Balance Druid Dragonflight 10.1 guide

Hey, my name is Stove. I’m a multi-class player but mostly known for my boomie and warlock. I’ve previously raided with SK Pieces, Conspiracy and now with Method. In mythic+, I finished Season 3 at rank 7 and Season 4 at rank 3.

In this guide, I will be talking about Balance Druid.

Some of the strengths of the spec are that it’s AoE damage is very high, without sacrificing much single target from the talent tree. The amount of utility that Druids bring for raid and mythic+ is also a lot, and is one of their biggest strengths

On the other hand, some of the weaknesses of the spec are that it’s single target damage is not as good as most other classes, even when specced into the full single target build. Also, the amount of time needed to ramp damage is quite notable compared to some other classes, making you not as bursty.

Balance Druid 10.1 Changes

• Shooting Stars can no longer be triggered by Stellar Flare.
• New Talent: Wild Surges. Your chance to critically strike with Wrath and Starfire is increased by 15% and they generate 2 additional Astral Power. This is a choice node with Stellar Flare.
• Wrath and Starfire generate 10 Astral Power (up from 8).
• Moonfire and Sunfire generate 6 Astral Power (up from 2).
• Stellar Flare generates 10 Astral Power (up from 8).
• Nature’s Balance generates 2 Astral Power every 3 seconds (up from 1 every 2).
• Starsurge and Starfall damage increased by 20%.
• Astral Smolder deals damage over 8 seconds (up from 4) and its damage is increased to 40/80% of spell damage done (up from 20/40%).
• Cosmic Rapidity increases the rate at which Moonfire, Sunfire, and Stellar Flare deal damage by 20% (down from 25%).
• Touch the Cosmos, the 10.0 (4) Set Armor bonus, now reduces the Astral Power cost of your first Starsurge or Starfall after entering Eclipse by 5 and increases its damage by 20% (was free and 35% increased damage).
• Soul of the Forest now increases Starfire’s damage and AP generation during Eclipse by 30% for each target hit beyond the first, up to 90%. (Was 150% bonus to Starfire’s AOE damage).
• Power of Goldrinn damage increased by 75%.
• Denizen of the Dream: Faerie Dragon damage increased by 20%.
• Friend of the Fae now increases Arcane and Nature damage by 8% for 20 seconds (was 4% for 30 seconds).
• Elune’s Guidance now reduces the cost of Starsurge by 8 and Starfall by 10 during Incarnation: Chosen of Elune (was reduces the cost of Starsurge by 5 and Starfall by 8).
• Radiant Moonlight also increases Fury of Elune’s damage by 50% and now reduces its cooldown by 20 seconds (was 15 seconds).
• Radiant Moonlight increases the damage dealt by New Moon, Half Moon, and Full Moon by 25%.

First impressions of Balance Druid 

With 10.1 being released, there are a few changes that are notable about balance druids and here I’ll talk about some of the most impactful ones.

1. Stellar Flare not being able to trigger Shooting Stars and the addition of Wild Surges makes it so Stellar Flare will not see much play. 
2. Wild Surges increases your critical chance on wrath and starfire by 15% and makes them generate 2 additional Astral Power. This talent synergizes very well with Astral Smolder and therefore increases Waning Twilight uptime. 
3. The change to Astral Smolder makes it 8 seconds, further increasing waning twilight uptime and making it even more valuable. All these changes make it so we don't have to rely on stellar flare or fungal growth to maintain uptime on waning twilight; making it so wild surges and astral smolder are must picks in most situations.
4. The Radiant Moonlight change makes the talent very strong and a must pick as it currently stands. This talent alone is a 7% dps single target gain and 6% AoE gain. 
5. Our old tier set has been nerfed, making it a lot worse, only reducing the amount of astral power needed to use your spenders. They have increased the damage of starsurge and starfall to compensate for this change.