Guardian Druid Tank Easy Mode — Shadowlands Pre-Patch 9.0.1

This page is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous subtleties and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

Guardian Druids reduce incoming damage through their active mitigation Ironfur. Ironfur has a negligible cooldown and can stack, making it very strong against incoming Physical damage and melee attacks. Their self heal, Frenzied Regeneration, while not as strong as some other tank classes, provides a decent boost to self-sustain. Their combination of both short and long cooldown defensive abilities helps them deal with Magic damage effectively.

In terms of utility, Guardians bring Stampeding Roar, a raid-wide movement speed boost which is very powerful for many encounters where group-wide movement is a necessity. Guardians can also resurrect allies in Combat with Rebirth.

The primary goal as a Guardian is to stay alive, using the tools at your disposal. This means generating and spending Rage on active mitigation and self-healing, and making effective use of your defensive cooldowns to survive dangerous incoming damage. A secondary goal is to deal good damage; this is important in order to maintain threat on your target and contribute to killing bosses faster. Luckily, this does not require much extra effort on your behalf — if you are performing your rotation well defensively, your damage will reflect that.

The following build is designed to be easy to pick up and play while being reasonably effective. It is by no means optimal, but it is viable.

• Level 15: Blood Frenzy
• Level 25: Wild Charge
• Level 30: Restoration Affinity
• Level 35: Heart of the Wild
• Level 40: Galactic Guardian
• Level 45: Earthwarden
• Level 50: Rend and Tear

If you are looking for a more in-depth analysis of the best talents for each individual situation, check out our full talents page below.

You will want to prioritize item level over all else, as Armor, Stamina, and Agility are far more valuable than any secondary stats.

On jewelry and other slots with no primary stats, you will prefer secondary stats in the following order:

1. Versatility;
2. Haste;
3. Mastery;
4. Critical Strike.

Stat priority can vary based on how much of each stat you have and whether you want to focus on a more defensive or offensive set-up. To see the full explanation of the stat priorty, head to our dedicated stats page below.

For a better understanding of how each spell contributes to the Guardian rotation and the benefits they provide, it is highly recommended to browse through the Spells Summary page linked below.

1. Keep Moonfire up.
2. Use Mangle.
3. Use Thrash.
4. Use Maul (to dump excess Rage).
5. Use Swipe.

This rotation maximizes Rage generation while also maintaining a reasonable amount of damage. For extra damage, at 2 or more targets you can drop Moonfire and at 4 or more targets you can drop Mangle, since they will deal less damage than your AoE abilities Thrash and Swipe. You should continue to use Mangle if you need the Rage, however.

While the above is a fantastic starting point for a Guardian Druid, it is recommended to look at our full rotation guide to get a better grasp on how the abilities interact with each other and their other intricate synergies.

By executing your rotation you will generate Rage. You can spend Rage in one of three ways; on your active mitigation spell Ironfur, on your self-heal Frenzied Regeneration, or on a hard-hitting attack Maul.

Deciding how to spend Rage can be boiled down to a few simple situations. If you are taking Physical damage or melee attacks, use Ironfur. If you are at low health or expect to be brought to low health, use Frenzied Regeneration. If you are not in danger of either, use Maul.

Ironfur is unique in that multiple applications of the spell can overlap, meaning you can have two or more "stacks" of Ironfur at once. You can also pool Rage to spend on multiple stacks for dangerous moments in a fight. Keep in mind that every application has an independent duration, so adding a stack will not refresh the duration on other stacks.

Frenzied Regeneration heals you for a percentage of your maximum health over a short period of time. An important aspect of good Frenzied Regeneration use is not causing overhealing. This means you should be casting it when you are at low health, or when the risk of being healed to full by a healer before your Frenzied Regeneration can finish ticking is low. You may also use this spell proactively if you expect to take a large amount of damage soon, but keep in mind that a portion of the heal occurs instantly so don't let that go to waste.

Maul should only be used when you are either not actively tanking, or when you are taking so little damage that using Ironfur will not reduce your need for healing or increase your chances of living.

Guardians have two baseline defensive cooldowns.

• Barkskin reduces all damage you take by 20% for 12 seconds, on a 90 second cooldown. Barkskin is usable while stunned, incapacitated, or asleep. This will be your first line of defense against dangerous spike damage, as well as your primary way of reducing magic damage, or simply as risk mitigation to smooth your damage intake for your healers. It has a short cooldown, so use it often.
• Survival Instincts reduces all damage you take by 50% for 6 seconds. Survival Instincts has 2 charges and a 4 minute recharge time. This is your major defensive reduction, to be used against lethal spike damage or "tankbuster" mechanics. Its short duration and long cooldown means it should be used sparingly.

You will want to run one Layered Mane trait and as many Twisted Claws as you can get. The remaining traits are less important, but you can refer to our Guardian Azerite page for information on what other traits are worth taking.

For most content, you will want to have Worldvein Resonance or Concentrated Flame in your major slot, with Strife, Null Barrier and Symbiotic Presence in your minor slots.

Keep in mind that other essences will perform better in specific situations. Visit the Guardian Essences page for more information.