Guardian Druid Gearing Guide

In Season 3 of The War Within, Blizzard is once again experimenting with tier bonuses, tying them to hero trees instead of specs. This means that, like all other specs in the game, Guardian will have 2 different bonuses available to choose from, one for Elune’s Chosen and one for Druid of the Claw.

Elune’s Chosen Season 3 Guardian Druid Tier Set Bonuses:

• (2) Set Bonus: Thrash damage increased by 20%. Thrash has a 40% chance to launch a Starsurge at a victim at 160% effectiveness.
• (4) Set Bonus: Starsurges launched by Thrash split to up to 3 additional targets at 20% effectiveness and grant a stack of Gathering Moonlight. Casting Lunar Beam consumes these stacks to increase your damage by 4% per stack for 12s.

For Elune’s Chosen this is another entirely passive bonus that doesn’t make you think about it or adjust your playstyle in any way. The starsurges do not grant extra CDR from Lunation, so it's basically just some free extra damage with no additional benefit.

Druid of the Claw Season 3 Guardian Druid Tier Set Bonuses:

• (2) Set Bonus: Ravage increases your Haste by 10%, Crit chance by 10%, and bleed damage by 30% for 5s.
• (4) Set Bonus: Ravage has a 40% chance to make you Ravage your target again 4s later at 60% effectiveness.

Druid of the Claw also has a passive tier set, however this one has some additional defensive upside thanks to granting a decent chunk of both haste and crit, as well as generally increasing your uptime on both Dreadful Wounds and your other Ravage related buff due to the extra procs from the 4-set bonus. While I don’t think this is enough to make it surpass Elune’s Chosen in M+, it’s a pretty powerful bonus in raid. Note that the 4-set bonus cannot proc again while waiting for an existing proc to cast, which gives it a lower potential output during Incarnation.

The tables below aim to give you a general list of gear that is good for Guardian Druid, these lists are not a perfect replacement for simming your character.

• Overall
• Raiding
• Mythic+

In this section I’ll go into a bit more detail on the trinkets available this season, explaining in what situations you may want to use them. Note that I won’t be discussing every single trinket, just the most competitive or controversial ones.

Raid Trinkets

Astral Antenna (Loom’ithar) - This passive crit proc trinket is essentially a less consistent Pacemaker, however in exchange for that consistency you get more crit on a proc as well as the ability to have procs overlap. This may be solid for DPS players if you get lucky, but for tanks this is just something to hold you over until you get a Pacemaker.

Loom’ithar’s Living Silk (Loom’ithar) - While this is classified as a healer trinket it can also be used by tanks which don’t lose a ton of value since it gives secondary stats as opposed to intellect. This allows you to get a group defensive on a 1.5min CD, which may make it a niche option in higher keys.

Soulbinder’s Embrace (Soulbinder Naazindhri) - One of the strongest defensive trinkets available in this patch, it grants a partial absorb shield that mitigates 50% of your damage intake on a very short 1min CD. Combined with the fact that it has passive primary stat, I’d recommend it over the Ritual Mud trinket in all situations.

Araz’s Ritual Forge (Forgeweaver Araz) - A powerful on-use trinket that lasts for 30s, making it the only trinket this season that would last for the entire duration of Incarnation. Defensively this isn’t too great as it lacks passive primary and it costs health to use, but for damage situations in raid this could be very powerful as it massively boosts your Incarnation output.

Brand of Ceaseless Ire (The Soul Hunters) - Looking to be one of the more powerful damage trinkets in season 3, this ramps up over time similar to Eye of Kezan from season 2, empowering an absorb and damage proc that scales into AoE. The stacks do decay, however the decay is quite slow, making it extremely good in M+ even if there are gaps between pulls. In pure ST it falls behind some other options, but any time there are multiple targets this is one of the best choices.

Sigil of the Cosmic Hunt (The Soul Hunters) - A passive pure damage trinket that increases as the targets health decreases, this isn’t looking like the strongest choice but it remains solid, especially if execute damage is valuable in a certain situation. Note that this trinket requires feral loot spec to drop.

Unyielding Netherprism (Fractillus) - While this trinket doesn’t have any stats on it passively, it makes up for that with flexibility, essentially allowing you to have a primary stat on-use trinket on any cooldown timing with an effect similar to Spymaster’s Web from season 1. This is really great paired with Incarnation which has a variable CD depending on the situation, but you do give up some passive power to use it.

Perfidious Projector (Nexus-King Salhadaar) - This trinket is reminiscent of Beacon to the Beyond from Dragonflight, with passive secondary and an on-use that does a large hit of damage split amongst those hit with some damage scaling based on targets hit. If you’re able to highroll crits with this trinket it will likely be one of the highest damage options, otherwise it has the niche use of being great against low health priority targets like totems.

All-Devouring Nucleus (Dimensius, the All-Devouring) - At first glance this seems like a promising cheat death option, however looking into the effect itself it actually is quite weak. First there is no damage reduction component, meaning you are immediately still in danger after proccing the effect, plus it only puts you at 20% hp, so you’re still unhealthy after proccing it. Combine that with a lack of passive primary and this is likely something you’ll pass on.

Mythic+ Trinkets

Lily of the Eternal Weave (Eco-Dome Al’dani) - An on-use trinket that grants mastery, the cooldown nicely lines up with Incarnation in all situations, however mastery is not a preferred stat and the duration is only 15s, so you likely won’t seek this trinket out.

Cursed Stone Idol (Halls of Atonement) - This is looking to be one of the better on-use options from M+ dungeons, granting a big chunk of Crit that increases with target count, making it over-budget in multi-target situations. That being said there are a couple negatives, as it is a 1s channel which is quite annoying as a tank, and the effect itself only lasts for 15s so it would only be active for half of Incarnation’s duration. As a note, this trinket requires you to be in Feral loot spec in order to get it.

Codex of the First Technique (Tazavesh: Streets of Wonder) - A very controversial trinket back in Shadowlands, the effect on this is looking to be relatively mediocre both in terms of offense and defense, which when combined with the extremely weak passive stamina makes it something you’ll want to avoid.

Ticking Sack of Terror (Tazavesh: Streets of Wonder) - While this pure damage trinket doesn’t have primary stat, the damage output of the passive proc is only slightly behind both Tome of Light’s Devotion in single target situations, making it a very competitive option for those looking to pump out a bit more damage. Note that like some of the other damage trinkets, this requires you to be in Feral loot spec to obtain.

Miniscule Mailemental in an Envelope (Tazavesh: Streets of Wonder) - An unexpected trinket normally reserved for casters, this can actually proc off DoTs which Guardian has plenty of, making it one of the stronger overall damage options. The main downside is the randomness of the proc, meaning on a pull-to-pull basis the damage output can swing wildly, however if you high roll it can even outpace trinkets like Tome of Light’s Devotion and Brand of Ceaseless Ire.

So’leah’s Secret Technique (Tazavesh: So’leah’s Gambit) - An interesting stat stick trinket that changes based on the stat of the player you use it on. This can be quite good if someone in your group would give you haste, and is actually over-budget if you consider the bonus you give your ally. That being said, keep in mind that only one player can be buffed at a time, so if someone else buffs your target you’re out of luck. You also need to make sure you remember to rebuff your target, as the stat bonus only lasts for 30mins.

Ara-Kara Sacbrood (Ara-Kara) - One of the stronger trinkets from season 1 is making a return, and it remains a solid passive option, though it is quite inconsistent in terms of the value it provides at any one time due to the random nature of the primary stat proc. Still nice if you can get it, but if you’re looking for consistency then trinkets like Pacemaker or So’leah’s are better.

Empowering Crystal of Anub’ikkaj (The Dawnbreaker) - A passive trinket that procs random secondary, this was a fine option in season 1 and it remains one in season 3. Not something that competes with the top options but a solid trinket to hold you over until you find one.

Signet of the Priory (Priory of the Sacred Flame) - Yet another on-use stat trinket, however unlike the other M+ options this grants your highest secondary, which will likely be haste. As a downside it actually grants slightly less stats than the 2 previously mentioned on-use trinkets, however it does last slightly longer at 20s, giving you more benefit if you line it up with Incarnation. That being said, in AoE situations Incarnation is often on a shorter cooldown than 2mins, meaning you can de-sync yourself from this trinket and cause it to lose value.

Tome of Light’s Devotion (Priory of the Sacred Flame) - This trinket swaps between giving passive armor with a magic shield proc and passive crit with a damage proc, and actually is one of the most powerful offensive options available to tanks this tier in single target situations. It has an on-use effect on a 1.5 minute CD that immediately swaps what effect the trinket gives without hitting the 50 stack swap threshold, and if you use it such that you stay in the crit and damage proc effect as much as possible this can do as much as 10% of your overall output. Importantly this on-use effect does not share a cooldown with other on-use weapons or trinkets, so it can be paired with another on-use trinket without much fuss.

Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker (Operation: Floodgate) - One of the more powerful passive trinket options this season, this provides a crit buff that procs every minute and can be extended by further crits, up to a max of 30s. This bonus is very easy to extend to the maximum duration no matter the target count, making it a very reliable source of stats in all situations, and is especially valuable if you’re able to line up the proc with Incarnation.

Ringing Ritual Mud (Operation: Floodgate) - This pure defensive trinket is very good in situations where you’re taking a lot of DoT damage to CDR the shield on-use, however it having passive versatility definitely reduces the value a bit, especially with another strong shield option this season from the raid. Personally I would recommend Soulbinder’s Embrace over this trinket if you want a defensive option.

Trinket Recommendations:

• Raid - Tome of Light’s Devotion and Brand of Ceaseless Ire or Miniscule Mailemental in an Envelope
• M+ Dungeons - Brand of Ceaseless Ire and So’leah’s Secret Technique
• Defensive Option - Soulbinder’s Embrace
• Solid but not BiS options - Ara-Kara Sacbrood if you like to gamble, Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker if you can line up procs with Incarnation, Perfidious Projector if you need to kill low health adds quickly
• Situational - Loom’ithar’s Living Silk to gain a group defensive if needed

In The War Within you’re able to equip 2 pieces of Crafted “Embellished” gear pieces with special effects, of which there are a few good options for Guardian druids.

Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension (Weapon) - This embellishment gives you a stacking secondary stat buff while in combat that randomizes over time. This is also a nerubian embellishment, allowing you to double the effect if you wear another crafted piece embellished with a Writhing Armor Banding. The main downside here is that this takes 80 seconds to ramp up to its full value, causing it to be weaker on shorter encounters or in M+ when you break combat too often. This also causes you to lose 3 ilvls on your weapon long term, so while this is good at the start of the patch when you haven’t gotten a good weapon yet, once you get a weapon on the Myth track this embellishment loses a fair bit of value.

Adrenal Surge Clasp (Belt) - Another nerubian embellishment, this has a chance on being hit to grant some primary stat at the expense of some mastery, which is a trade-off Guardians are happy to make. That being said it does not proc off ability damage, meaning you need to actively be hit or have a DoT effect on you in order to proc it, which isn’t a problem in dungeons but can reduce the uptime in some raid encounters. It also is quite inconsistent in terms of the proc rate, so in many situations you’re better off with one of the more consistent embellishment options.

Dawnthread Lining (Flexible) - This effect grants you extra Crit as long as you remain over 80% health. While this initially seems like it wouldn’t be great for Guardian druid, it actually beats out all the other embellishment options if you’re able to maintain it 70% of the time, which is a realistic goal even in difficult content.

Elemental Focusing Lens (Flexible) - Gives your abilities a chance to deal a flat amount of magic damage depending on the gems you have socketed. This damage is relatively low but unlike Ascension it has no ramp up time, making it a better option for both shorter raid fights and M+ dungeons. That being said, this is currently performing worse than Dawnthread at 70% uptime, so unless you’re really worried about that health threshold you likely won’t use this embellishment. Also keep in mind that this effect will not function unless you have at least 1 gem socketed.

Writhing Armor Banding (Flexible) - When combined with one of the previously mentioned nerubian embellishments this doubles their effects, making it powerful when paired with them but useless without them.

Recommendations:

• Raid and M+: Dawnthread Lining x2 on Bracers, Belt, or Tier off-piece

Reshii Wraps Artifact Cloak

Newly added in patch 11.2, Reshii Wraps is an Artifact Cloak that will be available to all players and is the only cloak available in season 3, granting a unique effect based on your role that can be amplified by a couple other items. For tanks that effect is an absorb shield proc that automatically triggers at low health with a cooldown, so it's a moderate defensive boost.

This cloak can be obtained on day 1 by doing campaign quests on K’aresh, and you’ll be able to upgrade it using Ethereal Strands. You can also choose what secondary stats you want on the cloak using Fiber slots, where the best Fibers are created by Tailors. My general fiber recommendation is the Chronomatic Fiber which grants haste, but you can of course always sim your character to see what's best for you.

To find out more about the Reshii Wraps, check out the Method Reshii Wraps Overview Guide

Cantrip Items

In this section I’ll go into a bit more detail on items with special effects available this season, explaining in what situations you may want to use them. Note that I won’t be discussing every single item, just the most competitive or controversial ones.

Interloper’s Reinforced Sandals (Boots, The Soul Hunters) - These bonus loot boots increase the proc rate of your Reshii Wraps role bonus, so for tanks that means more shields. This bonus scales with the difficulty the boots come from, and since the tank bonus is mediocre you likely would not want to drop item level to wear these boots.

Band of the Shattered Soul (Ring, Dimensius, the All-Devouring) - This ring adds an extra effect to your Reshii Wraps proc, granting an additional absorb shield against Cosmic damage specifically. This damage time is fairly niche outside of the raid, and even in the raid you likely won’t get a lot of value from the proc, but the stats on the ring are ideal for Guardian and it doesn’t lose any stats for the effect, so you’ll likely aim for it anyways. Just like the boots though you shouldn’t drop item level to wear this unless sims say otherwise.

Maw of the Void (Very Rare 2H Mace, Nexus-King Salhadaar) - As the only very rare item remaining in the raid, this weapon actually has no combat benefit, instead having a loot-a-rang style on-use. This does drop fully upgraded which is the main benefit, however it is overshadowed by several other weapons this season which have better stats or combat effects.

Spellstrike Warplance (2H Polearm, Eco-Dome Al’dani) - A crit/haste weapon with a 2min on-use damage effect, this is looking to be the best weapon available to Guardian druids in the next patch, assuming of course you get lucky and find a myth track version in your vault.

Harvester’s Interdiction (2H Staff, Ara-Kara) - A vers/mastery weapon with a passive damage effect, this has worse stats than the Warplance but the effect does more damage, overall they are similar but the Warplance is very slightly better. Still though, you’ll be very happy to see this in your vault!

Best D.I.S.C Belt & Miniature Titan Disc Effects

Added in patch 11.1.7, players can obtain the Durable Information Securing Container belt which can be upgraded up to 701 ilvl and empowered with a passive abilities that can provide stats, damage output, or even heal your allies. This belt will get replaced by something with more ilvl in Season 3, but it can be a nice initial boost for new characters.

In terms of what powers I recommend for Guardian Druid, three of them are fairly close together. In general Spark Burst comes out ahead, but both Critical Chain and Static Charge are not far behind and could pull ahead depending on your current stats, so you can always sim for the exact best option.

For more information about unlocking the DISC belt and the different Miniature Titan Disc effects available, check out Method's D.I.S.C Belt Guide.