Balance Druid DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Shadowlands 9.2
On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Balance Druid in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Balance Druid rotation.
As of Patch 9.1 the recommended Covenant for Balance Druid HAS CHANGED. Please check out the Covenant page of this guide for more information.
Balance Druid Rotation Introduction
Balance Druid gameplay is a standard build and spend class with a predictable cadence to their rotation.
At the start of combat or with each use or proc of
Celestial Alignment /
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, you choose
between either Solar or Lunar
Eclipse. To enter Solar Eclipse, you must
cast two
Starfires and to enter Lunar Eclipse, you need to cast two
Wrath.
From there on, you build Astral Power using the appropriate filler. In Solar
Eclipse, you cast
Wrath to gain Astral Power and, in
Lunar Eclipse, you cast
Starfire. Each Eclipse lasts 15 seconds and
you will then be forced to swap to the opposite Eclipse. Eclipse
uptime is incredibly important and you should aim to be inside Eclipse as often
as you can.
On single-target, you will use Starsurge, which costs 30 Astral Power.
Since Starsurge buffs your fillers, you normally want to cast this at the start
of an
Eclipse. On single-target, you will often find yourself pooling
to 90 Astral Power then casting three Starsurges in a row.
On multi-target, you want to be maintaining Starfall and casting
Starsurge when you can, assuming you can fully maintain Starfall.
In this guide, when we refer to our standard rotation or priority list, the priority below is what is being referred back to.
Use the button below to select your Covenant to see how that changes the basic rotation:
- Show
Kindred Empowerment
- Show
Adaptive Swarm
- Show
Convoke the Spirits
- Show
Ravenous Frenzy
- Enter
Eclipse
- Apply or maintain your
Moonfire,
Sunfire, and
Stellar Flare (if talented)
- Keep
Celestial Alignment /
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune (if talented) on cooldown
- Spend your Astral Power on
Starsurge or
Starfall on multi-target.
- Do not overcap on charges of
New Moon
- Do not lose uses of
Warrior of Elune,
Force of Nature, or
Fury of Elune (if talented).
- Cast
Wrath in Solar Eclipse.
- Cast
Starfire in Lunar Eclipse.
Balance Druid Venthyr Rotation
Venthyr uses Primordial Arcanic Pulsar and
Sinful Hysteria when the
Memory of Unity
becomes available. If you
are playing Venthyr without the set and only a single Legendary, you will still
play using Sinful Hysteria but will swap once you get your
Balance Druid 2-Piece
bonus.
Venthyr is more of a timing-oriented Covenant relying on landing
high damage cooldowns on your target. If you know the fight has some sort of
add phase or high damage requirement phase that you can line up with
Ravenous Frenzy, Venthyr will be a great tool to have for that kind of
fight.
Venthyr Opener Rotation
Please note that Wrath has a 4-second travel time from max
range, allowing you to cast two in a row before they hit and pull the boss.
Starsurge has a 1-second travel time from max range.
To avoid pre-pulling or to avoid not being in Eclipse because
someone else pulled early and reset you (combat will reset your Eclipse count
if you do not finish both Wraths before pull), we recommend queueing up a
Starfire which will never pull early and is a minor inconvenience if
someone else pulls early instead of a Starsurge which is bad to cast
outside of Eclipse.
The following is the opener rotation for Venthyr Balance Druid
assuming you have 50 Astral Power from Nature's Balance.
Disclaimer with the
Balance Druid 2-Piece set bonus you will pull the
boss immediately after your second
Wrath precombat.
- Cast two
Wrath 1 second before combat and enter
Eclipse. Cast an additional Wrath if necessary.
- Cast
Starfire.
- Apply
Moonfire,
Sunfire, and
Stellar Flare (if talented).
- Cast
Ravenous Frenzy.
- Cast
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune.
- Cast
Starsurge.
- Cast three
Wrath.
- Follow the cooldown priority list.
Venthyr Cooldown Priority
When playing Venthyr, you want to maximize the damage inside this cooldown window. Before entering cooldowns you want to make sure you have Trinkets and cooldowns ready, about 90 Astral Power, and 30+ seconds to freely deal damage.
- Cast
Starsurge to avoid capping Astral Power.
- Refresh
Moonfire,
Sunfire, and
Stellar Flare; (if talented) once on single-target.
- Cast
Wrath (when below 150% Haste).
- Cast
Starfire (when over 150% Haste).
During Ravenous Frenzy, you constantly want to be fluctuating between
60 to 90 Astral Power. Cast additional
Starsurges as necessary. If you
have
Stellar Drift, you can cast
Starfall for minimal loss to
facilitate movement.
Venthyr Multi-target Cooldown Priority
Venthyr multi-target requires the player to balance a multitude of
factors: Ravenous Frenzy stacks, number of targets, and how long they
will live. Since Ravenous Frenzy does the majority of its damage toward the
tail end, the choice of filler will depend on these circumstances.
A good way to view it is: if the bulk of the adds will die before the end
of the burst window, fill with Starfires. If they will die close to or
inside the burst window, build as many stacks as possible with
Wrath.
You will normally get two full Starfall cooldowns inside
Ravenous Frenzy, so if possible, use one earlier in the rotation for
any movement and damage and then line one up with the majority of the final
window. Try to cast it a few seconds before the
Sinful Hysteria effect
begins to rebuild your Astral Power before that window starts.
Sinful Hysteria Optimization
Sinful Hysteria is the new Venthyr-specific Legendary that
puts even more power into the
Ravenous Frenzy cooldown. You generally
pair this with
Precise Alignment and
Endless Thirst and even
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune on single-target. The goal is to have a
massively stacked Frenzy and try to cast 4 massively-buffed
Starsurges
with the 3-second Hysteria buff. Here are some optimizations to add to your
playstyle:
- If you are not running
Precise Alignment or
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, offset your cooldown to line up with the estimated
Ravenous Frenzy duration.
- Always enter the 3-second
Sinful Hysteria window with 90 Astral Power.
- Cast
Fury of Elune with 5 seconds on the
Ravenous Frenzy.
- Potion and
Inscrutable Quantum Device can be cast 5 seconds after starting cooldowns without Bloodlust.
Bloodlusted
Inscrutable Quantum Device can be cast immediately.
Empyreal Ordnance can be cast immediately.
Additionally you can also use The First Sigil as a standard on-use
from the raid or as a Mythic double on-use option for Venthyr. With
two Legendaries, four piece set bonus, and some higher end Mythic gear, this
will begin to pull ahead of a
Inscrutable Quantum Device and a standard
passive trinket.
When using this 5-minute cooldown trinket, use it immediately and with your six- and twelve-minute cooldown timings if applicable. If you would otherwise lose a use in the one minute it is off cooldown, use it there instead.
On multi-target, Sinful Hysteria can be optimized further as well:
- Refresh
Moonfire and
Sunfire before entering cooldowns.
- Always keep
Starfall on cooldown. Try to make your last Starfall line up with the 3-second
Sinful Hysteria window.
- Inside cooldowns refresh
Sunfire once during pandemic, and refresh
Moonfire only if the target will live another 20 seconds (up to 6 targets).
- Still pool 90 Astral Power for the
Sinful Hysteria window.
Balance Druid Night Fae Rotation
Night Fae now uses Primordial Arcanic Pulsar as its main
Legendary and will eventually be paired with
Celestial Spirits
once you
receive the
Memory of Unity.
Night Fae is a great Covenant that does not need much to make it viable. You can play it without necessarily knowing fight timings and can make more mistakes than with Venthyr.
Night Fae Opener Rotation
Please note that Wrath has a 4-second travel time from max
range, allowing you to cast two in a row before they hit and pull the boss.
Starsurge has a 1-second travel time from max range.
To avoid pre-pulling or to avoid not being in Eclipse because
someone else pulled early and reset you (combat will reset your Eclipse count
if you do not finish both Wraths before pull), we recommend queueing up a
Starfire or
New Moon which will never pull early and is a minor
inconvenience if someone else pulls early instead of a Starsurge which is
bad to cast outside of Eclipse.
Disclaimer with the Balance Druid 2-Piece set bonus you will pull the
boss immediately after your second
Wrath precombat.
- Cast two
Wrath 2.5 seconds before combat and enter
Eclipse. Cast an additional Wrath if necessary.
- Cast
New Moon or
Starfire to avoid pre-pulling.
- Apply
Moonfire,
Sunfire, and
Stellar Flare (if talented).
- Cast
Warrior of Elune,
Force of Nature, or
Fury of Elune (if talented).
- Cast
Celestial Alignment /
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, your potions, and any trinket.
- Cast two
Starsurges.
- Cast
Convoke the Spirits.
- Spend the rest of your Astral Power on
Starsurge.
- Build Astral Power for next
Eclipse using
Wrath.
During Cooldowns, cast the appropriate filler for the moment. If you can
cleave, use Starfire as a filler and if you can only hit one target
cast
Wrath.
Night Fae Rotation Optimization
Night Fae is a rather straightforward rotation following the priority list at the top of this page. There are some things that Night Fae players can do to help improve their DPS.
New Moon is the single-target Night Fae talent and follows a
few basic rules. Do not cap charges of New Moon, try to get the Half and Full
Moon portions inside
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune or
Celestial Alignment, and if you cannot, use them in
Eclipse (Lunar)
where possible.
While not as important with tier and
double Legendary, plan
out your fight cooldown usage. When you have cooldowns that are offset, you can sometimes
lose uses lining them up. Know beforehand when you are going to use your
cooldowns and if you will pair it with a Convoke the Spirits or use it
on a previous
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar proc. You want to always try to
pair as many Convokes with as many buffs as possible like potions and trinkets
so if you can use all of these together you should.
Convoke the Spirits Optimization
Before casting Convoke the Spirits, you will want to make sure your
targets are fully DoTed up with
Moonfire. Moonfire can and will eat up
Balance spells, which could otherwise be
Wrath for better Astral
Power generation,
Starsurge, or even
Starfall. This is most
important on multi-target.
With Celestial Spirits, melee
Convoke the Spirits is less
consistent than ranged Convoke. Avoid being in melee if possible or you are
more likely to lose a Balance-specific catch.
When using Convoke the Spirits with
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar,
still use Convoke immediately for the Astral Power gain during the Pulsar window.
Do not focus on layering
Starfalls together unless in scenarios of
short-lived, high-target-count encounters.
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar Optimization
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar is going to be our main Legendary Power in
Patch 9.2. It interacts with our tier set but not in a way that would affect
our rotation. If you would like more details on those interaction, the link
below will direct you to the appropriate page:
Additionally, you want to enter every Primordial Arcanic Pulsar with
Starfall (if
Stellar Drift is talented). You can overcap your
Pulsar stacks as they carry over to the next buff but it is important to
Starfall. The reason being is that
Starsurge can proc Pulsar but will
not benefit from it while Starfall will.
Once you aquire two and four set, you will be constantly shifting in and out
off Incarnation: Chosen of Elune which will reset your Eclipse state
allowing you to choose which state to enter. When you are under 210 Astral Power,
you should enter Solar Eclipse, and when you have 210 Astral Power or more, you
should enter Lunar Eclipse. The purpose is to try to extend the
Celestial Infusion two piece bonus into your
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar for the bonus Astral Power.
Multi-target Rotation for Balance Druids
Lunar is the preferred multi-target and cleave Eclipse state. You
can use your cooldown when it feels optimal, but beware of losing uses
especially in dungeons.
- Apply
Sunfire if you can optimally cleave multiple-targets
- Maintain
Starfall to consume Astral Power.
- Cast two unempowered fillers (
Wrath or
Starfire) to enter the appropriate
Eclipse state. Prioritize Lunar Eclipse for multi-target.
- Keep
Fury of Elune and
Warrior of Elune (if talented) on cooldown.
- When in Solar Eclipse, cast
Moonfire on all targets that will live through the next Lunar cycle.
- Cast
Starsurge when available. Always keep enough Astral Power for
Starfall when its low duration.
- Cast the
Eclipse appropriate filler to try to fill up your Astral Power for the next
Eclipse.
Optimizing Multi-target
Multi-target and cleave work a little differently than the normal rotation as
seen above. Here are a few rules about Starfall.
- When there are three targets, always cast
Starfall.
- When you are talented into
Soul of the Forest or
Stellar Drift, you can cast
Starfall on two targets.
Starfall has an average pandemic refresh timer of about three seconds but no longer stacks.
Our DoT application rules have also changed:
- Try to have
Sunfire applied as soon as possible to maximize your bonus from
Solstice
- When there are 4 or more targets stacked, and you have
Soul of the Forest, only apply
Moonfire in Solar Eclipse.
There are some situations that change which spells we prioritize in an Eclipse:
- With 5 stacked targets in Solar
Eclipse, cast
Starfire over
Wrath. This is increased by 1-target per 20% Mastery rating
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.
Celestial Alignment also fits into the Eclipse theme. When this
cooldown (
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune as well) ends, your Eclipses reset
allowing you to choose the next Eclipse. Use this to set your own path down in
an encounter. If you notice on one pull you would have rather been in Lunar
Eclipse but you were in Solar Eclipse at that time, think to see if it would be
worth swapping which Eclipse state you started on or reset to.
Recommended Read: Mastering Your Balance Druid
While the rotations we gave in the previous sections will yield good results, there are a few subtleties that you should understand in order to truly excel at your role.
Eclipse Tips
Be it your Astral Power generation is not high enough or you got messed up on
mechanics, managing Eclipse buffs is not always as easy as just pooling
at the end and spending at the start. Additionally, using
Starsurge at
the end of an Eclipse or between Eclipses is a big mistake and should always be
avoided.
On single-target you want to prioritize Solar Eclipse. This means that you
may need to go through you Lunar cycle with maybe only one or two
Starsurges instead of the optimal three. The goal needs to be getting
the triple Starsurge in your optimal Eclipse state every time.
The goal on multi-target is to maximize Starfall uptime while
empowering Lunar Eclipse as much as possible. Much like how you want to be fully
optimzing Solar Eclipse for single-target, this means you may have to sacrifice
damage in Solar so you can get some beefy
Starfire cleaves.
Mitigating Movement DPS
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 30 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. 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.
This method is not as optimal for DPS anymore but can still be used to
mitigate DPS loss as doing a slightly delayed Eclipse cycle with late
Starsurge is more beneficial than doing nothing.
Changelog
- 19 Mar. 2022: Added double on-use and additional Pulsar notes.
- 21 Feb. 2022: Page reviewed and approved for Patch 9.2.
- 01 Nov. 2021: Minor Sinful Hysteria Multi-target adjustments.
- 28 Jun. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 18 Apr. 2021: Elaborated on the opening sequence of spell casts.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 31 Jan. 2021: Updated Rotation section.
- 12 Dec. 2020: Updated for Covenants and Legendaries.
- 23 Nov. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands.
- 16 Nov. 2020: Updated multi-target rotation.
- 09 Nov. 2020: Updated multi-target rotation.
- 17 Oct. 2020: Updated opener.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
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This was written by Borabank, a Balance Druid theorycrafter and raider in Muscle Memory. You can watch him on his Twitch channel or in the Dreamgrove Discord server.
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