How is Druid with 7.0? Fun or nah?

[Polarthief]

Hey there, alt Druid here. I've mained a Mage since 2.4.3, and with the pre-patch, I'm honestly feeling really meh about my main, and with the artifact being what it is, I want to get a more fun "main" to start Legion out with, especially one with a Spell DPS and non-DPS role, so I'm looking at my Druid, but I have some questions for people who have played Druid for longer than I.

@Balance Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Balance (fun-wise)?
- I personally hated the shifting-on-its-own solar/lunar thing and I really can't stand that. Someone please tell me that's been scrapped?
- How mobile (instants, mobile casting, speed boosts) is Boomkin?
- What self/other utility do Boomkins now have?

@Restoration Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Restoration fairing (again, fun-wise)?
- Are Resto Druids still fairly mobile?
- Do Restos still have group utility?

@Guardian Players
- Now that Dodge has been dropped as the core mechanic, how are Guardians doing? Hopefully a lot better?
- I only jumped on my Druid for a sec but I'd like to ask, what's up with Moonfire exactly?

@Feral Players
- Feral was probably the only spec I didn't intend to play, but I'd still like to hear some people out on this:
= Are Ferals still really hard to play, and is Savage Roar still a thing?

@Beta/Theorycrafting Players
- Does the artifact(s) mesh well with the spec(s)?

[Canield]

Hey there, alt Druid here. I've mained a Mage since 2.4.3, and with the pre-patch, I'm honestly feeling really meh about my main, and with the artifact being what it is, I want to get a more fun "main" to start Legion out with, especially one with a Spell DPS and non-DPS role, so I'm looking at my Druid, but I have some questions for people who have played Druid for longer than I.

@Balance Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Balance (fun-wise)?
- I personally hated the shifting-on-its-own solar/lunar thing and I really can't stand that. Someone please tell me that's been scrapped?
- How mobile (instants, mobile casting, speed boosts) is Boomkin?
- What self/other utility do Boomkins now have?

@Restoration Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Restoration fairing (again, fun-wise)?
- Are Resto Druids still fairly mobile?
- Do Restos still have group utility?

@Guardian Players
- Now that Dodge has been dropped as the core mechanic, how are Guardians doing? Hopefully a lot better?
- I only jumped on my Druid for a sec but I'd like to ask, what's up with Moonfire exactly?

@Feral Players
- Feral was probably the only spec I didn't intend to play, but I'd still like to hear some people out on this:
= Are Ferals still really hard to play, and is Savage Roar still a thing?

@Beta/Theorycrafting Players
- Does the artifact(s) mesh well with the spec(s)?

Not sure of pve. But balance is fun for pvp. Running warrior is like on demand owlkin frenzy. Shooting stars is kinda nice too. They gave balance swiftmend which is pretty legit.

[Maelleous]

I'm not liking the new Gaurdian rotation, lots of waiting around and staring at your toolbar now for things to proc or come off CD.

[Deleted]

@Guardian Players
- Now that Dodge has been dropped as the core mechanic, how are Guardians doing? Hopefully a lot better?
- I only jumped on my Druid for a sec but I'd like to ask, what's up with Moonfire exactly?

Dodge is almost gone, right. Bears are large armored, high HP tanks now. Maybe the best tank for progression in Legion, or at least one of the best. Rotation is still quite boring, you keep 2 spells on cooldown, maintain moonfire dot and spam swipe the rest of the time.

@ Moonfire. Its just there for DPS unless you spec into Galactic Guardian. With Galactic Guardian Moonfire becomes your best rage generator.

[Oster]

@Restoration Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Restoration fairing (again, fun-wise)?
- Are Resto Druids still fairly mobile?
- Do Restos still have group utility?

Resto is still pretty similar imo, definitely still mobile.. though I'm finding it tough to maximize the benefit of the new mastery. Maybe it's just me lol, not sure how others feel.

[Shyzhi]

So... iv been druid since 2004 and did a lot of testing on the beta for the class to see what specs id enjoy and how they have changed and this is where i feel they are with 7.0 and going forward with the points you made.

Balance

Well first of all, yes the shifting has gone its not a resorces called "Astral Power" a builder spender class like warriors, DKs, Shamans (now) and others. You use spells to build astral power and use that astral power on "bigger" spells that buff your main ones. Its.. a kinda.. same play style? But different at the same time. At first i was like OMG THIS IS GONNA SUCK!! but after playing beta and doing talent swaps it is a really nice change. You aint forced into one spell every X seconds.

Instant casts we have our dots still, They are on 2 different keys now like before so you can put Moonfire and Sunfire up on target at once no having to wait for the spell to change over, With us now going astral power its.. abit harder to just turret out Starsurges as we need to build but we have talents to help us with that. Warrior of Elune lets you cast 2x Starfire (now called Lunar Strike...) into a target with no cast time. We still have Owlkin Frenzy so being slapped lets you instacast spells aswell.

Utility you mean raid wise or pvp wise? raid wise we get Innervate, basicly allowing a healer to cast spells with no mana cost. All druid specs at level 45 get to pick an "Affinity" basicly.. a minor spec in there main spec. So as Balance you can be Feral / Guardian and Resto Affinity. When you pick one you get a few spells from that spec (weaker ofc) but.. they can help abit.


Restoration

Resto is basicly the same as it is was in WoD, Hot people and your good to go... same utility as a balance druid really...

Guardian

Guardians pretty much are the same as before but instead of dodge you just gain.. armor. You keep your thrash up aswell as moonfire now, its basicly... Lacerate.. but ranged. Playing it on beta its not that bad, kinda cool now we just buff our armor and have massive health pools kinda like an old school druid tank.

Feral

Feral is.. also the same. yes savage roar is a thing IF you talent it. But i got a feeling alot of people wont do that anyway lol, iv talented it just because i like having things to micro manage. Keep bleeds up, keep savage roar up if you have it, aswell as buff dots with blood talons if you took that too.. but there is alot of different playstyles.



The biggest change was for balance druids and there new resources system. Just.. get on try the specs and see how you feel with it all!

[Useful]

I have been kitty > resto > moonkin during WoD. On beta i tried guardian and iam definitely going to main it in legion.

[ryklin]

guardian got nerfed to some degree and FR is a hot with a cd and savage defense fur doesn't have a cd, but essentially still plays the same mangle>not mangle prio queue, also lots more haste scaling

resto and feral are essentially the same but with new talents and the whole spirit no longer exists bullshit which kinda kills the whole idea of spammy healer gameplay and pushes us back to bc, but with no 5s rule

and new boomkin is ok, I prolly enjoy it more than wod boom

[Hobbes0773]

Feral is the same, but only if you want it to be.

Right now it feels perfectly viable to drop the concepts of a slow playing, methodical feral and instead change over to a feral that is trying to not cap energy, has no Savage Roar to mess with, and it trying to fit FB in between his insanely fast bleed ticks.

All in all, I am having more fun with feral than I ever have. I am pretty sure if they actually gave me back Cyclone I would die from the euphoric overload.

[Cowa]

Balance is fun so far, definitely quite different having some control over your spec. I feel like a hunter

[Polarthief]

So after playing around a bit (only with Guardian/Boomy so far), here's my thoughts:

Guardian
- It's fun! Though there are times where I feel confused on what to hit.
- What exactly is my "filler"? Before I had Thrash and Lacerate, now I have Swipe and Moonfire. Do Swipe and Moonfire just overtake Thrash and Lacerate as fillers from WoD?
- What is Maul's purpose? I've basically removed it from my bars because I cannot find the answer to that.

Boomkin
- Also fun! Not a huge fan of DoT management, but Balance of Power makes it a lot more tolerable.
- Love how there's no more switching between Solar/Lunar. Solar is ST and Lunar is AoE (unless you Starsurge, then you do one of each). Very simple and straightforward!
- Two concerns I have is on-demand burst and mobility. I'm used to Mage where I'll typically have RNG procs to save up; is Starsurge intended to be this on-demand burst saving tool now? Also regarding mobility, that falls to the Fires and Starsurge I take it?
- One more thing is the Artifact. Is it just me or is the Boomkin artifact traits a bit lackluster compared to the other three? The only thing that caught my eye was New/Half Moon. Anyone play the beta know what those are all about?

Later today when my stupid power stops surging, I'll test out Resto and maybe take a peek at Feral. Really excited about Druid thus far though! Thanks everyone for your opinions and input

[Bearshield]

I'm not liking the new Gaurdian rotation, lots of waiting around and staring at your toolbar now for things to proc or come off CD.

Hate to say it, but you're doing it wrong if you're just waiting around and staring at your toolbar for something to do. Mangle and Thrash have cd's, Moonfire and Swipe, however, do not and should be used while waiting for Mangle and Thrash to come back up. It's not the most exciting rotation, but there is always something to push.

[Ilnezhara]

Balance is the least in-demand class for Mythic + dungeons which are a huge part of the game, it's very disappointing, if I wasn't locked in because of my guild I would stay away and I suggest you do too.

Leveling as Balance will also give you a headache.

[Polarthief]

Balance is the least in-demand class for Mythic + dungeons which are a huge part of the game, it's very disappointing, if I wasn't locked in because of my guild I would stay away and I suggest you do too.

Leveling as Balance will also give you a headache.

Doesn't mean I can't play Feral, Guardian, or Restoration though. I'm also considering having a second class (Mage or Paladin since I have them both at 100, or Priest because they look fun) geared up for niche reasons.

May I ask why they're the "least in-demand spec" though?

[procne]

- What is Maul's purpose? I've basically removed it from my bars because I cannot find the answer to that.

Well, maul doesn't share cd with anything, so if you have rage then it's extra little dps

[Polarthief]

Well, maul doesn't share cd with anything, so if you have rage then it's extra little dps

"If", though, and it's only a DPS increase, no survivability/mitigation at all? I thought that was the whole point of Tooth and Claw (which has since been removed).

I feel like they should remove the cost of Maul and make it a weak filler in place of Moonfire (since spamming Moonfire feels odd as a Bear, lol).

(Not that I want Moonfire removed, I just don't want it to be my close-range single target filler)

[Leodok]

@Guardian Players
- Now that Dodge has been dropped as the core mechanic, how are Guardians doing? Hopefully a lot better?
- I only jumped on my Druid for a sec but I'd like to ask, what's up with Moonfire exactly?

It's a bit weird because I got used to what it was before, but it's actually pretty good.
And that bear form...

@Feral Players
- Feral was probably the only spec I didn't intend to play, but I'd still like to hear some people out on this:
= Are Ferals still really hard to play, and is Savage Roar still a thing?

I believe Savage Roar is still a thing.

[Malmmoc]

I feel like they should remove the cost of Maul and make it a weak filler

Maul is off the gcd. You use it while doing other things. It is tuned as a *small* dps increase for those who are not currently tanking or can ballance their rage expenditures well. Swipe is the spammy filler.

[Polarthief]

It is tuned as a *small* dps increase for those who are not currently tanking or can ballance their rage expenditures well.

Okay that makes a lot more sense, gotcha.

Also a small update, I tried Feral while running old dungeons because Dash is currently bugged for Bear/Boom, and wow, I'm actually enjoying it way more than I thought I would. Pulling crap for DPS (~30-40k in HFC LFR), but it's still fun.

Still haven't tried Resto yet, been too pre-occupied getting Illusions and stuff

[Raugnaut]

Hey there, alt Druid here. I've mained a Mage since 2.4.3, and with the pre-patch, I'm honestly feeling really meh about my main, and with the artifact being what it is, I want to get a more fun "main" to start Legion out with, especially one with a Spell DPS and non-DPS role, so I'm looking at my Druid, but I have some questions for people who have played Druid for longer than I.

@Balance Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Balance (fun-wise)?
- I personally hated the shifting-on-its-own solar/lunar thing and I really can't stand that. Someone please tell me that's been scrapped?
- How mobile (instants, mobile casting, speed boosts) is Boomkin?
- What self/other utility do Boomkins now have?

@Restoration Players
- Compared to WoD, how is Restoration fairing (again, fun-wise)?
- Are Resto Druids still fairly mobile?
- Do Restos still have group utility?

@Guardian Players
- Now that Dodge has been dropped as the core mechanic, how are Guardians doing? Hopefully a lot better?
- I only jumped on my Druid for a sec but I'd like to ask, what's up with Moonfire exactly?

@Feral Players
- Feral was probably the only spec I didn't intend to play, but I'd still like to hear some people out on this:
= Are Ferals still really hard to play, and is Savage Roar still a thing?

@Beta/Theorycrafting Players
- Does the artifact(s) mesh well with the spec(s)?

Feral is, for the most part, untouched. Our main cooldown is now a talent (Berserk was merged with Incarnation), and there are talents that both increase the complexity of the spec (Add moonfire to the rotation, dots are 50% strong but have to be applied 33% more often, Savage Roar is a talent that shares a tier with Incarnation), and talents that decrease complexity of said spec (Bite always refreshes rip, and a talent that replaces Swipe with an extremely high damage ability that)

Guardian is a complete meatshield now - 9/9 attacks will hit face. Fortunately, our kit is designed around taking 9/9 hits to face. Frenzied Regen has been changed to be something like Death Strike - It's healing has been reduced to 5% of max health OR 50% of damage taken in the last 5 seconds (Compared to Death Strike's 10% health or 20% damage taken in last 5 seconds). It has a significantly longer CD though (24 seconds), so its more impactful. Mark of Ursol grants 30% magic damage reduction for 6 seconds, and Ironfur grants 75% additional armor for 6 seconds (Stacking, so if you manage to get 5 within those 6 seconds, the last second, you will have another 375% extra armor, or pretty much 85% armor cap)

Resto is more or less the same as WoD. Resto's have gained group utility - Innervate has been added again. 3 min CD, allows a healer to cast spells without spending mana (So a powerful mana utility CD). Ursol's Vortex is now resto-only. Tranq now heals the entirety of the raid (Doubled healing in 5 mans and below).

IDK bout balance.