Balance Druid

Is Balance worth levelling?

Viable but slower than Feral. The published verdict: "Balance Druid is an ok levelling choice. It does have a bit more downtime than Feral Druid would, but the larger range on your abilities can make tagging mobs much easier… Expect to start out very slowly though."

That verdict predates a significant buff. On September 24 Wrath got "About 50% more damage at every rank", Improved Wrath 5/5 now also cuts its mana cost by 50%, and Moonglow 3/3 cuts the mana cost of all damaging spells by 25%, where Classic's 3/3 cut a named list — heals included — by 9%. Restoration loses a mana talent in the trade. Balance's levelling case is stronger than the published guides read.

Your talent points

Level 20 — 11/0/0. Every published build opens Improved Wrath 5/5. They differ after that.

Build A, with the order published: Improved Wrath 5/5 → Nature's Reach 2/2 → Moonglow 3/3 → Improved Moonfire 1/2. The reasoning given for Improved Wrath over Nature's Focus is that "you generally end up with a better effective cast time anyway and the mana savings are very significant", and Nature's Reach is taken because it "will reduce the chances your spells miss by a significant amount" as well as extending Moonfire's range for tagging.

Build B: Improved Wrath 5 / Moonglow 3 / Nature's Majesty 2 / Nature's Reach 1 — "You'll never run out of mana with these talents."

Build C, a dungeon list: Improved Wrath 5 / Moonglow 3 / Nature's Majesty 1 / Nature's Reach 2.

Level 30 — 21/0/0, one published build: Improved Wrath 5 · Moonglow 3 · Nature's Majesty 2 · Nature's Reach 2 · Improved Moonfire 2 · Nature's Splendor 1 · Insect Swarm 1 · Improved Starfire 5. A second takes Genesis 5 and Nature's Grace instead of Improved Starfire.

Rotation

The honest version: at these levels it is short.

1. Apply and maintain Moonfire
2. Maintain Insect Swarm if you have it — it is a tier-4 Balance talent, so level 25 at the earliest
3. Spam Wrath

That is the whole rotation below 30. From level 40 the intent is Moonkin Form → both damage-over-time effects → Wrath to four Eclipse charges → Starfire to consume them, but nobody has done it.

Multi-target: there isn't one. Stated plainly in the published guide: "we won't be learning the powerful, AoE spell Hurricane until the game's full release since it is learned at Level 40." Until then you multi-dot Moonfire and split packs with Entangling Roots — and Overgrowth now raises the number of simultaneous Roots targets by 2, replacing Classic's Nature's Grasp chance.

Stat priority

Item level, then Spell Power, Intellect, Haste, critical strike, Spirit.

"Focus on equipping your highest level pieces" while levelling. More specifically: Arcane damage for Moonfire and Starfire, with plain Spell Power worth the same, and Nature damage good for Wrath alone. Then Intellect. Between two otherwise equal pieces the leather one wins, for the armour. Stamina sits near the bottom.

What defines Balance

What Forever changed for Balance

• Eclipse is new, and it is the spec's identity.
• Moonkin Form's aura is now all critical strike — spell and melee — within 45 yards, up from spell crit at 30. It is mutually exclusive with Leader of the Pack, it doubles Omen of Clarity's proc chance, and you cannot cast healing spells in it (Classic allowed only Balance spells, which is a different restriction).
• Omen of Clarity and Nature's Grasp are no longer talents — they are trained, at 20 and 10. Nature's Grasp was also rewritten: it now affects the next melee attack that strikes you rather than a 35% chance on any hit, it is castable while shapeshifted, and it is no longer outdoors-only.
• Entangling Roots is no longer outdoors-only either.
• Insect Swarm moved from Restoration into Balance. Improved Thorns and Natural Weapons were removed.
• Three new talents: Genesis (+5% periodic damage and healing at 5/5), Nature's Majesty (+4% crit with spells and melee), Nature's Splendor.
• Moonfury and Vengeance were broadened from a named-spell list to all Arcane and Nature spells. Thorns now scales with spell power as of September 24. Starfire rank 7 and Moonfire rank 10 had their damage reduced; Hurricane lost its 1-minute cooldown.

At level 60

Unknown. Nobody has cast Starfire with Eclipse charges or stood in Moonkin Form, and how much of Classic's hybrid tax survives is unresolved in every source.