Druids are also getting some significant changes in Season 2, as Blizzard detail their intentions and the first round of adjustments.
One of the goals is to remove unwanted talents for each spec, so the core tree is being reworked. There’s also going to be easier access to interrupts and class utility, and Resto Druids are going to have an easier time dealing damage.
Greetings, Druids.
There are several updates to the Druid Class Tree coming in Season 2. We’d like to share some of the design thinking behind these changes. Overall, our hope for this tree design is that you are able to painlessly take the core abilities and defensives you need for your spec, and that you have some interesting choices you can make with the remaining points, especially in the middle and bottom gates.
Nodes that Don’t Benefit Your Current Specialization
The top feedback we heard on the Druid class tree is that it’s frustrating to take nodes for abilities you never use, or that provide bonuses that don’t benefit you. We have rearranged and redesigned talents so that druids never have to take more than one node that doesn’t benefit them in the normal course of play of their spec, and most druids won’t take any.
As part of making these changes, we’ve changed a number of damage nodes like Instincts of the Claw and added some new ones. We’ve adjusted the balance of several spells and abilities to account for these changes. Overall you shouldn’t see big changes to your spell damage or damage composition in appropriate builds for your spec (with the exception of Restoration – see below).
Utility and Interrupts
We wanted to make it easier for Druids to access important class utility. We’ve made Remove Corruption easier to access for all specs, and moved Skull Bash to make it less expensive for Restoration Druids to reach. Balance Druids can no longer take Skull Bash – instead, Light of the Sun has been moved from their spec tree to Skull Bash’s location in the Class Tree. Fluid Form now also affects Skull Bash, shifting the druid into Cat Form if necessary when they cast it.
Restoration Druid Damage
There are a couple of aspects of Restoration Druid damage that we’re not happy with:
- It’s demanding to play, requiring Druids maintain magic DoTs and shift in and out of Cat Form while healing.
- When Restoration Druids take all possible damage talents, they don’t have enough points to invest in defensive talents or useful utility.
We have made some changes in the tree to encourage Restoration Druids to specialize in either physical or magic damage (if they choose to deal damage at all), but not both. The Circle of the Wild / Circle of the Heavens choice node gives a massive 25% bonus to the damage type of their choice. We hope this change frees players up to take more defensive talents and makes the spec easier to learn and pilot for players who are interested in playing it.
- Many talents have changed position in the talent tree.
- New Talent: Grievous Wounds – Rake, Rip, and Thrash damage increased by 10%.
- New Talent: Gale Winds – Increases Typhoon’s radius by 20% and its range by 5 yards.
- New Talent: Incessant Tempest – Reduces the cooldown of Typhoon by 5 seconds.
- New Talent: Circle of the Wild – Physical damage dealt by your abilities increased by 5% (25% for Restoration Druids).
- New Talent: Circle of the Heavens – Magical damage dealt by your spells increased by 5% (25% for Restoration Druids).
- New Talent: Lycara’s Meditation – You retain Lycara’s Teachings’ bonus from your most recent form for 5 seconds after shifting out of it.
- New Talent: Symbiotic Relationship – Form a bond with an ally. Your self-healing also heals your bonded ally for 10% of the amount healed. Your healing to your bonded ally also heals you for 8% of the amount healed.
- New Talent: Aessina’s Renewal – When a hit deals more than 12% of your maximum health, instantly heal for 10% of your health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 30 seconds.
- New Talent: Perfectly-Honed Instincts – Well-Honed Instincts can trigger up to once every 90 seconds.
- Ursoc’s Spirit has been updated – Stamina increased by 4%. Stamina in Bear Form is increased by an additional 5%.
- Developers’ notes: These bonuses multiply together, so Druids’ health in Bear Form remains unchanged.
- Light of the Sun replaces Skull Bash for Balance Druids only – The remaining cooldown of Solar Beam is reduced by 15 seconds when it interrupts its primary target.
- Improved Rejuvenation has been changed to Lingering Healing – Rejuvenation’s duration is increased by 3 seconds. Regrowth’s duration is increased by 3 seconds when cast on yourself.
- Instincts of the Claw is now a 1-point talent (was 2) and has been updated – Ferocious Bite and Maul damage increased by 8%.
- Lore of the Grove is now a 1-point talent (was 2) and has been updated – Moonfire and Sunfire damage increased by 10%.
- Fluid Form has been updated – Skull Bash can now be used in any form and shifts you into Cat Form if necessary.
- Rejuvenation healing increased by 5%.
- Wild Growth healing increased by 5%.
- Rip damage reduced by 9%.
- Shred damage increased by 10%.
- Swipe damage increased by 10%.
- Ferocious Bite damage reduced by 8%.
- Cyclone duration is now 5 seconds (was 6 seconds).
- Disorienting Roar now breaks based on a small damage threshold instead of any damage.
- Rising Light, Falling Night has been removed.
- Hero Talents
- Druid of the Claw
- Ravage damage reduced by 8%.
- Druid of the Claw
- Balance
- Sunfire is now learned at level 10 (was a talent).
- The following talents have been removed:
- Light of the Sun
- Sunfire (now learned at level 10)
- Feral
- Thrash now learned at level 10 (was a talent).
- Brutal Slash damage increased by 10%.
- Killer Instinct no longer increases damage dealt by Moonfire cast with Lunar Inspiration.
- Guardian
- New Talent: Ursol’s Warding – Gain magical damage reduction equal to 5/10% of your damage reduction from armor.
- Reinvigoration has been updated – Frenzied Regeneration heals over 1/2 additional seconds, and casts Rejuvenation and Regrowth on you at 100/200% effectiveness.
- Verdant Heart now learned at level 10 (was a talent).
- Mangle damage increased by 10%.
- Maul damage reduced by 8%.
- Raze damage reduced by 8%.
- Raze now replaces Maul.
- Layered Mane has been removed.
- Restoration
- Improved Nature’s Cure is now learned at level 10 (was a talent).
- Mastery: Harmony – Effectiveness increased by 30%. Now reduces its bonus with each additional heal over time effect.
- Developers’ notes: This update to Mastery: Harmony is intended to reward more heavily the first few heal over time effects applied to allies while tempering the scaling at large heal over time counts. This scaling will still always make it a bonus to have additional heal over time effects on targets.
- Tranquility channel time reduced to base 5 seconds (was 8 seconds). Total healing unchanged.
- Nature’s Swiftness now increases the healing of Regrowth by 200% (was 100%).
- Flourish now causes an initial heal effect on affected allies, split evenly among them.
- All damage reduced by 20%.
- Developers’ notes: This damage reduction keeps Restoration Druid’s physical or magic damage dealt equivalent to previous patches when selecting the Circle of the Wilds or Circle of the Heavens talents. We are making this change with the goal of moving Restoration Druids towards utilizing either their damaging physical abilities or magic spells instead of weaving between them both in order to reduce the damage rotation complexity.