HW v LHW v CH

So here it is, the big debate between all resto shamans. Im not going to give you long complicated numbers or anything like that because i dont really understand them, this is just going to be how i see it.

HW v LHW
HW: 1044 mana for 8000 base heal.
LHW:626 mana for 4000 base heal.
Now already I can see that you get double base heals for less than double mana with HW. Now we can take into account talents. Healing Way: Increases healing power of next heaing wave on target by 18%, 18% of 8000 works out to be about 1500. If we take into account tidal waves as well, mostly from riptide, you can cast a 1.6 sec HW for around 9.5k heals.

HW beats LHW

HW v CH
HW: 1044 mana for 8000 base heal.
CH: 793 mana for 5300 base heal.
This is a more situalional comparison. For certain situations you are going to need to use CH, it's just neccesary. However, I have seen some shamans use CH no matter what, and this is just wrong. You will get 9.5k on a HW, and only 5.3k on a CH, so for single target healing HW is better.

HW beats CH (situational)

LHW v CH
LHW:626 mana for 4000 base heal.
CH: 793 mana for 5300 base heal.
Once again, this is situational. However, in my opinion, in this case you are going to want to use CH, because it allows you to pass the GCD, and if you have tidal waves you cannot do this with LHW.

CH beats LHW (situational)

Now I know that this seems a little be funky, with me telling you that CH spamming is wrong and then saying that it beats LHW, but bear with, im getting there!. For all single target healing you should use HW, it is more efficent, and allows you to top off a tank faster. For healing a larger group, like melee classes that are close together, CH will be your best bet, and should be what you use. Sure there are going to be times when you should use LHW, like if someone is only down slightly and you dont need a big heal, but other than that, HW is how you should go.

So there it is, my take on one of the bigger issues resto shamans deal with, I dont really care if you dont like it, but if you agree that im happy i could help.
( I didnt take into account any tier bonuses or totems that reduce mana cost, numbers will vary when you take those into consideration.)