The Best of Legion Boomkin: Part 3, Starfall Single Target

The Memekin Begins

Using Starfall as the single target spender was first experimented with after the 7.1.5 changes that significantly buffed Starfall, taking Boomkin from one of the worst sustained AOE specs in the game to one of the best. It went under the name “Memekin” because it utilized talents that up until that patch had been completely useless. At the time the single target Starfall build was still significantly behind the standard Starsurge build on most encounters but due to the extremely high movement on Helya the Starfall build managed to pull ahead. You can see it in action in my first Helya kill after the patch:

The Best of Legion Boomkin: Part 2, Moon Moon & Radiant Moonlight

New Moon, Half Moon and Full Moon, the Moon spells, the artifact ability or my personal preference: Moon Moon, has been a core part of the Legion Balance Druid rotation. Not only does it provide a significant amount of Astral Power, greatly reducing the amount of unempowered Solar Wraths we have to cast, it also adds an extra button to our otherwise rather boring base rotation of Solar Wrath spam with the occasional Starsurge into Lunar Strike. I would really like and expect that it in some form remains in Battle for Azeroth. Personally I would like to see it become base, possibly in a slightly simplified version.

The Best of Legion Boomkin: Part 1, The Emerald Dreamcatcher

With Legion drawing to an end I figured it would be a good time to go over what I think has worked well for Balance Druid during the expansion. While it is unavoidable to not  also touch on some aspects that I disliked, I will try to keep the focus primarily on the positives and how some of them might be incorporated into the Battle for Azeroth Balance Druid.

In this first part I will be covering The Emerald Dreamcatcher, the legendary that at the start of Legion turned Balance Druid’s otherwise extremely simple rotation into one of the most complex rotations in the game.

The Emerald Dreamcatcher Nerf

In the last 7.1.5 PTR build, The Emerald Dreamcatcher buff was changed to last 2 seconds, reduced by haste, down from the 3 seconds static on live.

This change effectively means that it is no longer possible to cast any spells between Starsurges while still maintaining the buff. Other than being a significant nerf to its damage output, this also kills what a lot of players find to be a very enjoyable playstyle, and messes with the relative balance of the Balance Druid legendaries.

7.1.5 PTR Balance Changes (30.10.16)

Let us start with a list of all the changes.

• Our T19 4-piece have been completely redesigned. It now reads “Starsurge deals 20% increased damage to targets affected by both your Sunfire and Moonfire”.
• Our new legendary is shoulders with Haste and Critical Strike, that reads “Moonfire deals 20% increased damage and also hits another nearby enemy within 20 yards of the target”.
• Sephuz’s Secret now gives 25% haste (up from 15%).
• Warrior of Elune now has 3 charges (up from 2).
• Renewal’s cooldown has been reduced to 1.5 minutes (down from 2 minutes).
• Displacer Beast has been changed to only give the speed increase for 2 seconds (down from 4 seconds), and the cooldown was increased to 40 seconds (up from 30 seconds).
• Soul of the Forest now increases the damage bonus from empowerments by 20% (up from 15%) and reduces the cost of Starfall by 20 Astral Power (up from 10 Astral Power).
• Stellar Flare’s direct damage has been increased by 25%, and its damage over time has been increased by ~23%.
• Stellar Flare’s cost has been reduced to 10 Astral Power (down from 15 Astral Power).
• Shooting Star’s damage has been increased by ~31%.
• Fury of Elune’s damage has been increased by ~17%.
• Stellar Drift now  increases the damage of Starfall by 60% (up from 20%).
• Echoing Stars’s damage has been increased by ~31%.