WotLK!!

Yeah, I know I have neglected you all. I thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blog. I hope I am informative and helpful. Thanks for reading!

Get ready for a wall of text!! This is my Evaluation of the Feral tree, specs, and a couple rotations.

Feral Tree

Ferocity-Not having 5 points in this is a crime. Enough said.

Feral Aggression- I've actually been investigating this. It is nice to have against melee bosses if you do not have a warrior present. The buff to ferocious bite is not half bad either. Though FB is not part of an effective rotation... well... I'll get back to that later.

Feral Instinct- Nice buff for us. AOE packs are increasing and we need more effective ways of handling them. Miss the extra threat in bear? No you won't. This is a very suitable replacement. With the changes to swipe (affects 4 targets) and the addition of a glyph (adds an extra target to your swipe cone) this is a must have!

Brutal Impact-Not a fan to be honest. Great for PVP, but I am a dedicated PVEr. I can see instances where it could be beneficial to have this for instancing (having a buffer to BR a healer) however with the tree already bloated this is a poor choice for PVE post WotLK.

Thick Hide-This is the bread and butter of our mitigation. If you are a bear this is a must. Note that this is even more important due to the fact that ALL bonus armor on gear has been removed (minus rings, neck, and trinket). Also note this is a scaling talent!

Feral Swiftness- This can be looked at several ways. As a PVE bear it is a must have (especially with the new agi to dodge ratio). We need to increase our avoidance as much as possible. Mitigation through armor looks iffy at the moment. We need to make sure that we can take the least hits as possible. From a PVE (raiding) cat perspective I would say you can skip this talent. It is nice if you need to tank in a pinch, but you may decide that you want to spend those two points somewhere better.

Faerie Fire-I like this talent. I wish it had more functionality. I am pushing for it to work as a taunt in bear form since we lack a ranged taunt or maybe add a 15% increase to the chance our taunt will hit. As it stands, I'd argue that you could skip it and pull with moonfire. However, shifting out is just not rage efficient. It is nice to pull with a full bar of rage. Also, it adds a bit of threat and helps you gain more threat by lowering the armor of the enemy. Overall I'd say nab it.

Sharpened Claws- Nice talent to have. Great for bears and cats. also is the mandatory talent to get a few nifty talents later. I don't see any reason to not get this talent. I wish it scaled... but alas, it doesn't.

Shredding Attacks-This talent is mandatory for anyone that plays a cat. Shred is the cat's meow. It is just okay for bears. I'll argue why a little bit later when I talk rotation.

Predatory Strikes- IN BC was a good talent. In WotLK an even better talent. With the extra attack power it provides it can give a nice boost to bear threat as well as some extra kitty damage. Also it is an opener to one of the fundamental feral talents.

Primal Fury- One of the strongest talents in our tree. Not only does it allow us extra rage on critical strikes in bear form, but also allows for the addition of an extra combo point on a cat crit. It helps get those rips faster. Must have. If you don't, you are a luser!

Primal Precision- This talent is pretty sexy first read. However, when you factor in all the hit and expertise we have on our gear or can gem for, this simply just adds to the feral bloat. If you are a dedicated cat though, I'd nab it. Bears, you have better options. I'd like to see something else added to this. Possibly something like "...as well as giving your swipe has a 15% increase to hit the target(s). When a miss occurs your taunt is refreshed." I know I want some OP stuff!

Savage Fury- Solid talent. Increases threat and damage in bear and is a decent boost in cat as well. Could you skip it as a raiding cat? Sure. Would I? No. We mangle every time the debuff is about to leave the mob. Unless you have a teddy tank for all bosses end-game, don't pass it up.

Feral Charge- For bears it has always been a must have for me. Bears will always need to play goalie (especially in pugs!). For cats, this is not really that amazing for PVE. It is really a joke. Cats work best starting from stealth and without the addition of a combo point this is lackluster. Bear yes, Cat no.

Nurturing instinct- Good for PVP. Okay for blasting a quick heal in PVE. The additional healing is okay. However, with every healer basically getting an AOE heal, it is pretty useless imo. Time shall tell us.

Natural Reaction- Bear specific only. Adds 6% extra dodge and restores 3 rage when you dodge. That should be nice for dodge junkies! Again, another talent that does not scale. Sadly, with the agi to dodge ration it is pretty much mandatory to grab this.

Heart of the Wild-Mandatory. Plain and simple. This is one of our major scaling talent. Stamina= great Extra AP= great

Survival of the Fittest-If you ever want to tank this is the staple talent. We need 0, I repeat 0 defense now. Nice that it scales. Adds a bit of AP/Stam/Crit to cats as well. Can't pass this one up.

Leader of the Pack-Nice to have. Currently a DPS warrior can also bring this ability. Simply put though, it is worth the point. 5% crit is good times.

Improved Leader of the Pack- This is bloat to a already bloated tree to me. While it is great for soloing and helping your healers a smidge, I feel that it can be skipped these days. Again, with all the AOE heals, healers will be spamming away! As for MTs.. yeah it can help. I'll re-evaluate this when we hit the end game. Also, perhaps one of us will feel compelled to spec it. That would make you my hero!

Primal Tenacity-Can't speak for this yet. I have not seen any compelling reason to grab this. It is nice for getting feared and helping the healer while a mob is on your butt. The reduction is nice, but tremor totem is as well! I give Blizz a 2/10 for this one. It reeks imo.

Protector of the Pack- Formerly known as Mother Bear, this talent affects your mitigation scaling in two ways: the first is how many is in your party(up to 12% I last checked); the second is how hard the boss smacks you! Do I like this talent? Yes. Do I like the group mechanic aspect to it? No. I don't think that mitigation should be based on how many are in your party. Even though I do not support the mechanic, it is a necessary bear talent! Could be the end of soloing elites though... /sad panda. Also this talent adds a bit more AP to bear. More AP= More threat. More threat = More not dead people in your group = good! Not great; Good.

Predatory Instincts- Solid talent. Great for cats. Good for bears. Also a nice little boost to AOE avoidance. Get this talent.

Infected Wounds- I honestly have not spent much time on this talent. Great from a PVP standpoint. If the reduction of attack speed works on bosses, I'd say grab it. I assume it does. However, also note that thunderclap, judgement of the just, and icy touch also apply this. It can be skipped and most likely will not be missed if you are a PVEr. (May be nice for 5-10 mans though)

King of the Jungle-This did not stand out to me at first. After speccing it for cat, it is a must. We have no incentive to use it with enrage. Take away the reduction of armor when popping enrage and it would be nice for extra threat. Cat= yes Bear=maybe

Mangle-Not having this is like a warrior tanking in berserker stance without a shield. You just don't want to see that! This is the bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese talent for feral. It gave us a purpose in BC! If you don't spec this, you are one silly goose!

Improved Mangle- Reduced energy cost and reduced cooldown is good. You can live without it I suppose. Totally a must in my book though.

Rend and Tear-This talent just feels weak. Sure, it is nice for a noticeable boost to kitty DPS and a small boost to threat. Oh, it also increases the chance for FB to crit. I don't like that it is 5 points. Feels like too much. Simply put, it kinda feels like getting pancakes with no syrup.Sure it's okay, but it is bland. For a deep feral talent is is just feh.

Berserk-Now that it is a 3 min CD I like it much better. This is the druid's last stand/ some rogue talent I cannot think of atm. Anyways it is definitely worth the point. Can live w/o it, but it is a damn good button in a bind for bear and pretty damn nice to help get a 4-5 point savage roar/ rip up. Get it. It is nice. It is not spectacular like mangle was, but it is something that will help us be a better MT.

Restoration Tree

Furor- Huge yes for cats. It now retains up to 100 energy when you shift out to BR/ Innervate. For bears it is nice if you wish to spend points in the resto tree (which you most-likely will). Cat= yes Bear=maybe

Imp MotW-If you want to primarily play a bear, grab this and 3/5 furor imo. Cats can stay away from this. Bears can too. Personal preference in my opinion.

Naturalist- Get it. 10% damage is nothing to pass up. Bears get threat/DPS, cats get DPS.

Natural Shapeshifter- Debate-able. Get it if you want master shape shifter. Otherwise it can be spent elsewhere!

Intensity- I like it. I actually really like it. Gives us some regen for off healing and some extra rage when it matters most. Sadly it is just too hard to cram in with an already bloated tree. Skip it or you will regret it.

Omen of Clarity-Get it. With a supposed 6% proc rate it is pretty schweet. I'd pass if you were going strictly bear since rage starvation seems like it will be something of the past. Cats should get this. You will not regret that decision.

Master Shapeshifter- 4% extra crit in cat is to hard to pass up. Grab it. The 4% for bear can help that TPS and damage, but is not a necessity.

*Any farther in the tree and you may as well just spec resto. we simply don't have a way to cut corners anymore with all the bloat.

Balance Tree

Genesis- 5% extra periodic damage is great, but with all the bloat, I'd say no. I could change my mind in the future. But for now, it is a no.

New Feral Abilities

Swipe-Not new. However it is worth mentioning again that it now hits 4 targets (5 if you glyph).

Savage Roar-Slice and Dice type ability. Increases AP by 40% for a duration dependent on combo points. I absolutely love seeing the bigger numbers.

A few Notable Specs

The 55/16 Hybrid Spec- This spec gives you the best of both world without gimping cat or bear (too much at least). This will be the spec I choose at 80.

Feral Combat Talents - 55 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 16 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5
# Naturalist - rank 5/5
# Natural Shapeshifter - rank 3/3
# Omen of Clarity - rank 1/1
# Master Shapeshifter - rank 2/2

65/5/1 Full out Bear- I am not a big fan of this spec. However, it provides the best mitigation/avoidance available to a bear tank. Some shared cat talents. However, don't think that you will be able to compete with rogues.

Druid Talents
Minimum Required Level: 79
Required Talent Points: 70

Feral Combat Talents - 65 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Aggression - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Primal Precision - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Improved Leader of the Pack - rank 2/2
# Primal Tenacity - rank 3/3
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# Infected Wounds - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 5 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5

Level 70 Feral Specs

56/5 Feral Hybrid

Feral Combat Talents - 56 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Primal Precision - rank 1/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 5 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5

All out kitty! 48/11/2 - Great for cat. No Berserk is a downfall, but the addition of Naturalist and OoC make this a well suited spec for ripping up your foes. Also you have 2 points left!

Feral Combat Talents - 48 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Shredding Attacks - rank 2/2
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Primal Precision - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3

Restoration Talents - 11 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5
# Naturalist - rank 5/5
# Omen of Clarity - rank 1/1

Bear spec 56/5 - I like this spec for a dedicated bear tank. However, I'd like to be a bit more flexible and do some real DPS.

Feral Combat Talents - 56 point(s)

# Ferocity - rank 5/5
# Feral Instinct - rank 3/3
# Thick Hide - rank 3/3
# Feral Swiftness - rank 2/2
# Faerie Fire (Feral) - rank 1/1
# Sharpened Claws - rank 3/3
# Predatory Strikes - rank 3/3
# Primal Fury - rank 2/2
# Savage Fury - rank 2/2
# Feral Charge - rank 1/1
# Natural Reaction - rank 3/3
# Heart of the Wild - rank 5/5
# Survival of the Fittest - rank 3/3
# Leader of the Pack - rank 1/1
# Primal Tenacity - rank 3/3
# Mother Bear - rank 3/3
# Predatory Instincts - rank 5/5
# King of the Jungle - rank 3/3
# Mangle - rank 1/1
# Improved Mangle - rank 3/3
# Berserk - rank 1/1

Restoration Talents - 5 point(s)

# Furor - rank 5/5

Some Druid Math

Crit Per Agi
Level 70- 0.025
Level 80- 0.012

Agi required for 1% Crit
Level 70- 40
Level 80- 83.33333333

Toskk Calculator- Direct link. http://druid.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/WotLK_dps_calculator404.html

*MORE TO COME WHEN MORE INFO IS AVAILABLE*

Kitty Rotation

On trash- Pounce>> Savage roar (for the extra AP)>> Mangle >>Shred to dead or do a energy dump with FB (I'd only FB if it were a single mob and the last to die)

On Bosses- Pounce>> Mangle >>Shred to 4/5 >> Savage roar>> Mangle>> Shred to 4/5 >> Rip

or

Pounce>> Savage Roar>> Mangle>> Shred to 4/5>> Savage Roar>> Mangle>> Shred to 4/5>> Rip

***I have to do a bit more DPS testing before I can deem one far superior to the other***

More to come...