Balance Druid DPS Guide — Shadowlands 9.0.2

The Balance specialization provides an entertaining and challenging rotation, and it performs well in terms of both single and multiple target DPS.

Balance Druids shine in multiple target fights due to their ability to multi-DoT and hit every target. However, while Balance Druid multi-target is strong, it still requires some set-up/ramp-up time and is not very bursty with just the base kit. This can lead to Balance Druids being less optimal when your group needs to burst targets.

For single-target, Balance Druids do moderately well. The rotation for single-target is more linear than that of multi-target requiring less prep time and less knowledge of the fight. You work to spend Astral Power as you get it unless you otherwise need it for some sort of burst scenario.

Strengths

• Uncapped multi-target potential in Starfall and Starfire
• Strong Cooldowns with strong nukes
• Outrageous utility using Heals and numerous single and multi-target crowd control

Weaknesses

• Limited mobility due to conflicts with Astral Power usage
• Lots of ramp up in dungeons
• Can be locked into a subpar Eclipse state if you plan poorly

We are maintaining a list of changes for Druids, so you can see what changed between Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands. The new expansion also introduces new character customization options with Covenants and Legendary Powers, for which we have Druid-specific pages that you can access below.

Balance Druids are changing quite a bit in Shadowlands. The new Eclipse system is an improvement to the dual resource system of BfA. One of the bigger changes comes to the Builder and Spender relationship; Starsurge increases the damage dealt of our fillers for the duration of the entire Eclipse buff.

The two most promising changes to the class would have to be getting Shooting Stars baseline and buffed, as well as a Starfall that can be used on 2 and 3 targets not just seven.

Leveling as a Balance Druid is easy when geared, but a bit rougher when undergeared. Balance Druid has a 45-yard range, DoTs and Starfall to rot packs, and plenty of crowd control. You can often pull larger groups of mobs as a Balance Druid with a bit of running and some clever uses of our crowd control and mobility.

If you want to play a Balance Druid, but currently do not have one at max level, you can check out our leveling guide for tips on your journey.

At max level you can start to focus on sharpening your skills and one good way to do that is using the right tools. Our addons and macro page goes over several useful macros to enhance your gameplay as well as suggestions on how to search for the right Balance Bar.

Balance Druid in its current state has a predictable rotation. You enter and Eclipse and look to spend all of your Astral Power early on so that your fillers are heavily empowered. You then use those buffed up fillers to gain Astral Power to repeat the cycle throughout a fight.

On multi-target, you then need to manage Astral Power more carefully. Keep up Sunfire and allocate most of your resource to keeping Starfall active. Try to use Starfire to cleave mobs down when in Lunar Eclipse and apply Moonfire in Solar Eclipse.

If you are an absolute beginner, you should head over to the Easy Mode page as well as the Spell Summary page to brush up on the basics.

If you are pretty familiar with the basics and want to learn to min-max more with your talent selection and rotation head over to the appropriate pages at the link below.

Item level is generally king for the most part. Use Raidbots to sim your character and find what gear is best out of all the viable options. Using our knowledge of the class we should be able to rule out downgrades quickly. Lower item level pieces, socketed vs non-socketed, does it have our premium stat? These are all questions to consider when sifting through our gear. Learn more about simming on our simulations page.

Once you are brushed up on the basics and gearing up well, you want to further boost your numbers. Using the proper foods, enchants, and gems will beget a sizeable damage boost.

Balance Druid does take a fair amount of skill and prepwork to excel in raids, Mythic+, and Torghast. Planning out long cooldowns as well as movement in relation to boss mechanics and dungeon routes takes both practice and information. The raid, mythic+, and pvp guides will go over those nuances and more.

If you are struggling to pull the numbers you want or dealing with mechanics, you can check out some of our resources on how to improve as well as other frequently asked questions that can come even after reading the guide.