Class Guide
DRUID
Leveling Feral
I’ve never leveled a druid as anything other than feral, so I will restrict my
leveling advice to that spec. I am also not going to tell you where to
level. If you would a step by step guide to leveling, I suggest either
Joana’s Horde Leveling
Guide, or Brian Kopp’s
Leveling Guide for Alliance. This section is about how.
Feral is, everyone agrees, the fastest druid leveling spec. This is for two
reasons. First, it combines excellent survivability with good DPS in a single
spec. Second, it lets your mana regen between fights, so you can heal up every
fifth pull or so and then let your mana regen again, resulting in almost no
downtime.
A common practice for druids wishing to spec balance or restoration is to level
as feral until 50 or 60, and then respec once most of their leveling is behind
them.
You might think that, while soloing, you won’t attack from behind very much, so
2/2 Shredding Attacks is a waste. For most classes this is true, but for cats
(as you can see in my discussion of melee DPS) Shred is light-years
better than either Claw or Rake, so you should attack from behind as often as
possible. A good opener in cat form is
- Pounce
- Shred x2
- Rip if at 4 CP, Rake otherwise
and POW, the mob is dead before he even gets to turn
around. This is why 2/2 Shredding Attacks and 2/2 Brutal Impact are,
surprisingly, excellent leveling talents.
Many druids find leveling difficult in their teens. At this level they have only
their balance spells and bear form to work with, forcing them to either use all
their mana or rely on a form that is not actually meant for DPSing. To these
druids, I offer the following encouragement:
- When I was your age, we leveled barefoot in the snow
both ways and we liked it.
- Hold out until your mid-20s at least. At level 20 you
get cat form, which will make your leveling much easier, not to
mention far more fun.
As you will
quickly discover, cat form is best when it isn’t getting hit. Being a cat is
kind of like being an egg with a sledgehammer: you can dish it out, but you
aren’t so good at taking it. This is why a good solid opener is ideal for cat
grinding. However, if you have to fight many mobs at once don't be afraid to
just shift into bear and outlast them. This can also be useful for farming
situations where you're competing with other players for mobs - just tag three
of them in bear form and swipe them all to death.
Continue to
Low Leveling Instances Page
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