Hi guys, I was wondering if any of you have any good pvp/raid build/strats you'd like to share. Also I'd like to know what's better for pvping, balance or feral? Someone in my guild mentioned that I should get bear talents only and the rest into restoration. Any ideas?

it depends on your play style, if you like using your feral forms then spec feral with some restoration. I find that being restoration/balance spec i am very useful in raids and can pvp very well. (my spec is 38 restoration and 13 balance)...although with the upcoming patch i may have to change some talent points into feral :banghead_ BUT whatever you do dont leave out the restoration talent points...they are to valuable to not have.

Very true, but if barkskin prevents channeling interruptions, i may have to go back to my hurricane =D

bear and cat are both important with pvp, although i loved being able to crit for over 1k with starfire

Very true, but if barkskin prevents channeling interruptions, i may have to go back to my hurricane =D

bear and cat are both important with pvp, although i loved being able to crit for over 1k with starfire

Even with barkskin, hurricane will be ultimately a waste of talent points due to the very low DPS and cooldown.

My PvP build currently is:

Feral Combat Mastery:
Ferocity Rank 5
Sharpened Claws Rank 5
Feral Charge Rank 1
Feral Combat Total: 11

Balance Mastery:
Nature's Grasp Rank 1
Improved Nature's Grasp Rank 4
Improved Entangling Roots Rank 3
Nature's Reach Rank 1
Balance Total: 9

Restoration Mastery:
Improved Mark of the Wild Rank 5
Nature's Focus Rank 5
Improved Healing Touch Rank 5
Gift of Nature Rank 1
Reflection Rank 5
Improved Rejuvenation Rank 5
Nature's Swiftness Rank 1
Subtlety Rank 3
Innervate Rank 1
Restoration Total: 31

You may ask why restoration is in any way a PvP build, but once you fight hunters, warlocks and priests at level 60 (especially in group pvp) this is the one that works best currently (for me anyway). Lastability and a fair bit of DPS with the extra crits in bearform (I prefer crits in bearform to base DPS - helpful against other casters).

Feral specced druids should do a lot better in bearform with the new skill theyre implementing, this all depends on how much HP per rage it gives though.

Even with barkskin, hurricane will be ultimately a waste of talent points due to the very low DPS and cooldown.
With the upcoming Battlegrounds/Honor System, you may want to rethink your position on Hurricane.

First of all, it is not "very low DPS" when used as intended. 1010 damage to everything in the area is not bad, it is only bad when you are only hitting a couple of mobs. It is not as good as a Mage's Blizzard, but it is not that far behind.

Remember that in Battlegrounds, you will gain points for doing damage, not just getting the kill. Tagged mobs do not apply to Honor points, so a Balance Spec Druid could run into the middle of a large battle, throw on Barkskin and cast Hurricane and not only help your side's battle, but accummlate points as well.

*Edit
You do not get points for just doing damage; the enemy has to be killed for you to recieve points, it is just that it does not matter who gets the kill or who did the first damage. You will recieve points based on the percentage of damage you did.

I thought I'd share my PVP/Raid build at 60 with you, since it's been working quite well for me and is the first one of 5, maybe 6 that has made me feel useful in both raid and PVP scenarios. I have 31 points in restoration, the remaining in balance. Instead of going point by point or providing a list, I will do my best to highlight key skills that are useful in these two often different arenas :

Raids :

I have been the MT for a handful of 5-person "raids" and have performed as primary healer alongside a priest or shaman for the rest. We don't do well as the only healer, simply because of our rez, what I wouldn't give for a real rez.. let the Shamans have combat rez!

Mark of the Wolf : Any quality raid will have a druid because of this spell. Points put into improving it only further enhance what you bring in this regard.

Heals : Given that you will almost always have a priest or shaman around to help (keep in mind these are typical raids, not *all* possible successful raids) you tend to look at what gives you the most bang for the buck. Talents that improve overall healing, and reduce costs are key. For myself, I have improved rejuventation and regrowth maxxed out. Getting a +50% chance of critical and reduced casting time on Regrowth easily moved it past Nature's Touch to become my primary heal.

Moonfire/Faerie Fire : Points spent in improving damage, particularly moonfire help. Improving starfire is an option, but your mana may better be spent going for the heals. Spending a long time casting spells also decreases your overall mana regeneration. Short and instant spells give you the maximum time between spells to let you keep that mana up!

Nature's Swiftness : Perfect for healing the MT when everything else is going wrong and they're dropping fast. Don't have it, and risk being judged an incompetent healer.

Innervate : This spell is essential for any Druid. It'll give you another bar of mana, every 6 minutes. Perfect for that last boss fight, or when the group has to keep moving through a tough portion. I've also given Innervate to other healers if they are having a tough time keeping up. Probably it's most trivial use is on a priest/shaman who is doing the rez's after a wipe. Make sure they rez you first!

PVP :

In my experience, the Druid isn't a good front line fighter, or an out and out killer who lays waste to our foes. This isn't to say we can't perform well at their roles, I simply feel our talents are best served elsewhere. A Druid is already a major target for rogues and hunters, because of our ability to cripple the rogue through faerie fire and roots, and our ability to sleep pets. We also, in most cases, fit into an opponents mindset of healer=weak, so people think they can take us down easily. All of these things tend to lead to fast deaths if you like to charge into the fray.

Root : In my opinion, our #1 spell on the battlefield. Low mana cost, devastating impacts ranging from stopping people fleeing, anchoring rogues trying to get behind people, paladins trying to finish off their famed "I'm invulnerable, now watch me run!" stunts... the list goes on. Anybody is a target for this spell, and will immediately hate you for it. Conversely, allied rogues will bow at your hooves. Improvements to anti-interruption doesn't help most of the time, but when a rogue or paladin is in your face, it's your get out of jail free.

Nature's Swiftness : Perfect for that insta-root when someone is almost out of range, or insta-heal on the run.

Nature's Reach : That extra 20% turns long range spells into "I-can't-believe-I-can-hit-you-from-here" spells. For fights that emphasize roots, it stops people from closing every time.

Swiftswitching : A druid needs to run away a lot. We need to prowl a lot. We sometimes need to bear a lot. Finally, in PVP we need to cast a lot. Maxxing this skill lets you change forms with near impunity and drastically improves your mana pool. Perfect for those cheetah-rejuvenation-cure poison-cheetah runs.

Nature's Focus : Not truly valuable in itself, because for any really critical heal you will use nature's switness. There are times when someone needs healing and you are getting pestered, this is useful then. Better than the alternative : Improved Healing Touch, this spell is used *very* rarely due to the high critical rate you get on Regrowth due to Improved Regrowth.

Reflection / Innervate : For the same reasons as mentioned in Raids *plus* hunters love to drain your mana at range. In a mass combat situation, you can't run on over and teach them a lesson. Innervate gives you the edge needed to avoid going OOM and being unable to shapeshift to prowl or run.

These tips aren't perfect, and only reflect my play style. The one skill I wish I had was Improved Prowl, as humans in particular have a relatively easy time of seeing me. Still, it would mean giving up Swiftswitching or Innervate to get it, and both of those are vastly more useful.

Hope that helps!

~Aida

Thanks for sharing this info Ceyne. I definitely got some useful information out of your post.