GGL Wire

Welcome to the second installment of a nine part set all about the classes of World of Warcraft. With Arena PVP debuting in 2007, it’s time to take a look at how you can become a better player. This guide will show you how to get better, what to look out for and what you should be doing in PvP.

Druids: Druids make for some of the best healers in arena, and most notably 2v2, because of their instant healing over time spells. Druids can heal on the go and are nearly unstoppable against silences or spell lock strategies.

Let’s take a look at the Druid spells. These are calculated for a level 70 character with no extra gear.

Main Spells:
Healing Touch (935 Mana, 3.5s Cast, Heals for 2707 to 3197) – This should really only ever be used in conjunction with Natures Swiftness, the 3.5 second cast time is incredibly long in arena and the mana cost is pretty extensive. With Natures Swiftness however, this spell makes for a quick 1 to 100% emergency heal.

Lifebloom (220 Mana, Instant cast, Stackable 3 Times) – By far one of the best heals in the game, Lifebloom makes life so easier in arena. The spell heals for 273 over 7 secnds, and once it is completed (or if it is dispelled) it instantly heals for 600. This stacks 3 times, so you can essentially heal for 1800 on the move.

Rejuvenation (415 Mana, Instant, Heals for 1060 over 12 seconds) – Rejuvenation is one of the best healing over time spells out there, with its low mana cost it’s never a bad thing to toss this up on a team mate.

Regrowth (845 Mana, 2 Second Cast) – Regrowth is extremely strong, as it should be for the 2 second cast that it requires. This is a risky spell to cast when playing against anyone that can silence but sometimes it’s a must cast. Regrowth heals for 1215 – 1355 instantly and then heals for another 1274 over 21 seconds. Only cast this when you are absolutely sure you won’t be silenced and only when necessary.

Swiftmend (Talent. 16% Base Mana) – Swiftmend is undoubtly one of the best talents out there. It instantly consumes a Rejuvenation or Regrowth effect and heals them for an amount equal to 12 seconds of Rejuvenation or 18 seconds of Regrowth. The best part? This can be cast any time during the spells Healing over time duration, that means you can cast it with 1 second left on Regrowth and still gain 18 seconds worth of healing. Use this spell wisely; it’s on an extremely short cooldown (15 seconds) but make sure the healing over time buff is about to expire before using it to get the full effect. If you can time this properly, you’re well on your way to being one of the best healing Druids out there.

Cyclone (8% of Base Mana, 1.5s Cast) – New in the Burning Crusade comes Cyclone, the best Crowd Control spell in the game. Cyclone makes the target immune and unable to do anything. The reason this is so powerful is that it lasts 6 seconds and cannot be dispelled. The only thing that can stop this is a trinket, not even a Paladin Divine Shield can break this spell. Use it wisely; while there is no cooldown, the spell suffers from diminishing returns, and if you cast it on someone more than four times in 15 seconds they will be immune. But honestly, if you can master healing with HoTs and cycloning the other team’s healer whenever possible, you’re well on your way to a 2000+ rating.

Innervate (4% Base Mana) – This spell is amazing, it increases your spirit based mana regeneration by 400% for 20 seconds and allows full regeneration while casting. While this would definitely be better as a straight Mana percentage regeneration. I can’t complain about being able to go out of mana and be back at half in less than 30 seconds.

Buffs:
Mark of the Wild – Notably one of the best buffs in the game, second only to Blessing of Kings, this spell increases armor by 340 and all stats by 25. That means an extra 250 health, 375 mana, and attack power (depending on the class). This spell is a must have for any team with a Druid on it.

Thorns – A very simple buff that helps out against melee classes, whenever someone strikes you with this buff on, they take 25 nature damage. Not great, but it can stack some damage against fast melee classes.

Stats to watch for:
Warning: There’s a little bit of math here; nothing too complex but I felt it necessary to tell you what you are getting into as a Druid.
Intelligence – Intelligence is extremely important for Druids that plan to Heal in Arena, which is where they shine. Every point of Intelligence gives you 15 Mana.
Stamina – Stamina is important for every class, Druids gain 25% of the Stamina in Dire Bear Form. For every 1 Stamina, you gain 10 Health Points.
Strength – Even in Cat Form, Strength plays a major role in a Druid’s attack power. For every point of strength you gain 2 Attack Power. In other words, at level 70, for every 2 Strength you have you gain 0.3 Damage per Second.
Agility – Agility is one of the main stats in Cat Form, for every 1 Agility you gain 1 Attack Power. In other words, at level 70, for every 1 Agility you gain 0.07 Damage per Second.
+ Healing – Like all healing class, +Healing is very important, the more you have, the better off you are. Since most of the healing you are going to be doing in arena is going to be instants, they gain 42% of your +Healing.

Important Talents
Swiftmend (31 point restoration talent) – Swiftmend consumes a Rejuvenation or Regrowth buff and heals for much of it, as described above. The best time to use this is at the end of the HoT effect.

Natures Swiftness (21 point restoration talent) – The next Nature spell becomes instant, this in conjunction with any long casting heal spell is great. Unfortunately it has a 3 minute cooldown, but it’s great for that emergency heal.

Feral Charge (11 Point Feral talent) – This talent is great for interrupting spells, or just getting back into the fight fast. If you are far away from your teammates and you need to get in there to heal, go bear form and Feral Charge at an enemy, you’re nearly instantly there and ready to heal again.

Builds
12/11/38: Click Here to View

Good Arena Compositions:
3v3:
Druid/Mage/Warlock – This team is full of crowd control. Fear, Cyclone, Frost Nova and Sheep make for a tough team to beat. Combined with the fast heals of a Druid and the quick DPS of a mage/warlock combo.
Used By: Insurrection

Druid/Rogue/Mage – Not the best healer for the group, but still great with Crowd control and burst damage.
Used By: Evil Geniuses

Druid/Rogue/Rogue – This dual rogue team is tough to beat, with all three stealth the rogues can quickly take down any cloth wearer.
Used By: Pandemic

2v2:
Druid/Warrior - This is the best 2v2 team out there right now, with instant heals and fast burst damage from the warrior. Plus Mortal Strike and Cyclone make any team easy to beat.
Used By: Cyclone and Run

Druid/Warlock – HoTs and DoTs! This group has the ability to dish out a lot of damage, heal through a ton of damage and practically never run out of mana.
Used By: WTS Skill

Job in Arena
The primary role of a Druid in arena is for Crowd Control, having the best one in the game, and for fast, unstoppable heals. One of the best things about a Druid are all of their heal over time spells that are instants. That means the Mages and Warlocks are going to have a very hard time silencing your spells. In arena, you should be healing hard; if you aren’t healing then you aren’t utilizing everything your class has to offer. I’ve seen some Druids get by as Balance/Restoration, having Treants ready to go after that caster definitely helps but conserve your mana and make sure to keep your teammates alive.

Another great thing about being a Druid is the ability to go into Travel Form, get away and drink then come back into the fight with nearly full mana. While this is sometimes rare, it is definitely possible.

Job in Battlegrounds
Warsong Gulch is your bread and butter. You are the best flag carrying machine that has ever lived. Heal up with all your instant healing over time spells and dive in in bear form. Wait to get outside and pop into Travel form and leave those pesky defenders in the dust! The beauty of this is that you no longer have to transfer out of one form to transfer into the other; just click Travel Form while in Bear Form and watch the magic begin.

As a fast and mobile healer, you also are amazing at moving around from flag to flag in Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley. With the ability to heal all of your teammates at once and pop into cat form to dish out some serious damage, Druids are one of the best classes to PvP with.