothing but healing 85% of the time. Int/Spirit/Sta adapt much better to solo play.

Spirit is nice, and as Innervate feeds off it, it's even better. That said, learning to cast in bursts, and utilize time outside of the "6 second" casting rule is the best way to keep your mana up.

What rank of heal to use for HT, is up to you/what damage people are taking. You might want to keep 2 or 3 ranks of it up on your main bar. One for Tanks/One for casters if your main rank heals for more hp's then they have. I keep 1 bar with most my HT's so I can top off people who don't have agro, but aren't full hp's.

With Innervate, it's often better to do some over healing then have people die... it's just a matter of down time usually (I've always kept goal as maximum effiecency since I loath stopping to drink all the time; but it's usually better then nothing.

Thanks for all the advice...I've taken a little from each of your posts and have been doing great. I'm now level 52 and have been doing great healing. Its been fun learning the ins and outs and I look forward to learning more as i go. Thanks again for the excellent advice and I'm sure I'll be asking some more questions along the way :)

start stocking up on the +heal gear. it makes more of a difference than anything in the end game when you are raiding. it's all about efficiency, and if you can cast a rank 4 rejuv to fully heal someone instead of a max rank one then your mana will last you longer. however to grind up to 60, invest heavily in feral. you'll level pretty quickly.