Every new expansion brings changes to the classes of World of Warcraft, and Warlords of Draenor will be no different.  With the expansion looming ever closer it is time to start looking at the pending changes for the classes and how they will affect them.  This article covers the pending changes for the Druid class.

Important Note:  These changes are based on the Beta for Warlords of Draenor and as such could change dramatically before the actual release of the game.

New Druid Talents

Unlike the talents in the first 6 tiers of the talent tree, which are pretty much the same for all four of the Druid specs, the level 100 talents are different for each spec.

Balance

• Stellar Flare – A powerful spell which benefits from both Lunar and Solar Eclipses, dealing the most damage when they are balanced.  Burns the target for initial damage and places a 20 second DOT on them.
• Balance of Power – Allows your Starfire to extend the duration of Moonfire by 6 seconds and your wraths to extend the duration of Sunfire by 4 seconds.  Also increases the damage of Moonfire and Sunfire by 10%.
• Euphoria – Reduced your Balance energy cycle time by 50%.  Your Lunar and Solar empowerments also reduce the cast time of the affected spells by 20%.

Feral

• Lunar Inspiration – You can now use Moonfire in cat form and it generates 1 combo point.
• Bloodtalons – Casting Healing touch causes your next two melee abilities to deal 30% bonus damage.
• Claws of Shirvallah – Provides an alternate cat form that allows the use of all non-damaging Druid spells and increases versatility by 5%.

Guardian

• Guardian of Elune – Savage Defense now lasts 3 seconds and increases your dodge chance by 100%.  Also reduces the cooldown time on Savage Defence by your base dodge chance.
• Pulverize – Consumes 3 stacks of lacerate on the target to deal 300% weapon damage and reduce the damage you take by 20% for 10 seconds. 
• Bristling Fur – Reduces all damage taken by 50% for 3 seconds on a 1 minute cooldown.

Restoration

• Moment of Clarity – Omen of Clarity now lasts for 5 seconds instead of a single cast.
• Germination – You may apply two Rejuvenations to the same target and its duration is increased by 3 seconds.
• Rampant Growth – Siftmend now consumes your own Regrowth of Rejuvenation, has no cooldown and does 100% bonus healing.

Druid Talent Changes

In addition to new level 100 talents for the Druid class, many of the existing talents from Mists of Pandaria are changing as well.  They are as follows:

• Dream of Cenarius (Balance and Restoration) – Now causes your moonfire and sunfire to heal an injured ally when you are at Lunar or Solar peak.
• Dream of Cenarius (Feral) – Increase the critical strike chance of Mangle by 10% and your Mangle crits have a 40% chance to make your next healing touch or rebirth an instant free cast usable in any form.
• Dream of Cenarius (Guardian) – Your healing touch and rejuvenation also heal you as well as your target.
• Incarnation: Tree of Life – Rejuvenation is enhanced instead of lifebloom.
• Typhoon – Range has been reduced to half, down to 15 yards from 30.

In addition to these major changes, most talents have had their coefficients changed to match the new lower stat values better.

New Druid Glyphs

• Glyph of Astral Communion - Your Astral Communion ability can be used while moving.
• Glyph of Enchanted Bark -  For 5 sec after activating Barkskin, you become immune to Silence and Interrupt effects.
• Glyph of Entangling Energy -  When you kill an enemy that grants experience or honor, your next Starfire or Wrath also applies Entangling Roots to your target.
•  Glyph of the Ninth Life -  Reduces all damage taken while in Cat Form by 10%.
• Glyph of Celestial Alignment - Celestial Alignment now lasts 60 sec, or until 8 spells have been cast with it active, whichever comes first.
• Glyph of Maim -  Increases the damage done by Maim by 100%.
• Glyph of the Shapemender -  Each time you shapeshift, you are healed for 5% of your maximum health.
• Glyph of Moonwarding -  Moonkin Form grants 10% bonus health instead of the normal armour boost.
• Glyph of the Solstice - Your Starfall is now replaced with Sunfall and your Hurricane is now replaced with Astral Storm.

Changed Druid Glyphs

There are a large number of glyphs that are changing with Warlords of Draenor for each class.  Many of these are due to the new lower stat values and coefficients changing, those will not be covered here.  Most of the other changes are restrictions to which spec may use which glyphs.

• Glyph of Barkskin – Now not usable by Feral Druids.
• Glyph of Cat Form – Feral only.
• Glyph of Fae Silence – Guardian only.
• Glyph of Faerie Fire – Now Feral and Guardian only.
• Glyph of Guided Stars – Affects your Starfall and Sunfall abilities so that they only hit your DOTed enemies.
• Glyph of Maul – Guardian only.
• Glyph of Might of Ursoc – Guardian only.
• Glyph of Rake – Feral only.  Increases the range of your Rake by 8 yards while Prowl is active.

New Druid Specializations

Specializations are all of the different abilities that you gain when you choose a spec.  With Warlords of Draenor there are many new abilities coming to each spec.

Balance

• Astral Showers – Moonfire duration is increased by 100%.  Sunfire’s DOT is now applied to all enemies within 5 yards of your target.
• Lunar Guidance – Gain 5% more of the Mastery stat from all sources.

Guardian

• Mastery: Primal Tenacity – When you are hit by a physical attack, you gain a absorb shield equal to 16% of the hit’s damage.  Hits while shielded do not trigger another stack.  Your attack power is boosted by 8% while shielded.
• Survival of the Fittest – Gain 5% more of the Mastery stat from all sources.
• Resolve – Increases your healing and absorption done to yourself, based on Stamina and damage taken in the last 10 seconds.
• Ursa Major – Your multistrikes grant you a 2% boost to health for 30 seconds.

Feral

• Critical Strikes – Increase your crit chance by 10%.
• Sharpened Claws – Gain 5% more of the Critical Strike stat from all sources.

Restoration

• Naturalist – Gain 5% more of the Haste stat from all sources.

New Druid Draenor Perks

Perks are a new reward that players earn as they level from 91 – 100 in Draenor.  This is instead of earning yet more new abilities and increasing ability bloat of the classes.  Each spec will earn an addition power-up to one of their existing abilities every other level while levelling up in the expansion.

Balance

• Enhanced Rebirth – Rebirth no longer has a cast time.
• Enhanced Moonkin Form – Moonkin form grants an additional 100% armor increase.
• Empowered Moonkin – Single-target attacks against you while in Moonkin form have a 15% to allow you to instantly cast your next damage or healing spell.
• Enhanced Starsurge – Starsurge is now instant.

Feral

• Enhanced Berserk – Max energy while Berserk is active is boosted by 50.
• Enhanced Prowl – Prowl no longer has a movement speed penalty.
• Improved Rake – Rake deals 100% bonus damage while stealthed.
• Enhanced Rejuvenation – You can now use Rejuvenation in Bear and Cat form.

Guardian

• Enhanced Toot and Claw – Now makes Maul free and has a bonus charge.
• Empowered Berserk – Increases Berserks duration by 5 seconds.
• Enhanced Faerie Fire – While in Bear form, Faerie Fire does not have a cooldown and deals 100% bonus damage.
• Empowered Bear Form – Bear form grants you an addition 10% stamina.

Restoration

• Empowered Rejuvenation – Increases the duration of Rejuvenation by 3 seconds.
• Enhanced Rebirth – Your Rebirth becomes an instant.
• Empowered Ironbark – Increases the healing the your Ironbark target receives from HOTs by 20%.
• Enhanced Lifebloom – Lifebloom grants your Healing Touch a 20% bonus to critical strike.

Druid abilities, spells, talents that have been Removed

There has been a lot of cleanup going on in preparation for Warlords of Draenor.  One of the things that players complained about in Mists of Pandaria was that the many years of expansion had lead to having too many different abilities per class.  There really was no way to keep them all straight and to have them all ready to go at any point in time.  Blizzard listened and has started a fairly large cleanup of  abilities, talents, glyphs and more from the game.  Here is a list of the Druid ones that have been removed.

Removed from All Druids

• Hibernate
• Innervate
• Nature’s Grasp
• Pounce
• Symbiosis
• Track Humanoids

Removed from Balance Druids

• Euphoria
• Lunar Shower
• Owlkin Frenzy
• Wild Mushroom: Detonate

Removed from Feral Druids

• Infected Wounds
• Ravage

Removed from Guardian Druids

• Bear Hug
• Enrage
• Infected Wounds
• Nature’s Guardian
• Ravage

Removed from Restoration Druids

• Nourish