Balance Druid DPS Sepulcher of the First Ones Raid Guide — Shadowlands 9.2
On this page, you will find tips, tricks, and strategies tailored to your Balance Druid for each boss of the following raid: Sepulcher of the First Ones. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2.
Disclaimer
Patch 9.2 brings the final raid tier, Sepulcher of the First Ones. This 11-boss raid has not been fully tested and many bosses have been changed since last testing but we will put some preliminary general tips to think about.
General Tips
Balance Druids will most likely be swapping between Night Fae and Venthyr in this raid. Night Fae is a great choice for an unknown raid because you do not need to think into cooldown utilization as you do for Venthyr.
If you find that there are great opportunities to use Ravenous Frenzy
on a boss, it is easy enough to swap over and do some get some value out of
Venthyr.
Night Fae on fewer targets is extremely close to Venthyr
in DPS output but the space widens quickly with more targets (if Venthyr can
use their cooldowns on them). Night Fae is great defensively given you higher
effective Health with Grove Invigoration and is another good reason to
test new waters with the Night Fae Covenant.
Talents are going to be nearly the same across the board:
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity
- Level 35:
Mighty Bash
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune (Venthyr or multi-target) or
New Moon (Night Fae single-target)
Legendaries and Tier
For Night Fae, you will always use Primordial Arcanic Pulsar
as both your single Legendary and your second Legendary with
Unity.
For Venthyr, you will use Sinful Hysteria as your single
Legendary with no tier. When you acquire 2-piece you will always wear
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar. Sinful Hysteria will come back as
Unity when you can use double Legendary.
Vigilant Guardian
We advise you to use the following talents against Vigilant Guardian.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity (or
Restoration Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35: No specific recommendation
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune (or
New Moon, situationally)
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Vigilant Guardian.
Tips
For this multi-target fight you will want to have Starfall up for
add waves but these will most likely die pretty quickly. Cooldowns can be used
on pull and on cooldown but save the final usage for
Bloodlust.
There is plenty of movement on this boss, use Stampeding Roar to help
your group get to safe zones spread around the boss arena.
Mythic Mode
On Mythic, the Vigilant Guardian starts as soon as you begin combat. That being said you will still be focusing down adds as your top priority as this is still the major mechanic of the fight.
On Mythic, Refracted Blast spawns a set of
Spike of Creation at the location of the blasts. These can be popped
by anyone, normally a ranged or a healer, and if you are the designated mine
detonator then use your
Stellar Drift mobility for minimal damage loss.
Save
Barkskin for when you get extra stacks of the Spike of Creation
DoT as that is the only overly scary part of the fight.
For more information, please refer to our Vigilant Guardian guide.
Skolex, the Insatiable Ravener
We advise you to use the following talents against Skolex, the Insatiable Ravener.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity (or
Restoration Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35: No specific recommendation
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift (or
Stellar Flare, situationally)
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Skolex, the Insatiable Ravener.
Tips
This is a purely single-target boss fight and one that you could use
Stellar Flare on.
Stellar Drift is really nice for the movement
required on this boss so it is a great quality of life feature here.
Balance Druids are good candidates for being out of range and taking
Dust Blast but be careful and use defensives when taking
Ravening Burrow as you will be taking more damage than most players
with your extra DoT stacks.
Mythic Mode
This boss works almost identically to the Heroic version, just dealing more
damage and having a moderately tight enrage timer. When baiting, always wait for
the third application of Ephemera Dust before returning back to the
stack group for the
Retch cast. Save
Barkskin for high
stacks of the DoT or for
Ravening Burrow.
You will only get two uses of Incarnation: Chosen of Elune on this boss
so try to find a good opportunity for your second use where you will not be
interrupted.
For more information, please refer to our Skolex, the Insatiable Ravener guide.
Artificer Xy'Mox
We advise you to use the following talents against Artificer Xy'mox.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity (or
Restoration Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35: No specific recommendation
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Artificer Xy'mox.
Tips
You will normally get two or three cooldown usages on this boss depending on your raid DPS. Judge how far you are into the fight before using your second cooldown as it may be better to save for the final phase.
When using Primordial Arcanic Pulsar make sure you get at least one
proc on each add phase by pooling Astral Power and Pulsar stacks before each
intermission. Look to
Solar Beam caster adds and focus down the
Xy Acolytes before they cast
Hyperlight Ascension.
Defensives are best used on Glyph of Relocation when you have the
raid DoT.
Wild Charge can be used to spread easily by negating the pull
in from Glyph of Relocation.
Soulshape and
Door of Shadows can
both be used to jump over the rings if you are in a tight spot.
Mythic Mode
Fight timings for this boss can be extremely volatile depending on how many
people are alive by the end of the fight. Given the difference in kill times,
it is best to use your cooldowns as they come up regardless of where you are in
the fight. Get a rough estimate of where you will be using Bloodlust
and save a cooldown set for that if you will not lose a usage over the course of
the fight.
Just like Heroic, play safe with the Glyph of Relocation, using
Barkskin liberally. You can easily dodge rings for higher uptime on the
boss especially when using cooldowns. Otherwise just dodge the additional
swirlies and lines and you will be fine.
Dausegne, the Fallen Oracle
We advise you to use the following talents against Dausegne, the Fallen Oracle.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity (or
Restoration Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35: No specific recommendation
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Dausegne, the Fallen Oracle.
Tips
A single-target boss with some priority add focus, Balance Druids can use
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar procs on mechanics like
Domination Core and
Siphoned Barrier.
Use Barkskin to help soak
Staggering Barrage as often
as you can and use
Soulshape and
Door of Shadows to leap over
each
Disintegration Halo.
Mythic Mode
On Mythic, Disintegration Halos are much more dangerous and
should be skipped as often as possible. As Venthyr, it is quite easy
to skip at least one ring every set but you are otherwise more fragile to any
other residual damage. Night Fae is a tankier Covenant choice but can
skip fewer ring sets and must remain in
Soulshape for a longer period
of time resulting in downtime on this boss.
For three-minute cooldowns, those can be used on pull and with the second
Siphoned Barrier cast and then on cooldown thereafter.
Convoke the Spirits can be used on as many Domination Cores
as possible as those are a main priority in this encounter. If you are playing
Night Fae, it is best to use your
Soulshape for a quick skip
or before cooldowns to prevent too much downtime while in
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune.
Defensives can be used liberally in this encounter if you are tanking
Disintegration Halos.
Barkskin will always be up but
Bear Form,
Frenzied Regeneration, and
Heart of the Wild can
be used for additional defensive purposes and will all help save you from
rotting down.
For more information, please refer to our Dausegne, the Fallen Oracle guide.
Prototype Pantheon
We advise you to use the following talents against Prototype Pantheon.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity (or
Restoration Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35: No specific recommendation
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Prototype Pantheon.
Tips
Use your first set of cooldowns to help clear the first set of adds from
the Necrotic Ritual. If your second set of cooldowns is coming up
late into the second phase, save them for the final phase burn.
Stampeding Roar can be helpful for the
Windswept Wings
forced movement in phase one and three and
Wild Charge can be used
during
Hand of Destruction to negate the pull in and help spread
further out in the arena.
Barkskin is also best used on this ability as
well.
For more information, please refer to our Prototype Pantheon guide.
Lihuvim, Principal Architect
We advise you to use the following talents against Lihuvim, Principal Architect.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity (or
Restoration Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35: No specific recommendation
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Lihuvim, Principal Architect.
Tips
Cooldowns can be used at will on this fight as long as you have some form of
damage to put into each intermission add. Coordinate movement cooldowns and use
Stampeding Roar to help drop off
Unstable Motes and move
immediately or you will detonate them.
After you kill the selected intermission add, get to the center and focus
down the Defense Matrix Automa before dumping Astral Power into
Starfall as everything takes reduced damage while this add is alive.
If targeted with
Degenerate, use a personal to reduce the damage
taken.
For more information, please refer to our Lihuvim, Principal Architect guide.
Halondrus the Reclaimer
We advise you to use the following talents against Halondrus the Reclaimer.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Halondrus the Reclaimer.
Tips
It is prefered to use our cooldowns on pull and on the second
Reclaim but if you use your cooldowns on the first Reclaim, you
may end up saving your second set for the final phase burn. If you are using
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune with
Precise Alignment and
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar, you can pop your cooldowns much earlier before
Reclaim and they will carry into the shield phase.
Guardian Affinity is highly recommended on this
fight as Balance Druid is one of the prime candidates in playing goalie for the
Ephemeral Motes all throughout the fight.
Starfall can be
used on
Reclaim for added mobility and in phase three where you
have to be continuously rotating around the boss.
Barkskin can be used liberally as well as
Heart of the Wild
for bonus Stamina and just
Bear Form in general when soaking a large
amount of Ephemeral Motes.
For more information, please refer to our Halondrus the Reclaimer guide.
Anduin Wrynn
We advise you to use the following talents against Anduin Wrynn.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Restoration Affinity (or
Guardian Affinity, situationally)
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Anduin Wrynn.
Tips
This is a boss where Venthyr has a great damage profile. Cooldowns
are best used on pull and each intermission phase as Venthyr. Starfall
obliterates Fiendish Souls and you can pump
Starsurge into
either the boss or the Monstrous Soul.
As Night Fae, you can cooldown on pull and then try to pool
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar and
Convoke the Spirits for
Kingsmourne Hungers. Position yourself to hit the appropriate add
you need to focus while downstairs. With two Legedaries you have much more
felxibility on using Convoke and cooldowns but before then you should use
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune on pull and on each intermission as well
despite having no Convoke available.
Balance Druid brings great utility to this boss. You can assist with healing
on Befouled Barriers or on Anduin's Hope.
Restoration Affinity provides additional healing and
Ursol's Vortex to help manage Fiendish Souls in each
intermission.
Balance Druids are tanky and able to bait Soul Explosion from
killing adds in the intermission. Try to remain inside healing circles as long
as possible and use
Barkskin when needed or at high reduced healing
stacks. Calling for a Paladin's
Blessing of Protection especially when
Starfalling immediately can help reduce stacks of
Necrotic Claws.
For more information, please refer to our Anduin Wrynn guide.
Lords of Dread
We advise you to use the following talents against Lords of Dread.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune (or
New Moon, situationally)
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Lords of Dread.
Tips
Lords of Dread is a two-target fight with an interesting damage amplification
phase that only amplifies multi-target damage. Swarm of Decay will
increase the damage of spells such as
Starfall,
Starfire, and
Fury of Elune.
These phases happen at around 1 minute, 3 minutes, 6 minutes, and 8 minutes
and last 20 seconds long so plan accordingly. For Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
and
Ravenous Frenzy, you can send these on pull, second swarm phase, and
then on cooldown. If you are playing Night Fae,
Convoke the Spirits
can be saved for every
Swarm of Decay phase for the extra
Starfall. It is important to save
Primordial Arcanic Pulsar
windows for these phases if you do not have Incarnation as the damage bonus
is quite powerful.
Defensively, Balance Druids are one of the stronger classes for tanking
Cloud of Carrions and staying out during
Swarm of Decay
using
Barkskin and even
Bear Form if necessary.
For more information, please refer to our Lords of Dread guide.
Rygelon
We advise you to use the following talents against Rygelon.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against Rygelon.
Tips
How you play this boss will highly depend on your raid composition.
Collapsing Quasar is the main fight mechanic. They spawn spread
out around the room and need to be killed at the appropriate times to allow
those with Dark Eclipse to dispose of their debuffs and not kill the
raid.
Starfall is great at whittling down their Health but be careful
not to overkill them using cooldowns or you may end up causing a wipe.
Cooldowns can be used as they are needed. Most of the time you will save them for the normal phase to help burn down early Quasars but the fight only lasts slightly longer than six minutes so you will be hard-pressed to get more than two full cooldowns out so plan out a good usage of your second cooldown set.
For more information, please refer to our Rygelon guide.
The Jailer
We advise you to use the following talents against The Jailer.
- Level 15:
Nature's Balance
- Level 25:
Wild Charge
- Level 30:
Guardian Affinity
- Level 35:
Heart of the Wild
- Level 40:
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
- Level 45:
Stellar Drift
- Level 50:
Fury of Elune or
New Moon
We advise you to use the following Legendaries against The Jailer.
Tips
Note: This fight was never tested on the Public Test Realm, and it will not be immediately available when the raid opens. As such, tips for it will not be added until the encounter can be seen on live servers.
For more information, please refer to our The Jailer guide.
Changelog
- 19 Mar. 2022: Added more Mythic and Heroic tips.
- 08 Mar. 2022: Updated Heroic and Mythic tips.
- 28 Feb. 2022: Page added.
More Druid Guides
Guides from Other Classes
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.
- New Heartbond Lupine Flying Animation in Patch 9.2.5
- Cool New Patch 9.2.5 Windrunner Easter Egg
- Kalimdorathon: Running Kalimdor from South to North IRL
- Patch 9.2.5 Survival Guide - Everything Coming in the World of Warcraft Update
- The Ultimate Silvermoonception
- World First Hardcore Level 99 in Diablo 2 Resurrected Ladder Season 1
- Bird's Eye View of Various World of Warcraft Maps
- Enigma Arena Changes