Hardcore Druid Class Overview

If you are curious about more general Hardcore tips that apply to not just Druid checkout our Hardcore Classic Overview that includes tips and tricks that will greatly increase your chances of surviving.

Strengths

• Extremely powerful self-sustain due to heal-over-time effects/high armor from Bear Form.
• Great mobility, even before your mount.
• Stealth in Cat Form allows you to traverse often dangerous areas safely.

Weaknesses

• Below average kill speeds, especially early game.
• Extremely Mana dependent.

In Classic World of Warcraft only one race on each faction can be a Druid.

• Night Elf — Night Elf has the greatest chance to avoid damage due to their Elusiveness racial and the ability to stealth out of combat with Shadowmeld. There's not much else in the way of combat benefits this race offers outside of Dodge rating.

• Tauren — Tauren is the tankiest of all possible starting races for Classic thanks to 5% increased health from Endurance. They also are the only race that comes with a built in AoE stun in form of War Stomp, which can also act as a spell casting interrupt should you need it.

The Stat priority that you will be following for Classic Hardcore is very similar to original Classic, but with a larger emphasis on Stamina and Intellect. The added Health and Mana can at times be the difference between surviving an encounter with an enemy or not and is typically more reliable than gearing towards just damage. Even though Druid comes with a considerable amount of self healing and the ability to dispel Poison and remove roots via form shifting, it is typically much safer to play around your resources instead of maximizing damage.

For a more in-depth explanation of what stats you should be prioritizing and their benefits to your leveling experience checkout our Druid leveling guide listed below, specifically the Druid Gear section.

Feral is the most reliable and consistent damage dealer of the Druid specializations so it will be your default choice for leveling. It allows you to take full advantage of both your mana bar and two different forms in Cat Form and Bear Form that can help you tackle challenges you may otherwise not have been able to.

For a detailed route on how to spend each of your talent points while leveling check out our Feral Druid talent build guide specifically for leveling. This page also includes a Feral-specific priority list of how to deal maximum damage while leveling.

Professions are a huge part of Hardcore leveling as they can provide you with consumables that give considerable stat increases, items that can be used in case of emergencies, or the ability to craft gear that will last you for countless levels. Below I will go in depth about the various professions combinations available in WoW Classic and their benefits specifically in a Hardcore context for Druid.

Herbalism and Alchemy is a great pairing of professions as it will allow you to make consumable potions that not only give you a burst of health in an emergency situation but also offer considerable stat increases and the occasionally solution to a niche situation. Druid specifically will benefit greatly from the Free Action Potion as it removes and makes you immune to all stunning/slowing effects for 30 seconds, stuns and slows greatly impact Druid as their abilities can be quite costly and the range of your shocks is short so maximizing your time spent in melee range will grealty increase your kill speed.

There are countless potions offering buffs to give temporary stat increases that will smooth out the leveling process by making you much stronger than you otherwise would be. The only downside to this profession being the time you must invest to harvest your own materials via Herbalism.

Engineering and Mining is a strong combo, and while it offers less static increases than Alchemy and Herbalism, it is still something you should consider as it offers quite a few extra buttons to get you out of a sticky situation. Target Dummy is a usable item that will instantly redirect threat to it, causing mobs to stop attacking you for either 15 seconds or until it dies. You will also have access to bombs that both deal AoE damage and incapacitate/stun whatever you are fighting which can sometimes be the difference in surviving an encounter.

Skinning and Leatherworking are also a great way to utilize your characters profession slots. Leatherworking will allow you to create pieces of powerful armor while leveling. It can be difficult to plan around building a specific item as some items in Classic have rather hefty material requirements, but this can be used to plug in any holes in your gear that you may find as you progress through leveling.

If you are curious about the most efficient way to level your professions, or would like a list of many of the useful items you can craft, make sure to check out our Classic Profession guides listed below.

Powershifting is a concept you should get comfortable with as it will greatly increase your kill speed. With the talent Furor you can shift out of form when you are out of energy and then back into form to gain 40 energy that would have taken some time to regenerate. You will need to keep track of your mana bar to ensure that you can comfortably shift without getting stuck in human form. This is best used when you have an excess of Mana Potions available.

Druid is the master of escape, do not hesitate to cast Entangling Roots, Nature's Grasp or even just try to run in Travel Form if you are confident you won't be dazed. Slows other than Daze can be removed by shifting out of Form.

Druid class quests are how you will recieve many of your Forms. Doing these right away can often lead to your largest possible power spike, so make sure to focus on getting these done as soon as you reach their respective levels.

Be aware of your threat in parties. Never hesitate to shift into Bear Form and cast a growl or just hold a mob you may have pulled threat on as Bear Form is naturally tanky. Quick reflexes can either save yourself or a party member if need be.

In a situation you are confident about your ability to take a hit or someone else is at a significant risk of dying, do not hesitate to pop out of Form and cast a heal either on yourself or your party memberf or even an Entangling Roots. Healing is generally safer as there is always a chance your Entangling Roots may miss or be resisted.

Druid benefits greatly from the use of macros. Due to the nature of Form swapping you will be constantly shifting in and out of Form. Adding some quality of life macros can help make this less of a chore. Listed below is a guide on some of the most useful Macros that will greatly simplify using your classes abilities to their fullest extent.

Many people are enjoying Classic Hardcore by duo leveling. Druid is a class that shines when paired with another that can quickly kill enemies! Druid provides support in the form of off-healing and the ability to tank so classes that can provide consistent AoE or just strong damage shine when paired with a Druid!