HPS (Heals per Second) in WoW

By Treesz · Updated Oct 12, 2026

HPS (heals per second, or healing per second) is the average amount of healing a player does each second of a fight. It is the healer's counterpart to DPS (damage per second) and TPS (threat per second). Damage meters calculate it as total healing divided by fight time, and in World of Warcraft the number that matters is effective healing: healing that actually restored missing health.

Effective healing and overhealing

Every heal splits into two parts:

Effective healing: the part that filled missing health.
Overhealing: the part that went beyond full health and did nothing.

Example: a target at 3,000 of 5,000 health receives a 4,000-point heal. 2,000 is effective healing and 2,000 is overhealing. Meters normally rank healers by effective healing, and an overhealing share of roughly 10–30% is considered normal, because healers often have to heal before they know exactly how much damage is coming. Effects that heal over time and smart heals hide part of their overhealing, so compare similar specs.

How absorbs count

Shields such as Power Word: Shield prevent damage instead of healing it (see absorb). Meters handle them differently:

Tool	How absorbs are shown
Midnight built-in damage meter	A separate "Absorbs" category next to Healing Done and HPS
Third-party meters and log sites	Depends on the tool and its settings: some count absorbed damage as healing, others list it separately

So a Discipline Priest's HPS can look low on one view and high on another. When comparing, check whether absorbs are included.

Where to see HPS

Retail Midnight: Blizzard added a built-in damage meter in patch 12.0, with data tracked by the server. Turn it on under Options > Gameplay Enhancements. It shows damage, DPS, healing done, HPS, absorbs, interrupts, dispels and damage taken, and since 12.0.1 also deaths. Because Midnight restricts what addons can read in combat, third-party meters now largely display the same server data.
Classic Era, TBC Anniversary, MoP Classic: no built-in meter; healers use addons such as Details!, which read the combat log as before.
Logs: combat logs uploaded to log sites give HPS per fight and per spell, with overhealing and absorbs broken down.

What HPS tells you, and what it doesn't

HPS is a useful number but a poor ranking of healers on its own:

Healing depends on incoming damage. If nobody takes damage, nobody can be healed. A healer in a group that avoids mechanics does lower HPS for good reasons.
Assignments differ. A healer assigned to the tanks heals different targets than one assigned to the raid.
Prevention isn't healing. Dispels, interrupts and defensive cooldowns stop damage and never show as HPS.
Mana matters. In Classic and TBC, a healer who runs out of mana in the last minute had high HPS early and none when it mattered.

A better question than "who has the highest HPS" is: did anyone die to damage that healing could have prevented, and did healers run out of mana?

HPS and threat

Healing generates threat: half a point for each point of effective healing, split between all enemies in combat with the healer. That is why a healer's first big heals on a pull can pull enemies before the tank has built threat, especially in Classic. Details: aggro table.

Raising effective HPS

Heal what will be missing. Time heals for when damage lands rather than topping up full targets.
Use group heals on group damage. Chain Heal, Circle of Healing, Prayer of Healing and similar spells give more effective healing than single-target heals when many players are hurt.
Use cooldowns on spikes. Healing cooldowns are worth most on the heaviest damage phases.
In Classic, manage mana. Lower spell ranks and cast-stopping (cancelling a heal when the target is already healed) keep you healing for the whole fight; see ability scaling in Classic.

FAQ

What does HPS mean in WoW?

Heals (or healing) per second: a healer's average effective healing per second over a fight.

Does overhealing count toward HPS?

Not in the usual effective-healing view. Meters can show it separately as overhealing.

Does WoW have a built-in HPS meter?

Retail does since Midnight (patch 12.0). Classic versions don't; use an addon.

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