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...

Multi-mob tanking

So, I can't believe I have not made a post about this. Well lets start off by acknowledging a few things about multi-mob tanking:

• Druids should try and tank a maximum of 3 targets if possible.
• Don't just mash swipe.. well unless you are in T6 gear

So first we will start off with a scenario of 1 target. In this case you

1. Select target
2. Hit your maul button
3. Pull with Fairie Fire
4. Mash mangle as soon as it gets in range.

The rest is basically spamming lacerate if you are 70. If you are like my buddy Morydd and have not reached 70, just alternate mangle and mauls.

Next we have two targets. In this scenario, you should:

1. Repeat steps 1-4 on the single target scenario.
2. Tab to get your second target.
   
3. Hit your second target with a few lacerates (or a maul in the case of our buddy)
4. If no CC is around, you can swipe while staying on your main target and mash mangle every time it comes up.

Okay, now for three:

1. Steps 1-4 again
2. Swipe a few times. Tab-lacerate as well when mangle is on CD
3. Swipe while staying on your main target and mash mangle every time it comes up.

Now 4 or more:

• Get a pally tank (jk!)

1. Okay, start off with a Barkskin/ Hurricane combo.
   
2. Pop into Bearform about halfway through
3. Hit demo roar
4. Mangle your main target and tab swipe/lacerate
5. Be ready to hit your taunt

Hope this helps. Best of luck to all you feral bears out there. Keep up the great work!

Make yourself one of these =)

What is all this scribble-scrabble? Well... it is my upgrade list. What is that Fellesa; how do I make one? /durr

Okay. This is the best way for me to look at upgrades and gems/enchants. I look at geared druids, the druid dps calculator and druid blogs to figure out the best way to gear up my kitty.
There are a few basic rules when making your list:

• Watch that you stay hit capped. Some poeple say forget the hit cap for druids. Tell that to the WWS
  
• Check for socketing. Make sure that with sockets you can achieve better stats.
• Look for upgrades that can fuel an even larger upgrade. For instance, look at perhaps a small downgrade that may get you hit capped. In return, you can get a nice big upgrade.
  
• Weigh all slots evenly. Any upgrade is an upgrade.
  
• Aim for the middle ground upgrades. Don't always strive to get the best upgrade if that means sacrificing on other upgrades.
• Keep your 2p Malorne set bonus if you can. It's nice!
• Lastly, make sure the gear looks super amazingly cool. Alwas take a cool looking green over some poopy ugly purple! =P
  

Healing as a feral

This is a parse from a recent trip to BT. We were on Naj'entus for the first time. We carried 10 great healers. I placed number 5. How did I do this?

Here are some fantastic tips for healing as a feral (in your healing set):

• Don't be afraid of potting: For the love of Pete... pot and pot often. Raiding costs gold. Get used to it.
• Develop a good rotation. I usually have a stack of LB on the tank as well as a rejuv. During the timers, I usually throw a few LBs/rejuvs on the raid.
  
• Be focused. Get to the heals first.
  
• Work on your healing gear. Realize that you can be a valuable healer.
• Read up on your class. Understand the mechanics
  
• PVP! It helps develop quick reaction times.
• Spec resto. Understand the mechanics of the spec. It will give you lots of insight to healing.
• Lastly, don't be afraid to ask tips from the other healers. Take it with a grain of salt and apply it to the situation
• Don't forget to have fun!
  

Healing the priest tank for FLK?

So, ever been short that resto shammy? Are you expected to fill that healing spot? Let me share the secrets of healing the priest tank:

Healing the priest tank and surrounding members can be pretty tricky. Even though the tank does not take huge damage, everyone that surrounds the priest (including yourself) takes damage.

The single most effective way to heal the tank and the surrounding members is to pull those 4 people (again including yourself) out onto your screen. Lifebloom is your main source of heals. Keep a 3 stack and a rejuv on the tank, and heal those surrounding you with a lifebloom. Be prepared to spend lots of mana at times, and pot frequently. I also suggest mana oil to help that MP5. Do this, and you should last at least until we move on the priest. Once on the priest, be prepared for lots of hotting for the tank, and surrounding melee. It is a huge help if ferals/ prot pallies throw out a couple of heals at this time. Also an innervate on your friendly tree druid is much appreciated.

This is a post I made a few months ago on the druid forums for my guild. It takes some good concentration, but we can heal almost as well as that shammy... too bad we don't have spell interrupt though.. /sad durid

Best Cat DPS site EVAR!

This may look intimidating at first, but let me explain. This is know as Toskk's Druid DPS calculator. This is your friend. It will help you top those charts!
You can go to the site by clicking: HERE

Okay, so basically you can see the area that you can input your stats. Get in your kitty gear and in kitty form and write those in. After that be sure you include the set pieces you have and the buffs you will have. Next, you can chose to ignore hit rating cap and see the best upgrades OR you can select the Socket method( I choose this). You can select matching or all agi gems. After you select this, you select a slot for gear from the drop down menu. Chose the piece you want to see upgrades for. It will put them in descending order of course with the best at the top.

How do I interpret this?

Well, it is simple. You look at the upgrades. You will notice it tells the drop locations and such. Just look at the instances you do and apply it to that. If you are just gearing up you can look at Kara gear and possibly badge gear. If you are all decked out, you may see a few pieces from Sunwell. Just apply it to your raiding situation. Someone in Kara should not be looking at Sunwell gear. Notice even the small upgrades you can make. It makes a big difference.

Hope you find this useful!

What spec are you?

I finally thought it would be a great time to make a post about druid specs. I will discuss a few Feral and resto builds and what I like about them. Lets start off with Fellesa's resto build. This is the build I use for PVE as well as some light PVP. It incorporates what I believe to be the best resto talents and balance talents.

Fellesa's resto build: 8/0/53

So why do I like this spec?
I love this spec because I am a pure hotter. This is not for the Healing Touch spammer. It focuses purely on helping your hots. You notice I put 2 points in Empowered Touch. This is just for that extra boost in your Natures Swiftness>> Healing touch combo. Also note that this build is built specifically just for healing. You get no nifty points in Balance that increases your DPS. The points spent there is for PVP survivability.

Soraxen's Resto Build: 12/0/49

Notes about Soraxen's build: This is completely PVE. There is absolutely no PVP viability in this spec (imo). Unlike my build, Soraxen has some more points in the balance tree to help with DPS as well as healing touch based spells in the resto tree.

~Note that these are two completely different specs. Mine is for pure HOTs and some survivability. Soraxen's is focused more for some minor soloing and for both Hots and Healing Touch. What one is better? You decide.

OKAY NOW ON TO THE GOODIES!!

Feral Spec: Feral spec brings true druid-like talent to the table. Feral druids are effective tanks, dps, and even healers with the goods. We are truly the most versatile spec in the game. I am going to show you what I think are the top two versatile specs.

Fellesa's Feral Spec: 0/47/14


Why do I like my spec? One word, Functionality. Aside from PVP, this is in my opinion one of the best druid specs. I get most of the goodies in Feral tree with even a few in the resto tree to boot. There is however one feral talent I want to get once I see a few T5 pieces. The next spec covers that.

Acroyear's Spec: 0/47/14 (Sounds the same, eh?)


Note about Acro's spec: This spec is even a bit more versatile than my own. With the ability to swap out a weapon with tons of agi and blast a few heals on the raid, you have definitely proved your worth. You can see that Acro chose to improve his bash. You could also put a point in the nifty roots talent.

~ Which spec is for you? Well if you play a cat most of the time, Acro's spec is the way to go. He has all the goodies that will make you pwn with the addition of some healing. My spec on the other hand is more for bears. If you tank a bit, dps a bit, heal a bit, either will work. You just have to apply the spec to the dungeons you are in and your primary role.



Leave some comments, suggest some specs. I'm always excited to try something new. More posts soon! <3