Druid Builds

Specs and roles

Tiers come from the beta tier list. The talent tables show only what Icy Veins and Wowhead agree on; each spec says where they differ.

Much of the Druid unlocks after level 30, so there is less data on it than on other classes. gamer-guides puts Restoration in S.

Balance: damage

At level 30 Balance is a damage-over-time caster: Moonfire and Insect Swarm, then Wrath. Hurricane only unlocks at level 40 (Icy Veins). Wowhead gives three builds: damage over time, hard-casting Wrath and Starfire through Eclipse, and a “Spellbear” for fast leveling.

This is what Icy Veins and Wowhead’s damage-over-time build share. Improved Wrath 5 is in both the Icy Veins build and Wowhead’s hard-casting build. The rest differs: Icy Veins puts 5 points into Nature’s Focus from the Restoration tree so damage pushes back your casts less, Wowhead takes Genesis 5 and Vengeance 4. Icy Veins considers crit talents such as Vengeance weak while you have little crit.

1. 1
   Moonfire

   On every target in combat.

2. 2
   Insect Swarm

   After Moonfire.

3. 3
   Wrath

   Your main spell.

4. 4
   An enemy reaches you

   Entangling Roots to keep it at range (Wowhead).

Feral: damage and tank

Feral is one tree for two roles: the cat deals damage, the bear tanks. The new Shifting Power talent turns mana into Energy in Cat Form. Bear Form comes from a class quest at level 10, Cat Form at 20 (Icy Veins). At level 30 the cat has almost no area damage (Wowhead).

Icy Veins and Wowhead (its build for leveling and both roles) match in 20 of 21 points. The last one: Icy Veins takes Blood Frenzy, Wowhead takes Feral Charge, which Icy Veins names as the alternative. With Legacy points both take Improved Shifting Power 2 for a more frequent Shifting Power. For pure damage Wowhead has a separate build: Heart of the Wild 5 instead of Feral Instinct, Feral Swiftness, Feral Charge and Primal Bite.

1. 1
   Shifting Power

   On cooldown, while Energy is low enough that none of the gain is wasted.

2. 2
   Rip

   At 4–5 combo points if the target will live another 6 seconds (Wowhead).

3. 3
   Rake

   If the target will live 6 seconds.

4. 4
   Shred

   Your main strike from behind the target; Claw if you cannot get behind.

5. 5
   Bear

   Primal Bite is your main Rage spender, Swipe against a group, Maul for spare Rage; Enrage gives Rage at the start of a fight (Icy Veins).

Restoration: healer

At level 30 Restoration gets Swiftmend and Nature’s Swiftness, and Rejuvenation and Regrowth can now crit (Wowhead). The trainer teaches Tranquility at level 30, a strong heal for the whole group.

The embedded builds in the Icy Veins guide do not load correctly, so they were checked against its text. For group healing both sources take Gift of the Earthmother and Swiftmend, and both mention Nature’s Focus; Wowhead puts 5 points into it. After that Wowhead goes all the way down Restoration: Gift of Nature 5, Reflection 3, Naturalist 5 and Nature’s Swiftness. For the open world Icy Veins suggests another path: Improved Wrath and Insect Swarm from Balance first, then Restoration. With Legacy points Wowhead takes Improved Tranquility: a threat-free group heal on a 2-minute cooldown.

1. 1
   Before the pull

   Thorns on the tank.

2. 2
   Rejuvenation

   Keep it on the tank and on anyone taking damage.

3. 3
   Regrowth

   Your first direct heal, then low ranks of Healing Touch (Wowhead).

4. 4
   Danger

   Rejuvenation, then Swiftmend a second later.

5. 5
   Swiftmend on cooldown

   Nature’s Swiftness and a max-rank Healing Touch.

6. 6
   The whole group in trouble

   Tranquility.

Questions

See also

DruidWhich class to pick, comparedDruid levelingFeral, forms and talents by levelBest raceWhich race is stronger for your classTier listStrong classes and specs by beta data