I also have a blog, with this leveling guide up, with usually slightly better format: http://restokin.com

Also, my new Tank & Healing level 40-79 (dual spec) builds are only up on the blog version for now... http://restokin.com/?page_id=74
______________________________________________________________________________
Guide for Feral and Balance Leveling, v3.1
originally, v.1.12 was posted by Jaegor, 60 Feral Druid, Dark Iron, Panda Attack

Updated and maintained post-2.1 by:
Lissanna, 80 druid, Elune
Lissiel, 72 shaman, Elune

Feral & moonkin leveling specs are both up to date. There hasn't been any real major changes to leveling talents in the last several patches.

Feral and Balance Leveling

Intro:
This guide is for new druids starting out. It is specifically geared towards build construction for both PvE and PvP needs. This guide underwent major changes, and I will continue updating it as things change. Keep in mind that this is not a guide for healing or end-game. Also, these are my suggestions. There are other ways to do it, but if you are new to the game, this should be a helpful guide to figuring out how tricky leveling a druid can be.

The first thing to understand is that feral is the most efficient tree for grinding. Mana-less damage means less downtime for drinking or healing, which means more time for exp. I have, however, included a Balance leveling guide along with feral, since Balance is much more viable than it used to be. Keep in mind that low-level balance druids will likely still spend time in Bear form when they run low on mana (or, mele’ing in moonkin form). Restoration is not a good leveling build, so refrain from specing full resto until you are at the level cap.

Sections:
1. Feral Leveling Spec
2. Balance Leveling Spec
3. Low level PvP Battleground advice
4. Q&A: where to level & more! (Includes links to extra resources)
5. Additional Advice (poster suggestions and disagreements)
6. Equipping for PvP/PvE - NEW: Includes GLYPHS
7. Low Level gear for Feral
8. Tanking & healing leveling is only on my blog: http://restokin.com/?page_id=74


________________________________________

1) Feral tree v.3.1:
So you just hit level 10 and got your bear form and first talent point. Congratulations! But where to place that first talent point for maximum benefit?

Level 10-14: 5/5 Ferocity
15-16: 2/2 savage fury
17-19: 3/3 Feral instinct
20-21: 2/2 Feline swiftness - still worth getting after the mount changes
22-24: 3/3 sharpened claws
25-26: 2/2 primal fury
27-29: 3/3 predatory strikes
30: 1/1 feral charge
31: 1/1 survival instincts (3rd tier) – go back and pick this one up along with primal precision after you get feral charge.
32-33: 2/2 primal precision (4th tier)
34-35: 2/2 shredding attacks
36-40: 5/5 Heart of the Wild
41: 1/1 Leader of the Pack
42-43: 2/2 improved Leader of the pack
44-46: 3/3 survival of the fittest
47-49: 3/3 Predatory Instincts
50: 1/1 Mangle

Feral through Mangle (level 50 - with low level glyphs):
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZxGMsfrz0eR0hz:zoZ0V

then go into resto (if you choose to get the resto talents last, you can skip this section, however Naturalist & Omen of clarity are worth picking up at this point).

51-53: 3/5 Furor (only need 3 points for cat build)
54-55: 2/2 Improved Mark of the Wild (gives you 2% to your stats ontop of the buff)
56-60: 5/5 Naturalist
61: 1/1 Omen of clarity

Feral through mangle and talents from resto tree (level 61):
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZxGMsfrz0eR0hzZbA0z:zoZ0V

62-64: 3/3 king of the jungle
65-67: 3/3 improved mangle
68-70: 3/3 Infected Wounds
71-75: 5/5 rend and tear
76: 1/1 Primal Gore
77: 1/1 Beserk
78-80: 3/3 Primal Tenacity

Here's the cat level 80 talents (with level 80 glyphs):
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZxGMsfrz0eRhIuAkbA0z:mcN0Vz

2) Balance Leveling v3.2
Okay, so now that the new talents are out, Balance looks like it is finally a viable leveling build, especially at higher levels (40+). At very low levels, you may not have a lot of mana, so remember that you don't lose your other forms just because you have points in this tree. Keep plenty of water and drink as needed. Keep in mind that your gear matters a lot as a caster (so read parts of section 6 & 7 that apply to balance).

Balance leveling build Version 3.2 (Updated Oct. 1, 2009)

* 10-14: Starlight Wrath 5/5 – Decreased casting time means more damage done.
* 15-17: Moonglow 3/3 – At low levels, you’ll have to stop and drink all the time, but this will give you a little more mana efficiency.
* 18-19: Nature’s Majesty 2/2 – A little crit is nice, and you have to take it to unlock later talents
*20-21: Nature’s Reach 2/2 – gives you longer range for hitting things that are far away. Also makes you have lower threat when you go in groups.
* 22-24: Nature’s Grace 3/3 – gives you haste bonus (speeds up your casting) after you get a critical strike.
* 25-29 Vengeance 5/5 – Increases the damage your spells do when you get critical strikes
* 30: Insect Swarm 1/1 – Got a nice damage boost in the 3.1 patch. This should be worthwhile for leveling now.
* 31-33: Celestial Focus 3/3 – Gives you spell pushback protection for starfire (yay!). Also speeds up your casting times (ie. gives you haste).
* 34-36: Lunar Guidance 3/3 – Increases your spell power, based on how much intellect you have.
* 37-39: Moonfury 3/3 – Increases your damage done for starfire, moonfire, & wrath
* 40: Moonkin 1/1 – Yay! Finally moonkin form!

* 41-43: Imp Moonkin 3/3 – Gives you and your group more haste (for even faster cast times), and gives you more spell damage from spirit.
* 44: Balance of Power 1/2 – Put one point in this. It increases your chance to hit things and reduces the amount of damage you take from spells
* 45-47: Owlkin frenzy 3/3- When things hit you and this is active, your damage increases, and your spells can’t be interrupted (no spell pushback), and you gain back mana (in patch 3.2).
* 48-49: Wrath of Cenarius 2/5 – Gives you more damage, however you won’t have a lot on your gear for it to buff yet, so we’re going to only put 2 points here for now.
* 50: Treants 1/1: When you cast this spell, it summons 3 little tree buddies as your pet that help fight for you.
* 51: Typhoon 1/1: Knocks things back and does damage to them. A good “get out of my face” AOE spell.
* 52-53 Gale Winds: Increases the damage that your AOE spells do (ie. hurricane & Typhoon).
* 54-56: Wrath of Cenarius 5/5: Go back and finish off this talent.
* 57-59: Earth and Moon 3/3 – Puts a debuff on your target that increases damage done to it.
* 60: Starfall 1/1 – A new AOE spell

Dipping into restoration:

* 61-65: Furor 5/5 – Increases your intellect in moonkin form.
* 66-67 – Imp Mark of the Wild 2/2 – Increases stats by 2% and also increases your MOTW buff.
* 68-70: Natural Shifter 3/3
* 71: Omen of Clarity 1/1 – When you gain this buff, your next spell cast doesn’t cost mana.
* 72-73: Master Shapeshifter 2/2: increases your damage done by 4%.
* 74-75: Intensity 2/3: Increases your mana regen. At this point, if you are doing a lot of AOE damage to packs of mobs in Nourthrend, having more mana regen may help.

Going back to balance:

* 76-78: Eclipse 3/3: When you cast starfire, you have a chance to make wrath do more damage. When you cast wrath, you have a chance for starfire to do more damage. This is a talent which is going to be important at level 80, so you should pick it up before then and get a little practice with rotating between starfire & wrath.
* 79: Balance of power 2/2: you can finish off this talent, or put that point just about anywhere you want (intensity, nature’s splendor, imp moonfire).

Your talents at 79 would look like:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0xG0hiIocdhAuRuZbxcdb
At level 80, you should be picking up an end-game moonkin spec. This leveling spec is not designed to be good at level 80 content.

To see what comments other people had on this build, you can visit the original blog link:
http://www.restokin.com/2009/08/moonkin-leveling-3-2-update/

3) Low level BGs

This is mostly feral advice, as most PvP "twinks" will probably be feral. Feral makes a good flag runner for WSG, especially with the speed increase.

10-19 WSG
You can play! Have fun! Just remember that you are still primarily a caster. You dont have cat form, and your bear damage isn't very good. I suggest tossing heals liberally, followed by roots, hibernating druids/hunter pets, and tapping people (ONCE!) with Moonfire. You can use Fairy Fire on rogues and warriors. Remember to hold enough mana to shift bear form, since this is your primary form of defense against mele classes.

Moonfire spam: DONT!*
*unless it will leave the target dead and allow your team an advantage. (eg. Spamming the turtling flag carrier down in WSG to allow your team to cap the flag.)

20-29 WSG
For this bracket, the 10-19 advice still applies, but remember you have increased survivability at this level with bear, as well as additional DPS in cat form, if you are feral. Try to use your forms to their advantages. Don’t stay in one forever. Utilize cat speed for mobility, as the only ones on the battlefield that are faster than you, with Feline swiftness, are Shamans in ghost wolf form. Watch your mana pool because it isnt the greatest. Always leave enough to shift for escapes.

Jaegor found that it was best for him to stay hidden as long as possible in cat while the battle develops, then shred some backside or tossing some heals/roots. For alliance, you will likely be the primary flag runner, or you will be support for the flag runner with heals.

20-29 AB
Arathi Basin is becoming more available for low-levels now that cross-server BG's have been released.
Druids with cat form can stealth at a base and use ravage or shift & cast moonfire to interrupt your opponent and prevent them from being able to get your flag. You can use your heals to keep your team members alive. You can use cat form for high DPS as feral, or use wrath and moonfire to your advantage as balance. You can stealth to resource nodes that your opponents control to sneak-attack their flag.

30-39 WSG
Travel form makes you the best flag runner in this level bracket. You can shift out of snares, dash in cat form when you are indoors, and travel form to run away at high speeds once you are in the "great outdoors." I tend to stay in bear form when I'm in the base if I don't intend to burn my dash, to help mitigate mele damage.

Copied Turog's post from page 2 about level 40-49 pvp. (thanks!)
_____________
Q u o t e:
40-49 PVP
I stacked agility more than strength since I kitty form dps a lot. For me I go bear when I want to survive, I go cat when i want to dps, and I go caster when I want to support. (Bear's Key abilites - bash, charge, enrage, frenzied regen).

Wsg:
Dire Bear form becomes a huge help. Cast Regrowth, Rejuv, Barkskin - shift into bear. Guaranteed to survive against 8 people long enough to take the flag out from base to tunnel entrance. (Frenzied regen helps here too :D)
When fighting mages who are flag carrying, go bear and bash (DO NOT Feral Charge!) and if/ as soon as they blink out of that, Feral charge them. This should help your team catch up much more quickly than feral charging off the bat, and having to shift out of bear and into cat/travel to catch up.
Cat's track humanoids skill becomes invaluable here. If you are in base on D, you can track humanoid to see where they are coming from, you can stealth to their base and look for their flag carrier with track on. And! if you pick up flag, you can shift to cat, hit dash and track - is there a big group of red dots by their graveyard? Yep, they just respawned, better think of what to do. (For me, I prefer to sit in the base stealthed, wait until they respawn, and when most of them leave from GY, I grab and go along the wall. By them time i get to them, they should have been engaged in battle, and mostly dead.)


AB:
You can go to cat form, try and jump so you can kinda slide along the wall, and run to bs or hit prowl immediately as soon as you land. (note, at 49 - falling from bs to mine can be from about 600-800 damage if done right, and from mill's flag to the road below will be about 900-1200 if done right)
Otherwise- ninjaing nodes stays the same. Except this time you have track humanoid in cat form. I cannot stress how important this is. I always do the exact same sequence - mouse button 5 - 5 - -. shift - stealth - track humanoids. Helps tremendously when evaluating nodes, and checking to see if people waiting to respawn have.
_____________


More 40-49 PvP hints:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11601186&postId=320841712&sid=1#42

4. Q&A and links to additional resources
(More guides will be added as people update things. I removed a lot of stuff that wasn't up to date, and some links may not be fully updated).

Q. Is there a timer for my moonkin DOTs, and Eclipse?
A: Squawk And Awe is the best timer addon for moonkin druids once you have picked up Eclipse.
http://elitistjerks.com/f32/t35477-squawkandawe/

Q. I still have more questions about what it means to be a druid. What additional resources are available to me?
A: Here are some links to compilation guides with additional resources for all types of druids:
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=304172583&sid=1
http://druid.wikispaces.com/

Q: Where do I go to level?
A: Here is what I use as a reference to know what areas are going to be the best at any point in time getting up to 60.
http://wowvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guides.Detail&id=66
Questing is important, and you can see the default zone levels here, to get an idea of where to quest:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/regionlevels.html

Where do I find information about healing as I am leveling? Do I have to heal as resto?
You don't have to heal as resto for early leveling. If you can afford to dual-spec, you can follow this build as you get to 40. For non-dual spec, you can get away with healing as a balance spec until about 60.
http://www.restokin.com/druid-leveling-guide/8-new-dualspec-healing-from-40-to-80/

Q: Where to I find additional resources for Feral druids?
HOW TO - Druid Tanking in WotLK/ 3.0.2
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11228423378&sid=1
PvP mangle vs. shred builds
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12368279363&postId=124532149908&sid=1#40
More feral leveling:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=20677858647&sid=1&pageNo=1

Q. Where can I find more information about being a moonkin? Is this a good spec for me?
The Moonkin Repository
http://themoonkinrepository.com/
Raiding Basics @ 80: Moonkin Druid
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12661300942&sid=1
Moonkin theorycrafting
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12065283715&sid=1&pageNo=1


Q: Who is ALAMO and how do I learn 2 play Durids?
A: Alamo's original post:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11491411&postId=115002390&sid=1#0
Alamo Teeches u 2 Burnin croosaid:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=59308423&postId=592133566&sid=1#0

What is the druid song?
Purple Monster by Ashmai of Nathrezim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOxkNOdpYPQ

Q: Why not spec x/x/x instead?
A: The guides posted above are merely guides to give you an idea of what I consider good specs and have had success with on the Beta server, but the best spec will always be the one that fits YOUR playing style the best. Feel free to adapt them as needed.

5) Appendix (Poster Suggestions).

There are always different perspectives, and no one correct way to do things. Here's some advice from forum posters:

For Balance druids:
Really Bad Talents: Genesis, Improved Faerie Fire, Subtlety, Naturalist
Really Good Talents: Starglight Wrath, Moonkin Form, Moonfury, Earth and Moon.
Okay talents: Anything else in Balance, or the first three tiers of Resto
----------------------------

For Feral druids:
Bovie: "Personally, I would put 11-14 points into (restoration) right after getting feline swiftness. OOC is a very good tool for healing, dps, and tanking alike - and the extra 10% damage will be welcome."
----------------------------
Abyss - "If you want to do split resto (13 feral, 11 resto, back to feral) and find it hard to lose Furor to respec later for LotP or Mangle, a Wolfshead helm is a great investment. For efficiency, I do split spec to 40, then I get a Wolfshead and spec full feral- the proc on the hat is perfect for charge and you get the best of both worlds. Also- by the time you're 40ish you'll have the gear to make the higher end scaling talents of the feral tree work."
----------------------------
Gku- For 10 thru 20, Balance may actually be faster until you get cat form. You can pick up Balance talents from 10 to 20 and then spec back to feral when you get cat form.
---------------
-Illiyana: "I know it's getting out of the "young" range, but this is definitely worth mentioning...
Once you hit level 30, hop right on over the the AH and pick up the Green Whelp Armor chestpiece. There is *nothing* that works better for soloing/tanking for a good number of levels to come. For those of you unfarmiliar with this armor, every time a melee mob hits you (normal and special attacks), there is a 5% chance that the mob will fall asleep for 30 seconds. Just make sure if you've picked up multiple mobs, get rid of your thorns (as they tend to break the sleep affect instantly)."
--------------------------------------
Sond:
"1. As a young feral druid you must keep the cower skill in your toolbar for when you are in groups, especially if you invest any points feral instinct. Coming from experience of off DPSing in cat form pre-1.8 to now, I've had to rediscover cower the hard way. Learn to use your cower, a well timed cower can be the difference between life and death (in groups).

2. Gear well! For casting/healing for instances grab all the eagle/owl gear you can but also make a nice set of bear/tiger/monkey for your feral rampage. "

What Glyphs should I use for leveling?!?
Balance Glyphs:
Glyph of Entangling roots (Req. level 15)
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40924
Until you get owlkin frenzy, Glyph of Wrath: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40922

After you get owlkin frenzy, switch Wrath out for Glyph of Innervate (if you need more mana), Glyph of Moonfire and Glyph of Starfire if you instance a lot (moonfire/starfire combo goes together as a pair), or Glyph of Insect Swarm if you are using that spell a lot.

By level 80, the best glyphs for balance are Moonfire & Starfire, with the third one really being whatever you think is best.

Lower Level Feral (cat) Glyphs:
Glyph of Rip: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40902
Glyph of Shred: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40901
May also be useful for leveling:
Rake (stops things from fleeing): http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40903

Feral (bear) Glyph:
Glyph of Maul: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40897

Other glyphs:
Glyph of Aquatic form is a great minor glyph for all specs.

6. Equipping for PvP & PvE (& more info on important stats)

Druids are heavily reliant on their gear to be able to perform whatever role they’ve chosen. Whether you are Feral, Balance, or Restoration, you will be significantly less effective compared to a well-geared druid if you do not carefully select your equipment. Most high level Druids carry at the very least two equipment sets on them at all times, with some carrying as high as seven (with some cross over items).

Here are some stats you should focus on at lower levels. At high levels (60 to 80), other stats will become available that you will want to pick up. By that point, you should be able to figure out the right balance of stats for what you want to do.

Feral PvE:
Cat leveling is primarily Strength, agility, stamina, critical strike, and attack power.
Bear tanking uses agility, stamina, and dodge (though strength and attack power will help with keeping threat).

Healing PvE:
Yes, even as a Feral Druid, you will be called on to heal perhaps more often than you would like. Primary stats Intellect, Stamina, Spirit, spell power & crit.

Balance PvE:
Low level moonkin should look for: Intellect, stamina, spell power, and critical strike.

Gearing for PvP:
At lower levels (especially in the 19 & 29 level range), stamina is by far the most important stat in PvP since it will keep you alive. Intellect is important, since a balance of HP/Mana is required to maintain flexibility, as well as be able to shift in and out of snares. For ferals, STR/AGI apply just as in PvE for helping you do DPS. If you can get resilience, that helps, too. At higher levels, other stats become important.

For low level balance gear, see Efejel's sticky at the top of the druid forum.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2215646573#17

It was apparently redundant for me to keep the balance gear here. Feel free to hop over to the moonkin sticky for gear advice.


Low Level "Feral" gear:
This is a guide for people leveling feral druids (between levels 13 & 35) who are having a hard time finding gear with Strength. Below is a list of some of what I believe to be fairly accessible leather armor with +strength on it. Agility gear seems to fall out of the sky and into my lap as I'm leveling, but finding strength gear is much harder, especially at very low levels.

Note: if you think of anything I should add to this list, feel free to post it.

Defias Set (Deadmines): Lvl 13 to 19 - http://thottbot.com/?set=161
Embrace of the Viper (Wailing caverns): Lvl 14 to 18 - http://thottbot.com/?set=162

Chest:
Black Whelp Tunic (crafted) 15 - http://thottbot.com/?i=52058
Prospector’s Chestpiece (world drop) 18 - http://thottbot.com/?i=4364
Thick Murloc Armor (crafted) 29 - http://thottbot.com/?i=8904
Green Whelp Armor (crafted) 30- http://thottbot.com/i7375 (no STR, but the proc is good, especially for PvP)

Feet:
Feet of the Lynx (world drop) 19 - http://thottbot.com/?i=5060
Tromping Miner’s Boots (Uldaman) 33- http://thottbot.com/?i=15305
Draftsman boots (quest reward) 27 - http://thottbot.com/?i=2815

Hands:
Ebon Vise (Scarlet Monestary) 30 - http://thottbot.com/?i=12707
Naga Battle Gloves (Blackfathom Deeps) 22 - http://thottbot.com/?i=9300
Wolfclaw Gloves (Razorfen Kraul) 22 - http://thottbot.com/?i=11325

Helm:
Robust Helm of the Bear (world drop) 26 - http://thottbot.com/?i=14253
Hawkeye helm (world drop) 35 - http://thottbot.com/?i=9129
Humbert's Helm (dun garok rifleman) 25 http://www.thottbot.com/?i=6779

Legs:
Warchief’s Kilt (Scarlet Monestary) 34 - http://thottbot.com/?i=16033
Ferine Leggings (Razorfen Kraul) 29 - http://thottbot.com/?i=9855

Shoulders:
Rigid Shoulders of the Boar (world drop) 21 - http://thottbot.com/?i=7034
Forest Tracker Epaulets (world drop) 26 - http://thottbot.com/?i=3879
Barbaric shoulders (crafted) 30 - http://thottbot.com/?i=2998

Belt:
Forest leather belt (world drop) 18 - http://thottbot.com/?i=7007
Barberic Belt (crafted) 35 - http://thottbot.com/?i=19898 (note: rage should work in bear form now)
Hawkeye cord (world drop) 31 - http://thottbot.com/?i=12127

Bracer:
Bands of Serra’kis (blackfathom deeps) 22 - http://thottbot.com/?i=9823
Murloc Scale Bracers (crafted) 33 - http://thottbot.com/?i=8706

<reserved>

Reserved.

Thanks for reposting this. I hope we can get back all those old stickies. LOTs of great information for beginners and veterans alike.

Bump because Lissanna is sticky material.

Lolz I'm dirty.

bump because I lost it on the 2nd page.

Please sticky this wonderful guide.

Thanks!

Bump

Bump and reported for sticky. Blizzard however doesn't seem to be paying attention to our pleas for stickies =/

Bumped again and reported for sticky - much good that it seems to do.


This is enormous help to me leveling my druid.

---

Q u o t e:
Bumped again and reported for sticky - much good that it seems to do.


This is enormous help to me leveling my druid.

---

Same...

Updated: Section 4, low level BG's to include some updated Arathi Basin advice, and WSG bracket 30-39.

If you have any advice on low level BG's for the cross-server change, please post that info here so I can compile it in that section of the FAQ.

Thanks!