Post by curlymon
go feral that the easiest way to lvl 80...
They are both equally viable and have benefits over each other in different situations. Saying feral is fastest is really only true for 20-58. And even then it's going to feel faster playing the spec you enjoy most. So play what you want.
@Grandmasterstevo
For leveling specs look in the
General section of the
Druid FAQ. They can also be found in the specific spec sections.
For end game specing look in the spec specific sections.
With in each section is a preset stat weightin system that should show the best gear for your nephew. It will also show you rotations as well as gemming and chanting suggestions.
Post by Jita
Boomkins can be frustrating to play if your 5-man has a few ludicrously geared melee DPS. If Eclipse procs, by the time you've finished casting Starfire the mob is down below half, and if you start another cast it's likely they'll be dead before it goes off. Since you have this problem with highly geared 80s wiping things out too quickly, just let the tank get aggro and have your nephew pick a mob that isn't being focused. If the tank's good (and it sounds like this isn't a problem) they'll be able to maintain aggro just fine.
The rotation I use on elite mobs in instances is Improved Insect Swarm -> Moonfire -> Wrath. Cast Wrath until Eclipse goes off, then cast Starfire until the mob is low enough that it'll die before your next cast finishes. Make sure to keep up IIS and Moonfire, the glyph that renews Moonfire with Starfire casts can make this easier. This minimises the time you spend waiting for your cooldowns while maximising the chance to get a few good crits with Starfire.
For bosses, add Improved Faeire Fire to the beginning of that rotation. The reason I leave it off normal mobs is because they're rarely tough enough to justify wasting a cast timer on it, but on bosses it increases the total DPS of the group considerably, while making it easier for you to crit them as well.
Being geared with a few non-raid epics and blues from heroic instances, I'm usually near or at the top of the damage charts in heroics unless someone in the group outgears me (which isn't hard, I know), and even then I have to be careful about aggro management as a string of 9k crits will absolutely make a boss quite interested in me.
For leveling +SP gear and enchants is king. Both spirit and straight mp5 regen are good, though stacking spirit will also add to your SP with Improved Moonkin Form. If I have to choose between crit and haste, I generally choose haste, since the aura and Eclipse are what really put the "boom" in Boomkins. In instances you want to be hit capped to make sure your big SF casts will hit, everything else comes after that.
Classic mistakes that will cause RAEG from party members include spamming Moonfire (don't ever, ever do that), using Starfall before the tank has all the room aggro'd, using Hurricane on bosses when there are no adds to nuke down, just basic stuff like that. Stick with him and encourage him to stick to it - being a Boomkin is a lot of fun, and can bring good DPS without being nearly as complicated as some Mage and Warlock rotations.
Edit: another glyph that's practically required is
the one that improves Moonfire dps at the cost of initial damage.