MoP Classic Balance Druid — Guide (Phase 5)
viewsAbout the Class
The Balance Druid is a ranged caster who fights in 
Moonkin Form and shifts between the lunar and solar Eclipse phases. The Eclipse bar is the entire class: Arcane spells push it one way, Nature spells push it the other, and whichever school's phase you enter gets the damage bonus.
Balance is strongest on spread-out targets: 
Moonfire and 
Sunfire go up on everything, and 
Starfall piles on top. Balance shares its gear with Restoration, so switching between fights costs almost nothing.
Strengths
- High area damage thanks to Starfall and periodic effects on multiple targets.
- Very steady damage as long as you stand still and cast freely inside Eclipse.
- Gear matches Restoration exactly — swapping specs between fights is free.
- Excellent utility:
Rebirth, 
Innervate, 
Symbiosis, 
Stampeding Roar. 
Solar Beam — an area silence, a rare tool against groups of casters.- Periodic damage keeps ticking on the move and while switching targets.
Weaknesses
- Single-target damage is noticeably lower than the best DPS.
- Almost no personal survivability unless you lean on Symbiosis.
- Low mobility: without uninterrupted casting, damage collapses.
- Building up Eclipse makes on-demand burst awkward, and short add packs almost useless.
- Heavily gear-dependent until you reach the haste threshold.
Stat Priority
- 1Intellect
- 2Hit (up to 15%)
- 3Haste (up to the 10296 rating threshold)
- 4Critical Strike rating
- 5Haste beyond the threshold
- 6Mastery
Hit is gathered from rating, from Spirit via Balance of Power, and from expertise — all three count toward the same total. The 10296 haste threshold matters more than critical strike: it drops the global cooldown to one second and adds ticks to your periodic effects.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Mark of the Wild - 2Moonkin Form
- 3
Astral Communion - 4
Wild Mushroom - 5Wild Mushroom
- 6Wild Mushroom
- 7
Potion of the Jade Serpent - 8
Wrath - 9
Wild Mushroom: Detonate - 10Sunfire
- 11
Starsurge - 12Starfall
- Sunfire — keep the solar periodic effect up without gaps
- Moonfire — keep the lunar periodic effect up without gaps
- Starfall — on entering Lunar Eclipse
- Starsurge — on cooldown while you are inside Eclipse
Starfire — filler in Lunar Eclipse- Wrath — filler in Solar Eclipse
- Wild Mushroom — place them ahead of time, during pauses
- Wild Mushroom: Detonate — burst damage when ready
Celestial Alignment — right after leaving Eclipse
Important Abilities
Best in Slot (BiS)
Best in Slot (BiS)Tier 16 Set — Regalia of the Shattered Vale
Tier 16 Set — Regalia of the Shattered ValeIn the BiS build you wear 4 set pieces, and the head slot is taken by the
Darkfang Mask.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants
Gems
ConsumablesRaces
Best Professions
Synapse Springs gives a burst of Intellect under cooldowns, and Nitro Boosts help with the mobility Balance lacks.
Lightweave Embroidery on the cloak provides regular Intellect procs and stacks with cooldowns.
Fur Lining - Intellect on the wrists is stronger than the standard enchant.
Up to three 
Smooth Serpent's Eye give more secondary stats than ordinary gems.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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