Why this build
How the build works
This Balance Druid build is built on a cheap, fast Wrath and two DoTs. Improved Wrath takes 0.5 seconds off Wrath’s cast and halves its mana cost, so Wrath becomes a filler you can cast all day. Moonglow cuts the mana cost of your damage spells by another 25%.
Moonfire and Insect Swarm carry the rest. Improved Moonfire adds 10% damage and crit to Moonfire, Nature’s Splendor makes Moonfire last 3 seconds longer and Insect Swarm 2 seconds longer, and Insect Swarm also lowers the target’s hit chance by 2%. Nature’s Majesty gives 4% crit and Nature’s Reach gives 4% hit and 20% range, two stats that are hard to find on gear at this level.
The last five points go into Vengeance, which doubles the crit damage bonus of Nature and Arcane spells. With Nature’s Majesty and Improved Moonfire already adding crit, every Wrath and Moonfire crit hits much harder. This is the most common choice on talentsforever. One guide spends those points on a multi-DoT setup instead, and Genesis was buffed after that guide was written.
Leveling tips
Spend levels 10 to 14 on Improved Wrath, then Moonglow and Improved Moonfire. Insect Swarm is reachable at 25. Before then, the loop is Moonfire plus Wrath, with Thorns up while soloing.
There are two ways to play. Multi-DoT means Moonfire, Insect Swarm and Entangling Roots on one mob, moving to the next and repeating, then finishing them with Wrath. It is faster but riskier. Single target with Starfire and Eclipse is slower and safer, and it fits better after 30. Feral levels more smoothly because Cat Form costs no mana, so many Druids switch to Balance later or for dungeons.
Changes in WoW Forever
Much of this tree is new. Genesis, Nature’s Majesty, Nature’s Splendor, Eclipse and Overgrowth are not in Classic, and Vengeance now covers all Nature and Arcane spells, not just Starfire, Moonfire and Wrath. Improved Wrath also halves Wrath’s mana cost. The 30 Oct hotfix buffed Genesis to 2% per rank and changed Moonkin Form, whose aura now covers all crit types.
Toward level 60
Provisional. The most planned level 60 build is 36/0/15: the level 30 build plus Improved Starfire, Nature’s Grace, Eclipse, Moonfury and Moonkin Form, with Nature’s Focus, Naturalist, Reflection and Subtlety in Restoration. It is talentsforever’s third most popular Druid build, but none of it has been tested at 60.