Understanding Druid Weapon Skill Requirements in Classic WoW
Druid Weapon Skills in Classic WoW
Druids can use Staves, one-handed maces, two-handed maces, daggers, and fist weapons in Classic World of Warcraft. At level 10, Classic Druids can visit weapon trainers in capital cities to learn additional weapon skills for 10 each.
However, because Druids enter into a shapeshift form that actually doesn’t benefit from weapon skill, they don’t need to worry about leveling their weapon skills; your melee attacks in animal forms are automatically maxed for your level. Consequently, your melee hit cap will always be 9%.
Weapon Skill Implications
- Short answer: No, weapon skill doesn’t matter for Druids.
- Longer answer: While there are extremely fringe cases where you can auto attack in caster form and it might make a difference, it’s usually not impactful. Once you level weapon skill, it remains forever, so you might as well do it eventually.
In Classic World of Warcraft, Druids essentially have no weapon skill requirements since their damage in Cat and Bear forms is not based on weapon skill—meaning you don’t need to actively level up weapon skills to effectively play a Druid; your weapon skill is considered maxed when you shapeshift into these forms.
Nonetheless, the only time weapon skill might be slightly relevant for a Druid is when playing in a non-shapeshift form, which is rarely done in most situations. For instance, your weapon and weapon skill serve as your wand if you are a caster Druid staying in humanoid form, as switching to feral forms isn’t always worth it or can be too limiting.
Weapon Selection Considerations
It’s important to note that weapon choice still matters. While weapon skill doesn’t matter, the stats on your weapon still do. You should choose weapons with good attack power and other relevant stats for your build. Restoration Druids will be looking for items that increase the power of their healing spells—like Will of Arlokk, which is one of the best weapons to use with the Druid ability Innervate.
On the other hand, Feral Druid Tanks use weapons that will benefit them even in their shapeshift forms. For instance, you might use Warden Staff for mitigation, while something like Manual Crowd Pummeler is great for threat.
Interestingly, there have been anecdotal reports of some players experiencing bugs that inadvertently calculated weapon skill. In these cases, some have noted that throughout raid night they occasionally glanced over or missed sections in forms. Thus, there’s no reason not to level it up; you never know when you might need to finish a mob in caster form “manually.”
Best Weapons for Druid Classes and Their Qualities
Best Weapons for Druid Classes and Their Qualities in WoW Classic
1. Weapons for Feral DPS:
- Crowd Pummeler: A low-level mace from Gnomeregan, valuable for Feral Druids despite limited uses.
- One-Handed Maces: These have Feral AP and provide significant upgrades, especially from AQ 40 and AQ 20 raids.
- Manual Crowd Pummeler: An essential weapon for Feral Druids.
- Reward from Imperial Qiraji Regalia: Offered during raids, crucial for improving gear.
- Gahz’ranka: Another alternative gear option from Zul’Gurub.
- Mace of Unending Life: Collect from exalted Alterac Valley reputation.
- Rank 14 PvP weapon: Useful for competitive play.
2. Feral DPS Druid Pre-Raid Best in Slot (BiS) List:
- Key items include Blackhand’s Breadth and Tarnished Elven Ring, which are hard to replace.
3. Druid Raid Best in Slot:
- For the Naxxramas patch, focus on obtaining the best gear to face the toughest bosses.
4. Notable Legendary Weapons:
- Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros: Usable by Druids, found in Molten Core.
- Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian: Another legendary weapon from the Naxxramas raid.
- Wolfshead Helm: Essential for ‘power shifting’ in Cat Form.
5. Druid Weapon Skills:
- Druids can use Cloth or Leather armor and Idols in the Relic slot.
- Common weapon skills include Staves, Unarmed, One-Handed Maces, or Daggers.
- Advanced weapon skills include Fist Weapons and Spears, although Druids cannot learn to use Polearms.
6. Leveling as a Feral Druid:
- Spirit is the best leveling stat for maximizing effectiveness.
- Feral is the best Druid leveling spec, emphasizing melee weapons but not benefiting them similarly to other melee classes.
7. Recommended Weapons for Tanking:
- ‘Totem of Affliction‘: One of the best early off-hand weapons.
- Pair with ‘Rubidium Hammer‘ for phase 1 pre-BiS gear.
Why Shapeshifting Affects Druid Weapon Proficiency
The Druid class is undoubtedly the most versatile of all 9 Classic WoW Classes due to its Shapeshifting abilities and healing spells. This allows it to fulfill all three of the holy trinity roles: tanking, healing, and damage dealing.
Each Shapeshifting form allows the use of different abilities and resources. For instance, Bear Form and Dire Bear Form are tanking forms that increase health and armor, while providing various tanking, mitigation, and threat-related abilities, including a taunt and a stun. Meanwhile, Cat Form increases attack speed, movement speed (with talents), and allows the use of several melee damage abilities as well as Stealth, similar to a Rogue.
However, Shapeshifting can affect weapon proficiency. The short answer is no, weapon skill doesn’t matter for Druids. The longer answer states that while there are fringe cases where you can auto-attack in caster form, it won’t significantly impact gameplay. Druid attacks are claw attacks, meaning they benefit from a special exception that grants them maximum weapon skill vs. any target.
It’s also important to note that when leveling as a Classic Druid, you’ll most likely be playing Feral. It is advisable to keep an eye out for weapons with significant stats. For example, Orc Crusher is high in strength and provides stamina that benefits you in your animal forms. Many Druids have experienced the struggle of maintaining weapon proficiency as they level.
In my personal experience, after 32+ levels as a Druid, I found it quite challenging. When the level cap was raised to 40, I noticed my weapon skill was 28 points below maximum. Despite attempting to auto-attack and level up my skill, I found it took a long time to achieve minor improvements. This led me to consider leveling a different class.
Overall, Druids are not the best damage dealers, tanks, or healers. However, they are proficient at switching between these roles and provide several useful abilities such as Gift of the Wild, Thorns, Innervate, Leader of the Pack, Moonkin Form, Cure Poison, Remove Curse, and Entangling Roots.
