Druid

Druid

Druids are the epitome of adaptability. Their harmony with nature grants them the ability to shapeshift, allowing them to assume an appropriate animal form for any situation. This flexibility makes the Druid the only class that can play all four group roles, with a unique specialization tree matched to each role. Players preferring the thick of the action can destroy their enemies as one of the great cats, or protect their allies as a gigantic bear. Meanwhile, those that prefer to remain at a distance can blast their enemies with nature and arcane-based spells, or soothe their companions’ wounds with powerful healing-over-time (HoT) spells.

Class Abilities and Resources

Mana, Rage, Energy, and Combo Points

All druids have a Mana pool for casting spells. This is the Restoration Druid’s primary resource, and one that must be carefully managed for long fights. Too much usage of strong-but-expensive heals such as Regrowth will quickly exhaust one’s resources, as the Mana-restoring ability Innervate has also been removed in Warlords of Draenor. Knowing when to use big heals, when to use little heals, and when to not heal at all is key to becoming an effective Restoration Druid.

Balance Druids use Mana as well, but their primary resource to watch is Balance Energy. This bar represents the Druid’s current spell attunement. When the bar is low, Balance Druids will focus on casting Lunar spells; when the bar is high, the focus shifts to Solar. In the past, Balance Druids had much more ability to control the state of Balance Energy, but the entire system has been redesigned in Warlords of Draenor to focus on cycling between spells, instead of attempting to control the Energy bar.

Guardian Druids, along with Warriors, use a resource called Rage. When combat begins, Rage starts at 0, but is quickly generated by doing damage via skills such as Mangle and Lacerate. After generation, it can be spent on defensive abilities like Savage Defense, or offensive abilities like Maul. Rage is capped at 100, so the optimal Guardian playstyle is to weave Rage-generating attacks and Rage-consuming defenses together, shifting one way or another as battle circumstances warrant.

Feral Druids, along with Rogues, have two resources: Energy and Combo points. Energy is always regenerating at a fast rate, and powers a Feral Druid’s basic abilities, such as Shred. Energy also caps at 100, so Feral Druids endeavor to keep on the attack. Each use of a basic ability also adds one or more Combo Points, which stack up to five and can be spent on powerful “finishing” attacks, such as Rip or Ferocious Bite. In a change for Warlords of Draenor, Combo points are now tracked on the player and not the target, which allows the Feral Druid to freely change targets without losing his current point stack.

Non-Specialization Abilities

Talents

Balance

Balance is a caster DPS specialization focused on doing damage to enemies from range, using power generated by the sun and moon. Balance Druids have a Balance Energy bar that cycles between Lunar and Solar, and a passive bonus called Eclipse that increases the damage of abilities that match the current state of the Balance Energy bar.

Specialization Abilities

Draenor Perks

At levels 92, 94, 96, and 98, you’ll gain a random Draenor Perk that increases the power of one of your abilities significantly.

Rotation

In a significant change from previous design, Balance Energy now automatically cycles between Lunar and Solar, with no input from the player. Match spellcasts to the Balance bar for maximum damage.

In Lunar

• Use Starsurge to put up Lunar Empowerment, which dramatically increases your next 2 Starfire casts.
• Keep Moonfire effect up.
• Cast Starfire.

In Solar

• Use Starsurge to put up Solar Empowerment, which dramatically increases your next 3 Wrath casts.
• Keep Sunfire effect up.
• Cast Wrath.

Group Play

Execute a damage rotation, while keeping an eye out for ways to help the party/raid. Empowered Rebirth can save a group if used immediately on a dead healer/tank. Learn fights in advance to know the best times to use Starfall and Sunfire’s AoE effect.

Group Buffs

Mark of the Wild increases your group’s primary stats by 5%, and Versatility by 3%. Don’t worry about keeping Faerie Fire up anymore; the Weakened Armor debuff it used to provide has been removed. Finally, your Moonkin Form also provides a passive Mastery buff to the entire group.

Preparing for High-End Content

With the removal of the Hit stat in Warlords of Draenor, preparing your character correctly for heroic dungeons and raids has become much simpler: Find the armor pieces with the most Intellect available. For secondary statistics, Mastery and Haste are your best bets, with Mastery providing more damage and Haste providing faster casts. Don’t forget that your Garrison offers a blue item level 610 Intellect Staff for completing Bronze Proving Grounds at level 100, which is an excellent starter weapon.

Feral

Feral Combat is a melee DPS specialization focused on doing damage to enemies from close-range. Feral Druids are primarily found in Cat Form, and specialize in powerful bleeds.

Specialization Abilities

Draenor Perks

At levels 92, 94, 96, and 98, you’ll gain a random Draenor Perk that increases the power of one of your abilities significantly.

Rotation

Feral DPS revolves around three things—keep your bleeds up as much as possible, stay behind your target as much as possible, and don’t ever let your Energy bar cap out.

• Keep Rake up at all times.
• When Rake is up, Shred to generate Combo points.
• Use Combo points to keep Savage Roar up (unless glyphed into Savagery) and Rip. Use Ferocious Bite to burn extra Combo points.
• Use Tiger’s Fury and Berserk as often as possible.

Group Play

Your primary role in a group is to kill things as fast as possible. Still, remember that you have a ton of hybrid ability at your disposal. Predatory Swiftness allows you to toss off an instant heal or combat rez, and the Heart of the Wild talent lets you temporarily tank or heal full-time if things really go bad.

Group Buffs

Mark of the Wild increases your group’s primary stats by 5%, and Versatility by 3%. Don’t worry about keeping Faerie Fire up anymore; the Weakened Armor debuff it used to provide has been removed. Finally, your Cat Form also provides a passive Critical Strike buff to the entire group via Leader of the Pack.

Preparing for High-End Content

With the removal of Hit and Expertise, preparing for endgame no longer requires a calculator. Your core stat is Agility, and you want as much as possible. For secondary statistics, Critical Strike is your best choice; it increases your damage and your Combo point generation. Mastery is an attractive second choice as a flat damage increase for your bleeds; it also doubles as the best secondary stat for Guardians, making it the best choice for those playing both roles. Finally, don’t forget that your Garrison offers a blue item level 610 Agility Polearm for completing Bronze Proving Grounds at level 100, which is an excellent starter weapon.

Guardian

Guardian is a tanking specialization focused on keeping enemies away from allies and taking hits. Guardian Druids are primarily found in Bear Form.

Specialization Abilities

Draenor Perks

At levels 92, 94, 96, and 98, you’ll gain a random Draenor Perk that increases the power of one of your abilities significantly.

Rotation

The Guardian rotation is fairly forgiving. This is a good thing, as you want to focus on ensuring all enemies are picked up and positioning them properly to keep your group safe.

• Mangle on cooldown to generate Rage.
• Keep the Thrash bleed up.
• Use Lacerate (single-target) or Swipe (multi-target) when you can.
• Spend your Rage on Savage Rage or Frenzied Regeneration to increase your survivability. If you have excess Rage, use it on Maul.
• Use Barkskin frequently; save Survival Instincts for predictable big hits or times when your health gets low.

Group Play

As a tank, you have two primary responsibilities—keeping enemies from attacking the rest of your party, and keeping yourself alive. Use Thrash and Swipe on groups of weaker enemies to keep all of them on you, with a judicious amount of Growl as necessary. Against harder-hitting things, make sure you’re using your defensive cooldowns, and don’t forget to interrupt spellcasters if you can.

Group Buffs

Mark of the Wild increases your group’s primary stats by 5%, and Versatility by 3%. Don’t worry about keeping Faerie Fire up anymore; the Weakened Armor debuff it used to provide has been removed.

Preparing for High-End Content

A Guardian uses gear very similar to a Feral Druid. You want the best Agility gear you can, for both the Agility and the accompanying armor. Similarly, for secondary stats, your preference will be for Bonus Armor for additional survivability, and Mastery for the shielding effect. Don’t forget that your Garrison offers a blue item level 610 Agility Polearm for completing Bronze Proving Grounds at level 100, which is an excellent starter weapon.

Restoration

Restoration is a healing specialization focused on keeping allies alive. Frequently known as Tree Druids due to their iconic Incarnation: Tree of Life ability, Restoration Druids specialize in healing-over-time (HoT) spells but also have powerful direct heals as well.

Specialization Abilities

Draenor Perks

At levels 92, 94, 96, and 98, you’ll gain a random Draenor Perk that increases the power of one of your abilities significantly.

Rotation

Instead of a rotation, Druid healing follows a set of priorities.

• Keep Lifebloom up on the tank at all times.
• Use a direct heal every 20 seconds to keep the Harmony buff up, ideally Regrowth during Omen of Clarity procs.
• Use Rejuvenation and Healing Touch on the tank, supplementing with Swiftmend and Regrowth when necessary.
• Use Rejuvenation on raid members, with cautious application of Wild Growth and Wild Mushroom to handle AoE damage.
• Use cooldowns proactively. Nature’s Swiftness and Ironbark are good for individuals, while Nature’s Vigil, Incarnation, and Genesis are good for the whole group. Don’t forget Barkskin for yourself.

Group Play

Keep the tank alive first, yourself second, and the rest of your group third. Watch your Mana, and make sure you’re at full before long fights—ask the tank for a quick Mana break if you need it. Finally, don’t get so focused on healing that you lose your situational awareness; the fire on the floor burns you too.

Group Buffs

Mark of the Wild increases your group’s primary stats by 5%, and Versatility by 3%. Don’t worry about keeping Faerie Fire up anymore; the Weakened Armor debuff it used to provide has been removed. Restoration has no exclusive buffs, but it is the only Druid spec with access to Tranquility and Ironbark, powerful healing and damage reduction cooldowns.

Preparing for High-End Content

With the removal of Innervate, Mana regeneration is a priority. When you first reach 100, you want to accumulate as much Spirit gear as you can. Without a comfortable amount of Spirit, the use of expensive heals such as Genesis, Regrowth, and Wild Growth will be very constrained. After Spirit, your preferred secondary stat is Mastery. Don’t forget that your Garrison offers a blue item level 610 Intellect Staff for completing Bronze Proving Grounds at level 100, which is an excellent starter weapon.