Balance Druid Guide — Class Guides · WoW Burning Crusade

Ranged nature and arcane damage with Wrath, Starfire and Moonfire, and Moonkin Form.

A leather-wearing shapeshifter who heals in caster form, tanks in Bear Form, deals melee damage in Cat Form, and casts Balance spells. Druids can fill any role in a group. More about the druid

Class: Druid
Roles: Damage
Used for: Raids and dungeons, Player versus player
Top talent: Force of Nature
Popular builds: 2
Version: WoW Burning Crusade

How to play

Balance in The Burning Crusade is a raid caster with strong support: the Moonkin aura raises spell crit, Improved Faerie Fire helps the raid hit the target, Wrath of Cenarius adds spell damage to Starfire and Wrath, and Force of Nature summons treants.

Starfire is the main spell, with Moonfire and Insect Swarm when your mana allows. Mana is still tight; Dreamstate turns Intellect into regeneration.

Moonkins are welcome in caster groups for the aura, and in arenas for Cyclone and Entangling Roots.

At a glance

Single-target damage
Damage to groups
Survivability
Utility for the group
Solo play and leveling
Ease of play

Rated 1 to 5 against the other specs in WoW Burning Crusade.

Rotation and priorities

1Moonkin Form.
2Faerie Fire on the boss if no feral druid does.
3Insect Swarm and Moonfire when mana allows.
4Starfire as your main spell; Wrath when you need a quicker cast.
5Force of Nature with Bloodlust and trinkets.
6Innervate yourself when mana runs low.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Moonkin aura and Improved Faerie Fire help the raid.
Force of Nature adds burst.
Tough for a caster.

Weaknesses

Mana problems in long fights.
Less damage than mages and warlocks.
Little burst outside cooldowns.

Stats and gear

Stat priority

Most valuable first. Bars compare each stat with the best one; a cap in the note means the stat drops off once you reach it.

1
Spell damagearcane and nature damage count
2
Hitto 16%; Balance of Power covers 4%
3
Critical strike
4
Spell haste
5
Intellect
6
Mana per 5 sec

What to look for

Spell damage and hit; cloth caster gear works.
Intellect for mana and Dreamstate.
Spell damage gems.

Items worth chasing

Icon of the Silver CrescentSpell damage, and more on use.
Quagmirran's EyeA spell haste proc.
Spellstrike HoodCrafted cloth helm with spell hit.

Builds

Each bar splits the build's talent points by tree.

Balance
Feral Combat
Restoration

Force of Nature Moonkin
DamagePvE
4813
48/0/13
Raid Balance: Moonkin Form's aura for casters, Force of Nature summons treants for burst, and Wrath of Cenarius strengthens Starfire and Wrath.
- Dreamstate 3/3
- Moonkin Form 1/1
- Improved Faerie Fire 3/3
- Wrath of Cenarius 5/5
- Force of Nature 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level
Swiftness Moonkin
DamagePvP
4021
40/0/21
Balance for PvP: Moonkin Form for armor and crits, Nature's Grace for faster casts after a crit, and Nature's Swiftness for an instant Cyclone or heal.
- Nature's Grace 1/1
- Dreamstate 3/3
- Moonkin Form 1/1
- Wrath of Cenarius 1/5
- Nature's Swiftness 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level

Key talents

Force of Nature · top talent, up to 1
Summons 3 treants to attack enemy targets for 30 sec.
Lunar Guidance · tier 5, up to 3
Increases your spell damage and healing by 25% of your total Intellect.
Nature's Grace · tier 5, up to 1
All spell criticals grace you with a blessing of nature, reducing the casting time of your next spell by 0.5 sec.
Moonglow · tier 5, up to 3
Reduces the Mana cost of your Moonfire, Starfire, Wrath, Healing Touch, Regrowth and Rejuvenation spells by 9%.
Moonfury · tier 6, up to 5
Increases the damage done by your Starfire, Moonfire and Wrath spells by 10%.
Balance of Power · tier 6, up to 2
Increases your chance to hit with all spells and reduces the chance you'll be hit by spells by 4%.
Dreamstate · tier 7, up to 3
Regenerate mana equal to 10% of your Intellect every 5 sec, even while casting.
Moonkin Form · tier 7, up to 1
Shapeshift into Moonkin Form. While in this form the armor contribution from items is increased by 400%, attack power is increased by 150% of your level and all party members within 30 yards have their spell critical chance increased by 5%. Melee attacks in this form have a chance on hit to regenerate mana based on attack power. The Moonkin can only cast Balance and Remove Curse spells while shapeshifted. The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of Polymorph and Movement Impairing effects.
Improved Faerie Fire · tier 7, up to 3
Your Faerie Fire spell also increases the chance the target will be hit by melee and ranged attacks by 3%.
Wrath of Cenarius · tier 8, up to 5
Your Starfire spell gains an additional 20% and your Wrath gains an additional 10% of your bonus damage effects.

Balance abilities by level

When each ability arrives: trained abilities at the level a trainer first teaches them, talent abilities (gold frame) at the first level the talent can be taken.