Balance Druid DPS Easy Mode — The War Within (11.2.5)
On this page, we explain how to easily play Balance Druid in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.2.5), using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.
Foreword
This page is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous subtleties and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.
The Basics of Balance Druids
Balance Druid has a single target and multi-target rotation, which both require good DoT uptime and proper building and spending of Astral Power. Cooldowns should be used as they become available.
For more information about your spells and their interactions, please refer to our spell summary page.
Beginner's Guide to Balance Druid in The War Within
Beginner Single-Target Talents for Balance Druid
This build is optimal for pure single-target situations.
Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Beginner AoE and Mythic+ Talents for Balance Druid
This is our recommended build for AoE scenarios. This works well for AoE Fights in Raids, as well as most Mythic+.
Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!
You will NOT be able to enter Solar Eclipse due to  Lunar Calling.
 Lunar Calling.
Beginner Balance Druid DPS Rotation
Balance Druid has an Eclipse cycle-based gameplay loop. You will enter
Solar Eclipse on single and two targets and Lunar Eclipse on three or more
targets. You cast  Wrath in Solar Eclipse and
 Wrath in Solar Eclipse and  Starfire in
Lunar Eclipse.
 Starfire in
Lunar Eclipse.
It is important to keep your DoTs up to activate your  Waning Twilight
passive and your Mastery.
 Waning Twilight
passive and your Mastery.  Sunfire is easily spread to all targets
around your main target, and
 Sunfire is easily spread to all targets
around your main target, and  Moonfire can be cleaved to one additional
unit per cast with
 Moonfire can be cleaved to one additional
unit per cast with  Twin Moons.
 Twin Moons.
On a single target, you will use your cooldowns as they come up or when you
can stack multiple cooldowns together. You will use  Starsurge as your
way of spending Astral Power. On multiple targets, you will instead cast
 Starsurge as your
way of spending Astral Power. On multiple targets, you will instead cast
 Starfall as your main way to spend Astral Power.
 Starfall as your main way to spend Astral Power.
Once your DoTs are up and you start generating Astral Power, you will have some other cooldowns to utilize. The below talents are opt-in from talents and may not always be applicable to a given fight.
 Celestial Alignment is your primary cooldown, which can be
further improved with Celestial Alignment is your primary cooldown, which can be
further improved with Orbital Strike. This gives you the effects of
both Orbital Strike. This gives you the effects of
both Eclipse states, amplifying certain damage types. Eclipse states, amplifying certain damage types.
 Convoke the Spirits is a strong cooldown that casts 16 spells over
4-seconds. This does good single-target damage but is still useful in
multi-target fights. Convoke the Spirits is a strong cooldown that casts 16 spells over
4-seconds. This does good single-target damage but is still useful in
multi-target fights.
 Fury of Elune and Fury of Elune and New Moon are commonly taken spells in
the Talent Tree. Fury of Elune is commonly taken on multi-target and New
Moon is commonly taken on single target. New Moon are commonly taken spells in
the Talent Tree. Fury of Elune is commonly taken on multi-target and New
Moon is commonly taken on single target.
There are more spells that can be taken, but these are ones that will be taken more often than not. In The War Within expansion, the new Hero Talent system will empower some of these spells and some others that are currently not on this list.
Beginner Balance Druid Combat Assistant
The new Combat Assistant is being added alongside the new One-Button rotation which comes with a minor GCD penalty. The Combat Assistant is a good learning tool and will play at a 10-15% damage loss while the One-Button rotation will be 15-20% worse than an optimally player-driven rotation.
Defensive Spells for Balance Druid
 Barkskin is your primary defensive resource. It is a short cooldown
low damage reduction spell, which is often up most times you would need it. In
the class tree, there are several other passives that buff Barkskin, but the most
notable is
 Barkskin is your primary defensive resource. It is a short cooldown
low damage reduction spell, which is often up most times you would need it. In
the class tree, there are several other passives that buff Barkskin, but the most
notable is  Oakskin, which further increases the damage reduction.
 Oakskin, which further increases the damage reduction.
 Bear Form is the most accessible but most detrimental defensive
resource we have. This increases your Health and is always available for use, but you are unable to use most damaging spells while in Bear Form.
 Bear Form is the most accessible but most detrimental defensive
resource we have. This increases your Health and is always available for use, but you are unable to use most damaging spells while in Bear Form.
 Renewal offers an on-demand heal on a medium cooldown. This is best
used after big hits to bring your Health back up to a safer threshold.
 Renewal offers an on-demand heal on a medium cooldown. This is best
used after big hits to bring your Health back up to a safer threshold.
These are the key defensive resources for Balance Druids. There are other
ways to remain safe, including strong passives such as  Well-Honed Instincts
but those three spells cover the majority of our defensives.
 Well-Honed Instincts
but those three spells cover the majority of our defensives.
Utility Spells for Balance Druid
Balance Druid brings many buffs and utility spells to the table. On top of being able to heal others, we have many iconic spells that help us and our teammates in unique ways.
Balance Druids have multiple displacement spells.  Typhoon to knock
back enemies.
 Typhoon to knock
back enemies.  Ursol's Vortex and
 Ursol's Vortex and  Mass Entanglement, as well as
 Mass Entanglement, as well as
 Entangling Roots can keep enemies in one place. There have been entire
bosses and mechanics revolving around the coordinated use of these abilities.
 Entangling Roots can keep enemies in one place. There have been entire
bosses and mechanics revolving around the coordinated use of these abilities.
Balance Druid also has other ways to help the raid.  Stampeding Roar
increases your movement as well as those around you when you cast the spell.
If you are in a party,
 Stampeding Roar
increases your movement as well as those around you when you cast the spell.
If you are in a party,  Innervate is a great spell to help the healer
conserve mana.
 Innervate is a great spell to help the healer
conserve mana.
Best Talents for Balance Druid in The War Within
This is the Easy Mode page, which presents things in a simplified manner with simplified builds. For our detailed, fully-fledged Talent and Rotation guides, click below!
Stat Priority for Balance Druid in The War Within
The general stat priority for a Balance Druid is seen below. This is very much a rough guideline and is designed for players who do not wish to sim their character. If you are simming your character, please disregard this stat priority completely and follow your sim!
- Intellect;
- Mastery;
- Haste;
- Versatility;
- Critical Strike.
While the stat priority for classes is normally the same for both the Easy Mode page and our full guide, subtle differences can still occur. If you want to see the full explanation of the stat priority, as well as the absolute top choices for the priority, head to our full stats page below.
Changelog
- 05 Oct. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.2.5
- 11 Aug. 2025: Updated for tier change and buffs.
- 04 Aug. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.2.0
- 15 Jun. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.1.7
- 21 Apr. 2025: Reviewed and Updated for Patch 11.1.5
- 24 Feb. 2025: Reviewed and Updated for Patch 11.1.0.
- 15 Dec. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.7.
- 21 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 07 Oct. 2024: Updated some talent recommendations.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for Season 1.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within PrePatch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2.0.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 08 May 2023: Updated for May 9th Hotfixes.
- 01 May 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.0.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated talent choices and some basic info.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 15 Nov. 2022: Updated talent recommendations.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Druid Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This was written by Borabank, a Balance Druid theorycrafter and raider in Country Club. You can watch him on his Twitch channel or find him in the Dreamgrove Discord server.
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