Note: All of this guide comes from my research of other blogs/sites. I would refer you to them for a more in depth discussion of things from this guide. Check out the blog links on the side or under the WoW Blog Links tab.
Spec: Hopefully, I will find a better link to the graphical version, but this is my current spec highlighted. I'm sorry, this is MicroArmory and it sucks balls. Ignore the glyphs. Those are not the correct glyphs because again, MicroArmory sucks.
Stat Priority: Remember that all spirit is converted to hit so while it is priority number 1, it is not difficult.
Hit/Spirit to 446 Hit (17%) > Intellect/Spellpower > Haste > Critical Strike Rating
Main reason behind this is haste will reduce the cast time of Wrath, Starfire, and Starsurge and allow you get more Eclipses. In addition, higher haste will increase the number of Insect Swarm/Moonfire ticks which also equals more Shooting Stars which means more instant Starsurges. Also, notice I did not put Mastery in this list. For the time, you should not gem or reforge your gear for mastery. Wait until 85. This guide is just for a level 80 raiding moonkin.
Caps: Before 4.0.1, I said go for the caps of hit, soft haste, and Lunar Crit. While the hit cap is still incredibly important, there is no haste or Lunar Crit Cap. You want as much haste and crit as possible because it will improve everything with haste having a slight lead over crit.
UI Changes: Thank goodness Eclipse is not a random proc anymore. We can actually control our own Eclipses thanks to the new Eclipse bar. While the Blizzard eclipse bar is nice, if you use any type of raid frames, you will want to get BalancePowerTracker, which is a movable Eclipse bar that has the nice additional feature of telling you when your next Wrath, Starfire, or Starsurge will proc the next Eclipse so that you know to immediately start changing as soon as it hits. There is also a couple of additional instances where you will do actions based on Solar or Lunar Eclipses, but we will get to those.
Gemming/Enchants: While some recommend changing the head and shoulder enchants, I tend to agree with Qieth from Qieth's Quips on this because I would much rather have critical strike versus spirit unless you are not at the hit cap. We still only go for bonuses of +7 spellpower or greater. Red should be straight intellect. Yellow should be Intellect + Haste. Blue should be Intellect + Spirit . Remeber that you need at least two blue gems to activate our meta gem. Of course, we only should be using epic gems because you can get 4T10 by just running instances now. Otherwise, enchant like before focusing on spellpower and haste. And yes, Tuskarr's Vitality is still preferred over Icewalker.
Glyphs: I will update when I get a chance to get to somewhere I can actually see my real glyphs and not this MicroArmory crap.
Spells and Their Uses
- Faerie Fire: You can be nice and cast it if there is no feral druid tank in your group, but since it doesn't provide a hit bonus, it is not as much of a priority. In addition, your feral will appreciate you not casting it because it can help more with their threat if they are tanking.
- Moonfire: If you liked Moonfire prior to 4.0.1, you will love Moonfire after. Not only is Moonfire a DoT that should be started at both the beginning of the fight and after each Eclipse proc, but you will want to cast it on the move because it becomes an instant nuke. Not as powerful as Starsurge, Wrath, or Starfire, but still good damage. Remember that Moonfire is for Lunar Eclipses and non-Eclipse time periods.
- Sunfire: You may have noticed that when you proc a Solar Eclipse, your Moonfire button changes. This is the Solar Eclipse version of Moonfire. Same rules apply though in terms of when to cast it.
- Insect Swarm: Pretty much the same rules as Moonfire. Cast it at the beginning of the fight and when you proc and Eclipse. Do not cast this while on the move unless you just procced an Eclipse. While casting it when you proc a Lunar Eclipse is important, you will definitely want to cast it when you proc a Solar Eclipse. The damage on Insect Swarm is absolutely insane when you have a Solar Eclipse up.
- Force of Nature (Treants): In my rotation, I'm not changing too much on how the Treants are used. I still use them at the beginning of the fight and in the middle of a fight if it takes that long. The one difference is that if I can hold them until a Solar Eclipse, I will because they do more damage during a Solar Eclipse.
- Starfall: Although it was nerfed slightly because we don't get splash damage anymore, this is still an insanely powerful spell, even more so if used during a Lunar Eclipse. That should actually be the goal with Starfall is to use it exclusively during a Lunar Eclipse. Now, there are some instances where you might want to use it in a non-Lunar Eclipse, like breaking ice blocks during HM Sindy, but if you can, wait until you have a Lunar Eclipse.
- Starsurge: Our newest castable nuke that has two uses. First off, this spell will work with either a Solar or a Lunar Eclipse so you will want to cast it on cooldown. Second, this becomes an instant cast when Shooting Stars is procced by your Insect Swarm or Moonfire/Sunfire, making it something that can even be cast on the move. This is part of the reason why you want to cast Moonfire/Sunfire when moving because it increases the chance to proc Shooting Stars and get an instant Starsurge.
- Wrath: Has not really changed. This is how we move from a Solar Eclipse to a Lunar Eclipse. (Right to left on the Eclipse bar.
- Starfire: Has not really changed. This is how we move from a Lunar Eclipse to a Solar Eclipse. (Left to right on the Eclipse bar.
- Typhoon: Same use basically. Knockback with a stun. Usable in certain circumstances like LK but should not always be cast unless you want to piss off your tank and melee DPS.
- Hurricane: Our AoE trash spell. Its damage is increased if you have a Solar Eclipse.
Now that we have gone through all the spells, let's add them together for certain circumstances.
AoE Trash: Try to stay in a Solar Eclipse and cast Hurricane. Can Starsurge if you get a Shooting Stars proc. If you are on your way to a boss, at least start trying to move towards a Lunar Eclipse by casting Starsurge/Wrath. If safe, you can cast Starfall, but use cautiously.
Single Target Trash: Use this to move towards a Lunar Eclipse. If I can, I like to start bosses in or a few seconds from a Lunar Eclipse to get a Starfall off quickly.
Bosses: I start to set up Treants before the pull. Once the pull starts, I cast Treants and throw up my DoTs, Insect Swarm and Moonfire. You use to worry about having Earth and Moon on first, but you will get it quickly enough. Then Starsurge is my first spell because I want to get as many Starsurges in as possible since it is one of our faster casting spells. From there, it is all dependant on the circumstances.
Non-Eclipse: Start casting the nuke to move it the appropriate direction with the arrow. If arrow is moving from Lunar side to Solar side, I cast Starfire. If arrow is moving from Solar to Lunar side, I cast Wrath. Starsurge on cooldown or Shooting Stars proc. If DoTs fall off, don't refresh because you will hit an Eclipse soon.
Lunar Eclipse: First, refresh DoTs before anything. Second, cast Starfall if it is off cooldown, which is should be or is close to since it is only 1 minute when glyphed, which it should be. Then I start casting Starfire to move it towards a Solar Eclipse. Starsurge on cooldown or Shooting Stars proc.
Solar Eclipse: First, refresh DoTs before anything, especially Insect Swarm. Second, cast Treants if off cooldown. Then I start casting Wrath to move it towards a Lunar Eclipse. Starsuge on cooldown or Shooting Stars proc.
Moving: Spam Moonfire/Sunfire and cast Starsurge only on Shooting Star procs. Can cast Insect Swarm if the DoT falls off, but don't spam.
Use Typhoon in circumstances when necessary.
Hopefully, you will find this guide necessary to get you started on doing moonkin. I have had several people asking me for a moonkin guide. I have never done a full one like this but hopefully it will help some.
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