Classic Balance Druid Ranged DPS Guide
Welcome to our Balance Druid Ranged DPS guide for WoW Classic, tailored for PvE content. Here, you will learn how all you need to know to play the Druid class as Balance Ranged DPS. Click the links #below to navigate the guide or read this page for a short introduction.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Balance Druid guide.
Introduction
Druids are most often described as, "the jack of all trades, but master of none". This is quite accurate since, Druids are the only class in the game capable of fulling all four roles: tank, healer, ranged DPS, and melee DPS. However, every Druid specialization and build is considered sub-par for PvE and is outclassed by other classes that share the role.
Balance Druids, commonly referred to as "Boomkins", are arguably the least
desirable specialization for PvE in WoW Classic. They bring extremely low damage,
run out of Mana quickly, and simply do not offer enough to make them worth a raid
spot. While they do offer some nice utility spells, such as Innervate,
the spot could be filled by a Mage or Warlock who would do much more damage without
the danger of running out of Mana. If you choose to play Balance for raiding, know
that you are fighting an extremely uphill battle, and you will need to work harder,
use more consumables, and play perfectly just to even have a chance at being
invited to a raid.
While Balance Druids are considered to be non-viable in PvE, they can be quite fun and strong in PvP. With the versatility that Druid offers as a class through its different forms and abilities to adapt to any situation, Balance Druids are able to control enemies, kite when needed, and dish out consistent or burst damage when required.
Balance Druid in the Season of Mastery
Although the Season of Mastery brings with it a number of changes to how you may experience the content of WoW Classic, these tweaks do not include any adjustments to how you play Balance Druid. As such, this guide will cover all you need to know regardless of which version of Classic you wish to play.
However, due to certain pieces of content from later Phases now being available at an earlier date, gearing recommendations for Balance Druid will be different. Because of this, we have created additional pages detailing your best in slot items for both pre-raid gear and the current raids available.
Balance Druid Strengths
- Versatile in PvP;
- Strong off-healing;
- Strong survivability;
- Strong utility through
Innervate and
Rebirth.
Balance Druid Weaknesses
- Low damage;
- Runs out of Mana easily;
- Hard to gear - you will want spell damage, which really only exists on cloth pieces. This means you will be competing with Mages and Warlocks for limited gear.
- Extremely hard to find a raid spot.
Best Races for Balance Druids
Unlike other classes, Druids do not have a choice when it comes to race. If you want to go Alliance, you must be Night Elf. If you want to go Horde, you must be Tauren. Thus, your only choice is which faction you want to choose, which you should make based on your guild, friends, or any other number of reasons.
Night Elf
Nature Resistance increases your Nature Resistance by 10.
Quickness increases your Dodge Chance by 1%.
Shadowmeld is an ability that allows you to become stealthed while standing still when used, on a 10 second cooldown. This cannot be used in combat.
Wisp Spirit causes you to transform into a wisp upon death, increasing your movement speed by 50% while dead.
Tauren
Cultivation increases your Herbalism skill by 15.
Endurance increases your total health by 5%.
Nature Resistance increases your Nature Resistance by 10.
War Stomp is a 2-minute cooldown that stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds, with a 0.5-second cast time.
Best Professions for Balance Druids
The best profession to have as a Balance Druid 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. You also will be able to make Green Lens,
which is your pre-raid BiS head piece.
While Engineering is a great profession, the more important thing to think about is how you plan to make gold. Gold is incredibly important in WoW Classic for a number of reasons and will be quite hard to come by, especially at the start. Check out the Druid Goldmaking section for more information on other potential professions for making gold.
Changelog
- 02 Dec. 2020 (gear page): Updated for Phase 6.
- 02 Dec. 2020 (enchants page): Updated with Phase 6 Naxxramas Enchants.
- 06 Aug. 2020 (gear page): Reworked for Phase 5 BiS with alternatives.
- 26 Jul. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Idols.
- 18 May 2020 (enchants page): Updated with current World Buffs as of Phase 4.
- 14 Apr. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Zul'Gurub gear.
- 14 Apr. 2020 (enchants page): Updated with Zul'Gurub enchants.
- 13 Mar. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Arathi Basin gear.
- 23 Feb. 2020 (gear page): Updated for P3.
- 10 Dec. 2019 (gear page): Added note on PvP BiS.
- 09 Nov. 2019 (gear page): Updated with Raid BiS.
- 22 Oct. 2019 (gear page): Updated Pre-Raid BiS to include Dire Maul.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (gear page): Page added.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (enchants page): Page added.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (stats page): Page added.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (rotation page): Page added.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (talents page): Page added.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (spells page): Page added.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (this page): Page added.
More Classic Druid Guides
More Classic Guides from Other Classes
Classic Dungeon Guides
Classic Profession Guides
Classic Reputation Guides
This guide has been written by Impakt, an Officer in BDGG, the #2 North American guild on retail. In addition to live WoW, he has also been a classic theorycrafter and enthusiast for many years. You can watch him stream on Twitch, or follow him on Twitter.
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