Tank Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Guardian Druid abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0.1).

Single Target

Ensure Moonfire is active on the target before engaging.

• MoonfireView detailsMaintain on the target at all times.
• ThrashView detailsMaintain 5 stacks.
• BarkskinView detailsUse off cooldown.
• MaulView detailsUse when possible.
• MangleView detailsUse to generate Rage.
• ThrashView detailsUse to maintain stacks.
• MoonfireView detailsUse with Galactic Guardian proc.
• Incarnation Guardian Of UrsocView detailsUse for burst damage.
• SwipeView detailsUse as a filler.

Maintain Moonfire and 5 stacks of Thrash. Use Maul and Mangle to manage Rage, and activate Barkskin and Incarnation Guardian Of Ursoc for damage and survivability.

AoE

Pull mobs together with Moonfire before starting the rotation.

• ThrashView detailsMaintain 5 stacks.
• BarkskinView detailsUse off cooldown unless saving for dangerous moments.
• RazeView detailsUse when possible.
• ThrashView detailsUse to maintain stacks.
• MangleView detailsUse to generate Rage.
• Incarnation Guardian Of UrsocView detailsUse for burst damage.
• MoonfireView detailsUse as needed.
• SwipeView detailsUse as a filler.

Focus on maintaining Thrash stacks and using Raze for AoE damage. Use Barkskin and Incarnation Guardian Of Ursoc for survivability and burst.

Cooldowns

• Incarnation Guardian Of UrsocView detailsUse for burst damage or significant danger.
• BarkskinView detailsUse off cooldown for damage reduction.
• Survival InstinctsView detailsSave for high-damage situations.

Use Incarnation Guardian Of Ursoc for burst or danger, Barkskin regularly for damage reduction, and Survival Instincts for critical moments.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.