Season of Discovery Balance Druid DPS Guide
Welcome to our Balance Druid guide for WoW Classic - Season of Discovery, tailored for PvE content. Here, you will learn how to play the Druid class as a Balance Druid. Click the links below to navigate the guide or read this page for a short introduction.
Overview
Druids have traditionally been brought to raids for their unique utility: Mark of the Wild, and the only WoW Classic combat resurrection, Rebirth.
Unfortunately Balance was so bad in WoW Classic that it was just never brought, regardless, as its poor damage would be cut short by the Druid running out of Mana, in most cases. That has already changed in Season of Discovery and Balance keeps looking better every phase as strong runes get introduced.
- Great unique utility in Rebirth, Innervate and Mark of the Wild
- Relatively mobile ranged DPS spec due to multiple dots, short casts and instant Starsurges
- Excellent Mana efficiency with Dreamstate, Eclipse combo and free Wrath with Fury of Stormrage
- No Spell Hit help from talents
- Low survivability and lack of survival tools
- Weak AoE damage until the Gale Winds rune is obtained
Season of Discovery
Balance Druid in Season of Discovery is finally a viable DPS option due to the addition of new damage sources from Runes, Sunfire and Starsurge.
Caster Druids will also benefit from being able to DPS while regenerating Mana with the new Dreamstate (enabled by Eclipse criticals), and the Fury of Stormrage rune, which makes Wrath free, and procs occasional instant Healing Touches on top!
Through the addition of entirely new abilities and Runes, the rotation, gearing options, and talent decisions for Balance Druids has changed with the coming of Season of Discovery. Browse the guides in the Table of Content at the top of this page to find all the information you'll need to master this new game mode!
Balance Profession Recommendations
The best profession to have as Balance is Engineering. It provides powerful items that you can use in both PvE and PvP content to either deal damage or help you get out of a tough spot.
Tailoring is a fine choice for Balance Druids, especially early on due to the bind on pickup Extraplanar Spidersilk Boots, but in order to be truly optimal in this phase you will probably want Leatherworking for Gneuro-Conductive Channeler's Hood and Membrane of Dark Neurosis, instead. You can still get the alternative Gneuro-Linked Arcano-Filament Monocle and Fractured Mind Pauldrons if you keep your Tailoring, regardless.
Rune Engravings for Balance Druid
The main feature of Season of Discovery is the new Rune Discovery system, which allows you to discover and attach special abilities to your gear slots after finding them across the world. We list all of Druid's runes and where they can be located in the guide below.
Changelog
- 10 Jul. 2024: Updated for Phase 4.
- 04 Apr. 2024: Updated for Phase 3.
- 11 Feb. 2024: Updated for Phase 2.
- 14 Dec. 2023: Removed mention of Innervate for now, as it is a level 40 spell.
More Classic Druid Guides
More Season of Discovery Class Guides
Classic Dungeon Guides
Classic Profession Guides
Classic Reputation Guides
This guide has been written by Seksi, original vanilla player and multi-class player, currently playing on Gehennas Horde. You can find him on the Classic Warrior, Mage and Shaman Discords, as well as the Icy Veins Discord.
- Molten Core Tuning Detailed, Coming After Weekly Reset
- Molten Core Trash Mob Immunity Hotfix
- Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair Now Live in Season of Discovery Phase 4
- Higher Libram and Burning Essence Droprate Hotfix Coming + Fire Resist Explanation in SoD P4
- Molten Core Season of Discovery Details and Launch Date and Time
- Rise of the Zandalari Patch Coming to Cataclysm Classic on July 30th!
- SoD World Boss Resurrection Issues: July 18th
- World Bosses Live Now in Season of Discovery Phase 4