Tier Sets
Balance Druid TWW Season 1 Tier Set:
- (2) Set Bonus: Starsurge damage increased by 10%. Starfall damage increased by 14%.
- (4) Set Bonus: Lunar Eclipse and Solar Eclipse each increase the Astral Power Wrath generates by 2 and Starfire generates by 5.
The Tier Set obtained in Nerub’ar Palace provides some decent passive buffs to the specialization. However, most Season One tier sets are tuned to be relatively low in power, so don’t expect anything too flashy here!
balance druid Best in Slot Gear
You should still prioritize the gear you use by running a sim for your character, but the lists below will give you a good idea of what items are considered good for Balance Druid, and help you target the right content for each piece of loot.
Overall Best Gear
| Slot | Item | Source |
| Head | Whispering Mask | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Neck | Sureki Zealot’s Insignia | Sikran, Captain of the Sureki |
| Shoulders | Maw of the Greatlynx | Rasha’nan |
| Cloak | Anvilhide Cape | The Stonevault |
| Chest | Hide of the Greatlynx | Broodtwister Ovi’nax |
| Wrist | Rune Branded Armbands with Embellishment | Crafting |
| Gloves | Eviscerators of the Greatlynx | Sikran, Captain of the Sureki |
| Belt | Devourer’s Taut Innards | Ulgrax the Devourer |
| Legs | Leggings of the Greatlynx | Nexus-Princess Ky’veza |
| Boots | Fleeting Massacre Footpads | Nexus-Princess Ky’veza |
| Ring | Seal of the Poisoned Pact | Queen Ansurek |
| Ring | Writhing Ringworm | Broodtwister Ovi’nax |
| Trinket | Spymaster’s Web | The Silken Court |
| Trinket | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Main Hand | Vagabond’s Bounding Baton with Ascension Embellishment (2H) or Kingslayer’s Frostfang | Crafting or City of Threads |
| Off Hand | Pail of Preserved Obscurity or Vagabond’s Torch with Ascension Embellishment | City of Threads or Crafting |
Best Gear from the Raid
| Slot | Item | Source |
| Head | Mask of the Greatlynx | The Silken Court |
| Neck | Sureki Zealot’s Insignia | Sikran, Captain of the Sureki |
| Shoulders | Maw of the Greatlynx | Rasha’nan |
| Cloak | Royal Emblem of the Nerub-ar | Ulgrax the Devourer |
| Chest | Hide of the Greatlynx | Broodtwister Ovi’nax |
| Wrist | Polluted Spectre’s Wraps | The Bloodbound Horror |
| Gloves | Eviscerators of the Greatlynx | Sikran, Captain of the Sureki |
| Belt | Devourer’s Taut Innards | Ulgrax the Devourer |
| Legs | Leggings of the Greatlynx | Nexus-Princess Ky’veza |
| Boots | Fleeting Massacre Footpads | Nexus-Princess Ky’veza |
| Ring | Seal of the Poisoned Pact | Queen Ansurek |
| Ring | Writhing Ringworm | Broodtwister Ovi’nax |
| Trinket | Spymaster’s Web | The Silken Court |
| Trinket | Ovi’nax’s Mecurial Egg | Broodtwister Ovi’nax |
| Main Hand | Takazj’s Entropic Edict (2H) or Scepter of Manifested Miasma | The Silken Court or The Bloodbound Horror |
| Off Hand | Broodtwister’s Grim Catalyst | Broodtwister Ovi’nax |
Best Gear from Mythic+
| Slot | Item | Source |
| Head | Whispering Mask | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Neck | “Emergency Stop” Keychain | The Stonevault |
| Shoulders | Maw of the Greatlynx | Rasha’nan or Catalyst |
| Cloak | Anvilhide Cape | The Stonevault |
| Chest | Hide of the Greatlynx | Broodtwister Ovi’nax or Catalyst |
| Wrist | Unbreakable Beetlebane Bindings | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Gloves | Eviscerators of the Greatlynx | Sikran, Captain of the Sureki or Catalyst |
| Belt | Shadow Congregant’s Belt | The Dawnbreaker |
| Legs | Leggings of the Greatlynx | Nexus-Princess Ky’veza or Catalyst |
| Boots | Whisperer’s Echoing Steps | City of Threads |
| Ring | Circle of Bone | Grim Batol |
| Ring | High Nerubian Signet | The Dawnbreaker |
| Trinket | Empowering Crystal of Anub’ikkaj | The Dawnbreaker |
| Trinket | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Main Hand | Kingslayer’s Frostfang | City of Threads |
| Off Hand | Pail of Preserved Obscurity | City of Threads |
Trinkets
The two best trinkets currently for Balance Druid is Ara-Kara Sacbrood and Spymaster’s Web. Other solid trinkets that you won’t be too upset about getting temporarily include the Unbound Changeling, Empowering Crystal of Anub’ikkaj as well as the Gale of Shadows.
The Spymaster’s Web allows us to ramp up passive stacks and then strike on our cooldowns, with the general advice being to allow the trinket to accumulate stacks for about four minutes, then pair them with your third set of cooldowns on the fight at four minutes.
The other trinkets are fairly uninteresting stat-sticks, with the Ara-Kara Sacbrood currently simming the highest out of all of the options. The Unbound Changeling is a trinket that requires you to consume a type of food in order to have the trinket proc that buff, so additional personal simulating might be necessary in order to determine what stat you want the Changeling to proc!
Embellishments
Many players at the beginning of the season, myself included, opted for as much player power available early and crafted a 636 Vagabond’s Bounding Baton with the Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension embellishment, pairing it with the 610 Algari Competitor’s Leather Wristwraps embellished with a Writhing Armor Binding to also acquire an early socketed piece that amplifies the effect from the Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension.
This Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension embellishment will be the go-to embellishment for Balance Druid for the entire tier. However, if you are thinking long-term, the technically optimal Best In Slot build will have a 639 Main Hand and a crafted 636 Vagabond’s Torch offhand with the Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension embellishment.
The ideal piece to pick as your second crafted piece is an item that has a low stat budget, such as your wrists or your cloak. If you obtain a solid Polluted Spectre’s Wraps early on from Mythic Bloodbound Horror and want to commit a socket to them ASAP, that would mean it is optimal for you to craft on your back instead. The choice for this second craft may vary depending on your gear, so it is important you sim yourself and plan ahead! Most players will find that crafting on back will be optimal for them, but it may not be for you!