These ancient Druids have adopted the totem of the bear and use the powers of their totem to defend their society from any external threats. They are fond of assuming Bear Form and roaming in seclusion throughout the wildlands of Kalimdor. When riled, the Druids of the Claw display ferocious power and stamina. Their magical spells augment their allies' fighting skills and bravery as well.

Druid Form

Level: 4 Cost: 255 80 4 Unit Type: Normal Attack Type: Normal Weapon Type: Normal Armor Type: Heavy Armor: 1 Ground Attack: 20.5 avg (25.5 avg*) *(#) = Stats when fully upgraded

Air Attack: None Cooldown: 1.5 Hit Points: 430 (580*) Health Regeneration: Night Mana: 200 (400*) Mana Regeneration: 0.667 (1.167*) Range: Melee Day Sight: 140

Night Sight: 80 (140*) Speed: Average (270) Build Time: 35 Trained At: Ancient of Lore Requirements: Tree of Ages Transport Space Usage: 1 Production Hot Key: C

Bear Form

Level: 4 Cost: 4 Unit Type: Normal Attack Type: Normal Weapon Type: Normal Armor Type: Heavy Armor: 3 (9*) Ground Attack: 36.5 avg (47 avg*) *(#) = Stats when fully upgraded

Air Attack: None Cooldown: 1.5 Hit Points: 960 Health Regeneration: Night Mana: 400 Mana Regeneration: 0.75 Range: Melee Day Sight: 140

Night Sight: 80 (140*) Speed: Average (270) Build Time: N/A Trained At: N/A Requirements: Druid of the Claw Master Training Transport Space Usage: 1 Production Hot Key: F

Druids of the Claw are mixed units. In Bear Form they are an advanced melee unit such as an Abomination, Knight or Tauren. In Night Elf Form they are a spell caster such as a Priest, Sorceress, or Shaman. Druids of the Claw are initially in Night Elf Form. You must research Druid of the Claw Master Training to turn into Bear Form. Druids of the Claw are very useful additions to your army in both forms. In Bear Form they can be up front tanking as a melee unit while Druids of the Claw in Night Elf Form take up the rear casting Rejuvenation and Roar.

After you have upgraded to Tree of Ages build an Ancient of Lore which you can use for Dryads and Druids of the Claw. Build one Druid of the Claw and send him to your army and use Roar. Roar gives a 25% bonus to damage to all of the units in the area with only one cast. You may have to pack units tightly into a small area to have Roar cover them all since it has a small area of effect when cast.

If you plan to build a lot of Druids of the Claw it can be very difficult to transition to them. It's far more challenging to upgrade to Bears than Knights, Tauren, or Abominations. One possible option is to just create a Hero and use it to harass the enemy early on while you upgrade straight up to Bears. To do this build a Huntress Hall and no Ancient of War and then lay down two Ancients of Lore once you reach Tree of Ages. Then continue to upgrade to Tree of Eternity and research Adept and Mastery upgrades. This can work if you can confuse and harass the enemy until you get upgraded while keeping them away from your town. Another option is to make a bunch of Archers without upgrades and use them until you can convert to Bears. Another option is to play normally but go get an expansion pretty early. Build lots of Moon Wells and two Ancients of Lore and two Hunter's Halls to research both upgrades at once.

It's very important to prevent Druids of the Claw from dying using Rejuvenation. It's very expensive and time consuming to replace lost Druids of the Claw. The best way to do this is using subgroups. Watch the portraits of the Bears while having the Rejuvenation icon active. Select Rejuvenation and click on the portrait of the damaged Bear to heal him. You can also use the "Alt" key to watch for low hit point bars.

Some players like building a lot of Druids of the Claw but leave them in Night Elf Form. While they don't do as much damage as they would do in Bear form they can cast Rejuvenation on themselves and Roar. Usually when focusing on Druids of the Claw it's best to mix them up having most in Bear Form and some in Druid Form to cast Rejuvenation and Roar on the Bears. Research Mark of the Claw so that you can use Roar while in Bear Form.

Druids of the Claw cannot attack air units so be aware of this weakness. Druids of the Claw and Archers with range upgrades are a good combination.

Use Moon Wells to build up the Druid of the Claw's mana so he can cast his most powerful spells right away. Then send him off into battle.

Vs. Spell Breakers
Use Roar to waste mana so that the Spell Breakers cannot use their Feedback against you. While it may seem against your best interest to use Roar because of the Spell Steal, in reality it will work in your favor if you keep spamming it.

a) you will run the Spell Breakers out of mana
b) you will have more units Roared than the enemy, since it is an AOE buff, and Spell Steal is single target
c) less mana on your bears = less feedback damage

Night Elf Form Transforms the Druid into a Night Elf, allowing him to cast spells and regenerate mana faster.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements None Always Available None Duration Cooldown Mana Cost Range Area of Effect Allowed Targets Effect N/A None 25 N/A Personal Self Transform into Night Elf Form

When in Night Elf Form he may cast these spells:

Roar Gives friendly units around the Druid a 25% bonus to damage.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements None Always Available None Duration Cooldown Mana Cost Range Area of Effect Allowed Targets Effect 45 sec. None 100 N/A 50 Air, Ground, Friend, Self Damage +25%

Roar Information
Roar is a great bonus to give to your troops, especially in large team games where Roar can help a large army. Use Roar during battle whenever possible.

Research Mark of the Claw so that you can use Roar while in Bear Form.

Roar Counters
Use Dispel abilities to remove roar or you can run away until it wears off.

Rejuvenation Heals a target friendly unit for 400 hit points over 12 seconds.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements 100 50 Ancient of Lore Druid of Claw Adept Training Duration Cooldown Mana Cost Range Area of Effect Allowed Targets Effect 12 sec. None 125 40 Unit Air, Ground, Friend, Self, Organic, Non Ancient Heals 400 HP

Rejuvenation Information
Rejuvenation is great for casting on Heroes or even allied Heroes. If your partner has a damaged Hero cast Rejuvenation on their Hero to help them out. Cast Rejuvenation on nearly dead units and especially on powerful units you do not wish to lose.

Cast Rejuvenation on the Priestess of the Moon when she Starfalls. This can allow her to cast it much longer even under attack.

You can cast Rejuvenation on units with full health. You can cast Rejuvenation on magic immune units.

Rejuvenation Counters
Use Dispel abilities.

Bear Form Transforms the Druid into a bear, slowing mana regeneration, but making him an excellent warrior. While in Bear Form he cannot cast any spells unless you upgrade to Mark of the Claw, allowing you to use Roar in Bear Form.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements 100 150 Ancient of Lore Druid of Claw Master Training Duration Cooldown Mana Cost Range Area of Effect Allowed Targets Effect N/A None 25 N/A Personal Self Transform into Bear Form

Bear Form Information
If you no longer need the Druid of the Claw as a spellcaster, turn him into a Bear and use him as a melee unit.

Druid of Claw Adept Training Increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 25%, hit points by 75, minimum and maximum attack, and gives them the ability to cast Rejuvenation.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 100 50 Ancient of Lore None 25 sec.

Druid of Claw Master Training Further increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 25%, hit points by 75, minimum and maximum attack, and allows them to transform into Bear Form. Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 100 150 Ancient of Lore Druid of the Claw Adept Training, Tree of Eternity 35 sec.

Mark of the Claw Allows Druids of the Claw to cast Roar while in Bear Form. Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 25 100 Ancient of Lore Druid of the Claw Master Training 20 sec.

Strength of the Wild Increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 100 75 Hunter's Hall None 60 sec.

Improved Strength of the Wild Further increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras. Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 175 175 Hunter's Hall Tree of Ages 75 sec.

Advanced Strength of the Wild Further increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras. Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 250 275 Hunter's Hall Tree of Eternity 90 sec.

Reinforced Hides Increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.

Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 150 50 Hunter's Hall None 60 sec.

Improved Reinforced Hides Further increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras. Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 200 150 Hunter's Hall Tree of Ages 75 sec.

Advanced Reinforced Hides Further increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras. Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time 250 200 Hunter's Hall Tree of Eternity 90 sec.