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10.1.7
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Guardian Druid Artifact Weapon: Claws of Ursoc – Legion 7.3.5
By Deastin
Last Updated:
2018/06/28
Changelog
Patch: 10.1.7
Table of Contents
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This section of the Guardian Druid Guide explains the best possible choices for the Netherlight Crucible, important traits and relic bonuses, and how to progress through your artifact weapon Claws of Ursoc. This guide is written by
Arielle
.
For more Druid discussion, visit their
Class Discord
, or ask our guide writers questions on
Wowhead's Discord.
For additional class and community Discord links
visit our Discord Servers page
.
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:
Claws of Ursoc
Active Ability
Equipping the Claws of Ursoc grants you the ability
Rage of the Sleeper
, which, upon activation, reduces all damage you take, while reflecting more than twice the amount of damage received back to attackers.
Relics and the Netherlight Crucible
The
Netherlight Crucible
is a new feature in patch 7.3 that allows you to empower your Guardian Druid Artifact relics with additional traits. It can turn even the weakest relics into viable options depending on how lucky you are with its randomly-rolled traits. Netherlight Crucible traits are randomly selected when a relic is first put into the Crucible, so one
Tumultuous Aftershock
may have completely different traits than another
Tumultuous Aftershock
! You should always preview a relic's potential traits before you use it or throw it away unless it is a significant item level downgrade. Previewing a relic's traits will bind it to your character, so if you are thinking of trading it to a party member, don't preview and lock it to yourself.
The Netherlight Crucible grants a simple 3-tier, branching tree of traits to each of your 3 equipped relics. You must choose one trait from each tier. The first tier is always a 5 item level increase to your weapon. The second tier is a choice between a light or shadow trait. The third tier is a choice between one of three weapon traits, and your available options are affected by which direction you went in the second tier (left vs. right). Your ability to choose traits for your relics is gated by your weapon's Artifact Level.
You must be at Artifact Level 75 to completely customize your weapon at the Netherlight Crucible. At current Artifact Knowledge values, this is expected to take several months. Don't worry, it's something to work toward!
Here is a breakdown of Artifact Level values and trait availability:
At 60, you unlock the second tier of your first relic. At 63, you unlock the second tier of your second relic. At 66, you unlock the second tier of your third relic.
At 69, you unlock the third tier of your first relic. At 72, you unlock the third tier of your second relic. At 75, you unlock the third tier of your third relic. Job's done!
As always the trait choices for tanks become a little bit muddied since no two people will find the same value in the same set of traits. Playing at the highest level of progression is vastly different than someone who is a Heroic raider, who is vastly different again from someone who just does quest or 5 person content. The best I can really do is point out which light/shadow traits are strong either offensively or defensively for the Guardian Druid Artifact. Obviously we still know that
Jagged Claws
is worth 50+ item levels for DPS (depending on usage of
Luffa Wrappings
), and
Vicious Bites
is around 30 or so.
Tier 2 Traits
Because your choice in Tier 2 affects which traits you can reach in Tier 3, you need to balance both the Tier 2 and Tier 3 bonuses when you make your Tier 2 choice. 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 Traits
Defensive Value
Refractive Shell
Secure in the Light
Infusion of Light
Light Speed
Light's Embrace
Shocklight
Offensive Value
Light Speed
Secure in the Light
Infusion of Light
Shocklight
Light's Embrace
Refractive Shell
Since both
Secure in the Light
and
Infusion of Light
can trigger from
Mastery: Nature's Guardian
and
Fury of Nature
the defensive procs will be pretty consistent, which makes these traits top-tier for Guardians. Obviously both are slightly weaker than
Refractive Shell
defensively, in exchange for a sizable offensive upside.
Light Speed
is a very strong offensive trait, with a small defensive upside. As far as I can tell the healing procs will not trigger from overhealing, which generally means you'll only get them when they're useful and you have a decent chance to do so.
Void Traits
Defensive Value
Master of Shadows
Murderous Intent
Shadowbind
Chaotic Darkness
Torment the Weak
Dark Sorrows
Offensive Value
Torment the Weak
Shadowbind
Chaotic Darkness
Dark Sorrows
Murderous Intent
Master of Shadows
Most of the shadow traits are generally only eliciit a shrug for Guardians. The exception is
Torment the Weak
which has the potential to be very strong for Guardians now that is affected by both Haste and Crit, and provides another trigger for
Galactic Guardian
. However as with the light traits, these will definitely require playtesting once they are available.
Tier 3 Traits
Your third row of trait selections will just follow the same selection process as if you were choosing a brand new relic.
Jagged Claws
and
Vicious Bites
are your DPS options, with
Scintillating Moonlight
being the best defensive option. All of the other traits have generally the same defensive value, so you can pick whatever suits you best.
Recommended Trait Build Paths
You should always go for
Embrace of the Nightmare
as your first golden trait, taking the right hand path:
The second trait you will acquire is
Gory Fur
:
You will then finish with
Bear Hug
and the final golden trait, before completing your artifact.
Remember to avoid
Mauler
and
Roar of the Crowd
for as long as possible.
7.2 Trait Build Path
After empowering
Claws of Ursoc
further in 7.2, purchase the traits in the following order
Fortitude of the Cenarion Circle
Jagged Claws
Vicious Bites
Scintillating Moonlight
Fleshknitting
Pawsitive Outlook
Ursoc's Endurance
Wildflesh
Reinforced Fur
Sharpened Instincts
Bestial Fortitude
Mauler
Remaining artifact power will be spent in
Concordance of the Legionfall
until maxed out.
After empowering weapon
Next,
Next,
Finally,
Relics
With regard to Guardian Druid Artifact relics for survival you will get the most mileage out of
Wildflesh
especially with the T20 bonuses, unless you can find a relic for
Scintillating Moonlight
. However for DPS there are substantial differences in relic value especially when you include
Luffa Wrappings
and
Pawsitive Outlook
. The following is an approximation of the value of traits in terms of item level.
Jagged Claws
is the most valuable trait for DPS. This has only increased in 7.2 thanks to its buff and the addition of
Pawsitive Outlook
.
Vicious Bites
is the next most valuable trait for DPS. Not nearly as valuable as
Jagged Claws
(especially without
Luffa Wrappings
), but still decent.
Below are the relics that can be found within
Tomb of Sargeras
:
Relic Type
Name
Trait
Boss
Life
Icon of Perverse Animation
Jagged Claws
Goroth
Life
Moontalon's Feather
Sharpened Instincts
Huntress Kasparian
Life
Valorous Spark of Hope
Perpetual Spring
Fallen Avatar
Life
Glowing Prayer Candle
Reinforced Fur
The Desolate Host
Fire
Smoldering Thumbscrews
Perpetual Spring
Atrigan
Fire
Ferocity of the Devout
Sharpened Instincts
Huntress Kasparian
Fire
Cleansing Ignition Catalyst
Bestial Fortitude
Fallen Avatar
Fire
Stabilized Extinction Protocol
Jagged Claws
Maiden of Vigilance
Blood
Blood of the Unworthy
Ursoc's Endurance
Atrigan
Blood
Pungent Chum
Jagged Claws
Mistress Sassz'ine
Blood
Man'ari Blood Pact
Scintillating Moonlight
Kil'jaeden
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