TBC Classic Guide
Druid class icon

Balance Druid

Ranged DPS medium demand

The Moonkin caster that deals nature and arcane damage while buffing the caster group's spell crit.

How It Feels to Play

Balance Druid: the Moonkin, the Boomkin, the big owl-bear that shoots lasers. You shift into Moonkin Form, which gives you extra armor and increases your party's spell crit by 5%. Then you cast Starfire and Wrath, watching big yellow numbers fly across the screen.

The rotation is simple: Starfire as your primary nuke (long cast, big damage), Wrath as a shorter filler, Moonfire to maintain a DoT, and Insect Swarm for an extra DoT and hit reduction on the boss. When Nature's Grace procs (reduced cast time after a crit), your next Starfire comes out fast and hits hard. Those proc moments feel great.

Balance Druids are valued more for utility than raw DPS. Your personal damage is respectable but won't top meters. However, the 5% spell crit aura for your party is significant, and your ability to Innervate a healer and Battle Res a dead player makes you uniquely useful. Most raids want exactly one Moonkin, so finding your spot means competing with a small pool of other Balance Druids.

Complexity

Strengths

  • Moonkin Aura provides 5% spell crit to the party
  • Battle Resurrection is unique and invaluable
  • Innervate can save a healer on mana-intensive fights

Pain Points

  • Below-average personal DPS compared to pure casters
  • Mana issues on long fights without external help
  • Usually only one raid spot available

Demand & Supply

medium demand

Most raids want one Moonkin for the spell crit aura, Innervate, and Battle Res. The low Druid population means demand often exceeds supply. Finding a raid spot is usually easy.

Talent Build

Standard Moonkin DPS

41/0/20
Moonkin Form
Shapeshift into Moonkin form, increasing armor by 400% and granting 5% spell crit to your party
Force of Nature
Summons 3 Treant guardians to fight for you for 30 seconds. DPS cooldown
Nature's Grace
After a spell crit, your next spell cast time is reduced by 0.5 seconds, making for faster Starfire casts!
Wrath of Cenarius
Your Starfire gains 20% and your Wrath gains 10% of your bonus spell damage

41 into Balance for Force of Nature, 20 into Restoration for Intensity (mana regen while casting) and Omen of Clarity (chance for a free spell). Starfire is your primary nuke in Moonkin Form. Keep Moonfire and Insect Swarm active on the boss. Use Force of Nature on cooldown. Your 5% spell crit aura is your key raid utility.

Stat Priority

Spell Hit Rating (16% cap / 202 rating)
100
Spell Damage
90
Spell Haste Rating
80
Spell Critical Strike Rating
70
Intellect
65
MP5
50

Spell hit cap is 16%. Balance of Power gives 4%, so you need 152 rating (12%). Spell Damage increases Starfire and Wrath. Haste is very strong for Balance because Starfire has a long cast time. Crit procs Nature's Grace, reducing your next cast time.

Pre-Raid Best in Slot

Slot Item Source
head Spellstrike Hood Spellstrike Hood Crafted - Tailoring Crafted - Tailoring
neck Brooch of Heightened Potential Brooch of Heightened Potential Harbinger Skyriss - The Arcatraz Harbinger Skyriss - The Arcatraz
shoulders Mana-Etched Spaulders Mana-Etched Spaulders Nethermancer Sepethrea - The Mechanar Nethermancer Sepethrea - The Mechanar
back Sethekk Oracle Cloak Sethekk Oracle Cloak Darkweaver Syth - Sethekk Halls Darkweaver Syth - Sethekk Halls
chest Mana-Etched Vestments Mana-Etched Vestments Quest - Wanted: Pathaleon the Calculator's Head Quest - Wanted: Pathaleon the Calculator's Head
wrists Bracers of Havok Bracers of Havok Crafted - Tailoring Crafted - Tailoring
hands Gloves of the Deadwatcher Gloves of the Deadwatcher Exarch Maladaar - Auchenai Crypts (Heroic) Exarch Maladaar - Auchenai Crypts (Heroic)
waist Belt of Depravity Belt of Depravity Keli'dan the Breaker - The Blood Furnace (Heroic) Keli'dan the Breaker - The Blood Furnace (Heroic)
legs Spellstrike Pants Spellstrike Pants Crafted - Tailoring Crafted - Tailoring
feet Shattrath Jumpers Shattrath Jumpers Quest - Undercity Informant (Shattrath) Quest - Undercity Informant (Shattrath)
ring Cobalt Band of Tyrigosa Cobalt Band of Tyrigosa Aeonus - The Black Morass (Heroic) Aeonus - The Black Morass (Heroic)
ring Ashyen's Gift Ashyen's Gift Exalted - Cenarion Expedition Exalted - Cenarion Expedition
trinket Icon of the Silver Crescent Icon of the Silver Crescent 41 Badges - G'eras (Shattrath) 41 Badges - G'eras (Shattrath)
trinket Quagmirran's Eye Quagmirran's Eye Quagmirran - The Slave Pens Quagmirran - The Slave Pens
main hand Shockwave Truncheon Shockwave Truncheon Murmur - Shadow Labyrinth (Heroic) Murmur - Shadow Labyrinth (Heroic)
off hand Khadgar's Knapsack Khadgar's Knapsack The Mechanar (Heroic) The Mechanar (Heroic)
ranged Idol of the Moongoddess Idol of the Moongoddess Heroic badges vendor Heroic badges vendor

Rotation & Priority

41 into Balance for Force of Nature, 20 into Restoration for Intensity (mana regen while casting) and Omen of Clarity (chance for a free spell). Starfire is your primary nuke in Moonkin Form. Keep Moonfire and Insect Swarm active on the boss. Use Force of Nature on cooldown. Your 5% spell crit aura is your key raid utility.

Progression Path

1
Level to 70

Quest through Outland, run dungeons for gear along the way.

2
Normal Dungeons

Farm reputation to Revered for Heroic keys. Replace leveling greens.

3
Heroic Dungeons

Collect your Pre-Raid BiS gear and Badge of Justice items.

4
Karazhan & T4

Enter your first raid. Collect Tier 4 tokens and epic drops.

5
T5 & Beyond

Progress into SSC, Tempest Keep, Black Temple, and Sunwell.

View the full dungeon progression guide →

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