OK, I am calling out to all of you who have play druids or have played druids. I have a level 41 druid alt and I feel like I am doing something terribly wrong. I mostly solo play, very rarely do I group with anyone. Can anyone give me some tips on how to build for solo play? I can handle quite a bit of beating while I am in dire bear form, but I seem to kill soooo slowly. While I am in cat form I kill fast but also get the crap beat out of me. And as for balance, well most of the spells seem pretty lame to me. I hit them with moonfire on occasion but thats about it. It could be because I am used to playing a mage and in comparison druid spells are weak. So any tips or advice would be appreciated :) Here is the link to me on the RPG page http://www.rpgoutfitter.com/WoW-GM/char.cfm?char=Qirnatsua@US-Eitrigg

I leveled up mostly solo also, and I went completely feral and killed things quite easily in cat form. If you're not grouping you don't need the resto line...you need to kill things fast and that's what feral does! Also you may want to start building two sets of equipment. One with +int for when you do heal, and one with +str for your feral build. You'll notice a BIG difference with +str equipment. Str is closely related to attack power and is our primary means of increasing damage. 1 Str = +2 Atk. If you have Heart of the Wild, 1 Str is effectively 2.4 Atk in Cat Form.

Here's a good site Jak recommended to me: http://delilah.stormreaverclan.com/

I will try your suggestions. Thank you for your input!

I leveled Jak up to 41 with the Restor line simply because it was the only viable talent tree prior to 1.8. It was sooooooo slow and painful,
Once 1.8 hit I dropped everything in restore and completely filled out my feral tree to the way it is now. You'll notice a HUGE improvement in solo ability going this route.
I stay in cat form when soloing and only pop out to heal, Bear form may be just as viable but to me it just felt rather slow.

Karigan is right on with her post as well.

http://www.nerfdruids.com/

This is actually a great site, helped me out on my Druid on the Bloodhoof server.

solo really is feral spec for druid, especially pre-40. At 40, balance seems to work very well but you need to pay more attention to your gear and spend a fortune on mana drinks.

If you go feral, dump some points into the AC bonus while shapeshifted. Also, while you are in cat form, take advantage of your abilities. Stealth and a little bit of placement and you can start out the fight with critting them for a bajillion points. Cuts down on the beatings.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have done some reading, and some figuring. I hit level 42 yesterday and respecced feral. I seem to be doing quite a bit more damage. I am hoping I don't get quite so frustrated anymore. I really appreciated all the tips and suggestions.

I just saw this now...but I'll throw in my two cents:

If you are concerned with just levelling quickly...feral is the the way to go. Go full cat spec and load up on +agi gear.

For grinding, cast regrowth, shift cat...kill quickly. Regrowth compensates for your weak leather armor. Avoid warlock mobs like the plague and you shouldn't have any down time ever.

The downside to this: You level absurdly fast but you don't really learn any end-game strategy. You will want to have a healing set of gear for instances, a damage set and a tank set. Your enjoyment in instances will help you decide what your respec should be at 60.

Also, balance is a great deal of fun. In my opinion, it is only viable if you are fully balance specced. I have every talent point with the exception of 5 in MoTW in balance. There is also a bit more of a learning curve if you are used to feral and haven't really played a caster class. It takes a level or two specced as balance to learn strategies for group and solo that work well. I nearly gave up balance at first but now I absolutely love being a solo panzerkin build. I am still working on my group dynamic. I can do a great deal of damage but I need to be more mindful of shifting out of moonkin to back up the healer.