Terrible damage
Garbage talent selection (Bring back pulsar and delete convoke)
Squishier than any other class in the game
Nerfed healing to self cause devs hate boomkin
3rd worst dps spec in the game
Can’t wait for another 2-5% flat dmg increase instead of addressing core issues with this spec.
Blizzard think boomkin (and cat) are perfectly tuned so in next patch they tuning underperforming specs has 0 changes to these.
I’m tired of the Eclipse mechanic. I just wish I could cast Wrath in single target and Starfire in multi target, without casting two of the other spells. Oh the simplicity that was the mana pool eons ago. Seems all specs are over convoluted these days.
The transition from DF to tww was legit awful.
Balance is literally the most unfun spec in the game as it currently stands.
I’ve actually picked up Druid recently. I love the versatility, and I have always loved Ferals rotation. I picked up Boomie too (I missed the memo on the 10.2 Boomie form updates and I really like them)
My issue with Balance is there’s just a bit of an identity crisis coupled with a conflict of priorities.
Is it a DoT spec, a builder spender spec, a resource management spec or a CD burst window spec?
We want to get our DoTs rolling but also want to get our Eclipse system rolling.
Eclipse is this weird ST to start AOE-ing/AOE to start ST damage mini-game that I don’t know if anybody actually likes?
It’s a great AOE kit but the spender is just a dull, yet hard hitting ST focused spell?
It’s like three conceptual drafts of what the spec should be, stitched together with astral power.
I’m enjoying it for now. But I can see the Eclipse system ultimately turning me off the spec.
Sure a part of my frustrations may be down to the learning curve. But having to cast Starfire 2x to actually start casting Wrath just seems so clunky.
So the way it was originally intended was for prolonged fights. You HAD to go back and forth between Solar and Lunar eclipses. There was no lunar lunar lunar lunar solar solar lunar lunar lunar lunar lunar lunar lunar lunar.
So while youre in Lunar Eclipse, what spell are you casting to build AP? Starfire. What spell is needed to put you into Solar? Thats right, Starfire. So you transitioned smoothly and flawlessly.
But your average Balance player didnt understand this. And they didnt like being forced into “ST eclipse” in an AoE scenario and vice versa, not realizing it didnt matter because Wrath and Starfire hit like a wet paper bag and it was all about out spenders + DoTs.
So they cried and cried and got their way. Now you can choose which Eclipse state you enter, but now you end up with the clunkiness of casting 2 random spells to maintian your current eclipse.
Prior system: enter Solar Eclipse, wrath 6x enter Lunar eclipse, Starfire 6x, enter Solar Eclipse, etc etc etc
Current system: enter Solar Eclipse, Wrath 5x, 2x Starfire, Enter Solar Eclipse, Wrath 5x, 2x Starfire, enter Solar Eclipse
Honestly hear me out.
I don’t mind the eclipse mechanic, but what if just casting the spell cycled you into the eclipse you wanted to be in.
You know like… Wrath puts you into solar… Starfire puts you into Lunar…
Or give a CD, not dissimilar to Astral Communion from way back, that lets you essentially choose the eclipse.
Also wrath/starfire need to just have more punch put into them. I personally dislike that everything goes fully into AP spenders. I understand the necessity as someone who’s played boomy since vanilla, but it just feels like not having your spenders have some sort of ramping power just doesn’t feel good.
Or just have the current SoD system which feels so dam good to play. Your dots do damage naturally and you gain a buff when u use the other spell that increases crit/cast speed by a lot and starsurge increases your starfire cast by 1 second, you have 3 dots that last like 24 seconds.
I think I enjoyed it more back when Eclipse was an automatic gauge that kept cycling between day and night.
My issue with the Eclipse mechanic right now is that it doesn’t promote a true cyclical “day/night” rotation feel, because you just need to get 2 Starfires out ASAP to get back into solar. You’ll either be playing just mostly solar or mostly lunar, not a balance of both, which kind of defeats the theme of the spec a bit for me.
They could probably re-introduce another spell to act as the AoE filler and make Starfire single target only, but with a +2 cleave. Put eclipse back into an automatic cycle and add a cooldown to “hold” a cycle for x seconds so to have some flexibility.
Blame the playerbase for this one
I’ve never found the Eclipse system to be particularly compelling. I have no problem using it, but I miss that brief period (Legion and BFA) when we didn’t have an Eclipse mechanic. The BFA system was particularly fun. I’m back to playing Balance and having fun, but I would have more fun without having to manage Eclipse.
The caveat to being glass was the cannon, maybe next expansion.
I was a feral/boomy main the past 2 expansions. This was the first season I shelved boomy and just picked up some other casters. The grass is greener on the other side brother. Don’t be afraid to branch out. I hate what boomy has become.
I want good self-survivability, and big star surges. Right now we’re extremely squishy and have way too many damage sources/modifiers. Hilarious that a hybrid has the lowest self-healing and survivability in the game.