Buff to Moonkin. Maybe Moonkin will be the next "IN THING" for Boxers

[mlwhitt]

From this Blue Posting ('http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=9336795321&sid=1'):
Improved Moonkin Aura: Grants 3% haste of all types.
Earth and Moon: Increases spell damage taken from all schools by 13% on the target.

This is a nice buff for Balance druids. Earth and Moon is not for all schools not just Nature and Arcane. This is a nice boost.
Haste change goes from Spell haste only to a flat 3% haste of all types.

[Cavuis]

W00T Glad I included a boomkin in my group

[TheBigBB]

W00T Glad I included a boomkin in my groupI've been pushing everyone to add one to their team, even people who don't like running multiple classes, since a moonkin is so easy to set up cast rotations for. In WOTLK they'll be like a walking 2x TOW to make up for the lack of stacking. :D

[Shogun]

I run with a boomkin right now (brother) and it works out quite well.

Except he pulls aggro. A lot. Wrath (the spell) goes crazy and its hard to stop. :)So let him tank while you play 4 shamis ^^

Another poster here went into a little more detail and provided a link about Panzerkin (moonkin tanks). I'm currently levelling my d/s4 team with RAF :)

[Shogun]

I run with a boomkin right now (brother) and it works out quite well.

Except he pulls aggro. A lot. Wrath (the spell) goes crazy and its hard to stop. :)So let him tank while you play 4 shamis ^^

Another poster here went into a little more detail and provided a link about Panzerkin (moonkin tanks). I'm currently levelling my d/s4 team with RAF :)We've tried both.

1: Druid tanks don't hold a candle to Paladin tanks in 5-mans.
2: Panzerkin tanks (lol, I love that term) can't hold aggro, can't taunt, can't tank heroics. Period. Maybe in normal 5-mans, but heroics? ya..... no.Good to know :)

By the time I finish this team I'll have the option of 5 shamis, 1 druid 4 shamis, 1 pali 4 shamis, etc. Also have a priest and a mage that I can swap in for 2 shamis and various other combinations. I'm just levelling every chance I get with RAF atm, once I get the new teams to 60 I'll start thinking about what's next.

But, as for tanking heroics... If shaman x 5 are viable for heroics, surely adding in a boomkin helps your chances anyway, as they *should* last longer and pull aggro faster than a shami, right?

[mlwhitt]

http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=305842304&sid=1 ('http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=305842304&sid=1') <---- Moonkin Tanking Guide. It is pretty good.

I have actually tanked thru Crypts with my Moonkin (while wearing cloth gear) thanks to the 400% armor benefit. Starfire is a great aggro generator. And Moonfire and Insect Swarm are great instant cast aggro generators when tanking a lot of mobs at once.

And when you need it Barkskin can work wonders. Sure they are not tanks in any traditional roll but they are fun if you have a good group (or boxing).

I am mixing in a Moonkin into my Shaman group. With the Wotlk buffs such as the new Moonkin haste aura, Earth and Moon and removal of the long Hurricane cooldown they are going to be a blast.

[mlwhitt]

But, as for tanking heroics... If shaman x 5 are viable for heroics, surely adding in a boomkin helps your chances anyway, as they *should* last longer and pull aggro faster than a shami, right?

Yeah a Moonkin along with 4 Shaman should still be able to pull off heroics. One thing about Moonkins is that their damage is a lot more burst damage via Starfire crits. Due to the slow casting time of Starfire over all your DPS will hurt but when you count in crits you should see the moonkin top the charts dps wise. I would lead with Moonkin doing Starfire for sure. A moonkin should be able to take a couple more hits than a shaman even with a shield. The biggest problem is the timing difference between Starfire and LB.

[Shogun]

Mashing buttons negates timing differences ;)

Also, isn't Wrath their main dps spell?

[Biz]

Curse of elements now has the same effect, affecting all schools of magic besides holy, and it doesn't stack with the aura. Why not just bring a lock?

[TheBigBB]

Yeah, I can't figure out when I should use starfire over wrath exactly.

[Biz]

I think wrath gives a bit higher dps but starfire is much more mana efficient so you won't go oom nearly as fast on boss fights.

[TheBigBB]

Curse of elements now has the same effect, affecting all schools of magic besides holy, and it doesn't stack with the aura. Why not just bring a lock?I think a moonkin has more buffs to bring to the group. Mark of the wild, thorns, moonkin aura, nature damage buff, spell hit debuff (imp faerie fire in WOTLK)

Of course, a poster up top is saying that some skills won't stack across classes?

[Mac]

Curse of elements now has the same effect, affecting all schools of magic besides holy, and it doesn't stack with the aura. Why not just bring a lock?A lock would bring another school of magic too, I don't know if it makes that much of a difference though, so far there's not much out there that is nature immune from my experience. Mara and ST are all I have run into.

[Jheusse]

If I were running a moonkin "tank" with 4 shammies I'd be looking to open with a barkskin hurricane pull to establish strong aggro on the whole pull in the first place. I haven't run moonkin or looked at the WotLK buffs, but I could see some methods of stacking moonkins that might be properly crazy. Could also see an opening pull from the "tank" moonkin with hurricane, followed by a round robin of some sort from 4 other lesser geared moonkins once they're stacked up. This is all me talking out my posterior though I am intrigued at basically moonfire/wrath spamming up a pack of druids after I've run a shammy set up and a mixed caster set.

[ChaoticMonk]

I think a moonkin has more buffs to bring to the group. Mark of the wild, thorns, moonkin aura, nature damage buff, spell hit debuff (imp faerie fire in WOTLK)

Of course, a poster up top is saying that some skills won't stack across classes?He's saying theres a potential they won't stack since it seems like blizz are trying stop stop buffs with the same benifits from stacking.

I'll definitely will be trying to get a Pally+Boomkin+3Shammy group WotLK ready.

[Valorin]

YAY! I'm glad I just got my 5 boomkins to 70. I'm running a panzerkin and you have to Wrath for tanking because of the 70% spell knockback resistance. Starfire doesn't get that. Starfire is used for prolonged boss fights as mentioned. I haven't heard about the hurricane CD change, that will be a *huge* benefit to tanking because I use it as an opener ALL THE TIME on more than 3 mobs. On 3 or less, an instant Moonfire/InsectS is enough to keep healers from pulling. So far, my boomkin has NO trouble keeping aggro, but he's competing against other boomkins. Against, shamans, it would be an interesting fight. Of course, if your boomkin is already pulling aggro from the shammies, then there you go.

[mlwhitt]

Yeah Starfire is mostly used for Bosses, but honestly when I am running instances as a Boomkin tank I have found that using Starfire to open by far generates the aggro I need. Not to mention the chance for Celestial Focus proccing. Yeah Wrath is our spam button, but not nearly as efficient as starfire. When spamming Wrath I throw in Starfire anytime Nature's Grace procs.

Standard rotation for me is:

Starfire (Opener) or Hurricane if multiple mobs
Moonfire / and sometimes Insect Swarm (low mana use for swarm)
Wrath
Wrath (usually get Nature's Grace to proc on second or third Wrath.
Starfire (if NG Procs) else refresh Moonfire
Continue to wrath or SF if NG Procs.

[mlwhitt]

One more thing on Insect Swarm. Some people think it is a waste of talent. But having another instant dot (different tree than Moon), that has low mana reqs and also does a debuff is well worth the talent to me.

[Havelcek]

Fur we're expecting a WOTLK Day 1 writeup on whether or not we should be replacing a shaman with a boomkin for 5-man =)

[Cavuis]

May I add... :) ('http://thottbot.com/wotlk/ta1912')
Your Moonkin Aura also causes affected targets to
have a 100% chance to gain 20% spell haste when they critically hit
with spells for 8 sec. This effect has a 30 second cooldown.

Ftw. :)

[Valorin]

I know I'm a bit behind in the WoTLK news, cuz frankly, I figure anything I like will change, but the other thing I saw which astounded me was...

Owlkin Frenzy


Attacks done to you while in Moonkin form have a 15% chance to cause you to go into a Frenzy, increasing your damage by 10% and causes you to be immune to pushback while casting Balance spells. Lasts 10 sec.

Panzerkin's dream talent

[Jayded1]

I run with a boomkin right now (brother) and it works out quite well.

Except he pulls aggro. A lot. Wrath (the spell) goes crazy and its hard to stop. :)So let him tank while you play 4 shamis ^^

Another poster here went into a little more detail and provided a link about Panzerkin (moonkin tanks). I'm currently levelling my d/s4 team with RAF :)We've tried both.

1: Druid tanks don't hold a candle to Paladin tanks in 5-mans.
2: Panzerkin tanks (lol, I love that term) can't hold aggro, can't taunt, can't tank heroics. Period. Maybe in normal 5-mans, but heroics? ya..... no.Ive run multiple heroics with a boomkin tank. They have zero problems.

[Qalpra]

Boomkis your say! ;)

I am playing boomkis. Tho only 3 atm will move my main char to a diffrence account and rename it when the rest are 70.

Atm lvl progress is abit slow cause of internet break :/ But i think boommer as boxin is imba, Fast dps fast killes.

Names are Quillin, Quiilin, Quiliin ;) don't be shy to peak.

Great regards The 3 Q's

[Alemi]

Spell Critical Strike Chance Buff: Moonkin Aura ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=24907'), Elemental Oath ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=51470')
Percentage Haste Increase (All Types): Improved Moonkin Aura ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=48396'), Swift Retribution ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=53648')
Critical Strike Chance Taken Debuff (All types): Heart of the Crusader ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=20337'), Totem of Wrath ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=30706')
Melee Attack Speed Slow Debuff: ;">Icy Touch ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=49909'), Infected Wounds ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=48485'), Judgements of the Just ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=53696'), Thunderclap ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=47502')
Percentage Increase Healing Received Buff: Tree of Life ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=33891'), Improved Devotion Aura ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=20140')

Those are just overlappying Pally/Shaman/Druid buffs.Those are class overlaps, but VERY differing specs. The only one that would really effect is the first.

Spell Critical Strike Chance Buff: Moonkin Aura ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=24907'), Elemental Oath ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=51470')
Percentage Haste Increase (All Types): Improved Moonkin Aura ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=48396'), Swift Retribution ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=53648') (40 pt ret talent - not an issue)
Critical Strike Chance Taken Debuff (All types): Heart of the Crusader ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=20337') (requires 5 pts in ret - may overlap, but single target only) Totem of Wrath ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=30706')
Melee Attack Speed Slow Debuff: ; ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=49909') Infected Wounds ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=48485') (40 pt feral talent - not an issue), Judgements of the Just ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=53696') (prot pally thunderclap)
Percentage Increase Healing Received Buff: Tree of Life ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=33891') (40 pt resto talent - not an issue), Improved Devotion Aura ('http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=20140')

Moonkin/Prot Pally/Ele Shaman still have great synergy.

[wougoose]

I've been running instances with my 4 shammies and a friend of mine playing his boomkin, and I can safely say it has been the best combination that I've tried. He always holds aggro, takes a LOT less damage than the shammies, and we kill insanely fast with having 5 DPS + the synergies. I'd say its a win :)