Basic Druid Info:
Druids are a hybrid, as everyone knows, and you have to utlize this
for the best in-game results. Switching forms is always a bonus,
whether you are a feral build or not. Use spells as needed, root for
crowd control (cc) and hibernate as well. Sooth them so they dont
aggro, whatever you can do to CC. Although called "hybrids" druids usually end up being the healing of the group : (.
A Look At Druid Spells:
Moonfire : A great, great, great damage spell. Whenever you are
fighting PvE, always let the DoT do its work, it does more damage then
the insta damage does. PvP however might be different, when they get
below 20-25% health, moonfire them to hell before they can run or
fight back. This spell is great for catching runners. Only downside to this spell is high mana cost, at lvl 60 this spell is around 400 mana. This can add up fast when it does 175-200 insta dmg.
Starfire : Great opening spell, best part is that this spell has no
trace. When you open this on someone who doesnt see you, you can
usually get 2 of them off before they figure you out. That is roughly
(at my lvl) 1k dmg off the bat assuming you dont crit. When actaully in battle, dont use this unless they are rooted and are a rogue, warrior, paladian, and
sometimes a shaman. These classes dont have much in the way of 30yd
ranged attacks, so you have time to cast.
Wrath : In my opinon this spell is secondary to Starfire, unless you
are low on mana, or need the faster cast, use starfire. Talent points
in wrath are nice, but I think they are a waste and are better put
into moonfire/starfire talents.
Entangling Roots : This spell is a god-send for druids. Without this
spell, we would have lots and lots of trouble in both PvE and PvP. It
stinks that this is an outdoors onnly spell, but i can deal, because
it is great.Rootem and kitem, when they release from roots either hit em again or
prepare for melee. In PvP especially always rootem.
Nature's Grasp : A great addition to your aray of spells, i highly
suggest putting the talent points into this and its "improved" talents
in every build.. Best used when you have mutlple aggro within melee
range on you. My favorite use it to cast when a PC (player controlled) rogue decidies to try and gank you. Use this insta cast and stop them in their tracks.
Hurricane : About the most usless ability a druid can get, a channeling DoT AOE spell. Sounds nice, yes? Well it kinda....STINKS! Unless you have some major CC going on mobs or other players will stop this spell fast. At 101 damage per second (dps), it seems nice. It also cost 1100 mana and you cant move are arnt gaurenteed full damage off spell. Overall...keep away from this spell if you wanna win.
Rejuvination : Another great druid spell, whenever taking damage or
about to take damage. Always have this spell on you. Especially when
fighting major damage over time (DoT) PC characters, like priests and
warlocks. Also gerat for group healing, this spell attracts a very low
amount of aggro, because it is a heal over time ( HoT). Being a insta
cast makes this spell very useful. When in PvP try and keep this on you at almost all times, keeps you life up without stopping to "cast heal".
Regrowth : The "middle" spell between rejuvination and healing touch.
It has a 50% insta heal and 50% HoT. This spell heals for more than
the other 2 spells, but cost more mana and attracts more aggro than
rejuv. Use this spell wisely and only when you know that you will be
taking a lot more damage, so you want the HoT. This spell also has a
decent cast time, so you can heal in a pinch. With talents that give this spell a 50% crit chance, this is probably your most used heal during PvP.
Healing Touch : "The Big Mama" of druid heals. This spell has a 3.5
sec, nap time, cast time. Although, with talent, less mana than regrowth, it takes a
while to cast. So make sure you allow yourself, or party member viable
time when you start to cast. Casting if while they are at 5% health
doesnt help much, they will be dead before you can heal'em, same with
yourself. This spell also attracts the most aggro, compared to any
other spell. So be careful when you use this.
Tranquility : This is a healing spell that i rarely use, its an AOE, HoT, channeling healing spell. Most use for me in either raids or group PvP and even then it isnt used much. Has decent healing power, but usually only the tank will need a heal. This spell is kind of expensive as well.
Rebirth : This is the downfall of druids as group healers. 30 min cooldown and 1k mana kills this spell. Although it is the only combat rez and the rezie come back with 1600 life and 2200 mana are its only upsides. Oh ya and an extra bounus, it needs a reagent : (. I only use this spell if no one is Soulstoned and all pallies or priests are dead. This makes a druid usful for helping from wipes, but it is best able toprevent a wipe. This spell is decent, but 30 min cooldown kills its uses.
Nature's Swiftness : One of my personal favorites, this spell has
saved me so many times. This gives the ability to make your next
natures spell an insta cast (insta cast heal : 0 ) and is great for
healing in a pinch. With a 3 min cooldown, it is usable every battle
or 2. And as a bounus, it costs no mana. Just 1 talent point in you
resto tree.
Innervate : WOW, is all i could say when i first read this spell talent on my resto tree. 400% mana regeneration and 100% while casting for 20 sec is amazing. I love this spell and sometimes i dont know what i would do without it. While not casting it gets you to roughly a full mana bar while on the move, or fighting in cat or bear form. While in caster if can usually regen about 1/2 of your bar while casting spells (execpt moonfire spamming or excesive healing).
Barkskin : One of our new spells since the last patch. This makes the caster take 20% less damage and cannot be interupted while casting for 20sec. It does extend casting time by 1sec (on non-insta cast spells) and slows your attack speed by 20%. This spell, if used at the right time, can be very handy. I use it in PvP, PvE and in groups. It is an overall great utility spell, so keep this one on the ready.
Faeire Fire : This insta cast debuff, lowers your targets armor and makes it so they can't re-stealth or vanish for 45sec. The armor debuff in this is basically useless, i throw this onto rogues so they cant vanish, that is really the only time i use this. Although its cheap (95 mana) so i tend to throw it on mobs i fight just cause.
Hibernate : This is an OK spell, cheap mana and decent for CC in some areas. This spell (at lvl 60) puts a Beast or Draognkin to sleep for about 30sec. This spell is very situational i keep it on my secondary hotbar, just in case. I use most when fighting hunters or another druids/shaman decides to go in a beast form, so i give them a nap.
Soothe Animal : Before the patch, when this spell was a insta cast, it was useful. Now that it has 1.5 sec cast time, it kinda stinks. Much more usful at lower lvls, now at 60 it doesnt do much. This spell only works on a select few mobs also, much like Hibernate.
Cure Poisin : This spell does exactly what the name says it will, it cures a poisin. At around 40 mana, its cheap and effective. Great when fighting mobs with nasty poisins or in PvP
Abolish Poisin : This spell is cure poisin on steroids, it attempts to cure a poisin every 2 sec for 10 sec. At around 100mana it is more costly than its brother spell. This spell is better for mobs with stacking poisins or when fighting hunters and rogues in PvP.
Remove Curse : Another simple spell that is effective and cheap (around 60 mana) that is helpful for MC bosses and other mobs with curses, as well as fighting warlocks in particular in PvP.
Thorns : Not much to say about this, around 300 mana 10 min buff that does 18 dmg to attackers. Good for helping tank hold aggro, and decent for extra dmg in PvP. OK buff...nothing great about it tho
Mark of the Wild/Gift of the Wild : Ahhh, the signature Druid spell and the buff everyone else wants. This is my favorite buff in the game, it adds to about every aspect of a character. It has resistance buffs, attribute buffs, and armor buffs. Mark lasts 30min and Gift hits the whole group for 60min ( GotW: I and GotW:II drop in higher lvl instances). I always keep this spell on myself at all times and i highly suggest you put talents to increase effectivness by 35%.
Feral Abilities (Cat, increases attack speed to 1.0, +attk power) :
Claw : This the main cat form attack that adds damage delt and puts up a combo point, normal cost is 45 energy but with talents u can get it down to 40. Average ability, just gets your DPS up.
Tiger's Fury : Good idea, poor execution. This ability looked great to me at first, but its not as effective in combat as the tooltip says. Even at 60 it doesnt help much, i would rather spend the energy on claw. Plus it only lasts a few seconds, which is kind of dissapointing.
Rake : Another DPS attack that hits for a a few additional dmg instantly and puts a DoT on your prey. It also (like claw) adds a combo point to your counter. I use this 1 time every 5 points on average, helps keep my DPS up and stops rogues from vanishing. This spell is cheaper than claw so you can pull it off a little quicker.
Shred : Soloing, I rarely use this becuase you must be behind an enemy to use it. It adds X% of your base attack and +X dmg added too. The tooltip on this attack isnt even close to the actual dmg it deals to your target. This attack also adds a combo point and with talents it can cost less energy.
Ravage : My personal favorite attack in cat form, does major dmg (for a druid) it is similar to a rogue's ambush attack. It does 350% dmg +X (for me it says 343), but you have to be in stealth AND behind your target. So this attack is a "once per mob" kinda thing. Once again, similar to Shred, the dmg it deals isnt close to what the tooltip says. This ability once again adds a combo point and with talents has a chance to add 2.
Pounce : Another option to use when stealthed a behind a target. I almost nvr use this attack, in my opinon ravage is much better. This attack stuns an enemy for 2 sec and does 150 (at lvl 60) over 18 sec. So basically this stuns an enemy and doe less than 10 dps.
Rip : One of your 2 finishing moves to choose from the more points you have the more dmg it deals, over 30sec. That is the downside of this ability, it has only DoT and no direct dmg (dd). I only use this on bosses or a hard PvP fight. This is an OK finishing move, the next one is much better.
Ferocious Bite : Another new ability from the patch release. This attack is great, its a dd finisher unlike Rip that has DoT.I use this much more often although like many others the tooltip dmg is much higher than what it actually does.
Track Humaniods : Tooltip kind of explains it all, puts icons on your minimap for all humaniods along with their names.
Cower : Similar to a rogue's feint move, ita almost like an anti-taunt that draws aggro away from you.
Prowl : The butter on the bread in cat form, 75% of time i go into cat is for this reason. Stealth is great, that is what prowl is, and druids version of Stealth. Very handy in PvP and PvE and all sorts of situations.
(Bear, +360% armor and +HP)
Maul : Like cat forms claw, adds additional dmg to your attack. Kind of basic, takes 15 rage without talents and only 10 with the talents in the ability. Unlike Claw it doesnt add any combo points or rage, it just takes them up.
Bash : One of my favorite bear abilites, costs 10 rage and stuns an enemy for 4 sec. or 5sec with talents. Very handy in PvP and PvE when you stun and heal yourself or root your enemy.
Swipe : This is an odd ability, hits 3 targets infront of you for about 50 dmg each, i dont use it much unless i am fighting lots o low lvl enemies, or trying to hold aggro. Not very useful in PvP. Costs 20 rage, it is kind of expensive and not that great of an attack.
Enrage : This is a handy spell, lowers ur armor but generates rage for yourself while in bear form. This ability usually generates about 20 rage over its duration. This can help you pull of a few attacks or build up rage to do a self heal in bear form. Also this ability puts you into combat, which is trivial for when your in bear form.
Taunt : This is just like a warrior's taunt, it attracts mobs. This ability helps you control aggro, in PvE only. This ability has no effect on other PC, its just a waste of rage. As a druid this ability wont be used much, because (hopefully) most of the time you wont be a tank.
Challenging Roar : This ability makes all mobs around you attack you for 6 sec. It has a hefty cooldown of 10min. But this ability can save the day if used properly. If the priest or rezzer in your group manages to draw like 3+ mobs onto them. Use this to take aggro off the rezzer and save him. Your expendible, hes not.
Feral Charge : This talent based ability allows the druid to use a charge similar to the one a warrior uses, while in bear form. At the cost of 5 rage and can be used 25 yds away, this is a great talent to invest in. Not only does it get you in the face of you enemy it also interrupts casting and makes it unable to recast for 4 sec. Overall a great ability to have in PvP.
(Both):
Faerie Fire : This is a talent, 1 is for cat form (uses energy) and 1 is for bear form (uses rage). Each one gives you a rank in faerie fire that allows you to cast while in a feral form. This isnt a worthwhile talent IMO, but its up to you.
Talents :
In this section i will use the rating system
***** = great talent, definatly invest points
down to
* = might as well not use the points.
Balance Tree-
Improv. Wrath - 1 point = -0.1 sec off wrath cast time. 5 points max. ***
Natures Grasp - 1 point = Natures Grasp spell rank 1. 1 point max *****
Improv Grasp - 1 point = 15% increase in Grasp effectiveness (20% of 4th point). 4 points max. ****
Improv. Roots - 1 point = 40% chance to not interrupt while casting Roots (30% each point afterwards). 3 points max ***
Improv. Moonfire - 1 point = 2% dmg and crit chance of moonfire. 5 points max ***
Natures Reach - 1 point = 10% extra range on non-healing spells. 2 points max ****
Swiftshifting - 1 point = 20% reduced mana cost if shifting from 1 form to another within 6 sec. 3 points max. **
Improv. Starfire - 1 point = 3% chance to stun with starfire. 5 point max **
Omen of Clarity - 1 point = enchants your weapon with a proc that allows a "free" cast spell for no mana. ****
Improv. Thorns - 1 point = 5% chance that thorns will deal 100% extra dmg. 5 points max **
Moonglow - 1 point = 2% reduced mana cost of moonfire and starfire. 5 points max. ***
Moonfury - 1 point = 2% increase dmg on moonfire and starfire. 5 points max. ***
Natures Grace - 1 point = When wrath/starfire/moonfire crits, reduces casting time on healing spells by 1 sec. 1 point max **
Weapon Balance - 1 point = 2% more dmg done by melee weapon. 5 points max *
Vengence - 1 point = 20% increase in crit dmg by moonfire/starfire/wrath. 5 points max ****
Hurricane - 1 point = rank 1 hurricane spell. 1 point max **
Feral Tree-
Ferocity - 1 point = reduces cost of Claw/Maul by 1 rage/energy. 5 points max ***
Improv. Demoralizing Roar - 1 point = increaes attk. power reduction by 5%. 5 point max **
Improv. Bash - 1 point = 0.5 sec increase stun duration of bash. 2 points max. ****
Sharpened Claws-1 point = 1% increase in crit chance in bear/cat. 5 point max. ****
Improv. Prowl - 1 point = reduces chance of enemies to detect you while prowling. 5 points max **
Feral Charge- 1 point = Feral Charge rank 1. 1 point max. ****
Blood Frenzy - 1 point = 20% chance to add an extra combo point when you crit in cat. 5 points max. **
Primal Fury - 1 point = 20% chance to add an extra 5 rage when you crit in bear. 5 points max **
Improv. Shred - 1 point = reduces energy cost of shred by 5. 2 points max. **
Predatory Strikes - 1 point = increases attk. power bonus by 4% in cat. 5 points max ***
Faerie Fire (Cat) - 1 point = Faerie Fire rank 1 in cat (15 energy). 1 point max **
Faerie Fire (Bear) - 1 point = Faerie Fire rank 1 in bear (5 rage). 1 point max **
Thick Hide - 1 point = 2% increase in def. bonus while in bear. 5 points max ***
Feline Swiftness - 1 point = 30% increase in movement speed while in cat.1 point max ****
Strength of the Wild - 1 point = 3% increase in strength while in cat/bear. 4 points max ***
Improv. Ravage - 1 point = 5% increase in crit chance with ravage. 2 points max ***
Primal Instinct - 1 point = 25% decrease in mana when shifting forms. 1 point max **
Improv. Pounce - 1 point = 50% to add an extra combo point when using pounce. 2 points max. *
Restoration-
Improv. Mark of the Wild - 1 point = 7% increase in the effectivness in MotW. 5 points max ****
Furor - 1 point = 20% chance to gain 10 rage when shifting into bear form. 5 points max ***
Nature's Focus - 1 point = 12% chance to not be interrupted while casting healing touch/regrowth. 5 points max **** (only b/c it is a preq)
Improv. Healing Touch - 1 point = 3% decrease in mana cost for healing touch. 5 points max ***
Improv. Enrage - 1 point = 4 sec decrease in rage generation time and slightly decrease armor penalty. 2 points max **
Combat Endurance - 1 point = 2% health regeneration during combat. 5 points max ***
Gift of Nature - 1 point = 5% increase of healing spell effects. 1 point max *****
Intensity - 1 point = 20% chance to get 40 energy when going into cat. 5 points max **
Reflection -1 point = 3% mana regeneration while casting. 5 points max ****
Improv. Rejuvination - 1 point = 3% increase in effect of rejuv spell. 5 points max ****
Nature's Swiftness - 1 point = rank 1 Nature's Swiftness. 1 point max *****
Subtelty - 1 point = 5% reduced threat while healing. 5 points max **
Improv. Tranquility - 1 point = 40% chance to not be interrupted while channeling the spell. 2 points max **
Improv. Regrowth - 1 point = 10% to crit with regrowth.5 points max ****
Innervate - 1 point = rank 1 Innervate. 1 point max *****
Talent Builds:
#1 Main Restoration/Balance (20/0/31):
This is the main druid talent build, which 75% of druids play with. It allows for almost all of the druid talent abilites, while making you a strong healer. Givs you Omen of Clarity, Natures Grasp, Natures Swiftness, and Innervate.
#2 Main Restoration/PvP (8/11/32):
This is the best PvP build i believe you get a great mix of all the talents and abilites. This build includes all the same abilites as the #1 build, but swaps omen of clarity for feral charge. Which IMO is a much better PvP weapon.
#3 Feral/Restoration (4/31/16)
This is probably the least popular build, because Feral isnt very good in PvP. This is a mostly PvE build as a support druid rather than a healing druid. With good feral abilites and some healing power, this is a viable, but not very liked talent build
There are all sorts of variations to these, changing a point or 2, but for the most part this is it. Personally i use the #2 build, i believe it is the most versitial and most fun. But in the end its up the you to choose which you prefer.
PvE:
A druid was intended to be a hybrid class, but as most people know that didnt happen. 90% of the time in PvE we are healings the rest of the time we are back-up healers/dmg support. In normal PvE, instances or endgame stuff (MC/Onxyia) we will almost always heal. Our dps is trivial when fighting high end bosses and mobs. The only reason we go along on those endgame raids is b/c of our buff and "last resort" combat rez if the MT or main healer goes down.
PvP:
In battlegrounds and large scale group PvP a druid will usually play defense or heal. But in smaller groups we usually have the dps and help keep "control" of the enemy using roots and faerie fire. 1v1 is our strength, we are a class that has no major weaknesses. We do fairly well against every class. While some classes like rogues, have trouble vs warriors and mages. Warriors have trouble vs druids and paladins, etc, etc. Here are some strats when fighting other classes 1v1:
Hunter-
Root the hunter as fast as you can. If he gets the jump on you go bear and stun him to pull off the roots. After battle is initated put a rejuvination and abolish poisin on your self to get rid of his viper stings and other poisins he has. Then get into his "dead zone" while hes rooted, this place is between his gun (around 8yds) and melee range (around 3yds). In this spot he cant attack you at all, when this area is reached hibernate his pet to remove the annoyance. Then make sure you are fully healed and then begin to starfire him to hell. Make sure that the moonfire DoT is always on him and hit him with the biggie until he is dead. If for any reason roots becomes not effective (diminishing returns) then pop into bear and wait it out, bash and start the chain all over again. Reapet this until hes dead.
Mage-
If you survive the first 30sec, you've probably won. That is the general rule you can follow when fighting mages. They will try to burst dps/poly you to death before you can heal. You must start your heals when at 50% health to make sure you can survive. After a heal go bear and use charge/bash to interrupt his spells and heal yourself. When you are forced into caster, moonfire him or root as well to add the dmg. Keep this up until hes out of mana then finish him off.
Paladin-
Now, i havent had much experiance here, since im a NE, but ill tell you what i know from duels. Now, a paladin will take a long time to take down, unless hes retarded of course. You wont be able to root and kite him to death, he heals to well and has to many shields. You have to root/moonfire and avoid dmg. go bear sometimes and force him to heal while using cat/bear to dps. This helps you keep mana while forcing him to waste his, when hes low and has used his shield then DPS him back to where he belongs.
Priest-
Ok this is basically 2 different battles, first we will cover a holy priest. This should be easy, it is a shorter version of the paladin fight. Only you might have to heal yourself a few more times. A shadow priest, now thats a different story, this will be your hardest battle. Since the priest will probably only cast on you, you should be able to stay caster most of the time. You gotta reserve mana and heal yourself and make him pour out his mana. Go bear only if your bash is ready and feral charge when he trys to heal. You have to be ready to kill him fast when he goes OOM, or else he will regen and be able to start healing himself, making it much harder for yourself.
Rogue-
Ahhhh....everyone loves rogues, now this battle can be very easy or almost impossible for you. Having Nature's Grasp when fighting a rogue is almost a "must have".If this spell isnt in your book you have to make space between you and him as fast as you can, using either travel form or bear stun. If neither of things happen, your dead. You have to wait until the rogue gives u the .5 sec you need to press the button to activate this spell. When it procs, move 30 yrds from the rogue and faerie fire him ASAP. Heal yourself and re-root him, even if the last one is still active. Then start moonfiring and starfiring and be ready to root again if it breaks. If he manages to bandage or drinks a pot and gets in your face again, go to bear ASAP. Wait it out a little bit then stun him, back off root and heal yourself. Repeat his until his face is in the dirt.
Shaman-
This is another tough battle, almost as hard as the shadow priest. You'll have to play the waiting game with a shaman. Stay in bear most of the time only coming out to heal, hopefully you can force him to heal himself a few times and waste his mana pool. Dont worry about the totems for the most part, but if they are messing up your mojo hitem with rank 1 moonfire and take care of em cheap and fast. The other way to kill him is to try and keep him rooted and make him use his ranged shock, the electric one (cant remeber name). This is a low power attack for the most part and costs a decent amount of mana. This will also deplete his mana pool fairly fast and for his 5 or 6 shocks you have to heal once. As long as you stack 15+yds away and force him to use range, use roots to its fullest.
Warrior-
This will be the easiest battle for you with 90% of the warriors out there. The few good warrior will put up a fight, but for the most part you should win easily. Keep at bay with roots and if diminishing returns kick in go bear and stun/wait for 15sec and root him again. Starfire and moonfire are your friends here and cat form is almost usless.
Warlock-
This should be another easy battle for you, only annoying thing will be his fears. There isnt much you can do about them, but staying in a feral form you keep you from being charmed. Use feral charge if you have it to get back in his face after the fear, and keep moonfire up and wrath might come in handy this battle due do short casting periods. Remove curse is your friend, this will take away his main DPS and his versatility. Overall this shouldnt be to hard, your HoT and curse removal makes him almost usless. Root his pet also, if you get the chance.
Druids-
These are long, boring battles. Basically its whoever has the largest mana pool. These battle could go on all night. For the most part i aviod other druids, its not fun fighting them.
Druids have something for everyone, so this is a great part of druids. We can put up a fight against everything. A druids greatest aspect is probably their survivability and ability to escape a fight. If a druid wants to they can avoid a battle 75% of the time. Only way to stop them is if a rogue manages to get a stunlock on you while your trying to escape or your beign chased by a large mob, or raid group.
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