07-27-2005, 12:41 AM
I'm all about Balance with my Druid. I started him up to be akin to the Elemental Druid of DII:LoD, and in the process found some interesting synergies that allow him to heal well to boot.
FERAL COMBAT: 0
BALANCE: 40
Improved Wrath 5/5: In situations where enemies are highly resistant or immune to arcane damage, this can come in very handy. It also gives a low-mana way to dish out some projectile damage. Before putting points into this talent, I didn't use Wrath much. It's seen much more use with the talent.
Nature's Grasp 1/1 and Improved Nature's Grasp 4/4: Many will argue that this is useless in endgame instances and... well, they're correct until Zul'Gurub is implemented. Right now the only instance that springs to mind as root-friendly is Zul'Farrak. Still, my opinion is that Azeroth is a large world with plenty of outdoors areas. I'd rather have this spell and it's improvement than not.
Improved Moonfire 5/5: Damage = good. Crit% = good.
Nature's Reach 2/2: More range = good.
Improved Starfire 5/5: 15% chance to stun is just below a 1/6 chance, and that sounds about right (unless the enemy is immune to stuns). Between roots and starfire stuns, I was soloing Devilsaurs at level 54 with subpar gear.
Omen of Clarity 1/1: One of my favorite spells in the Balance tree. Free castings = good. This spell alone has me charging up to engage whatever my tank is fighting in melee, hoping for a proc. Doesn't matter where I am to heal the party, and a free casting of Hurricane or Tarnquility saves a ton of mana.
Moonglow 5/5: Efficiency = good. This is by no means a necessary talent, but definitely helps in situations where I'm not manipulating the 5-second rule to get some mana regen in combat. Sometimes back-to-back Starfires just feel so good.
Moonfury 5/5: Damage = good.
Nature's Grace 1/1: I love this talent. I'll find myself often casting a quick Moonfire and banking on a crititcal hit, just so my next Regrowth will only take 1.5 seconds to cast. This and Omen of Clarity are the two Balance skills that I've found supplement my meager investment in the Restoration tree.
Vengeance 5/5: Turns a 900-point crit into a 1200-point crit with Starfire (before gear that adds +spell damage). Banking on around 300 int and Improved Moonfire, you should be doing some frequent crits.
Hurricane 1/1: I don't care what anyone says. I love Hurricane. Conceptually, it's one of the coolest spells at a Druid's disposal, and makes for some eye candy while in battle. Used properly, it can be very helpful to the party/raid, and multiple Hurricanes stack their debuffs to slow enemy attacks bigtime. Organized three Druids in the Molten Core to use this at once on Core Hounds and slowed the entire pack to 40% attack speed for ten minutes. Good stuff.
RESTORATION: 11
Improved Mark of the Wild 5/5: As I'm generally the only Druid in my party, I'd rather this buff meet its full potential. And as Furor wouldn't do anything for my build, it's a no brainer.
Nature's Focus 5/5: Less Interruption = good.
Gift of Nature 1/1: It's only a 5% boost, but on a critcal heal of 2k+ hitpoints, that's an additional 100hp. Plus, I can't think of another place to put that last talent point. :whistling:
FERAL COMBAT: 0
BALANCE: 40
Improved Wrath 5/5: In situations where enemies are highly resistant or immune to arcane damage, this can come in very handy. It also gives a low-mana way to dish out some projectile damage. Before putting points into this talent, I didn't use Wrath much. It's seen much more use with the talent.
Nature's Grasp 1/1 and Improved Nature's Grasp 4/4: Many will argue that this is useless in endgame instances and... well, they're correct until Zul'Gurub is implemented. Right now the only instance that springs to mind as root-friendly is Zul'Farrak. Still, my opinion is that Azeroth is a large world with plenty of outdoors areas. I'd rather have this spell and it's improvement than not.
Improved Moonfire 5/5: Damage = good. Crit% = good.
Nature's Reach 2/2: More range = good.
Improved Starfire 5/5: 15% chance to stun is just below a 1/6 chance, and that sounds about right (unless the enemy is immune to stuns). Between roots and starfire stuns, I was soloing Devilsaurs at level 54 with subpar gear.
Omen of Clarity 1/1: One of my favorite spells in the Balance tree. Free castings = good. This spell alone has me charging up to engage whatever my tank is fighting in melee, hoping for a proc. Doesn't matter where I am to heal the party, and a free casting of Hurricane or Tarnquility saves a ton of mana.
Moonglow 5/5: Efficiency = good. This is by no means a necessary talent, but definitely helps in situations where I'm not manipulating the 5-second rule to get some mana regen in combat. Sometimes back-to-back Starfires just feel so good.
Moonfury 5/5: Damage = good.
Nature's Grace 1/1: I love this talent. I'll find myself often casting a quick Moonfire and banking on a crititcal hit, just so my next Regrowth will only take 1.5 seconds to cast. This and Omen of Clarity are the two Balance skills that I've found supplement my meager investment in the Restoration tree.
Vengeance 5/5: Turns a 900-point crit into a 1200-point crit with Starfire (before gear that adds +spell damage). Banking on around 300 int and Improved Moonfire, you should be doing some frequent crits.
Hurricane 1/1: I don't care what anyone says. I love Hurricane. Conceptually, it's one of the coolest spells at a Druid's disposal, and makes for some eye candy while in battle. Used properly, it can be very helpful to the party/raid, and multiple Hurricanes stack their debuffs to slow enemy attacks bigtime. Organized three Druids in the Molten Core to use this at once on Core Hounds and slowed the entire pack to 40% attack speed for ten minutes. Good stuff.
RESTORATION: 11
Improved Mark of the Wild 5/5: As I'm generally the only Druid in my party, I'd rather this buff meet its full potential. And as Furor wouldn't do anything for my build, it's a no brainer.
Nature's Focus 5/5: Less Interruption = good.
Gift of Nature 1/1: It's only a 5% boost, but on a critcal heal of 2k+ hitpoints, that's an additional 100hp. Plus, I can't think of another place to put that last talent point. :whistling:
See you in Town,
-Z
-Z