Balance Druid DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Balance Druids
  • 3. Balance Druid Strengths
  • 4. Balance Druid Weaknesses
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Balance Druids
  • 3. Talent Choice for Balance Druids
  • 4. Stat Choice for Balance Druids
  • 5. Basic Rotation for Balance Druids
  • 6. Cooldowns for Balance Druids
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resources for Balance Druids
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Balance Druids
  • 4. Cooldowns for Balance Druids
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Balance Druid
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Balance Druids
  • 9. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 9.1. Balance Druid War Mode Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Azerite Gear
  • 3. Azerite Traits for Balance Druid
  • 4. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes and Details for Balance Druid
  • 5. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 6. ChangeLog
• ×Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single Target Rotation for Balance Druids
    • 1.1. Opening Rotation for Balance Druids
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation for Balance Druids
  • 3. Cooldown Usage for Balance Druids
  • 4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Balance Druid
    • 4.1. Mastery: Starlight
    • 4.2. Lunar and Solar Empowerments and the Eclipse Passive
    • 4.3. Mitigating Movement DPS
    • 4.4. Starlord Optimization
    • 4.5. Using Your Defensives
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Balance Druid in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Balance Druid Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Balance Druid Utility
  • 2. Mythic+ Talents for Balance Druids
  • 3. Mythic+ Affixes
    • 3.1. Tier One Affixes
    • 3.2. Tier Two Affixes
    • 3.3. Tier Three Affixes
    • 3.4. Seasonal Affix
  • 4. Mythic+ Azerite Traits
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Capping Your Resources
  • 2. Have the Right Multi-Target Cast Sequence
  • 3. Starfall on 3 Targets, Not 2
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Balance Druid in Uldir
  • 3. Taloc
  • 4. M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 5. Fetid Devourer
  • 6. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 7. Vectis
  • 8. Zul, Reborn
  • 9. Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 10. G'huun
  • 11. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Balance Druid
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Balance Druid Stats
    • 2.1. Statistics Priority
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Secondary Stat Choice for Balance Druids
  • 2. Gems for Balance Druids
  • 3. Enchants for Balance Druids
  • 4. Consumables for Balance Druids
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Druids
      • 1.1.1. Rebirth
      • 1.1.2. Remove Corruption
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Balance Druids
      • 1.2.1. Starfall Cursor Macro
      • 1.2.2. Talent Swap Macro
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Druids
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Omen Threat Meter
      • 2.1.5. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.6. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.7. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.8. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
      • 2.1.9. TellMeWhen
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Balance Druids
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. Gearing in Battle for Azeroth
    • 1.1. How to Gear
    • 1.2. Notable Trinkets and Weapons
      • 1.2.1. Weapons
      • 1.2.2. Trinkets
  • 2. ChangeLog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Balance Druid Racial Bonus Simulation
  • 3. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list your Balance Druid core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1. We also explain when to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing a Balance Druid.

The other pages of our Balance Druid guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This was written by Borabank, a Balance Druid theorycrafter and raider in Encore. You can watch him on his Twitch channel or in the Dreamgrove Discord server.

1. Single Target Rotation for Balance Druids

The single target and 2-target Balance Druid rotation is based on the following priority list.

1. Apply and maintain Moonfire, Sunfire, and Stellar Flare (if talented) on the target.
2. Cast Starsurge to consume Astral Power.
   • Keep in mind that using Starsurge grants you a charge of Lunar Empowerment and Solar Empowerment, which cap at 3 and are consumed by using Lunar Strike and Solar Wrath, respectively. Avoid generating Empowerment charges when you are at maximum capacity.
3. Cast Lunar Strike while you have Lunar Empowerment up.
4. Use Solar Wrath while you have Solar Empowerment up.
5. Cast Solar Wrath without an empowerment, to generate Astral Power. If you can cleave onto a second target, cast Lunar Strike.

At all times, you should avoid generating Astral Power when you are at maximum capacity.

1.1. Opening Rotation for Balance Druids

The ideal opening rotation at the start of the fight is as follows:

1. Stand as far away as possible from the boss and when there are 2.5 seconds remaining before the pull, cast Solar Wrath twice.
2. Apply Moonfire, Sunfire, and Stellar Flare (if talented) to the target.
3. Continue casting Solar Wrath until you reach 40 Astral Power.
4. Cast Celestial Alignment (or Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, if you have taken this talent).
5. Cast Warrior of Elune, Force of Nature, or Fury of Elune (if talented)
6. Continue your normal rotation.

2. Multiple Target Rotation for Balance Druids

Against multiple targets, the rotation is the following, assuming you are fighting 3+ enemies.

1. Cast Starfall to consume Astral Power.
2. Apply and maintain Moonfire and Sunfire on all targets, if they will live longer than 6 seconds.
3. Cast Solar Wrath when you have a Solar Empowerment and Lunar Strike if you receive a Lunar Empowerment through the Eclipse passive.
4. Cast Solar Wrath to generate Astral Power, but if you can hit one additional target with Lunar Strike, use that instead.

3. Cooldown Usage for Balance Druids

As a Balance Druid, you only have one DPS cooldown, by default: Celestial Alignment. You should use this during periods of increased damage to the boss. In any case, it should be used as many times as possible during the encounter.

4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Balance Druid

While the rotations we gave in the previous sections will yield very good results, there are a few subtleties that you should understand in order to truly excel at your role.

4.1. Mastery: Starlight

Your Mastery: Starlight increases the damage of your Starfall, Starsurge, Empowerments (Lunar and Solar), as well as Moonfire and Sunfire.

4.2. Lunar and Solar Empowerments and the Eclipse Passive

Each time you use Starsurge, you gain 1 stack of both Lunar and Solar Empowerment. These buffs increase the damage of your next Lunar Strike ( Lunar Empowerment buff) and Solar Wrath ( Solar Empowerment buff) as well as granting your Solar Wrath the ability to cleave to additional targets. The exact amount depends on your Mastery. You can accumulate up to 3 stacks of each buff, but each Lunar Strike or Solar Wrath cast only consumes one stack.

When you are casting Solar Wrath and Lunar Strike, you have a 20% chance to generate an Empowerment of the opposite type. Be careful when casting an ability that can overcap you on either spell. The trick will be to even out your charges before continuing your normal rotation.

4.3. Mitigating Movement DPS

With the loss of Stellar Drift in our single target and multi-target rotations, movement management is more important than ever before. Try to line up windows of movement with instant cast spells like Moonfire, Sunfire, and Starsurge. Additionally you can delay using Warrior of Elune and save any amount of charges for movement.

If you know there is movement coming in the coming seconds, do your best to hold 40 Astral Power so you can move and cast a Starsurge. Depending on the distance being traveled, you can instead Dash, Wild Charge, or Tiger Dash to reach your destination more quickly. If you cannot reach your destination within two or three globals cooldowns, it is best to use a movement ability.

For single target, you should practice what is called "Astral Power pooling" or "Astral Power floating". This is where you purposefully do not use Starsurge until you have a large amount of Astral Power saved up (about 80 normally). This way, when you need to move, you have enough Astral Power to cast at least two Starsurges, giving you about 2 seconds of movement without any penalty to your DPS.

For multiple targets, Astral Power pooling is still important, but not as much. In this scenario, you can take advantage of Stellar Drift's casting while on-the-move if you talent it. When running Twin Moons, you can use Moonfire as a filler when you have no Astral Power to put down another Starfall.

4.4. Starlord Optimization

Starlord is the only talent that can be actively optimized for a damage increase. The way the talent works is that once you cast your first Astral Power spender in Starsurge or Starfall, you start a 20-second timer. During that timer, you need to cast two more spenders to max out your stacks and fully utilize the talent. The higher the uptime on your 3-stack, the more DPS you will deal.

The best way to keep a high uptime is to pool Astral Power. After you hit your initial 3-stack Starlord, you want to note how much time is remaining on the buff. Without capping Astral Power, you want to finish spending your Empowerments and then continue to cast fillers. If you must cast a Starsurge during your 3-stack you can but try to at least have 40 Astral Power saved up.

Once the previous Starlord buff dissipates, immediately cast one of your spenders to restart the 20-second timer. After your initial cast, every time you can cast a spender you should as to stack the buff up as quickly as possible.

Obvious exceptions to utilizing this playstyle for Starlord would be pooling Astral Power for movement or for priority target swapping.

4.5. Using Your Defensives

Balance Druid has a wide array of healing utility and defensive spells. From our base kit, we can shift into Bear Form which will grant us additional Health, we can Barkskin to reduce our damage taken, and we can also heal ourselves and others using Regrowth.

Our strongest survivability combination would be from talenting Guardian Affinity for the 6% damage reduction, casting Barkskin for a 20% damage reduction, and shifting into Bear Form for the 25% Stamina increase and then casting Frenzied Regeneration for the heal.

You want to view each situation and use personals ( Bear Form / Barkskin) accordingly. Barkskin does have a 1-minute cooldown while Bear Form has no cooldown whatsoever. For big hits, pop Barkskin and sometimes even Bear Form to mitigate as much damage as possible, if the hit should not kill you, there is no need to shift into Bear. For little hits, you can just cast Barkskin if there is no other incoming damage in the next minute.

If there is downtime in a fight but still damage being dealt to either yourself or the raid, you can help off-heal using Regrowth. Any time there is a large amount of damage being done to a player or the raid, you can always help off-heal as one or two globals can be the difference between a wipe or a kill. Dead DPS is no DPS.

5. ChangeLog

• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 21 Jul. 2018: Added a section on The Emerald Dreamcatcher

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