So, I guess it time to talk a little bit about leveling a druid from level 30 to 40. Now, in my previous guild I said that I was going to talk about tactics for the different druid specs, I think this is a bad idea. Instead I would like to create new guides for each of the different specs. The reason that I am making this change is because you can start working on these different specs from day one and the leveling guides that I have written are already more than 1/3 of the way through and I think the information about specs would be better if the guide was created specifically for that reason.
This is not Flight Form, but it's still awesome!
That being said, I will hop right into this guide.
Now, at level 30 there are no new forms that a druid gets so there is nothing new to learn. This is a good thing because it lets you master what you already have and lets you learn, and learning is half the battle. Lets start with locations where you can level up.
Leveling Locations
Ok, so you are a druid which means you are a night elf, at the same time you are also a member of the Alliance. This means that the more popular leveling locations are going to be in Eastern Kingdoms. Now Kalimdor has some fun and interesting places, but because you will be in horde friendly areas you will not find many alliance members in these locations. This causes a problem if you want to group with other people.
Now if you are interested in leveling up in Kalimdor, then you will want to start out in Desolace. After there then you should move to Dustwallow Marsh. Now that there are newer quests in Dustwallow marsh it is a more popular than at one point.
Most people are going to be working in Stranglethorn Vale. You will be able to stay in this one zone, more or less, for the whole time you are leveling from 30 to 40. Also, there is a great variety of areas to and quests to level in, while in this zone. This make it a favorite for many. On pvp realms this is also one of the most dreaded realms. The other location that you can level up in is Arathi Highlands.
The place that I would recommend leveling up in would be Stranglethorn Vale. As much as I dread to say that, I think this would be the most optimal location to go from level 30 to 40. If you want to run instances at this level, there is really only 1 and that is going to be Scarlet Monestary. There will be two locations where you get quests for SM – Desolace and South Shore. Anyway this instance is going to be in the far northern part of Eastern Kingdoms smack dab in the middle of horde territory. If you dont want to go here I can understand, but this is one of the funnest instances in the game, and you will not find any better gear for our level. Not to mention that this is really the first instance that will teach you what it means to be a good tank/healer/dps’er. It will also be the first time in the game that you will need to work on strategy and crowd control. This is also the first winged instance where you can either run the whole instance or just part of it. Also, this instance increases in difficulty from wing to wing and you can actually level up from 30 to 40 by running the instance over and over again. I guess what I am trying to say is that Scarlett Monestary is the most awesome instance at this point in the game.
Now, with that out-of-the-way, lets look at the spells that you will be getting from 30 to 40.
Spells
Your level 30 spells will include mostly just upgrades of your old spells, you will get upgrades of Bash, MoTW, Rebirth, Regrowth, Shred, and Wrath. You will get a new restoration spell Tranquility which is an Area of Effect healing spell that is channeled, while you are channeling the spell it will heal your group members. This is a great spell that should only be used sparingly in groups, it is really mana intensive and until you get lots of gear with intelligence in it for extra mana, it will pretty much cost most of your mana. However when used it makes an awesome sparkly effect so its fun to cast when your not worried about mana.
At level 30, if you are specced fully into one specific tree you will also be able to pick up Insect Swarm if your Balance specced, and Feral Charge if your feral specced. Insect Swarm is an instant cast DoT that also decreases chance to hit on the target. Feral Charge is an ability that will give your bear form the warriors charge effect which allows you to rush up to your target immobilizing them for a short time and it prevents them from casting spells for that time. For the Cat form, Feral charge will act like the rogue’s Shadowstep ability, you will jump behind the target putting you in the perfect location to perform a shred attack on the target. You can even use the Cat charge while prowling, so you can jump behind a big group of mobs without them seeing you.
Now, like I said you will gain these spells at level 30 only if you put all of your talent points into these trees only. The talents trees that I have given examples of thus far in the guides have all included 2 points into the Improved Mark of the Wild talent first. Because of that you will not be able to spec into those talents until level 32.
Now, your level 32 spells will include the new spells Ferocious Bite, Ravage, and Track Humanoids (all for your cat form). Ferocious Bite is your characters first big finishing move. It will deliver a powerful single attack to the target consuming all of the combo points on the target and all of your remaining energy, the more combo points on your target and the more energy you have will increase the damage that this spell does. Ravage is going to be another attack like bite but much more powerful, it will do 385% damage to the target plus 161, and adds a combo point. Finally Track Humanoids will allow you to track humanoids on your mini map, just like you track herbs. It is the same spell that hunters get, only this can only be used while in the cat form, and its the only tracking spell that druids will get.
At 32 you will also get new ranks of Demoralizing Roar, and Healing Touch.
Your level 34 spells will only be new ranks of spells, but there will be a lot of them. Maul, Moonfire, Rake, Rejuvination, Starfire, Swipe (Bear), and Thorns.
At Level 36 you will get the new spells Frenzied Regeneration for bear and Pounce for cat. Frenzied Regeneration will be a healing spell only usable with bear form. It takes the remaining rage that you have and converts it into health. Pounce is a cat spell that is usable while in stealth form. It will stun the target, cause a small amount of damage, and award a combo point. It’s a good spell to use on a caster to start out the fight. You will also gain new Ranks of Regrowth, Revive, Rip, and Tiger’s Fury.
At Level 38 you will not get any new spells again, however you will gain lots of new ranks in Claw, Entangling Roots, Healing Touch, Hibernate, Nature’s Grasp, Shred, Sooth Animal, and Wrath.
Now at level 40 big things are going to happen. You will be getting new forms (2 via talent trees, and 1 via an upgrade to your bear form), you will also be getting major boosts to all aspects of your talent trees, of course I will be going into all of this in the next guide.
Talent Specs
As has been the “tradition” with all of my other guides, I have included Talent Specs in this guide as well.
Using the existing talent tree I have continued by adding three points in Subtlety. This will reduce threat cast by healing spells and your dots (moonfire and insect swarm). Next I put 3 points in Intensity for the mana regeneration, the instant rage is also helpful to the bear form. Next is one point is Omen of Clarity for no mana/rage/energy. Lastly we need to stick three points in Improved Rejuvenation for improvements to rejuvenation.
Ok for this spec I finished off Shredding Attacks with 1 more point. I put 3 points into Predatory Strikes because increase in attack power in bear is a good thing the possible buff to nature spells would be handy to in case you have to jump out of forms for an emergency heal as well. I then put 2 points into Primal Fury as extra rage and an additional combo point from critical strikes would be pure win. Next I dropped 2 points in Brutal Impact for the extra stun duration of Bash and Pounce. I put 2 in Nurturing Instinct for the extra heals based on agility and increased healing in cat form. 1 point goes to feral charge. The final point will be heart of the wild, this is a great talent as it gives a little buff for each form.
So, continuing from before. We will put another 2 points in vengeance for more critical strike chance. Next we will put three points into Celestial Focus more for the haste than the actual spell pushback. This is kinda dicey here, if you wish to put all 5 points into vengeance and only 1 point into Celestial Focus, whatever you like. Next I will put 1 point into Insect Swarm, new DoTs are fun. Three points then go into Improved Insect Swarm. This gives a buff to Wrath when the target is afflicted with the Insect Swarm and it gives a buff to Starfire when afflicted by Moonfire. This will create a nice Spell rotation for balance specs keep insect swarm and moonfire up on your target, and Alternate between casting Wrath and Starfire.
The final point is kind of a gamble. I would recommend putting it either in Lunar Guidance for extra spell power via your intellect, or Moonfire for extra damage to Starfire, Moonfire, and Wrath. I would recommend that you fill up Moonfury first. Eventually you will have a full 3 points in both Lunar Guidance and Moonfury. However at this point in the game with the gear that you will be wearing, I believe that you will have more benefit from the boost to damage of your individual dps spells than a small increase to your overall damage based on a percentage of your intellect.
So then, until next time. Have fun playing your druid!
