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Class: Druid - FAQ "The Art of Tree Hugging"

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imported_Edward The Less

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Druid FAQ
"The Art Of Tree Hugging"
Version 0.8

So you are thinking of or have made a Druid and now need to know what to do with your self. Never fear I am here to help.

"What is a Druid?"

Druids are versatile hybrids. They perform different roles using a form appropriate for that role; they can have high armor and rage like a warrior in Bear Form, stealth and fight in melee like a rogue in Cat Form, or heal and nuke with spells in humanoid form.

Through talents, they can enhance one or more of these roles and even gain a new forms such as Tree Form for healing and Moonkin Form for nuking.

"Is playing a Druid hard?"

Druids are an uncommon class. Many find them difficult to level, while others proclaim them the best soloing class in the game. Moreover, since the druid population is extremely low, there have been fewer examples of a well played Druid for other players to have experience of and emulate.

In order to truly fulfill a hybrid role, druids require several complete sets of gear above and beyond any "resist sets" that most classes will possess. This is always expensive in time, bag space, and gold.

Unlike most other hybrid classes, a Druid does not begin as a true hybrid with some abilities in each of their domains, instead they acquire utterly new branches of ability when they advance to certain specific levels. Thus a druid is only "complete" at comparatively high levels. This can make the very early game for the Druid more difficult than for other classes. However, once mastered, the Druid is one of the most formidable classes in the game with much to contribute to any group, and can be extremely rewarding and enjoyable to play.

"Who can be a Druid?"

For the Alliance only Night Elves can become Druids and on the Horde side only Taurens can become Druids.

"What are forms?"

Druids can shapeshift into different forms that allow them to take on different roles. Below is a list of forms, what level they are available, and what roles they preform.

Humanoid: Level 1

Hybrid. Can heal, nuke, and do crowd control. Has one of the best buffs in the game Mark of the Wild. Also known as "caster form."

Bear Form: Level 10

Can tank or off tank the way a Warrior does. Increase in Armor designed to make leather emulate Mail armor.

Aquatic Form: Level 16

Gives the ability to swim at plus 50% speed and breathe underwater. Has the appearance of a sea lion or seal.

Cat Form: Level 20

Can do high melee damage and has a stealth mode similar to the Rogue class.

Travel Form: Level 30

Looks like a cheetah, Druids receive a plus 40% run speed increase in this form. May only be used outdoors on land.

Dire Bear Form: Level 40

An improved version of Bear Form that looks the same as the standard Bear Form, but has greatly increased bonuses to armor and hit points, emulating Plate armor.

Moonkin Form: 31 points in Balance Talents

A spellcasting form that gives nearby party members an additional 5% critical chance to spells cast. While in Moonkin form, a Druid is restricted to only casting Balance spells with the exception of Remove Curse.

Tree of Life Form: 41 points in Restoration Talents

This form transforms the Druid into a Tree of Life. The druids movement speed is reduced by 20%, Party members within 45 yards receive a healing bonus equal to 25% of the druids total Spirit, and only Swiftmend, Innervate, Nature's Swiftness, Rebirth and healing over time spells can be cast. The mana cost of these spells is reduced by 20%.

Flight Form: Level 68

This form transforms the Druid into a flight form increasing movement speed by 60% equal to standard flying mount. Riding enhancements do not affect speed. Cannot be used in combat. Can only be used in Outland. Gives the appearance of a Storm crow.

Swift Flight Form: Level 70

Swift flight form, increasing movement speed by 280% Equal to an epic flying mount. Riding enhancements do not affect speed, but during the quest line, a Charm of Swift Flight is acquired, which is equivalent to a Riding Crop. Cannot be used in combat. Can only be used in Outland. Obtained through a quest chain and requires a riding skill of 300.

<u>"What abilities do the forms have?"</u>

<u>Bear and Dire Bear Form:</u>

Attack: Simple melee damage

Growl: Taunts the target to attack you. Has no effect if the target is already attacking you.

Growl is useful for saving nukers and healers from being attacked by mobs.

As of patch 2.3.0, the chance for this ability to land successfully on its target is increased by hit rating.

Maul

A druid's basic Direct Damage melee attack in Bear form. The ability increases the damage of the druids next attack by a specific amount based on rank. In higher ranks, this ability also grants some extra aggro generation.

Rank 1: Level 10, +18 damage
Rank 2: Level 18, +27 damage, 22 silver to train
Rank 3: Level 26, +37 damage, 67 silver to train
Rank 4: Level 34, +49 damage, 90 silver to train
Rank 5: Level 42, +71 damage, 1 gold 22 silver to train
Rank 6: Level 50, +101 damage, 2 gold 40 silver to train
Rank 7: Level 58, +128 damage, +207 threat, 3 gold 50 silver to train
Rank 8: Level 67, +176 damage, +322 threat, 6 gold 57 silver to train

The Idol of Brutality increases Maul damage by 50.

Threat generation was changed from a 1.75 damage multiplier to a static +threat component, similar to a warrior's Heroic Strike, when Patch 2.0.3 was released.

Ferocity reduces the cost of your Maul, Swipe, Claw, Rake and Mangle abilities by 1/2/3/4/5 Rage or Energy depending how many points you have in it.

For tanking, this is the staple threat generation ability until you have Mangle and Lacerate. At level 70, Maul should be downplayed in favor of Lacerate and Mangle unless you have extra rage, because using Maul consumes rage and forfeits the rage gained by hitting the enemy with an auto attack. You can keep using Lacerate and Mangle while a Maul is waiting to strike, since it's an "on the next attack" kind of ability.

Demoralizing Roar

The druid roars, decreasing nearby enemies' attack power by X amount. Lasts 30 sec. 10 rage. 5 yard range.

Rank 1: -30 attack power, 3 silver to train
Rank 2: -50 attack power, 20 silver to train
Rank 3: -65 attack power, 80 silver to train
Rank 4: -100 attack power, 1 gold 60 silver to train
Rank 5: -130 attack power, 2 gold 60 silver to train
Rank 6: -240 attack power, 3 gold 87 silver to train

Feral Aggression increases the attack power reduction of your Demoralizing Roar by 8/16/24/32/40 depending on how many points you have in it.

Use this early on in the battle to lower the enemy's attack power. It's especially useful when you're being attacked by multiple enemies. This skill is similar to the warrior skill Demoralizing Shout, though not as powerful.

Another AP reduction spell is the warlock's Curse of Weakness, which is even stronger, though less used as it means dps loss for the warlock. One can overwrite the other if it has a greater AP reduction, depending on talents. The curse is generally the strongest, but can be overwritten by a talented shout. An untalented shout can be overwritten by a talented roar.

Enrage

Can be trained for 7 silver 20 copper at level 12. Generates 20 rage over 10 sec, but reduces base armor by 27% in Bear Form and 16% in Dire Bear Form.

Generates rage. It is important to notice that this ability only reduces your base armor, not your total armor. So if you normally have 1000 armor from your leathers, it becomes 840, however you still get the additional 4500 armor from dire bear form, giving you a 5340 rather than 4620. (Normal bear form works the same way).

Intensity formerly known as "Reflection" is a tier 3 (requiring at least 10 points in a specific tree) restoration talent for druids. After its renaming, it was merged with "Improved Enrage", which increased the initial rage gained from Enrage by 3/7/10 depending on how many talent points you have in it.

Use before you start a fight so you have extra rage. Watch out using this while fighting a enemy who uses a lot of melee attacks. The extra rage is nothing compared to the extra damage you gain. Enrage can however always be used mid-combat while fighting a caster. The magic damage they deal isn't effected by armor, so it's just free rage, without a downside.

Bash

Stuns the target for 2/3/4 sec based on it's level. 10 rage. 5 yards. Single target only.

Rank 1: Level 14, 2 seconds, 9 silver to train
Rank 2: Level 30, 3 seconds, 54 silver to train
Rank 3: Level 46, 4 seconds, 1 gold 80 silver to train

Brutal Impact increases the stun duration of your Bash and Pounce abilities by 0.5/1 second based on the number of talent points you have in it.

Can be used to interrupt spell casters, although Feral Charge will also work for that. This ability is also often used by druids without Nature's Swiftness to make time for a safe heal. If your a Tauren you can use this with War Stomp for even more time to heal.

Swipe

Swipe 3 nearby enemies, inflicting damage based on swipes level. 20 Rage, 5 yards, up to 3 targets. This ability is increased by Attack Power at a rate of approximately 8% of Attack Power per hit

Rank 1: Level 16, 10 damage, 16 silver to train
Rank 2: Level 24, 14 damage, 36 silver to train
Rank 3: Level 34, 21 damage, 90 silver to train
Rank 4: Level 44, 41 damage, 1 gold 62 silver to train
Rank 5: Level 54, 60 damage, 2 gold 52 silver to train
Rank 6: Level 64, 84 damage, 4 gold 77 silver to train

Ferocity, in Feral Combat, Reduces Swipes rage cost by 1/2/3/4/5. Naturalist, in Restoration, Increases Swipes damage by 2/4/6/8/10%.

The Idol of Brutality increases Swipes damage by 10. In unlimited or extremely high Rage situations, Swipe can also be used in addition to Maul even if there is only one target.

Prior to v2.0.3, Swipes threat generation was 1.75x damage done. This threat bonus was removed, due to Swipe damage now scaling with Attack Power. Prior to v2.0.10, Swipes damage was increased by the Savage Fury talent. Savage Fury now only affects abilities in Cat Form.

This is a good Ability to use to keep aggro on more than one target. Putting talent points into Ferocity makes this ability very viable for tanking. The feral talent Primal Fury gives you 5 Rage on a critical in bear form. If you critical on all three targets from a swipe, you'll get 15 Rage in return. All other procs you may have, like Omen of Clarity for example, will have a high chance to proc while spamming Swipe, because you will be effectively hitting 3 mobs every 1.5 seconds. Damage wise, this ability is generally more effective than Maul, especially acknowledging the fact that Maul prevents you from generating rage on your next swing.

Faerie Fire (Feral)

This is a debuff that reduces the target's armor and prevents it from stealthing and turning invisible. It requires 20 points in the Feral Combat talent tree and is the feral version of the normal Faerie Fire.

Decrease the armor of the target based on Faerie Fire (Feral) level for 40 sec. While affected, the target cannot stealth or turn invisible. 6 second cooldown, 30 yds (upgradeable to 36 yds).

The Improved Faerie Fire talent increases the chance that your target will be hit by melee and ranged attacks by 1/2/3%. The Balance of Power talent will increase your chance to hit with spells, including Faerie Fire, by 2/4%. The Nature's Reach talent increases the range of Faerie Fire (Feral) by 10/20%.

Unlike its basic version, this spell is immune to all magic reflection abilities as well as the effects of Shaman grounding totems. It is not affected by universal cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 30, -175 armor, 20 points in Feral Combat.
Rank 2: Level 30, -285 armor, 2 silver 70 copper to train.
Rank 3: Level 42, -395 armor, 7 silver 20 copper to train.
Rank 4: Level 54, -505 armor, 12 silver 60 copper to train.
Rank 5: Level 66, -610 armor, 3 gold 40 silver to train.

Cast at the beginning of the battle to decrease the opponents armor so you can kill the enemy faster in Bear form when in melee combat. Use against Rogues to eliminate their ability to stealth. As it has no rage or energy cost, it can be used every time the cooldown is up, without having any negative effect.

This is an excellent tool in keeping aggro and should be used liberally. Feral Faerie Fire's armor debuff does not stack like Sunder Armor does, though each application continues to generate a small amount of threat even when the debuff is already applied.

Feral Charge

Causes you to charge an enemy, immobilizing and interrupting any spell being cast for 4 sec.

5 rage, single target, 8-25 yards, 15 second cooldown. 10 points in Feral Combat.

This ability is very useful for soloing, or for trying to stop fleeing enemies. As of patch 2.3.0, it is possible for the interrupt and root effects from this ability to be resisted separately.

Stops a caster from casting any spells for 4 seconds. Very useful in PvP vs. Mages and Priests. Unlike Entangling Roots or Frost Nova, Feral Charge is a physical effect, meaning it cannot be dispelled by priests or paladins. A character with Blessing of Freedom is still immune to the root effect.

Feral Charge in its entirety is reflected by mobs with magic reflection and grounded by Shaman grounding totems. Can be used when airborne, as an effective countermeasure to knockback attacks or to prevent falling damage if timed correctly.

In TBC, you can just morph into flight form, go above the enemy, turn back into bear and feral charge when in range: you take no falling damage and enemy does not expect you. Affectionately known as "Rawrbomb". In Karazhan against Shade of Aran, Feral Charge will interrupt Aran's spells, giving the raid one more viable interrupt to the pool.

Challenging Roar

Forces all nearby enemies to focus attacks on you for 6 sec. 15 Rage, 5 yards, 10 minute cooldown, level 28, 50 silver to train.

As of patch 2.3.0, the chance for this ability to land successfully on its targets is increased by hit rating.

This ability is best used to save a group from a wipe when aggro gets out of hand or there are adds that must be quickly and surely drawn to you. After the 6 seconds time, aggro will switch back to its original holder unless enough fresh threat was generated during that time.

Good options to generate aggro on the multiple mobs attracted are: Thorns, Demoralizing Roar and Swipe. Besides those, when grouped up, paladin Retribution Aura can be a good help.

This skill is akin to the warrior's Challenging Shout.

Frenzied Regeneration

Converts up to 10 Rage per second to health for 10 sec. Each point of Rage is converted into health points based on Frenzied Regeneration's level.

10 rage per second, lasts 10 seconds, 3 minute cooldown.

Rank 1: level 36, 10:1 health for rage, 99 silver to train
Rank 2: level 46, 15:1 health for rage, 1 gold 80 silver to train
Rank 3: level 56, 20:1 health for rage, 2 gold 70 silver to train
Rank 4: level 65, 25:1 health for rage, 5 gold 21 silver to train

This ability is much more useful than it initially sounds. The more damage you take, the more this spell heals you (up to an extent).

This ability works extremely well when combined with the talents Primal Fury and Leader of the Pack. Use this to keep yourself from being killed both during Soloing and in tanking in groups. Remember, your armor in Bear Form is 2.8x your normal armor (4.6x in Dire Bear Form).

Mangle (Dire Bear and Cat)

Mangle is the 41 point talent of the Feral Combat druid talent tree. It can be first attained at level 50.

20 rage or 45 energy, single target, 5 yards, 6 second cooldown.

For both Bear Form and Cat Form, Mangle causes the target to take 30% additional damage from Shred and bleed effects for 12 sec.

For Bear Form, the attack causes 115% normal damage plus a bonus amount, and generates an as yet unknown amount of additional threat.

For Cat Form, the attack causes 160% normal damage plus a bonus amount, and awards 1 combo point.

Dire Bear:

Rank 1: level 50, +86 damage
Rank 2: level 58, +121 damage
Rank 3: level 68, +155 damage

Cat:

Rank 1: level 50, +158 damage
Rank 2: level 58, +204 damage
Rank 3: level 68, +264 damage

Post v2.2, reapplying Mangle on the target will now fully refresh the debuff, instead of only partially.

Lacerate (Dire Bear)

Level 66, 15 rage, single target, 5 yards, lasts 15 seconds.

Lacerates the enemy target, dealing 31 bleed damage and making them bleed for 155 damage over 15 sec and causing a high amount of threat. This effect stacks up to 5 times on the same target.

This ability is used similar to a Warrior's Sunder Armor, though it does not generate as much threat. However, Lacerate can critical, which increases the threat caused.

Use after landing one or two Mauls on a target for individual mobs. As Lacerate is a bleed effect, Mangle (Bear) is an obvious compliment.

For multiple targets, hold aggro as much as possible with a "Tab/Swipe" combination until one mobs breaks off. Growl or Bash the mob to stop it, then stack Lacerates to generate threat to keep that mob on you.

Every 20ap add 1 damage over 15 seconds. Every 20ap add 5 damage over 15 seconds with 5 stacks (pre-mangle).

Cat Form

Claw

Claw the enemy, causing additional damage based on claw's level. Awards 1 combo point.

45 energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: level 20, +27 damage, 20 silver to train
Rank 2: level 28, +39 damage, 50 silver to train
Rank 3: level 38, +57 damage, 1 gold 20 silver to train
Rank 4: level 48, +88 damage, 1 gold 98 silver to train
Rank 5: level 58, +115 damage, 2 gold 88 silver to train

Ferocity reduces the cost of Claw by up to 5 energy. Savage Fury increases Claw's damage by up to 20%.

Note that this is an instant attack which causes damage equal to your base attack plus the additional damage. Because of this, this skill can be combined with Tiger's Fury for additional damage. Druids that spec full Feral will replace Claw with Mangle, since it does more damage and adds a de-buff for the same energy cost.

Prowl

Allows the Druid to prowl around, but reduces your speed based on the level of Prowl. 10 second cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 20, 60% normal speed, 20 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 40, 65% normal speed, 1 gold 40 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 60, 70% normal speed, 3 gold 6 silver to train.

Feral Instinct reduces the chance enemies have to detect you while prowling.

Coupled with abilities such as Ravage and Pounce, allows for powerful opener to combat.

Rip

Finishing move that causes damage over time. Damage increases per combo point and by your Attack Power.

30 energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: Level 20, Inflicts 18 + 24*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 18 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 28, Inflicts 24 + 42*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 45 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 36, Inflicts 36 + 54*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 99 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 44, Inflicts 54 + 84*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 1 gold 62 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 52, Inflicts 72 + 120*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 2 gold 34 silver to train.
Rank 6: Level 60, Inflicts 102 + 168*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 3 gold 6 silver to train.
Rank 7: Level 67, Inflicts 102 + 198*(# of Combo Points) damage over 12 sec, 6 gold 57 silver to train.

In patch 1.12, Attack Power adds into the damage caused by a Rip.

The target must have at least one combo point on them in order to be able to use this ability.

Damage formula for each rank but 6

Rip(7) 1092 + .24*AP
Rip(5) 942 + .24*AP
Rip(4) 774 + .24*AP
Rip(3) 606 + .18*AP
Rip(2) 438 + .12*AP
Rip(1) 270 + .06*AP

This is a great "finishing move" for the harder enemies that are only half dead when you get 5 combo points on them. This is considered a bleed effect. All Mechanical, most Elementals and some Undead enemies will be immune. Bleed effect damage is not reduced by armor. Rip gains a 30% bonus to damage if Mangle is on the target.

Shred

Shred the target, causing 225% damage plus additional damage per rank to the target. Must be behind the target. Awards 1 combo point.

60 energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: Level 22, +54 damage, 22 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 30, +72 damage, 67 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 38, +99 damage, 90 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 46, +144 damage, 1 gold 90 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 54, +180 damage, 2 gold 40 silver to train.
Rank 6: Level 61, +236 damage, 3 gold 90 silver to train.
Rank 7: Level 70, +405 damage, 10 gold to train.

Shredding Attacks reduces the energy cost of your Shred ability by 9 points or 18 points depending on the number of talent points in it.

This attack serves as the basis for any feral druid's DPS. Mangle should be up at all times for the +30% damage increase.

In cat form, especially PvE, this is pretty much the best way to start a fight until Ravage at Level 32, prowl up behind the mob, shred for a huge initial damage. This is always a good move when grouping, because if someone else is holding the aggro, shredding from behind is serious damage while in combat (Ravage requires prowling).

Rake

Rake the target for damage and an additional damage over 9 sec. Awards 1 combo point.

40 energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: Level 24, (AP/100+17) damage and an additional (30+AP*0.06) damage over 9 sec. 40 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 34, (AP/100+26) damage and an additional (45+AP*0.06) damage over 9 sec. 1 gold to train.
Rank 3: Level 44, (AP/100+40) damage and an additional (60+AP*0.06) damage over 9 sec. 2 gold 27 silver 50 copper to train.
Rank 4: Level 54, (AP/100+55) damage and an additional (75+AP*0.06) damage over 9 sec, 2 gold 80 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 64, (AP/100+78) damage and an additional (108+AP*0.06) damage over 9 sec, 5 gold 30silver to train.

Ferocity reduces the energy cost of Rake by up to 5 points.
Savage Fury increases the damage of Rake by up to 20%.

The small amount of initial damage can critical, granting a bonus combo point if the talent Primal Fury is taken. As of patch 2.0.1 the initial damage is not mitigated by armor. The initial damage is increased by the Mangle debuff.

Effective damage technique against high armor enemies (Mail and Plate wearers). Useful to prevent Rogues from using Vanish.

Tiger's Fury

Increase damage done based on Tiger's Fury level for 6 sec.

30 energy, 6 second duration, 1 second cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 24, +10 damage, 40 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 36, +20 damage, 1 gold 10 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 48, +30 damage, 2 gold 20 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 60, +40 damage, 3 gold 30 silver to train.

Wait for energy to reach at least 90, then cast Tiger's Fury. Follow up with 2xClaw (if you are tanking) or 2xShred (if you can move behind the mob), or if timed well, 3 Claws or Mangles in.

Can also be used before Ravage for extra damage. (Damage is multiplied, so on a crit, you will add 280 damage.) Use tiger's fury, wait for your energy to replenish, hit ravage, and start your default combat sequence.

Dash

Increases movement speed by 50% (rank 1) or 60% (rank 2) for 15 sec. Does not break prowling. 5 minute cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 26, +50% speed, 40 silver 50 copper to train.
Rank 2: Level 46, +60% speed, 2 gold to train.

This is the Druid equivalent of the Rogue's Sprint ability. A good way to catch the fleeing enemy, or escape while inside where Travel Form doesn't work.

Cower

Cower, causing no damage but lowering your threat a small amount, making the enemy less likely to attack you.

20 energy, single target, 5 yards, 10 second cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 28, -240 threat, 45 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 40, -390 threat, 1 gold 26 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 52, -600 threat, 2 gold 60 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 60, -800 threat, 3 gold 40 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 69, -1170 threat, 9 gold to train.

It's best to preemptively Cower rather than to pull aggro and then Cower. If you pull aggro and the Cower is resisted or isn't enough to drop you below the top aggro target then you're as good as dead thanks to the 10 second cooldown.

For example, tank builds 2000 threat on skull target. Meanwhile, as DPS kitty, you dealt enough damage to acquire 1500 threat, 700 threat short of the 110% melee threat cap. Using Cower (Rank 5) at this point drops your threat to 330, preemptively keeping you from the top of the threat table.

This is better than using Cower upon reaching 2200 threat because at this point the tank has to overcome your 110% threat cap, 2420 threat, in order to re-acquire aggro from you without using taunt.

Ferocious Bite

Finishing move that causes damage per combo point and converts each extra point of energy into additional damage.

35 Energy + All Remaining Energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: Level 32, Deals 14 to 30 + 36*(# of Combo Points) damage to target and converts extra energy into +1 damage per point, 80 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 40, Deals 20 to 44 + 59*(# of Combo Points) damage to target and converts extra energy into 1.5 damage per point, 1 gold 26 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 48, Deals 30 to 70 + 92*(# of Combo Points) damage to target and converts extra energy into +2 damage per point, 1 gold 98 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 56, Deals 45 to 95 + 128*(# of Combo Points) damage to target and converts extra energy into +2.5 damage per point, 2 gold 70 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 60, Deals 52 to 112 + 147*(# of Combo Points) damage to target and converts extra energy into +2.7 damage per point, 3 gold to train.
Rank 6: Level 63, Deals 90 to 123 + 169*(# of Combo Points) damage to target and converts extra energy into +4.1 damage per point, 4 gold 32 silver to train.

Feral Aggression increases the damage of Ferocious Bite by 3-15% depending on how many points you have in it.

Often times the extra damage from energy conversion is less efficient than using it on other skills such as Claw or Rake, making it more desirable to use only after holding 5 combo points and only 35-40 energy on.

As of patch 1.12, Ferocious Bite now scales with increases in attack power.

Using this ability when Omen of Clarity procs will allow the druid to negate the 35 Energy cost and convert the entire bar to damage.

Ravage

Ravage the target, causing 385% damage, plus more based on Ravage level, to the target. Must be prowling and behind the target. Awards 1 combo point.

60 energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: Level 32, +147 damage, 80 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 42, +217 damage, 1 gold 60 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 50, +273 damage, 2 gold 30 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 58, +343 damage, 3 gold 20 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 66, +514 damage, 6 gold 60 silver to train.

this is the Druid equivalent of the Rogue ability Ambush. As the first stealth ability this will be the opener in combat until level 36 and Pounce. If you wish to do the most damage possible, Ravage is preferable to Pounce.

For maximum damage, Tiger's Fury can be cast in stealth before attack. If your target is sitting down, you are guaranteed a critical strike.

Track Humanoid

Shows the location of all nearby humanoids on the minimap. Only one type of thing can be tracked at a time. Level 32, 72 silver to train.

Automatically turns off when leaving Cat Form. Very helpful in areas heavily populated by enemy players. Especially useful on PvP.

Pounce

Pounce, stunning the target for 3 sec and causing damage based on Pounce level over 18 sec. Must be prowling. Awards 1 combo point.

50 energy, single target, 5 yards.

Rank 1: Level 36, 270 damage, 99 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 46, 330 damage, 1 gold 80 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 56, 450 damage, 2 gold 70 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 66, 600 damage, 5 gold 94 silver to train.

Brutal Impact increases the duration of Pounce by 0.5 and 1 second depending on the number of points you have in it.

Pounce damage is affected by attack power. This ability can be considered as the equivalent of the Rogue ability Cheap Shot. However, Pounce has a shorter stun duration while having an additional bleed effect. Also , it awards only one combo point while Cheap Shot awards two.

A helpful initial attack when you need to get in a couple of attacks before the target has a chance to do anything. Also helpful when sneak attacking an enemy with a group.

If you wish to deal the most damage possible in a shorter duration and/or if stun or bleeding effects aren't useful on your target (immune to bleed effects), you may use Ravage as an opener. Some things that are immune to bleeds (such as elementals) can still be affected by the stun, which may allow you to get off one or more shreds.

Feline Grace

Reduces damage from falling. Passive. Level 40, 1 gold 26 silver to train.

This ability also increases the distance the Druid can fall before taking damage. Since any damage removes stealth, this is useful for sneaking into places that would otherwise leave the Druid vulnerable.

Be sure to shift into Cat Form during or before those long falls.

Mangle (Dire Bear and Cat)

Mangle is the 41 point talent of the Feral Combat druid talent tree. It can be first attained at level 50.

20 rage or 45 energy, single target, 5 yards, 6 second cooldown.

For both Bear Form and Cat Form, Mangle causes the target to take 30% additional damage from Shred and bleed effects for 12 sec.

For Bear Form, the attack causes 115% normal damage plus a bonus amount, and generates an as yet unknown amount of additional threat.

For Cat Form, the attack causes 160% normal damage plus a bonus amount, and awards 1 combo point.

Dire Bear:

Rank 1: level 50, +86 damage
Rank 2: level 58, +121 damage
Rank 3: level 68, +155 damage

Cat:

Rank 1: level 50, +158 damage
Rank 2: level 58, +204 damage
Rank 3: level 68, +264 damage

Post v2.2, reapplying Mangle on the target will now fully refresh the debuff, instead of only partially.

Maim

Finishing move that causes damage and incapacitates the target. Any directly damaging attack will revive the target. Causes more damage and lasts longer per combo point.

Level 62, 35 energy, single target, 5 yards, 10 second cooldown.

1 point : 193-216 damage, 2 sec
2 points: 277-300 damage, 3 sec
3 points: 361-384 damage, 4 sec
4 points: 445-468 damage, 5 sec
5 points: 529-552 damage, 6 sec

Bleed and Damage over Time effects continue to damage the target while not breaking the stun. Therefore, using Pounce and a combination of Mangle(cat) and Rake will not only allow you to stun the target with decent damage, but also your bleeds will continue to damage the target.

This is an incapacitation, NOT A STUN. It will stop spellcasting, but any damage that is not a Bleed or Damage over Time will stop the effect.

A four combo point Maim gives you enough time to heal yourself with a Healing Touch, or give your energy enough time to regenerate for a Shred. Also in 1vs1 you may have time to prowl and ravage or pounce again.

</u>Spells</u>

Balance Spells

Wrath

Causes a range of Nature damage to the target based on spell rank.

1.5-2 second cast depending on spell rank, single target, 30 yards.

Rank 1: Level 1, 1.5 second cast, 20 mana, 12-14 damage, free.
Rank 2: Level 6, 1.7 second cast, 35 mana, 25-29 damage, 1 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 14, 2 second cast, 55 mana, 44-52 damage, 9 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 22, 2 second cast, 70 mana, 63-73 damage, 30 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 30, 2 second cast, 100 mana, 101-115 damage, 60 silver to train.
Rank 6: Level 38, 2 second cast, 125 mana, 139-157 damage, 1 gold 20 silver to train.
Rank 7: Level 46, 2 second cast, 155 mana, 188-210 damage, 2 gold to train.
Rank 8: Level 54, 2 second cast, 180 mana, 236-264 damage, 2 gold 80 silver to train.
Rank 9: Level 61, 2 second cast, 210 mana, 278-312 damage, 3 gold 90 silver to train.
Rank 10: Level 69, 2 second cast, 255 mana, 381-429 damage, 9 gold to train.

There are many talents that enhance Wrath. With all points in all of these Wrath becomes one heck of a spell. Below are the talents that effect Wrath.

Starlight Wrath reduces the cast time of your Wrath spell by 0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4/0.5 seconds with 1-5 points in it.

Focused Starlight increases the critical strike chance of your Wrath spell by 2 or 4% with 1 or 2 points in it.

Nature's Reach increases Wrath's range by 10 or 20% with 1 or 2 points in it.

Vengeance increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Wrath spell by 20/40/60/100% with 1-5 points in it.

Celestial Focus increases the chance you'll resist spell interruption when casting your Wrath spell by 25/50/70% with 1-3 points in it.

Moonglow reduces the mana cost of your Wrath spell by 3/6/9% with 1-3 points in it.

Moonfury increases the damage done by your Wrath spell by 2/4/6/8/10% with 1-5 points in it.

Nature's Grace all spell criticals, including Wrath, grace you with a blessing of nature, reducing the cast time of your next spell by 0.5 sec.

Nature's Swiftness when activated, your next nature spell, including Wrath, becomes an instant cast spell.

Improving this spell with talents will significantly boost its dps. Note that, although the cast time of Wrath is reduced by Nature's Grace, the Global Cooldown is not reduced. This means that, with 5/5 Starlight Wrath, Nature's Grace does not improve Wrath's DPS--you spend one second casting and half a second waiting for the Global Cooldown before you can cast your next Wrath.

When spammed, Wrath does more damage than Starfire over a short period of time. Starfire is more efficient in terms of points of damage per unit of mana however.

It is also good at annoying people and interrupting casters and a very good spell for any chance on spellcast procs, due to the extremely short cast time of 1.5 seconds with 5/5 points in Starlight Wrath. This makes it the fastest casting direct damage spell in the game that does not have a cooldown, other than Scorch.

Scales particularly well with high spell critical rating, while Starfire scales better with bonus spell damage.

Moonfire

Arcane damage based on Moonfire level every 3 seconds.
Duration: 9 seconds rank 1, 12 seconds all other ranks.

Rank 1: Level 4, 25 mana, 7-9 direct damage, 12 damage over time, 1 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 10, 50 mana, 13-17 direct damage, 32 damage over time, 3 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 16, 75 mana, 25-31 direct damage, 52 damage over time, 18 silver to train.
Rank 4: Level 22, 105 mana, 40-48 direct damage, 80 damage over time, 30 silver to train.
Rank 5: Level 28, 150 mana, 61-73 direct damage, 124 damage over time, 50 silver to train.
Rank 6: Level 34, 190 mana, 81-97 direct damage, 164 damage over time, 1 gold to train.
Rank 7: Level 40, 235 mana, 105-125 direct damage, 212 damage over time, 1 gold 40 silver to train.
Rank 8: Level 46, 280 mana, 130-154 direct damage, 264 damage over time, 2 gold to train.
Rank 9: Level 52, 325 mana, 157-185 direct damage, 320 damage over time, 2 gold 60 silver to train.
Rank 10: Level 58, 375 mana, 189-221 direct damage, 384 damage over time, 3 gold 20 silver to train.
Rank 11: Level 63, 430 mana, 220-258 direct damage, 444 damage over time, 4 gold 80 silver to train.
Rank 12: Level 70, 495 mana, 305-357 direct damage, 600 damage over time, 10 gold to train.

Starfire

Causes a range of arcane damage to the target based on Starfire's level.

3.5 second cast time, single target, 30 yards.

Rank 1: Level: 20, Mana 95, 89-109 damage, 19 silver.
Rank 2: Level: 26, Mana135, 137-167 damage, 40 Silver 50 Copper.
Rank 3: Level: 34, Mana 180, 201-241, 90 Silver.
Rank 4: Level: 42, Mana 230, 280-334, 1 Gold 44 Silver.
Rank 5: Level: 50, Mana 275, 362-428, 2 Gold 30 Silver.
Rank 6: Level: 58, Mana 315, 445-525, 3 Gold 20 Silver.
Rank 7: Level: 60, Mana 340, 496-584, 3 Gold 40 Silver or Book of Starfire VII
Rank 8: Level: 67, Mana 370, 540-636, 7 Gold 30 Silver.

Starlight Wrath cut casting time by 0.1-0.5 seconds.
Nature's Reach increases range by 10-20%.
Vengeance increases the critical strike damage bonus by 20-100%
Celestial Focus gives your Starfire spell a 5-15% chance to stun for 3 sec.
Moonglow reduces the mana cost by 3-9%
Moonfury increases the damage done by 2-10%
Wrath of Cenarius your spell gains an additional 4-20% of your bonus damage effects.

Does more Direct Damage per cast than Wrath, but takes 3.5 seconds to cast. It is often lower in damage per second than Wrath, but generally better damage per minute.

Deals arcane damage, this means that it is not affected by Nature's Swiftness.

Pull with Starfire and then root and either use another Starfire or use Wrath to pound away at enemies. Use on bosses if you are not the main healer, so you can do more damage. Starfire has the 3rd highest damage per mana of a Druid's damage spells, after Moonfire (dot included) and Insect Swarm.

Thorns

A buff that causes Nature damage to an attacker, lasts 10 minutes.


Rank 1: Level 6, Mana 35, 3 damage, 1 Silver.
Rank 2: Level 14, Mana 60, 6 damage, 9 Silver.
Rank 3: Level 24, Mana 105, 9 damage, 40 Silver.
Rank 4: Level 34, Mana 170, 12 damage, 1 Gold.
Rank 5: Level 44, Mana 240, 15damage, 1 Gold 80 Silver.
Rank 6: Level 54, Mana 320, 18 damage, 2 Gold 80 Silver.
Rank 7: Level 64, Mana 400, 25 damage, 5 Gold 30 Silver.

The Druid Tier 1 armor set, Cenarion Raiment, boosts the effectiveness of Thorns. The three piece bonus increases the damage caused by 4 and the duration by 50%.

The Druid talent Brambles increases the Nature damage caused by Thorns by up to 75%.

Although this spell doesn't sound too useful, it doesn't cost much mana, and is instant cast. Sometimes, additional damage can help. You should probably not cast this on non-melee classes (healer, mage), because the damage caused by thorns does increase aggro, making it harder to pull mobs off the caster. Conversely, you should cast this on melee classes so they can keep aggro and cause additional damage to mobs.

The damage caused by it can break skills like Hibernate. Do not use it if you want to crowd control. (Note that a Hibernated creature will not attack. However it can reduce Entangling Roots duration if enemy is able to shoot or someone is in melee). This can be useful when being attacked by an enemy that has one/low health (eg. summoned swarmers from a Silithid Swarmer) as it will kill itself.

Entangling Roots

Roots the target in place and causes nature damage. Damage caused may interrupt the effect. Only usable outdoors.

Single target, 30 yards, 1.5 second cast time.

Rank 1: Level 8, Mana 50, 20 damage over 12 seconds, 2 Silver.
Rank 2: Level 18, Mana 65, 50 damage over 15 seconds, 19 Silver.
Rank 3: Level 28, Mana 80, 90 damage over 18 seconds, 50 Silver.
Rank 4: Level 38, Mana 95, 140 damage over 21 seconds, 1 Gold 20 Silver.
Rank 5: Level 48, Mana 110, 200 damage over 24 seconds, 2 Gold 20 Silver.
Rank 6: Level 58, Mana 125, 270 damage over 27 seconds, 3 Gold 20 Silver.
Rank 7: Level 68, Mana 160, 351 damage over 27 seconds, 8 Gold 10 Silver.

Nature's Grasp, Control of Nature, Nature's Reach, Brambles, Nature's Grace, and Nature's Swiftness all affect Entangling Roots.

Damage done to the targets may prematurely end Entangling Roots.

This ability can only be used outdoors, but does work in places like Undercity, Ironforge, and The Exodar, which are considered to be outdoors.

Use this spell if you need to run away from something. The enemy may still be able to hit you with ranged attacks, but otherwise, it can't move to attack you.

Invaluable in PvP against warriors, rogues, hunters, and shamans.

One of the few crowd control spells not subject to creature type restrictions (humanoid, beast, demon, etc.). It is, however, unreliable. Some elementals - most notably Wind and Earth Elementals - are immune.

Nature's Grasp

A Buff that gives attackers a 35% chance of being inflicted with Entangling Roots. Lasts 45 seconds or 1 charge, 1 minute cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 10, Talent.
Rank 2: Level 18, 4 silver 75 copper.
Rank 3: Level 28, 12 silver 50 copper.
Rank 4: Level 38, 30 silver.
Rank 5: Level 48, 55 silver.
Rank 6: Level 58, 80 silver.

Each rank requires you to have Entangling Roots of the same rank.

Nature's Grasp and Improved Nature's Grasp effect this spell.

Procs off melee only, does not proc off spells or ranged attacks. Only has one charge, can only entangle one foe per casting. Entangling Roots can be resisted - so even when it procs, it can fail to have effect.

Spending 4 talent points in Improved Nature's Grasp raises the chance of an enemy being afflicted by Entangling Roots to 100% (assuming it is not resisted).

This is the only first tier talent to give a new spell for any class in the game. As of 2.1, this spell no longer costs any mana to cast.

Activate this spell when running away. Often the attacker will be rooted and unable to follow. This spell is also useful for gaining range against a Shaman to use Innervate. Can also be casted in Cat, Bear and Moonkin forms.

Teleport: Moonglade

Teleports the Caster to Moonglade. 10 second cast time.

Rank 1: Level 10, 120 mana, Gained by quest.

This spell is given to you at the start of the Bear Form quest chain.

Useful for night elf druids, it allows for a short trip to Rut'theran Village, serving the function of a Hearthstone for their hometown. Not so much for Tauren, since the trip from Moonglade to Thunder Bluff, even if free, takes almost seven minutes.

It used to be a longer ride over Darkshore that took 10 minutes, but now you get the direct way through Felwood. If you have the adjacent flight points, it is best to leave from the non-druid flight-path, close to the bottom of the region, and take the shorter trip to Orgrimmar.

Useful also if your Hearthstone is on cooldown and you need to leave a dangerous area, like instances or battlegrounds.

With the advent of The Burning Crusade, this spell becomes slightly more useful, since it allows instant transport to Azeroth. From Moonglade you can easily find a transport to a capital city.

This spell is extraordinarily useful during the leveling process. Every even-numbered level the druid is ready to learn new and better abilities. Set your Hearthstone at an inn in the area where you're leveling, teleport to Moonglade, use the Moonglade druid trainer, then hearth back. This potentially saves a significant amount of travel time.

Of course this spell can not be cast in battle.

Barkskin

The druid's skin becomes as tough as bark. All damage taken is reduced by 20%. While protected, damaging attacks will not cause spellcasting delays. This spell is usable while stunned, frozen, incapacitated, feared or asleep. Lasts 12 sec. Allows you to cast a spell without interruption.

Instant cast, lasts 12 seconds, 1 minute cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 44, mana cost: 12% of base mana, 1 gold 80 silver to train.

This spell gives you the opportunity to cast a healing spell without interruption. This spell is especially useful if you are a Balance druid, since it allows you to cast Hurricane without interruptions. The same applies to Restoration druids and Tranquility. Even though you can still be interrupted by some special attacks, it's the only way you can efficiently cast these spells in battlegrounds.

Barkskin will also mitigate damage from falls. Barkskin can be used while in Tree of Life form. As of Patch 2.3.0, Barkskin cannot be used while under the spell effect of Cyclone.

Hibernate

Forces the enemy to sleep. Any damage will awaken the target. Only one target can be forced to hibernate at a time. Only works on Beasts and Dragonkin.

1.5 second cast time, single target, 30 yards.

Rank 1: Level 18, 90 mana, lasts 20 seconds, 19 silver to train.
Rank 2: Level 38, 120 mana, lasts 30 seconds, 1 gold 20 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 58, 150 mana, lasts 40 seconds, 3 gold 20 silver to train.

Nature's Grace, Nature's Swiftness affect Hibernate.

In a PvE setting, Hibernate gives druids a tremendous advantage as it allows you to take on beasts much more powerful than yourself. A good druid can kill an elite beast mob of his or her own level and even one or two levels higher given correct planning and timing.

In PvP, It is good to use against a Hunter's pet, a Druid in Feral forms and a Shaman in Ghost Wolf form. However, due to its cast time, a good player would often shift out of form to prevent it from being used on them.

Soothe Animal

Soothes the target beast, reducing the range it will attack you at by 10 yards.

1.5 second cast time, single target, 40 yards, lasts 15 seconds.

Rank 1: Level 22, 50 mana, level 40 beasts or lower.
Rank 2: Level 38, 75 mana, level 55 beasts or lower, 1 gold 20 silver to train.
Rank 3: Level 54, 100 mana, level 70 beasts or lower, 2 gold 80 silver to train.

Nature's Grace, Nature's Swiftness affect Soothe Animal.

Not a very useful spell, unless you're trying to sneak through an area highly populated by beasts. This spell can be cast on a beast with stealth detection and will allow a rogue to sap a nearby mob. This has been confirmed to work on the hell hounds in hellfire ramparts.

You can use this ability on mobs that patrol around a resource node (herb or mineral) and it will allow you time to gather and retreat; unlike hibernate which will make you enter combat once the sleep wears off.

This can be used to prevent chain pulls if two beasts are close together. Cast on the undesired add before pulling. Another use is to mark targets for hibernate, similar to mages marking poly targets with detect magic.

If it is resisted, you will aggro the target. Spell hit rating gear or talents may help prevent this.

Insect Swarm

The enemy target is swarmed by insects, decreasing their chance to hit by 2% and causing nature damage over 12 sec. Single target, instant cast, 30 yards.

Rank 1: Level 20, 50 mana, 108 damage, talent.
Rank 2: Level 30, 85 mana, 192 damage, 2 silver 70 copper.
Rank 3: Level 40, 110 mana, 300 damage, 6 silver 30 copper.
Rank 4: Level 50, 135, mana, 432 damage, 10 silver 35 copper.
Rank 5: Level 60, 155 mana, 594 damage, 15 silver 30 copper.
Rank 6: Level 70, 175 mana, 792 damage, 22 silver 50 copper.

Does not stack with chance to miss % of other insect swarm. Unlike a lot of other DoT spells which deals damage every 3 seconds, Insect Swarm deals damage every 2 seconds, meaning 6 ticks will occur in its duration of 12 seconds.

The talent is useful when used in conjunction with Moonfire. In addition, its a cheap dot that gains 76% from your +spell damage, which makes it desirable for certain balance builds, making it one of the most mana efficient DoTs in the game.

In a raiding perspective the damage mitigation with the chance to miss helps with the survival of the main tank. Unlike most Druid spells, Insect Swarm does not interrupt the swing timer.

Hurricane

Creates a violent storm in the target area, causing nature damage every 1 sec, and reducing the attack speed of enemies by 25%. Lasts 10 sec. Druid must channel to maintain this spell.

10 second channeled spell, 30 yards, 1 minute cooldown.

Rank 1: Level 40, 880 mana, 70 damage every second, 1 gold 40 silver.
Rank 2: Level 50, 1180 mana, 100 damage every second, 2 gold 30 silver.
Rank 3: Level 60, 1495 mana, 134 damage every second, 3 gold 40 silver.
Rank 4: Level 70, 1905 mana, 206 damage every second, 10 gold.

Nature's Reach effects Hurricane. In patch 2.2 the spell damage coefficient was changed to 128%, previously it was 107%.

This spell has limited use, due to the aggro generated by channeled spells. There's no reason not to always have barkskin up before casting this spell - it will prevent interruption, allowing a full damage output from Hurricane.

This spell can be very useful when tanking, for getting aggro on large groups. However, you'll probably want to break it off early and go back into Bear Form, unless you have some kind of uber healer.

This spell does NOT break the mass clicking on the flags in the battlegrounds(i.e. Arathi Basin or Alterac Valley), Though it can be wise to use this spell on them when combined with other mage AoEing.

Moonkin Form

Transforms the druid into Moonkin Form. While in this form armor is increased 400%, attack power is increased 150% of level, melee attacks may regenerate mana (based on attack power), and all party members within 30 yards have their spell critical chance increased by 5%. The Moonkin can only cast Balance spells while shapeshifted.

The Druid also has Immunity to Polymorph effects. Shapeshifting breaks snare, root, and polymorph effects. Costs 28% of base mana to cast.

Natural Shapeshifter talent effects Moonkin Form.

When in Moonkin Form you are flagged as a humanoid and are immune to beast-type magic, like a Druid's Hibernate, or Hunter abilities designed to affect beasts, but you are also immune to polymorph.

Moonkin is one of only two shapeshift forms in which a druid can use potions and deal weapon damage. (The other is Tree of Life form.) In feral forms, damage dealt is feral, not weapon damage.

You cannot ride mounts while in Moonkin Form. When in Moonkin Form the druid dances exactly like when using the Gordok Ogre Suit.

A properly geared moonkin can easily rival a mage or warlock in terms of damage, but lacks proper AoE which makes it more akin to a shadow priest.

Melee mana regeneration is through a chance on hit effect called Grace of Elune and the mana regenerated is 30% of the moonkin's Attack Power each time it procs. The proc rate seems to be normalized so that fast and slow weapons have the same number of procs per minute, about 15 procs/minute.

Moonkins should have a druid-specific weapon with high attack power hotkeyed so that they switch easily when the time comes to regenerate more mana and the switch back to resume casting. It is possible to tank many instances in Moonkin form. However, the talent builds and gear required differ from a DPS role.

When out of mana it is extremely useful to equip a Feral Attack Power weapon and melee your target because of the extra mana gain from melee attacks in Moonkin Form.

Invest in as many talents that increase the DPS of your spells, both those that reduce casting time Starlight Wrath and increase damage Moonfury.

If you are going for a group PvE build, don't invest in talents that require physical contact Brambles, Omen of Clarity. However, if you are going for a solo PvE build, then do invest in these talents, and make sure to have Barkskin active, as you will need it if you're taking damage, even with the 400% armor increase.

Moonkins aka "Panzerkins" can be a strong alternative to non-tank specs through decent damage mitigation and high DPS versus main tank specs. Moonkin tanking is rare for many reasons, but Moonkins have successfully tanked Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and most 5-man heroics. Gearing is problematic; PvE rewards do not generally support Moonkin tanking, but the Arena Rewards for druids provide some of the balance necessary.

In PvP Moonkin Druids may find investing more than 41 points in the Balance tree to be beneficial. You need to utilize all of your spells, using Starfire at range and Wrath in melee. The best way to avoid melee fights when outdoors is to root the enemy and move out to maximum spell range.

Some people find that starting a fight in cat form with a pounce is an effective opener, followed by nuking in moonkin. This, however, may burn your only chance to get off a huge starfire critical and stun.

Moonkin truly shine in PvP. Starfire and Wrath can quickly chip away at an enemy's health while the DoT from Moonfire finishes off anyone who runs away. One thing that should be taken to heart: Moonfire spam is fun and ticks a lot of people off but absolutely destroys your mana supply. Moonfire spam should only be used to finish off a fleeing opponent, or as a last ditch effort to survive.

Also, by spamming Moonfire, you never allow its DoT to run its course, because every time you cast Moonfire, its timer resets. If you insist on spamming Moonfire, cast your highest rank first then switch to your second highest. This still deals massive damage but it also allows your DoT to run its course.

Also, Insect Swarm does decent damage per point of mana and its marginal reduction in hit chance isn't too shabby. Entangling Roots, unfortunately, is becoming less useful as time passes because more and more classes are being given ways to escape snare effects. If anything, it still delays a player from reaching you, which usually will give you the time to cast a Starfire/Moonfire combo.

Most players will suggest beginning fights in Cat Form. If you are a Night Elf (and patient), simply shadowmeld and wait for your target to come in range then surprise them. Starting from Cat Form has its advantages though.

If you are a competent "stance dancer" (you should be if you wish to be a Moonkin) you can Pounce and then Rip your target, then switch to Bear Form before they recover from the stun. From Bear Form, melee your target once (possibly twice if you are unlucky) to get enough rage to Bash your target.

This gives you enough time to switch to Caster Form and place a Rejuvenation on yourself and switch back into Moonkin. Once back into Moonkin Form, Moonfire your target. At this point the stun should be wearing off. The rest is up to you.

In PvE Moonkin have three primary abilities that are key to surviving Cyclone, Entangling Roots, and Barkskin. Cyclone is obtained at level 70 and allows the druid to temporarily encase a target in a cyclone which makes him immune to all forms of attack (lasts 6 seconds). Entangling Roots snares a target in place for up to 27 seconds and does damage every 3 seconds, however damage to the snared target can remove the effect.

Both of these abilities give the Moonkin CC abilities which are essential for those "whoops, I pulled one too many" moments. Barkskin reduces all damage taken by 20% and prevents pushback on your spells for 12 seconds. Obviously Barkskin is useful for mitigating damage but it also allows the druid to shift back to caster form and cast some HoTs. Lifebloom and Rejuvenation, along with the bonus healing from Lunar Guidance, increases a Moonkin's survivability considerably.

Now one might ask, "both those HoTs are instant so why should I wait until I cast Barkskin to shift out and use them?" The answer to that is simple, when you shift out, you lose the 400% bonus to your armor, so you take significantly more damage, Barkskin helps to reduce that loss of armor.

Cyclone has diminishing returns in PvE and is therefore not an effective way of CC'ing a particular mob for an extended period of time. After several casts of Cyclone on a particular mob, the mob is immune to the spell.

Innervate

Increases the target's Mana regeneration by 400% and allows 100% of the target's Mana regeneration to continue while casting. Lasts 20 sec. Single target, 30 yards, 6 minute cooldown. Level 40, 1 gold 40 silver to train.

Innervate's buff is a Magic effect, so it can be dispelled by Priests, Warlocks, Shamans, and stolen by Mages with Spellsteal; hence, you should be careful when using it during PvP, for if the enemy player notices it, it would be a great disadvantage to you if the said enemy removes or Spellsteals it.

The mana regeneration this gives you is enormous, especially since the spell's cooldown timer is only 6 minutes. Truly an excellent spell that is beneficial to any mana user, although mana users with high spirit will benefit the most from this spell since its effectiveness depends on the quantity of spirit the most.

Typically, classes that will benefit most are, from most to least effective: Priests, Druids , Mages, Shaman, Paladins, Warlocks and Hunters.

In 5-man instances, it can be a good idea to save Innervate exclusively for the healer when he or she is about to run out of mana.

In raids, innverate is most effective when used on a Shadowpriest, as the mana gained can be used to deal more damage which with Vampiric Touch, leads to a far great overall gain of mana than using it on any other person.

Force of Nature

Summons 3 treants to attack the enemy target for 30 seconds. 12% of base mana cast cost. 3 minute cooldown. Requires 40 points in Balance tree.

They melee attack only, and can hit for about 80 - 115 damage in lvl 60. However, the spell damage and the attack power of the Moonkin Druid gets added to the melee attack of the treants. Not only that, but the attack is immensely fast, being able to burn through enemies quite quickly. Very useful against casters in PvP as the three trees quickly do a lot of damage and make it difficult to get off non-instant spells.

At level 70 against unarmored targets they hit for an average of about 176 base damage, plus about between 7% and 10% of your +spell damage (per hit). Attack speed is somewhere between 1.5s and 1.8s.

The druid has no control whatsoever over the treants, and they will attack the closest target they can find when summoned. If that target dies while the treants are active, they will return to the caster.

They are set to passive by default and will only attack something that attacks the caster after their initial target is dead, in instances and raids they can be dangerous and should only be used when it is certain they will despawn during or after the fight.

The summoned treants are practically useless against any mob with an AoE attack as they will die very quickly, this includes many bosses.

This spell is especially effective in PvP as a terror weapon. Many players will lose focus or panic when suddenly assaulted by 3 extra opponents. Even if the player is experienced, the incoming damage forces them to take some form of defensive action.

Additionally if this spell is used and no target is immediately attacked enemies may be cautious to attack the druid knowing that the first person who does will be attacked by the treants.

If the treants are the the only ones attacking a target for the entire duration of the fight and end up killing it, said target will not yield any Experience or Honor.

Cyclone

Tosses the enemy target into the air, preventing all action but making them invulnerable for up to 6 sec. Only one target can be affected by your Cyclone at a time. Level 70, 1.5 second cast time, 249 mana cost, 20 yards or 24 yards improved, 1 gold to train.

Control of Nature, Nature's Reach, Nature's Grace, Nature's Swiftness all improve Cyclone.

Affected by diminishing returns, both in PvE and in PvP.

Very few mobs are immune to cyclone, very useful in instances to disable the mob that is going after your healer. Most groups will not like you doing this though. A good rule of thumb is this: if you can stun it, you can cyclone it.

If you cast Cyclone on one target then immediately cast it on another before Cyclone effect fades from the first target, the first target will break free at once.

The target is completely locked down: paladins can't divine shield out of it, mages cannot iceblock out of it; however all PvP trinkets can negate the effect. The effect is typeless, thus no one can dispel it.

Any aura or passive buff granted by the affected player or mob to other players or mobs will be temporarily negated until the effect ends. For instance if you cast Cyclone on a warlock's pet, Soul Link will be removed from warlock and his pet until Cyclone's effect ends. Paladin, Druid, and other auras are affected in the same way.

Additionally, DoT (and most likely HoT) effects are also negated for the duration.
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imported_Edward The Less

Guest
This is the only effective interrupt a balance or restoration druid has. Use it whenever your enemy is casting a long and nasty spell (i.e Soul Fire) or is about to heal. Then about 3-4 seconds after you've casted Cyclone, start casting Starfire! It'll hit your target just after the effect expires.

Nothing can pass through Cyclone! Do not try to buff, dispel, harm or even heal a target under the effects of this spell!

As the immune effect also blocks heals, you can also use it on a tank / DPSer an healer is trying to heal; the 6 seconds lockdown will probably be enough to your DPSers to kill this healer, then once the effect wears off you can finish off the tank or DPSer.

"What talent trees do Druids have and what do they do?"

Druids have Balance, Feral, and Restoration

Balance Druids specialize in their assortment of damage spells and special abilities including an additional Moonkin Form, turning them into an efficient ranged spellcaster that is somewhere between a mage and a shadow priest in play style in the equivalent of plate armor.

They lack true AoE capabilities but excel at nuking single targets as well as providing effective off-healing and crowd control support for their group or raid. The Burning Crusade brought the Balance tree enough power to make a properly geared balance druid decent competition with the pure caster classes for top damage output position.

The Feral tree enhances both of the druid's melee forms, allowing them to tank and do melee damage more efficiently. The talents in this tree usually enhance both forms equally and specialization into one of the two roles depends mostly upon gear. Feral druids are effectively a warrior and a rogue with the ability to heal themselves to boot. Lack of downtime between fights and flexibility in their armor and damage output are their strong points.

And last but not least Restoration Druids take points in improving their assortment of healing spells and also in special abilities including an additional Tree of Life Form.

They are powerful healers, however they lack out-of-combat rezzing capacity, because the druid resurrection spell Rebirth has a 20 minute cooldown (at the same time being the only in-combat rez castable on others).

Restoration Druids have the best heal over time spells. Together with their very high mana endurance (and their limited rez capability) this makes them arguably the best backup healers in raids.

<u>Special Thanks</u>

Stratics.com
Worldofwarcraft.com
Wowwiki.com
Wowhead.com
The Relief Beef guild

I will continue to work on this guide as I have time. After I finish it to my satisfaction I will turn it's upkeep over to the Druid forum moderator.
 
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