Druid
Guardian
Playstyle
Shapeshifting tank blending damage reduction, self-healing, and high mobility. Explicitly called out as 'a great spec for new players' with 'one of the most simplistic rotations in all of WoW.' Thick hide lets it shrug off some of the most dangerous encounters.
Strong passive damage reduction plus stackable no-cooldown Ironfur for consistent Physical mitigation
Season 2 Tier Set
Bark of the Enigmatic Dreamwatcher
Thrash has a 20% chance to make your next Mangle deal 100% increased damage.
Thrash calls up 3 thorns, each impaling a target for Nature damage and dealing additional Nature damage to up to 5 nearby enemies, and extends the duration of Berserk by 0.5 seconds, up to 5 seconds.
+ The Good
Strong passive damage reduction plus stackable no-cooldown Ironfur for consistent Physical mitigation
Uniquely among tanks, can talent Stampeding Roar, Convoke the Spirits, After the Wildfire, and Dream of Cenarius as raid utility
Excels vs. high/ramping Physical damage
− The Bad
Weaker on initial threat generation (much of its damage is DoT-based)
Few strong CC options
Doesn't hold a truly exclusive utility niche the way some other tanks do
Pick My Main ratings
Raid buffs
Utility
Hero talents
Guardian & Balance hero tree, centered on Lunar Beam as a combined offensive/defensive button that grants a burst of Mastery. Simpler than Druid of the Claw since it barely touches the core rotation. Correction from earlier research: the two trees are close defensively, not a clear Elune's Chosen lead.
Guardian & Feral hero tree, built around large Bleed effects shared with the Feral side of the tree. Edges out Elune's Chosen slightly on single-target DPS as of Patch 12.1.