Druid shifts between forms: cat for damage, bear to tank, caster to heal. You level fastest in cat form, you can tank in bear, and you heal at 60. The tradeoff is more buttons to learn than most classes.
Leveling: feral cat
Spend your talents on Feral. Cat form uses energy instead of mana, so you do not drink between fights. Open with Pounce or Ravage from stealth where you can, build combo points with Claw, and finish with Ferocious Bite or Rip.
- Keep a few points in the early Feral tier for the cheaper shifting cost, since you will shift a lot.
- Bear form is your panic button while leveling: shift to bear to take a big hit or to tank a runner, then shift back.
Travel and aquatic forms
- Travel form at low level is a free speed boost outdoors, faster than running.
- Aquatic form lets you breathe underwater and swim faster, from an early quest. Get it.
- Cat and bear cost mana to enter, so keep a little mana in reserve even as a melee druid.
Healing in groups
You can heal dungeons while leveling feral, you just shift to caster form to do it. Healing Touch is your big slow heal, Rejuvenation is your heal-over-time, and Regrowth is the faster mid-size heal when someone drops but is not dying. Druids also carry the only battle resurrection in the game, which is useful in any group.
At 60
Most druids raid as Restoration healers, rolling Rejuvenation and topping with Healing Touch, and handing Innervate to a healer who is low on mana. Feral works as an off-tank and for trash, and Balance is possible but hard to sustain on mana, and rarely a main raid spot in Vanilla. Battle res and Innervate matter in any group, whatever you raid.