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Druid PvE guide

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Classes: Death knight Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior
Class races: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Quests: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Abilities: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Trainers: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Talents: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Talent builds: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Tactics: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Armor sets: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
Starting a: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
PvE guide: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr
PvP guide: Dk Dr Hu Ma Pa Pr Ro Sh Wl Wr

Contents

Working with Other Classes

Things Druids want Non-Druids to know

  • If there is a druid in the party you already have at least one tank, one healer, one caster, or one DPSer, but not more than one of the four. Don't expect a druid to be able to hold aggro in bear form, then be able to heal without being harassed by the enemies he was holding the aggro of a minute ago.
  • Druid tanking in general: Bears need time to build aggro. Give the druid a moment to build some hate, especially on multiple mobs, before you unload the trinketed super crit Fat-Boy fireball nuke. Learn to recognize the graphics for mangle, maul, swipe, and lacerate. Melee should always attack a target from behind; bears cannot block or parry like Warrior and Paladin tanks, so you get parried a lot and the bear doesn't dodge, then the you could easily destroy your tank in a matter of seconds.
    • Also, Druids have virtually no interrupts to use against Caster mobs; we have Bash, but it has a one-minute cooldown. A one-minute cooldown isn't going to be very helpful against mobs that cast spells. Any abilities you have that can interrupt casting (a Rogue's Kick, a Mage's Counterspell, etc.) would be deeply appreciated.
  • For Paladins and Priests when working with a druid tank. Druids get rage from being hit. Don't shield a bear before he goes in to attack, or he won't have any rage to maul or swipe to get aggro. Save the shield for an emergency. A HoT before he's in combat helps, though.
  • For Rogues and Warriors when working with a druid tank. Use all your bleed effects, remember that mangle increases their effect by 30% so it becomes a significant addition to overall DPS.
  • For any crowd controllers when working with a Druid tank. If the Druid is planning on tanking more than one mob at a time it is often helpful if you pull your targets away before crowd controlling them as Druids will often rely on swipe in order to keep aggro on the targets.
  • A Balance or Feral specified Druid may be able to main-heal instances, but this is highly dependent on gear, talent selection, and experience. While the restoration tree provides for the most comprehensive healing abilities, each of the other trees is given something mana-wise "in compensation" for not going down the standard healing tree; Heart of the Wild gives feral druids in healing gear an abnormally large mana pool, and Dreamstate gives balance druids an abnormally large mana regen rate.
  • For the following situation: you're a class that can resurrect and in an instance, you've just died and the group is about to wipe. The druid then casts rebirth on you with the last of his mana: DO NOT RES! This should be treated the same way as a warlock's soulstone: wait until everyone is dead and the mobs have left, then res yourself and everyone else. :)
  • If a druid is the only healer in the party, remember that our res spell has a 20 minute cooldown (30 minutes before patch 2.3).
  • If you are a rogue or a warrior (or even a feral druid in bear form or cat form), we could really use the mana potions/drinks. Mid-level druids have Innervate but the cooldown is 6 minutes, so using it isn't always an option (and a lot of us prefer to save it for emergencies anyway).
  • Druids in caster form have no real ability to shed aggro gained by healing or casting (unlike a priest's Fade, although druids do have cower in cat form). This means that the starting phases of combat tend to be touchier with a druid healer than with a priest healer until the tank has had time to build up a clear aggro advantage.
  • Though a druid in bear or cat form can come out to heal in an emergency, don't expect us to heal for an extended period of time. More likely than not, a feral druid's gear will not have many intellect or spirit bonuses on it. If we heal for too long, we will run out of mana and be unable to shift back into our previous form, which you do not want.
  • If you are working with a druid specced into Improved Faerie Fire the mobs you will be facing will likely be continuously debuffed with an extra +1/2/3% chance to be hit with melee and ranged. If you are compromising other stats to stack +hit gear, consider stacking less in this situation.
  • Similarly, if you are working with a druid specced into Insect Swarm, the mobs you face will in general take an additional 2% miss rate due to this debuff. If you are stacking +dodge, consider stacking less (although this is a less common strategy for melee classes).
  • A holy paladin and a restoration druid make for an excellent healing team, so don't continue looking for a healer for your party if you've got a paladin and a druid.
  • If we're sharing healing duties with you, negotiate - tell us who you want to heal, we'll tell you who we want to heal, so overhealing doesn't happen.
  • While forming a group, do not assume the Druid is the healer. Ask about talent build while forming the group. Feral and Balance Druids should not be assumed to be healers.
  • Do not overlook Balance Druids. Just as not every mage is frost or fire, not every druid is feral or restoration. Balance Druids bring their group a tremendous amount of DPS along with the Druid's usual best buff in the game (Mark of the Wild / Gift of the Wild). For deep-Balance Druids, Moonkin form adds 5% crit chance to spell casting, so the entire party's casting DPS and healing critical chance increases by 5%. For instance, in Molten Core a good strategy is to put a Moonkin in a group with four Mages. Another is to put the Moonkin with the priests.
  • A druid who is currently tanking/melee/casting/healing may want a chance at the leather armor that drops, even if it's not tanking/melee/casting/healing armor. They're not being greedy when they roll on cloth or leather armor. Druids have up to four jobs they are capable of doing and need the gear for them, if they are to have any chance at doing them well at all. Bear druids have a very limited range of things that do them a lot of good, so there won't be much competition. Cat druids need the same armor that rogues do, for exactly the same reasons. Moonkin druids have very little itemization in leather, so will often need the same cloth pieces that cloth casters do, again for the same reasons; and the same goes for healing pieces. If it's a little upgrade for you, but a huge one for the druid, even if he's not using that set of abilities right at the moment, consider letting him have it.
  • Stop calling us Balance Druids "OOMkin." Yes, we run out of mana fairly often; it's almost a law in WoW that a casting class will run out of mana in combat now and then. You don't make some insulting name for Resto Druids, Mages, Hunters, or any other casting class that relates to running out of mana. Unlike most other casters, however, Moonkin Form Druids can get their mana back without waiting, drinking, or chugging a potion: we can beat on the mob with our hammers and staves for a little bit to get back enough mana for a fair amount of magic DPS (only Shamans with 41 points in the Enhancement tree share this ability with us). So before you start making cracks about "OOMkin," start coming up with something to call all the other casters that can't get mana back as easily in combat.
  • If a level 40+ item drops, and it is Leather Armor with +Intellect, Restoration and Balance Druids get priority on it before ANY other class. Why? Because Druids of these speccs are the only class that uses Leather after level 40 (Shamans and Hunters, while they do use mana, move on to Mail at 40) AND need Intellect. Rogues, get an Arcane Intellect buff or use an Elixir of Wisdom, but do NOT assume that you have increased priority over a Druid for any +Int Leather after level 40. And don't give us that "+Agility" garbage. Agility does more than add to your Attack Power and crit chance; it also boosts Dodge chance and armor by a small amount, and that small amount could be the difference between victory and defeat if we get attacked.
  • Moonkin Form works a little differently than most casting classes: while we do need the basic caster stats (Intellect, Spirit, Spell crit, etc.), we also need Attack Power and Strength. This is because our Grace of Elune proc restores mana based on our attack power; we need Strength and Attack Power just as much as Rogues do (although for a different reason).
  • Healers and Magic DPSers: A Moonkin Form Druid is NOT a walking crit buff. It's another player. Treat them like you would treat a Mage or Elemental Shaman, not like you'd treat a Warlock's Imp.

Things Non-Druids want Druids to know

  • While buffs are generally appreciated, a smart cloth-wearer will right-click Thorns to remove it from himself. Why? Because if the cloth-wearer is attacked, Thorns will do extra damage to attackers, increasing the difficulty for the tank to re-acquire aggro. Casters have a difficult enough time as it is keeping their threat at a minimum, so the last thing they want to do is increase that threat in the unfortunate event that they're the target of an attack. This is also true to a lesser extent for Rogues and other damage-dealers who aren't tanking and don't want to maintain aggro if they happen to get it. Save your Thorns buff for those who can handle the extra threat (i.e. Warriors and pets). Only cast it on yourself if you're tanking or off-tanking.
  • If you are in a party, understand your role in the party. You are a hybrid class, and versatility is your primary asset. Nothing endangers a party more than a druid not being ready to switch roles. Don't stay in caster form when the party needs more DPS or Tanking.
  • If you have a choice between a paladin and a priest to rebirth, it is better to go with the paladin since he or she has a better chance to survive a patrolling mob while trying to rez.
  • Remember that Shamans have Reincarnation starting at level 30, but like Rebirth it is on a long timer. Make sure to communicate and know whether your party Shaman's Reincarnation is available in case of an impending wipe.
  • Make sure you restock reagents after every instance: no one wants to hear that you are out of maple seeds halfway through an instance.
  • Only feral druids with decent gear and decent skills are able to effectively tank Heroic Dungeons. (this is also true for the other tanking classes.)
  • Balance Druids: Some of us actually do believe you can tank in Moonkin Form. However, please save it for emergencies (e.g., the Main Tank dies and someone needs to gather aggro; throw up Barkskin, lay on the Hurricane, and let your armor protect you), unless you know how to tank as a caster class (after all, a Moonkin tank is just a Paladin tank that traded taunts and healing for a ton of damage output).

Things Druids want New Druids to know

  • When in looking for group, advertise your talent spec. It makes it much easier for group leaders to figure out if they need you. Druids fill a variety of roles, so a party inviting a druid can get confused easily. And while at lower levels you can get away with filling any role so long as you have appropriate gear, spec starts to become important in Outland.
  • When in looking for group, and you are feral, it is best to advertise as simply Feral. Not Feral dps. If there is no other tank in the group, guess who gets to be the tank. You are a hybrid class, you have the ability to tank most non-heroic instances.
  • If a party asks you to heal, do not go into bear or cat form. It is near impossible to heal when you already have aggro on you. Even if you think your heals are not needed, stay in caster form. A seemingly good situation can turn ugly in a matter of seconds, and you may need to start healing at a moment's notice.
  • Following the above, if the healer goes down and you are the only other class that can heal, and you're not tanking, change to caster and heal. You may not be able to do it very long, but you may be able to do it long enough. You are a druid, which means you can do it all. Whether you like to heal or not, sometimes you have to because it's what's best for the group.
  • If a leather item drops with +stamina and +agility, and you're a feral druid that prefers to play in cat form, you have the same priority on it as a rogue. From time to time you're going to hear rogues crying about it, and telling you that you shouldn't roll because you're a druid - don't listen to them, if you find that playing in cat is what you prefer, then you should by all means roll on these items. Just remember that, unlike rogues, druids in cat form get two points of attack power from strength and only one point of attack power from agility.

Note: Also, please attempt to figure out who needs it the most. Generally, yes Rogues will complain about Druids rolling. But most (smart, and intelligent) Rogues will let the druid have the gear if the Druid needs it more/could use it more efficiently. So before rolling on that Assassin's gear, make sure that neither class has the distinct disadvantage of having greens/lower level gear.

  • If you are wearing +intellect and +spirit gear, don't try to fight in cat or bear form. If you are wearing +strength, +agility, and +stamina gear, don't try to fight in caster form. If you want to really be prepared, keep two or more sets of armor: one for feral fighting and one for healing, or more specifically, one for bear-tanking, one for cat-fighting, one for healing, and one for caster fighting.
  • If you're fighting in feral forms, heal yourself between battles. Your mana will regen while you're in bear or cat form, and this saves the healer's mana, and/or means he doesn't have to drink as long.
  • If you're catting it up, remember you can pretty easily get out of combat and innervate the healer if necessary. Remember it takes time to tick and return mana, so try to do it around 50% of his mana if you think he's going to need it.

Things Bears want Cats to know

  • Remember that you can usually drop combat pretty easily, and innervate the healer or cast Rebirth on someone. If yours is on cooldown in a normal instance, you can switch to bear and take the aggro for a moment to let the bear do it.
  • If you are in DPS gear then you are not the tank, so do not act like one and try to pull off the main tank. In most instances heroic 5-man to 25-mans, you won't be able to hold mobs or bosses long before dying when in DPS gear. You can, however, with high enough agility, achieve enough dodge chance to be a decent emergency tank.

General tips

Check the "Working With" pages for the different classes and look at the "What Xs want non-Xs to know". Always cast Mark of the Wild/Gift of the Wild on your party members, it saves lives! Only cast Thorns on people who can handle the additional aggro it gives them. Remind people that if they don't want thorns, they can remove the buff by right-clicking it.


Mage

Casting Mark of the Wild on them will help in certain situations, and you'll get an Arcane Intellect out of it. Ask for water if you need it, but don't yell out or demand it. They probably have to make water for plenty of other people as well. Casting Thorns on them could be a good thing if they're AoE farming, but don't bother doing it if they're not, it's no use. Good communication when it comes to rooting can also help a lot. Casting Entangling Roots on a mob that's about to be Frost Novaed is useless.

Rogue

In most cases do not give them thorns unless they ask for it--although they are good enough at losing aggro, over-aggroing is still a problem for some. Heal them if needed; however, remember that they're not tanks so don't focus your heals on them. Normally a rejuvenation with an occasional low-rank Healing Touch should keep them topped just fine. Remember that they don't have huge health pools.

Hunter

Entangling Roots is your friend. Normally, Hunters prefer ranged combat, and in this regard roots is great to keep enemies at bay. Don't forget about the hunter's pet! Hunters will thank you for buffing their pet with Mark of the Wild and Thorns, and occasionally healing it. Depending on the species, a pet can be a decent enough tank for regular mobs. Also, you can switch to bear form and tank yourself.

In instance/raid, good hunters are the tanking druid best friends besides the healers. Their Misdirection can make some difficult pulls becomes easier, and help improve your threat level in the mid of the fight.

Paladin

Of course, buff one another. Discuss specs beforehand to decide who will fill what role. The feral Druid will likely hold aggro better than a holy or retribution Paladin. As for healing, the Paladin, while an effective enough healer, has no more than one instant cast heal (Holy Shock, and it has a cooldown), no HoTs and no AoE heals. Paladins are, however, very mana-efficient healers, which is good for long fights.

If you are tanking in raid with another paladin tank, no matter who are the maintank or off-tank, let the paladin pull with Avenger's Shield first, then taunt your target off him! Reason: Avenger's Shield is a very good preload of threat. If you taunt your target after it is hit by the Avenger's Shield, you also share that good initial threat load. Besides, if it is done reversely, it is actually harder for a paladin to get a single target off you, because Avenger's Shield and Righteous Defense both affect three targets. Therefore, he can only rely on a very short ranged Judgement of Righteousness to get his mob off you. As you can see, if you do it correctly, it is a win-win situation for both!

Warrior

If you are Feral then you may offer to let them enjoy doing DPS, as from 40-60 there is a good chance you will have much better tanking equipment than they do. If you are Cat Feral, be very careful not to Ravage or shred too early and remember to use cower. Warriors don't have as much threat building ability as your bear does so you have to be careful not to pull aggro. If there is no other healer in the party then healing will probably be a better option than your forms, as warrior bandage healing is weak compared to even feral healing.

If you are Resto then, just keep him healed, and you should be fine. Don't forget to Faerie fire his target. Possibly add to the fight with DPS, either in cat-form or with Balance spells. Don't forget if all else goes wrong you've got a combat-rez.

Warlock

His Soulstone is more useful on you so ask him whether he can use it on you (unless a priest, paladin or shaman is available). Normally they use either DoTs or critting shadow bolts, if they use the latter they might suddenly grab away the aggro of their pet/you so prepare for that with healing or a readily available Taunt. If they use a pet to tank, heal it; if you're not good at tanking yourself, ask them whether they're willing to use a Voidwalker. If possible also use your own DoTs for more DPS. Warlocks use Life Tap to get mana back, so if they run low on mana they will greatly appreciate a Heal Over Time spell if your own mana can be spared for that.

Priest

The simplest strategy is to just let the Priest heal you while you're tanking in Bear, or DPSing in Cat as the situation demands. Another way is of course to root your foe and then try and blast them away. Buff each other, use Renew and Rejuvenation when pulling. Don't use PW:shield as it will deny you early access to Rage. A druid / priest duo is one of the most effective in the game. Find a Priest. Make him or her your best friend. Always keep your priest alive be it by healing them or bear tank taunting away baddies that like them too much.

If you're not tanking, and have a holy specced priest, let them do the healing. Save your mana for DPS or emergency heals if the Priest runs out. Priests heal for more and have shorter casting times. Allowing the main healer to do the majority of the healing will prevent over healing which is a HUGE waste of mana.

A priest may cast a shield to reduce damage taken when they pull aggro. It is preferable to have the mob pulled off them rather than waste mana healing them.

Ask the Priest about their spec, and be flexible! If you have a shadow priest / resto druid pair, there's a good chance the priest should be doing the DPS (and tanking the mobs).

Druid

Divide your tasks - DPS, tanking, and healing. Keep your buffs up at all times. If your specs differ, it should be fairly easy to decide who will be doing what.

Also remember all your roles, if you are pulling too much aggro, one shift into bear and the other heal etc. Back each other up and communicate and you will find that, if you work together and don't both try to do the same thing, it is easily the best partnership possible. 40 druids pre-BC (or 1 70 druid) can easily kill Onyxia without the aid of another class.

Shaman

Shaman talent trees and specializations are similar to your own; the main difference is in the melee trees. Enhancement shaman are closer to your cat form's DPS; they lack the mitigation that comes from plate/dire bear form. Realize your roles and fill them accordingly.

Shaman have buffs that can either be spectacular or lackluster, depending on what each of you are trying to do. Their Grace of Air, Strength of Earth, and Healing Stream Totems can bring incredible Agility, Strength, and HP regen (respectively) to Cat/Bear form druids. Alternatively, their Totem of Wrath (41 point elemental talent), Wrath of Air, and Mana Spring Totems can provide your Moonkin with extra crit, spell damage, and mana regen (respectively). Keep in mind that you're not the only person in the group, however, and your Shaman (usually) knows what totems he needs to drop.

Retrieved from "http://www.wowwiki.com/Druid_PvE_guide"
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