Guardian Druid Tank Stat Priority — 12.0.5

The stat priority for a Guardian Druid differs depending on whether you are aiming for survivability or damage output.

Regardless of what you are prioritizing, an item 10 or more item levels above another will almost always be an upgrade due to the sheer increase in stats.

1. Item Level
2. Armor/Agility/Stamina
3. Haste
4. Versatility
5. Mastery
6. Critical Strike

Armor, Agility, and Stamina are grouped together because they typically appear together on gear, but any one of the "main" stats will be stronger point-for-point than secondary stats.

It is important to note that all secondary stats are very close together in value. This is a rough estimation, as your stat order might slightly differ depending on how much of each stat you currently have. Agility is also very important for damage output and will often make the highest item level piece the best one to choose. If you want a truly accurate evaluation of which stats are best for you, you should sim your character for stat weights.

1. Haste > Versatility > Critical Strike = Mastery

Once you are reaching the highest item level gear, you may find yourself being affected by diminishing returns or DR for short. This happens when you reach 30% of a specific stat and then begin to reduce the amount of that stat you gain by 10-50%, depending on how far you are over the DR cap. It is generally a good idea to balance your stats evenly as Guardian so you are not ever in DR range, as all our stats are very close in strength.

Agility is your primary stat. It increases your Attack Power, grants you a a small amount of Dodge, and converts into Armor due to Ironfur.

Armor reduces the Physical damage you take. Guardians gain increased Armor (and Stamina) from Bear Form.

Versatility reduces your damage taken, increases your damage and healing done.

Mastery ( Mastery: Nature's Guardian) increases your maximum health and your healing received. It also increases your Attack Power.

Haste does many things for Guardian. It increases your melee attack speed, increases the rate at which Thrash and Moonfire (and bleeds such as Rake and Rip) tick, reduces the global cooldown, and reduces the cooldown on Mangle, Thrash, and Frenzied Regeneration.

Critical Strike increases your chance to critically strike (dealing double damage) and increases dodge chance.

All gems, enchants, and consumables are directly related to your stat priority, and you can find advice on this topic on the dedicated page linked below.