Guardian Druid Tank Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities (Legion 7.3)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes
  • 4. Patch 7.2 Changes
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics
  • 2. Talent Choice
  • 3. Stat Choice
  • 4. Basic Rotation
  • 5. Active Mitigation Abilities
  • 6. Cooldown Usage
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resource
  • 3. Basic Abilities
  • 4. Important Procs
  • 5. Active Mitigation
  • 6. Cooldowns
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression
    • 1.1. Shared Path
    • 1.2. Adaptive Fur Versus Gory Fur
    • 1.3. Patch 7.2 Traits
  • 2. Relic Choice
    • 2.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.1. With Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
      • 2.1.2. With Galactic Guardian
    • 2.2. AoE
      • 2.2.1. With Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
      • 2.2.2. With Galactic Guardian
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority
    • 2.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.1. With Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
      • 2.1.2. With Galactic Guardian
    • 2.2. AoE
      • 2.2.1. With Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
      • 2.2.2. With Galactic Guardian
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority
    • 3.1. Single Target
      • 3.1.1. With Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
      • 3.1.2. With Galactic Guardian
    • 3.2. AoE
      • 3.2.1. With Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
      • 3.2.2. With Galactic Guardian
  • 4. ChangeLog
• ×Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single Target Rotation
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation
    • 2.1. Against 2-3 Targets
    • 2.2. Against 4+ Targets
  • 3. Active Mitigation
    • 3.1. Ironfur
    • 3.2. Frenzied Regeneration
  • 4. Taunting
  • 5. Cooldowns
  • 6. Optional Read: Mastering Your Guardian Druid
    • 6.1. Rage Generation
    • 6.2. Mastery: Nature's Guardian
    • 6.3. Gore Procs
    • 6.4. Detailed Cooldown Usage
      • 6.4.1. Survival Instincts
      • 6.4.2. Barkskin
      • 6.4.3. Rage of the Sleeper
      • 6.4.4. Tier 1 Talents
      • 6.4.5. Tier 3 Talents
      • 6.4.6. Tier 5 Talents
      • 6.4.7. Tier 6 Talents
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems
  • 2. Enchants
  • 3. Consumables
  • 4. 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 Guardian Druids
      • 1.2.1. Hand of Protection Cancelaura Macro
      • 1.2.2. Useful Mouseover Macros
  • 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. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.5. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.6. DroodFocus
      • 2.1.7. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.8. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Guardian Druids
      • 2.2.1. Omen Threat Meter
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 20 Set Bonuses
  • 2. Legendary Items
  • 3. Loot Competition
  • 4. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list your Guardian Druid core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Legion 7.3. 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 Guardian Druid.

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

About Our Reviewer

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Justwait, a top tank who raids in Method. You can also watch his stream on Twitch and follow him on Twitter.

1. Single Target Rotation

The single target rotation for a Guardian Druid is based on a priority system, and its goal is to generate as much Rage as possible.

1. Use Mangle on cooldown (its cooldown has a chance to be reset by Gore, so you need to watch out for this).
2. Use Moonfire if you have a Galactic Guardian proc (if you have chosen this talent).
3. Use Thrash on cooldown.
4. Use Pulverize (if you have taken this talent), if you have 2+ stacks of Thrash on the target, in order to maintain the buff. Otherwise, use it at 5 stacks.
5. Apply and maintain Moonfire on the target.
6. Use Maul.
   • Only use Maul when you do not need to use or pool Rage for your active mitigation and when you are at or close to maximum Rage.
7. Use Swipe.

Note that this does not include your active mitigation and your cooldowns or how to weave forms (if taking Feral Affinity), both of which we explain later on in the guide.

2. Multiple Target Rotation

The multiple target rotation is also based on a priority system, and like the single target rotation, this does not include your active mitigation and cooldowns.

2.1. Against 2-3 Targets

1. Use Thrash on cooldown.
2. Use Mangle on cooldown.
3. Use Moonfire if you have a Galactic Guardian proc (if you have chosen this talent).
4. Use Pulverize (if you have taken this talent), if there are targets with 2+ stacks of Thrash, in order to maintain the buff. Otherwise, use it at 5 stacks.
5. Apply Moonfire on as many targets as possible and refresh it when it is about to expire.
6. Use Maul.
   • Only use Maul when you do not need to use or pool Rage for your active mitigation and when you are at or close to maximum Rage.
7. Use Swipe.

If you are not actively tanking and do not need to gain a lot of Rage, you can choose to use Swipe more and avoid using Mangle.

2.2. Against 4+ Targets

1. Use Thrash on cooldown.
2. Use Mangle on cooldown.
3. Use Moonfire if you have a Galactic Guardian proc (if you have chosen this talent).
4. Use Pulverize (if you have taken this talent), if there are targets with 2+ stacks of Thrash, in order to maintain the buff. Otherwise, use it at 5 stacks.
5. Use Swipe.

If you are not actively tanking and do not need to gain a lot of Rage, you can choose to use Swipe more and avoid using Mangle.

3. Active Mitigation

As a Guardian Druid, you have one ability that acts as active mitigation: Ironfur. In addition to this, you have Frenzied Regeneration, which is a self-heal but which is also used routinely as part of your playstyle.

3.1. Ironfur

Ironfur increases your armor by 65% for 6 seconds. The ability has a 0.5-second cooldown, and applications of Ironfur can overlap. This means that their armor increase will stack, but their duration will not. For example, if you use Ironfur, and then use it again 3 seconds later, you will have 2 applications of Ironfur for 3 seconds, granting you 130% increased armor. After 3 seconds, the first application will have expired, leaving you with 65% armor for 3 more seconds.

Obviously, if you are only faced with Physical damage (which is reduced by armor, something that is not always the case), then using Ironfur is obviously a good idea.

If the incoming non-magic damage is not reduced by armor, then you will have to use one of your defensive cooldowns instead ( Survival Instincts or Barkskin).

In case the amount of incoming physical damage is very high, you can use Ironfur multiple times to overlap them and gain a great armor increase. Note that doing so requires you to pool up Rage.

Finally, always consider your situation carefully before deciding to use Ironfur. Since it is pro-active in nature, no matter how low on health you have been brought, using it if there is no new incoming damage is pointless.

3.2. Frenzied Regeneration

Frenzied Regeneration heals you for 50% of all damage taken in the last 5 seconds, in the form of a 3-second HoT. It costs 10 Rage, has a maximum of 2 charges, and a 24-second recharge time (reduced by Haste). Note that Frenzied Regeneration is not on the global cooldown.

Whereas Ironfur is an ability that should be used pro-actively, Frenzied Regeneration is reactive in nature. The first step in using Frenzied Regeneration effectively is to make sure you only use it after you have taken a lot of damage in the previous 5 seconds, since this will ensure that you are actually healed by it.

However, this is not all you have to consider, since it is easy to waste Frenzied Regeneration and then not have it available when you need it most. The best time to use Frenzied Regeneration is when you have sustained high damage, will sustain high damage again in the next couple of seconds, and your healers are not in a good position to heal you (either because the rest of the raid is also taking damage, or because they are out of range of you or otherwise unable to heal you). These cases are ideal for using Frenzied Regeneration. Otherwise, if your healers can easily heal you back up (for instance, if you are the only raid member taking damage), then you should not use Frenzied Regeneration, as it is likely that you will be overhealed.

4. Taunting

Growl is your main taunting ability. It only works on a single target and has an 8-second cooldown.

5. Cooldowns

As a Guardian Druid, you two important defensive cooldowns.

• Survival Instincts reduces all damage taken by 50% for 6 seconds. It has 2 charges, and a 4-minute recharge time. It is best used pre-emptively.
• Barkskin reduces all damage taken by 20% for 12 seconds, with a 90-second cooldown. Barkskin is off the global cooldown and it can be used while stunned, incapacitated, or asleep. It is essentially a weaker version of Survival Instincts, and should be used in the same way.

Both of these abilities should be used to help you deal with particularly high amounts of incoming damage.

Additionally, your Artifact weapon also provides you with Rage of the Sleeper, which prevents 25% of all damage you take for 10 seconds and which reflects 250% of your attack power in Nature damage back to your attackers for the same duration. The Embrace of the Nightmare trait further gives this ability offensive characteristics.

More details about how to best use your cooldowns, and about the cooldowns you can gain from your talents, can be found in our detailed cooldown section.

6. Optional Read: Mastering Your Guardian Druid

Tanking as a Guardian Druid is quite straightforward, and the information provided above should be more than sufficient to allow you to perform your role at a high level. There are, however, a few details you should also understand in order to fully master your character.

6.1. Rage Generation

Guardian Druid tanks use a resource called Rage (Warriors are the only other class in the game to use it). For you to properly master your Druid, you must understand how Rage works.

The Rage bar has a maximum capacity of 100, and is empty by default. Rage decays at a rate of 1 per second when out of combat. In combat, Rage does not decay.

Rage is generated in the following two ways:

• Autoattacks generate Rage.
• Certain abilities generate fixed amounts of Rage.
  • Activating Bear Form gives you 20 Rage.
  • Mangle generates 5 Rage.
  • Thrash generates 4 Rage.
  • Using Moonfire with a Galactic Guardian proc generates 8 Rage.

6.2. Mastery: Nature's Guardian

Your Mastery is Mastery: Nature's Guardian. It increases your maximum health and healing received, as well as your attack power. The exact increase amount depends on how much Mastery you have.

Notably, your Mastery does not reduce the damage you take, which may lead you to take more damage than the other tanking classes. This is compensated for by the fact that you also have more health and receive more healing than other tanks.

6.3. Gore Procs

Your Thrash, Swipe, Maul, and Moonfire has a 15% chance to trigger Gore, which resets the cooldown of Mangle, and causes it to generate an additional 4 Rage. Making quick use of Gore procs is essential to making sure you that they are not wasted by new procs.

6.4. Detailed Cooldown Usage

Playing a Guardian Druid tank is an active experience, in the sense that you will have to regularly and wisely use your active defensive cooldowns to maintain your survivability.

You have two defensive abilities, your Artifact ability, as well as a few abilities you gain from talents. Your active mitigation abilities have been discussed above.

6.4.1. Survival Instincts

Survival Instincts is best used pre-emptively. This means that you should use Survival Instincts before taking a large amount of damage (generally due to a boss mechanic). Additionally, you can use it to prolong your survival if your healers are dead or incapacitated.

It is not advised to wait until you are low on health to use Survival Instincts, since you will probably die before it has had a chance to benefit you fully.

Generally, it is best to make use of this cooldown as many times as possible during the fight (it is better to have wasted it than to have died with it available). Keep in mind, though, that you may be required to use it a very specific time, so make sure you save it for that moment.

6.4.2. Barkskin

Barkskin works like a weaker version of Survival Instincts, so the same usage guidelines apply. The only difference is that Barkskin's cooldown is much lower, meaning that you can use it more freely.

A good example of liberal Barkskin usage is to use on the pull, or when you taunt the boss from another tank. These periods when you suddenly start taking damage can sometimes cause your healers to be off-guard, so having a (light) damage mitigation cooldown up can help.

6.4.3. Rage of the Sleeper

When using Rage of the Sleeper as a defensive cooldown, you want to follow the same liberal usage guidelines as for Barkskin. Most of the time, you want to use Barkskin before resorting to Rage of the Sleeper. An example of an exception to this rule would be if you need an immediate light cooldown but know you will be crowd controlled in the next minute, in which case you can save Barkskin to use during that period.

Alternatively, Rage of the Sleeper can be managed and prioritised as a damage cooldown, once you unlock the Embrace of the Nightmare Artifact trait.

6.4.4. Tier 1 Talents

If you have the Brambles talent, then you should be more greedy in using Barkskin, since you deal damage around you while it is active. That said, remember that Barkskin should still be used primarily for survival.

If you have taken Bristling Fur, you will just have to make sure to use all of the Rage you gain quickly, so that none is wasted. Since you actually want to take damage while Bristling Fur is active, you should avoid stacking it with Survival Instincts.

The formula for Bristling Fur is:

• BristlingFurRage = 100 * Damage / ExpectedMaxHealth

The formula is rather simple, and here is how it works. If you take 30% of your maximum health in damage, you generate 30 Rage. If you take 65% of your maximum health in damage, you generate 65 Rage.

Let us take into consideration that you take a total of 100% of your maximum health in damage each time you use Bristling Fur. The Rage provided by this talent will then be 150 each minute. Thrash deals damage each third second, which means it will tick 20 times per minute. If you chose Blood Frenzy, you need to have Thrash up and running on at least 4 targets throughout this minute to make it generate equal rage to Bristling Fur.

If you have taken the Blood Frenzy talent, simply make sure your Thrash bleed never drops off the target.

6.4.5. Tier 3 Talents

If you have taken the Balance Affinity talent, keep in mind that when you are not actively tanking AND if you are out of melee range you can swap to Moonkin Form and quickly apply a Sunfire to the target. The more targets it will spread to, the more worthwhile doing so becomes. Remember that the range of your abilities is also increased if you have taken this talent.

If you have taken the Restoration Affinity talent, then you can cast Swiftmend on injured allies whenever it is needed and when you are not actively tanking (since it takes you out of Bear Form). If you find yourself in a situation where you are facing imminent death (next auto attack from a target kills you), as a last resort tactic you can Displacer Beast away and then Swiftmend yourself to give your healer sometime to catch up.

6.4.6. Tier 5 Talents

Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc should be used whenever you need a boost of Rage generation and threat. Alternatively, it can be used when you need to make extensive use of Growl. Remember that Mangle hits up to 3 enemies while this cooldown is active.

6.4.7. Tier 6 Talents

When using Guardian of Elune, you want to make sure that, if possible, every Frenzied Regeneration and Ironfur cast you have is empowered by Guardian of Elune.

7. ChangeLog

+ show all entries - show only 10 entries

• 28 Aug. 2017: Updated the multiple target rotations slightly.
• 07 Jul. 2017: Updated the single target rotation and the Pulverize mentions in all rotations. Removed Catweaving section (since it is now obsolete).
• 12 Jun. 2017: Updated the page to account for the removal of Mark of Ursol and for changes to Maul in Patch 7.2.5.
• 27 Mar. 2017: No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Added mentions of using Pulverize in the rotations, as well as making various updates to account for changes to abilities in Patch 7.1.5.
• 16 Dec. 2016: Fixed an error whereby we were referring to Galactic Guardian generating 15 Rage (when it is actually 10).
• 08 Oct. 2016: Added a mention that the goal of the single target rotation is to generate as much Rage as possible.
• 29 Aug. 2016: Updated for Legion's launch.
• 24 Jul. 2016: Added a section on using Guardian of Elune.
• 20 Jul. 2016: Updated tier 1 talent discussion and added Moonfire (with Galactic Guardian procs) to the rotations.
• 18 Jul. 2016: Updated for the Legion pre-patch.