Greeting and salutations!

I'm a newbie on Druids. I found these forums looking for information and this place appears friendly enough!

I'm looking for information on making and playing a Moonkin.

In considering advice on my two issues, in general, I am not a skilled player. Although I like WoW I can’t put all the time I would wish. I do not engage in PvP.

I have a rouge, paly, warlock and hunter in several levels from 60 to 33. I usually play with one friend or alone.

Issue #1
I like the idea of a Moonkin build, but so far, level ~30 with all my talent points in Balance, I have had a lot of problems solo. Particularly indoor, where I can't use roots or nature grasp! I get killed a lot.

Most of my equipment I have chose to be Int > spirit > stamina … the rest is what ever else is extra in any given piece of equipment.

This druid, Talony, would be paired with a protection specked warrior. So I was thinking in a 31-point balance and the rest, 21 to restoration to help my tank. No points in Feral. Anybody has tried something like this? Wish to share details?

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0tLx00Vo

I usually start combat with Starfire and then Roots, then wrath or Starfire as much as I can. After roots lest go, I hit with Moonfire and by then usually melee. I have learned to heal often in combat. I get into trouble when I am attacked by 2 mobs my level. 3 mobs and I’m dead. I run out of mana fast. If root/Nature grasp is off, I have problems breaking/fleeing combat.

Issue #2
Since I’m here asking questions.... When I have been forced to tank, I’m a awful bear. I have problems with the view. I usually play in 3rd person, but the bear has this humongous butt! I can’t see! I have tired to play in 1st person, but then I loose track of mobs attacking casters. Any advice playing a bear? Consider I’m not feral or equipment spec.

That is mostly it. Thanks in advance,


Talony

I feel like addressing your issues in reverse order hehe, with the bear butt in your face being the biggest problem fresh on my mind.

You should be able to use your mouse wheel to scroll out to an acceptable distance which will allow you to enjoy your combat animations and also see your team around you.....this put you at a 45 degree angle about 10 feet away from your character. If for some reason when you wheel back on your mouse you aren't able to pan out enough, go into your interface options and increase the max distance using the slider.

Now we have a lot of feral druids here but we also have several balance druids that can speak on this, but...I am feral and I leveled to 60 using feral and can say thast my efforts in the PVE world seemed to be easier than they would had I gone balance. One big reason is the meager use of mana. The only significant use of mana is when I needed healks in between every 2-3 mobs.

I guess some initial questions should be asked. #1 - Did you (A) choose balance because you build a lvl 60 talent spec and liked it or (B) you choose balance because root & nuke is where your comfortable?

If (A) - Don't take this as me suggesting you go respec because you should play whats fun for you and adjust your strategy to what has worked for other balance druids. However, as I said before, I leveled from 1-60 feral and it went very fast.
If (B) - Gwmort or other balance druids might be able to give you a good rinse/repeat strategy for moonkin. When you mentioned getting attacked by 2 mobs and you could handle it, but if a 3rd added you were dead, all I could think of was travel form. Druids are great escape artists. Rejuv, shift to travel and bust on out of there. I'm tauren so I would stomp first, then rejuv, then travel form. It is true, when in doors your roots don't work, but you will eventually hit outdoor dungeons where that will come in handy. My druid played many rolls when in dungeons on the road to 60. He might be on full heal duty, off tanker, dps/offheal.

Just keep at it. Balance druids are powerful. So are feral, and you will hear that resto druids are often considered the best healers in the game. Lets hope to hear from Gwmort here.

Good luck!

From what I have heard about the balance tree, and the various conversations I have read over on this forum, Balance doesn't really start to payoff or be too fun until you are level 40 and have moonkin form. You had mentioned that after a few starfires/wraths, you go in and melee. Thats a great strategy, though it will work a LOT better when you get moonkin form, which gives you an additional 360% armor (same armor bonus you get for bear). So its like being a bear that gets to cast spells.

The beauty of this is that you don't have to use your whole mana bar to kill something: Hit the mob with a Starfire, Root, Moonfire, Starfire again then go in and melee. While you are melee'ing, you will most likeley get an Omen of Clarity proc, allowing you a free, no mana spell. Another great aspect of Moonkin is that they get to use weapon proc's because they are actually doing damage with the weapon as opposed to claws. Weapon proc's do not work in bear/cat form. Meaning that if you have a weapon that has a chance to stun someone, or slow them or something, in Moonkin it will actually work when you are melee'ing.

Not trying to tell you what to do at all, but from my experience in game, it will be a LOT easier for you to spec feral for leveling until you hit 40 and can get moonkin form.

I leveled heavy feral as well, and now am mostly resto, so take that into consideration. :)

I've gotten down with my grinding in moonkin form where I don't have much down time. I can't tell you how to get to 40 with a balanced spec, I was feral for it and changed at 43. The biggest thing I can think of is to get your first aid up as much as possible and bandage yourself instead of healing. The mana you save is more important than if you were feral. As Wulfgor said the only time you really use mana in feral is to heal and re-buff. Plus you don't have to shift in and out of moonkin to heal.

My usual grind is SF, root, back up, SF, Wrath, MF, melee till dead. Shooting off a moonfire when omen of clarity procs. With a good amount of spirit, my mana lasts long enough for innervate to cool down. Buff, heal, innervate keeps me going all day long.


Oh, cooking helps as well. +10 to stamina and spirit every 15min is nice.


Turz
48 Tauren Druid
Eitrigg

Issue #2
Since I’m here asking questions.... When I have been forced to tank, I’m a awful bear. I have problems with the view

Funny, I guess we do have some junk in the trunk. I turn green whenever it goes to the first person view so I typically max out the third person view which also helps to see any adds.


I get into trouble when I am attacked by 2 mobs my level. 3 mobs and I’m dead. I run out of mana fast

My main is all resto/healing build with no balance points. I typically have no problems with 2 @ or near same level or another pair of adds immediately following..however if a third pair of adds come I typically start planning my escape:) Make sure you have the druid mana bar add so when you pop out of feral you are not guessing as to how much mana you will have. I have found the root add to nearly always never be accurate.

Thank you all for your replys

Wulfgor: I guess I wanted an offensive caster and also liked the idea of a healer. I have read a lot of criticism about Moonkins, but still wanted to try it. An alternative option is to roll a mage! lol! The only thing that really discourages me is if the build is equipment dependent. It is possible that in the distant future I would respect all restoration. It will depend on how successful I’m finding equipment for either build and how much I like the Moonkin (once I actually play it!). About the view, I did not know I could move a slider in the interface option; I’ll give that a try. I guess I would be better off trying to play as a feral druid, but I have a 60 rouge all ready and I feel the cat “limited” /docks. I Like the bear but I’m terrible at it!

Claritondeus: I guess you are right and I’ll have to be patience until I get Moonkin at 40! I’m cheap and did not want to respect, since I already did it once (all points to balance) two more times is expensive to me, I don’t carry that much gold!

Turz: I’ll try to level up bandage, I did not since I had healing, but you make a good point that I’m always mana limited. You cannot heal while you are in Moonkin form though, for what I understand.

Barbooha: Is the mana bar add an 3rd party add-on? I’m not computer oriented and fear what I don’t understand! I *just* got travel form and I did not think of using it for escaping. Does it work like Hunters’ aspect of the cheetah/pack in which if you are hit you get dazed? I have not noticed the spell, but have not try it in combat.

Thanks again!

T

It keeps a mana bar on your screen so when you go feral you will know the status of your mana.

http://www.curse-gaming.com/en/wow/addons-251-1-druid-bar.html

Hiyas

I speccd Balance from lvl1 - lvl60.

When i had enough talent points to get Moonkin form i was like Whoo hoo! The extra armor really helps when off-tanking/dpsing. I also have made many warlock/mage friends by being in moonkin form and giving off the +3% chance to crit with spells aura.

Since moonkins cannot heal(and i'd prefer to keep up the aura all the time) i usually need a priest for 5-mans. If i get in trouble/priest goes down or some1 needs a battle rez..i switch and rez them then back to moonkin form.

As for getting to that point, lvl1 - lvl40(cant remember exactly when i got it?), the usual grinding was slow i guess..however i played a LOT and progressed fairly regularly..probably 1 lvl per 10-15hrs of playtime.

When in a 5-man group, the aggro u get from casting and healing is quite high(ive been called an aggro machine from time to time[although that might be from crappy warriors]). The standard procedure for balance attacking is : Start with Starfire, Moonfire, Farie Fire, Starfire (by that time the 1st moonfire dot will have worn off), Moonfire, Starfire, Starfire Starfire Spammage! lol Muahahaha!

If u r swarmed by enemies and need to AoE, then use Hurricane *after* a pally consecrates/a mage freezes them to the ground and does their ice rain thingy. Im inclined to hold off a few seconds till even a warlock gets his threat lvl above mine enough so the enemies dont swarm me and i die a useless death. A pally has more armor than u, a mage can freeze incoming enemies to the ground, a warlock has vastly more stamina(hit points) than u.. and druids..have..well..nothing ! so dont be a hero ;) Essentially im a backup healer if the priest goes down..so be prepared for a longer than normal fight and heal effectively and efficiently or u will wipe.

Unfortunetly u run out of mana fast doing this..so get all the +Int on ur gear that u can! Also ..dont hesitate to get +Int enchants on bracers, gloves, staff/mace ..look for +% chance to crit gear..as that will help with reducing mana usage. Spirit is not all that important, as u have to stop casting/melee to gain benefits from spirit regen of mana and health(ever see an oomkin sit in a corner? lol thats why). Oh BTW..get Innervate..something i didnt have till it was introduced just recently, and helps u regen ur mana even while casting! OMG how i needed that b4 lvl60.
Lvl up First aid and use it wherever possible..im not sure if it causes threat..but certainly no where near as much as ur heals

Recently i have joined a raiding guild that requires all druids to be resto specced..unfortunetly i have had to hang up my antlers for a while and just heal/decurse. I however find soloing in moonkin form very very easy. If respeccing did not cost me i would change b4/after ever raid so i could solo moonkin form and raid resto..unfortunetly that costs gold..so bah!

Good luck

You can't heal in moonkin, but you can bandage, its considered using an item not a resto talent, saves tons of mana, both on the heal and the not having to shift to heal.

Survivability will spike when you get moonkin form, it will feel like a whole new class as you strut around in plate/mail equivalent armor pew-pewing mobs.

31 points in balance isn't really enough to really get best use of the tree, but keep in mind that all your heals can be 9% cheaper (instead of just HTs), and OOC/ natural weapons, can make up for some lack of talents in the feral tree.

You can't heal in moonkin, but you can bandage,

@Gwmort - Is there any good reason for a full healing resto druid to learn it and/or actually using it in battle situations?

Every class should learn First Aid in my opinion. Cant use it in combat if you are getting hit, as its a channeled heal, but woot for free heals out of combat. all about saving mana

@Gwmort - Is there any good reason for a full healing resto druid to learn it and/or actually using it in battle situations?

YES. Get it maxed. When mana is tight in long fights and you can bandage yourself instead of blowing more mana to stay alive it is invaluable.

First Aid is great especially when on main/off tank healing instead of using mana to heal yourself you just bandage up, plus start regenerating mana in that time without having to use any mana on yourself. Also with the option to get all secondary options there is no reason to not get at least first aid. I get cooking and fishing even if i dont level them on all my toons.

First aid and cooking should be learned by everybody. I see so many people that don't have either. They would spend heaps of money to get a +12 Stam or Spirit enchant, I will have that too, plus the buff I get for cooking for 15min. Fishing doesn't hurt either. Nightfin Soup gives an 8 MP5 for 10min. Every couple of days I'll head to Feralas and fish me up a stack.


Turz
48 Tauren Druid
Eitrigg

SilencerBob, thanks for the help. It helps me to know how you play you moonkin. I aslo will focu motre on inteligence.

Gwmort, I see your point about the amount of talent points on Balance. An why some pople have said you need to play melee as well. what is "pew-pewing mobs"? :)

I usually learn all three secondary profesions, they are almost "free", cooking bonus are nice and food is comon. Fishing has given me something to do while I wait for ships!

I got some equipment with +arcane damage, not much but I guess I'll star acuumulating it.

I'll be patience and wait for lvl 40. Thank you all for the advice,

T

One more thing, the most important thing really.


Prepare yourself to be asked 47 times a day to dance.



Turz

One thing you should know about Moonkin is that you need reasonable gear to pull it off. You can be an effective healer in relatively crappy gear, but Moonkins need some +damage to get those BOOM HEADSHOT crits. It helps to be involved in some end-game raiding to pick up some spare pieces, and it helps even more to be in a guild that will let you actively gear out in spell dmg gear. Alas, those places are hard to find and take a big time commitment too. If you want to be more budget, I'd suggest going after exhaulted AB and AV rep for the nice caster rewards there. Where you lack the ability to find +dmg gear, look for some armour that will aid your Intelligence. I believe every 35-50 int gives you +1% spell crit (I don't know the exact value), so you will get a nice bonus on top of simply increasing your mana bar.

Oh btw, I noticed you said "I don't engage in PvP." If that is the case, you may want to consider sticking to resto. Many of the benefits of the Moonkin only really shine in PvP, plus without raiding, you will need PvP armour rewards to make a decent set of pewpew gear.

So far, my transition to Moonkin from Feral has seen the best combination of gear (between STR/STA and INT/SPR) to be a set that can give me Mana equal to HP or slightly higher, depending on play style. The mod Outfitter is a life saver as you can build feral, healing, and moonkin armor combinations and change in and out with the click of a button. An add-on like this is a must have for our class IMO.

In grinding situations, with MotW, Thorns, and OOC up, I've opened with SF, FF, MF, melee while keeping up the MF DOT and using MF or SF everytime the OOC procs which I've found to be at least one time per fight. The combination of my Soulkeeper and the MF's DOT is usually 200 + 110 per swing, not including the initial damage of the MFs or the "free" spells I use when OOC. While the kill isn't as fast as say a feral-spec'd cat starting in prowl/ravage/ etc..I don't take as much damage and manage add-ons much better (MF and Root then return to orig. fight).

Another side benefit, if you ever have to do the stealth MC attunement, Moonie's armor really shines when lava jumping. Takes one Rejuv, switch to Moonie, run like your wings are on fire and you get thru lava with 1/3rd health.

Okay so I like respec'd twice. Before respecin at all I was full Balance. Like others were saying before it was a bit hard to solo, plus I can't seem to do much damage. So then I tried full feral and the rest in Resto, still couldnt do much damage, could take damage though. So I respeced again. Now I have my 31pts back in Balance [missed my moonkin] 8 in resto, and the rest in feral. Is there just certain armor I have to equip in order to do more damage? :deadhorse

You're not going to put out much damage in feral unless you have feral gear on.

Same with Balance.