Feral Druid DPS Easy Mode

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. What has changed in Patch 7.3?
  • 3. What has changed in Patch 7.2.5?
  • 4. Strengths
  • 5. Weaknesses
  • 6. Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• ×Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics
  • 2. Talent Choice
  • 3. Stat Choice
  • 4. Basic Rotation
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources
  • 3. Artifact Ability
  • 4. Basic Abilities
    • 4.1. Bleeds
    • 4.2. Other Abilities
    • 4.3. Offensive Cooldowns
    • 4.4. Additional Utility
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheet
    • 2.1. Open World, Levelling and Questing
    • 2.2. Dungeons and Raids
      • 2.2.1. Single Target
      • 2.2.2. AoE
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression
    • 1.1. Early Progression
    • 1.2. Patch 7.2 Progression
  • 2. Artifact Ability
  • 3. Relic Choice
    • 3.1. Tear the Flesh/Razor Fangs
    • 3.2. Razor Fangs/Ashamanes Energy/Feral Power
    • 3.3. Feral Instinct
    • 3.4. Sharpened Claws
    • 3.5. AoE Relics
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. Optimization between Light/Shadow Tier 2 and Relic Tier 3 Choices
  • 2. Tier 2 Priorities
    • 2.1. Best
    • 2.2. Good
    • 2.3. Average
    • 2.4. Weak
  • 3. Tier 3 Priorities
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single Target Rotation
    • 1.1. Opening Sequence
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation
    • 2.1. Ashamane's Frenzy
    • 2.2. Brutal Slash
    • 2.3. Long Duration Adds
      • 2.3.1. 2-3 Targets
      • 2.3.2. 4-8 Targets
      • 2.3.3. 9+ Targets
    • 2.4. Short Duration Adds
    • 2.5. Priority Targets
  • 3. Cooldowns
  • 4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Feral Druid
    • 4.1. Mastery: Razor Claws
    • 4.2. Combo Points and Energy
    • 4.3. Single Target Rotation in Detail
      • 4.3.1. Bleeds & DoTs
      • 4.3.2. What to do the Rest of the Time
      • 4.3.3. Energy Management
      • 4.3.4. When to Refresh Bleeds
      • 4.3.5. When to Refresh Savage Roar
      • 4.3.6. Ferocious Bite
    • 4.4. Detailed Cooldown Usage
      • 4.4.1. Tiger's Fury
      • 4.4.2. Fury of Ashamane
      • 4.4.3. Berserk
      • 4.4.4. Tier 1 Talents
      • 4.4.5. Tier 5 Talents
      • 4.4.6. Tier 6 Talents
      • 4.4.7. Tier 7 Talents
  • 5. Tier 19 Set Bonuses
  • 6. Tier 20 Set Bonuses
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics
    • 1.1. Jagged Wounds Builds:
    • 1.2. Incarnation Builds:
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding
  • 3. Advanced Stats
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems
    • 1.1. Incarnation Builds:
    • 1.2. Jagged Wounds Builds:
  • 2. Enchants
  • 3. Consumables
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Druids
      • 1.1.1. Rebirth
      • 1.1.2. Remove Corruption
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Feral Druids
      • 1.2.1. Regrowth Macro
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Druids
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Omen Threat Meter
      • 2.1.5. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.6. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.7. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.8. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
      • 2.1.9. TellMeWhen
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Feral Druids
      • 2.2.1. DotFocus
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Best in Slot List
    • 1.1. Trinkets
    • 1.2. Tier 19 & 20 Bonus Combinations
    • 1.3. Evaluating Upgrades with dynamic Item Levels
  • 2. Racial Bonuses
  • 3. Legendary Items
    • 3.1. 7.1.5 Legendaries
    • 3.2. 7.2 Legendaries
    • 3.3. 7.2.5 Legendaries
    • 3.4. Recommended Choices
  • 4. Loot Competition
  • 5. ChangeLog

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

1. The Basics

Feral can be quite overwhelming to the new player due to the focus on dual resource management and maintaining numerous buffs/debuffs at once. Despite the quite complex base toolkit however, talents offer a number of options that can simplify some of the management mechanics that are required of a Feral player. This page will focus on a build that negates some of the more extreme management requirements that the advanced sections encourage, to make the playstyle more forgiving.

An important thing to take note of here however, is that bleeds are still omnipresent in a Feral build. Due to that, you will need to be able to track them and your Energy/Combo Points effectively so you do not fall behind. This build will grant a lot more room for failure but will not compensate for more egregious mistakes, as Feral has a naturally unforgiving nature to mis-management.

2. Talent Choice

The talents selected below have been chosen due to their ease of use and low impact on the rotation. In many cases they also increase the room for failure on core mechanics, whilst not strictly being the best for bottom line performance. You will always find a better benefit from playing around the more advanced rotation, but this provides the best way to ease into the spec and get a feel for its mechanics.

• Level 15: Blood Scent
• Level 30: Displacer Beast
• Level 45: Balance Affinity
• Level 60: Mighty Bash
• Level 75: Soul of the Forest
• Level 90: Brutal Slash
• Level 100: Moment of Clarity

3. Stat Choice

The current Feral stat priority is as follows when using this build:

1. Agility;
2. Critical Strike;
3. Mastery;
4. Versatility;
5. Haste.

Both Mastery and Critical Strike are extremely close, Critical Strike will smooth out the rotation more whilst Mastery will bring up the value of bleeds, so either are good choices. Versatility is very average, with Haste being noticeably lower, but not enough to be discounted entirely.

4. Basic Rotation

• Use Berserk to increase burst damage when you can stay on a target for the duration.
• Use Tiger's Fury when under 30 Energy to increase damage and gain Energy, or if Berserk is active.
• Cast Ashamane's Frenzy, line this up with Tiger's Fury.
• Maintain Rake if it is not present, this can be refreshed if under 4 seconds remaining.
• Maintain the Thrash debuff at 3 or above targets
• Cast Rip if at 5 combo points and it is not present on the target.
• Cast Ferocious Bite if at 5 combo points with Rip active to refresh it.
• Cast Swipe at 4 targets or above to build combo points.
• Cast Shred to build combo points.

Take note here that due to the fluid nature of the Feral DPS style being based around dual resources and bleed uptime, you will have a less strict rule to using your skills. Talents selected minimise the number of effects that you need to actively maintain, and allow for a reduced Energy requirement to sustain your rotation, alongside giving you a great AoE tool in Brutal Slash. It is still imperative however to make sure that Rake is active as much as is allowed and Rip is activated as soon as possible to allow for it to be refreshed.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Wordup, a frequent theorycrafter involved in a number of class communities. He is also an experienced player who has been in the world top 100 since the days of Sunwell, currently raiding in Echoes. You can also follow him on Twitter.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Xanzara, a top-ranking Feral Druid, who sometimes streams on YouTube.

5. ChangeLog

• 18 Sep. 2017: Updated to remove Sabertooth note.
• 29 Aug. 2017: Updated talent recommendations for new 7.3 trees and updated stat priority to match that of the stats page.
• 12 Jun. 2017: Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 26 Nov. 2016: Added section for easier playstyle.