Druid Class Changes in Dragonflight
A new WoW expansion is getting closer and closer to its release on the 28th of November. Each build makes it easier to speak about various class changes and suggest firm predictions on Dragonflight meta. This text will cover crucial class and talent Druid tree changes in Dragonflight.
Class Tree Changes
The revamp of the talent system in the new expansion leads to the emergence of two separate trees for class and specialization. One tree contains basic class talents which are accessible in every spec. And another one — those that belong only to a particular specialization.
Players have 31 points to spend in the class tree and 30 points in a spec one. These restrictions will make players choose a limited number of skills and traits by holding more or less to the right, middle, or left branches. One more feature to remember is that talents placed in octagons must always be chosen out of two options.
What updates of the class talent tree will Druid receive in Dragonflight? First of all, with many spells becoming available for all specs, some long-awaited combinations must appear. For example, the Skull Bash at the upper part of the left branch makes it possible even for Restoration Druid to finally receive the proper interruption spell.
At the same time, Ferals are now able to heal themselves more effectively by obtaining the generic spell Nature’s Vigil at the bottom of the right branch. The spell will work differently depending on your spec, almost like it worked before its removal in Legion.
The talent system changes free Druids from the choice of Affinity at level 30 in Dragonflight. Instead, you just pick up different skills and traits that previously belonged only to this or that spec.
That can make your choice much more dynamic. Without a strict choice of Affinity, you can pick traits that can improve the skill sets of both Bear and Cat forms. However, the universal Heart of the Wild talent remains. But it got moved to the bottom of the middle of the tree. And now it empowers not a few skills of a chosen Affinity, but a whole skill set of another spec. The type of empowerment depends on your current specialization.
Finally, Druids may have hoped to receive new forms in Dragonflight. However, there’s only an update of the Tree form model.
Balance Druid Changes
Balance Druids will be given plenty of options to come up with new and original builds in Dragonflight. For example, an impressive amount of AoE damage can now be reached through the combination of the Aetherial Kindling and the Orbit Breaker. The first one is quite an old Starfall buff. It prolongs the effects of Moonfire and Sunfire. The second is a former Anima power, which will continue to accompany stars falling from the Shooting Stars trait with a Full Moon effect.
The Incarnation: Chosen of Elune and Convoke the Spirits are put into the octagon. That makes you choose. Convoke the Spirits is a former Night Fae Covenant skill and it works the same way. The Incarnation has been changed a bit. This druid spell will also grant both Eclipses to the character in Dragonflight. However, such choices can only make the game easier. Because if you express a need for another talent before a particular encounter, you may quickly change it.
Feral Changes
The Adaptive Swarm is a former Necrolord Covenant ability. It became an example of a skill that may appear both in Feral and Restoration Druid trees in Dragonflight. In fact, it being a Feral trait is especially important. Because it will increase periodic damage dealt by Feral. And a few new passives affecting the periodic damage may make up a deadly combination with the Adaptive Swarm. For instance, the Wild Slashes, which simply increases the damage of the Trash and Swipe by 20%.
However, the main changes brought into Feral Druid’s gameplay work the same way as in the case of other classes. Most of the new features are just former Conduits or Tier set effects. While a truly fresh feature is that Berserk burst may be strengthened by choosing other Berserk traits. Like Berserk: Frenzy and Berserk: Heart of the Lion.
The first one makes the target bleed even more painfully from every combo-generating ability. (Another skill to combine with the Adaptive Swarm.) And the second one makes spending Combo Points reduce the cooldown of Berserk during its effect. But as the Incarnation: Avatar of Ashamane also grants Berserk effects, a Feral build may become too dependent on a single burst.
Guardian Changes
Dragonflight Guardian Druid’s talent tree is much more promising in terms of novelty. Although much of this novelty is taken from the expansions even before the Shadowlands. Like the Rage of the Sleeper spell. It used to be the Artifact trait in Legion, and now it’s at the bottom of the right branch. The main change is that it makes a character immune to the loss of control. The skill was buffed because some players could have considered it too weak when it just gave 25% of damage reduction and a little damage reflect effect for 10 seconds.
A truly new Dragonflight talent for this Druid spec is the After the Wildfire. It can help to protect your party by healing it based on your attack power for every 200 Rage spent. But it should be chosen instead of the familiar Guardian of Elune. And there are all the chances that in most encounters you will choose the last one.
Restoration Changes
Finally, the Restoration Druid changes. At the middle of the spec tree, there’s a trait that grants a possibility to make Lifebloom a much more competitive spell again. This talent is Harmonious Blooming and it leads it to count as three stacks of Restoration Mastery called Harmony. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that with this Lifebloom starts to be as effective as 3 HoTs at a time.
One of the last octagons of this tree contains a truly fresh talent called Invigorate. The effect described in the picture is simple. But considering the potential empowerment of the Lifebloom, it seems to be much stronger than at first glance. And much stronger than all the spells whose effects are similar to the Invigorate. Add to it the mentioned Adaptive Swarm and the ability to cast Lifebloom on two targets with the Undergrowth. And you may start to evaluate these minor updates in the new Restoration Druid talent tree as the most effective ones.
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