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Beta, level cap 30 · data read 13 Oct

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Feral Combat Druid guide

Tank / Melee DPS · our guide of 13 Oct 2026 Recommendation

Talent trees, every tier list's rating and the sim: the Feral Combat tab.

In short

  • One tree for two roles: a tank in Bear Form and a melee damage dealer in Cat Form.
  • Number 9 of 20 damage specs in our newest sim run, at 715 DPS, and number 2 of 3 tanks. Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
  • Your weapon still matters in forms: Cat and Bear damage scales with the equipped weapon, so a weapon is the upgrade to look for. Sourced: Guide · 2 Oct
  • Weak spot early: Cat Form only comes at level 20, from the Moonglade class quest. Sourced: Guide · 2 Oct

How it plays

Up to level 30. In Cat Form: Prowl, open with Rake, Shred from behind, Primal Bite as the builder from the front once Savage Fury 2 of 2 opens it, and Rip at five combo points. In Bear Form for groups: Maul, Swipe and Demoralizing Roar. Bear crits give 100% more Rage since 8 Oct, and Demoralizing Roar now causes threat. Ferocity, Feral Instinct and Feral Swiftness come first, then Savage Fury, Primal Bite and Thick Hide for bear armor.

Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct, Talent database

At level 60. Theory Cat: Shred and Primal Bite to build, Rip at five, Ferocious Bite to spend. Shifting Power turns 55% of your base mana into 40 Energy; since 8 Oct it can't be used at full Energy. Use Berserk on cooldown: for 15 sec Primal Bite hits up to 3 targets with no cooldown, and combo-point abilities get 100% more crit chance. Bear: Feral Charge, Maul, Swipe and Lacerate. Leader of the Pack gives your party 3% crit chance in either form.

Sourced: Talent database, Dev notes · 8 Oct Source pending

Talents at a glance

  • Level 20: Ferocity 5, Feral Instinct 3, Feral Swiftness 2, Savage Fury 1

    Ferocity crit, Feral Instinct (Bear threat + Prowl), Feral Swiftness; one Savage Fury (row 3 at 10). Bear at 10, Cat at 20.

    Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 30: Ferocity 5, Feral Instinct 3, Feral Swiftness 2, Thick Hide 2, Savage Fury 2, Feral Charge 1, Sharpened Claws 2, Primal Bite 1, Predatory Strikes 3

    Savage Fury 2/2 unlocks Primal Bite (row 4 at 15); Feral Charge, Sharpened Claws, Predatory Strikes; Thick Hide for bear duty.

    Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 60: Ferocity 5, Heart of the Wild 5, Feral Instinct 2, Feral Swiftness 2, Thick Hide 3, Savage Fury 2, Feral Charge 1, Sharpened Claws 2, Primal Bite 1, Predatory Strikes 3, Blood Frenzy 2, Shredding Attacks 3, Shifting Power 1, Leader of the Pack 1, Improved Shifting Power 2, Natural Reaction 5, Rend and Tear 3, Berserk 1, Furor 5, Naturalist 2

    Berserk requires Leader of the Pack; Rend and Tear requires Predatory Strikes 3/3; Blood Frenzy requires Sharpened Claws 2/2 — all paid. King of the Jungle's 3 points became Shifting Power 1 + Improved Shifting Power 2 (Improved Shifting Power requires Shifting Power). Natural Reaction 5/5 for bear. Shredding Attacks 3/3, because Shifting Power requires it; the point comes from Feral Instinct (from 3 to 2). Feral Swiftness stays 2/2 for its dodge (+2% per point), which matters for bear. Restoration: Furor 5/5, Naturalist 2.

    Theory · See the trees · Open in the calculator

Rotation at level 30

Recommendation

Single target

Open with Prowl, Ravage (32)/Rake, Shred.

  1. Cat: Shred from behind (Shredding Attacks −18 Energy)
  2. Primal Bite (talent) as builder from the front
  3. Rip at 5
  4. Shifting Power not yet (row 4 — the leveling order takes it at 34)
  5. Bear in groups: Maul, Swipe, Demoralizing Roar; Primal Bite threat doubled (1 Oct)

Groups

  • Bear: Swipe (scales with 3% AP since 1 Oct)

Tip

Bear crits generate 75% more Rage (1 Oct); forms are immune to Disarm.

Stats

Each guide's stat order as it gives it, the sim's stat weights, then ours. Guides dated before the last big tuning are shown but not counted.

Guides agreeSame order on 2 guides.

WhereStat order
Guide · 7 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctWeapon damage › Hit and Expertise › Crit › Strength › Agility › Stamina › Spirit › Intellect › Spell power
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctWeapon damage › Hit and Expertise › Crit › Strength › Agility › Stamina › Spirit › Intellect › Spell power
Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot ranked
Sim · stat weights level 60 · run 12 Oct, 5,000 iterations

Per 1%: Crit 4.52 › Hit 2.85 tied with Expertise 2.72 › Attack speed 2.04

Per point: Physical damage 2.19 › Agility 0.451 › Strength 0.435 › Attack power 0.181 tied with Attack power in feral forms 0.181 › Armour penetration 0.0648

The DPS each stat adds, for a level-60 character on the engine's preset gear in a 2-minute fight on a beta engine: a direction, not a verdict. = marks a tie: stats within each other's margin. Not counted toward "Guides agree".

Where they differ: ours puts Hit or expertise before Crit, which the sim weighs higher per 1%.

Ours RecommendationWeapon damage › Hit or expertise › Agility › Crit › Strength › Stamina and armor (bear first)

Where ours differs: ours puts Agility before Crit and Strength, which both guides rank higher.

Race

Each guide's race picks for Feral Combat, then our pick for the Druid.

Alliance

One guideNight Elf on 1 guide.

Horde

One guideTauren on 1 guide.

Professions

Guides agreeThe same professions on 2 guides.

  • Guide · 7 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctSkinning, Leatherworking, Herbalism, Alchemy
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctSkinning, Leatherworking, Herbalism, Alchemy
  • Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Ours, for the Druid RecommendationHerbalism + Alchemy; or Skinning + Leatherworking

What changed for Feral Combat

  • 8 Oct: Bear/Dire Bear crits generate 100% more Rage (was 75%); threat in Bear and Dire Bear Form +50% (was 30%); Demoralizing Roar now causes threat; Rage from damage taken reworked, so expect more Rage when hit.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • Thorns base damage back to Vanilla values, spell power ratio 6% (was 13.3%); Wrath ranks 1–5 retuned so each new rank is an upgrade; Mana Potions now work in Bear, Dire Bear and Cat Form.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • Feral: Predatory Instincts is now called Natural Instinct and also adds 12/25% of Intellect as spell healing; Shifting Power is unusable at full Energy; Wolfshead Helm: +5 Energy on Shifting Power, Rage effect unchanged.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • 1 Oct: Bear/Dire Bear crits generate 75% more Rage; Swipe scales with 3% of AP; Primal Bite threat roughly doubled; all forms immune to Disarm; Faerie Fire no longer resets swing timers; Tiger's Fury and King of the Jungle removed; new talents Shifting Power (row 4) and Improved Shifting Power (row 5, −4/8 sec cooldown); Shredding Attacks moved to row 3.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct

  • Mangle renamed Primal Bite (its debuff was removed); Primal Fury renamed back to Blood Frenzy; Feral Charge (Cat) can no longer be cast on allies.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Wrath base damage +~50%; Thorns scales with the caster's spell power.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

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