Balance Druid DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents 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. Choosing Azerite Gear as a Balance Druid
  • 2. Choosing Azerite Traits as a Balance Druid
    • 2.1. Outer Ring
    • 2.2. Middle Ring
    • 2.3. Inner Ring
  • 3. DPS Azerite Trait Ranking for Balance Druid
    • 3.1. Single Target Outer Ring
    • 3.2. Three Target Outer Ring
  • 4. Azerite Traits Details and Rotation Changes for Balance Druid
  • 5. Stacking Traits
  • 6. Azerite Traits for Balance Druid
  • 7. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 8. 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. Balance Druid in Uldir
    • 1.1. Talent Cheatsheet
  • 2. Taloc
    • 2.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on Taloc
    • 2.2. Mythic Mode
  • 3. M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 3.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 3.2. Mythic Mode
  • 4. Fetid Devourer
    • 4.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on Fetid Devourer
    • 4.2. Mythic Mode
  • 5. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 5.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 5.2. Mythic Mode
  • 6. Vectis
    • 6.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on Vectis
    • 6.2. Mythic Mode
  • 7. Zul, Reborn
    • 7.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on Zul, Reborn
    • 7.2. Mythic Mode
  • 8. Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 8.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 8.2. Mythic Mode
  • 9. G'huun
    • 9.1. Suggested Talents for Balance Druid on G'huun
    • 9.2. Mythic Mode
  • 10. 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. 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 present the viable talent choices for Balance Druids in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1. We detail what each of the talents do and in which situations they should be taken.

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. Talent Choices for Balance Druid

Level	Choices
15	? Nature's Balance	✔ Warrior of Elune	✔ Force of Nature
30	✔ Tiger Dash	? Renewal	✔ Wild Charge
45	? Feral Affinity	? Guardian Affinity	✔ Restoration Affinity
60	? Mighty Bash	? Mass Entanglement	✔ Typhoon
75	? Soul of the Forest	✔ Starlord	✔ Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
90	✘ Stellar Drift	✔ Twin Moons	? Stellar Flare
100	✔ Shooting Stars	✔ Fury of Elune	? New Moon

Talents can be freely changed when out of combat and in a rested XP area (such as an inn or a capital city). Moreover, Tome of the Tranquil Mind and Codex of the Tranquil Mind can be used to temporarily allow players to change talents anywhere, as long as they are out of combat.

2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Balance Druids

? Nature's Balance

✔ Warrior of Elune

✔ Force of Nature

• Nature's Balance is a passive talent that generates 2 Astral Power every 3-seconds. Out of combat, your Astral Power climbs until it reaches 50.
• Warrior of Elune is an active ability with a 45-second cooldown which causes your next 3 Lunar Strikes to be instant cast and generate 40% additional Astral Power.
• Force of Nature is an active ability with a 1-minute cooldown that summons 3 treants for 10 seconds and generates 20 Astral Power. Force of Nature is targeted in an area, and the treants will taunt and attack targets in that area while they are alive.

Warrior of Elune is the default choice for any sort of hybrid encounter. If the fight is not pure single target, you should run Warrior of Elune. Use this talent on cooldown or wait several seconds to save it for movement windows or burst multi-target damage.

Force of Nature can be a viable choice in Mythic+ to deal with Necrotic and Skittish affixes as well as open world content. It is also the best talent for pure single target encounters.

Nature's Balance is a good talent for open world content as it allows you to start each encounter with 50 or more Astral Power. You are out-of-combat more often in the world so you make use of the increased generation.

3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Balance Druids

✔ Tiger Dash

? Renewal

✔ Wild Charge

• Renewal is an active ability with a 90-second cooldown. It heals you for 30% of your maximum health, it is usable in all shapeshift forms, and it is off the global cooldown.
• Tiger Dash replaces Dash with a 45-second cooldown, 200% movement speed sprint that decays over 5 seconds when activated.
• Wild Charge is an active ability that is off the global cooldown and which differs based on the shapeshift form you are in, as follows:
  • No shapeshift form: you fly to an ally's location.
  • Travel Form: you jump to an ally's location.
  • Moonkin Form: you leap backwards.
  • Bear Form: you charge an enemy, immobilising them for 4 seconds.
  • Cat Form: you leap behind an enemy, dazing them for 3 seconds.
  • Aquatic Form: your swim speed is increased by 150% for 5 seconds.

Typically it is more beneficial to have an ability to help with movement than a self-heal, so Renewal should not be taken. On fights with low movement, or in PVP, Renewal can be a niche choice.

For short distances, Wild Charge is usually better than Tiger Dash, since it has a lower cooldown and keeps you in Moonkin Form. Tiger Dash is the choice for long distance travel or moderate movement that lines up well with the longer cooldown.

4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Balance Druids

? Feral Affinity

? Guardian Affinity

✔ Restoration Affinity

• Feral Affinity grants you the Feline Swiftness passive ability, which increases your movement speed by 15%. Additionally, you gain access to the Feral-spec abilities Rake, Rip, Ferocious Bite, Swipe, and your energy regeneration is increased by 35%.
• Guardian Affinity grants you the Thick Hide passive ability, which reduces all your damage taken by 6%. Additionally, you gain access to the Guardian-spec abilities Thrash, Ironfur, and Frenzied Regeneration.
• Restoration Affinity grants you the Ysera's Gift passive ability, which heals you (or a nearby ally, if you are at full health yourself) for 3% of your maximum health every 5 seconds. Additionally, you gain access to the Restoration-spec abilities Rejuvenation, Wild Growth, and Swiftmend.

We now recommend Restoration Affinity for Balance Druids. The healing provided by Swiftmend is a valuable 30-second cooldown version of Coastal Healing Potion that requires you to shift out of form to cast. Wild Growth provides moderate party healing, which can be used during periods of high damage taken that do not require you to deal any damage back to the target.

Guardian Affinity is still a decent pick for survivability, as the passive damage reduction it provides through Thick Hide is more beneficial than the passive healing provided by Restoration Affinity. Take Guardian Affinity when you will be taking large amounts of damage quickly and often.

Feral Affinity can be used whenever you can make sure survivability will not be a problem, as it provides you with a small movement buff that is, in the long run, beneficial to damage. Being non-defensive, it is not advised in high damage progression encounters.

5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Balance Druids

? Mighty Bash

? Mass Entanglement

✔ Typhoon

• Mighty Bash is an active ability with a 50-second cooldown, which stuns the target for 5 seconds. It is usable in all shapeshift forms.
• Mass Entanglement is an active ability with a 30-second cooldown, which roots the target and all enemies within 15 yards of them in place for 30 seconds. Damage done to rooted targets may break the effect. Mass Entanglement is usable in all shapeshift forms.
• Typhoon is an active ability with a 30-second cooldown. It knocks back all targets within 15-yards in a cone in front of you, dazing them for 6 seconds. It is usable in all shapeshift forms.

The choice in this tier is largely irrelevant in terms of DPS performance. You will simply choose the one which you prefer most, or which best suits the encounter mechanics. That said, Typhoon will probably be the most useful talent in the majority of fights.

6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Balance Druids

? Soul of the Forest

✔ Starlord

✔ Incarnation: Chosen of Elune

• Soul of the Forest increases the damage bonus from Lunar Empowerment and Solar Empowerment by 30%, and reduces the cost of Starfall by 10 Astral Power.
• Starlord grants 3% Haste for 20 seconds which stacks up to 3 times whenever you cast Starsurge or Starfall.
• Incarnation: Chosen of Elune replaces Celestial Alignment. It lasts for 30 seconds (up from Celestial Alignment's 20), during which time it increases all your damage by 25% (up from 15%) and increases Haste by 15% (the same as Celestial Alignment).

For single target, you can choose to take Starlord, as it is the best talent when played optimally. Soul of the Forest is a decent choice for extended periods with 3+ targets. The empowerment boosting portion of this talent is a huge downgrade from both Starlord and Incarnation: Chosen of Elune, so this is not recommended for hybrid fights.

Incarnation: Chosen of Elune is a good burst DPS option for dungeon and raid combat. Incarnation and Starlord are very close when Starlord is played perfectly, but Incarnation can edge out when using your cooldowns to kill certain targets, when there are extended periods of damage increasing abilities, or in hybrid encounters with periods of single and multiple-targets.

7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Balance Druids

✘ Stellar Drift

✔ Twin Moons

? Stellar Flare

• Stellar Drift increases Starfall's radius by 20%, its damage by 25%, and allows the caster to continue moving while casting within the Starfall's area.
• Twin Moons increases the damage done of Moonfire by 20% and allows it to spread onto one additional target.
• Stellar Flare is an additional DoT that generates 8 Astral Power and does a minor amount of Astral damage over 24 seconds.

Stellar Drift is currently a niche talent only taken when in need of either the increased radius or the mobility portion of the effect. Starfall just does not deal enough damage or have any modifiers that makes it a strong spell in and of itself.

For pure single target fights, talenting Stellar Flare is a small damage increase but generally, Twin Moons is the best overall talent for any mixed single and multi-target encounter as it provides both damage as well as utility.

8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Balance Druids

✔ Shooting Stars

✔ Fury of Elune

? New Moon

• Shooting Stars is a passive ability that has a 10% chance to proc a falling star every time your Moonfire or Sunfire does damage. When you proc a falling star, you generate 4 Astral Power and deal a minor amount of damage.
• Fury of Elune is an active ability with a 1-minute cooldown that deals damage to the target as well as all enemies within 8 yards of that target for 8 seconds. Over the duration of the ability, you generate 40 Astral Power.
• New Moon is a 3 charge spell on a 25-second recharge rate. The first charge does a minor amount of damage, generates a small amount of Astral Power, and has a very short cast time. The other two spells ramp up in cast time, Astral Power generation, and damage.

The proc rate of Shooting Stars has diminishing returns; on one target, the full 10% proc rate per DoT is accurate, but as you DoT more targets, the proc rate gets heavily reduced. This talent is best used on one to two targets, or 3 targets if they are all spread. Fury of Elune will be used on 3+ stacked targets as it deals more damage and will generate more Astral Power than Shooting Stars will.

Currently, New Moon still underperforms on pure single target when compared to Shooting Stars. New Moon has found some use on encounters with down-time or priority targets.

9. PvP Talents (War Mode)

In Battle for Azeroth, there will be the option to go into "War Mode". Enabling War Mode provides the following benefits:

• PvP talents enabled in the outdoor world.
• 10% increase in World Quest rewards at maximum level.
• 10% more experience gained while leveling.
• Earn Conquest Points which can reward gear every week.

With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended to enable the feature to maximize your leveling and rewards at maximum level. However, you will make yourself available for open world PvP, and the possibility to be killed while leveling or doing World Quests exists.

9.1. Balance Druid War Mode Talents

In this section we will list the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Note that these may not be optimal in actual PvP situations.

• Ironfeather Armor will increase your survivability when fighting melee attackers in the open world. This will add 25% additional armor on top of the 150% provided by Moonkin Form. This can be taken in all situations.
• Moonkin Aura is amazing for group combat and strong for solo content as well. This can buff all members in your party and help finish quests and rares faster. We would recommend this for all group content.
• Deep Roots will help you get the upper hand on dangerous foes by increasing the damage threshold of your Entangling Roots. If you are undergeared, we would recommend using this talent until you are more comfortable fighting enemies solo.
• Prickling Thorns adds an offensive component to Entangling Roots. The damage dealt by breaking your roots is roughly equivalent to casting an extra Solar Wrath at the target. You can even pair this ability with Deep Roots in solo content for greater combat effectiveness.
• An honorable mention goes out to Crescent Burn. While you do not normally cast Moonfire multiple times on the same target, you can pair this with Twin Moons to pile damage multipliers onto your Moonfire and make spamming Moonfire on the move a mediocre, but viable rotation.

10. Changelog

• 04 Oct. 2018: Updated talent recommendations.
• 03 Sep. 2018: Updated Incarnation.
• 22 Aug. 2018: Added tip for increasing Haste during Incarnation (removed).
• 21 Aug. 2018: Updated level 45 and 75 talent recommendations.
• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 01 Aug. 2018: Updated level 100 talent recommendations.
• 20 Jul. 2018: Updated level 75 and 90 talent recommendations.

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