Dear Blizzard Developers and Fellow Players,
I am writing today with extreme and immediate concern regarding the live Tier Set bonuses for Guardian Druids in Patch 11.2, Season 3, with Manaforge Omega now open. Recent data, compiled from comprehensive spreadsheets now available on Wowhead, reveals an alarming and frankly, unacceptable reality: Guardian Druid’s Elune Hero Talent specialization is currently experiencing a significant DPS LOSS with the new Manaforge Omega (MO) tier set compared to the previous Undermine (UM) set.
This is not a theoretical future problem; it’s a current, live issue impacting Guardian Druids right now in the first week of Season 3 progression. To receive a direct nerf to our performance simply by acquiring new gear is fundamentally flawed and actively punishes players for engaging with new content.
This is a critical issue that threatens to severely undermine Guardian Druid’s viability, particularly in Mythic+, where Elune is the overwhelmingly dominant and preferred Hero Talent choice for Guardian Druids.
Let’s look at the numbers directly from the data:
Guardian Druid Tier Set Performance Comparison (UM vs. MO)
Top 2-piece + 2-piece (UM + MO) DPS Gains (Single Target):
- Guardian Druid Claw: +163,050 DPS (7.05% gain)
- Guardian Druid Elune: -260,305 DPS (-11.25% loss)
4-piece (UM) to 4-piece (MO) DPS Gains:
- Guardian Druid Claw: +353,108 DPS (15.26% gain)
- Guardian Druid Elune: -162,599 DPS (-7.03% loss)
This is a direct, undeniable DPS reduction for Elune, our most played Guardian Druid spec in Mythic+ and raids alike! To lose performance by upgrading to the new tier set is antithetical to the concept of progression in an MMO.
To put this into perspective, let’s compare Guardian Druid’s projected gains to other tank specializations’ most played Hero Talents (or their strongest gain overall) relative to their previous tier sets:
% DPS Gain Over Previous Tier Set (New Set vs. Old Set) - Other Tanks vs. Guardian
- Protection Warrior Thane: 40.81%
- Brewmaster Monk Harmony: 40.55%
- Veng DH Fel Scarred: 27.41%
- Blood DK Sanlayn: 21.80%
- Veng DH Aldrachi Reaver: 21.54%
- Brewmaster Monk Shado-Pan: 19.89%
- Protection Paladin Lightsmith: 16.74%
- Guardian Druid Claw: 15.26%
- Protection Paladin Templar: 14.72%
- Protection Warrior Colossus: 9.76%
- Blood DK Deathbringer: 0.70%
- Guardian Druid Elune: -7.03%
As you can clearly see, Guardian Druid Elune is an extreme outlier, being the ONLY tank spec to experience a negative gain from the new tier set. Every other major tank spec receives a positive gain, with many seeing increases well over 15%, 20%, or even 40%!
This is unequivocally unacceptable for a live patch.
Guardian Druids have historically struggled for consistent meta visibility in Mythic+ across many seasons, with the brief exception of a strong (and much-needed) period in Dragonflight Season 2 due to a powerful tier set and favorable dungeon design. To now face a nearly 10% DPS loss for our most played spec, simply by upgrading our gear, is a severe blow that feels completely undeserved, especially as we enter a new season. This puts Guardian Druids at a significant disadvantage from day one.
It appears that while Guardian Druid’s less-played Claw Hero Talent receives a respectable (though not top-tier) buff, the predominant Elune spec is being left behind, or worse, actively punished, by the new set.
Elune Guardian Druid’s tier set bonus MUST be buffed, and it cannot happen fast enough. This requires immediate hotfix attention. The current numbers are alarming and indicate a severe oversight. Blizzard needs to address this live imbalance now to ensure Guardian Druids are not actively penalized for playing the game’s newest content. We deserve to feel meaningful progression and not be handicapped by new gear.
Please address this immediately.
Thank you