Balance Druid PvE guide: level 60 Moonkin, Eclipse and Balance of Nature raid build

Overview

Level 60 · Balance Druid · DPS in dungeons and raids.

Moonkin rarely earned a raid spot in Classic because it ran out of mana quickly and had few ways to scale. The WoW Forever Balance tree gives it a real rotation. Improved Wrath makes Wrath half the cost and faster, Eclipse lets each Wrath store charges that speed up your next Starfires, and Balance of Nature rewards alternating Nature and Arcane spells with 5% more damage on the next spell of the other school. Moonkin Form still gives the party 3% spell crit, and Nature’s Grace speeds up casts after any spell crit. You bring Innervate, Rebirth, Mark of the Wild and Faerie Fire to the raid as well.

Your job in the group

You are ranged Arcane and Nature damage with a raid aura. Moonkin Form’s spell crit reaches your party, so ask to be grouped with other casters, and keep Faerie Fire on the boss if no feral druid owns it. Beyond damage, you are one of the raid’s battle resurrections and an Innervate for a healer who runs dry, so keep an eye on the raid frames during the hardest phases instead of only your own casts.

Why play it

• Raid utility: Moonkin aura, Innervate for a healer, Rebirth and Faerie Fire.
• Cheaper Wrath than Classic thanks to Improved Wrath, which helps the old Moonkin mana problem.
• A rotation with decisions: Eclipse charges and Balance of Nature reward weaving Wrath and Starfire instead of spamming one spell.
• Two damage schools: Arcane and Nature, so a resistant boss rarely shuts the spec down.

Weak points

• Mana on long fights is still a concern even with Improved Wrath.
• Complex rotation: letting Eclipse charges or Balance of Nature bonuses expire costs damage.
• No cleave talents: Hurricane is your only AoE, and this build does not improve it.
• Untested numbers: whether Moonkin reaches mage and warlock damage in WoW Forever is not known yet.

Level 60 talent build

Balance 41 / Feral Combat 0 / Restoration 10, all 51 points. The talent tree above shows the finished build.

Balance (41)

• Improved Wrath 5/5 — 0.5 sec faster and 50% cheaper Wrath: the spell that builds Eclipse becomes your efficient filler.
• Moonglow 3/3 — 3% cheaper spells.
• Improved Moonfire 2/2 — +10% Moonfire damage and crit chance.
• Nature’s Majesty 2/2 — +4% crit chance with spells, which feeds Vengeance and Nature’s Grace.
• Nature’s Reach 2/2 — +4% hit with all spells and 20% more range on Balance spells.
• Nature’s Splendor 1/1 — 3 sec longer Moonfire and 2 sec longer Insect Swarm: fewer refreshes.
• Balance of Nature 5/5 — Each Nature spell makes your next Arcane damage spell 5% stronger, and each Arcane spell does the same for Nature.
• Insect Swarm 1/1 — A Nature damage over time that also lowers the target’s hit chance.
• Vengeance 5/5 — +20% crit damage bonus on Arcane and Nature spells.
• Improved Starfire 5/5 — 0.5 sec faster Starfire, and a stun chance that matters in dungeons.
• Nature’s Grace 1/1 — Spell crits speed up your casts and global cooldown by 10% for 3 sec.
• Eclipse 3/3 — Each Wrath stores charges that make your next 2 Starfires 0.5 sec faster, up to 4 charges for 15 sec.
• Moonfury 5/5 — +5% Arcane and Nature damage.
• Moonkin Form 1/1 — Armor, 3% spell crit for the party and freedom from Polymorph and snares when you shift.

Restoration (10)

• Nature’s Focus 5/5 — Less pushback on Wrath and Starfire when you take damage.
• Naturalist 5/5 — +5% damage from everything you cast, from the Restoration tree.

Rotation and priority

1. Shift to Moonkin Form and keep Faerie Fire on the boss if no other druid owns it.
2. Apply Moonfire (Arcane) and Insect Swarm (Nature). Nature’s Splendor makes both last longer.
3. Cast Wrath to build Eclipse charges; each Wrath also primes Balance of Nature for your next Arcane spell.
4. Spend Eclipse charges on Starfire, which is then faster and gains the Nature-to-Arcane bonus.
5. Keep alternating: a Starfire primes your next Wrath, a Wrath primes your next Starfire or Moonfire.
6. Use Eureka! (baseline, 2 min cooldown) on three Starfires in a row for a cheap burst.
7. Innervate yourself only if no healer needs it more; otherwise give it to the healer who asks first.

Resources

Mana is still the Moonkin limit, even with a cheaper Wrath. Moonglow lowers every cost, Eureka! halves three spells, and mana potions and runes cover the rest. Innervate is a raid cooldown more than a personal one. Rebirth is your combat resurrection: tell the raid leader before you use it.

Stat priority

Spell hit first; Nature’s Reach covers part of it, and the Tier 1 2-piece adds more. Then spell damage, then spell crit, which is worth more for Balance than for other casters because it powers Vengeance, Nature’s Grace and the party’s Moonkin aura. Intellect and mana regeneration keep you casting. Stamina last.

Gear and set bonuses

The datamined Tier 1 set for Balance is Grovekeeper Eclipse: +1% hit at 2 pieces, 15 sec shorter Nature’s Grasp cooldown at 3, up to 21 spell damage against Demons at 4, and 3 sec longer Insect Swarm at 5. The pieces are withheld, so item stats are unknown. The hit bonus and the Insect Swarm duration are the pieces of value for raids.

Consumables and professions

• Spell damage: Greater Arcane Elixir and Brilliant Wizard Oil, as in Classic.
• Mana: Major Mana Potions, Demonic or Dark Runes, Mageblood Potion and Nightfin Soup.
• Herbalism lets you gather your own herbs and Alchemy turns them into the potions a Moonkin burns through; Tailoring and Leatherworking are the gear alternatives.
• Flasks such as Flask of Supreme Power are the big raid-night purchase, and Alchemy makes them cheaper to keep up.

Tips

• Stand near the casters your Moonkin aura helps most.
• Keep Mark of the Wild and Thorns duties clear with the other druids before a raid.

Sources

Rotation, stat and matchup advice adapts these Classic 1.12 guides to the WoW Forever talent trees; talents, set bonuses and new abilities come from this site’s WoW Forever data.

• Icy Veins: Classic Balance Druid Ranged DPS Guide