Druid - Condi DPS

The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Condition damage

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on October 06, 2023 and is up to date for the March 19, 2024 patch.

Overview

Condi Druid is a bleed-focussed build that spams AoE Immobilize. As a Druid, it provides a small amount of healing to its subgroup, and actually gains DPS the more it heals! While it shouldn't be relied on as a primary (or even secondary) healer in a squad, it can be quite beneficial to have in the second subgroup of a squad that is only running a single healer.

It also has access to a range of useful utilities.

Skill Bar

Axe/Dagger

Dagger/Torch

Utility

Weapon Variants

Shortbow is the best option to replace Dagger/Torch for players that don't own Secrets of the Obscure. Be sure to take Light on your Feet in this case.

Template Code

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Specializations

• Use Light on your Feet if running Shortbow

Equipment

Head
Viper

Shoulders
Viper

Chest
Viper

Hands
Viper

Legs
Viper

Feet
Viper

Backpiece
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Amulet
Viper

Ring
Viper

Ring
Viper

Axe
Viper

Dagger
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Shortbow
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x4

Infusion
x14

Relic

Consumables

Food

• - ascended food isn't essential, but the lifesteal effect will trigger Celestial Being, increasing Astral Force gain.

Utility

Usage

Astral Force

Access to Celestial Avatar is gated by a resource called Astral Force. The Natural Mender trait gives a small amount of passive Astral Force generation, but you mainly gain it by dealing damage and by healing allies.

This means that you ideally want to provide some group healing when outside of Celestial Avatar. You have three healing skills that could do this job: Water Spirit, Healing Spring and Glyph of Rejuvenation.

If there is no dedicated healer in your group, Healing Spring is a great choice as each tick of Regeneration will provide you with Astral Force. If there is a dedicated healer though, their Regeneration will overpower yours and make the skill rather useless.

If you are unable to regularly heal your group, then your Astral Force generation will be lower and you won't be able to enter Celestial Avatar as often as you'd like. The general structure of the rotation remains the same though.

Rotation Fundamentals

The most important trait in this build is Blood Moon. This applies bleeding to targets every time you CC or Immobilize them (the cooldown only applies to the Daze from entering Celestial Avatar). Jacaranda's Embrace, Entangle and Natural Convergence all pulse Immobilize on their targets, making them very potent skills.

Otherwise, the rotation is very similar to Soulbeast - Condi DPS, with the additional factor that you wish to enter Celestial Avatar as often as you can to gain access to the skills from Eclipse and maintain the buff from Natural Balance.

Beginner Rotation

For a simplified build that camps Shortbow, see below. As that build involves the use of Celestial Avatar and depends somewhat on being able to heal your allies, you may prefer an even simpler build.

Soulbeast is ideal for this, as it operates on the same principles but only has to deal with using some merged skills off cooldown rather than an alternate skill bar. The most effective build is Soulbeast - Condi Shortbow DPS, but you could also play the standard Soulbeast - Condi DPS build and camp Shortbow as the difference between the two is minor.

Simplified Rotation (by Masel)

Condi Druid can be simplified by camping Shortbow, which reduces the rotation to using skills off cooldown and entering Celestial Avatar when available.

If you don't want to deal with making sure to only cast Glyph of Alignment outside of Celestial Avatar, you can use Signet of the Wild instead.

Opener
If possible, you can dodge twice and use Quick Shot before a phase to stack up the buff from Light on your Feet for a minor DPS gain. You can also precast Sharpening Stone.

1. Spike Trap
2. Entangle
3. Crippling Shot
4. Poison Volley
5. Glyph of Alignment
6. Celestial Avatar

Rest of the Rotation

• You want to enter Celestial Avatar whenever it is available and follow the rotation as written in the main rotation below.
• Use Shortbow skills 2, 4 and 5 off cooldown.
• Use all your utility skills and elite off cooldown.

Video guide

Dagger/Torch Rotation

You can precast Sharpening Stone.

In fractals, Natural Balance can be precast by entering and exiting Celestial Avatar before taking the Mistlock.

On Dagger/Torch, you want to weapon swap after the second use of Throw Torch (i.e. if you use Throw Torch and Weapon Swap is available, Weapon Swap).

On Axe/Dagger, you ideally want to use Splitblade three times, and Winter's Bite twice (weapon swapping after the third Splitblade). However, if Celestial Avatar is not available after the second Splitblade, it may be better to skip the third one and Weapon Swap after the second uses of Winter's Bite and Stalker's Strike (step 7 in the Axe loop) in order to prevent spending too much time autoattacking on axe, as they are very weak.

Your healing, utility and elite skills should be used off cooldown, but weapon skills are higher priority.

Opener

1. Spike Trap
2. Entangle
3. Bonfire
4. Throw Torch
5. Instinctive Engage
6. Double Arc
7. Splitblade
8. Winter's Bite
9. Stalker's Strike
10. Crippling Talon
11. Glyph of Alignment
12. Celestial Avatar
13. Natural Convergence
14. Seed of Life - this is instant cast, so you can use it during Natural Convergence
15. Lunar Impact
16. Seed of Life
17. Release Celestial Avatar
18. Splitblade
19. Crippling Talon
20. Ricochet - if you're fast, you have time for 1 auto here, but it's not important
21. Stalker's Strike
22. Winter's Bite
23. Weapon Swap

Dagger/Torch Loop

1. Double Arc
2. Instinctive Engage
3. Throw Torch
4. Autoattack and use Double Arc and Bonfire as they come off cooldown.
5. Instinctive Engage
6. Double Arc
7. Throw Torch - after the second use of this, Weapon Swap should be available
8. Weapon Swap

Axe/Dagger Loop

1. Splitblade
2. Winter's Bite
3. Stalker's Strike
4. Crippling Talon
5. Autoattack and use Splitblade and Crippling Talon as they come off cooldown.
6. Winter's Bite
7. Stalker's Strike
8. Splitblade
9. Crippling Talon (if available)
10. Weapon Swap

Celestial Avatar

You want to use Celestial Avatar whenever you would just be autoattacking on a weapon. As explained above, the timing for this may vary in real encounters, but the rotation is the same each time. There is a small gap after Lunar Impact before Seed of Life is available again, so if you have any utility cooldowns ready, you can use them here.

1. Celestial Avatar
2. Natural Convergence
3. Seed of Life - this is instant cast, so you can use it during Natural Convergence
4. Lunar Impact
5. Seed of Life
6. Release Celestial Avatar

Video example (using Fractal relic)

Shortbow Rotation

If possible, you can dodge twice and use Quick Shot before a phase to stack up the buff from Light on your Feet for a minor DPS gain. You can also precast Sharpening Stone.

In fractals, Natural Balance can be precast by entering and exiting Celestial Avatar before taking the Mistlock.

On Shortbow, you want to weapon swap after the third use of Poison Volley (i.e. if you use Poison Volley and Weapon Swap is available, Weapon Swap).

On Axe/Dagger, you ideally want to use Splitblade three times, and Winter's Bite twice (weapon swapping after the third Splitblade). However, if Celestial Avatar is not available after the second Splitblade, it may be better to skip the third one and Weapon Swap after the second uses of Winter's Bite and Stalker's Strike (step 7 in the Axe loop) in order to prevent spending too much time autoattacking on axe, as they are very weak.

Your healing, utility and elite skills should be used off cooldown, but weapon skills are higher priority.

Opener

1. Spike Trap
2. Entangle
3. Crippling Shot
4. Poison Volley
5. Weapon Swap
6. Splitblade
7. Winter's Bite
8. Stalker's Strike
9. Crippling Talon
10. Glyph of Alignment
11. Celestial Avatar
12. Natural Convergence
13. Seed of Life - this is instant cast, so you can use it during Natural Convergence
14. Lunar Impact
15. Seed of Life
16. Release Celestial Avatar
17. Splitblade
18. Crippling Talon
19. Ricochet - if you're fast, you have time for 1 auto here, but it's not important
20. Stalker's Strike
21. Winter's Bite
22. Weapon Swap

Shortbow Loop

1. Poison Volley
2. Crippling Shot
3. Concussion Shot
4. Autoattack and use Poison Volley and Crippling Shot as they come off cooldown.
5. Poison Volley - after the third use of this, Weapon Swap should be available
6. Weapon Swap

Axe/Dagger Loop

1. Splitblade
2. Winter's Bite
3. Stalker's Strike
4. Crippling Talon
5. Autoattack and use Splitblade and Crippling Talon as they come off cooldown.
6. Winter's Bite
7. Stalker's Strike
8. Splitblade
9. Crippling Talon (if available)
10. Weapon Swap

Celestial Avatar

You want to use Celestial Avatar whenever you would just be autoattacking on a weapon. As explained above, the timing for this may vary in real encounters, but the rotation is the same each time. There is a small gap after Lunar Impact before Seed of Life is available again, so if you have any utility cooldowns ready, you can use them here.

1. Celestial Avatar
2. Natural Convergence
3. Seed of Life - this is instant cast, so you can use it during Natural Convergence
4. Lunar Impact
5. Seed of Life
6. Release Celestial Avatar

Rotation example

Rotation example (using mainhand dagger)

General Tips

• To avoid delaying your rotation, try to only use Celestial Avatar just after a weapon skill.
  • The key skills to avoid delaying are Poison Volley and Splitblade.
  • Be aware that entering Celestial Avatar can cancel skill casts, so timing is key.
• Utility skills remain available while in Celestial Avatar so you can freely use them mid-rotation.
• Glyph of Alignment only deals damage if cast outside of Celestial Avatar.