WoW Classic Druid Guide - The Best Druid builds for Vanilla

World of Warcraft classic druid guide

Druids Class was a very niche pick in Vanilla which was not seen too often. WoW community avoided playing druid, as they were considered weak or overshadowed by other classes. In this WoW Classic Druid guide, we will try to look at it and see if they were justified. You will learn everything you need to know to efficiently level up a character of this class from level 1 to level 60. Things like builds, stat priorities, races, professions and others will also be explained so you can get a full understanding of how this class works, what are its pros and cons. 

We believe that Druid was mistreated by players during Vanilla. They were heavily underrepresented because both their Feral dps and Healing Touch or Regrowth numbers were not as good as other classes. They had however many mechanics which gave them an advantage in certain situations which other classes didn’t have.

Without a doubt, they were the fastest class in the game with an incredible 30% bonus to movement speed in Cat Form. Additionally, Druids could use self-healing abilities even during fights, hide in stealth with Prowl and cc their opponents easily. On top of that, they could also become all: Healers, Tanks, and DPS as the only class in the game. If that is not enough they could also use Bear Form which is their tanking shapeshift even when they were currently not in Tanking specialization. This made them extremely hard to kill both in PvP and PvE. Although these days Blood Death Knight and Protection Warriors are better for main tank role.

As mentioned before Druid was the fastest class in the game, because of that they were performing extremely well during leveling. Most of Vanilla grinding revolves around running from one place to another, and walking can make you rage. This way movement speed boost is the key to level up quickly. Druids were amazing at quess and good at grinding. Only Hunter class was able to perform better in those aspects since they had pets to tank for them. Competent Druid player was dangerous in every aspect of the game so it is definitely a great class to pick up - especially for experienced players who will use their mechanics to the fullest potential.

Best race for Druid

There are only two available options - one for Horde players and one for Alliance. Although it has changed through the game and now in retail version, there are 7 playable Druid races, back in the day players didn’t have that much choice in this matter. Because of that, your choice will mostly depend on which faction you want to fight for. If you are undecided however here is the list of perks by race.

Tauren

-War Stomp - Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. (almost instant cast time, 2 minutes cooldown)

-Endurance - Total health increased by 5%

-Cultivation - +15 to Herbalism profession

-Nature Resistance - +10 to Nature Resistance

Night Elf

-Shadowmeld - Improves your Prowl ability which makes you harder to detect

-Quickness - +1% Dodge chance

-Wisp Spirit - Transforms into Wisp when dead, increases movement speed by 50%

-Nature Resistance - +10 to Nature Resistance

As you can see Tauren Druids are clearly better than Night Elves so they should be your choice when it comes to race. Built-in Herbalism boost makes them great farmers, which combined with dungeon run or quest fulfilling can make you both reach and higher in levels. However, if you find Night Elves more appealing to look at, or you just want to play the alliance, the difference between the two is negligible. Racial traits don’t have that huge impact and more important is fun that your character brings than skills that it can cast. Pick whatever you feel more comfortable with and never regret your decision. 

Pros and cons - Why you should play Druid

As mentioned before Druids are a very niche class which is not for everyone but there are some people who will absolutely love their playstyle and toolkit. As they have great amount of utility Druids are doing well in every situation. They might not be outstanding in it but they perform on par with many classes. Thanks to overall balance Druid tank is always an option. They are also very quick which makes them outstanding levelers which definitely will come handy if you plan to start playing Classic World of Warcraft from nothing.

In theory there are no better and worse classes in WoW but inevitably some classes are better in certain departments than others. 

Pros 

-Second best levelers in the game (just below Hunter).

-Extremely good movement speed with a constant 30% buff Invisibility in Prowl

-Dynamic and engaging gameplay with cat, bear and travel forms

-Extremely Tanky with bear form and various heals

-Three viable specs offering different playstyles - Tank, DPS and Healer

-Good crowd control 

-Can deal damage, heal and tank with just one spec

-Decent sustain

Cons:

-Extremely mana thirsty as healers and during PvP

-Not great damage (Hunter, Mage dominate long range)

-Not great healing (Paladin, Priest are better)

-Not that good in PvP (overshadowed by Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior)

-According to many class guides druid PvP potential is questionable

-Only viable as healer during raid.

General tips for Druids in vanilla

During leveling you want to switch between three forms - Caster (normal), Cat Form and Bear Form. If you are high on mana you start fights with a caster form by using it to target trash mobs with your spells. After you burned most of your mana you can change into Cat. While you are in this form you will regenerate your mana slowly so you can track this process with add-ons like Druid Bar.

As a Cat, your abilities don’t cost Mana so you can spam to maximize damage output. When you are done fighting or your mana regenerated to high values you can use healing spell to regenerate or damaging spell to burn mana and start another fight. Additionally, Bear Form is used as a red button in great threat when too many enemies are pulled and stack on you. By using this form you will be able to withstand much more pressure. Your dps will lover but you will also be much safer. If your mana allows you can apply heal over time spell and return to Bear during tough fights.

-You get the bear form at level 10 - use it to fight groups of mobs. Prioritize Maul over Swipe if fighting less than 3 mobs and hit with Swipe if more

-Versus single target use Enrage spell

-Always use Demoralizing Roar spell when fighting packs of mobs

-Use bear form up to 22 before you get Shred on your Cat form

-As soon as you get your Rake to make sure to open with it

-Make good use of your movement abilities like Travel Form or Dash, use them as often as possible

-Always spend your mana whether its on healing or on attacking. 

Feral Druid Leveling guide

Druids ability to level up is by many considered their saving grace, as we’ve seen forums posts that resto druid is no longer a thing.

This is druid talent distribution you probably want to go

Feral Combat :

5/5 Ferocity + 5/5 Feral Aggression + 2/2 Feline Swiftness 

Restoration :

5/5 Furor

Balance :

1/5 Nature’s Grasp

Feral Combat :

3/3 Sharpened Claws + 1/1 Feral Charge + 2/2 Blood Frenzy + 2/3 Predatory Strikes + 1/1 Faerie Fire + 2/2 Savage Fury + 3/3 Predatory Strikes + 1/2 Brutal Impact + 5/5 Heart of the Wild + 1/1 Leader of the Pack

Balance : 

4/4 Improved Nature’s Grasp + 5/5 Natural Weapon + 1/1 Omen of Clarity + 3/3 Natural Shapeshifter

This is how druid talent build tree looks like after allocating points. At level 60 you will reset and be able to edit the talent tree anyways so no need to add last one.

You can use Talent Calculator pretty much anytime you want. Especially if you are starting your adventure in Azeroth, you may want your talents distributed the most efficient way.

Druid Class specific addons

Addons in World of Warcraft are little applications which give game additional features. You can install them safely and they are allowed by Blizzard. The most important one to improve your gameplay as a Druid is a Druid Bar. It lets you track your mana even when you are in other forms like Cat or Bear. Because of that you always know when you are getting close to full mana (and when you are you should quickly spend it on casting healing and damaging spell).

Another tracking addon is called Energy Tracker. This one lets you see ticks of energy that you receive which is important when you want to calculate what attacks can you use next. Additionally, you might want to get Outfitter which lets you quickly change item and sets without unnecessary clicking. Skada or any other damage meter will also come handy so make sure to take that. If you want to maximize your exp rates and see how you are doing in the current zone make use of a Xp/Hr Tracker.

Make sure to use Druid Bar as it gives you a chance to improve your damage and therefore leveling speed of your character. Use spells from your mana pool before initiating a battle and also burn mana after battle on healing spell. When you are in Cat and Bear forms with this addon you will be able to track your mana regeneration. 

Stat priority

When you are collecting loot from enemies and you want to decide between two pieces of gearing you need to know about stat priority. It basically tells you which statistic is more valuable for your class and therefore should be prioritized. Although this stat rating will give you a slight idea on how to gear your character remember that there are also more important stats than basic ones like Crit Chance or Damage per Second. Here is what your stats priority for leveling stages looks like :

Agility > Strength > Stamina > Intellect > Spirit

Agility :

-Improves Cat Form (only) attack power by 1 for every point

-Around 20 points in Agility increase Critical and Dodge chances by 1%.

Strength : 

-Increases melee attack power by 2 for every point

Stamina :

-Increases your health pool by 10 for every point

Intellect :

-Increases your mana pool by 15 for every point

Spirit :

-Increases speed of health and mana regeneration out of combat

Although Spirit is not an important stat to have on your combat gear you should have additional set which is focused only on Spirit statistic. When you are fighting you should always use your best available combat equipment but when you are out of combat you can quickly change to your Spirit set thanks to Outfitter addon. By doing this you gain much better health and regeneration for your leveling. 

Professions

There are few notable professions which you might want to use during your leveling and even after hitting 60. As a Druid you want to focus on those to maximize your efficiency and level up faster than others. 

Herbalism

This is especially good profession for Druids and even more for Taurens. Cows have a Cultivation perk which increases their Herbalism skill by +15. Druids are best Herbalists because of their ability to pick up Herbs while in Cat Form. By doing this you are faster than others in collecting and therefore you can make more money on it. Herbalism as every gathering profession is good to farm for gold during leveling. 

Skinning

It will let you get additional items which you can vendor for bonus gold. Don’t try to sell them on Auction House as it may take much longer and won’t increase gold made by a lot. However if you already have something to start with Mining and Herbalism are in overall better gathering professions.

Leatherworking

As a Bear you will have to tank groups of mobs from time to time. To do so you will need high rank equipment. Leatherworking lets you get ahead in terms of gear. You will be able to tank more and deal more damage. Crafting best in slot pieces of equipment and some early game sets can be very useful. The only downside is that you won’t take second gathering profession. And also you may make cause ‘green color maniacs’ wrath, by wearing leather clothes.

Blacksmithing, Tailoring, Alchemy, Engineering and Enchanting are viable in theory, but do not use full Druid potential or are better for other races/classes. Making armor or rejuvenation consumables was never a priority for Druids. If you want to read more about them in World of Warcraft Classic, check out our Professions Guide. It provides a general overview on the topic.

Summary

From our point of view Druid is a fine class if you just started playing Vanilla, you’re running for quests or you’re planning to farm gold. Especially Tauren is good with his herbalism buffs. But for raid party, pre raid preparations, dungeons and fighting bosses, tanking and damage Druids will usually be left behind. 

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