Druid Leveling Guide

Overview, Talents, Rotation, Gear Progression, Tips & Tricks.

A World of Warcraft 1.12 Guide by Kargoz

Watch the Accompanying Video:

Last Updated: 10.21.2018 youtube.com/watch?v=C8BPATSVpRg
Watch the Accompanying Video:
youtube.com/watch?v=C8BPATSVpRg
 Introduction
Greetings Prospective Druid, my name is Kargoz and I’ve been playing
World of Warcraft for a long time. Starting my journey in late 2004, I’ve since
leveled multiple classes to 60 on various Vanilla realms, including Nostalrius,
Anathema, Zeth’kur, Lightbringer, and most recently on Northdale. I’ve learned
through the years that leveling is probably my favorite aspect of the game,
particularly speed leveling, and finding ways to beat my personal best. The
amazing thing about Classic WoW is that leveling is a huge part of the experience!

In order to ensure accuracy I consulted multiple Druid players such as Shedo,

Mobia, Scylla, Skepticon, Unusual, Keftenk, Talespinner, Serendipitys and
Taladril! My sincerest thanks to everyone who contributed something to this
project, your collective understanding of all things Druid was invaluable. I am
thrilled to present this Comprehensive Druid Leveling Guide for World of
Warcraft 1.12!
 Class Overview
Druids are hyper e cient Tier 1 levelers with low gear dependance and the highest movement
speed in the game. Druids have excellent starting area progression in a Fresh Realm Environment
due to the reduced congestion of both Mulgore and Teldrassil. At level 10, Druids get a big power
spike through Bear Form allowing them to kill faster with indefinite sustain. Druids get Cat Form
at level 20 and soon after 2/2 Improved Cat Form, giving them an astounding 30% static
movement speed increase when outdoors. This speed is incredibly valuable early on, and when
paired with the ability to Self Heal and Prowl (Stealth), o er Druids advantages that no other class
have. Druids are capable of competently performing as a Tank, DPS, or Healer throughout the
entirety of the leveling process. Bear Tanks have easy, on demand, high threat AoE in the form of
Swipe and threat generation that is multiplicative as opposed to additive. Cat DPS is quite strong
during the leveling stages and o ers great group utility in the form of a combat Battle Rez, o
Heals, o Tanking and more. As Healers, Druids are best utilized alongside another member of the
party that can freely resurrect as they are restricted to Rebirth, primarily a battle rez on a long
cooldown. Druids really shine when it comes to questing more so than grinding as it makes the
best use of their increased movement speed, finesse with Stealth, and Single Target damage.
Druids are one of the most underrated and underrepresented classes in Classic but don’t be fooled
by the supposed “Hybrid Tax”. In the right hands Druids are highly capable in every aspect the
game has to o er and I highly recommend giving them a shot.
 Druid Leveling
Pros Cons
● Tier 1 Leveling Speed ● Slow Start from Lvls 1-10
● Highest Movement Speed in the Game ● Mediocre ST Kill Speed 40+
● Amazing Questers ● Subpar Grinding E ciency
● Low Gear Dependance ● No “Regular” Resurrection.
● High Sustain
● Strong Self Healing
● Decent Crowd Control
● Can Tank, DPS, or Heal
● Can Stealth
● Forms o er Dynamic Gameplay
● Hard to kill in Open World PvP
General Leveling Tips
- Kill Mobs with the Highest XP Gain. The ideal mobs to kill are that of the same
level, as they grant 100% of their base XP reward values. If a mob is 1 level
higher you will gain only a portion of its base XP reward value. This e ect also
works in reverse and even more dramatically. If you are killing a mob that is
even 1 level below, you will gain 10-20% less xp (see slides 10-11).

- Front Load Spells / Abilities to get natural mana regeneration per the 5 second
rule ticking again ASAP, then finish mobs with white damage.

- Push the Limits of your Combat E ciency. If you are at full Health or Mana
you are likely misplaying. Chain pull more aggressively, take more calculated
risks, expend more resources per kill, do whatever it takes to keep things
regenerating and on cooldown.

- Be Adaptive with your Damage Rotation Cycle. Your rotation will vary at
di erent stages of the game based on variables such as what Ranks of Spells /
Abilities you have, your target’s level, HP, abilities, resist, armor etc. Factor
these into your decision making.
Leveling Speed Equation
- Leveling Speed can be broken down into three pieces: Travel Time, In
Combat Time, and Out of Combat Time (Regen). The sum of these three
pieces equates to your leveling speed.

- Travel Time refers to the time you spend moving from objective to
objective out in the open world. In Combat Time is the amount of time
you spend fighting. Out of Combat Time refers to the amount of
mandatory time you spend recovering eating, drinking, healing,
bandaging, etc.

- Travel Time is what you will be doing the most of, thus talents or
abilities that increase movement speed will likely have the highest
impact on leveling speed.

- The more important concept is this: Shaving o seconds of downtime

between pulls is equally valuable to shaving o seconds of In Combat
Time. When you think about it this way, Damage Mitigation and
Regenerative talents / abilities / stats have almost o ensive properties
and should potentially be valued equally to stats that increase damage.
% XP Gain Per Mob Level
Values Found by Navak
% XP Gain Per Mob Level
Values Found by Navak
 Druid Combat
The general flow of Druid Combat from Level 10 onwards when you get your
first animal form looks something like this:

1. Spend a burst of mana on damage or healing then swap to animal form

and engage your target(s). Your mana will start to naturally regenerate
even while you use abilities in Cat / Bear since these abilities cost Rage
or Energy. It is vitally important that this mana regeneration is tracked
by way of an addon such as Druid Bar.

2. Continue to engage and kill targets, usually 2-3 until your mana is close
to being 100% again. As it’s nearing 100%, pop out of animal form back
into to caster form.

3. At this point you want to spend your mana again on something

productive. You can spend it on damage to your next target through
Wrath / Moonfire, Roll a couple HotS, or even just Re-bu yourself.
Swap back to animal form - Rinse and Repeat.
 Forms vs 60% Mount
Values Courtesy of Mobia

1.4t = 1.6(t-3) 1.3t = 1.6(t-3)

When does it become more e cient to ride your 60% mount to

When does it become more e cient to ride your 60% mount to your next objective versus using Cat Form with 2/2 Feline
your next objective versus using Travel Form? Swiftness?

If you plan to ride for 21 seconds or longer upon finishing your 3 If you plan to ride for 13 seconds or longer upon finishing your
second mount cast time. 3 second mount cast time.

Therefore, if your next point of travel is 24 seconds or less away Therefore, if your next point of travel is 16 seconds or less away
you should use Travel Form to get there instead. you should use Cat Form to get there instead.
 Druid Specific Tips
- Your mana will continue to regenerate naturally while in animal forms. Rage or
energy based abilities will not prevent mana per the 5 second rule to be
interrupted.

- Use Teleport Moonglade as a second Hearthstone. Set your Hearthstone to

wherever you are questing, then Teleport Moonglade when you need to go back
to a major city for training.

- Bear Form is incredibly strong at all stages of the leveling experience. By sitting
in Bear form in potentially dangerous areas you shave o a minor amount of kill
speed for a dramatic increase in survivability.

- Rank 4 Healing Touch is the most mana e cient healing spell in the game.

- Entangling Roots and Travel Form are only usable Outdoors.

-

- 5/5 Furor will allow you to swap Bear and immediately have enough rage to
charge, making Feral Charge a much much better tool.
 Druid Specific Tips
- Shifting into a Form counts as a spell which a ects your mana regen whereas shifting out
does not.

- As you level be sure to save any pieces with Intellect or Spirit so you can always have a
Healing set on hand for group content.

- If your mana is full while you are in animal forming killing mobs you are likely misplaying.
As soon as your mana is full you should pop out into caster form and find something
productive to do with it whether that be HoTs, Wrath, Moonfire, Rebu ng yourself.
Keep things constantly regenerating.

- Bleed damage bypasses armor so it is e ectively pure damage.

- There are no diminishing returns on mobs with entangling roots.

-

- Swipe is not connected to your auto attacks whereas Maul is connected like Heroic Strike.

- You don’t want to cast Ferocious Bite unless you have 5 points and low energy as it drains all
of your energy.
Useful Addons
Druid Bar / Druid Mana Bar <- Click for Link to Addon(s)
Movable mana bar that keeps track of your current mana, even in a
shapeshifted form like bear or cat. This is super important.

Energy Tracker <- Click for Link to Addon

Addon that tracks ticks in your energy regeneration.

XP / Hr Tracker <- Click for Link to Addon

Track your leveling e ciency with precision. You will have insights
such as EPH (XP / Hour), EPM (XP / Minute), and Average XP per kill.

Outfitter <- Click for Link to Addon

Addon allows you to swap gear back and forth easily.
This is useful for switching into your Spirit Set
between combat to reduce regeneration downtime.
 Life 1-10
- Mediocre leveling speed in this bracket. Front load spells, usually 1-2 Wraths followed by Melee animation cancel into Moonfire,
then finish mobs with melee attacks to get natural mana regeneration ticking again ASAP.

- Moonfire or Rejuv immediately after your melee auto attack connects as you can cast these instants without delaying your next
swing more than a .1 or .2s.

- You will primarily use Healing touch to recover at this stage as you get Regrowth at 10. Rejuvenation should be front loaded right
after a casted ability.

- To survive and kill multiple mobs focus all mana usage on burst healing, then auto attacking for a while to regen letting thorns
slowly widdle mobs down. Rinse and repeat.

ST Rotation:
Maintain Bu s:

Multi-Target Rotation: (CC with Roots, Max DPM through Heals)

 Alliance Bear Form Quest
1. Start Quest at Kal the Druid Trainer in Dolanaar, Teldrassil (Coords 56,60).
2. Go to Darnassus, set your Hearthstone there, then talk to Mathrengyl (Coords 35, 8).
3. Teleport Moonglade and talk to Dendrite Starblaze (Coords 56,29).

4. Talk to the Great Bear Spirit to the left of the building (Coords 38.7, 27.2).

5. Hearthstone back to Darnassus and talk to Mathrengyl (Coords 35, 8).

6. He will send you to fight a Moonkin named Lunaclaw in Auberdine.

7. To find the Moonkin Stone, go to a cave in Darkshore east of Auberdine ( Coords 43 , 61)

8. Go back to Mathrengyl in Darnassus and get Bear Form (Coords 35, 8)!
 Horde Bear Form Quest
1. Start Quest at Gennia Runetotem, Druid trainer in Bloodhoof Village, Mulgore (Coords 50,62)
2. Go to Thunder Blu , set your Hearthstone there, talk to Turak Runetotem (Coords 75, 27).

3. Teleport Moonglade and talk to Dendrite Starblaze (Coords 56,29).

4. Talk to the Great Bear Spirit to the left of the building (Coords 38.7, 27.2).

5. Hearthstone back to Thunder Blu and talk to Turak Runetotem (Coords 75, 27).

6. He will send you to fight a Moonkin named Lunaclaw in the Barrens.

7. To find the Moonkin Stone, take the road from Mulgore to the Barrens ( Coords 41.9 , 60.9)

8. Go back to Turak Runetotem in Thunder Blu and get Bear Form (Coords 75, 27)!
 Life 10-20
- Big power spike in leveling speed at level 10 when Bear Form comes online. Maul does pretty high damage and should
be used over Swipe even when fighting 2+ mobs. You can use Swipe if you have excess rage and you are fighting 3+.

- Against a Single Targets use Enrage on CD as the downside of 27% Base Armor Reduction is negligible. Consider
pooling rage and interrupting with Bash when against caster mobs.

- Against Multiple Targets forego using Enrage as your added damage vs damage taken is likely no longer e cient.
Instead use Demoralizing Roar against 2+ mobs to decrease enemy Attack Power.

ST Rotation:
Interrupt:

Bu :
Multi-Target Rotation:
 Life 20-31
- While you get Cat Form at 20, there will be many instances in this level bracket where it’s preferable to sit in Bear
Form. One reason is that you don’t have an e cient finisher for your combo points in Cat Form at stage and don’t
even get Shred till 22. Secondly, you are penalized more swapping from Caster to Cat than Caster to Bear as you start
with potentially 0 energy as Furor isnt 5/5 till 27.

- At 24 you get Rake. At this point you should start opening with it as your first combo point.

- 26+ use Dash on Cooldown for 50% speed increase when you know you will be running for 15 seconds straight. You
also get Travel Form at 30 and this should be used whenever out of combat moving to and from objectives.

ST Rotation: Longer Excess

Fights Use: Energy Use:

Multi-Target Rotation:
 Life 32-60
- You get Faerie Fire (Feral) at 31 and Ferocious Bite at 32 which is your first e cient finisher to use with your combo
points. Claw / Shred to 4 combo points then Ferocious Bite.

- Cat Form really starts to shine once Feral Faerie Fire and Ferocious Bite come online and should be prioritized more.

- You get Pounce at 36 o ering you a 2 second stunlock opener if need be.

Interrupt:
ST Rotation:
Longer Excess
Fights Use: Energy Use:

Multi-Target Rotation:
 Kargoz’s Feral Balance
Noteworthy Aspects: 5/5 Feral Aggression, 5/5 Furor before 1/1
Nature’s Grasp, 3/3 Natural Shapeshifter, 0/2 Imp Shred. Getting 2/2
Blood Fury right as you hit 32 for Ferocious Bite.

-------
Start in Feral Tree:
5/5 Ferocity -> 5/5 Feral Aggression-> 2/2 Feline Swiftness

Proceed into Restoration Tree: 5/5 Furor

Proceed into Balance Tree: 1/1 Nature’s Grasp

Proceed back into Feral Tree:

3/3 Sharpened Claws -> 2/2 Blood Frenzy -> 1/1 Feral Charge -> 2/3
Predatory Strikes -> 1/1 Feral Faerie Fire -> 2/2 Savage Fury -> 3/3
Predatory Strikes -> 1/2 Brutal Impact -> 5/5 HotW -> 1/1 Leader of the
Pack.

Proceed back into Balance Tree:

4/4 Imp. Nature’s Grasp -> 5/5 Natural Weapons -> 1/1 Omen of Clarity
-> 3/3 Natural Shapeshifter -> Respec at 60
 What is Front Shredding?
Front Shredding refers to a clever manipulation of game mechanics which allow you to use Shred
from the front. Shred deals a whopping 225% Damage plus bonus damage, however, the
drawback is that you are only able to use it from behind.

Steps:

1. Get as close to the mob as you possibly can without it backing up, basically hover right
on top of it.

2. Begin a tight strafing pattern back and forth left and right with strides just long enough
for the mob to appear like it’s turning directions exposing its back.

3. Bind Shred to something easily spammable. I highly recommend Scroll up or down on

the mousewheel.

4. While strafing back and forth spam your Shred. If done correctly you should have
opportunities while strafing back and forth to use Shred from the front.

Your initial attempt to get the Front Shred o can potentially be unsuccessful before your
next energy tick. To hedge your bet against wasting energy ticks start the fight with Tiger’s
ST Rotation: Fury to give yourself some bu er time to get the Front Shred o .
 Serendipity’s Front Shred Speed Build

Levels: 10-19
Noteworthy Aspects:

The Flat damage increase through Natural Weapons will provide better
pound for pound value then the rage reduction of Ferocity in Feral
Combat. Also a fast Nature’s Grasp can help increase survivability.

This is a Front Shredding Build optimized for maximum speed.

Start in Balance Tree:

1/1 Nature’s Grasp -> 4/4 Imp. Nature’s Grasp -> 5/5 Natural Weapons

Respec at Level 20
 Serendipity’s Front Shred Speed Build
Respec at 20 to:
5/5 Ferocity -> 5/5 Thick Hide -> 1/2 Feral Swiftness

Proceed as Follows through Feral Tree:

2/2 Feral Swiftness -> 3/3 Sharpened Claws -> 2/2 Imp. Shred -> 3/3
Predatory Strikes -> 1/1 Feral Faerie Fire

Proceed into Balance Tree:

1/1 Nature’s Grasp -> 4/4 Imp. Nature’s Grasp -> 5/5 Natural Weapons ->
1/1 Omen of Clarity

Proceed into Restoration Tree:

5/5 Furor

Proceed into Balance Tree: 3/3 Natural Shapeshifter

Proceed back into Feral Tree:

2/2 Blood Frenzy -> 2/2 Savage Fury -> 5/5 HotW -> 1 Leader of the Pack
 Taladril’s Feral Balance
Noteworthy Aspects: 5/5 Feral Instincts > Aggression, 1/1 Nature’s
Grasp before 5/5 Furor, 3/3 Imp. Thorns, 0/2 Imp Shred. Getting 2/2
Blood Fury right as you hit 32 for Ferocious Bite.

Start in Feral Tree:

5/5 Ferocity -> 5/5 Feral Instinct-> 2/2 Feline Swiftness

Proceed into Balance Tree: 1/1 Nature’s Grasp

Proceed into Restoration Tree: 5/5 Furor

Proceed back into Feral Tree:

1/1 Feral Charge -> 3/3 Sharpened Claws -> 2/2 Blood Frenzy -> 2/3
Predatory Strikes -> 1/1 Feral Faerie Fire -> 2/2 Savage Fury -> 3/3
Predatory Strikes -> 1/2 Brutal Impact -> 5/5 HotW -> 1/1 Leader of the
Pack.

Proceed back into Balance Tree:

4/4 Imp. Nature’s Grasp -> 5/5 Natural Weapons -> 1/1 Omen of Clarity
-> 3/3 Improved Thorns -> Respec at 60
 Shedo’s Feral Balance
Noteworthy Aspects: 1/1 Nature’s Grasp First, 2/2 Brutal Impact, 3/5
Feral Instinct > Aggression, 2/2 Imp. Shred

-------
Start in Balance Tree: 1/1 Nature’s Grasp

Proceed to Feral Tree:

5/5 Ferocity -> 2/2 Brutal Impact -> 3/5 Feral Instinct-> 2/2 Feline
Swiftness -> 1/1 Feral Charge

Proceed into Restoration Tree: 5/5 Furor

Proceed back into Feral Tree:

3/3 Sharpened Claws -> 2/2 Blood Frenzy -> 2/3 Predatory Strikes->
1/1 Feral Faerie Fire -> 3/3 Predatory Strikes -> 2/2 Savage Fury -> 4/5
Feral Instinct -> 5/5 HotW -> 1/1 Leader of the Pack

Proceed back into Balance Tree:

4/4 Imp. Nature’s Grasp -> 5/5 Natural Weapons -> 1/1 Omen of Clarity
-> 3/3 Natural Shapeshifter -> Respec at 60
 Feral into NS Resto
Noteworthy Aspects: 5/5 Feral Aggression , 1/1 Nature’s Grasp before
5/5 Furor, 0/2 Imp Shred, 3/3 Reflection, 5/5 Tranquil Spirit, 1/1
Nature’s Swiftness, 2/2 Enrage

Start in Feral Tree:

5/5 Ferocity -> 5/5 Feral Aggression -> 2/2 Feline Swiftness

Proceed into Balance Tree: 1/1 Nature’s Grasp

Proceed into Restoration Tree: 5/5 Furor

Proceed back into Feral Tree:

1/1 Feral Charge -> 3/3 Sharpened Claws -> 2/2 Blood Frenzy -> 2/3
Predatory Strikes -> 1/1 Feral Faerie Fire -> 2/2 Savage Fury -> 3/3
Predatory Strikes

Proceed back into Restoration Tree:

5/5 Improved Healing Touch -> 3/3 Reflection -> 2/2 Enrage -> 5/5
Tranquil Spirit -> 1/1 Nature’s Swiftness

Proceed back into Feral Tree:

1/2 Brutal Impact -> 4/5 Heart of the Wild
 Leveling Stat Priority
Agility > Strength > Stamina > Intellect > Spirit
While stacking Strength at first glance might seem better than Agility, at low levels the AP gained from stats doesn’t translate very
well into faster kill speed. The AP power curve is linear requiring substantial amounts of AP to go from let’s say: 12 hits to kill a mob
to 11 hits. At least by stacking crit you can sometimes get lucky and get occasional high tempo burst damage. Crit also becomes
significantly more valuable once Blood Frenzy talents comes online.

14 AP = 7 Strength = 14 Agi = 1 DPS

Stamina’s e ect on a Druid in all forms:

Increases Hit Points by 10 per 1 point of Stamina.

Strength’s e ect on both Cat Form and Bear Form:

Increases Attack Power by 2 per 1 point of Strength.

Agility’s e ect on both Cat Form and Bear Form:

Increases Druid’s Cat Form Attack Power by 1 per point of
Agility. 20 Agility is equal to 1% Crit and 1% Dodge. In Bear
Form Agility doesn’t provide Attack Power.
Intellect: Increases Mana by 15 Points per 1 point of Intellect.
Spirit: Increases Out of Combat Health / Mana Regen Rate.
Note:* It is a good idea on any class to keep a few
pieces or even a Spirit Set in your bags and to swap
with Outfitter between pulls.
 Noteworthy Feral Gear
Tunic of Westfall - Chest -Lvl 14 - Dungeon Quest Reward “The Defias Brotherhood” Deadmines
Triprunner Dungarees - Pants - Lvl 25 - Dungeon Quest Reward “The Grand Betrayal” Gnomeregan
Loksey’s Training Stick - Sta - Lvl 31 - 10% Drop o Houndmaster Loksey Scarlet Monastery
Ironshod Bludgeon - Sta - Lvl 37 - 20% Drop o Ironaya in Uldaman
Mason’s Fraternity Ring - Ring - Lvl 40 - Dungeon Quest Reward “Divino-matic Rod” Zul’Farrak
Wolfshead Helm - Head - Lvl 40 - Crafted by Leatherworkers - Great for Powershifting
Warden Sta - Sta - Lvl 43 - BoE Epic Weapon .025% Chance World Drop
Devilsaur Gauntlets - Hands - Lvl 53 - BoE Rare Crafted by Leatherworkers
Devilsaur Leggings - Legs - Lvl 55 - BoE Rare Crafted by Leatherworkers

YELLOW = Highly Recommended BoE Green Drops Not Included*

 First Aid
Horde Alliance

First Aid 1-150: First Aid 1-150:

Trainable in Starting Areas Trainable in Starting Areas
Progressed in Major Cities Progressed in Major Cities

Expert First Aid 150-225: Expert First Aid 150-225:

Buy Book: Expert First Aid - Under Wraps Buy Book: Expert First Aid - Under Wraps
Brackenwall Village, Dustwallow Marsh Stormgarde Keep, Arathi Highlands
Location: Coords (36 , 30) Location: Coords (26 , 58)

First Aid 225-300: First Aid 225-300:

Seek out the Trauma Surgeon Seek out the Trauma Surgeon
Complete Quest “Horde Trauma” Complete Quest “Triage”
Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands Theramore, Dustwallow Marsh
Location: Coords (73 , 34) Location: Coords (65 , 48)
 Closing Thoughts
Thank you so much for your time - I hope this guide was of some help!

If you have further questions you can contact me in our community discord:

discord.gg/r9cVrzJ