Druid

Race choice after the 26 October changes

Blizzard's 26 October notes leave Tauren Endurance at 5% health only and set Skyborne Wind-Blessed to 2% haste. Read Leyline now gives 50% additional regeneration for 15 seconds, or 100% while Attuned; Innervate replaces it rather than stacking with it. Older claims of Tauren critical-healing bonuses or stacking both mana cooldowns are obsolete. Race utility and preferences remain legitimate reasons to choose beyond a damage model.

How Forever changed the class

Blizzard's class deep dive frames the Druid update around making forms less restrictive. Almost all consumables now work in form, including Rage potions and Thistle Tea. Weightstones, Crusader and Windfury apply while shifted, and racials such as Shadowmeld and War Stomp work in form. In Bear, Cat and Dire Bear Form your auto-attack damage per second equals your weapon's, at a fixed 1.0 or 2.5 second swing depending on the form. Most engineering bombs still can't be used in form.

Several old talents are now trainer abilities. Omen of Clarity arrives at 20 for every Druid and can proc from spells, and Wrath never consumes it. Nature's Grasp is baseline at 10. Faerie Fire can be cast in Bear or Cat Form for free on a 6 second cooldown, and Barkskin works in form. Entangling Roots can be cast indoors, Hurricane lost its cooldown, and Thorns now scales with the caster's spell power.

Feral lost Tiger's Fury. Its replacement is the Shifting Power talent, which turns mana into 40 Energy. Furor was reworked so that shifting back into Cat Form returns the Energy you had, not a free 40. Blizzard says this is meant to stop "bear-weaving", and that Shifting Power brings back powershifting in a simpler form. Bears gain Primal Bite (a tier 4 talent at 25), Berserk (the level 40 capstone) and Lacerate (trained at 42). Restoration gains Wild Growth, and Swiftmend no longer eats the heal over time it uses. Rejuvenation, Tranquility and Wild Growth can now crit (ForeverDB outlook).

ForeverDB's levelling guide adds what the client shows: Mark of the Wild lasts an hour, Bear Form gives far more health than in Classic, Enrage gives Rage instantly, and the early ranks of Wrath and Healing Touch get much more from spell power. Since the 1 October build every form is immune to Disarm and Bear Form gains 75% more Rage from crits. Blizzard's recap says Improved Mark of the Wild became baseline, but ForeverDB found nothing in the client showing the buff got stronger.

Talents and respecs

You get one talent point per level from 10 to 60, so 11 at 20, 21 at 30 and 51 at 60. Each row of a tree needs five more points spent above it, and Blizzard adds a new milestone talent at 16 points alongside the old ones at 11, 21 and 31. You change talents at a class trainer in a major city, and Dual Specialization opens at 40 (Blizzard). The Legacy perk Talented grants points up to five levels early (ForeverDB talents). Wowhead's level 30 Balance guide notes that the beta's extra Legacy points won't be there at that level on launch.

Of the 52 talents in Forever's Druid tree, ForeverDB counts 14 new, 23 changed and 15 unchanged from Classic. Because first-row talents in other trees are cheap and strong, mixed builds are common; see hybrid builds.

Choosing a spec

Blizzard's deep dive is frank about the trade-off: Druids can fill any role but lack snares, silences, interrupts and reliable crowd control, and their healing leans on heals over time. The Bear's Feral Charge talent does interrupt a cast, going by the client tooltip. Blizzard's stated target of about 5% less damage for hybrid DPS specs applies to Balance and Cat (ForeverDB).

Which spec to level

• Feral. ForeverDB's pick for a first Druid: Bear Form is sturdy from 10, Cat Form with Feral Swiftness is fast from 20, and Rake at 24 makes Cat Form a good single-target killer. Icy Veins' Feral levelling guide calls it one of the best levelling specs, with slow stretches only before Bear Form at 10 and Cat Form at 20.
• Balance. Wowhead's Balance overview calls it a reasonably safe levelling choice. Its level 20 guide adds that it's slower and more mana-hungry than in Classic, and rewards single pulls, a good caster weapon and consumables.
• "Spellbear". Wowhead's level 30 Balance guide found this mixed build (spell power gear, Thorns, Swipe in Bear Form) the fastest it tried at 20 to 30.
• Restoration. It can level with Balance talents taken for damage, but ForeverDB and Icy Veins both treat it as slower solo.

Wowhead's level 20 tank guide warns that early form damage is weak. Before 20 most of your damage comes from auto-attacks and Thorns, so caster form with a good weapon can do as well. ForeverDB lists class quests for Bear Form, Cure Poison and Aquatic Form from Classic's data. Wowhead lists Skyborne versions, such as Strength and Mercy for Bear Form. Cat Form comes from The Great Cat Spirit at 20, a stealth quest that Wowhead places in a Moonglade cave and ForeverDB in the Stormrage Barrow Dens. Above level 30 everything is projection from client data: Ferocious Bite and Ravage at 32, Pounce at 36, and Dire Bear Form, Hurricane, Innervate and the 31-point capstones at 40.

Why Druids mix trees

Forever's tree puts strong general talents near the top of each section. Blizzard's deep dive moved Heart of the Wild to Feral's first row, Nature's Reach to Balance's second (now with hit for all damaging spells), and Natural Shapeshifter to Restoration. Genesis and Nature's Majesty are new near the top of Balance. Genesis boosts any periodic effect, so it helps a Cat's Rake and Rip and a healer's heals over time alike. ForeverDB's levelling guide adds two points from Blizzard's deep dive recap: bonus healing now also gives a third as much bonus damage, and caster weapons carry spell damage. Both help a Druid who fights and heals.

Levelling hybrids

Icy Veins' Restoration guide describes a similar "World Content" healer. It takes Improved Wrath, then Nature's Focus, then Insect Swarm, and spends everything after that in Restoration. Wowhead's level 30 Balance guide calls Spellbear the highest-performing levelling build it found from 20 to 30. Its level 20 guide is cooler, saying Spellbear trails a pure Feral setup for either role. Wowhead also lists Spellbear-only loot, such as the Twilight Maul and the Spiked Shell Band from Blackfathom Deeps.

Dual-role builds at 60

WoWSims publishes its level 60 talent presets in each spec's presets.ts:

• Cat, 9/35/7 (feralcat): Genesis, Nature's Majesty and Nature's Reach in Balance, plus Furor 5 and Naturalist 2 from Restoration. The file notes it takes Naturalist rather than Natural Shapeshifter.
• Bear, 9/38/4 (feralbear): the same Balance points and Furor 4, with Thick Hide and Feral Instinct in Feral.
• Hybrid, 9/42/0: offered in both the Cat and Bear simulators. It keeps the bear talents (Thick Hide, Feral Instinct) and the cat ones (Improved Shifting Power, both points of Blood Frenzy), with nothing in Restoration.
• Moonkin, 38/0/13 (balance): Nature's Focus 5, Naturalist 5 and Reflection 3 from Restoration, for damage and mana.

Healers face a harder trade. Wowhead's healer overview points out that Nature's Grace (21 points into Balance) and Wild Growth (31 into Restoration) can't both fit. It calls Genesis an easy pick for any build and Heart of the Wild strong for little investment.

Feral with restoration utility

No guide publishes a Feral build that reaches deep Restoration utility. Nature's Swiftness alone needs 20 Restoration points. What Ferals borrow from Restoration is Furor (Rage and Energy on shifting) and Naturalist (damage). The utility comes from leaving form instead. Wowhead's Feral overview expects you to be ready to tank if the tank dies, or to shift out and heal while the healer drinks. Every Druid keeps Rebirth, Revive, Remove Curse, Abolish Poison, and Innervate from 40. Within Feral, Natural Instinct adds spell healing equal to 25% of your Intellect, by its client text. Blizzard has otherwise said it is deliberately not giving hybrid damage specs strong healing. Asked whether Ferals would get bonus healing, the developers said no (ForeverDB).

Before 40 you have one build, changed at a class trainer. ForeverDB notes the beta charged 1 silver, with more for a quick repeat, and Blizzard called that beta-only. Icy Veins says the cost rises each time. Launch prices aren't known.

The hybrid tax

ForeverDB's write-up of episode 2 of Blizzard's WoW: Forever Podcast (1 October) is the main source:

• The target: hybrid damage specs should deal about 5% less damage than the pure classes: Hunter, Mage, Rogue and Warlock. Anyone who can fill more than one role must, in the developers' words, "pay just a little bit for it".
• Who it covers: Blizzard didn't list specs. ForeverDB reads it as Balance and Feral Cat for Druids, and Warriors count too because they can tank.
• What it isn't: a number in the client or the patch notes. It's a design target, averaged across fights, so a hybrid can still shine on some fights. ForeverDB illustrates it as 950 damage per second against a pure class's 1,000.
• Healing counts: for a damage spec that also heals, that healing counts as part of its output.
• The budget: Blizzard says it raised hybrid budgets so they aren't weak, but each buff costs something. The Wrath buff should add about 2% Druid damage at 60 and may be balanced by a cut elsewhere.
• Player reaction: Druid players worry their mana already has to cover both damage and healing. One forum thread argues Druids, as the most flexible class, should do the least damage. Others call a 5% gap too small to matter.

Blizzard's deep dive frames the same trade in utility terms: Druids can fill any role, but lack snares, silences, interrupts and reliable crowd control. Above the level 30 beta cap, nobody has measured the gap.

Forms and movement

Escape a root in Cat Form (ForeverDB): leaves your current form and re-enters Cat Form on one press, since shifting clears roots and slows.

#showtooltip Cat Form
/cancelform
/cast Cat Form

One travel key (ForeverDB): Aquatic Form in water, Cat Form on land, and Travel Form with Shift held outdoors from level 30.

#showtooltip
/cast [swimming] Aquatic Form; [mod:shift,outdoors] Travel Form; Cat Form

Dash with an automatic Cat Form (Kami Labs): shifts to Cat Form first, then Dashes on the next press. Change 3 to 2 if you don't have Aquatic Form.

#showtooltip Dash
/cast [noform:3] !Cat Form
/cast [form:3] Dash

Forced form (Kami Labs): enters Cat Form without ever toggling you back out. The same works with Bear, Dire Bear, Travel and Aquatic Form.

#showtooltip
/cast !Cat Form

"Powershift" re-shift (Kami Labs): dismounts, stands, drops your form and shifts into Cat Form. Kami Labs says this grants Energy, but ForeverDB and Blizzard say the reworked Furor only restores the Energy you'd have had anyway, so treat it as a clean re-shift.

#showtooltip Cat Form
/dismount
/cancelform
/stand
/cast Cat Form

Dire Bear Form (adapted from the form examples above): enters the form without toggling it off on another press. Use Bear Form before level 40. Equip tank rings before combat; ordinary rings cannot be swapped during combat.

#showtooltip Dire Bear Form
/cast !Dire Bear Form

Cat and Bear

Bear Form, then Maul or Swipe (ForeverDB): shifts into Bear Form, then starts attacking with Maul, or Swipe while holding Shift.

#showtooltip
/startattack [form:1,harm,nodead]
/cast [form:1,mod:shift] Swipe; [form:1] Maul; Bear Form

Cat Form, then Prowl (ForeverDB): the first press puts you in Cat Form, the second Prowls, and a third press won't break stealth.

#showtooltip Prowl
/cast [noform][form:1] Cat Form; !Prowl

Ravage from stealth, Shred otherwise (Kami Labs): opens with Ravage while prowling and becomes Shred afterwards. Ravage needs level 32.

#showtooltip
/startattack
/cast [stealth] Ravage; Shred

Feral Charge and attack (ForeverDB): charges your target from 8 to 25 yards and starts swinging. Feral Charge is off the global cooldown, so both lines fire.

#showtooltip Feral Charge
/cast Feral Charge
/startattack

Growl on mouseover (ForeverDB): taunts the enemy under your cursor without changing target, or your target if you aren't pointing at one.

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

Healing, cures and resurrection

Leave form and heal yourself (ForeverDB): drops Bear or Cat Form and casts Rejuvenation on you, or Regrowth with Shift.

#showtooltip
/cancelform
/cast [mod:shift,@player] Regrowth; [@player] Rejuvenation

Rejuvenation or Regrowth on mouseover (ForeverDB): heals the friend under your cursor, then your friendly target, then you; Shift switches to Regrowth.

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift,@mouseover,help,nodead][mod:shift,help,nodead][mod:shift,@player] Regrowth; [@mouseover,help,nodead][help,nodead][@player] Rejuvenation

Instant Healing Touch (ForeverDB): fires Nature's Swiftness and a Healing Touch together for an emergency save. It needs the level 30 Restoration talent.

#showtooltip Nature's Swiftness
/cast Nature's Swiftness
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][help,nodead][@player] Healing Touch

Rebirth in combat, Revive after (ForeverDB): picks Rebirth on a dead friend during a fight and the new Revive outside one, saving Rebirth's long cooldown.

#showtooltip
/cast [combat,@mouseover,help,dead][combat,help,dead] Rebirth; [@mouseover,help,dead][help,dead] Revive

Mouseover Innervate (Kami Labs): leaves your form and casts Innervate on the friend under your cursor, or your target. Innervate needs level 40.

#showtooltip Innervate
/cancelform
/cast [@mouseover,help][] Innervate

Buffs and crowd control

Buff in two presses (adapted from Wowhead): leaves your form, then casts Mark of the Wild and Thorns on consecutive presses, or Gift of the Wild (level 50) with Shift. The sequence resets after 10 seconds or on a new target.

/cancelform
/cast [mod:shift]Gift of the Wild
/castsequence [nomod:shift] reset=10/target Mark of the Wild, Thorns

Entangling Roots on focus or mouseover (ForeverDB): roots your focus, else the enemy under your cursor, else your target, so you can hold an add while fighting.

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

Moonfire from any form (Kami Labs): drops your form and casts Moonfire in one press, useful for pulling or tagging at range.

#showtooltip
/cancelform
/cast Moonfire

Notes from the sources

• ForeverDB writes each macro to fit the 255-character limit and marks the ones above the level 30 cap as speculation.
• Kami Labs' tool can switch between English and French spell names; a macro only works in your game client's language.
• Wowhead's guide is mainly a lesson in writing macros. It explains #showtooltip, conditions in square brackets and /castsequence, so you can adapt any of these.