Aquatic Form (Classic)

Aquatic Form
	Aquatic Form; Level 16 druid ability; 20% of base mana; Instant; Shapeshift into aquatic form, increasing swim speed by 50% and allowing the druid to breathe underwater. Also protects the caster from Polymorph effects.; ; The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of Polymorph and Movement Impairing effects.;
Properties
Class	Druid
School	Physical
Cooldown	None/Global Cooldown
Other information
Level learned	16
Related buff
	; Aquatic Form ; Immune to Polymorph effects. Increases swim speed by 50% and allows underwater breathing. ;

For the retail ability, see [Aquatic Form].

Also known as a sea lion, druids learn Aquatic Form from [16] Aquatic Form. One can only use the Aquatic Form while swimming, but can travel at aquatic mount speed and will not run out of breath (water breathing).

The downside of this form is that it has no defensive capabilities whatsoever, meaning that in a combat situation it's only really useful for escape. Outside of combat however, it has a large number of potential uses. The speed bonus means that it can serve as a fast form of travel if a given destination can be reached via water, and the greater presence of rivers in Alliance territory means it also gives Horde druids venturing into that area with numerous opportunities for concealment, reconnaissance, and rapid escape as mentioned above. The form can also be exceptionally useful for druids with the Herbalism tradeskill, as it allows more rapid harvesting of the herb Stranglekelp, which is valuable on many servers.

Notes

While in Aquatic Form, you cannot cast spells or talk to NPCs. You are also considered a Beast so spells that target Beasts can be used on you ( [Hibernate] for instance).
Your caster form will start regaining mana 5 seconds after you change to Aquatic Form.
As is usual when swimming, the druid cannot drink or eat in this form.

Tips and tactics

Use this whenever you go into the water. It is a useful technique for escaping PvP opponents, as few can equal the Sea lion's swim speed and few can hold their breath long enough to catch you.
Be slightly wary of Warlocks underwater. They can breathe with a buff and their skills aren't restricted like the Aquatic form Druid's are.

Patch changes

Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Merged into [Travel Form].
Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Now costs 5% of base mana, down from 8%.
Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12):
- Costs 8% of base mana, down from 13%.
- Aquatic Form quest chain removed.
Patch 3.0.8 (2009-01-20): Aquatic Form is now available from druid trainers at level 16.
Completing the Aquatic Form quest chain is no longer required.
Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): [Glyph of Aquatic Form] added.
Patch 1.6.0 (2005-07-12):
- Shapeshifting will now counteract the slowing effects of frost-based spells.
- Druid shapeshift form buttons are no longer dimmed while under the effects of Polymorph.
- Fixed a bug in aquatic form which sometimes prevented the Druid from returning to caster form upon exiting lava.
Patch 1.4.0 (2005-04-19): Shapeshifting into an animal form will now remove Polymorph effects.
Patch 0.12 (2004-10-11):
- Shapeshifting now breaks roots, snares, and freeze effects.
- Shapeshift forms now include an immunity to polymorph effects.
Patch 0.9 (2004-08-17):
- Now considered a beast in Aquatic Form.
- Shapeshifting will no longer cancel all buffs on the Druid.
- Shapeshifting cooldown reduced from 10 to 1.5 seconds.
- Druids now regenerate mana while in shapeshift form.
- Aquatic Form mana cost now scales with level, speed no longer changes with level.