Balance Druid Mythic+ Guide
Welcome to the Balance Druid Mythic+ guide for the World of Warcraft patch 11.0.5! This guide covers everything you need to know to understand your character! Are you starting out and leveling up from 70? Check out the leveling guide!
Overview
Hero Talents
- Keeper of the Grove is probably the best choice for mid to lower Mythic+ content but Elune's Chosen sims 3% higher, which might mean it's worth swapping to it in higher keys (+14-17) the future.
Keeper of the Grove is heavily reliant on playing around Force of Nature as a minor cooldown.
Core Talents
- Dream Surge
- Force of Nature empowers your next 3-4 Wrath or Starfire to explode around your target for additional nature damage to nearby enemies and your target.
- Treants of the Moon
- Casting Force of Nature is now a great way for you to apply Moonfire to enemies quickly.
- Great for add-waves.
- Grove's Inspiration
- Empowers your Wrath and Starfire to deal 10% more damage.
- Harmony of the Grove
- Grants you an 8% damage increase per active Treant (24% total).
- Early Spring
- Reduces the cooldown of Force of Nature by 15 seconds.
- Control of the Dream
- Makes holding your cooldowns more forgiving, retaining up to 15 seconds per use.
- Grants another 10 seconds of cooldown reduction to Celestial Alignment if Whirling Stars is talented.
- Blooming Infusion
- Synergizes with Protective Growth and Forestwalk making it a strong talent.
- Works great as a filler for when there is movement and you don't have a better instant cast available.
Passive Talents
- Expansiveness
- Increases your maximum Astral Power by 20.
- Protective Growth
- While affected by your own Regrowth you take 8% less damage.
- Cenarius' Might
- Grants you 10% haste when you enter an Eclipse.
- Power of Nature
- Removes your Force of Nature ability to taunt mobs and increases their damage dealt by 200%.
Rarely Talented
- Power of the Dream
- Grants you an additional stack of Dream Surge when Force of Nature is used.
- Potent Enchantments
- Most likely meant only to be used in PvP.
- Durability of Nature
- Useful if you want your treants to taunt mobs for your tank.
- Bounteous Bloom
- Generates insane amounts of Astral Power while your Treants are active.
- Sadly anti-synergizes with Convoke the Spirits because you overcap a lot of Astral Power making it slightly worse.
- Strong for high-movement fights.
Elune's Chosen focuses gameplay around casting Starfire as much as possible and reducing the cooldown of Fury of Elune to get as many casts as possible.
Core Talents
- Boundless Moonlight
- Works with all versions of your Fury of Elune including Sundered Firmament and The Light of Elune.
- Works with all versions of your Full Moon including Orbit Breaker and the second Full Moon from Radiant Moonlight.
- Lunar Calling
- Makes your Starfire hit like a truck single-target and prevents you from entering Eclipse (Solar).
- Synergizes with Umbral Intensity, Umbral Embrace, Nature's Grace and Lunation.
- Great for fights with low movement, but can be rough to get used to on high movement fights. Sadly most hard fights in raids are high movement.
- Lunation
- Makes all your spells that deal Astral or Arcane damage reduce the cooldown of your Fury of Elune or New Moon.
Passive Talents
- Moon Guardian
- Makes your Moonfire and Sunfire generate 2 more Astral Power.
- Moondust
- Surprisingly potent in dungeon content, making kiting slightly easier for your tank.
- Lunar Insight
- Makes your Moonfire deal 20% more damage.
- Glistening Fur
- Moonkin Form and Bear Form reduces all Arcane damage taken by 6% and all other magic damage taken by 3%.
- Lunar Amplification
- Each non-Arcane damaging ability grants your next Arcane or Astral spell 3% damage increase, stacking up to 3 times.
- Atmospheric Exposure
- Enemies damaged by your Full Moon or Fury of Elune take 6% more damage from you for 6 seconds.
- The Eternal Moon
Rarely Talented
- Elune's Grace
- Mostly a raid-specific talent, not as useful as Moondust.
- Stellar Command
- Rarely talented given how strong Lunar Calling is.
- Astral Insight
- Not a viable talent if you're using Lunar Calling.
- Arcane Affinity
- Undertuned compared to Lunation.
- Elune's Grace
Talents
When to use this Spec
Both Hero Trees are equally viable, play whatever you enjoy the most!
Gameplay Altering Talents
Discover all talents that significantly alter your gameplay within the Spec and Class Talent trees. This section gives a concise overview of these talents and their applications but for a more detailed look check out the Rotation and Deep Dive sections below.
Spec Tree
- Force of Nature
- Grants you various damage increases to your spells via your Hero Talent tree.
- Minor but strong AoE and ST DPS cooldown.
- Convoke the Spirits
- Cast a flurry of 16 spells over a 4-second channel on random targets in your range.
- Starsurges will always be shot at your target.
- Unaffected by haste.
- Major single-target DPS cooldown.
- Nature's Grace
- Reduces the cast time of your next 2 Wrath or Starfire by 40% when entering combat or exiting Eclipse.
- Whirling Stars
- Reduces the cooldown of your Celestial Alignment to 100 seconds and grants it 2 charges, but reduces it's duration by 20%
- Starlord
- Grants you 2% stacking haste buff for 15 seconds when you spend Astral Power.
- Balance of All Things
- Increases your crit chance of Nature and/or Arcane spells for 10 seconds after entering an Eclipse decaying each second.
- Double dips for Astral Damage when entering Celestial Alignment or Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
Class Tree
- Verdant Heart
- Increases healing taken while Barkskin is active by 20%.
- Natural Recovery
- Increases healing taken by 4%
- Oakskin
- Increases the damage reduction granted by Barkskin to 30%.
All of these talents combined grant you strong mitigation and healing amplification, if these are not enough you need to use Bear Form too.
Core Hero Talents
- Dream Surge
- Force of Nature empowers your next 3 Wrath or Starfire to explode around your target for additional nature damage to nearby enemies and your target.
- Harmony of the Grove
- Grants you a 8% damage increase per active Treant (24% total).
When to use this Spec
Both Hero Trees are equally viable, play whatever you enjoy the most!
Gameplay Altering Talents
Discover all talents that significantly alter your gameplay within the Spec and Class Talent trees. This section gives a concise overview of these talents and their applications but for a more detailed look check out the Rotation and Deep Dive sections below.
Spec Tree
- Fury of Elune
- Minor burst cooldown that blasts your target with Astral Damage and nearby enemies for 47%~ of the damage.
- You can reduce its cooldown through Lunation, a core aspect of this talent build.
- Damage increased and base cooldown decreased through the Radiant Moonlight talent.
- Warrior of Elune
- Makes your next 3 Starfire casts instant and generate 40% more Astral Power.
- Nature's Grace
- Reduces the cast time of your next 2 Wrath or Starfire by 40% when entering combat or exiting Eclipse.
- Twin Moons
- Grants your Moonfire the ability to apply Moonfire to another nearby enemy.
- Prioritizes units without Moonfire already applied.
- Whirling Stars
- Reduces the cooldown of your Celestial Alignment to 100 seconds and grants it 2 charges, but reduces its duration by 20%
- Starlord
- Grants you 2% stacking haste buff for 15 seconds when you spend Astral Power.
- Balance of All Things
- Increases your crit chance of Nature and/or Arcane spells for 10 seconds after entering an Eclipse decaying each second.
- Double dips for Astral Damage when entering Celestial Alignment or Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
Class Tree
- Verdant Heart
- Increases healing taken while Barkskin is active by 20%.
- Natural Recovery
- Increases healing taken by 4%
- Oakskin
- Increases the damage reduction granted by Barkskin to 30%.
All of these talents combined grant you strong mitigation and healing amplification, if these are not enough you need to use Bear Form too.
Core Hero Talents
- Lunar Calling
- Makes your Starfire hit like a truck single-target and prevents you from entering Eclipse (Solar).
- Synergizes with Umbral Intensity, Umbral Embrace, Nature's Grace and Lunation.
- Lunation
- Makes all your spells that deal Astral or Arcane damage reduce the cooldown of your Fury of Elune or New Moon.
Rotation
Tier Set
- 2-Set: Starsurge damage increased by 10%. Starfall damage increased by 14%.
- 4-Set: Eclipse (Lunar) and Eclipse (Solar) each increase the Astral Power Wrath generates by 2 and Starfire generates by 5.
Single-Target
Opener
- If you cancelaura Nature's Grace before pre-casting you will be able to pre-cast 2x Wrath instead of only 1x and still keep 2 stacks of Nature's Grace.
- Your goal in the opener is to pre-cast 1-2x Wrath to fish for Umbral Embrace and carry 2 stacks of Nature's Grace into your Celestial Alignment and reach 3 stacks of Starlord as fast as possible.
Use your Berserking, Tempered Potion and on-use trinket in conjunction with Celestial Alignment with a macro. (See Macro section)
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
- Moonfire and Sunfire if it's not on your target or in the Pandemic range.
- Force of Nature
- Should be held to be used in conjunction with Celestial Alignment, or Celestial Alignment should be held to be used in conjunction with Force of Nature.
- Celestial Alignment
- Convoke the Spirits if your Astral Power is less than 36.
- Starfire if the duration of your Eclipse (Solar) is less than the cast time of Wrath.
- Starsurge if:
- You have less than 3 stacks of Starlord.
- You would overcap Astral Power with your next Wrath.
- Eclipse (Solar) ends in less than 4 seconds and you have more than 90 Astral Power. You should have Astral Power pooled for the next Eclipse (Solar) / Starlord cycle.
- Wrath
Opener
- If you cancelaura Nature's Grace before pre-casting you will be able to pre-cast 2x Wrath instead of only 1x and still keep 2 stacks of Nature's Grace.
- Your goal in the opener is to pre-cast 1-2x Wrath to fish for Umbral Embrace and carry 2 stacks of Nature's Grace into your Celestial Alignment and reach 3 stacks of Starlord as fast as possible.
Use your Berserking, Tempered Potion and on-use trinket in conjunction with Celestial Alignment with a macro. (See Macro section)
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
- Warrior of Elune if you have no stacks of Nature's Grace.
- Moonfire and Sunfire if it's not on your target or in Pandemic range.
- Fury of Elune
- Celestial Alignment
- Wrath if the duration of your Eclipse (Lunar) is less than the cast time of Starfire.
- Starsurge if:
- You have less than 3 stacks of Starlord.
- You would overcap Astral Power with your next Starfire.
- Eclipse (Lunar) ends in less than 4 seconds and you have more than 70 Astral Power. You should have Astral Power pooled for the next Eclipse (Lunar) / Starlord cycle.
- Starfire
AoE
Opener
- If you cancelaura Nature's Grace before pre-casting you will be able to pre-cast 2x Wrath instead of only 1x and still keep 2 stacks of Nature's Grace.
- Your goal in the opener is to pre-cast 1-2x Wrath to fish for Umbral Embrace and carry 2 stacks of Nature's Grace into your Celestial Alignment and reach 3 stacks of Starlord as fast as possible.
Use your Berserking, Tempered Potion and on-use trinket in conjunction with Celestial Alignment with a macro. (See Macro section)
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
- Moonfire and Sunfire if it's not on your targets or in the Pandemic range and will expire otherwise.
- Force of Nature
- Should be held to be used in conjunction with Celestial Alignment, or Celestial Alignment should be held to be used in conjunction with Force of Nature.
- Celestial Alignment
- Wrath if the duration of your Eclipse (Lunar) is less than the cast time of Starfire.
- Starfall if:
- You have less than 3 stacks of Starlord.
- You would overcap Astral Power with your next Starfire.
- Eclipse (Lunar) ends in less than 4 seconds and you have more than 90 Astral Power. (You should have Astral Power pooled for the next Eclipse (Lunar) / Starlord cycle).
- Starfire
- If you cancelaura Nature's Grace before pre-casting you will be able to pre-cast 2x Wrath instead of only 1x and still keep 2 stacks of Nature's Grace.
- Your goal in the opener is to pre-use Warrior of Elune as early as possible without losing charges, (optional) pre-casting 1x Wrath to fish for Umbral Embrace and carry 2 stacks of Nature's Grace into your Celestial Alignment and reach 3 stacks of Starlord as fast as possible.
Use your Berserking, Tempered Potion and on-use trinket in conjunction with Celestial Alignment with a macro. (See Macro section)
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
- Warrior of Elune
- Moonfire and Sunfire if it's not on your targets or in the Pandemic range and will expire otherwise.
- Fury of Elune
- Celestial Alignment
- Wrath if the duration of your Eclipse (Lunar) is less than the cast time of Starfire.
- Starfall if:
- You have less than 3 stacks of Starlord.
- You would overcap Astral Power with your next Starfire.
- Eclipse (Lunar) ends in less than 4 seconds and you have more than 70 Astral Power. (You should have Astral Power pooled for the next Eclipse (Lunar) / Starlord cycle).
- Starfire
Deep Dive
Advanced Opener
The optimal way to enter a pack in a dungeon is to have 4 stacks of Blooming Infusion prepared, cancelaura Nature's Grace and pre-cast 2x Wrath followed by a Regrowth.
Having 4 stacks instead of 5 stacks prepared will allow you to pre-cast the Wraths which generates Astral Power but more importantly fish for a Umbral Embrace proc. If you don't plan to pre-cast then entering the pull with 5 stacks is better.
With cancelaura Nature's Grace before pre-casting you will through a bug be able to retain your Nature's Grace stacks after the pre-casts.
If everything goes to plan you will have entered the pull with:
- 2 stacks of Nature's Grace, reducing the cast time of your next 2 Starfire by 40%.
- Blooming Infusion, increasing the damage of your next Starfire by 100%
- 40% chance to proc Umbral Embrace, increasing the damage of your next Starfire by 75% AND that it will deal Astral Damage, meaning it will deal an additional ~40% more damage.
- It will now also double-dip from Balance of All Things, meaning it will have another 20% chance to crit.
Adding all these amplifications together means you will have an astronomically strong Starfire prepared as your first cast after using Celestial Alignment.
Keep in mind, this is not always possible on every pull, your tank will not just let you stand there and cast 4 regrowths followed by precasting wraths, etc... But look for the opportunity to do this whenever you can.
Nature's Grace
Since your talents enhance your generators so much, it's possible to squeeze quite a bit of damage out of Nature's Grace by ensuring you pre-cast Wrath or Starfire before your previous Eclipse is over so that you enter next Eclipse with a stack of Nature's Grace remaining, and if you're lucky you even proc a Umbral Embrace.
Every Eclipse looks like this if you properly pre-cast Starfire before exiting Eclipse (Solar) and pool Astral Power properly, this way you get a massively buffed Wrath:
The same concept works on AOE too with Starfire.
It's also a damage gain to let your previous Eclipse expire before using Celestial Alignment since overriding an Eclipse with Celestial Alignment won't grant you the Nature's Grace buff.
Starlord
With the removal of Primordial Arcanic Pulsar, syncing Starlord with your Eclipse has become quite an obvious min-max as both Starlord and Eclipse last 15 seconds.
If you want to squeeze that tiny bit extra, consider implementing a /cancelaura Starlord macro into your rotation and use it when you're forced to Starsurge/Starfall when Starlord has less than 2 seconds remaining.
Keep in mind, the use of /cancelaura Starlord is primarily used for FIXING the mistake of desyncing your Starlord, it's not something you should need to use on a regular basis with proper fundamentals.
Balance of All Things
Worth keeping in the back of your mind, after your first few Starsurges in Eclipse that apply Starlord are still going have this buff. Remember to use your hardest hitting spells first.
Multi Target
On multi-target fights, the opener is the biggest thing that you can min-max (Other than the basic principles mentioned in Single Target). Since multi-target fights tend to be much shorter than boss fights a larger portion of the fight is spent on setting up which makes it important to perfect.
Moonfire - Sunfire - Enter Eclipse (Lunar)
These three can be done in any order, preferably you enter Eclipse (Lunar) with pre-casts but the idea is to apply Moonfire, Sunfire and enter Eclipse (Lunar) as fast as possible, if you do it 2 or 3 globals too slow and the pull is 30 seconds long, you've just lost 10% of your globals because you're slow in the opener.
This being said you should still respect threat, Moonfire alone won't overaggro a tank if he has used any sort of damage on the mob, but many times tanks pull mobs without dealing damage to them, so it's imperative to pay attention when dotting while the tank gathers the pull. Positioning becomes essential and hovering Shadowmeld while pre-dotting is highly advised.
A good habit to get into is to look which spells the tank is using to pull mobs, if you see a sigil pull a pack - did it hit all the mobs? Then it's safe to pre-dot. Another scenario is if you see the tank pull a pack of 5 mobs with what looks to be a single target spell - this means there is 0 threat on 4 of the mobs meaning you will get aggro if you dot them, however if you can position yourself so that you kite them into where the tank is gathering the mobs then it can be safe to pre-dot them too.
Understanding Mechanics
Rotational min-maxing is just one aspect of mastering a specialization, but there are numerous other key mechanics that influence your performance. Use the following guides to improve them.
Dungeons
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Boss Tips
Avanoxx
- Follow the defensive plan below to counter Alerting Shrill:
- Avoid kiting Starved Crawlers into the boss else the boss receives Insatiable.
- Use Ursol's Vortex and Typhoon to keep them stacked and away from fixated players.
- AoE them down as fast as possible.
- Utilize Stampeding Roar to move your team while baiting Gossamer Onslaught.
Anub'zekt
- Use Wild Charge to jump away when you're targeted by Burrow Charge.
- Kill Bloodstained Webmages fast and interrupt Silken Restraints.
- You preferably don't want to have these up while Eye of the Swarm is happening.
Ki'katal the Harvester
- Use defensive while you're affected by Cultivated Poisons since it hits like a truck!
- When you're affected by Grasping Blood you should use Incapacitating Roar instead of killing it to cancel your root.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Resonant Barrage from Trilling Attendant.
- Horrifying Shrill from Ixin.
- Revolting Volley from Bloodstained Webmage.
- Venom Volley from Blood Overseer.
- Pay extra attention to these casts:
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
- A really long cast that needs to get disrupted.
- Massive Slam from Nerubian Hauler and Hulking Bloodguard
- A short stun that ramps in damage done per cast.
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
Orator Krix'vizk
- Use your defensives during Vociferous Indoctrination.
- Position yourself behind to the tank when Vociferous Indoctrination happens so you can get ahead on movement.
Fangs of the Queen
- Watch out for Knife Throw. Use defensives if you're targeted by this ability.
- You can use shapeshift to remove Ice Sickles.
The Coaglamation
- Use your defensives for Dark Pulse. This happens at 100 boss energy.
Izo, the Grand Splicer
- Use your Barkskin for every other Splice, when it's down rotate between group wide CDs, Renewal and Health Potion.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Web Bolt from Sureki Silkbinder.
- Grimweave Blast from Covert Webmancer.
- Mending Web from Covert Webmancer.
- Twist Thoughts from Herald of Anurek.
- Void Wave from Sureki Unnaturaler.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
E.D.N.A.
- Always stack up to spawn Volatile Spikes close together to ensure you can detonate all of them with 1 Refracting Beam.
- Rotate Barkskin, Renewal and Algari Healing Potion when the boss casts Earth Shatterer.
Skarmorak
- Use Barkskin on the fortified shell, it should be up for all of them depending on how long it takes to kill the shields.
- Use Starfall to reduce the adds health, but don't kill multiple at the same time because then you will most likely die, therefore it can be risky to dot them up in combination with using Starfall.
Master Machinists Brokk and Dorlita
- Make sure to put Speaker Brokk on your focus frame and interrupt his Molten Metal with Solar Beam whenever he jumps away.
- Use your Barkskin when Exhaust Vents cast is half-way done to carry the defensive into Blazing Crescendo on the first overlap.
Void Speaker Eirich
- Play towards the edges of the room to have quick access to the portals to drop your Void Corruption debuff quickly.
Trash Tips
- Focus down Earth Burst Totem from Cursedforge Stoneshaper. They have a low amount of health but are not affected by AoE abilities.
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Howling Fear from Ghastly Voidsoul.
- Censoring Gear from Turned Speaker.
- Piercing Wail from Void Bound Howler.
- Restoring Metals from Forgebound Mender and Cursedforge Mender.
- Arcing Void from Cursedheart Invader.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
Speaker Shadowcrown
- Use Wild Charge to get out of Collapsing Night quickly. Getting out of this quickly is important since it deals a lot of damage every 0.5 seconds.
Anub'ikkaj
- Don't aim the ball into a close wall, fence or pole - your entire team will die.
- Follow the personal rotation below:
Rasha'nan
- Use Stampeding Roar on your team while dealing with Arathi Bomb.
- Be aware of Erosive Spray. It applies Lingering Erosion which is dangerous when combined with other damage events.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Night Bolt from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Ensnaring Shadows from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Tormenting Beam from Nightfall Darkcaster.
- Umbral Barrier from Nightfall Darkcaster.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
Ingra Maloch
- Interrupt Spirit Bolt every time a non-tank player is targeted. Preferably right after Repulsive Visage when melee's are not in range and the team is vulnerable.
- Try to line up your cooldowns with Droman Oulfarran's Droman's Wrath to gain a huge DPS boost. This happens when Droman Oulfarran reaches 20% health.
Mistcaller
- Use Entangling Roots on the Illusionary Vulpins to prevent them from reaching their target if it spawns outside of melee. If it spawns in melee use Ursol's Vortex instead.
- Use your defensives during the Guessing Game.
Tred'ova
- Position yourself on the opposite side of the boss to your tank so he can break Mind Link quickly.
- Move as little as possible during Coalescing Poison as further casts copy your movement on previous dodges.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Spirit Bolt from Drust Harvester.
- Harvest Essence from Drust Harvester.
- Nourish the Forest from Mistveil Tender.
- Bramblethorn Coat from Mistveil Shaper.
- Stimulate Regeneration from Spinemaw Staghorn.
- Stimulate Resistance from Spinemaw Staghorn.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche min-max and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
Blightbone
- Bear Form if you're targeted by Heaving Retch.
- Always use Ursol's Vortex and Typhoon on Carrion Worms.
Amarth, The Harvester
- If any adds are still alive during Final Harvest, use Incapacitating Roar to crowd-control them. With them crowd-controlled, the boss doesn't cast Tortured Echoes even though an add is alive.
- Use the following defensive plan on the Final Harvest casts:
Nalthor the Rimebinder
- Try to save some offensive and defensive cooldowns for the Icebound Aegis if your group is struggling to survive it.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Drain Fluids from Corpse Harvester and Corpse Collector.
- Necrotic Bolt from Zolramus Sorceror & Zolarmus Necromancer.
- Rasping Scream from Skeletal Marauder.
- Frostbolt Volley from Reanimted Mage.
- Goresplatter from Corpse Collector.
- Repair Flesh from Flesh Crafter.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
Chopper Redhook
- Line up your cooldowns with the boss walking over Bombs which afflict him with Heavy Ordnance.
- Pre-position behind bombs in case you get the boss-fixate so you don't risk dying from bad kiting. Their spawns are indicated by the hollow blue circles on the ground, not to be confused with the Cannon Barrage swirls that have a blue swirling animation inside them.
Dread Captain Lockwood
- Focus down the Ashvane Cannoneer during the phase change to quickly use Unstable Ordnance to get the boss down from the ship.
- Play far in range in case you get targeted by Fiery Ricochet so that it doesn't bounce to your team.
Hadal Darkfathom
- Avoid baiting Break Water in potential safe spots, generally smart to position towards corner angles of the room.
Viq'Goth
- You should try to shoot the cannonball after each phase as you have great mobility to get to the next platform and can survive decently on your own with Bear Form and Frenzied Regeneration.
- Use Barkskin if you're targeted by Putrid Waters, you can see them flying towards you from the boss before the debuff is applied.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Brackish Bolt from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Watertight Shell from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Water Bolt from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Choking Waters from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Bolstering Shout from Ashvane Commander.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Boss Tips
General Umbriss
- Use Barkskin before Commanding Roar.
Forgemaster Throngus
- Use Barkskin if you're afflicted by Molten Spark as this can overlap with Blistering Heat from Forge Weapon.
Drahga Shadowburner
- Use Barkskin during Twilight Buffet.
- You can shapeshift to remove the Twilight Wind debuff that is applied by Twilight Buffet.
- Use Ursol's Vortex and Typhoon to prevent the adds from reaching their fixated target.
- Typhoon should be up for every add wave.
Erudax, the Duke of Below
- Use defensives during Abyssal Corruption and Void Surge.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Earth Bolt from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Mass Tremor from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Shadowflame Bolt from Twilight Beguiler.
- Sear Mind from Twilight Beguiler.
Pre Dungeon Start
- You can use Celestial Alignment before the dungeon starts and fish for a Umbral Embrace proc for the few seconds it's active but this is extremely niche minmax and Umbral Embrace only lasts 15 seconds.
Affixes
The Affix system got revamped going into The War Within Season 1 retiring most Affixes as well as introducing new kiss-curse ones while also changing on which key level these appear.
- +2 Affixes -- Rotates on a weekly basis
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant -- Destroy the orbs with Crowd Control
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound -- Kill the Voidbound add
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion -- Soak the orbs
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour -- Dispel or heal the Healing Absorbs
- +4 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +7 Affix
- Challenger's Peril
- +10 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis, is always the opposite of the +4 Affix
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +12 Affix
- Xal'atath's Guile -- Replaces the +2 Affix
- As keys get higher you will need to investigate if you need to invest points in Ursine Vigor and Ursoc's Spirit to empower your Bear Form further in order to survive.
- Xal'atath's Guile -- Replaces the +2 Affix
Following you get some useful tips for handling different Mythic+ Affixes as a Balance Druid.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant -- Destroy the orbs with Crowd Control
- Typhoon
- Incapacitating Roar
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound -- Kill the Voidbound add
- Main target this add with Starfire and Starfall.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion -- Soak the orbs
- Stampeding Roar
- Not only grants you movement speed but also all allies within range.
- Stampeding Roar
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour -- Dispel or heal the Healing Absorbs
- Remove Corruption
- Nature's Vigil
- Renewal
- Algari Healing Potion
Stat Priority
Understand your secondary stat priority and the tertiary stats needed for optimal performance during Mythic+ dungeons as a Balance Druid. For more detailed information, visit the Stats and Attributes guide.
Higher Item level items are better in most scenarios. For an accurate representation of what item to equip you should use Simcraft! A static "Stat Priority" is just a starting point and can easily shift depending on your individual gear.
All secondary stats are affected by diminishing returns. Click here to learn more!
Tertiary
- Avoidance - Great stat to reduce the damage intake of "Area of Effect" abilities. Amazing for Balance Druids.
- Leech - Provides additional healing through damage dealing.
- Speed - Niche tertiary that can be very useful and has been proven useful in the past. Makes playing certain mechanics a lot easier.
Gear
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Whispering Mask | Great Vault |
| Neck | Sureki Zealot's Insignia | Sikran |
| Shoulder | Maw of the Greatlynx | Catalyst / Raid |
| Cloak | Wings of Shattered Sorrow | Rash'anan |
| Chest | Hide of the Greatlynx | Catalyst / Raid |
| Wrist | Rune-Branded Armbands | Crafted |
| Gloves | Eviscerators of the Greatlynx | Catalyst / Raid |
| Belt | Devourer's Taut Innards | Broodtwister Ovi'nax |
| Legs | Leggings of the Greatlynx | Catalyst / Raid |
| Boots | Chitin-Spiked Jackboots | Sikran |
| Ring 1 | Writhing Ringworm | Broodtwister Ovi'nax |
| Ring 2 | Seal of the Poisoned Pact | Queen Ansurek |
| Trinket 1 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Trinket 2 | Spymaster's Web | Anub'arash |
| Weapon | Sovereign's Disdain | Queen Ansurek |
| Off-hand | Vagabond's Torch | Crafted |
Below you are presented with a good list of farmable alternatives that are obtainable outside of WoW’s weekly lockout system. While replaced in time as you progress, these offer immediate character power.
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Whispering Mask | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Neck | "Emergency Stop" Keychain | The Stonevault |
| Shoulder | Epaulets of the Clipped Wings | The Dawnbreaker |
| Cloak | Anvilhide Cape | The Stonevault |
| Chest | Viscera-Lathered Coat | City of Threads |
| Wrist | Risen Monstrosity Cuffs | The Necrotic Wake |
| Gloves | Wharf Warden's Gloves | Siege of Boralus |
| Belt | Sapgorger Belt | Mists of Tirna Scithe |
| Legs | Gauzewoven Legguards | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Boots | Whisperer's Echoing Steps | City of Threads |
| Ring 1 | Seal of the City Watch | Siege of Boralus |
| Ring 2 | Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet | The Necrotic Wake |
| Trinket 1 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Trinket 2 | Gale of Shadows | Grim Batol |
| Weapon | Melodious Iron Songspire | The Stonevault |
Trinkets
Below you can find active and passive alternatives to our recommended trinkets. Do note that some trinkets are better than others depending on the mythic+ dungeon.
Active Trinket alternatives
- Spymaster's Web
- By far our best trinket.
- Treacherous Transmitter
- Technically BiS in combination with Spymaster's Web but increases the difficulty of playing somewhat so it's not recommended for newer players as the gain is only +0.5% dps compared to passive trinkets.
- Decent as a replacement for Spymaster's Web.
Passive Trinket alternatives
- Gale of Shadows
- Ara-Kara Sacbrood
- Unbound Changeling
- Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg
- Candle Confidant
- Extremely strong before you can get 639 ilvl trinkets.
Embellishments
- Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension
- It is numerically strongest but can only be applied to weapons, forcing you to play with a lower item-level off-hand or primary weapon.
- Writhing Armor Banding doubles the effect of Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension, making it the best alternative for your second embellishment in combination with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension.
- Duskthread Lining
- High damage and has a defensive aspect too with versatility.
Remaining Sparks
- Crafted items are 636 item level and regular items are 639 on max item level therefore it's not beneficial to equip crafted items outside of your 2x embellishments unless you don't have access to other high item level gear on that slot.
Simcraft
To find the best combination of gear available to you or identify the best possible upgrades, visit our Simcraft guide to learn how to utilize Simcraft easily and effectively.
Consumables
- Phials
- Flask of Alchemical Chaos -- Sims highest
- Best flask can vary depending on which stats you have, make sure to sim your character to find what's best for you.
- Flask of Alchemical Chaos -- Sims highest
- Food
- Feast of the Divine Day / Feast of the Midnight Masquerade
- Beledar's Bounty
- Practically identical DPS as the feasts.
- Combat Potion
- Tempered Potion
- Health Potion
- Algari Healing Potion -- A big burst of healing
- Weapon Oil
- Algari Mana Oil -- Best
- Oil of Deep Toxins
- Augment Rune
- Crystallized Augment Rune
- Sockets
- Culminating Blasphemite -- Unique, use one of each gem color to enhance your Culminating Blasphemite - simulate your character to find out if it's worth equipping subpar gems for this bonus.
- Masterful Emerald
- Quick Onyx
- Quick Ruby
- Masterful Sapphire
- Culminating Blasphemite -- Unique, use one of each gem color to enhance your Culminating Blasphemite - simulate your character to find out if it's worth equipping subpar gems for this bonus.
Enchantments
| Head | Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Neck | Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Cloak | Enchant Cloak - Chant of Winged Grace |
| Chest | Enchant Chest - Crystalline Radiance |
| Wrist | Enchant Bracer - Chant of Armored Avoidance Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Waist | Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Legs | Sunset Spellthread |
| Boots | Enchant Boots - Scout's March |
| Ring 1 | Enchant Ring - Radiant MasteryMagnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Ring 2 | Enchant Ring - Radiant MasteryMagnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Weapon | Enchant Weapon - Authority of Radiant Power |
You buy Nerubian Gemweaver from the Great Vault Vendor to add sockets to your Helm, Wrists & Waist.
Races
For min-maxing a Balance Druid in Mythic+, different racial traits can provide a tremendous benefit to your character. If this is not your top goal, picking a race that fits your style works just as well.
- Shadowmeld -- Night Elf
- One of the most potent racials in Mythic+ historically for avoiding mechanics.
- Use-cases
- Run past basically any mob and then cast Shadowmeld to make them reset. Even works on mobs that have stealth detection if you get enough distance before you Shadowmeld.
- Berserking -- Troll
- Strong burst racial but lines up poorly with Celestial Alignment
- Reduce the duration of movement imparing effects by 20%.
- War Stomp -- Tauren
- Higher DPS than Kul Tiran, but less tanky.
- War Stomp in combination with Incapacitating Roar and Typhoon can make you a one-man army of rotating AoE interrupts.
- Brush It Off -- Kul Tiran
- The numerically best defensive racial and sims relatively high.
- Looks badass.
Recommendation
Night Elf has a big impact on your Mythic+ experience due to Shadowmeld, making it the only logical choice if you're serious about pushing keys with your Balance Druid.
Macros
Discover recommended macros for Balance Druid during Mythic+ dungeons and watch a quick video guide on creating simple macros for your character.
Cursor Macros
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune / Celestial Alignment / Orbital Strike Macro - casts Orbital Strike at your cursor, uses potion and on-use trinket. (You can also add Nature's Vigil and Innervate in here but it's not always the best).
#showtooltip Celestial Alignment
/cast Berserking
/use 14
/use Tempered Potion
/cast [@cursor] Celestial AlignmentCursor/Mouseover Ursol's Vortex/Mass Entanglement - Casts Ursol's Vortex at your cursor if talented and Mass Entanglement at your mouseover, if no mouseover is available it is instead cast it on your target.
/cast [@cursor] Ursol's Vortex
/cast [@mouseover,exists] [] Mass EntanglementForce of Nature -- Casts Force of Nature without confirmation click which can save you valuable time.
#showtooltip
/cast [@cursor] Force of NatureMouseover Macros
Utility Macros
Addons
Below, you see a screenshot of the author's User Interface for their Balance Druid, outlining which addons are used and how they are utilized in Mythic+ dungeons to make your life easier.
Addons
WeakAuras
Changes this Patch
Patch 11.0.5
Patch 11.0.2
Patch 11.0
FAQ
Q: Why is my DPS so low?
Credits
Written By: Canexx
Reviewed By: Maystine