Are feral druids (Cat) really that aweful in in Outland?

Hey guys,

So I'm new to TBC, on retail I started in mid wrath so this is a whole new world for me (I'm really digging that some things are harder, such as all the quests needed to get your various forms on druid, among other things). But on Icecrown I already have a druid that is 6.2k resto and 6.2k boomie and I hate rage based tanks so feral tanking is out. I want to try something new, and I really enjoyed feral on retail (WOTLK). The problem is, I have read on some forums that cat dps is fairly unviable in TBC. Obviously dual talents are not available in TBC so that leaves me doubly worried about going cat.

Edit: I will be doing primarily PVE with the druid if that makes a difference

We have dual spec here on Outlands. I can't answer the pve feral question though. =(

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Originally Posted by csant1023

We have dual spec here on Outlands. I can't answer the pve feral question though. =(

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Oh yeah forgot that Warmane changed that. Thanks for the clarification.

Feral as dps isn't really going to top the dps charts, but you will be taken in raids as a melee support same way as an enhancment shaman.

If you put everything into it then yes Feral can hold their own dps wise at least on single target, but fact is that a Feral is always taken for tanking duties first and DPS second, you're going to struggle to find a place if you want to dedicate to cat dps without having to tank, especially when there are a million rogues/warriors to compete for spots with. Chances are if a raid needs a Feral for the hunter group they will use a bear, and if the bear isn't needed for tanking for a particlar fight/phase then he/she will go cat for that period.

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Originally Posted by bigbazz

If you put everything into it then yes Feral can hold their own dps wise at least on single target, but fact is that a Feral is always taken for tanking duties first and DPS second, you're going to struggle to find a place if you want to dedicate to cat dps without having to tank, especially when there are a million rogues/warriors to compete for spots with. Chances are if a raid needs a Feral for the hunter group they will use a bear, and if the bear isn't needed for tanking for a particlar fight/phase then he/she will go cat for that period.

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Wait I'm confused- don't you need separate gear and don't you need to spec different in the feral tree to be a bear or a tank and visa versa? Your post makes it sound like this isn't the case.

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Originally Posted by Zerrubabel

Wait I'm confused- don't you need separate gear and don't you need to spec different in the feral tree to be a bear or a tank and visa versa? Your post makes it sound like this isn't the case.

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yes

dual spec

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Originally Posted by Zerrubabel

Wait I'm confused- don't you need separate gear and don't you need to spec different in the feral tree to be a bear or a tank and visa versa? Your post makes it sound like this isn't the case.

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Not necessarily, aside from Dual Spec being available (answering your question but I will expand).

It's quite common for tanks to switch into cat with their base tanking spec and dps with just a gear switch (and pull respectable numbers), similarly a tank might (while in tank gear) switch into cat during a fight for a period where they aren't needed to tank (example Lady Vashj, Lurker). While their dps isn't ideal during that period it's still valuable, they aren't as useless as a Warrior tank when not tanking during a fight.

Fully dedicated cat will do great single target dps, but they lack outside of that and don't perform as well as other melee over various different scenarios. Good example being our first Vashj kill last August where we had a dedicated Cat. During the first phase our cat was competing comfortably with the top 5 and on some progress pulls was surpassing 2000 dps with favourable RNG, but during the course of the fight it dropped considerably due to movement and target switching to mobs with lower health. As a result the Cat was not a great DPS contribution to the important parts of the fight.

Ideal scenario you're just rarely going to want a pure Cat dps, but rather you want a Feral tank who maintains a dps set in order to be flexible, if a raid wants a pure melee dps then they will typically go for a Warrior, Rogue, Ret Paladin, Enhance Shaman depending on needs, all of which are better all-round performers than a Feral.


Edit : This guide says it best - https://legacy-wow.com/druid-feral-level-70/

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7: Your Role in the Raid

There are a few reasons why a Feral Druid is such a desired spec to have in a raid:

1: You are the most versatile spec in the game, capable of fulfilling 2 roles in a raid using the same spec.

2: Leader of the Pack, it’s what every melee and hunter dps will absolutely love you for.

3: Mangle applies a debuff that increases bleed damage by 30%, which rogues and warriors in the raid will enjoy mildly.

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You're taken because you can tank and dps, in the same spec if needed.