Balance Druid Pre-Patch Guide for WotLK Classic (2024)

Last updated on Sep 02, 2022 at 23:00by Seksixeny1 comment

The Pre-Patch period of Wrath of the Lich King Classic is a time to allowplayers to level or gear up characters while experiencing some of the classchanges of the coming expansion before its official launch. Here you willfind recommended talents, gear, and some rotation tips for aBalance Druid when you can only reach a maximum level of 70.

Balance Druids become much stronger in the Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch,gaining a ton of AoE damage from Typhoon, the reworked Hurricaneand Starfall, and significant single-target damage from Eclipse.

At least one Druid is still recommended per raid for Mark of the Wildand Faerie Fire, and Balance is especially useful as it bringsimportant caster buffs such as Earth and Moon, Improved Faerie Fire,and Moonkin Form, as well as Improved Moonkin Form.

This page will go over pre-patch talents, rotation, gear, and consumables forBalance Druid, allowing you to quickly get up to date with your characterwhile waiting for Wrath to officially start!

This talent tree is focused on dealing maximum damage in the short encountersof the pre-patch. Thus, Mana talents such as Dreamstate are skipped.

Typhoon is taken over another 2% Intellect from Furorbecause it can be used on AoE situations for instant high damage and an almost-guaranteedNature's Grace proc, which in turn will make your next Hurricanetake two seconds less to fully channel, thus more than making up for the globalcooldown invested into Typhoon.

Be aware that its glyph that prevents knockback, Glyph of Typhoon,requires Northrend materials, making it annoying to use against certaintrash packs, but also useful when soloing, for cast interruptions, and forquicker enemy grouping on M'uru and similar encounters.

Glyphs enhance or change class specific abilities, and you can have up totwo major glyphs and three minor glyphs at Level 70, with a third major glyphbeing unlocked at Level 80.

Many glyphs will only be available after Wrath launches, so in the pre-patchBalance will be using Glyph of Moonfire and Glyph of Starfire as majorglyphs, which improve single-target damage. For minor glyphs, Glyph of the Wild, Glyph of Dash, and Glyph of Unburdened Rebirth are nice quality oflife options.

1. 17% Hit before talents / Draenei to cap;
2. Spell Power;
3. Critical Strike;
4. Haste;
5. Spirit;
6. Intellect.

We will be presenting the skill rotation of an Balance Druid as a prioritylist, which means you should try to use the one at the top of the list first formaximum DPS.

In single-target you will look towards the following priority:

1. Keep Faerie Fire on the target if raiding, for theImproved Faerie Fire debuff. You can skip it if another Druid iskeeping it up and your raid has the 3% Spell Hit debuff already;
2. Use Force of Nature within melee range of the boss;
3. Use Starfall in a position where you will not pull unwanted enemies;
4. Apply and refresh (after it expires) Moonfire on the target unlesscurrently buffed by (Lunar) Eclipse or under the effects of (Solar)Eclipse and Bloodlust / Heroism;
5. During Eclipse buffs, spam the buffed spell (Lunar =Starfire, Solar = Wrath);
6. When not in an Eclipse, work towards your next one by castingeither Wrath (for your first Eclipse) or Starfire,with the spell you want to cast always being the same as the buffed spell of theEclipse you mostly recently left.
7. Insect Swarm if movement is needed and Moonfire is already present.

For area-of-effect damage you will use a different rotation:

1. Use Starfall in a position where you will not pull unwanted enemies;
2. Use Typhoon (if it will not cause trouble by pushing them back;)to hit as many enemies as possible and hopefully proc Nature's Grace;
3. Channel Hurricane.

Most TBC Phase 5 gear in the guide linked below is still the best available, butdue to both Spell Damage and Spell Healing becoming a single stat, you will nowbe able to use any Spell Power gear you find to great effect. The short encountersof the pre-patch also favor the raw throughput of Critical Strike and Haste,rather than Spirit or Mp5 gear.

• Spell Healing gear such as Brooch of Nature's Mercy is converted intoSpell Power gear ( Brooch of Nature's Mercy) and gains a lot of value in thepre-patch;
• Hit gear such as Grand Magister's Staff of Torrents, The Skull of Gul'dan, Amulet of Unfettered Magics, Handguards of Defiled Worlds, or the crafted Loop of Forged Power are all great options for fixing your Hit in the pre-patch;
• Most Sunwell gear is good enough to enter early Wrath raids with, especially Dark Conjuror's Collar and Amice of the Convoker, which are contendersfor pre-raid best in slot;
• To complement raiding, or if it is not an option, farming Honor in thepre-patch through battlegrounds will allow you to buy the full "Brutal" PvP gearset, which is close in power to gear from Sunwell Plateau and has norandomness in its acquisition.

Enchants mostly stay the same in the pre-patch but Enchant Weapon - Major Spellpowerbecomes the go-to for your weapon and Enchant Boots - Surefooteddeserves a special mention, as it goes from a niche melee enchant to one ofthe best general DPS enchants, giving 10 Crit and Hit rating. Weight it againstthe movement speed benefit of Enchant Boots - Boar's Speed.

Flask of Blinding Light is the recommended flask for Balance. Eat Spicy Hot Talbuk (if not hit capped) or one of Blackened Basilisk, Poached Bluefish, Golden Fish Sticks, or Crunchy Serpentotherwise. Use Brilliant Wizard Oil on your weapon.

Destruction Potion is the best DPS potion for Balance, although youcan also use Super Mana Potion if you have Mana issues. You can no longeruse two potions during combat, but you can use one just before entering combat,which will allow you to use another mid-fight if the encounter is long enough.