Pandaria [PvP] Balance Druid Complete Guide

[NelaneWins]

Introduction

About 2 months ago when I started playing Balance Druid I was clueless about what was going on in the current MoP patch 5.4.2, so I posted on the forums asking for help and I realized that there are no guides in this matter. After that time I can say that my gameplay has drastically improved and I feel like helping out other players that decide to roll a Balance Druid. I will try to keep it as simple as possible and cover some of the basic aspects for playing the Balance Druid specialization. I hope it is helpful to you as I've spent some time preparing it.

Bigpinas - Frostwolf (Horde)

Stats

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Hit (6%) > Intellect > Haste (21.40%) > Critical Chance > Mastery

Explanation
Hit: This standard amount will make you not miss your spells and it must be your top priority for hitting players at level 90.
Intellect: This is your main stat that provides you both with Spell Power (you deal more damage) and Spell Critical Hit (more damage when hitting a critical strike).
Haste: There is big controversy on whether or not you should go for the haste caps, but I can assure you that I have seen a huge difference after favoring this play-style. This statistic not only benefits in reducing the casting time of your spells Starsurge, Starfire and Wrath, but more importantly make your spells Moonfire and Sunfire "tick" and deal damage more often. The percentage might not seem correct for some reasons, so the actual value is 6637. If you cannot reach this amount of haste then to go for the previous haste cap which is 7.15% (872). The next haste cap is too big so I wouldn't really recommend it, but you can choose to go with it if you have full Grievous gear and you aim for Haste as a stat only; 35.73% (12439).
Critical Chance: This greatly favors my kind of build as both Moonfire and Sunfire hit critical strikes and combined with the fact that they hit more often (which is granted by Haste) they trigger the passive spell Shooting Stars, which gives you a 30% chance to get an instant Starsurge proc regardless of whether or not it's on cooldown and thus you are able to enjoy huge damage output in a really small time frame.
Mastery: This statistic grants you more damage when you are in Eclipse state (Solar or Lunar). If you are not going with my own Haste build (which is not what I recommend and does not work with this guide), you should totally forget about Haste and focus on mastery. Otherwise it's just a statistic that gives you extra damage especially when you open your offensive CDs and you are in a Total Eclipse, which is very nice. You don't need to avoid it, but definitely choose Haste or Critical Chance over it.

Talents/Glyphs

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Talents
Tier 1 Talent (LvL 15): Displacer Beast (best choice for escaping and increasing mobility)
Tier 2 Talent (LvL 30): Cenarion Ward (more healing with less CD)
Tier 3 Talent (LvL 45): Faerie Swarm (more effective while fighting melee users, but Typhoon is a viable choice too)
Tier 4 Talent (LvL 60): Incarnation (best choice for bursting)
Tier 5 Talent (LvL 75): Ursol's Vortex (combined with Solar Beam makes a great combo)
Tier 6 Talent (LvL 90): Nature's Vigil (most effective)



Glyphs
Major Glyphs: Barkskin (needed), Nature's Grasp (needed), Cyclone (recommended), Might of Ursoc (recommended), Stampede (optional), Faerie Fire (optional).
Minor Glyphs: Grace (recommended)

Gems/Enchants/Reforges

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Gems
Meta Gem: Burning Primal Diamond [+216 Intellect and 3% Increased Critical Effect] (needed).
Red Gems: Brilliant Primordial Ruby [+160 Intellect] (needed).
Yellow Gems: Potent Vermilion Onyx [+80 Intellect and +160 Critical Strike] (recommended) or Quick Sun's Radiance [+320 Haste] (if you can't reach Haste cap).
Blue Gems: Mysterious Imperial Amethyst [+80 Intellect and +80 PvP Power] (recommended).

Enchants
Shoulder Enchant: Greater Crane Wing Inscription [+200 Intellect and +100 Critical Strike].
Back Enchant: Superior Intellect [+180 Intellect].
Chest Enchant: Glorious Stats [+80 to all stats].
Wrist Enchant: Super Intellect [+180 Intellect] or Mastery [+170 Mastery] (because recommendation is too pricey).
Hands Enchant: Greater Haste [+170 Haste].
Waist Enchant: Living Steel Belt Buckle [adds an extra gem socket to your belt].
Leg Enchant: Greater Cerulean Spellthread [+285 Intellect and +165 Critical Strike].
Boots Enchant: Pandaren's Step [+140 Mastery and Minor Speed].
1-Handed Weapon Enchant: Jade Spirit or Windsong (because recommendation is too pricey).
Off-Handed Weapon Enchant: Major Intellect [+165 Intellect].

Reforges
Use Reforges to get hit-capped and haste-capped. Always reforge Mastery to another statistic except if it is completely necessary not to do so.

Macros

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Bursting Macro
#showtooltip
/cast Celestial Alignment
/cast Nature's Vigil
/cast Incarnation: Chosen of Elune

These are the standard offensive CDs. If you are a Troll add /cast Berserking. If you have Herbalism add /cast Lifeblood. If you have an offensive CD trinket add /use Grievous Gladiator's Badge of Dominance; Keep in mind that the trinket one should always be in the last line of the Macro and also that you might have the Tyrannical and not the Grievous one so just replace the two words according to what you have.

Defensive Macro
#showtooltip
/cast Barkskin
/cast Cenarion Ward
/cast Might of Ursoc

These are the standard spells to use when you want to get defensive. I also recommend adding /use Healthstone in case you have a Warlock in your BG or Arena and don't want to bind Healthstone in an action bar. Same thing goes for spells that you get from Symbiosis such as /cast Eternal Resolve that you get from Warlocks and /cast Anti-Magic Shell from DKs.

Silence Macro
#showtooltip
/cast Solar Beam
/cast Ursol's Vortex

This is the silence combo. I recommend putting this one in a mouse extra button (if you have one) because it will automatically cast Solar Beam and silence the target, but you will have to manually locate Ursol's Vortex in order for the target(s) not to escape.

Escape Macro (optional)
#showtooltip
/cast Displacer Beast
/cast Dash

A simple macro that just triggers both Displacer Beast and Dash abilities so you can easily escape and run really fast without having to press the two spells individually. You can also replace Dash with /cast Stampeding Roar.

Video Demonstration:

Keybinds

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Key Selection
Keybinding is really important PvP. Clicking spells in combat is almost unacceptable as the most efficient way to use your mouse cursors is for movement. That's why you have to use your keyboard's full potential in terms of keys available. I prefer using keys that are closer to my left hand when playing as they are more easy to reach and you use them more swiftly in combat. If you own a mouse that has extra keys on the sides I totally recommend using them to your liking. Some of the keys I prefer using and recommend to you are:

Q, E, R, F, G, Z, V
SHIFT/ALT/CTRL + 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
F1, F2, F3, F4

You have to know exactly in which key is each spell so the first step is keybinding the important spells that you use during combat, and the second step is practicing each position of each spell. I use the addon Bartender 4 for my action bars (see section Addons for more).

My Keybinds

Combat/Play Style

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Fighting
As I have stated previously, this build is dependent on your DoTs (Moonfire/Sunfire) and how they will proc Starusurge through Shooting Stars. That being said, you should always engage your opponents by inflicting Moonfire and Sunfire at them, regardless of how many your opponents are. In fact; the more the better! Even though the passive spell Shooting Stars has its proc chances reduced when inflicting many targets (a.k.a. multidoting), it will still proc 100% after placing your DoTs in multiple targets. This will happen because even though the percentages may be reduced, the number of targets is enough for it to proc anyway but also when you open your offensive CDs, you have both increased Haste and Critical Chance, thus Shooting Stars will definitely proc. Always activate Starfall when you are fighting and keep in mind that when you reach Lunar Eclipse, its CD is refreshed and you can use it again. Other than that, especially if your offensive CDs are on cooldown, you should always aim to trigger either Solar or Lunar Eclipse. Always use Starsurge when it is available as it is your top damaging spell and no.1 priority. Use Wrath to reach Lunar Eclipse and Starfire to reach Solar Eclipse. After reaching one of the two use the appropriate spells (that will also be highlighted on your UI) until your Eclipse is down. For example: If you reach Lunar Eclipse, your Arcane damage is increased and you should use Starfire as your main spell, as it deals Arcane damage. The same goes for Wrath in Solar Eclipse as it deals Nature damage.

Crowd Controlling
In PvP using crowd controls (slows, stuns, fears, disarms, silences, roots, knock-backs etc.) is a must. Fortunately balance druids have a big variety of them. You must know when to use them though as your timing will many times dictate the outcome of your battle. Use the different CCs when you fight:

• Silencing Macro; Solar Beam [silence=8 secs] + Ursol's Vortex [slow=10 secs]: Best used against casters (mostly healers) or Mighty Bash [stun=5 secs]: Used on anyone.
• Cyclone [invulnerability=6 secs]: Use it on enemies that have opened their offensive CDs and are coming right at you, but also use it to enemies attacking you in order to heal without getting interrupted by any CC. Also use it on healers when they are healing other enemies.
• Entangling Roots [root=8 secs]: Use it in any situation in order to trap enemies and Nature's Grasp [root=8 secs]: Against melee players attacking you.
• Faerie Swarm [slow=15 secs]: Best used for kiting but also for enemies running away or Typhoon [knockback+daze=6 secs]: Used for kiting and interrupting casters.
• Hibernate [sleep=8 secs]: Only use against shapeshifted Druids, Ghost Wolf form Shamans and Hunter pets (especially when fighting against BM Hunters).

Kiting
Kiting is a commonly used technique for casters to counter the close combat of melee enemies (warriors, rogues etc.). It can be done by pressing LEFT CLICK + RIGHT CLICK + S + A/D (A to go left and D to go right accordingly). This is really helpful when fighting against melee enemies because you are able to both deal damage and survive. When you engage melee fighters and while performing the movement shown above follow these steps:

• Have Faerie Swarm always active on them so they will be slowed or Typhoon to knock them back (according to your talent choice).
• Have your DoTs on them.
• Use Nature's Grasp and Entangling Roots when you think it is necessary (either for keeping your distance to cast an offensive spell or to heal yourself).
• Use the Escape Macro; Displacer Beast + Dash/Stampeding Roar in order to easily escape from them when they reach you.
• Keep Rejuvenation active in yourself.
• Use the Nature's Swiftness + Healing Touch combo for instant heal and Cenarion Ward (when available) to keep your HP up.
• Cast instant Starsurge when Shooting Stars procs.
• Cast Starfall when available.

Keep in mind that many classes have their ways to reach you even if you try to run from them (for example warriors using charges) so try to use escape spells strategically and keep in mind whether or not the enemy has used a spell that enables them to reach you really fast.

TL;DR

1. Always keep your DoTs up to your targets.
2. Always use Starsurge when it is available.
3. Use Wrath/Starfire according to your Eclipse status.
4. Use Starfall whenever it is available.
5. Your offensive CDs are your strongest aspect, use them all together and at appropriate times!
6. After opening your offensive CDs when you are finished placing your DoTs spam Starfire.
7. Keep Moonkin Form and Mark of the Wild always active.
8. Use your crowd controls!

Addons

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Now this section is really optional but you must understand that addons can really help out and improve your gameplay, but also make things easier. Again I will list the addons that I personally use and think that might help you not only with PvP, but with WoW in general. Keep in mind that how your UI looks and how you manage your Unit Frames is entirely related to personal opinion. I urge you to look up these addons as the few words I will provide you with are just summaries and do not cover all the features of each addon. Also keep in mind that some of these addons may need thorough configuration and it will take time for you to adjust them to your own needs and preferences. Remember to download addons from authorized websites such as Curse as many times people disguise viruses as addons which can easily corrupt your computer. Also don't forget to get the 5.4.2 version of each addon as newer versions will not work.

OmniCC [shows exact time of your CD reset inside spells]
LoseControl [flashes the icon of Crowd Control that is inflicted at you in the middle of your screen with exact seconds that it will last].
Gladius (needed for Arena only) [shows the opposing teams and helpful notes about CDs that they use during battle].
GladiatorlosSA [voice assist that tells you what the opponent has used in terms of spells - helpful with CCs and offensive/defensive CDs].
Nameplate Cooldowns [shows the time remaining of your opponents CDs above their unit bar].
Tidy Plates [changes the way unit bars appear].
Quartz [changes your casting bar to a more clean and easy-to-see one].
Prat 3.0 [helpful chat utility].
Postal [collects all of your mails in one button].
Shadowed Unit Frames [changes how your UI looks] (needs thorough configuration).
Simple iLevel [shows the iLvL of friendly players].
Bartender 4 [changes position/shape/visibility of your action bars] (needs thorough configuration).
Bagnon [makes all of your bags appear in one window].
ButtonFacade [changes appearance of buttons].
Masque [changes appearance of buttons].
Crap Away! [automatically sells Grey quality items when you visit a vendor].
Mappy [changes the appearance of your mini-map].
Mapster [changes the appearance of your map].
Auctionator [helps with operating the auction house by providing best prices both for selling and buying an item].
EclipseBarPlus [allows you to place your eclipse bar wherever you want]

My UI:

[SteveMan]

Can this be used as a lvl 84 twinking guide aswell? And nice guide btw :)

[Kicius]

Guide may be helpful to begginers/pre advanced boomy players. I will add my 3 coins:
I prefer crit to 30%, I have reforged nearly all into crit, than additional dot tick. I have got Haste: 13.61% currently so after bursting with berserking gives 64%+ (another dot tick) And gives you more instant starsurges and bigger chance to instant crit, haste during dotting/hotting/ns+ht,clone doesn't help so much - playing vs mele tunneling you there are low chance to cast starfire (fast cyclone seems be legit)
I don't like using vortex beam, because skilled player can avoid silence being in vortex area.

Comps I prefer and few benefits:
Moonkin Destro (till 1.8k)/Affi (undispellable dots)- good CC, synergy from symbiosis: druid gets great def CD (awesome when using while bursting offensively). lock get rejuwenation with 10sec CD
Moonkin Mage - awesome CC playstyle, very low DR, mage gets healing touch with 10sec CD, Mirror image for druid is bugged, more crit = more instant starsurges
Moonkin Spriest - both can offheal others
Moonkin rogue - should be focused on every minute burst followed by Silence combo (build should use HOTW instead NV in 6tier) - getting 3/4 combo points on kill target during start and then finish at 5CP fernicouss bite in smoke bomb)


Maybe you could update:
+moonkin haste break points (inc Nature's grace/Berserking)
+dealing vs certain class

I am waiting for nice discuss.

[Synx7]

About reforging stuff. What off-set pieces should we get?

[NelaneWins]

Thank you very much for starting this conversation. This guide is indeed targeted at new players (also shown by the fact that I point out simple playstyle throughout that section). So in my opinion, if you're a high end arena player struggling above 2k rating, you have probably already found your own playstyle and preferences in talent specialization. I do not have a high rating (currently 1900) but I really found it helpful working with Haste. To be honest I would love to try the critical way of playing but my gold does not allow me to change gems and reforges every now and then to test out things. To be really honest if you are fully geared with Grievous (that I'm actually not) you can probably both reach the haste cap that I indicate and go closer to 30% crit. Don't misunderstand me here, I also favor crti a lot, but I prefer going for the haste cap first because I am not able to do both with my current gear. In the guide I do not really focus in arena playstyle, thus I haven't discussed the matter of crowd control and best compositions. Additionally, I use Mighty Bash as I climb the ladder a bit more, but until this rating things are pretty easy and I don't find opponents that really understand this vortex flaw. As I see that more people are interested in this, I think that I will add some more things about advanced playing while at the same time I value all kinds of advice as I would not characterize my self as a druid expert.

[SteveMan]

Can it also be used as a lvl 80-84 twinking guide seeing that lvl 84s have all of the spells except symbiosis

[Setis]

As far as i know haste does not affect dots / hots correctly atm, so is there a point to aim for the haste cap?

[NelaneWins]

It does. You can simply run a recount DoT test to see how it differs in each percentage. Same can be done with healing but in a target...