Strategies to build a druid focused on Magic

[Bigred775]

I'm curious to hear what some of the strategies are that people use to build the best druid focused on magic ability. I've found that the magic aspect of the Druid is the most fun to me, so building that out is important to me.

[Deleted]

plenty of mountain dew.

[clevin]

well druids are inherently magic. If you mean which spec most directly uses magic I'd say Balance for DPS and resto for healing. In casual content you can use the same gear for both specs, just switching between the two specs as you want.

Feral is a melee DPS spec that feels much more like physical DPS and guardian is the same, but tank focused.

[Polarthief]

Is this like a suggestion theorycraft thread? If so, I'd love more nature-based spells instead of using space: Moon, Sun, Stars, etc. We have shit like Roots and Force of Nature, but they're not part of the rotation (FoN is but it's a shitty talent anyway).

When I think of Druid, I tend to look at D&D and pull inspiration from that. Would love more of it.

The only problem is that Shaman exists and the two will step on each others' toes a lot.

[exochaft]

The only problem is that Shaman exists and the two will step on each others' toes a lot.

And hunters to some degree, as I'm used to druids having animal companions, as well. Best druids can do on the alpha is put animals to sleep... sort of anyways, apparently I make sleeping animals mad when I get close to them?

[Argenon]

Is this like a suggestion theorycraft thread? If so, I'd love more nature-based spells instead of using space: Moon, Sun, Stars, etc. We have shit like Roots and Force of Nature, but they're not part of the rotation (FoN is but it's a shitty talent anyway).

Yeah, I think of druid as nature, and I liked having stuff like hurricane, insect swarm, & nature's wrath (which is now solar wrath).

Balance druid is a balance between what?
When I played in vanilla and BC, I assumed it was a balance between the natural and the arcane, which is why we had nature (wrath and swarm) and arcane spells (starfire and moonfire). I prefer this balance over what it is today, balance between all things astral (sun, moon, and stars)

[Polarthief]

Yeah, I think of druid as nature, and I liked having stuff like hurricane, insect swarm, & nature's wrath (which is now solar wrath).

Balance druid is a balance between what?

The alignment of space and the moon in relation to the sun and stars. Honestly liked it a lot better of a "CLASS FANTASY" (gotta love that awful buzzword) when we were actually using nature: Hurricane could easily come back to replace Starfall just visually, not actually using a channel spell. Wrath could go back to being like Nature's Wrath instead of Solar Wrath. Way too much sun/moon based spells. I liked when it was just Moon/Sunfire, but even that might be too much. Could replace Sunfire with Insect Swarm again and it works the same way: Unleash bugs on the target that will immediately jump (spread) to nearby targets, just like Sunfire.

To sum up:
- Moonfire: It's fine if it's like the only moon-based spell. Maybe it can co-exist with the Moon artifact ability, but we shouldn't be using so much astral-based spells.
- Sunfire: Replace with Insect Swarm (visual change only)
- Starfall: Hurricane. (visual change only)
- Solar Wrath: Nature's Wrath. It can retain SOME sun-based part, but it should be more focused on nature than the sun. Turn it a bit more green and less glowy.
- Lunar Strike: This one's a bit tricky. Not sure exactly what we can do here.
- Starsurge: Um... throw a giant tree at your target. It's now Ent Strike.
- Astral Form Glyph: Make it more of a nature-based one.
- Celestial Alignment: Some kind of nature-y based thing instead. Hell call it fucking Improved Moonkin Form if you must, or "Improvekin" if Blizz wants something silly tied to the cooldown.
- Astral Power: Nature Power. Replace the blue bar with a greenish one.

Idk, just kinda annoyed with how much Balance used to be about Nature and now it's like exclusively about space. Our only nature-based spells are Entangling Roots (non-rotational), Force of Nature (kinda boring and shitty anyway, plus a talent), Barkskin (a defensive CD, non-rotational) and Typhoon (talent). Everything's just about sun/moon/stars, it's so dumb.

Edit: Made a thread on live.

[exochaft]

This is where glyphs could've gone, where it would switch all your spells names/visuals to more nature/arcane versions of the current lunar/solar spells. May be slightly technical to implement, but you don't have to change how the spells actually act or interact with each other, just how they look. I rather miss the updated visual of Hurricane that we don't have anymore. If moonkin was its own class, I imagine it would've had separate caster specs for the different types of spell balance types.

[Calfredd]

This is where glyphs could've gone, where it would switch all your spells names/visuals to more nature/arcane versions of the current lunar/solar spells. May be slightly technical to implement, but you don't have to change how the spells actually act or interact with each other, just how they look. I rather miss the updated visual of Hurricane that we don't have anymore. If moonkin was its own class, I imagine it would've had separate caster specs for the different types of spell balance types.

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better if a nature/celestial toggle a la warlock green fire wouldn't be better though not sure if that, too, would have some technical hurdles.

[Polarthief]

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better if a nature/celestial toggle a la warlock green fire wouldn't be better though not sure if that, too, would have some technical hurdles.

That'd be nice. I'm just kinda tired of the space theme for a NATURE-based caster.

That'd be like if Shamans started doing Arcane and Shadow damage and Blizzard claimed "Ah, but aren't Arcane and Shadow also elements? Here have some Holy too". Druids aren't intended to be focused on space to the extent we are at the moment.

[Calfredd]

That'd be nice. I'm just kinda tired of the space theme for a NATURE-based caster.

That'd be like if Shamans started doing Arcane and Shadow damage and Blizzard claimed "Ah, but aren't Arcane and Shadow also elements? Here have some Holy too". Druids aren't intended to be focused on space to the extent we are at the moment.

Just like how you felt saddened for losing the nature theme I'd also feel sad over losing the celestial theme. It's such a unique concept that only like 2 or 3 bosses use it so I'd at least hope either as another spec (not necessarily druid spec) or a new class gets it if they do ever remove it from druids.

[Sylar Hao]

They could make a nature balance druids through glyphs like you suggest. Another option would be through talents, like for example, in every talent row, the left talent is Astral, the middle is neutral or both, and the right one is Nature, offering not only different look but also different playstyle so a Nature Moonkin and an Astral Moonkin are close but different.

[gobio]

I guess the moon spell is to stay.
You got to give credit to Elune for her unlimited supply of mini death stars for her cosmic owl followers to throw around.

[huth]

nature's wrath (which is now solar wrath).

It was just Wrath. Nothing else. Not sure why they even renamed it, would have worked just fine with the old name.

[Argenon]

It was just Wrath. Nothing else. Not sure why they even renamed it, would have worked just fine with the old name.

I don't know why I remember nature being in there somewhere, maybe I was thinking of nature's grasp, but yeah not sure why they had to add solar to it now.