Cataclysm Classic Balance Druid Stat Priority

The stat priority for Balance Druid is as follows:

1. Intellect
2. Hit or Spirit (17% Hit Cap)
3. Haste
4. Mastery
5. Critical Strike

Intellect is the new primary stat for all casters, including Balance Druids, replacing Spell Power on every gear slot except for your weapon. Intellect increases your maximum Mana, which also increases your Mana regeneration through talents that regenerate a % of your maximum Mana, such as Euphoria and the raid buff, Replenishment.

Every point of Intellect gives one Spell Power, making it the best stat for Balance. Your Intellect will also get further increased by raid buffs such as Blessing of Kings, making it the stat to stack above all others. You will get more of it on higher item level gear, making that the main factor to consider while gearing.

Your second priority will be to reach the Hit cap of 17%, which can be obtained through the Hit Rating stat, or with Spirit thanks to the Balance of Power talent. Reaching the Hit cap ensures that your spells can no longer miss your target, giving you the highest possible DPS increase out of any secondary stat.

Thus, you will generally want to cap Hit before other stats and should rely on Reforging to do and to keep yourself Hit capped, but not overcapped.

At Level 85:

• 102.44 Hit Rating (or Spirit) = 1% Spell Hit Chance

Haste is a great stat for Balance as it allows you to hit Eclipse states more quickly and also adds additional damage ticks to all of your damage over time (DoT) effects, increasing their value substantially. Adding these additional damage ticks to your DoTs requires you to hit certain Haste breakpoints, which can be easier or harder to hit depending on your buffs.

At Level 85:

• 128.05 Haste Rating = 1% Haste

The breakpoints will vary depending on what buffs or racial you have such as the Dark Intent Haste buff, Berserking racial, or the Bloodlust raid buff. Hitting these Haste breakpoints is a nice milestone for Balance Druids, and you can find the exact Haste values with your Moonkin Form 5% Spell Haste aura and 3/3 Genesis already factored in below.

Ticks Gained	Insect Swarm and Moonfire
1 Extra Tick	70 Rating / 0.54%
2 Extra Ticks	1422 Rating / 11.10%
3 Extra Ticks	2776 Rating / 21.67%
4 Extra Ticks	4139 Rating / 32.32%
5 Extra Ticks	5486 Rating / 42.84%
6 Extra Ticks	6842 Rating / 53.42%

You can input these breakpoints into the Reforgelite Classic addon to easily calculate your optimal reforging with any gear setup.

Mastery is a new stat added in Cataclysm which provides a unique benefit for each specialization. For Balance Druids, this is Total Eclipse, which increases the bonus damage awarded by being inside an Eclipse. This is a strong stat, especially for area damage, but Haste and capping Hit are more important than stacking Mastery for DPS purposes.

At Level 85:

• 179.28 Mastery Rating = 1 Mastery = 2% more damage while inside an Eclipse

While Critical Strike Rating is your worst DPS stat, it is not far behind the rest, as even your damage over time can now critically strike for 200% damage. The main problem with Critical Strike Rating is that you need a lot of Rating to get 1% more chance to land critical strikes.

At Level 85:

• 179.28 Crit Rating = 1% Crit