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Balance Druid Artifact Weapon: Scythe of Elune – Legion 7.3.5
By Cyous
Last Updated:
2018/06/28
Changelog
Patch: 10.2.6
Table of Contents
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This section of the Balance Druid guide explains the best possible choices for the Netherlight Crucible, important traits and relic bonuses, and how to progress through your artifact weapon Scythe of Elune.
Artifacts in Battle for Azeroth
As of June 26th, completing the quest
The Power in Our Hands
will further empower your Artifact Weapon, enabling all traits and at least
Concordance of the Legionfall
level 75, further increasing in power over time until the Battle for Azeroth pre-expansion patch.
Therefore, only the Netherlight Crucible recommendations are relevant on this guide page leading up to BFA, as you already receive all Artifact Traits by default. This makes content easier to complete, especially some
content going away
such as
Ahead of the Curve
and
Mage Tower Challenges
.
In the
BFA pre-patch
, your Artifact Traits will be removed, and relics will simply increase the item level of your artifact weapon. However, many artifact traits are returning as talents or azerite powers in Battle for Azeroth and we have a compiled a
full list you can read here
.
Moving forward in Battle for Azeroth, you will still be able to acquire the Artifact Weapon which will mainly interest transmog collectors for the appearances. Learn how to unlock all appearances in BFA with our
Artifact Appearance Guide
.
Artifact Weapon:
Scythe of Elune
Active Ability
Equipping the Scythe of Elune grants you the ability
New Moon
, which causes you to deal Astral damage to the target and generate
Astral Power
. When this ability is cast, it cycles into
Half Moon
, which, after cast, cycles into
Full Moon
, which finally returns to
New Moon
after casted. Every new step of the cycle doubles the damage and resource generation from the previous, until it resets back to
New Moon
.
Netherlight Crucible
The
Netherlight Crucible
is a new system added in Patch 7.3. The Crucible allows you further empower your Balance Druid Artifact Weapon, by specializing and increasing the power from your relics. With it, each relic receives a small talent tree that you can select new traits from, depending how many traits your weapon have. Do not worry, however, because with the changes to
Artifact Knowledge
, unlocking the full power of the Crucible won't take long. Learn everything about this new system in our
Netherlight Crucible Guide
.
We want make the best possible combination for our relic. In most cases, you'll see less-than-optimal combinations. RNG is RNG, nothing you can do about... except try again. If you would like a little more help deciding which talents you should take, please use this tool:
Relic Comparison and Netherlight Crucible Calculator
--- Full credit to Dreamgrove Discord members: Iskalla, Nick, and Slippykins.
There's no point in "ranking" them because everything is situational. I am using whole numbers, so you can't really see the minor differences. With that said, we can favor specific traits. Overall,
Master of Shadows
is a very good Crucible trait. For our relic trait,
Scythe of the Stars
,
Falling Star
,
Sunfire Burns
and
Twilight Glow
are fantastic options.
You have a good chance to see a strong relic path (83.3% to see one of those 4 traits; 74.5% chance to get a good relic trait and to avoid
Dark Sorrows
. Basically, you got a 75% chance for something good. Full BiS isn't something you should aim for. Realistically, better gameplay will net you more of a DPS boost compared to the difference between
Master of Shadows
and
Dark Sorrows
. With the opening of
Antorus, the Burning Throne
, it is now possible to obtain
Insignia of the Grand Army
, which increases the potency of your Tier 2 Crucible traits by 50%. It might be a really strong legendary if you are lucky with Netherlight Crucible rolls!
Light/Shadow Traits:
Single-Target Value:
AOE Value:
Torment the Weak
+4 ilvl
+2 ilvl
-- torment the weak
Secure in the Light
+4 ilvl
+2 ilvl
-- secure in the lgiht
Infusion of Light
+4 ilvl
+2 ilvl
-- infusion of light
Shadowbind
+4 ilvl
+2 ilvl
-- shadowbind
Chaotic Darkness
+4 ilvl
+2 ilvl
-- chaotic darkness
Master of Shadows
+3 ilvl
+3 ilvl
-- master of shadows
Murderous Intent
+3 ilvl
+3 ilvl
-- murderous intent
Shocklight
+3 ilvl
+3 ilvl
-- shocklight
Light Speed
+3 ilvl
+3 ilvl
-- light speed
Dark Sorrows
+2 ilvl
+3 ilvl
-- dark sorrows
Relic Traits:
Single-Target Value:
AOE Value:
Scythe of the Stars
+4 ilvl
+0 ilvl
-- scythe
Dark Side of the Moon
+2 ilvl
+1 ilvl
-- dsotm
Twilight Glow
+1 ilvl
+5 ilvl
-- tg
Sunfire Burns
+1 ilvl
+4 ilvl
-- sb
Empowerment
+1 ilvl
+0 ilvl
-- empowerment
Solar Stabbing
+1 ilvl
+0 ilvl
-- solar stabbing
Falling Star
+0 ilvl
+6 ilvl
-- fs
Light of the Evening Star
+0 ilvl
+2 ilvl
-- lotes
Bladed Feathers
+0 ilvl
+0 ilvl
-- bladed feathers
Touch of the Moon
+0 ilvl
+0 ilvl
-- totm
As mentioned, the differences are tiny between Crucible traits. If you're interested in the data, take a peek!
Does not include Relic traits (such as Sunfire Burns).
If you're looking for a more basic overview of our Artifact,
Scythe of Elune
, please visit
this page
. Written by
Bologna
(
Armory
) in
Midwinter
Artifact path recommendation and explanation:
This
Scythe of Elune
build will focus on playing to the strengths of the spec, single target damage and burst. We have strong sustained AoE damage as well.
Sunblind
and
Scythe of the Stars
are the two most important common nodes for the Balance Druid Artifact, without a doubt. With that said,
Echoing Stars
is not as useful as either of the other elite nodes in most situations. It works in our favor that
Power of Goldrinn
is easily attained on our way to
Moon and Stars
.
By the time we're ready to start going for
Echoing Stars
, after
Power of Goldrinn
and
Moon and Stars
, we've reached the point where each additional trait starts to become a major time investment at lower Artifact Knowledge levels (less than 15). But this is no longer relevant as everyone's AK is now the same.
In 7.2, we have 5 new Artifact traits to acquire on the Balance Druid Artifact.
Radiance of the Cenarion Circle
- Increases damage by 10% and Stamina by 10%.
Circadian Invocation
- Moonfire damage increases the Arcane damage you deal to the target by 1%, and Sunfire damage increases the Nature damage you deal to the target by 1%, each stacking up to 6 times.
Since these are two separate auras, these effects stack for Astral damage (Nature, Arcane) (~12% more damage).
Astral damage spells:
Starsurge
,
Starfall
,
New Moon
,
Half Moon
,
Full Moon
,
Echoing Stars
Circadian Invocation
(Arcane)
Circadian Invocation
(Nature)
Applied/Refreshed by direct damage and damage-over-time from respective spells.
Wax and Wane
- Your Moonfire increases the direct damage of your Moonfire and Sunfire by 25%. Stacks up to 5 times and lasts 30sec.
Light of the Evening Star
- Increases the damage of Starfall by 3% per rank.
Concordance of the Legionfall
- Your abilities have a chance to increase your primary stat by 4000 for 10sec. (Stat increased by 300 per subsequent rank.)
Below we have posted the 6 "stages" of Artifact progression:
For ease of access, the recommend path in 7.2, assuming you have at least 35 traits, is as follows:
1.
Radiance of the Cenarion Circle
- Best option available.
2.
Light of the Evening Star
- This will be 4 points.
3.
Wax and Wane
- This trait is really poor, it's the next trait we want.
4.
Circadian Invocation
- Worth about 6-7% single-target target. (Less value on "burst AoE" due to ramp-up.)
5.
Scythe of the Stars
- Strongest single-target available.
6.
Sunfire Burns
7.
Twilight Glow
8.
Solar Stabbing
9.
Dark Side of the Moon
10.
Empowerment
11.
Falling Star
12.
Bladed Feathers
- Doesn't really matter at this point, but this is the better option.
13.
Touch of the Moon
14.
Concordance of the Legionfall
- Obtainable after all traits fulfilled.
Single-Target notes:
Circadian Invocation
- It's a flat 6% boost to all of our damage in most cases. Factoring in the extra bonuses from Astral damage, This bonus jumps to ~8% total damage. This value is higher for users with
The Emerald Dreamcatcher
because
Starsurge
is a larger portion of our total damage output, we will see a fairly big increase in damage output. (7.5 - 8.5% damage boost)
Wax and Wane
- Single-target is a bit more complex then Multi-Target, but its fairly straight-forward. This is a ~0.14% buff to single-target.
Assuming we refresh to keep Moonfire and Sunfire active once every 22sec, that's 15% more direct damage per cast. (takes ~45sec to reach max stacks, which is a ~50% damage modifier over the first 45sec, then 75% onwards. Our DOT damage ~20% of overall damage, and Moonfire and Sunfire direct damage makes up 10% of this value (0.2% of total damage).
Adjusting for a 6min encounter:
6min encounter: 360sec
360sec - 45sec = 315sec
315sec / 22 = 14.3
14.3 means we round up to 15. So....~30 casts.
= 36 casts total (30+6 from the first)
Adding up our cast and their modifiers:
1.5 * 6 = 9; 1.75 * 30 = 52.5; 9 + 52.5 = 61.5
61.5 / 36 = 1.708; ~71%
= 71% average buff per Moonfire or Sunfire cast
Applying damage modifier to total damage:
0.2% * 1.71
= 0.34% ( +0.14% | 0.34 - 0.20 )
Stage 1: We want to rush
Power of Goldrinn
Stage 2: We want to get
Moon and Stars
, but we skip
Empowerment
The bonuses from
Twilight Glow
and
Sunfire Burns
are much better than Empowerment.
Stage 3: Now we pick up
Scythe of the Stars
and
Sunblind
.
Stage 4: Take the long way to
Echoing Stars
Stage 5: Clean up the remaining traits, taking
Empowerment
first. Finish with
Goldrinn's Fury
Stage 6: Follow the numbers,this assumes you have 35 traits.
Artifact: Scythe of Elune
Scythe of Elune
Elite Nodes
Power of Goldrinn
All around a solid trait. Useful anytime you are casting
Starsurge
often. (33% proc chance.)
Moon and Stars
Coupled with
Incarnation: Chosen of Elune
, this trait will bolster your burst phases immensely. Celestial Alignment offers 3% per stack, Incarnation offers 1.5% per stack.
Echoing Stars
This bonus benefits from effects that enhance
Starfall
.
Although not a bad trait,
Echoing Stars
is pretty far out of the way of the other nodes we wish to hit.
We don't use
Starfall
regularly enough to merit choosing this trait over others.
Even if you spend most of your PvE time in Mythic+ dungeons, you'd be better off focusing on
Fury of Elune
and boss damage, rather than
Starfall
Circadian Invocation
New in 7.2, this is a powerful bonus for sustained damage. It is not too great for AoE damage because it requires time to stack up on the target.
https://www.wowhead.com/guides/legion/artifact-weapons#relics
Common Nodes for Relics:
Artifact traits from relics ranked from best to worst:
Scythe of the Stars
Sunfire Burns
Twilight Glow
Falling Star
Solar Stabbing
Dark Side of the Moon
Empowerment
The next two traits are
not damage gains
, but are still organized from best to worst:
Touch of the Moon
Bladed Feathers
Relics:
We have 1 Life relic and 2 Arcane relic slots
Arcane Relics:
Relic:
Trait:
Location:
Phase Spider Mandible
Scythe of the Stars
Assault on Violet Hold
Self-Forging Credentials
Touch of the Moon
Court of Stars
Touch of Nightfall
Empowerment
Darkheart Thicket
Tempestbinder's Crystal
Twilight Glow
Eye of Azshara
Harbaron's Tether
Sunfire Burns
Maw of Souls
Split Second
Dark Side of the Moon
The Arcway
Leystone Nugget
Scythe of the Stars
Na'zak the Fiend
Crystallizing Mana
Scythe of the Stars
World Drop/World Quest
Immaculate Fibril
Solar Stabbing
Enchanting
Life Relics:
Relic:
Trait:
Location:
Reflection of Sorrow
Scythe of the Stars
Assault on Violet Hold
Snapped Emerald Pendant
Twilight Glow
Blackrook Hold
Corrupted Knot
Dark Side of the Moon
Darkheart Thicket
Pact of Vengeful Service
Sunfire Burns
Eye of Azshara
Burden of Vigilance
Bladed Feathers
Halls of Valor
Relinquishing Grip of Helheim
Falling Star
Maw of Souls
Quivering Blightshard Husk
Touch of the Moon
Neltharion's Lair
Nal'tira's Venom Gland
Solar Stabbing
The Arcway
"Liberated" Un'goro Relic
Twilight Glow
Flotsam
Dreamgrove Sproutling
Sunfire Burns
World Drop/World Quest
Straszan Mark
Solar Stabbing
Inscription
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