Thread: Raiding Basics: Moonkin Druid (UPDATED 3.3.3)

LAST UPDATE: March 23rd, 2010

NOTE: VIDEO ON POST 4.

With the arrival of Lich King, and all the changes they’ve made, I’ve noticed that Balance druids will become more prominent in the raid scene. I know that the same questions are going to be asked multiple times, and I and many others are going to sound like broken records by giving the same answers over and over and over. So in an optimistic attempt to cull those questions, I’m going to attempt to put together all the FAQs of Balance raiding into one thread for your reading pleasure.

Please take notice: This thread/guide is intended for one specific audience; Raiding Moonkin Druids at the 10 and 25 man levels. If you play mostly 5 mans, solo, or PvP, then this isn’t the thread you want to read.

Finally, before I get into the FAQs, I’d like to thank some people: Murmurs, Madrox, Bullocks, Randomsmo and Graylo for your theorycrafting and number crunching. Saintrancid, Toridd, Lashlar, Ziinaya, Spinoza and countless others for being great vessels to pass out the information as well as theorycraft of your own, and to everyone at themoonkinrepository.com for helping double check all my facts in this guide. Last but not least, though she doesn’t play anymore, Alleine. She was the one that mentored me the most when I made the switch to a moonkin druid for raiding in March of 2008, and the writer of one of the best guides for TBC raiding: Common Moonkin Misconceptions. I shall be using some of those concepts from that guide, in this thread.

Now to get into the heart of this thread. The FAQs are coming, but there are some major points I want to hit first and expand upon. Some concepts from TBC to LK are not changing, and I’d like to re-emphasize those points to make sure that those that read this understand. Taken from Common Moonkin Misconceptions:

Moonkins benefit from stacking intellect:

Wrong.
Stacking intellect is a stupid idea. Don't gem for it, don't enchant for it, don't itemize for it - just don't do it.
I already know what you're going to say, "But when I socket/enchant intellect I also get crit, damage, MP5 and, of course, the mana.
Yeah, I know. I get it. Intellect gives you some mana and a minuscule amount of other beneficial stats.
Here's the deal.
Moonkins were given a talent called 'Lunar Guidance'. It was meant to compensate for the lower damage values that moonkins typically have. This meant that while moonkins were stacking damage, we would receive extra damage from the incidental intellect that is itemized on practically all caster pieces.
Lunar Guidance is not justification for stacking intellect at the exclusion of the more important stats, but rather it's a bonus - something to keep us viable against other casters.
As mentioned earlier, the best stats for a Moonkin druid are Hit > Spell Damage > Spell Haste > Spell Crit. Although you are correct that intellect provides a minuscule amount of regen, damage and crit per point, you need to understand that you could NEVER get the proper amount of hit/damage/crit/regen by stacking intellect alone. Counting on intellect to satisfy gaps in your stats is counter productive - you're spreading your key stats too thinly.

Leather is better than cloth:

Not always.

True story; I was on the PTR the other day with my Moonkin pal Florana. We were discussing many Moonkin-y things when we were accosted by a "balance druid"(and I use the term loosely) who was wearing a strange mix of greens/blues/purples who informed us, rather frequently and loudly that we were 'ghetto moonkins' because we had cloth pieces equipped. It was also explained to me that a grey leather belt is superior to an epic cloth belt - because druids should never under any circumstances wear cloth. It makes you a bad person. Wearing cloth makes you want to kick puppies and chew with your mouth open in public places.

No, seriously - most balance druids aren't this extreme, obviously, but there is a stigma attached to the usage of cloth. As I mentioned earlier, our armor multiplier in Moonkin form basically takes a piece of cloth and puts it up to leather armor level - and besides that, armor is a useless stat in PvE.

Wear whichever piece has the best stats. Don't choose leather simply because you have an irrational dislike of cloth. Sometimes you really won't have too many options.

Source: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Some other major points.

Moonkins are called OOMkins for a reason.

This was true…2 versions of the game ago (Vanilla WoW). With TBC, Dreamstate and Intensity were able to be picked up in the same spec, and Spirit mechanics changed. These two changes in large part shifted moonkins away from the old nickname. With Wrath of the Lich King, even more changes have occurred to pull us away from the term OOMkin. Moonkin form gives back 2% of mana on crits (please note this does not make crit our best stat.), Omen of Clarity has been changed to affect all spells/abilities, and More classes outside of shadowpriests are getting regen abilities, that are going raid wide. If you still have mana issues with all these changes, it’s the not spec that’s the issue. There’s even theories that will take points OUT of regen talents as your gear improves. OOMkin is a dead term, has been since TBC. Anyone that calls you an OOMkin, should be simply laughed at.


Critical strike is our haste because of Nature’s Grace:

While Nature's Grace and Haste Rating have similar affects on spell casting, it is important to note that they are not the same.

Haste Rating decreases your casting time and the global cooldown by a percentage. It affects all spells and all casts until the minimum global cooldown of 1 second is reached.

Nature’s Grace applies a 3 second buff that increases your haste by 20%. It has been confirmed that Nature’s Grace does in fact lower the Global Cooldown, but the GCD still cannot go below 1 second. Assuming full raid buffs a 1 second GCD is reached at 400 haste with Natures Grace. Since most raiding moonkin easily exceed 500 haste you can see that some of Nature’s Grace is wasted on short casts like Wrath, Moonfire, and Insect Swarm.

These differences are important for three reasons.

1. While most raidng moonkin still use Starfire as the primary nuke, it is undeniable that Wrath, Insect Swarm and Moonfire also play a big role. This means that Nature’s Grace will have a limited impact on 30% - 40% of Moonkin DPS.

2. When NG procs it is equivalent to 20% haste and reduces your Starfire cast from 3 seconds to 2.5 seconds (3/1.2 = 2.5). At level 80 It requires 656 Haste Rating to make the same reduction in casting time. One point of Crit rating will give you a 0.02178% chance to crit. Therefore, the Nature's Grace component of one Crit Rating is equivalent to 0.1429 Haste Rating (656 * 0.0002179 = 0.1429). Even if you triple that value factor in multiple casts receiving the buff, it is easy to see that Haste has a much greater impact on Cast time then Crit does.

3. Finally, assuming a Lunar Rotation, Haste rating will increase your DPS more point for point then Crit rating will. The difference is a lot smaller then it used to be, but I expect this to remain true for all of WotLK. I have run the numbers for various levels of Crit and Haste Rating and Haste rating always increases DPS more for all reasonable levels of Crit and Haste.

Nature's Grace is a very good talent, and significantly improves the value of Crit Rating when we evaluate stats. However by itself it is not a good reason to choose Crit over Haste. The Crit vs Haste debate really centers around Mana. Haste will increase your DPS more then Crit will, but it will cause you to run out of mana quicker. Therefore, the only logical reason to choose Crit over haste, given equal amounts of each stat, is because you have concerns about your mana pool and don't think you can support that level of haste.

(Thanks to Graylo for this write up.)

FAQs:

Q1: What’s the best dps spec?

A: Best is a subjective word in this case. There are talents that are essentially required, and some that you can pick and choose. The following spec:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

picks up all the essential talents, leaving two floater points that you can put anywhere. Need mana? Then Intensity or Moonglow is available. Brambles and 1 point in Gale Winds/Typhoon are also options. Owlkin Frenzy is still a hot subject as the increase is only assured on one fight, Blood Queen Lanathel. Outside of that, it's a situational talent at best, moreso than the other options listed above. Another option is that you can take the one point out of moonglow and move it into genesis. The dps increase is so marginal though that you barely notice it unless you really crunch the numbers.


Q2: How should I enchant my gear?

A: There’s a couple enchants that you can use for most of your slots. Here’s a breakdown by slot. Note: these are not listed best to worst or vice versa.

Helm: Arcanium of Burning Mysteries (30 SP/20crit) - Kirin Tor Revered
Shoulders: Greater Inscription of the Storm (24SP/15Crit) - Sons of Hodir Exalted
Cloak: Greater Speed (23 haste)
Chest: Powerful Stats (10 all stats)
Bracers: Superior Spellpower (30 SP)
Hands: Exceptional Spell Power (28 SP)
Legs: Brilliant Spellthread (50sp/20spirit) - Tailor craft
Belt: Eternal Belt Buckle (adds socket) - Blacksmith craft
Boots: Tuskarr's Vitality (15stam/8% run speed)
Weapon: Mighty Spellpower (63SP) for 1Hands. 81spellpower for Staff users.

As far as profession specific enchants go:

Leatherworking: Fur Lining (76 spellpower to bracers)
Engineering: Hyperspeed Accelerators, Springy Arcanhoweave, Nitro Boosts
Enchanting: Greater Spellpower (23 spellpower to ring)
Inscription: Master’s Inscription of the Storm (70 spellpower/15 crit to shoulder)
Tailoring: Lightweave Embroidery (Chance to proc 295spellpower for 15 seconds)

* Hyperspeed is 320 haste for 12 seconds, Springy is 27 spellpower + parachute and Nitros are 24 crit rating + massive run speed for 5 seconds

Q3: How should I gem my gear?

A: Moonkin Gemming Basics:

Red: Runed Scarlet Ruby (19 SP)
Yellow: Veiled Monarch Topaz (9SP/8Hit) until hit capped. Reckless Monarch Topaz (9SP/8haste) or Potent Monarch Topaz (9sp/8crit) if you are hit capped already. NOTE: These gems are only legitmate if you have a need for hit, or you have an item with an amazing socket bonus (7/9spellpower), otherwise the Runeds are the best option here.
Blue: Purified Twilight Opal (9SP/8spirit) NOTE: Only need two of these to meet meta reqs. After your two for meta reqs, Runed Scarlet Rubies go in any other blue sockets.
Meta: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond (21crit rating/3%crit strike damage, Requires 2 blues)

Please understand that this is simply a basics guide. Not all moonkins, especially the more progressed ones will follow this to the letter, as sometimes, circumstances dictate so. This is just a basics guide that should always net positive results. Please note that this assumes Rare quality (blue named) gems, that should be easily obtainable from the Auction House, or via your own guild’s JCs. Epic gems follow this same basics, just with higher values placed on the gems.

Q4: What’s the best rotation?

A: This is a bit tricky to explain, but I'm going to attempt it. This is subject to change as more testing is done.

We are at a point in the game where our nukes are becoming, frankly, too powerful. Our DoTs are slowly being phased out of the rotation. However, because of the Idol, they will never truly be left out completely. That being said, you'll only want to apply Moonfire, when you know you'll be able to extend it 3 times to maximize the damage you get out of the spell. Insect Swarm is only put up when moving, when trying to proc your first lunar eclipse (if you choose to go lunar as your first eclipse proc), and potentially at the start of Solar eclipses (though I'm still testing to see if one global for the dot is better overall than just casting a wrath.)

You want to try to have a DoT up as much as possible though so you don't lose uptime on the idol buff. As always, you'll blow cooldowns on cooldown, or when circumstances dictate it (IE, Trees before hero etc.)

It's a bit convoluted I know, and I'll try to clarify as soon as possible once I can get in game and start banging away at the dummies and some raid bosses.


Q5: What glyphs should I be using?

A: The standard for a long time has been Moonfire, Starfire, and Insect Swarm. However, the recent buff to Starfall's damage in 3.3.3 has changed things up. MF/IS/SF is still ok, but you'll actually see better returns on using Moonfire, Starfire and Starfall (note STARFALL, NOT Focus). Burning starfall on cooldown with it's increased damage outweighs the damage from IS, even glyphed and being able to use it every minute instead of every 90 seconds is going to be huge.

As far as minor glyphs go, there's no glyphs that will increase your dps currently in the game, so really these are all personal choice. Myself, I use the glyph of Unburdened Rebirth, Glyph of Dash and Glyph of the Wild.

Q6: What do Moonkins bring to a raid group?

A: A variety of synergy aspects. 5% crit to the raid, that isn’t proc based (like Elemental Oath), 13% damage increase via Earth and Moon**, Innervate for a healer if the moonkin him/herself doesn’t need it, OoC rez to make wipe recovery faster, Improved Moonkin Aura is a 3% haste buff to the raid (provided they are in range), 3% spell hit, if specd into Imp FF, and still one of the best dances .

**Please note, that this increase is just 13% more damage to all schools. Curse of Elements from a warlock untalented is less damage increase, but has passive spell penetration that will reduce resistances to bosses. Unholy Death Knights should have Ebon Plaguebringer, which is equal damage increase and also increases damage to diseases. None of these stack, so if your DK gets his Ebon Plague off before you get E&M, his buff will be the one that shows. Please note, even of E&M isn’t on the boss, you will still get the 3% increased spell damage personal benefit.

Q7: What Professions are best for a Moonkin?

A: If you are in a guild that min/maxes every last detail of a raid, then you will want to sit down and discuss things within your guild. Blizz has made it clear they don’t want certain professions becoming a must for a certain aspect of the game, hence why professions have certain perks to them that all are pretty nice. Basically, choose what you want to choose.

Q8: What’s the new hit cap?

A: In TBC the spell hit cap was 16%, with 1% that you could never push off the attack table. With LK, they’ve removed that last 1% making the new hit cap 17%. The hit/1% conversion at 80 is 26.23/1%, this means that with no hit talents, the hit cap is 445.91. Since Balance of Power gives us 4%, our Hit Cap with no Misery is 340.99. Add in Misery’s benefit of 3% more hit and the cap is 262.3. For Night Elves that have a draenai in their raids their hit cap with Misery, Balance of Power and Heroic Prescence is 236.07.

For a shorter version:
Untalented: 445.91
BoP specd: 340.99
BoP w/ Misery(IFF): 262.3
BoP w/ Misery(IFF) and Draenai: 236.07

Q9: Why is haste better than crit?

A: This subject still ruffles the feathers of many and the reasoning is as fluid as the weather in Florida. With 3.2 though both eclipse procs can be gained back to back, allowing you to spam both spells when their respective eclipse buffs are active. If you recall that the old Solar haste cap was 400 with Celestial Focus, Improved Moonkin Form and a Wrath of Air Totem. This soft cap for wrath now applies to all rotations. If you are above the 400 number, don't panic unless you are at like 700 haste, then you should panic. =) If you are below, then don't panic. 400 is a mathed out number where Wrath meets the GCD wall. Try to get there, but don't hurt other stats trying to get there. Remember, Nature's Grace does NOT have 100% uptime, which means being above the 400 soft cap will not hurt you as much as you may think.

As far as crit goes, it picks up more appeal post 400 haste, but it's relative dps value remains the same. As before, you wouldn't go out of your way to gain crit at the expense of the more important stats (hit spellpower) but you wouldn't be wrong in leaning more toward crit after you reach the 400 haste mark.

Randomsmo (Staticsmo as you'll see him on these forums) sums it up best:

Q u o t e:
400 haste is not a target or a limit. It is simply something of which you should be aware.

If you are below 400 haste, be aware that haste rating is as good or slightly better then spell power.
If you are above 400 haste, be aware that haste rating is as good or slightly worse then crit rating.

That's it. Don't aim for it, don't limit yourself to 400, but be aware of the above and gear yourself appropriately.


Q10: Can I get a starter’s gear set for raiding?

A: I won't lay out a long list here that does nothing but eat forum space, but there are various links and threads that discuss gear. I'd highly recommend reading into those. Gear is based on your particluar needs, so a list of gear might not be ideal. Just remember to get as close to 263 (237 for Alliance if you are assured a Draenai) hit as possible then just get your other stats as high as you can.

If you are an alt or brand new moonkin looking to get geared through heroics before you are taken to Naxx, Ulduar or Colliseum, then there's another sticky at the top of this forum that a fellow moonkin did for Pre-raid gear and some of the best items available through heroics and the Emblem of Heroism vendor. However, with heroics dropping Emblems of Triumphs, you may also need to go to the various vendors in Dalaran to examine their wares as some of those items may be worth getting over the items from Heroics.

Best in Slot Citadel gear? Stay tuned and watch this forum, themoonkinrepository.com and Graylo's Blog

Q11. What about Spirit? Wise to stack it?

A: Nope. Spirit is pretty much exactly like Intellect. Take it as you get it and outside of the two Spell power/spirit gems for your meta, don't go out of your way to itemize for it in any way. I know we get a spirit to spell power conversion while in moonkin form, but it's a way to help us keep up with the other casters.

Q12. Any particular addons I must have?

The only must that I feel is needed when it comes to addons is something to track Eclipse and Dots. DoTs now make up ~10% of our dps and keeping uptime on those as high as possible is very important. Eclipse is our dps. Tracking which proc you are on is extremely important to maintaining and maximizing your dps.

Other than that, I'd just recommend some basics that help with raiding. Raid frames for Rezzes and innervates and potential decursing duties.

Something for cooldowns is now important as well with Starfall being used every 60 seconds if you glyph it, not missing a second on it is important. OmniCC, ForteXorcist or CoolLine can all track cooldowns for you.

Q13: What Idols should I be using?
3.3 brought us again a new idol. The Idol of Lunar Eclipse is 25 Emblems of Frost. This idol works similarly to Lunar Fury except that it is both dots that can proc it and it stacks up to 5 times at 44 crit strike rating each. At 5 stacks, you are getting just under 5% extra crit. Lunar Eclipse is BiS for Idols.

However, if you already have Lunar Fury, you can easily pass on this idol from the start to pick up T10 pieces or buy another emblem item. Lunar Eclipse is ~40 dps increase on Lunar Fury so you may find upgrades that will provide more elsewhere. If you do not have Lunar Fury, then you want to spend your first 25 Frost badges on this idol.


Finally, please understand that this is going to be a guide that changes. If a mechanic changes and it affects anything in this guide, I will do my best to update it as soon as possible. If a new enchant comes out that is better than another, I will do my best to update as soon as possible. This is not set in stone for the duration of Wrath of the Lich King and I don’t want to make anyone think that. As the game changes, this guide may change as well. If you have questions or are unclear on something, please don’t hesitate to ask in this thread. This is what it is designed for: To help clarify and lead moonkins in the right direction. I hope this was of great help to those that read it and that knowledge of this thread stays high to help avoid answering the same threads everyday.

For those that want a visual form of the information presented in this thread, My mistress, Foofy of Staghelm, has put together a series of videos (or soon will) that explain these same ideas. These videos are broken down into smaller subjects so you don't have to sit through a one hour long video only to find out the information you wanted was in the last 30 seconds. This is a work in progress and feedback is appreciated. I'm sure she will at least listen to ways to improve future videos.

Vid 1: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Stat priority, Specs (Run time: 5:54)

Vid 2: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Glyphs, rotations and gemming (Run time: 5:53)

Vid 3: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Idols


I promise you guys that I will get links ot MRB 4 and 5. Just help me remind Foofy to get me the links!!!!

Thanks!