I keep trying to return to druid, it was my main when I was a kid. Now that i’m a 30+ y/o, it makes me grumpy. I’m constantly wasting 2 GCD’s on shapeshift error.
How do you manage all your forms? Do you have shapeshifts on hotkey or do you just click when you need them?
Does a majority of the druid playerbase just ignore certain forms with certain specs, like Moonkin form with cat spec or cat form with Bear spec?
Is there any way to change certain spells that force shapeshift? I don’t get why Stamp Roar is forced bear form. I want it in cat or travel.
So, it depends on your spec, but most specs will stay in a single form during a given run. If your running boomkin, I would expect you would only ever drop form in order to sprint between pulls in travel form or cat form or to dodge a mechanic.
Since every form had its own bar, I hotkey my “main” form for each spec to the #2 key on every bar but that forms bar. That way, no matter my form it’s a quick press to get back to the right form.
Incap roar going to bear is a little annoying, but worth it. If you have moonkin hotkeyed to your bear bar it gets you back fast.
In general, Resto does catty weaving for damage, but it’s really the only spec that consistently multi-forms on live. Some bears might for some raid fights, but it’s extremely niche and a minor DPS upgrade for a lot of extra work. On most fights and in all dungeons it isn’t viable. For cat and boomkin, it’s a dps loss to multi-form 99% of the time. One exception is for fights that keep cats out of mele range for window, you can weave some sunfire/moonfire/wraths in if you’re quick for a very marginal increase.
I meant to add this. Stamp roar defaults to bear, but it’s castable in cat form and if you’re already in Cat form it won’t go to bear. So just swap to cat then cast if that’s your preference. You can also cast it and get pushed into bear, then have cat hotkeyed on your bear bar and swap into cat while running.
I think the main annoying thing for me as Balance is I might swap to cat form to run between pulls, then when I switch back to Boomkin, I’m just a glowing cat. I assume that’s a bug with using the astral glyph, but it’s really annoying.
That’s good to know. It just feels so much harder to memorize what spells turn you into what creatures, you know? I was just thinking Pack-by-pack pulling in dungeons- it’s where I use Stamp roar the most… yet I’m always turning into a bear as a healer which is annoying.
I’m basically in a very similar spot to this, albeit a bit more aggressive depending on the role. For example, the first eight buttons on my main action bar when I’m in Guardian spec are “Bear Form” when I’m in human form, to spare me from getting one-shot if I screw up mid-pull and accidentally drop bear form. In Balance spec, my 1 and 2 are still my core dots (not requiring moonkin form), but Starfire(3) and Wrath(4) are just “Moonkin Form” if I’m in human form. The keybind I have on bar for taunt is Bear Form on all 4 specs when not in bear form, and Taunt on all 4 specs when in bear form, just so I know I can mash that and taunt someone eventually no matter what I’m doing (rare).
Anyway yeah, use the fact that your bar autoswaps when you form swap as an advantage, not a weakness.
This is great advice. Someone else mentioned it too. I’ll try it out and see if it works.
The issue with seeing it as an advantage is that it puts you in trouble. Prowl puts me in cat form every time buuuuut… if I hit combat .1 seconds before I push the button then I have to stumble and find another key. It’s that sort of stuff that is annoying me, I guess.
You can use alt keys for situations like this. It’s very rare that I need to get into cat form without being able to prowl or wanting to/ able to sprint, but for those rare occasions I have it hotkeyed to alt+1. It’s not super easy to get to, but it isn’t that hard either (for my hand placement) and it’s there if I need it.
It takes a little while to sort out what works for you, but that’s true for any spec. Eventuality it becomes natural.
cat - movement + dps
boomkin - dps
bear - defensive and incap roar
conserving globals is a thing. like 1st boss CoS for example. I can be in human form then go into cat form to clear the debuff, or i can make sure im already in cat, then when debuff goes out i insta dispel someone else and it takes me out of cat form in the same global, clearing 2 debuffs.
having stuff like rejuv available in all forms is a good idea since u can combine what would be 2 globals into 1.
Yes resto is the only spec you will be regularly changing forms in combat. Basically, what Mazerrachham said.
For resto it is a slight dps increase to go into cat form and dps but alot of extra work. If you use Convoke the Spirits offensively and there is alot of targets, it’s a good idea to go into moonkin form and cast it because being in moonkin form will cause Convoke to cast spells like Full Moon and Starfall, for example.
Bear form is also good for all specs, if you run out of defensives and you see a big hit coming, you can pop into bear form, which gives you +25% stanima and +220% armor.
in high enough keys going into bear is the difference between living and dying
good practice to start using it now
cat is better than moonkin in ST and if you have to move a lot or the pack will die really fast (like the small spiders in SBG). Once you have thrash up in AoE you go boomkin and spam starfire. if youre forced out of melee just spam wrath in moonkin
tho keeping up sunfire and a good amount of moonfires + good AS and NV management will be most your dps
Macros can help with a lot of this. For example I made a shadowmeld macro for my Night Elf Feral Druid.
Hitting it while in combat will activate shadowmeld. Hitting it a second time will activate prowl. It’s also set up to specifically NOT cancel either so I can spam the button to enter prowl.
Except if I’m in an area where I can fly, where hitting it will first cast shadowmeld then cast flight form. This means for PvP I have a macro for prowling in combat to get a rake stun or get away, and if I’m outdoors I have an instant getaway with flight form.
You can also setup a macro to enter cat form and use stampeding roar, or skull bash, etc. There’s a lot of conditional settings you can use for this stuff.
I also use macros for each form on my Druid bound to keys like F, R, T or Y. Macros can also be used to have one key change between two forms. You can set the form going to based on the form you are in. A little more complicated but effective. I’m a big fan of macros to reduce key binds. For instance, wrath and regrowth on the same key, Moonfire and Rejuvination, Starsurge and Swiftmend and so on with mouse over macro. Any spell without a global can also be combined with another spell. Highly recommend looking up some macros and experimenting with them. Useful on All Specs. I can’t play without them.