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[WoW] Druid Thread: CLOSED FOR FLEA SPRAYING
Sterica
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
Let's get durid.
Druids have three specs. Like all hybrids, the role of a druid depends greatly upon its spec. Unlike all hybrids, druids have basic tools for each role available at all times. This makes for an interesting class and I will detail the effectiveness of each spec in certain areas. Being an MMORPG with nearly five years under its belt, this is merely a guideline and your mileage may vary.
Balance
Focus: Balance really focuses on pumping up your ranged dps via spells. A mix of DoTs and direct damage, the Balance druid pumps out the dps.
Leveling: Balance has come a long way since launch. Once you get Moonkin Form, you'll be drinking less and putting the hurt on more. Nonetheless, caster itemization for 1-60 is quite...poor and even worse if you want leather armor. While improvements were made in 2.3, this requires quite a bit of instancing as quest gear (for the most part) is quite lacking.
As you enter Outland and Northrend, thinks look up. More modern itemization philosophies benefit you greatly and you have your full set of talents. Focus more on killing things with Starfire while reducing your need to drink. DoTs take too long to really do their stuff, so don't worry about those.
PvE: Balance has come a long way since launch. Moonkins are among the best AoE classes, which is quite relevant at the moment because trash in raids are easy to AoE down. They also bring multiple raid buffs such as 13% spell damage, 5% crit and spell haste. And then you have basic druid perks like Innervate and Rebirth. No longer an outcast, many Moonkins have found homes in raiding guilds.
Balance has also gone from CC-light to CC-heavy. Roots can be cast indoors and more targets are available for hibernate in Northrend. Throw in Cyclone and you can briefly CC three mobs.
PvP: Balance has come a long way since launch. Thanks to an improved Nature's Grace, machine-gunning Wrath is great burst and all the CC of a druid is contained in Balance. Throw you in some heals and you have a class that isn't top of the heap but still functions quite well in PvP.
Feral Combat
Focus: Unlike most trees, Feral has two features: tanking and melee dps. As a result, several talents go off on their own path, meaning that you'll have to do decide if you want to perfect your tanking game or dps.
Leveling: Feral has been the leveling tree of choice for years now, and for good reason. Gearing up is easier than other melee classes because your weapon auto-levels from 1-60 and with we aren't picky about our weapon so long as the AP is good. No need to drink, multiple ways to escape in PvE and life is good for the feral druid.
PvE: People love tanks and, thanks Blizzard's new belief in four equal tank classes, bears will always be a welcomed addition to any raid or group. The same can't be said for cats, which are in need of buffs (coming in 3.1), but the dps is still good enough for the druid to help out when not needed for tanking. Druids brought exclusively for cat dps is still quite rare, as Moonkins are probably a preferred choice.
PvP: All druid specs are doing alright in PvP. We aren't a big name like Resto in seasons three and four, but you really can't say any spec is gimped. This is also true for feral, which is hard to CC and has ridiculous burst damage if allowed to stay in cat. When under pressure, a bear can hold out until things are clear. Shifting is dirt-cheap now, allowing for more heals and CC to be tossed around.
You can go far with feral.
Restoration
Focus: Having evolved from the early days, Resto druids now have a strong identity with their Heal over Time (HoT) spells. Weaving life the way an Affliction Warlock weaves deaths, a Restoration druid focuses less on big numbers (but we can do, don't forget) but rather a constant stream of healing.
There's a bit of hate on Resto that dates back to the days when Balance and Feral were incredibly bad specs and people were violently opposed to any attempts for the druids to branch out into other group roles. Like most hybrid classes, telling a druid to heal may still ruffle some feathers and receive some growling.
Leveling: Being focused on restoring HP rather than depleting it, Resto pretty much sucks at leveling quickly. Some changes to itemization do help (such as the distinction between +healing and +spell damage being removed), but the Resto druid still lacks the refinement to his or her damaging moves that talents provide. Leveling as a Resto druid is a slow process. No way around it.
But, if you intend on doing instances with friends to level, Resto is pretty solid there. But only if the bulk of your time is spent in instances. Even if you split solo leveling and instancing 50/50, it's better to just go Balance and heal with that spec.
PvE: Healers are always in demand. Druids have a number of instant heals to save the tank and by providing HoTs they keep the tank's HP smoother by healing between the cast times of other, normal direct heals. One weakness of the druid, AoE healing, has been fixed with Wild Growth and improvements to tranquility. We even have a fast "Flash Heal".
PvP: While they can hold their own, Resto's days of dominance are in the Lifebloomed days of Seasons 3 and 4. Lagging behind Resto Shaman and Holy Paladins, druids can still succeed in arena, but it might be harder for you. But 3.1 holds a number of buffs for Resto, so perhaps the glory days will come again.
Druids have three specs. Like all hybrids, the role of a druid depends greatly upon its spec. Unlike all hybrids, druids have basic tools for each role available at all times. This makes for an interesting class and I will detail the effectiveness of each spec in certain areas. Being an MMORPG with nearly five years under its belt, this is merely a guideline and your mileage may vary.
Balance
Focus: Balance really focuses on pumping up your ranged dps via spells. A mix of DoTs and direct damage, the Balance druid pumps out the dps.
Leveling: Balance has come a long way since launch. Once you get Moonkin Form, you'll be drinking less and putting the hurt on more. Nonetheless, caster itemization for 1-60 is quite...poor and even worse if you want leather armor. While improvements were made in 2.3, this requires quite a bit of instancing as quest gear (for the most part) is quite lacking.
As you enter Outland and Northrend, thinks look up. More modern itemization philosophies benefit you greatly and you have your full set of talents. Focus more on killing things with Starfire while reducing your need to drink. DoTs take too long to really do their stuff, so don't worry about those.
PvE: Balance has come a long way since launch. Moonkins are among the best AoE classes, which is quite relevant at the moment because trash in raids are easy to AoE down. They also bring multiple raid buffs such as 13% spell damage, 5% crit and spell haste. And then you have basic druid perks like Innervate and Rebirth. No longer an outcast, many Moonkins have found homes in raiding guilds.
Balance has also gone from CC-light to CC-heavy. Roots can be cast indoors and more targets are available for hibernate in Northrend. Throw in Cyclone and you can briefly CC three mobs.
PvP: Balance has come a long way since launch. Thanks to an improved Nature's Grace, machine-gunning Wrath is great burst and all the CC of a druid is contained in Balance. Throw you in some heals and you have a class that isn't top of the heap but still functions quite well in PvP.
Feral Combat
Focus: Unlike most trees, Feral has two features: tanking and melee dps. As a result, several talents go off on their own path, meaning that you'll have to do decide if you want to perfect your tanking game or dps.
Leveling: Feral has been the leveling tree of choice for years now, and for good reason. Gearing up is easier than other melee classes because your weapon auto-levels from 1-60 and with we aren't picky about our weapon so long as the AP is good. No need to drink, multiple ways to escape in PvE and life is good for the feral druid.
PvE: People love tanks and, thanks Blizzard's new belief in four equal tank classes, bears will always be a welcomed addition to any raid or group. The same can't be said for cats, which are in need of buffs (coming in 3.1), but the dps is still good enough for the druid to help out when not needed for tanking. Druids brought exclusively for cat dps is still quite rare, as Moonkins are probably a preferred choice.
PvP: All druid specs are doing alright in PvP. We aren't a big name like Resto in seasons three and four, but you really can't say any spec is gimped. This is also true for feral, which is hard to CC and has ridiculous burst damage if allowed to stay in cat. When under pressure, a bear can hold out until things are clear. Shifting is dirt-cheap now, allowing for more heals and CC to be tossed around.
You can go far with feral.
Restoration
Focus: Having evolved from the early days, Resto druids now have a strong identity with their Heal over Time (HoT) spells. Weaving life the way an Affliction Warlock weaves deaths, a Restoration druid focuses less on big numbers (but we can do, don't forget) but rather a constant stream of healing.
There's a bit of hate on Resto that dates back to the days when Balance and Feral were incredibly bad specs and people were violently opposed to any attempts for the druids to branch out into other group roles. Like most hybrid classes, telling a druid to heal may still ruffle some feathers and receive some growling.
Leveling: Being focused on restoring HP rather than depleting it, Resto pretty much sucks at leveling quickly. Some changes to itemization do help (such as the distinction between +healing and +spell damage being removed), but the Resto druid still lacks the refinement to his or her damaging moves that talents provide. Leveling as a Resto druid is a slow process. No way around it.
But, if you intend on doing instances with friends to level, Resto is pretty solid there. But only if the bulk of your time is spent in instances. Even if you split solo leveling and instancing 50/50, it's better to just go Balance and heal with that spec.
PvE: Healers are always in demand. Druids have a number of instant heals to save the tank and by providing HoTs they keep the tank's HP smoother by healing between the cast times of other, normal direct heals. One weakness of the druid, AoE healing, has been fixed with Wild Growth and improvements to tranquility. We even have a fast "Flash Heal".
PvP: While they can hold their own, Resto's days of dominance are in the Lifebloomed days of Seasons 3 and 4. Lagging behind Resto Shaman and Holy Paladins, druids can still succeed in arena, but it might be harder for you. But 3.1 holds a number of buffs for Resto, so perhaps the glory days will come again.
Sterica on
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Glyphs sound AMAZING.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
no more of this two party system. NO MORE!
Druids will be as viable main tanks as the three other tanks for all encounters though a particular tank class may make particular encounters a little easier. Crushing blows are being removed.
Also there is no dual paw action.
We'll share gear, but that doesn't mean there won't be pieces designed specifically for Druids to use, as well. Especially in regards to tanking.
I mean, if Tier 7 was the first chance at actual tanking leather, we'd never get to tank raids until T8.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
No one supports the Green party.
That's because Nader was overpowered and needed a nerf.
Ok I'm done.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Warrior: High physical mitigation
Death Knight: High magical mitigation
Paladin: High aoe threat
Druid: High single-target threat
Though I guess druids would be the best-off in this, and paladins the worst. You can always get healers to go for more healing/second at the sacrifice of longevity, and make up for it with shorter boss fights through being able to bring more DPS to bear. For warriors or DKs, maybe you can drop a healer to pick up another DPS... but only for fights that match your class. But, for paladins... my gut feeling is that they won't be jamming in a lot of bosses that need to be multi-tanked. For some you might be able to swap out two warriors for one paladin, but for most you probably won't.
If you're putting stuff like this in the OP it might be best to say druids will share gear with other classes because the same will apply to resto/moonkin.
If I'm in a 5-man, I usually have 3-4 mobs to deal with (assuming no CC is available), and in a raid situation I'd rather have more survivability than more threat. Unless you think they'll be putting in some sort of fight where other tanks can't generate enough threat.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Well, with the removal of blessing of salvation, some classes are going to have to worry about pulling threat, I guess. So, the less they have to worry about that the more they can all out DPS.
Wait, Salvation is gone?
Ok that makes a bit more sense now. I hadn't read the Paladin updates.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Decided to double check just to make sure I wasn't spreading misinformation. Looks like it got changed into a rather different move:
Blessing of Salvation renamed Hand of Salvation, now reduces total threat on the target by 2% per second for 10 seconds. 2 Minute Cooldown. Only one Hand spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of base mana.
Wow that's a hell of a nerf.
Having high threat doesn't seem so bad now.
Although I'd still like to be able to keep it on 2-3 at a time.
This reminds me. Anyone in the beta, can you confirm if swipe breaks CC? They were gonna do that last patch but it didn't actually go through for some reason, if I recall.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
High threat is very good in any fight requiring a berserk timer.
I can just picture a cat druid with a nuke strapped to its back tearing into the enemy base.
Fixed, maybe not worded correctly but w/e. Rumor from those in beta is that the new Elune's Grace procs at a 95-99% on crits, although I've seen a blue response that they feel they went over board on Moonkins new improved mana regen tricks.
Anyway, it looks like they're going to be taking away the bear's huge armor in Wotlk, giving that to Warriors, and giving bears even more stam based on what the blue's implying right now. I guess it makes sense, because it lessens the need for bonus armor on leather melee gear making it that much more uniform. It doesn't sound like a good tradeoff to me, but I hope they make it work. I mean needing better geared healers to heal you because you take more damage than any other tank doesn't sound like a good tradeoff to me. With this and the moonkin changes I'm glad I decided to level Balance.
I can get behind this only if I can get an absolutely absurd amount of health. Having really shitty armor wouldn't bother me at all (bears are mostly meat anyway) but I need totally obscene amounts of stamina to make up for it. Here's an example, with totally made up numbers.
Warrior tanks, lets say... Prince.
Prince hits the warrior for 10k, Warriors gear and abilities whittle that down to 2k, taking him down 10% of his 20kish health.
A druid (in my make-believe example) would simply take all 10k of damage. However, that would also reduce them by 10% health, as they would have like 100k health.
Obviously this would never happen as written, but you kind of get where I'm going with it.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
This doesn't mean that this will happen, but it does lend weight into the direction of it happening moreso than not. I'm not going to truly worry until the game ships and something's wrong, but as of right now Moonkin's much more well off than feral and thus why I'm happy I decided over a year ago to level balance.
He's also already Honored with Cenarion Expedition, but can't really benefit from it for 2 levels.
And, since someone might get confused, Imp. Mark of the Wild is fucking up Savage Roar's tooltip. It's 35%, not 41% or whatever you might see.
Did you miss:
Glyph of Starfire - Your Starfall ability increases the duration of your Moonfire effect on the target by 3 sec.
?
Many of us assume that the description is meant to read Starfire, since that's the name of the glyph, and it would be silly to have Starfall increase the duration of Moonfire.
But anyways, that could mean a nearly permanent moonfire dot, without having to cast moonfire itself, and combine that with the moonfire glyph that boosts the DoT damage by 75%, and that becomes incredibly awesome.
Why yes good sir...that was my hope and dream...may I give you hugs and kisses in the most manly and not homoerotic way for bringing joy to my otherwise dismal life? For indeed, except for PvP (lulz), the moonfire and starfire glyph combination would cause me to become quite aroused.
Holy shit I hadn't even considered that.
I bet Moonkin are going to be crawling out of the woodwork when WotLK hits.
Fuck fotm moonkin.
Someone in the EJ forums mentioned that one possibility is that with the new heavy downranking penalties, healing may shift to be a bit more reactive, so that you aren't wasting as much of a heal, and reactive healing favors a larger health pool
Tank took damage
Heal damage
Tank took damage
Heal damage
Yes, that is both entertaining, and takes skill to perform....
-.-
I'm glad my Feral Druid and Enhance Shaman are coming along nicely.
Also, lolret.
First Blood 85 Priest 80 Mage 85 Paladin 83 Druid 80 DK 85 Huntard 85 Shaman
"Tardo Wan" sounds like a Jedi that required 436 years to train and then killed himself by looking into his lightsaber while turning it on."
My other theory is that they'll just crank the armor bonus from bear form up really high.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.