Like I have posted before, I am new to WoW and am a druid as my first character. I happen to enjoy the different shapeshifting forms very much. I was wondering if a few people could list a completely NON-BIASED pros and cons list about the Moonkin Form. It is very interesting to me and I'd like to know more about it. Thank you in advance for anyone who spends time on this :)

Do you mean for a moonkin spec of just the moonkin form in itself? Cuz the answer to that can be quite different.

Anyways just the form.
Pros:
-A nice armor boost, you can actually survive a little while in close action.
-A buff that can add to party dynamics
-Can use trinkets/pots/etc.
-Humanoid, Beast Fear and Hibernate are not effective, though other forms of CC which feral (form) is immune are
-Highest damage spike potential of any build
-/dance :cool:

Cons:
-No stamina bonus like bear, so while the armor is nice, you still aren't the battlemage that people were really expecting.
-Spells still reset the swing timer, futher removing the battlemage identity
-No real personal damage increase, the 3% crit doesn't do so much for our own benefit
-Can't use restoration spells, but then again no shift can
-Dual use of mana means less overall availability, got to play smart
-Feral (form) is immune to Humanoid crowd control, Moonkin aren't
-The gear that you will need to enhance your Moonkin to the most output will debilitate you in your other areas as a druid, as with any specific role gear, but nuking gear is even more of a detriment
-Cannot get Nature's Swiftness in resto tree, Not really much of a con to me but still a con
-Gives away your spec in PVP, people will know how to fight you, again not really debilitating, but there


oonkin is not really the issue of the balance tree. Its just like LOTP in feral. Neither Balance nor Feral trees come to a great climax at the 31 point talent. Both Moonkin and LOTP are more support party talents than anything. They are icing on the cake so to speak. The real pros of Moonkin are not the form itself, but the things which lead of to that point. The same is said for LOTP, and in my opinion Innervate too. Druids are not a class to depend on the 31 pointer, and for good reason as we are hybrids. This is why really great abilities like Omen of clarity, Natural Shifter, Feral Charge, Feline Swiftness, Furor and Nature's Focus are all very high on the talent trees to ensure maximum availability.

But this doesn't really matter now does it? Pros, cons are mostly outlooks imposed by others onto you. So why bother?

The best Pro I can think of is its just a fun way to play. Does anything beyond this really matter?

Good summary, but missed two pros:

1. Melee damage is still your caster weapon, which permits weapon proc enchants and balances some of our lack of scalable items at high levels.
2. Can still use your racial ability in Moonkin form (shadowmeld/ warstomp), for Tauren being able to use WS almost makes up for not having the bash from bear form.

Cons:
I am biased and love my moonkin, kind of wish you could see more of the gear in the form though (besides weapon).

Get a quick caster dagger to offset that swing timer thing, and the ability to use the trinkets helps with the cc issue a bit.

Moonkin form:

There's 3 type all gear dependant. Panzerkin, Clothkin and Spiritkin. Panzers have 10-12k armor, but low DPS since they are sacrificing stats for it. Cloth has around 5k armor, but are glass cannons like mages. Spirit has 8kish armor, doesn't hit too hard, but regen mana like crazy. +3% spell aura = +3% dps on each caster class around you.

ajor cons. People do not understand about Moonkin even from other Druids. It is very very gear dependant. You have to work very hard to prove yourself. You will have to heal and shift out when things go wrong.

With that said I'm at a point where I'm getting 1k crits from Wrath and 2.5kish crits on Starfire. I like my Moonkin, I shatter faces.

How interesting, kaelas I have not heard such a discussion of different Moonkin gear-builds before. Which do you use, or find most effective?

You seem to be linking dps to stats pretty strongly, why is that exactly? (may seem like a stupid question, but I am serious) What stats do you think have the biggest effect on dps? I see how int gives more mana so you can sustain dps longer, but it doesn't make the spells stronger or anything. (unless you are referring to slightly higher crit chance from int)

or do you find the melee weapon to be a significant source of dps for you and need more strength to get extra damage? I suspect in the most effective uses of moonkin the weapon damage would be a significant factor to total dps.

I like my Moonkin, I shatter faces.I love it.

Create, do you love the quote or are you a moonkin as well?

I like the quote. I'm not a big moonkin fan. If you care to root around a bit I've got *tons* of opinions about builds.

oonkin can be effective but I think the opportunity cost is too high to justify it for PvE.

I know what you mean about the opportunity cost. I am trying to get some separate gear sets going, but can't seem to find a good distinction for Moonkin gear (other than +spell dmg, which is hard to come by in leather).

It seems the spec that requires the most hybrid stats, which results in not really maxing any. I use moonkin up close and personal, with melee attacks and instant spells. It works well for me and I love the playstyle, but gearing is proving difficult since it seems I need everything. Like my weapon, I ideally want something relatively fast for OoC to proc more, with decent caster stats, that still does decent dps. Thats a tough order to fill.

I think bliz is starting to address this by providing more hybrid stat gear (like the new Genesis set), but of course it will be more than a year before I can get that on my play schedule. By then the expansion will be out and hopefully give some more options.