Like many druids, I carry multiple sets of gear. If one were to force me to choose a “main spec” I would have to go with Restoration, but part of the beauty of playing such a versatile class lies in the ability to play more than one spec in my opinion. I’ve been pondering exactly how I’m going to level when WotLK hits, and this post outlines what I’ve finally come up with as a plan.

Reference:

• Current Spec – http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VZZf0IubuxVuAhst
• Release Day Respec – http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VGbufcsIzZZbxsubux
• Final Spec at 80 (Resto) – http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VGouZZf0IubuxVuAhst
• Final Spec at 80 (Hybrid) – http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VGburcsId0VzRZZbxsubux
• Interesting Spec I may try – http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VGbufcohZZbxsubuxVuV0R

Honestly, I know I’m going to tweak those builds as I go. I know how I am about playing with talents and abilities, and then moving a point here and there as I get a better feel for things. That in mind, what follows is just and idea of what talents I know I’m going to pick up and why:

Genesis.
Perhaps it is simply because I’m more of a natural resto druid than any other spec, but the addition of extra damage over time and a boost to HoTs for solo’ing just makes more sense to me than reducing the cast time of Wrath and Starfire. I don’t mind taking the extra 20-30 seconds to kill a mob, especially if it means less downtime between fights because I still have somewhat strong HoTs.

Nature’s Grace.
A half-second cast time off of any spell after a crit makes a lot of sense to me, especially as often as I can crit (granted, that is with Regrowth at the moment, but I’ve got a decent spell crit set waiting in the bank for leveling too!). No matter where else I shuffle talents at lower levels, this is a definite keeper.

Nature’s Splendor.
Just like my reasoning for Genesis, anything that makes both HoTs and DoTs stronger makes me lean heavily in that direction.

Lunar Guidance and Dreamstate.
Mana Regen + Spellpower based on Intellect. I really do not think anyone spec’ing far enough into Balance to get to Moonkin form should forego these two talents, they just make too much sense.

Omen of Clarity.
I am not certain why any druid would not want this ability, especially with its proc rate being so good in my experience, but I’m certain someone can provide the math to show where it would be better to have something else. Personally, I love this talent.

Intensity.
Perhaps it is simply that I do not like running out of mana if I can potentially avoid it that I will take every available mana conservation talent, but I see this one as a staple of my build due to the high spirit numbers from my predominantly restoration-centric gear.

Nature’s Swiftness.
I like having my “oh holy f*** get me out of here!” emergency macro (Nature’s Swiftness + HT), and I just don’t see myself giving that up.

This leads me to the two specs I’m considering, the one listed above (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VGbufcsIzZZbxsubux) and http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VGburckGzZZbxsubuxm as an alternative.

There are many viable options for leveling in Wrath, obviously. Technically even going completely untalented is viable, though not advised. This spec not only takes advantage of my undeniably strong restoration gear, but also the ability to heal in dungeons (I hope) throughout the leveling process.