Finding Balance: a Return to the "Core Fantasy" of Druids

[Falerin]

TLDR version: The Balance specialization has strayed too far from the "core fantasy" of the druid class. In the following is a proposal to redesign the spec and its identity. Key points include:
-Abandon the astrological theme
-Refocus spec abilities around manipulation of plant-based life (both sentient and not), harnessing the wind, and drawing power from the Emerald Dream
-Keep the flavor of maintaining "balance", but now seek balance between the "waking" (physical) and "dreaming" (spiritual) worlds
*For those who have fallen in love with the huggable Moonkin form, it can be preserved through talents and/or cosmetic glyphs

Since I will be rambling for awhile, I've broken it up into smaller, more easily digestible sections. If your interest has been piqued, continue onwards for a discussion of flavor/fantasy of druids in the Warcraft universe.



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When Blizzard announced revamps for classes/specs to better fit their core fantasy, I was hopeful that balance druids would “return to their roots” (pun intended), with a more nature-focused rather than astrological flavor. Although I think the preview represents a large improvement over the current eclipse bar gameplay, I was disappointed to see that they are sticking to a heavy emphasis on moon/sun/stars.

I was introduced to the Warcraft universe through WC3, and none of the druid units had any abilities that suggested any particular connection to the moon or stars. In fact, it was quite explicit that “celestial empowerment” (through Elune’s blessing) was exclusive to the Sentinels (female warrior caste of the night elves). The druids on the other hand (male-only back then) drew their powers from the Emerald Dream and Nature itself.

I realize that things have changed in the modern/“revisionist” age (i.e. male night elven priests/warriors; female/non-elven druids), but I don’t see how druids have suddenly co-opted abilities previously reserved for the Priesthood of Elune. It seems absurd that a troll druid (at least based on his/her spellbook) possesses a stronger connection to Elune than a night elven priest. Similarly, it is bizarre that druids have lately gained solar powers (somehow manifesting as the Nature element, rather than Fire or Holy); feels like druids are usurping the powers of the Light that Tauren priests and paladins (Sunwalkers) gain through worship of An’she.

Other druid specs have a much better fit to their spec identity/flavor: feral/guardian embody wild, animal aspects of nature, channeling them into raw physical prowess, whereas resto is more in tune with plant-based (and fungal) life forms, with emphasis on their healing and nurturing properties. The balance specialization alone seems to have strayed far from its “core fantasy.”

In my mind, the toolkit of an offensively-oriented druidic spellcaster would revolve around the following motifs:

-manipulating plants offensively (roots, thorns, etc)
-calling upon the wind (as Druids of the Talon, taking the aspect of the raven/storm crow)
-channeling raw “spiritual” energy from the Emerald Dream
-calling upon the aid of treants and other allies from the forest/Dream (temporary guardians)

If you haven't gotten bored yet, continue onward for overarching concepts for the spec.



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-In keeping with the idea of “balance”, change the spec identity to balancing the druid’s presence between the physical world and the Emerald Dream (yes, I’m plagiarizing from the Avatar universe; balance between material/spirit worlds). Dreamstate would be added to the shapeshift bar, which partially “shifts” the druid from the physical or “waking” world into the Emerald Dream (“dreamshifting”). The normal caster form would be referred to as the Awakened state.

*The baseline Dreamshift would have a glowing/translucent visual effect (similar to current Astral form, minus the sparkly stars), but a cosmetic glyph could be added to make it appear as moonkin form for diehard fans (Glyph of the Dreaming Owl).

Mechanically, here’s an overview of how it might play out:
-Mana is the primary resource (don’t see a need to invent a new resource), and regenerates rapidly while in Dreamstate. You can manually dreamshift, but it automatically activates if you run out of mana
-While in Dreamstate, your spirit/energy-based spells are empowered. However, you cannot cast spells involving manipulation of physical matter, either living (plants) or inorganic (wind). Attempting to cast these spells will automatically cause you to shift out of Dreamstate.
-While in the Awakened state, you have access to larger arsenal of spells - forces of nature awaken with the druid! These spells will generally be more powerful but also quite mana intensive.
-You gain Ysera’s Boon upon awakening (temporary empowerment buff such as crit and/or haste) upon Awakening, with effectiveness based on total damage and healing done while in Dreamstate
-Mastery could be something that increases Dreamstate bonuses as well as the effectiveness/duration of Ysera’s Boon

Still here and awake? Continue onward for proposed abilities in the core rotation



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CORE ROTATION ABILITIES (potential talent modifiers indicated by *)

DREAMSTATE
Nature’s Wrath Basic filler nuke, animation would be a green energy ball. Increased damage and reduced cast time while in Dreamstate
Dreamfire Functionally similar to Moonfire, but with an emerald/jade visual effect. When in Dreamstate, both direct damage and DoT component cleave to nearby enemies (similar to current Sunfire).
*Faerie Fire Druid can see targets affected by Dreamfire even when stealthed/invisible, and gains increased critical strike chance against those targets.

Dreamweaver (passive) While in Dreamstate, your critical strikes (both damage and healing) have a chance to restore mana

Faerie Beacon (passive) While in Dreamstate, your Dreamfire DoT ticks have a chance to summon a Faerie Dragon to aid you in battle (basically the t18 4-set). Faerie Dragons fire magic volleys at your target, and periodically buff a nearby ally with Pixie Dust (prioritizing the summoner)
Pixie Dust: Increases critical strike by 30%, buff is consumed upon direct damage/heal crit

AWAKENED STATE
Thorns When cast on yourself, you have a chance to gain a Thorn charge (up to some cap) each time you take or deal direct damage.
=>Hail of Thorns Consumes all stored Thorn charges, releasing the thorns over 3 seconds (channeled), striking your target and nearby enemies for physical damage, preferentially seeking your primary target. (sort of combining frost mage icicles with hunters’ Barrage).
*Poisoned Thorns Each thorn leaves a stacking poison DoT (up to some cap)
*Pinning Thorns Enemies struck by thorns are immobilized for 3 seconds
*Thornweaver Hail of Thorns is no longer channeled, and automatically activates when you reach maximum thorn charges

Force of Nature Stores up to 3 charges. Activating will consume all charges, summoning an equal number of Treants to attack your target. Each treant has an energy bar that depletes over time; they despawn when their energy reaches zero. You can have a maximum of 5 treants; if you would go above this limit, you instead restore energy (based on number of FoN charges) divided evenly among your existing treants
*A lot of fun possibilities here with talents that give Treants additional abilities or increase their interaction with your other spells

Grovekeeper (passive) Your critical strikes while Awakened have a chance to restore a charge of Force of Nature

Impaling Roots A line of roots burst from the ground from the caster to target, causing physical damage and knocking enemies upward (inspired by Anub’arak’s Impale). Critical strike chance doubled against the primary target.

Living Tornado Whips up a furious swirl of wind and leaves at target area, dealing moderate Nature damage to enemies within the radius. Living Tornado will slowly chase after the largest cluster of nearby enemies.
*Vortex Tornado no longer chases enemies, but slows enemy movement speed and pulls back enemies that escape the area of effect (same utility as current Ursol’s Vortex).
*Silencing Gale Interrupts spellcasting and silences enemies caught within for 3 seconds (same utility as current Solar Beam)

BURST COOLDOWNS

Lucid Dream Enter an improved Dreamstate for 15 seconds, retaining the ability to cast Awakened spells. Also activates/refreshes Ysera’s Boon and increases all damage and healing by 10% (a parallel to the current Celestial Alignment)

Horn of Cenarius Invoke echoes of the Horn of Cenarius. When activated, your next spell costs no mana and becomes empowered:
Force of Nature: Instead of treants, you summon an Ancient Protector (giant tree) with health and attack power proportional to the number of FoN charges consumed
Impaling Roots: After a short delay, all of your active treants mimic your spell
Living Tornado: the Living Tornado is empowered, affecting a larger radius and dealing more damage, and does not trigger the cooldown. (will be able to have an empowered and normal tornado simultaneously active)
Nature’s Wrath: Instead of a normal missile, send forth a Greater Wisp which travels at a moderate speed towards your target, damaging all enemies in its path. Detonates upon impact with the target, dealing massive to the target and moderate AoE damage.

I commend those who've made it this far. Next up: some potentially cool high-level talents or artifact traits, utility/hybrid-oriented spells, and cosmetic glyphs



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Some ideas for cool “ultimate” spells/talents:

Avianna’s Fury Blast the enemy with a furious gale of wind, dealing heavy Nature damage to the target and nearby enemies (basically Chaos Wave, R.I.P. demo lock metamorphosis). Damage further increased on enemies caught within a Living Tornado
Emerald Wind Release an expanding nova of mystical wind that damages and pushes enemies back, while healing allies (inspired by HotS Brightwing’s heroic)
Verdant Upheaval Impaling Roots is now accompanied by a secondary wave of erupting soil and plant matter (wider cone around the original line), dealing additional nature damage. Enemies within the wake of the eruption have their movement speed slowed by the tangle of roots and vines.

Utility and hybrid-oriented abilities:

Dream’s Grasp Drags target humanoid, giant, beast, or dragonkin into the Dream with the druid, forcing them to sleep. Druid also dreamshifts if they are not already in Dreamstate. Any damage besides the DoT component of Dreamfire will break the effect.
Phase Shift (passive) When below 50% health, activating Dreamstate causes the druid to momentarily phase completely out of the physical world into the Dream, gaining invisibility and invulnerability for 3 seconds; any actions while phase shifted will cancel the effect prematurely. Phase Shift can only trigger once every 2 minutes.
Symbiosis (passive) Your effective healing on others restores a proportional amount of mana to you
Circle of Life Passively, you are restored mana anytime one of your treants is killed prematurely. Activate to return all your treants to the earth (counts as premature death), creating a patch of fertile soil which heals allies standing within.

Enraged Wildkin Temporary shapeshift (make use of current Incarnation moonkin model) that grants additional maximum health, reduces all damage taken, and greatly increases threat generation. Attacks made against the druid in this form can trigger Wildkin Frenzy, making the next spell instant cast and deal increased damage. Moonkin tanking!!!


Some ideas for cosmetic glyphs:
Dreaming Owl your Dreamstate form appears as a moonkin (for diehard fans)
Divine Invocation Invokes your racial “divinity” to alter the visual appearance of Dreamfire
-Night-Elf and Worgen: Moonfire
-Tauren: Sunfire
-Troll: Spiritfire (loa spirits/voodoo…purple?)
Fungal Affinity Instead of treants/ancients, your Force of Nature summons fungal shamblers/giants



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What do you guys think? Am I completely off-base with the “mainstream” balance druids, or does this proposal resonate with some of you as well?

[Jademist]

I actually read all of that and I have to say, I like this concept more than the whole astronomy theme of Balance right now...Managing solar and lunar and stellar crap doesn't bring to mind powerful druidic themes like Malfurion (arguably the most important druid alive), who, y'know, likes to manipulate the wind and summon treants and use roots to attack folk and spend time in and out of the Emerald Dream, a realm intricately tied with the Druid class fantasy but is never explored in any of the specs of the Druid class.

[huth]

“return to their roots”

Moonfire spam?

Next time, check up what those roots are, first.

[Deleted]

I love absolutely everything about these ideas! These are all quite commendable in spirit while also having mechanical potential.

In terms of concepts, I am particularly captivated by the the Dreamstate/Awakened state gameplay, Force of Nature duration extension, and the whole setup with Thorns and its modifiers. They creatively build upon Druid lore and give the spec a really strong buff maintenance presence.

The two things to watch out for would be pet AI reliance (and pets' fleeting lives) and the mana management in itself. Faerie Beacon is a reliable and unusual solution for the latter, but it can hurt because of the former. Having the Faerie Dragon apply a stack of Pixie Dust on you when it is summoned would help. Force of Nature is more of a problem with the amount of minions you want to maintain—they are really at risk regarding fight-specific mechanics that screw over pets; it's a risky plan to go pet-heavy on a class with only one spell DPS spec.

Intense AoE phases would be absolutely amazing with preparing a big Ysera's Boon, using a Dreamstate-boosted Dreamfire and then Awakening to use a combo of Hail of Thorns + Impaling Roots/Living Tornado. The slow movement (and need to be at close range for maximum potential) of Living Tornado and the need to build charges/uptime for Thorns/Ysera's Boon balance it out to some degree. It looks like a very solid opportunity for skillful play and good planning while also offering a gameplay niche for the spec.

The burst cooldowns look quite basic but hold a good chunk of flavour—Horn of Cenarius may be too versatile and synergetic, though. I would stick with the Force of Nature and Living Tornado effects, with the former allowing you to focus burst with one bigger minion and the latter giving you the occasional chance to apply some localised AoE with less planning. I would completely remove or strongly alter the Impaling Roots effect because of the insane AoE potential and its reliance on the treants. I feel the path-damaging effect on the Nature's Wrath empowerment is excessive and perhaps even outright harmful if you just want to single-target nuke with CC'd creatures nearby.

I don't have anything to offer regarding the "ultimate" spells/talents: they all have good identities and specific uses. The utility/hybrid abilities section is equally as solid. However, as much as I loved Owlkin Frenzy spell SPAM tanking, I would propose shrugging off Enraged Wildkin entirely and simply sticking to Bear Form with the usage of the Affinity talent in Legion—we needn't forget about shapeshifts entirely!

The cosmetic glyphs look like a nice baseline of ideas.

In terms of the PvP consequences of this design, I can see how incredibly CC-focused the spec would be with Pinning Thorns, Impaling Roots, and the rest of the usual spells... maybe too much CC power. Having one more damaging spell to cast, either one to use on the move or one to capitalise on if you can stall opponents enough to release a big cast, would be something to consider.

That's all I can think of right now. Once again, really nice write-up! I would be glad to see Blizzard considering the themes and/or the design of something like this in the future, even if it steps a bit on Arcane Mages' mana management niche.

[Falerin]

Moonfire spam?

Next time, check up what those roots are, first.

Roots that go deeper than WoW - down to the original incarnation of druids introduced in WC3. There were only really 3 druidic units back then: Druids of the Claw (Rejuvenation, Roar, and Bear Form abilities), Druids of the Talon (Cyclone, Faerie Fire, and Crow Form), and Archdruid/Keeper of the Grove (Treants, Thorns, Entangling Roots, and Tranquility).

Since you brought up Moonfire, here's another fun fact: the quintessential Moonfire icon art, which has come to represent the spec as a whole, was originally the icon graphic for Starfall, the ultimate ability of the Priestess of the Moon hero unit in WC3 (a.k.a. Tyrande).

Since Blizzard seems deeply interested in revisiting their original Warcraft RTS story with their upcoming movie, it seemed fitting to re-examine balance druids in a similarly "historical" context.

- - - Updated - - -

Runasutaru - Thank you for the constructive feedback! I am glad that you enjoyed reading this light novel (lol). Certainly there would need to be a whole lot of adjustments for ability mechanics, and the current proposal presents a number of potential issues in actual gameplay. My main goal was to outline another vision for balance druids that would be more true to the flavor/lore of druids in the Warcraft franchise, and provide an example of how it might translate into unique and engaging gameplay. Although in a few cases I listed dummy values, for the most part I tried to avoid getting too specific with numerical details (and completely neglected stuff like cast times and cooldowns).

Anyways, I'm glad that you enjoyed the read - it was pretty fun brainstorming while I was writing it. I welcome you and others to continue building upon this sketch with your own input and suggestions. Perhaps if these ideas circulate widely and gain enough traction, it might inspire Blizz devs to rethink their current model the next time they overhaul the spec.

[entropictrap]

don't have time to read the whole thing but did'nt see it while skimming and wanted to ask if you had posted this to Blizzard's forums as well?

[Gladeheart]

This is incredible! I would play the crap outta this, please post it to the official forums! I'd agree that parts of it may seem a little CC/pet heavy but I think that could be fixed. Also, in terms of the 'one with nature', plant-based theme I think they just chose resto instead of balance to try to give balance it's own identity - I agree with you completely though that the whole stars/moon part of druidism never seemed quite right. I'd love them to change to something much more in line with what you've written here. Great job!

[Falerin]

Ohreeree & Tyfurion - thanks for the suggestion; I just copy-pasted my post to a new topic in the Druid forums on the official forum.

istheshiz (who I forgot to acknowledge earlier) and Tyfurion - I am glad to hear that you also enjoy this "original" flavor over the new "space-age" version. Although it is arguably satisfying to claim the ability to move the heavens themselves (since demons are using spaceships to launch their next invasion, why not just grab a bunch of moonkin to nuke them out of orbit), it just feels so disconnected from how druids were originally presented.

[Madus]

Ye, something like that should be balance druid long time ago .

One thing what you should incorporate into that suggestion is:
Whole current balance druid theme should be moved to 4th spec for priests.
Name them like Priest of the Moon / Elune's priest / Astral priest, whatever..
Allow oneway, onetime classtransfer from druid -> priest.
You know pretty much people like this "astral" theme so it would be wrong to scrap it.
Or
5th spec for druid Thornweaver based on summoning temp plants x).

[Kuniku]

That was a really good read OP, I'm always more of a resto guy, but that does sound both fun and thematically awesome =D

[emni]

I LOVE it!

I started playing in 2006 and the first time I saw a druid was some guys dueling in front of Stormwind and the druid used Entangling Roots on their opponent. I was just in awe. I was a lvl one-digit warlock and the idea that someone was so attuned with nature that they could get the environment around them to help pacify their enemy was just ridiculously cool to me.

I think this feeling of being the manifest of plant power is really missing from druid nowadays. I've always felt like the "weather effect" spells were kind of a mistake from the first time they introduced Cyclone; imo wind things should remain shaman territory. Also sun just doesn't fit anything a druid stands for and should not be included in druid kit whatsoever. It feels to me like it was shoehorned in after someone went "So we have the moon... and it's balance druid... what balances the moon? Oh yeah, the sun! Bingo."

Druids should be about plants, animals, the moon, stars... and sleeping.

[thilicen]

Moonfire spam?

Next time, check up what those roots are, first.

Warcraft lore did not start with WoW btw.

[huth]

Warcraft lore did not start with WoW btw.

No. But WarCraft lore before WoW didn't have enough meat to make a complete Druid class, either.

Balance didn't even exist before WoW. And as it is, it never was as close to the "core fantasy" headcanon of the OP as it is made out to be in this thread, and it was rather lacking in any distinct identity(and, for that matter, a confused pile of poorly fitting mechanics) until Moonkins got added and the TBC rework was done.
The Druids were only just woken up in WC3. Balance was simply a side of Druidism that wasn't shown in that game.

Lastly, the vast majority of WarCraft lore is from WoW and accompanying materials.

And to this...

Similarly, it is bizarre that druids have lately gained solar powers (somehow manifesting as the Nature element, rather than Fire or Holy); feels like druids are usurping the powers of the Light that Tauren priests and paladins (Sunwalkers) gain through worship of An’she.

No, it actually isn't. The two are based on Druidic traditions, unlike the respective orders of other races. Druids aren't ursurping their powers, they are taking them from their Druidic traditions in the first place.

And Spell Schools are game mechanics, not lore. Don't get to hung up on those. In fact, there's quite a bit of throwing game mechanics and lore together and resulting in nonsensical conclusions. Yes, it doesn't make sense for Trolls to have a stronger connection to Elune... because they don't. But it wouldn't make for a better game if you randomly restricted Troll Druids from choosing Balance spec, and Blizzard has been pretty clear that when presented with the choice, they will generally prefer making a better game.

Calling it "revisionist" also seems rather backwards to me. "Enlightened" would fit far better, since it includes things like gender equality.


I don't entirely dislike the ideas presented here, but at this point, this would be more appropriate as a new spec or part of a new class, rather than as a Balance rework. It's far to late to re-envision their entire identity.

- - - Updated - - -

I've always felt like the "weather effect" spells were kind of a mistake from the first time they introduced Cyclone; imo wind things should remain shaman territory. Also sun just doesn't fit anything a druid stands for and should not be included in druid kit whatsoever.

That would be WarCraft 3. Druids had that spell before WoW was ever a thing.

And try growing plants in eternal darkness. The sun is a pretty important part of nature.

[Wildmoon]

I always love the idea of using plant,weather,life based spells too but I don't think being themed around solar and lunar is that bad. Solar and Lunar energy are parts of nature as whole. Druids harness the power of nature which cover basically almost everything from plants,animals,wind,earth,astral power,etc. Also Malfurion killed Varothen by blasting him with some sort of energy blast that basically reduced Varothen into nothingness. It was explained to be Azeroth's pure energy but my head-canon is that the ability fit with balance theme. It may be some sort of wrath. A lot of Druid's utility spells like Force of Nature,Ursol's Vortex,etc are also based on classic Druid theme

[Lionor]

Very cool idea, quite well thought out and a refreshing read!

I have a couple of comments (some on the mechanics side and some on the thematic side).

Mechanics:
In order to avoid clunkiness and confusion I would make it so that Awakend/Dreamstate abilities are an empowered mirror of eachother. So basically when you switch states your bars remain the same but the functionality of the spells changes.

So thorns would be castable in Dreamstate but Hail of Thorns would be castable in Awakened state.
Wrath could also cleave in Dreamstate, or just hit for more.
Impaling roots I just don't like/find fitting. I think your idea of a wisp pathing and exploding on the primary target is a much better spell to fill a similar role.

Theme:
I enjoyed the general theme you propose but I don't like the seemingly heavy focus on roots/ground manipulation effects. Seems to be creeping dangerously into Shaman territory again (earth manipulation). Roots are cool for CC, not so much for direct damage. Perhaps wisps, mushrooms or even fairie dragons could get the job done.

[Falerin]

huth - thank you for the constructive criticism. I enjoy engaging in an "intellectual" conversation/debate; nice change from the bashing/flaming that occurs too frequently on these forums. Here are some responses to the issues you raised:

No. But WarCraft lore before WoW didn't have enough meat to make a complete Druid class, either.

Balance didn't even exist before WoW. And as it is, it never was as close to the "core fantasy" headcanon of the OP as it is made out to be in this thread, and it was rather lacking in any distinct identity(and, for that matter, a confused pile of poorly fitting mechanics) until Moonkins got added and the TBC rework was done.
The Druids were only just woken up in WC3. Balance was simply a side of Druidism that wasn't shown in that game.

Lastly, the vast majority of WarCraft lore is from WoW and accompanying materials.
...

[regarding solar/lunar] The two are based on Druidic traditions, unlike the respective orders of other races. Druids aren't ursurping their powers, they are taking them from their Druidic traditions in the first place.

I will concede that WC3 druids (and other lore) were under-developed at the time, and that we shouldn't throw aside the layers that have been added to mismatched quilt that makes up the fantasy of the current Warcraft universe. However, regarding "druidic traditions"...I may have missed it, but I don't recall any particular reference to solar/lunar worship among druids when the order first began (under the tutelage of Cenarius, Lord of the Forest). Or perhaps you are referring to real-world ancient Celtic druidism, associated with stuff like Stonehenge, solstices, astrology over the seasons, etc?

And Spell Schools are game mechanics, not lore. Don't get to hung up on those. In fact, there's quite a bit of throwing game mechanics and lore together and resulting in nonsensical conclusions. Yes, it doesn't make sense for Trolls to have a stronger connection to Elune... because they don't. But it wouldn't make for a better game if you randomly restricted Troll Druids from choosing Balance spec, and Blizzard has been pretty clear that when presented with the choice, they will generally prefer making a better game.

Sure, I appreciate that gameplay trumps lore, and one cannot get too hung up on details of spell schools (otherwise it would make absolutely no sense why druids, who were so opposed to the Highborne's abuse of arcane magic, are second only to arcane mages in their use of arcane-based spells). Nonetheless, I tried to design this proposal to fit with both lore and within the existing framework of spell schools (physical, nature/arcane, fire/frost, holy/shadow).

Calling it "revisionist" also seems rather backwards to me. "Enlightened" would fit far better, since it includes things like gender equality.

Probably shouldn't have use the word "revisionist". I totally agree with and support gender equality and inclusion of a wider range of races within the druidic order. In fact, I hope that by refocusing on "universal" druidic themes of plants, wind, and natural guardians, it would be MORE inclusive of other races who may possess the same connection to the moon and stars as the night elves. Things like the cosmetic glyphs I listed at the end (transforming Dreamfire into Moonfire/Sunfire/Spiritfire) would allow expression of each unique racial/cultural identity.

I don't entirely dislike the ideas presented here, but at this point, this would be more appropriate as a new spec or part of a new class, rather than as a Balance rework. It's far to late to re-envision their entire identity.

True, if we're being realistic, it's unlikely that we'll a rework of this magnitude now that the cosmically-empowered moonkin has become so ingrained as a part of balance druid spec. Still, one can always hope...

And try growing plants in eternal darkness. The sun is a pretty important part of nature.

Fair point, although if we're going to get into "real science" of plants and the natural ecosystem, one could counter by saying that stars are a few light years too distant to have any direct influence on terrestrial life forms.

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I guess my main concern, from a lore/flavor standpoint, is that "balance" druids have ironically become extremely unbalanced, ascending to the celestial realm and almost entirely losing their connection the terrestrial ecosystem. Without a complete redesign of the spec, here’s a potential compromise:

Largely keep the current system, but incorporate some elements to express how the natural environment is affected by celestial bodies.
-Give solar spells some additional effect that causes plant growth. For example, maybe Sunfire spawns a bramble patch under the target. Or maybe casting solar spells empowers your treants.
-In fantasy worlds, there is often a connection between mushrooms/fungi and the moon. Perhaps revise wild mushroom mechanics to have some interaction with lunar spells, such as making them grow (resulting in stronger detonation) based on damage dealt by moonfire/lunar strike
-In the real world, some migratory birds navigate by the stars. Can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but maybe this could be translated into an interesting secondary/passive ability

It’s still a stretch to consider this a “balancing” act, seeing as it’s a one-way interaction between the heavens and the biosphere. Perhaps Blizzard just needs to drop the façade and rename the spec to “Astral” or something.

[huth]

(under the tutelage of Cenarius, Lord of the Forest)

Cenarius, Son of Elune. It wouldn't be surprising if he had a hand in this, and he provides another link between WarCraft Druidism and these astral powers.

Besides, i wouldn't mind Blizzard doing Druids a bit differently from the common fantasy style, and harken back to the actual druids of our world while they're at it. There isn't much lore support for this back in WC3 and early WoW, but there's nothing that speaks against it there, either.

It should also be noted that moon worship is deeply rooted in Night Elven and Tauren culture(as one of the eyes of the earth mother, with the sun being the other), so it would be fairly natural for these races to also somehow incorporate them into everything they do. Especially the Night Elves, for what should be fairly obvious reasons. With the strong gender seperation Night Elves had before the events of WC3, the Druids also had little choice than to deal with these things themselves, since all the Elunite priests were unavailable to them.

Something i could see making sense is using some of this to give Restoration Druids an offensive arsenal that is distinct and seperate from the Balance one.

It’s still a stretch to consider this a “balancing” act, seeing as it’s a one-way interaction between the heavens and the biosphere. Perhaps Blizzard just needs to drop the façade and rename the spec to “Astral” or something.

That depends on your point of view. I consider it more as keeping the Balance between Lunar and Solar powers, for having one get to strong could easily have disastrous results. I'd be all up for a name more along the lines of Guardian, Windwalker and the like, though, that's more of a title than a simple descriptive word.

Maybe Starcaller or Keeper(sounds more like Resto, though) or something like that. Brain feeling to mushy for good ideas right now.

[emni]

That would be WarCraft 3. Druids had that spell before WoW was ever a thing.

And try growing plants in eternal darkness. The sun is a pretty important part of nature.

You can't grow plants without water or soil either, yet controlling water and earth is not a druid thing.

My point is mainly that nowhere in lore do druids have anything to do with shooting sun beams or being attuned with the sun. Balance druid in its current state has felt more like a Titan-affiliated creature that you would find in Ulduar around Freya's section. I don't think it's all bad, I just don't* think that the core design of Sun and Moon fits with what for example Malfurion represents.

[huth]

You can't grow plants without water or soil either, yet controlling water and earth is not a druid thing.

My point is mainly that nowhere in lore do druids have anything to do with shooting sun beams or being attuned with the sun. Balance druid in its current state has felt more like a Titan-affiliated creature that you would find in Ulduar around Freya's section. I don't think it's all bad, I just think that the core design of Sun and Moon fits with what for example Malfurion represents.

Who's to say the Titans aren't involved in this somehow? They're responsible for a large part of the flora and fauna in the world, after all.

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This is exactly the type of thing I was hoping the devs would introduce for balance druids. No where in lore do druids have any kind of celestial affinity. It feels more like a mage than a druid. You should tweet this @warcraftdevs and hopefully someone reads it. At this stage they won't change the entire spec but maybe they'll add one or two of the abilities as talents or baseline spells. One can dream anyway.