Feral Druid
Cat for damage. Bear to tank.
The shapeshifter: Cat Form damage and Bear Form tanking, with WoW Forever's Lacerate, Primal Bite, Shifting Power and Rend and Tear.
Three things to remember
Cat: Shred and bleeds
Rake and Rip, Shred from behind, Ferocious Bite at 5 combo points.
Bear: Lacerate and Swipe
Lacerate stacks up to 5 times; Swipe for packs; Maul with spare rage.
Two 31-point talents
Primal Bite (a bear bite with high threat) or Shifting Power (turns mana into 40 energy for cats).
What changed for you
Revive
New: druids can bring a dead ally back out of combat.
Skyborne druids
Both Skyborne races can be druids (a paid race).
Lacerate
A stacking bear bleed (talent).
Rend and Tear
+3% melee damage against bleeding targets.
Natural Instinct and Natural Reaction
Bigger melee crits, and more dodge with rage on dodges for bears.
Low-level tips and what to press as you level
- Wrath to pull, Moonfire to finish, Healing Touch and Rejuvenation to heal yourself.
- Keep Mark of the Wild and Thorns up.
- Melee with your staff to save mana between casts.
- Bear Form (10): tank your own pulls with Maul and Swipe.
- Take Ferocity (cheaper Maul, Swipe, Claw, Rake) and Furor.
- Demoralizing Roar on packs.
- Cat Form (20): Prowl, Rake, Claw, Ferocious Bite.
- Take Feral Instinct, Sharpened Claws and Shredding Attacks.
- Take Feral Charge and Predatory Strikes.
- Take Leader of the Pack, Lacerate and Rend and Tear.
- Cat: Shifting Power for energy. Bear: Primal Bite for threat.
- Dire Bear Form (40) for tanking.
What to press at level 60 (cat, then bear)
From the simulator's cat and bear lists. Cat first; for tanking, see the last three.
- Cat: Prowl, then Ravage or Rake to open from stealth.
- Cat: Rip and Rake keep both bleeds up (Rend and Tear).
- Cat: Ferocious Bite at 5 combo points when Rip is up.
- Cat: Shred from behind to build combo points; Shifting Power when energy runs out.
- Bear: Lacerate to 5 stacks, then refresh.
- Bear: Primal Bite and Swipe on cooldown (Swipe on packs).
- Bear: Maul with spare rage. Frenzied Regeneration and Barkskin when low.
Talents that matter
| Talent | Tree | Why take it |
|---|---|---|
| Ferocity | Feral | Cheaper attacks. |
| Furor | Feral | Rage or energy when you shift. |
| Feral Instinct | Feral | More threat in Bear Form. |
| Thick Hide | Feral | More armor. |
| Sharpened Claws | Feral | More crit. |
| Predatory Strikes | Feral | More attack power in forms. |
| Lacerate | Feral | A stacking bear bleed. |
| Leader of the Pack | Feral | Party crit aura. |
| Natural Instinct | Feral | Bigger melee crits. |
| Rend and Tear | Feral | More damage on bleeding targets. |
| Natural Reaction | Feral | Dodge and rage for bears. |
| Primal Bite / Shifting Power | Feral (31) | Bear threat bite, or mana into energy for cats. |
Best race for this spec
Elune's Light (+10% crit) for cats and Quickness (+1% dodge) for bears. Shadowmeld too.
Endurance gives +5% health, great in Bear Form, and War Stomp.
| Race | Side | Racials |
|---|---|---|
| Night Elf | Alliance | Elune's Light: +10% crit for 15 sec. Shadowmeld: hide when standing still. Quickness: +1% dodge and a little extra run speed. |
| Skyborne (High Order) | Alliance | Wind Blessed: +2% attack and casting speed. Elemental Insight: +5% damage to Elementals. Walk on Air. Read Leyline: +50% mana and health regeneration for 15 sec (+100% while Attuned from a Ley Line; Attuned ends when you enter a raid). Paid race. |
| Tauren | Horde | Endurance: +5% health. War Stomp: stun nearby enemies. Plainsrunning: run speed that builds while you run (2% a stack, up to 60%; not on mounts). |
| Skyborne (Windshaper) | Horde | Wind Blessed: +2% attack and casting speed. Elemental Insight: +5% damage to Elementals. Walk on Air. Skysight: +15% run speed for 15 sec (+30% while Charged from an elemental convergence; Charged ends when you enter a raid). Paid race. |
These are small edges, about 1 to 2 percent. Play the race you enjoy and the side your friends are on. Skyborne needs the paid Skyborne Heroic Pack.
Play it better
Behind for Shred
Shred and Ravage need you behind the target.
Powershift for energy
Leave and re-enter Cat Form for Furor energy when you are out.
Bear for hard pulls
Even as a cat, shift to bear when a pull goes wrong.
Tauren bears
Endurance gives +5% health; Night Elves get +1% dodge.
When something seems off
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Out of mana | Use Innervate on yourself, shift into a form to regenerate, and drink between pulls. |
| My buffs vanish when I shift | They do not. But shifting costs mana, so stay in one form when you can. |
| Shred will not cast | Get behind the target. |
| Losing threat as a bear | Lacerate stacks and Primal Bite, then Swipe on packs. Take Feral Instinct. |
Let Bonkr Compass+ call your buttons
Compass+ shows your next button for your current form and follows your bleeds from your casts. Type /cplus why to see why it picked a spell.