Bug Report: Healing Wave Heals for 30–40% Less on Higher-Level Targets Inside 5-Man Dungeons
Character and setup
- Class/race: Dwarf shaman
- Level: 26
- Spell healing: +82
- Dungeon: Stormwind Stockades
- Affected target: Level 30 bear druid tank
- Comparison target: Level 26 warrior
- Spells tested: Healing Wave Ranks 1–5
Issue description
I am experiencing a consistent reduction in Healing Wave effectiveness when healing a higher-level party member inside a 5-man dungeon.
I am a level 26 dwarf shaman with +82 healing power. While healing a level 30 bear druid tank in Stormwind Stockades, I noticed that Healing Wave was restoring approximately 30–40% less health than expected.
I tested all five ranks of Healing Wave, and the reduction was consistent across every rank.
Tests and results
1. Level 30 bear druid inside Stockades
- Healing Wave Ranks 1–5 healed for approximately 60–70% of the expected tooltip values.
2. Level 26 warrior inside Stockades
- Healing was approximately 90–100% of the expected tooltip values.
3. Level 30 druid outside Stockades
- While remaining grouped, I healed the same druid outside the instance.
- Healing returned to approximately 100% of the expected tooltip values.
4. Healing Stream Totem
- Healing Stream Totem appeared to heal for the expected amount, although I have not verified this as rigorously as Healing Wave.
Verification
I use an addon that displays party members’ health and mana values. I checked the tank’s health before and after healing and confirmed that the actual health restored matched the reduced amount I was observing.
The tooltip values themselves appear consistent: the same spells and gear produce expected healing on the level 26 warrior inside Stockades and on the level 30 druid outside the instance.
This suggests the issue is not simply an incorrect tooltip or a misleading party-frame display.
Expected behavior
Healing Wave should provide consistent healing according to its rank, spell-healing power, and applicable game mechanics.
Actual behavior
Healing Wave heals for approximately 30–40% less on a higher-level party member inside Stockades. This reduction occurs across all five ranks.
Healing on a same-level party member inside the instance and on the higher-level target outside the instance produces normal results.
Healing Stream Totem appears unaffected, although further testing is needed.
Possible cause
The results suggest a potential instance-specific scaling issue affecting direct healing on higher-level party members.
The fact that the reduction persists across all five Healing Wave ranks, but disappears when the target is healed outside the instance, may help isolate the underlying cause.
I have already submitted an in-game bug report and am posting these additional findings to help the developers reproduce the issue.
Has anyone else experienced similar healing reductions on higher-level party members inside 5-man dungeons?