If you know a fight will last four minutes or more, using Mana Tide Totem early will let you use it again a second time. It is generally a good idea to use the totem when you are around 70% mana, rather than waiting.
The short cooldown means you can use Mana Tide on trash pulls to reduce the need for drinking, and still have it ready again before the next boss fight.
When using Mana Tide Totem in a raid, try to ensure that the other healers will be in range of it as its range is a mere 10 yards.
Trivia[]
Although this is a "Wavestorm Totem" in the TCG, the artwork is used to represent a Mana Tide Totem in Hearthstone.
Mana Tide Totem appears as a rare card for the Shaman class in Hearthstone. The flavor text reads: "It is said that some shaman can say "Floatin' totem" 10 times, fast."
Mana Tide Totem has had its functionality changed several times throughout the course of the game. In the original World of Warcraft, it had three ranks, returning at a fixed amount of mana at each rank. In The Burning Crusade, it was redesigned to restore a percentage of maximum mana and consolidated into a single rank. In Cataclysm, it was changed to increase spirit, meaning that non-healers would no longer gain any mana from the totem. This meant that in a normal five man group, the casting shaman will be the only one to benefit. In raids, however, the totem will restore mana to every healer, rather than just those in the shaman's group.
Patch changes[]
Patch 10.0.0 (2022-10-25): Now a row 6 Restoration talent (was a level 38 Restoration ability). Rank 2 removed.
Patch 9.1.0 (2021-06-29): Fixed an issue where Mana Tide Totem could be cast while silenced.
Hotfix (2020-11-24):No longer incorrectly applies to enemy players in PvP combat.
Patch 9.0.2 (2020-11-17): Rank 2 added at level 52: Mana Tide Totem's radius is increased by 100%.
Patch 9.0.1 (2020-10-13): Re-added and redesigned at level 38 (was 56). Summons a Mana Tide Totem at the feet of the caster for 8 sec, granting 100% increased mana regeneration to party and raid members within 10 yds.
Old: Summons a Mana Tide Totem with 10% of the caster's health at the feet of the caster for 12 sec. Party members within 40 yards of the totem have their Spirit increased by 200% of the caster's Spirit (excluding short - duration Spirit bonuses).
Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Removed. Restoration shaman Mana costs have been adjusted to compensate.
Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Duration increased to 16 sec, up from 12 sec. Now a level 56 Restoration ability (was a tier 5 Restoration talent).
Patch 4.2.0 (2011-06-28): Mana Tide Totem now grants 200% of the caster's Spirit, down from 400%.
Hotfix (2010-12-16):The Mana Tide Totem hotfix from yesterday has been reverted. The Mana Tide buff no longer stacks, as this had a major impact on encounter design.
Hotfix (2010-12-15):The Mana Tide buff is now applied for each Mana Tide Totem on the ground.
Patch 4.0.6 (2011-02-08): Redesigned. The totem no longer multiplies the Spirit of those affected by it. It instead gives a flat amount of Spirit equal to 400% of the casting shaman's Spirit, exclusive of short-term Spirit buffs affecting the shaman when the totem is dropped. In addition, its effects are now raid-wide.
Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Radius increased from 30 to 40 yd. Changed from restoring 6% of total mana to every target each 3 sec to increasing Spirit by 350%. Cooldown reduced to 3 minutes. Moved to tier 5 (was tier 7).
Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): Totem health now equal to 10% of the shaman's health, up from a flat 5 health.
Patch 3.1.0 (2009-04-14): This spell no longer costs mana.
Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22): This totem will no longer sometimes grant mana after it has been destroyed. It will also consistently grant mana 4 times instead of sometimes 3 and sometimes 5.
Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): Mana Tide Totem now restores 6% mana per 3 sec, rather than a flat amount of mana per 3 sec. Additional ranks have been removed.
[Spirit Link Totem] or 
[Refreshing Waters]/
[Master of the Elements]
[Resonant Waters], 
[Spiritwalker's Tidal Totem]
Patch 10.0.0 (2022-10-25): Now a row 6 Restoration talent (was a level 38 Restoration ability). Rank 2 removed. 
