In this article, we present you with the best gems and enchants that you can get for a Balance Druid in WoW MoP 5.2, including profession-specific perks. We also list the best consumables: food, flasks, and potions.

Make sure to check our Gear Optimisation Guide, which serves as a support guide for this article. The other articles of our Balance Druid guide can be accessed from the table of content on the right.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Imsupersdw, one of the best Balance Druids in the world, who raids in Method.

1. Gems↑top

Sockets	Gems
	Burning Primal Diamond or Sinister Primal Diamond (better)
	Need to reach the soft haste cap? → Quick Sun's Radiance/ Perfect Quick Sunstone or Quick Serpent's Eye (JC) Otherwise → Smooth Sun's Radiance/ Perfect Smooth Sunstone or Smooth Serpent's Eye (JC)
	Need to reach the soft haste cap? → Reckless Vermilion Onyx/ Perfect Reckless Tiger Opal Otherwise → Potent Vermilion Onyx/ Perfect Potent Tiger Opal
	Cannot reach hit cap through reforging only? → Sparkling River's Heart/ Perfect Sparkling Lapis Lazuli or Sparkling Serpent's Eye (JC) Otherwise → Misty Wild Jade/ Perfect Misty Alexandrite

If you are still unsure what the optimal gemming strategy is for your character, you can Ask Mr. Robot for a personalised optimisation of your character's gear, by filling the form below.

2. Enchants↑top

Slot	Main Enchantments	Extra Enchantments
Shoulders	Greater Crane Wing Inscription Crane Wing Inscription Secret Crane Wing Inscription (Inscription)
Back	Enchant Cloak - Superior Intellect Lightweave Embroidery (Tailoring)
Chest	Enchant Chest - Glorious Stats
Wrists	Enchant Bracer - Super Intellect Fur Lining - Intellect (Leatherworking)	Socket Bracer (Blacksmithing)
Hands	Enchant Gloves - Greater Haste Enchant Gloves - Superior Mastery Enchant Gloves - Superior Expertise (for hit cap)	Synapse Springs (Engineering) Socket Gloves (Blacksmithing)
Waist		Living Steel Belt Buckle
Legs	Greater Cerulean Spellthread Greater Pearlescent Spellthread Pearlescent Spellthread (cheaper) Sanctified Spellthread (Tailoring)
Feet	Enchant Boots - Pandaren's Step Enchant Boots - Greater Haste
Rings	Enchant Ring - Greater Intellect (Enchanting)
Weapon	Enchant Weapon - Jade Spirit Enchant Weapon - Windsong (cheaper) Enchant Weapon - Elemental Force (cheaper)
Off-hand	Enchant Off-Hand - Major Intellect

Note that Extra Enchantments can be applied to an item in addition to a Main Enchantment.

3. Consumables↑top

3.1. Food

You should always eat food that gives you Intellect. You will be granted:

• 300 Intellect by Mogu Fish Stew;
• 275 Intellect by Braised Turtle, Banquet of the Pot, or Great Banquet of the Pot;
• 250 Intellect by Swirling Mist Soup or any of other banquets.

3.2. Flask

Your flask should be a Flask of the Warm Sun.

3.3. Potion

During the encounter, your best choice for a potion will be Potion of the Jade Serpent.

4. Summing-up Profession Perks↑top

Choosing a profession for your Balance Druid can impact your raid performance. As a rule, you should shy away from gathering professions (with the exception of Herbalism), which leaves the following viable professions for raiding:

Profession	Perks
Tailoring	Provides a gain of approximately 320 Intellect through Lightweave Embroidery. It also provides Sanctified Spellthread, a much cheaper equivalent of Greater Pearlescent Spellthread, the usual leg enchant.
Blacksmithing	Provides a 640 Critical Strike Rating gain through two extra sockets, Socket Bracer and Socket Gloves, in which you can fit 2 Smooth Sun's Radiance.
Jewelcrafting	Provides a 320 Critical Strike Rating gain through the ability to use 2 Smooth Serpent's Eye
Alchemy	Provides an 320 Intellect gain to your flask through Mixology.
Enchanting	Provides a 320 Intellect gain through Enchant Ring - Greater Intellect.
Engineering	Provides +1,920 Intellect for 10 seconds every minute through Synapse Springs (the overall gain is +320 Intellect). Engineering also provides a belt addon called Frag Belt, which you can use every minute (off the global cooldown) for additional damage.
Inscription	Provides a 320 Intellect gain through Secret Crane Wing Inscription.
Leatherworking	Provides a 320 Intellect gain through Fur Lining - Intellect.
Herbalism	Provides a 480 Haste Rating gain in average through Lifeblood.

Engineering is currently the best profession for Balance Druids, as it provides you with Frag Belt and Synapse Springs, which you can line up every 3 minutes with Celestial Alignment for increased benefits. The rest of the time, use Synapse Springs on cooldown. For your second profession, any of the passive Intellect gain will do, although Tailoring will pull ahead slightly.

5. Changelog↑top

• 24 Apr. 2013: Added legendary meta-gem.
• 16 Apr. 2013: Replaced Revitalizing Primal Diamond with Burning Primal Diamond for meta-gem. Added Greater Cerulean Spellthread and Enchant Boots - Greater Haste to the enchants list.
• 02 Apr. 2013: Removed green-quality gems.
• 02 Apr. 2013: Improved advice for choosing your profession.