A GUIDE TO FERAL SKILLS

This guide is a complement to the one about feral talents and intends to illustrate the skills that druids use in feral forms and their best application.
In this guide are not included neither Feral Charge nor Feral Faerie Fire, already discussed in the previous guide being talent skills.
Feral Skills are only a component of being druid and no way are self sufficient to play this class as intended: players who only stick to a form didn’t really understand how this class works.
Please post your comments, suggestions, corrections to make this guide better.


BEAR / DIRE BEAR FORM


MAUL
15 Rage
Next melee
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Increases the druid's next attack by x damage.

Rank 1 – level 10: x = 18
Rank 2 – level 18: x = 27
Rank 3 – level 26: x = 37
Rank 4 – level 34: x = 49
Rank 5 – level 42: x = 71
Rank 6 – level 50: x = 101
Rank 7 – level 58: x = 128

Talents that affect skill:
Ferocity
Savage Fury
Natural Weapons

Related Counterpart Skill:
Heroic Strike

When to use it:
The bear main tool to deal dmg, generate threat, gain and keep aggro: it becomes far more effective with ferocity, that decreases rage cost by 1/3. Definitely the better way to consume your rage.

BASH
10 Rage 5 yd range
Instant 1 min cooldown
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Stuns the target for x sec.

Rank 1 – level 14: x = 2
Rank 2 – level 30: x = 3
Rank 3 – level 46: x = 4

Talents that affect skill:
Brutal Impact

When to use it:
Excluding racial war stomp (lucky tauren!), bash is the only in combat stun given to druids (mangle ftw!): 4 seconds (5 buffed with BI) for a safe heal, obviously if bash isn’t missed/parried/blocked/dodged...

SWIPE
20 Rage 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Swipe 3 nearby enemies, inflicting x damage

Rank 1 – level 16: x = 18
Rank 2 – level 24: x = 25
Rank 3 – level 34: x = 36
Rank 4 – level 44: x = 60
Rank 5 – level 54: x = 83

Talents that affect skill:
Natural Weapons

When to use it:
A expensive but very effective way to focus on you the attention (and the hits) of 2-3 enemies, damaging all of them. This skill really makes bear shine to manage aggro of multiple mobs.

ENRAGE
Instant 1 min cooldown
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Generates 20 rage over 10 sec, but reduces base armor by 27% in Bear Form and 16% in Dire Bear Form. The druid is considered in combat for the duration.

Obtained at level 12

Talents that affect skill:
Improved Enrage

When to use it:
Enrage is a rage dispenser, useful when you are out of rage in the middle of combat or between fights.
You trade some armor reduction with some rage: starting from 0 rage, enrage let you feral charge after 3 seconds, or land a buffed maul after 5. If talented, this skill allows you to do both instantly.

DEMORALIZING ROAR
10 Rage
Instant
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
The druid roars, decreasing nearby enemies' melee attack power by x. Lasts 30 sec.

Rank 1 – level 10: x = 30
Rank 2 – level 20: x = 50
Rank 3 – level 32: x = 65
Rank 4 – level 42: x = 100
Rank 5 – level 52: x = 130

Talents that affect skill:
Feral Aggression

Related Counterpart Skill:
Demoralizing Shout

When to use it:
A damage reduction tool, that gives you and your party more survivability against enemies.
Cast it at the very beginning of the fight: the earlier you cast it the better reduction you gain.
Ideal against multiple opponents: -130 AP for 30 seconds means 278 dmg reduction per mob. Warning: it does aggro also neutral mobs inside its radius (10 yards).

GROWL
5 yd range
Instant 10 sec cooldown
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Taunts the target to attack you, but has no effect if the target is already attacking you.

Obtained at level 12

Related Counterpart Skill:
Taunt

When to use it:
When you Growl to an hostile mob who is hitting someone else, you become the number 1 in its hate list and you immediately steal aggro: with little cd and no rage cost, it is a invaluable tanking tool, especially in union with feral charge.

CHALLENGING ROAR
15 Rage
Instant 10 min cooldown
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Forces all nearby enemies to focus attacks on you for 6 sec.

Obtained at level 28

Related Counterpart Skill:
Challenging Shout

When to use it:
Read: emergency button, use with caution. You can prevent a wipe with this, but on a 10 min CD, so you can’t rely on it. With this and some swipe you can effectively steal aggro from unintentional tank wearing cloth...
Be careful: after 6 sec challenged enemies will aggro who is on top on their hate list, so you should max your threat level during that time.

FRENZIED REGENERATION
Instant 3 min cooldown
Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form
Converts up to 10 rage per second into health for 10 sec. Each point of rage is converted into x health.

Rank 1 – level 36: x = 10
Rank 2 – level 46: x = 15
Rank 3 – level 56: x = 20

When to use it:
Wouldn’t be wonderful healing in forms? Here is our little imba move that makes our bear last forever: a 2k hot spell instant cast that no one can interrupt. There is a reason why druids don’t spam maul all the time and let their rage get bigger: it is called Frenzied Regeneration.
Perhaps it needs another rank to be more effective in end game.

CAT FORM


CLAW
45 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Claw the enemy, causing x additional damage. Awards 1 combo point.

Rank 1 – level 20: x = 27
Rank 2 – level 28: x = 39
Rank 3 – level 38: x = 57
Rank 4 – level 48: x = 88
Rank 5 – level 58: x = 115

Talents that affect skill:
Ferocity
Blood Frenzy
Savage Fury
Natural Weapons

Related Counterpart Skill:
Sinister Strike

When to use it:
Claw is the primary damage source and the first combo maker of cat form. When buffed with ferocity it costs only 2 ticks of your energy bar, when buffed with savage fury it deals + 20% damage and in addition it doesn’t have any requirement (prowl or must be behind target): priceless.

RAKE
40 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Rake the target for x damage and an additional y damage over 9 sec. Awards 1 combo point.

Rank 1 – level 24: x = 19; y = 39
Rank 2 – level 34: x = 28; y = 57
Rank 3 – level 44: x = 43; y = 75
Rank 4 – level 54: x = 58; y = 96

Talents that affect skill:
Ferocity
Blood Frenzy
Natural Weapons

When to use it:
Rake applies a moderate dot and, as Pounce and Rip, is the best solution against plate wearer, being not affected by armor. However cat is not the best form against warriors, so you won’t use rake very often.

SHRED
60 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Shred the target, causing 225% damage plus x to the target. Must be behind the target. Awards 1 combo point.

Rank 1 – level 22: x = 54
Rank 2 – level 30: x = 72
Rank 3 – level 38: x = 99
Rank 4 – level 46: x = 144
Rank 5 – level 54: x = 180

Talents that affect skill:
Improved Shred
Blood Frenzy
Natural Weapons

Related Counterpart Skill:
Backstab

When to use it:
Shred, especially if improved, is the best way to cover a dps role in a party: if the tank is doing well its job and you keep your threat under control, shredding enemy’s back is very effective.
Also Pounce + Shred is a nice combo.
Due to range and lag issues, shred is problematic in pvp.

RAVAGE
60 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Ravage the target, causing 350% damage plus x to the target. Must be prowling and behind the target. Awards 1 combo point.

Rank 1 – level 32: x = 157
Rank 2 – level 42: x = 217
Rank 3 – level 50: x = 273
Rank 4 – level 58: x = 343

Talents that affect skill:
Blood Frenzy
Natural Weapons

Related Counterpart Skill:
Ambush

When to use it:
“What is your highest ravage?” is a frequent post on druid forum, because with Ravage, especially when it crits, you can deal some decent damage. It is an “opener”: you prowl behind your victim, preferably a soft one, and ravage him to death, leaving him with few health points. Ravage is definitely one of the main reasons why druids love kitties!

POUNCE
50 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Pounce, stunning the target for 2 sec and causing x damage over 18 sec. Must be prowling and behind the target. Awards 1 combo point.

Rank 1 – level 36: x = 90
Rank 2 – level 46: x = 120
Rank 3 – level 56: x = 150

Talents that affect skill:
Brutal Impact
Blood Frenzy
Natural Weapons

When to use it:
Pounce it’s not a life-saver stun, because requires prowl and you can only use at the very beginning of a fight. If buffed with Brutal Impact, you will prefer it as opener with warriors, then shred, rake, rip and...better you shift out immediately before you are executed...

RIP
30 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Finishing move that causes damage over time. Damage increases per combo point and by your Attack Power:
1 point : x damage over 12 sec.
2 points: y damage over 12 sec.
3 points: z damage over 12 sec.
4 points: w damage over 12 sec.
5 points: q damage over 12 sec.

Rank 1 – level 20: x = 42; y = 66; z = 90; w = 114; q = 138
Rank 2 – level 28: x = 66; y = 108; z = 150; w = 192; q = 234
Rank 3 – level 36: x = 90; y = 144; z = 198; w = 252; q = 306
Rank 4 – level 44: x = 138; y = 222; z = 306; w = 390; q = 474
Rank 5 – level 52: x = 192; y = 312; z = 432; w = 552; q = 138
Rank 6 – level 60: x = 270; y = 438; z = 606; w = 774; q = 942

Talents that affect skill:
Natural Weapons

Related Counterpart Skill:
Rupture

When to use it:
Of the 2 cat finishers, Rip is the preferred one, because is not affected by armor, it is effective even with few combo points and doesn’t dump all of your energy.
Furthermore it is functional to “start in cat, finish in bear” strategy: with few lucky crits and blood frenzy you can max your combo points very soon, then rip, shift out, bear, bash, maul to death while rip ticks yet. More attack power you have more damage will do your rip: about 0,25 dmg per AP.
Rip limits: being a bleed effect can be removed and many end game mobs are immune to it.

FEROCIUS BITE
35 Energy 5 yd range
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Finishing move that causes damage per combo point and converts each extra point of energy into n additional damage. Damage is increased by your Attack Power.
1 point : x damage
2 points: y damage
3 points: z damage
4 points: w damage
5 points: q damage

Rank 1 – level 32: x = 50-66; y = 86-102; z = 122-138; w = 158-174; q = 194-210; n = 1
Rank 2 – level 40: x = 79-103; y = 138-162; z = 197-221; w = 256-280; q = 315-339; n = 1,5
Rank 3 – level 48: x = 122-162; y = 214-254; z = 306-346; w = 398-438; q = 490-530; n= 2
Rank 4 – level 56: x = 173-223; y = 301-351; z = 429-479; w = 557-607; q = 685-735; n= 2,5
Rank 5 – level 60: x = 199-259; y = 346-406; z = 493-553; w = 640-700; q = 787-847; n= 2,7

Talents that affect skill:
Feral Aggression
Natural Weapons

Related Counterpart Skill:
Eviscerate

A DD finisher, ideal either against soft targets with poor health left or against mobs immune to bleed. Even more effective investing 5 points in Feral Aggression. Usually you won’t never land a full energy FB: 40/60 energy are enough to deal decent damage.
As well as Rip, also Ferocious Bite damage gains around 0,25 dmg per AP.

PROWL
Instant 10 sec cooldown
Requires Cat Form
Allows the Druid to prowl around, but reduces your movement speed by x%. Lasts until cancelled.

Rank 1 – level 20: x = 40%
Rank 2 – level 40: x = 35%
Rank 3 – level 60: x = 30%

Talents that affect skill:
Feline Swiftness

Related Counterpart Skill:
Stealth

When to use it:
The ability to stealth is only a rogue/druid prerogative and it is a great privilege. In PVE, thanks to prowl you can skip annoying/dangerous mobs throughout the way to your real target. In PVP, prowl gives you initiative: the ganker has always a significant advantage over the ganked and in union with track humanoid it is even simpler to find your prey...
With feline swiftness you can prowl outdoor at full speed.

TRACK HUMANOIDS
Instant
Requires Cat Form
Shows the location of all nearby humanoids on the minimap. Only one type of thing can be tracked at a time.

Obtained at level 32

When to use it:
Perhaps the only reason why rogues envy our cat: in union with prowl is a very useful hunting tool for questing, grinding, pvping... It is only annoying recasting it every time you shapeshift.

COWER
20 Energy 5 yd range
Instant 10 sec cooldown
Requires Cat Form
Cower, causing no damage but lowering your threat a x amount, making the enemy less likely to attack you.

Rank 1 – level 28: x = small
Rank 2 – level 40: x = medium
Rank 3 – level 52: x = large

Related Counterpart Skill:
Feint

When to use it:
Before patch 1.12, Cower was the only (gimped) way to cover a dps role in party, spamming it continuously: generate tons of threat without having any effective armor reduction means certain death against bosses.
Now with passive threat reduction (-29%) our kittie can deal more sustained damage and stop spamming cower all the time.
Nevertheless, if you steal aggro to tank, cower will do the job.

DASH
Instant 5 min cooldown
Requires Cat Form
Increases movement speed by x for 15 sec. Does not break prowling.

Rank 1 – level 26: x = 50 %
Rank 2 – level 46: x = 60 %

Related Counterpart Skill:
Sprint

When to use it:
To distance a pursuer, to catch a fleer, to flag run and to stop a flag runner in WSG, you will find a lot of uses for Dash, but it is on a 5 min CD. Doesn’t stack with feline swiftness

TIGER FURY
30 Energy
Instant 1 sec cooldown
Requires Cat Form
Increases damage done by x for 6 sec.

Rank 1 – level 24: x = 10
Rank 2 – level 36: x = 20
Rank 3 – level 48: x = 30
Rank 4 – level 60: x = 40

Talents that affect skill:
Natural Weapons

When to use it:
Before an opener, after a finisher or every time you remember to use it: too many times this useful skill is underrated or forgotten and doing so, you miss the opportunity to have something like +560 AP for 6 seconds...

FELINE GRACE
Passive
Requires Cat Form
Reduces damage from falling.

Obtained at level 40

Related Counterpart Skill:
Safe Fall

When to use it:
Is the only feral passive skill, so you don’t decide “when” to use it, but only how: you will choose to fall or not from a cliff. Beware: consists only in a moderate damage reduction and doesn’t make you invulnerable.

Reserved, for future use.

Any feedback?

i think most druids know what there skills do =P but it's the fact that all other classes that NEVER played a druid are forcing us to make resto druids cos we have a healing tree and thus we NEED to heal. It's the same with Paladins and shamans. They can do so much more but other ppl won't let us.

Ramm.

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Q u o t e:
Any feedback?

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Yes, a quite handy skill guide for a levelling feral druid :). Thanks very much for putting this together.

thx for sticky, but I'd like experienced druids would help me to improve this guide, suggesting their tricks and tactics in feral combat

Considering I've been acused of being a noob when it comes to feral PVP, I wouldn't mind learning how its done properly. The thread gave me a few insights and it definately deserves to be improved upon

Good guide, but I have 2 questions/comments...

1) Are you sure Feline swiftness works with prowl, even while indoors? I doubt it, somehow, but I'm open to correction :o

2) Are you sure Dash doesnt stack with Feline swiftness? I would have thought it did...

I'm quite sure on both of your questions.
At level 60 you prowl at 100% speed even indoor, with feline swiftness
Unfortunately you will never dash at 190% speed :-)

very handy it is
how u fight when you are feral:)
force to be feral=P

/apploud

no it really doesn't stack, but the PvP 4 pieces bonus will multiply feline swiftness as well as dash so you'll reach (roughly) 184% speed with dash out of prowl and about 150% with fs all the time (out of prowl)
with 4 PvP set items and fs you will get to 104.65% speed while prowling and only outdoors
i'm absolutely sure because the most annoying thing is when you're behind an enemy who hasn't seen you, and you're slowly gaining on him ..... then you're suddenly inside some crappy building/tent/rabbithole and he's gone

'Are you sure Feline swiftness works with prowl,'

I've only tried this outdoors since it cost gold to try again ;)
I prowled untalented a certain track and timed how long it took.
Then I applied the two FS talent points and prowled the same track again. This time I hit the goal faster than without FS talents.

Conclusion: FS works outdoors with prowl.

Have yet to try this indoors.

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Q u o t e:
When to use it:
Pounce it’s not a life-saver stun, because requires prowl and you can only use at the very beginning of a fight. If buffed with Brutal Impact, you will prefer it as opener with warriors, then shred, rake, rip and...better you shift out immediately before you are executed...

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Rip is not an opener righ? Did you mean Ravage? Or ravage is still better thing?

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Q u o t e:
TIGER FURY
[i]30 Energy

.......................

When to use it:
Before an opener, after a finisher or every time you remember to use it: too many times this useful skill is underrated or forgotten and doing so, you miss the opportunity to have something like +560 AP for 6 seconds...

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I have no problems to remember.. I doubt it is worth to use. If you look at energy/damage ratio - it costs nearly as much as Claw, does roughly the same damage and Claw gives you combo point. I can do math only for my level... It is like - Claw - 40 energy/70-80 damage+1 combo point, TF - 30 energy/6 white swings+1 Claw=70 damage. And in PVP you probably not striking your opponent every second cause of running around.... Maybe i am missing something or it will be much better at hier levels?

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Q u o t e:
Rip is not an opener righ? Did you mean Ravage? Or ravage is still better thing?

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??? The text you quoted is related to Pounce

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Q u o t e:
I have no problems to remember.. I doubt it is worth to use. If you look at energy/damage ratio - it costs nearly as much as Claw, does roughly the same damage and Claw gives you combo point. I can do math only for my level... It is like - Claw - 40 energy/70-80 damage+1 combo point, TF - 30 energy/6 white swings+1 Claw=70 damage. And in PVP you probably not striking your opponent every second cause of running around.... Maybe i am missing something or it will be much better at hier levels

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At level 60:

Claw (without Ferocity and Savage Fury) = +110 dmg/45 energy = 2.44 dmg per energy point
Claw (with Ferocity and Savage Fury) = +132 dmg/40 energy = 3.3 dmg per energy point
Tiger Fury = +40 dmg x 6 swings = 240 dmg/30 energy = 8 dmg per energy point

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Q u o t e:
??? The text you quoted is related to Pounce

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Yes. And you are comparing it to Rip: "you will prefer it as opener with warriors, then shred, rake, rip". Whats the point? I want to hear Pounce vs Ravage opiniion.

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Q u o t e:
At level 60:

Claw (without Ferocity and Savage Fury) = +110 dmg/45 energy = 2.44 dmg per energy point
Claw (with Ferocity and Savage Fury) = +132 dmg/40 energy = 3.3 dmg per energy point
Tiger Fury = +40 dmg x 6 swings = 240 dmg/30 energy = 8 dmg per energy point

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I am hitting with Claw for 60-70 at level 29 (without Savage or Tiger Fury). I do not know mechanics of Claw - what does it use as base Melee attack or AP. But anyway your math seems terribly wrong to me.

EDIT: Corrected some numbers after tests.

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Q u o t e:
Takes just maybe 5 minutes to link a spec and then 10 minutes to explain the spec perhaps? 1 spec is > 0 spec, so just do 1 and then work on it from there imo.

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Takes less than a second to read the first sentence of this guide.

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Q u o t e:
This guide is a complement to the one about feral talents and intends to illustrate the skills that druids use in feral forms and their best application.

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Noticed that 'complement to the one about feral talents' and 'intends to illustrate the skills' yet?

First off. Feline Swiftness does NOT work indoors by any means. And when I last checked prowling doesnt give the same speed as without either, since it adds 30% of your stealthed speed.
Not sure wich one applies first but,
1.30-(1.3*0.3)=0.5
1.3-0.5 = 0.8

Or if prowl is applied first;
0.70+(0.7*0.3)=0.91

Think prowl is applied first, so a 91% speed.

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Q u o t e:


At level 60:

Claw (without Ferocity and Savage Fury) = +110 dmg/45 energy = 2.44 dmg per energy point
Claw (with Ferocity and Savage Fury) = +132 dmg/40 energy = 3.3 dmg per energy point
Tiger Fury = +40 dmg x 6 swings = 240 dmg/30 energy = 8 dmg per energy point

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You cant count claw like that, since it adds YOUR damage as well. Its an instant attack and has nothing to do with swings, while Tiger's Fury is dependant on your swings.

Other than that things looks fine imo.