The Way of the Druid: Level 10 Abilities

Welcome to The Way of the Druid! In this feature we'll discuss the abilities and talents of the Druid class, focusing on their uses and the way I use them in the game. Every 10 levels I'll make a new feature post to discuss the new additions and improvements to the Druid's arsenal of abilities. On certain occasions, a special TWotD post can happen if a topic worthy of discussion arises; any gameplay topic related to playing the Druid to its fullest potential is welcome here. Without further ado, enjoy the feature!

The Druid's abilities and talents: An overview

The Druid is one VERY versatile class. In my opinion, it might take the crown as THE hybrid class in WoW. Each of the three types of abilities and talents, which are Balance, Feral and Restoration, focuses on a different role. Balance is oriented towards the Druid who wants to focus on inflicting damage with spells. Feral is the king for melee DPS and bear tank Druids. Restoration, well, the name says it all: Increased power for the Druid healbot.

At level 10 all classes have few abilities (and only 1 talent point) at their disposal. The Druid is no exception to this. The next part of the feature will describe the different abilites and the selection of talents.

Balance abilities

Entangling Roots (Rank 1) [50 Mana, 1.5 sec cast, 30 yd range]: This ability, well, I just love it. Entangling Roots does just what the name suggests: The Druid commands nature to root a target to the soil by entangling the target with roots. The plus: The roots not only keep the target stuck in the same position for a while; they deal 20 nature damage over the course of 12 seconds. The cons: You can only use this ability outdoors, so no CC inside caverns or dungeons; and they break kind of easily. Still, one of the most useful abilities for a solo Druid. A good pull spell, you can start a fight by casting Entangling Roots first and then spam Wrath / Moonfire to kill mobs.

Moonfire (Rank 2) [50 Mana, instant cast, 30 yd range]: This balance ability is a good way of boosting DPS output while you attack with other abilities or even with the melee auto-attack. Moonfire's damage might seem a bit on the low side, between 13-18 arcane damage, but the nice feature is that Moonfire puts a DoT on the target dealing an additional 32 arcane damage over the course of 12 seconds. A good way of using Moonfire is to use it every 12 seconds just to re-apply the arcade dmg DoT.

Teleport: Moonglade [150 Mana, 10 sec cast]: This is a teleport spell that transports the caster to Moonglade instantly. It works exactly the same way the Mage teleport spells work. The only difference is that this one only requires mana to be cast (the Mage teleport spells require a reagent). This is a nice thing to have, considering that you'll have to visit Moonglade several times for Druid-related class quests (also handy during the Moon Festival).

Thorns (Rank 1) [35 Mana, instant cast, 30 yd range]: Thorny plants hurt right? Well, this buff does the same thing. The buffed target will deal 3 nature damage to the attacking creature for 10 minutes. Not the best damage, but damage nonetheless. Good damage in the long run for dungeons and places where you find lots of melee mobs. Remember to always keep this buff up.

Wrath (Rank 2) [35 Mana, 1.7 sec cast, 30 yd range]: The workhorse DPS ability for Druids at this level. Wrath launches a bolt of nature energy to the targeted creature, dealing 28-32 nature damage. With a moderate casting time and a decent range, Wrath is a very nice ability. Its great in conjunction with Entangling Roots.

Feral abilities

Bear Form (Shapeshift) [57 Mana, instant cast]: The Bear Form shapeshifting ability is, perhaps, the most notable ability available to a level 10 Druid. The benefits of shifting into Bear Form are: +33 melee attack power, a 180% increase in the amount of armor given by armor pieces and +25% stamina increase. Transforming into a Bear allows the Druid to endure more melee damage and allows a Druid to perform the tanking role in groups. While in Bear Form you'll be able to use other Feral abilities. If you want to tank, you need to focus on the Feral talents and learn how to harness the power of your Bear. Roar!

Demoralizing Roar (Rank 1) [10 Rage, instant cast, req. Bear Form]: This debuff lowers the target's melee attack power by 31 and lasts 30 seconds. Not a bad thing to apply to enemies as a good way of lowering the damage you receive (adding this bonus to the increased mitigation you gain as a Bear).

Growl [Melee range, instant cast, 10 sec cooldown, req. Bear Form]: This ability taunts the target creature, thus the target attacks the Druid instantly. This works just like the Warrior's Taunt skill, and it's a great resource at the disposal of aspiring Druid Bear tanks.

Maul [15 rage, next melee attack, req. Bear Form]: The Maul ability is a great DPS boost you can use while attacking targets as a Bear. It works pretty much like the Warrior's Heroic Strike ability, increasing the damage dealt by the next melee attack by 18 points.

Restoration abilities

Healing Touch (Rank 2) [55 Mana, 2 sec cast, 40 yd range]: Healing Touch will heal the target creature for 91 to 116 health points. This is the most basic, single-target Druid healing spell as it heals for a good amount of health points with a nice range at a moderate Mana cost.

Mark of the Wild (Rank 2) [50 Mana, instant cast, 30 yd range]: The Mark of the Wild (or just Mark, as many people call it) it's THE Druid buff ability. It is, in fact, one of the best buffs in the game, scaling VERY well as the ranks increase. This rank of MotW increases the buffed creatures armor by 65 points and ALL attributes by 2. Yeah, it's certainly good. Keep it up at all times.

Rejuvenation (Rank 2) [40 Mana, instant cast, 40 yd range]: Rejuvenation serves as the simplest HoT (Heal over Time) spell of the Druid. This rank of Rejuvenation will heal the target for 56 over the next 12 seconds. It's a good way of pumping additional healing while you cast Healing Touch.

Druid Talents at lvl 10

At level 10 there is certainly not much to discuss as far as Talents go. Considering this, on this TWotD feature I'll do a quick overview of what's available for you to spend your hard-earned Talent Point!

If you decide to go Balance you can place the point on Starlight Wrath and reduce your Wrath's casting time by 0.1 sec, or you can go for Nature's Grasp, an ability that gives you a 35% chance of rooting an enemy with an effect similar to that of Entangling Roots.

If you wish to spend your point in the Feral Combat talent tree you have the choice to put it up on Ferocity (reducing the rage cost of several abilities by 1 point) or Feral Aggression, a talent that increases the attack power reduction of your Demoralizing Roar skill and the damage caused by your Ferocious Bite ability.

If what you'd like is to be an über healer/support Druid and want to go Resto, you can place the point in Improved Mark of the Wild, beefing up this already awesome buff or on Furor, a utility talent that gives you a headstart of Rage/Energy when you shapeshift to Bear or Cat Forms.

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Well, this is all for this issue of The Way of the Druid. I sincerely hope you find this information useful and insightful. The feature will get more interesting as the wide spectrum of Druid abilities becomes available! See you in the Emerald Dream.

~Alindore