Balance Druid 10.2.6 Guide
Introduction
Welcome to our guide on the Balance Specialization for the Druid Class in WoW Dragonflight patch 10.2.6! This article covers everything related to the Balance spec, such as the leveling, gearing, and min-maxing your druid as a DPS for the most challenging PvE content in World of Warcraft - Mythic Raiding and Mythic+ Dungeons.
First, we'll check out the specialization's particularities and see if the Balance Druid is one of the best specs in Dragonflight, Season 3. Then you'll learn how to gear your druid, what stats to prioritize, the best leveling spec, and what talents to use in the late game.
Finally, we'll go deep into min-maxing your character for the PvE end-game content and teach you gear to use for Mythic Raiding and Mythic Plus dungeons. By the end of the guide, you will become a master of the Balance specialization! Sounds good, right? Let's get started!
Table of Contents
- Balance Druids: Strengths and Weaknesses
- How to gear your Balance Druid
- How to level your Balance Druid. Leveling tips
- Best Balance Druid talents for end-game content
- Balance Druid in Dragonflight - FAQ
Balance Druid in Dragonflight: Strengths and Weaknesses
In World of Warcraft, the Druid class has 4 specializations: Feral, Balance, Restoration, and Guardian. The Balance Druids cover the ranged DPS role, using Astral Power and Mana as their spending resources.
The Balance Druid represents one of the mediocre DPS classes for Mythic Dungeons and Mythic Raiding in Dragonflight Season 3, even though it provides one of the highest burst single-target damage in the game and great group utility.
Regarding weapons, as a DPS, the Balance Druid uses daggers, maces, and staves. As for raid gear, it shares the Vanquisher Tier Token with Rogues, Death Knights, and Mages for legacy content. In the Dragonflight's latest expansion raid, druids share the Mystic Tier Token with Hunters and Mages.
In the table below, we present the Balance Druid's strengths and weaknesses:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| + Long-Term Sustained Multi Target damage | - Long Multi-Target Ramp Up Time - lower burst |
| + Bear Form + Barkskin conjunction. Strongest survivability in the game | - Lack of Talent Strength - No impact due to the talents |
| + Great group utility and crowd control | - Lower single-target damage |
How to gear your Balance Druid
In World of Warcraft, gearing is one of the most important aspects that enhances your character's overall performance by providing massive amounts of stats, armor, procs, and set bonuses. This guide will teach you how to properly gear up for the most challenging content in WoW Dragonflight, Mythic Raiding, and Mythic+ Dungeons.
We'll start with the basics and cover the Balance Druid's stats priority, check out the tier set bonuses, and finally, the best in slot gear you should use in mythic raids and dungeons.
Balance Druid stat priority
Regardless of the class and spec you roll into in World of Warcraft, the stats are a key component when gearing up and min-maxing your character for the end-game content. Balance Druids wear Leather gear with Intellect as the main stat.
As a DPS druid, the Intellect stat increases the attack power of your abilities, in other words - the damage you are dealing to the enemies. Also, please note that a higher and adequate item level will better impact your character's performance than a perfect stat distribution, so always keep an eye on the gear's item level!
Balance Druid's stats priority looks like this:
- 1. Intellect
- 2. Mastery
- 3. Haste
- 4. Critical Strike
- 5. Versatility
So as a Balance Druid, you will primarily value item level for Intellect as the primary stat, then Mastery, followed by Haste, Critical Strike, and Versatility as secondary stats.
In other words: Intellect > Mastery > Haste > Critical Strike > Versatility. And here's why:
Mastery: Increases the damage of your spells
Haste: Increases your attack speed and DoTs tick rate and reduces your cooldowns
Mastery: Increases the damage of your spells
Critical Strike: Increases the chances of dealing double damage with your attacks
Versatility: Increases damage dealt, healing received, and reduces damage taken
Balance Druid Tier Set Bonus
To start with, what is a tier set in World of Warcraft?
In WoW, a tier set is a unique class armor set with powerful 2-set and 4-set specific bonuses for each specialization of that particular class. Tier set bonuses change based on the character's active talent specialization, ensuring that the bonus is appropriate and useful to that spec.
So to recap, tier sets are unique pieces of armor that, when equipped simultaneously, provide you with a bonus, different for each spec of the chosen class. This bonus is based on the number of pieces from the set you have equipped, with most tier sets providing bonuses when equipping 2 or 4 pieces.
How to get the Druid Tier Set in Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6
There are three ways you can get tier set items in WoW in the Dragonflight expansion:
- Raids: You can get tier set items found as class tokens from specific bosses in the Dragonflight raids.
- Revival Catalyst: You can craft Tier armor from non-set pieces of the same item level using the Revival Catalyst crafting system.
- Great Vault: You can obtain tier set items from all activities that typically reward Great Vault, such as raiding, Mythic+ dungeons, and PvP.
The fastest way to obtain tier set items is to take advantage of these three sources that can reward you with tier set items. The best advice is to complete the raid weekly - this is probably the fastest way to get your hands on the desired tier armor. In case you don't have a team to raid with, complete some Mythic+ Dungeons or some PvP matches.
Mythic dungeons and PvP are highly beneficial because even if you can't drop the set items while participating in these activities, you increase the chances of getting your set items at the Great Vault or the Revival Catalyst console in Thaldraszus. At the revival catalyst console, you can convert the non-set pieces obtained in dungeons or PvP into tier set items.
Let's have a closer look at the Great Vault feature:
And this is what the Revival Catalyst looks like:
Back to our Balance Druid Tier Set. Now that you learned how to obtain the tier set, let's see some set bonuses and particularities, shall we?
The Druid Tier set is called Lost Landcallers. For the Balance spec, it comes with the following bonuses for two pieces and four pieces equipped:
- 2-Set: Gathering Starstuff - Starsurge and Starfall increase the damage of your next Wrath or Starfire by 20%.
- 4-Set: Touch the Cosmos - When you enter Eclipse, your next Starsurge or Starfall cost no Astral Power and deals 35% increased damage.
In the table below, we present you the sources for Balance Druid Tier Set items:
| Slot | Tier Piece |
| Helm | Lost Landcaller's Antlers |
| Shoulders | Lost Landcaller's Mantle |
| Chest | Lost Landcaller's Robes |
| Gloves | Lost Landcaller's Claws |
| Legs | Lost Landcaller's Leggings |
The remaining tier set items (Cloak, Wrists, Waist, and Boots) can be obtained by using the Revival Catalyst in Thaldraszus.
As previously stated, you unlock the tier set bonuses for your Balance Druid when you equip any two or four pieces of the Lost Landcallers set. For itemization and build optimization, your four pieces of tier set as a Balance Druid will be the Helm, Shoulders, Chest, and Legs.
Raid Best in Slot (BiS) Gear for Balance Druids
In the table below, you can find the best item to use in each slot for the raids as a Balance Druid:
| Slot | Item Name | Encounter |
| Helm | Bough of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Neck | Eye of the Rising Flame | Tindral, Amirdrassil |
| Shoulders | Mantle of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Cloak | Voice of the Silent Star | Scalecommander Sarkareth, Aberrus |
| Chest | Chestroots of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Wrists | Life-Bound Bindings | Crafted by Leatherworking |
| Gloves | Handguards of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Waist | Eternal Sentinel's Cord | Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle |
| Legs | Frenzied Incarnate Legwraps | Sennarth |
| Boots | Toxic Thorn Footwraps | Crafted by Leatherworking |
| Ring #1 | Signet of Titanic Insight | Crafted by Jewelcrafting |
| Ring #2 | Seal of Filial Duty | Broodkeeper Diurna, VotI |
| Trinket #1 | Neltharion's Call to Suffering | Echo of Neltharion |
| Trinket #2 | Whispering Incarnate Icon | The Primal Council |
| Main Hand | Vakash, the Shadowed Inferno | Fyrakk, the Blazing |
| Off Hand | Icewrath's Channeling Conduit | The Primal Council in Vault of the Incarnates |
Mythic+ Best in Slot (BiS) Gear for Balance Druids
In the table below, you can find the best item to use in each slot for the Mythic+ Dungeons as a Balance Druid:
| Slot | Item Name | Encounter |
| Helm | Bough of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Neck | Ukhel Ancestry Beads | Nokhud Offensive |
| Shoulders | Mantle of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Cloak | Fireproof Drape | Ruby Life Pools |
| Chest | Chestroots of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Wrists | Mirage Bindings | Azure Vault |
| Gloves | Handguards of the Autumn Blaze | Awakened Raid |
| Waist | Watcher's Clasp of Purpose | Halls of Infusion |
| Legs | Lavabearer Legwraps | Neltharus |
| Boots | Toxic Thorn Footwraps | Crafted by Leatherworking |
| Ring #1 | Scalebane Signer | Darkheart Thicket |
| Ring #2 | Bloodied Wedding Ring | Brackenhide Hollow |
| Trinket #1 | Mirror of Fractured Tomorrows | Dawn of the Infinite: Murozond's Rise |
| Trinket #2 | Furious Ragefeather | Nokhud Offensive |
| Weapon | Iridal, the Earth's Master | Dawn of the Infinite |
Best in Slot (BiS) Trinkets for Balance Druids
The best Balance Druid trinkets for end-game content are:
| Tier | Item Name | Drop Location |
| S | Neltharion's Call to Suffering | Neltharion |
| S | Whispering Incarnate Icon | Primal Council - Vault of the Incarnates |
| S | Tome of Unstable Power | The Azure Vault |
| A | Pip's Emerald Friendship Badge | Urctos, Council of Dreams |
| A | Nymue's Inraveling Spindle | Nymue |
| B | Belor'relos, the Suncalled | Tindral Sageswift |
| B | Ominous Chromatic Essence | Rionthus, Forgotten Experiments |
| C | Irideus Fragment | Halls of Infusion |
This wraps up everything you should know about gearing your Balance Druid: the stats priority, how to obtain the tier set, and what items to use in the end-game activities. Moving on to the next section of our guide, we'll teach you how to level your Balance Druid in Dragonflight patch 10.2.6. Sounds good, right? Let's dive in!
How to level your Balance Druid. Leveling tips
Before leveling your Balance Druid, you must first create and customize the character. That brings us to the first question: what race should you go for when creating the character? Let's find out, shall we?
Best Balance Druid Races
When it comes to races, with so many options to choose from, you are probably wondering what would be the best race for the Balance spec. In World of Warcraft, each race has different racial abilities and spells, but no races offer an immediate advantage compared to others regarding the Balance spec. I highly recommend choosing the race you like the most, aesthetically speaking.
The best races to go for as a Balance Druid are:
- For Alliance: Night Elf and Worgen
- For Horde: Zandalari Troll and Highmountain Tauren
Best Balance Druid Leveling Talents in Dragonflight 10.2.6
The best talents to use while leveling to level 60 as a Balance Druid are:
- Balance Druids in Dragonflight have a rigid rotation while leveling, opting for a more intuitive approach to damage. The key lies in maintaining DoTs like Moonfire (single target) and Sunfire (groups) to inflict damage and managing your Astral Power effectively.
- Always ensure both DoTs are active on your target for consistent damage over time. Don't let your Astral Power cap out – spend it on Starsurge or Starfall to find a balance between maintaining DoTs and unleashing your spenders.
- Strive to stay in Eclipse (Solar or Lunar) as much as possible, as it empowers your spells. Remember, cooldowns are your friends! Use them often, especially Celestial Alignment, to maximize your damage output. When gaps arise in your damage sequence, fill them with Wrath or Starfire.
- Leveling as a Balance Druid is more about feel than following a strict rotation. Apply your DoTs and then unleash Starsurge or Starfall based on intuition and keeping your Astral Power in check.
- For area-of-effect (AoE) situations, things become even simpler. Just cover your enemies with Moonfire and Sunfire, unleash Starfall, and hope for the best!
- You can also be a valuable asset to your leveling group by pulling large packs of mobs for them.
In the next section of our Balance Druid Guide, we'll present the best talents to use for PvE end-game content, such as raiding and Mythic+ dungeons. In the end game, it's crucial to use the right talents and prioritize the skills you use depending on the activity. Choosing the best talents will significantly impact your performance as a DPS!
Best Balance Druid End-game Talents
From the PvE perspective, there are two main end-game activities we'll take into consideration: Mythic raiding and Mythic+ Dungeons. We'll treat them separately to keep things clear and avoid confusion.
Best Talents for Mythic Raiding in Season 3 (patch 10.2.6)
In the picture below, you can see the best talents for mythic raiding as a Balance Druid:
Raid General build
Raid Single-Target build
Best Talents for Mythic+ Dungeons in Season 3 (patch 10.2.6)
As a Balance Druid, these are the talents you should use to maximize your damage in M+ Dungeons:
Balanced build
Starweaver build
Heavy Target DotI build
Balance Druids in Dragonflight - FAQ
1. Are Balance Druids good in Dragonflight 10.2.6?
Yes, Balance Druid represents one of the powerful DPS specs in WoW Dragonflight in Season 3.
2. Is Balance Druid easy to play?
The Balance Druid specialization qualifies as one of the easy-to-medium specs to play in WoW Dragonflight.
3. What is the stats priority for Balance Druids?
The stats priority for Druid's Balance specialization is Intellect > Mastery > Haste > Critical Strike > Versatility
4. Which druid spec is best for leveling in 10.2.6?
The Feral Specialization is the best spec for druid leveling, especially for beginners.
5. What is the best race for Balance Druids in Dragonflight?
- Alliance's best Balance Druid races are Night Elf and Worgen.
- For Horde, the best Balance Druid races are Troll and Highmountain Tauren.
Final thoughts
This wraps up everything you should know regarding the Druid's Balance specialization in World of Warcraft Dragonflight for Season 3, patch 10.2.6. By reading this guide, you should now better understand the Balance spec and particularities and how they perform in certain circumstances and different end-game activities. It's one of the coolest DPS specs in Dragonflight, so you should definitely try it!
