Balance Druid DPS Castle Nathria Raid Guide — Shadowlands 9.0.2
On this page, you will find tips, tricks, and strategies tailored to your Balance Druid for each boss of the following raid: Castle Nathria. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.0.2.
Disclaimer
This page is currently undergoing preparation for the release of Castle Nathria. It will be filled with information on how best to play against each boss of the raid, as well as talent advice for each fight.
Introduction
This section will go over the talent choices, encounter tips and Legendary selection that are specific to Balance Druid. For a more general idea of how the bosses function, head over to our Castle Nathria overview.
Talent and Legendary Cheatsheet
We advise to use the following talents on Shriekwing.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance (or
Force of Nature, situationally)
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Shriekwing: Balance of All Things.
We advise to use the following talents on Huntsman Altimor.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest or
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Huntsman Altimor: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
We advise to use the following talents on Hungering Destroyer.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance (or
Force of Nature, situationally)
- Level 25:
Tiger Dash or
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity or
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Hungering Destroyer: Balance of All Things.
We advise to use the following talents on Artificer Xy'Mox.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance (or
Force of Nature, situationally)
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Artificer Xy'Mox: Balance of All Things.
We advise to use the following talents on Sun King's Salvation.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest (or
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, situationally)
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Sun King's Salvation: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
We advise to use the following talents on Lady Inerva Darkvein.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Lady Inerva Darkvein: Balance of All Things.
We advise to use the following talents on The Council of Blood.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on The Council of Blood: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
We advise to use the following talents on Sludgefist.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge (or
Renewal, situationally)
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Sludgefist: Balance of All Things.
We advise to use the following talents on Stone Legion Generals.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Stone Legion Generals: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
We advise to use the following talents on Sire Denathrius.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest or
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Sire Denathrius: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
Shriekwing
We advise you to use the following talents against Shriekwing.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance (or
Force of Nature, situationally)
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Shriekwing: Balance of All Things.
Tips
Shriekwing is a single-target fight with little movement if played right.
Position yourself close to a pillar in the center area if possible allowing you to easily
dodge rings as well as line of sight when needed. Use Stampeding Roar
too move between pillars during the intermission when needed.
For more information, please refer to our Shriekwing guide.
Huntsman Altimor
We advise you to use the following talents against Huntsman Altimor.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest or
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Huntsman Altimor: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
Tips
The recently reworked Starfall has a high chance of breaking traps
and other crowd control so be careful during the 2nd phase.
Sinseeker is a
strong DoT which should be
Barkskined on any application.
All three dogs share Health with the main Boss, so use Starfall whenever
you are not at risk of breaking Crowd Control. The only other time it
would be wise to save Astral Power is to triple-
Starsurge the Shades of
Bargast as they take increased damage.
For more information, please refer to our Huntsman Altimor guide.
Hungering Destroyer
We advise you to use the following talents against Hungering Destroyer.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance (or
Force of Nature, situationally)
- Level 25:
Tiger Dash or
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity or
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Hungering Destroyer: Balance of All Things.
Tips
This is another single-target encounter with very little Balance specific tips. Look
to save mobility to come back in to the group to help soak or be soaked. Use
instant cast globals to soak orbs to clear the room up. We do not recommend
running Well-Honed Instincts on this fight, as it will often proc when
healing immune. This goes the same for
Restoration Affinity, which can
be almost useless on some pulls, but the off-healing can still be useful.
For more information, please refer to our Hungering Destroyer guide.
Artificer Xy'Mox
We advise you to use the following talents against Artificer Xy'Mox.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance (or
Force of Nature, situationally)
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Artificer Xy'Mox: Balance of All Things.
There is a good amount of single-target at the start of this raid and this
fight is no exception. Balance Druid's mobility will help carry mechanics such
as Seeds of Extinction or the portals from
Dimensional Tear to
the far end of the room from your raid. Use
Barkskin on
Withering Touch, as it will kill you quickly if left unattended.
In the last phase, you can use Dash or
Tiger Dash to easily
escape the pull of
Edge of Annihilation, which can make it easier to dodge any
additional mechanics instead of taking the portal.
For more information, please refer to our Artificer Xy'Mox guide.
Sun King's Salvation
We advise you to use the following talents against Sun King's Salvation.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest (or
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, situationally)
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sun King's Salvation: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
This is the first boss that will really make use of our uncapped and spread
multi-target potential. Starfall and
Stellar Drift are
mandatory for both damage and mobility during the intermission. Try to
get far kicks with
Solar Beam as well as using
Heart of the Wild
to burst heal the boss if necessary.
For more information, please refer to our Sun King's Salvation guide.
Lady Inerva Darkvein
We advise you to use the following talents against Lady Inerva Darkvein.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Lady Inerva Darkvein: Balance of All Things.
Make use of your plethora of movement abilities to make the far soaks, so that others can DPS.
For more information, please refer to our Lady Inerva Darkvein guide.
The Council of Blood
We advise you to use the following talents against The Council of Blood.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against The Council of Blood: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
Tips
While this is a council-style fight where when one add dies the rest regain
Health, there is still enough adds to warrant taking Stellar Drift.
Those adds are spreading out often so we are also going to be taking
Starlord.
The cast-while-moving perk is great to handle the mechanics of Lord Stavros, who has you dodging and could have you pairing up with allies and be unable to stay still.
For more information, please refer to our The Council of Blood guide.
Sludgefist
We advise you to use the following talents against Sludgefist.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge (or
Renewal, situationally)
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Flare
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sludgefist: Balance of All Things.
Sludgefist is a single-target encounter with a damage amplifier every
minute of the fight. As Kyrian, save your cooldowns for the first and
fourth vulnerabilities. As Night Fae, you will need to desync your
Convoke the Spirits from your cooldown and cast it on pull, at 2 minutes,
and 4 minutes.
For more information, please refer to our Sludgefist guide.
Stone Legion Generals
We advise you to use the following talents against Stone Legion Generals.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Stone Legion Generals: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
Use Wild Charge to negate the number of knockbacks in this encounter.
There is a good amount of damage going out, so use defensives
often and off-heal if needed.
This is THE Balance Druid fight of the raid, with large amounts of adds to
Starfall throughout the whole encounter, as well as single-target focus.
Do not try to DoT everything on this boss and focus on the main targets only as
there is a good amount of priority damage to be done on this boss.
For more information, please refer to our Stone Legion Generals guide.
Sire Denathrius
We advise you to use the following talents against Sire Denathrius.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Soul of the Forest or
Starlord
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Solstice
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sire Denathrius: Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
Tips
While Phases 1 and 2 have a good amount of adds, the last phase is
purely single-target. Choose your talents and Legendary that are appropriate to
suit your guilds needs. This means swapping to Balance of All Things, if
you need some more damage in the last phase.
Changelog
- 09 Dec. 2020: Added Normal and Heroic basic tips.
- 01 Dec. 2020: Added placeholder Castle Nathria page.
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This was written by Borabank, a Balance Druid theorycrafter and raider in Infinity. You can watch him on his Twitch channel or in the Dreamgrove Discord server.
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