Orly? Druid level 90 talents redone

Lushnek linked it to me on Tuesday, a blue post by Blizz about Druid level 90 talents:

We're not yet happy with the druid level 90 row. We still like the theme of it playing into the druid's hybrid nature and we want to reassure you (which I think most of you already know) that druids won't do lower damage or healing compared to other classes just because some other class has an unambiguous throughput increasing talent at level 90. Classes are balanced around their whole package.

Nonetheless, we want the bottom row of talents to be exciting. In the next (hopefully) build, you'll see a few changes.
Well ok that caught my attention.  So druids are a little behind again so we need buffing up.  So let's see what they decided to change.
Disentanglement -- no longer a talent. Shapeshifting for all druids just breaks roots.
Well, that's just like how it USED to be before they took it away.  So now I don't have to talent for it.  More hate for us in PVP, yay! I have to admit I've been lazy this expansion, if I've been rooted I've been dispelling it instead of shifting out of it.  Though in PVP I still shift out of it.  I think ferals will be happy with this.
Dream of Cenarius -- increases damage spells by 70% (up from 30%).
Wow, really?  OK, we must have been really lagging behind for them to have to buff us up that much.  For those who don't realise, it actually means that if you cast a heal spell then your next damage spell will go up by 70%.  So as a healer, if you want to do some casting DPS, this is more incentive for you to do so.  I think this is a PVP type talent.  I do throw out a few spells when PVPing and this is something I would choose for my resto PVP build.  I can't see if boomies would want this... would they want to throw a heal into their rotation to increase their damage?  I don't know.  I could be wrong, it could be good. 
Heart of the Wild -- now also grants 6% passive Agility and Intellect.
Not that much different from now really.  Though taking this means they want us to go kitty and hit things for a while as a healer.  If you don't like that dps-sometimes role then the intellect would be ok.
Nature's Vigil -- replaces Disentanglement. Increases all damage and healing done by 30% for 30 sec, with a 3 min cooldown. While active, all healing spells also damage a nearby target for 50% of healing done, and all damage spells and abilities also heal a nearby friendly target for 50% of the damage done.
This is what is exciting everyone I think.  Just READ it, it sounds damn awesome.  As a resto druid, this has a lot of potential - not sure what the kitties and boomkins think.  I can see the applications of it, some heavy AOE dmg with lots of healing, activate this and wow I can heal and do a little bit of damage too to help out!  And the same would go for boomies and kitties, in a heavy healing phase, like an aoe damage phase, hit this and help the healers out while they're damaging stuff.  It sounds impressive, and even having it for 30 seconds is a really long time.  How bizarre would it be to see boomkins and kitties on the heal meters (would make a welcome change from DKs and warlocks).  I think most druids are pleased about Nature's Vigil, though a boomkin would rather choose Dream of Cenarius, I would have thought, for better throughput, but for utility, Nature's Vigil would be nice.  I think that Nature's Vigil is probably the most useful for a resto druid, more so than a kitty or boomkin thing. Hybrid utility is one of the cool things about being a druid and having Nature's Vigil allows that.  If you didn't like that role then you could always just take Heart of the Wild instead so you can have more Intellect.

Anyway, it's a good thing.
Less of this (Image by Okha)


And more of this

Anyway, lots of other druids have had things to say about it.  LissannaJuvenate and Beruthiel have all written something, if you would like to go check it out.

Comments

  1. I have to confess this is the first thing I've read about Druids in Mists. I always try to ignore everything until the expansion is about ready to release.

    I don't want to get excited about something and then have it change, but since YOU wrote it I read it, lol!

    I don't mind learning about Pandas and Monks though, as they're new, changes to something I know nothing about don't bother me.

    I remember when Shamans became dual-wielders and I stop playing my Shaman because I didn't like her without her two-handed weapon, so I just hope they don't make a change to Druids like that!

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  2. I think for hybrid classes, they should not be on par with dps. Druids, shadow priests, shambles and pallies should do less DPs than mages, rogues and hunters. Probably 90-95% should be fair. Blizz can let those hybrid classes have more utilities such as better heals in dps spec or easier off tank in dps mode.
    Classes that can do tank/dps/heal should have a less output than heal/dps or dps/tank classes. For example they can make warriors do more dps while tanking than pallies etc. I think it is wrong that pallies and druids can out dps shammies and shadow priest. The more roles the toon can fulfil by default the abilities in each should be less. Otherwise everyone might as well play druids if druid dps match rogue in melee and image/lock in range and heals match priest and tank as well any class and blizz can scrap every other class since they are now redundent.

    Ksret
    (There was a time my main was a druid)

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I hope these comments work! Not sure why people can't comment lately, it makes me sad :(