Druid Guide for WoW Forever: How Balance, Feral Combat and Restoration Play

The WoW Forever druid is the class that has changed the most so that shapeshifting does not punish you: you can drink potions and use almost every consumable without leaving your form, weapon enchants work in bear and cat form, and you learn Revive at level 12. It can fill all four roles: ranged damage (Balance), melee damage in cat form and tanking in bear form (Feral Combat) and healing (Restoration). This guide explains how each tree plays, what you learn, what to look for in gear and how to level. It does not say which one is "the best": all three have a place.

Everything comes from the beta client (build 1.60.1.70170, level 30) and from Blizzard's explanation of September 30. It may change before November 4.

In short

What changes compared to Classic

• Consumables in form: potions (rage potions too) and almost everything else can be used without leaving your form. Engineering bombs still cannot be used, apart from a few new recipes designed for it.
• Weapon enchants, weight stones and the shaman totems' weapon effects work in form. Auto-attack damage in bear and cat form becomes your weapon's DPS, with a fixed speed per form: the weapon matters again.
• Opening doors and chests and using racials without leaving your form.
• Revive (level 12): out-of-combat resurrection. You no longer depend on anyone to get a teammate back up.
• Nature's Grasp is learned at level 10 and can be cast in forms and indoors.
• Hurricane loses its cooldown, Entangling Roots can be cast indoors and Faerie Fire can be cast in bear or cat form at no cost.
• Tiger's Fury goes away; its place is taken by Shifting Power, a Feral Combat talent.
• Lacerate arrives at level 42 for the bear.

What you learn from 1 to 42

Ranks and costs are in the druid spellbook. Blizzard says Omen of Clarity becomes a baseline spell at level 20; the beta client does not list it yet.

Balance

How it plays: at range, with Wrath and Starfire as direct hits and Moonfire and Insect Swarm as damage over time. Wrath is now very cheap and fast, and with Eclipse it chains faster Starfires.

Talents that define it in Forever:

• Improved Wrath (faster and half the cost), Genesis (new: +5% to your periodic effects) and Nature's Majesty (new: +4% crit).
• Nature's Splendor (new): your periodic effects last longer.
• Insect Swarm (16 points): becomes a Balance talent.
• Eclipse (new, fifth row): each Wrath shortens your next two Starfires; it stacks.
• Moonkin Form (31 points, beyond level 30): its group crit applies to spells and attacks.

Feral Combat

How it plays: two forms, two roles. In bear form you tank with Maul, Swipe and Growl; in cat form you deal damage by building combo points (Claw, Shred, Rake) and finishing with Rip or Ferocious Bite. One talent spread works fairly well for both.

Talents that define it in Forever:

• Heart of the Wild: more Intellect, more Stamina in bear form and more Strength in cat form.
• Sharpened Claws and Savage Fury: more crit and more damage in both forms.
• Shifting Power (new, 16 points, cat only): instantly turns mana into 40 energy. It brings back the old shapeshifting trick for gaining energy, without having to do it. Improved Shifting Power (fifth row) lowers its cooldown.
• Primal Bite (new, 16 points, for the bear): a bite with a lot of threat. Since October 1 it generates roughly double the threat.
• Blood Frenzy: extra rage from crits in bear form.
• Leader of the Pack (fifth row): crit for the whole group.
• Berserk (new, 31 points): Primal Bite hits three targets with no cooldown.

Since October 1, bear forms give 75% more rage from crits and Swipe scales with attack power.

Restoration

How it plays: healing over time. Rejuvenation and Regrowth on whoever is about to take damage, Healing Touch for the big heals and Swiftmend to save someone instantly.

Talents that define it in Forever:

• Naturalist: faster Healing Touch and more damage.
• Gift of Nature (+10% healing) and Reflection (you keep regenerating mana while casting).
• Gift of the Earthmother (new): less global cooldown on your quick heals.
• Swiftmend (16 points): it no longer consumes your Rejuvenation or Regrowth.
• Living Spirit (new) and Nature's Swiftness (fifth row).
• Wild Growth (new, 31 points): heals the target's group, strong at first and dropping every second.

Which stats to look for

Piece by piece and level by level, in the BiS: bear, cat, Balance and Restoration.

How to level

• From 1 to 10: Wrath from afar, Moonfire as you close in, Rejuvenation if needed.
• From 10 to 20: bear form. You take a lot of hits and spend little mana. From 12, with Revive you need no one.
• From 20 to 30: most people level in cat form, which kills faster, and switch to bear when too many enemies pile up. Since potions can be used in form, you no longer have to leave it to heal with one.
• Travel Form at 30: you move noticeably faster without a mount.
• In a group: the druid can tank, heal or deal damage, so finding a group is easy.
• Zones and dungeons for your level are in What should I do at my level?, and the route in the 1-20 leveling guide and the 20-30 one. If the Wailing Caverns serpent form interests you, it has its own guide.

Spend your points in the druid talent calculator, with the role builds published and the most saved ones on wow4ever. And ready-to-copy macros, especially useful for shapeshifting.

Talents: one build per tree at level 30

With 21 points at level 30, these are builds for the current beta, one per tree. They are checked against the calculator's rules (rows, requirements and points) and load in one click: the link opens the calculator with the points in place, and from there you can change anything and save it. They are not "the optimal build": they are a sensible starting point.

Balance

Fast, cheap Wrath, longer periodic effects, Insect Swarm and Eclipse.

Load this build in the calculator

Feral Combat (cat)

For levelling in Cat Form: Shifting Power, more crit and Leader of the Pack. To tank, take Primal Bite in the fourth row (it needs 2 points in Savage Fury) instead of Shifting Power.

Load this build in the calculator

Restoration

For healing dungeons: more healing, faster Healing Touch and Swiftmend.

Load this build in the calculator

The class page also has the role builds published by people already playing the beta and the most-saved builds on wow4ever.

Useful macros

A macro packs several commands into one button. These use the official spell names and the current game's syntax, which works in the beta. To create one: type /macro, click "New", paste the text and drag the icon to your bar. All of them, with a copy button, are on the druid page; what each piece means is in the macro guide.

Healing Touch on mouseover, leaving your form

Drops whatever form you're in and heals whoever is under your mouse. From level 1.

#showtooltip Healing Touch
/cancelform [form]
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][] Healing Touch

Rejuvenation on mouseover

The heal over time, no target switching, leaving your form if needed. From level 4.

#showtooltip Rejuvenation
/cancelform [form]
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][] Rejuvenation

Entangling Roots on your focus

Roots your focus without switching targets. From level 8.

#showtooltip Entangling Roots
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][] Entangling Roots

Mark of the Wild on mouseover or yourself

Buffs whoever is under your mouse; if nobody, yourself. From level 1.

#showtooltip Mark of the Wild
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][@player] Mark of the Wild

Growl on mouseover

In Bear Form, pulls back an enemy that went for someone else. From level 10.

#showtooltip Growl
/cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Growl

Items worth chasing

The pieces that matter most in level 30 gear, from the beta BiS list (Alliance; if the Horde uses another piece, it is listed alongside). The full set, slot by slot with alternatives, is in each role's BiS page.

Cat

See the full BiS

Bear

See the full BiS

Balance

See the full BiS

Restoration

See the full BiS

What is still unknown

• How Shifting Power turns out once people test it thoroughly: it reached the beta on October 1.
• Talents beyond level 30: they are in the client, but the beta does not let you go past 30.

Frequently asked questions

Can the druid use potions in bear or cat form in WoW Forever?

Yes. Almost all consumables, rage potions included, can be used without leaving your form. Engineering bombs cannot, apart from a few new recipes.

What happens to Tiger's Fury in WoW Forever?

It goes away. Its place is taken by Shifting Power, a Feral Combat talent that instantly turns mana into 40 energy in cat form.

At what level does the druid learn to resurrect?

At level 12 the druid learns Revive, an out-of-combat resurrection. Rebirth, the combat one, still arrives at level 20.

Can the druid tank in WoW Forever?

Yes, in bear form with Feral Combat. In Forever it has Primal Bite to generate threat and, at level 42, Lacerate.