Feral Druid Compendium

Written by Crazymeow, Cheesey

Patch: 11.0
Updated: 26th of November, 2024

News

11.0.5 Changes

This comes out to around 2% buff in single target, and a significant buff for Wild Slashes. Wild Slashes is still going to be behind in dungeon builds but it's in playable range for sure. Main drawback is its horrendous single target damage. A sample build has been added to the Dungeon Talents section.

Blackrock Depths raid

There is nothing of note in this raid for Feral Druids power-wise. The available trinkets are subpar, and Flame Wrath iconFlame Wrath is too low item level to be worth over crafted/myth track weapons. That being said, the raid is another source of hero-track gear if you are lacking in that department.

Non-power wise, you can get updated transmogs of the T2 set bonuses and other cosmetics in this patch. See this Wowhead guide for more information. To see the T2 appearances, try this page

Rotation:

Single Target

Image Light
Advanced Single Target Priority

What is a priority list?

When reading the priority lists below, you should not think about these as steps to follow in a specific order. At any given point in combat, you should cast the first thing in the list that you are able to cast.

The way this section is written is very formulaic and has the same structure as the Action Priority List (APL) used in sims.

Pre-Combat:

  1. Heart of the Wild iconHeart of the Wild
  2. Prowl iconProwl
  3. Rake iconRakefrom stealth.

Select which talents you have to filter the priority list:

Single Target Priority List:

Highest Priority: Cooldowns
  1. Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Furyat 5 combo points or if you're missing 35+ energy, whichever happens first.
  2. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bitewith Apex Predator's Craving iconApex Predator's Cravingprocs if it won't disrupt procing Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons.
  3. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bitewith Apex Predator's Craving iconApex Predator's Cravingprocs.
  4. Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmwhen:
    1. Rip iconRipis up. AND
    2. There isn't an Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmheading to your target, AND
    3. Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmis either missing or about to expire with 1/2 stacks. For example, with 3 stacks, you would refresh as soon as Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmfalls off.
  5. Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmconditions change based on the amount of Adaptive Swarms iconAdaptive Swarmsyou have out:
    • If you have 3 Adaptive Swarms iconAdaptive Swarmswith at least 2 stacks out, then you will target allies with priority 1 stack > 0 stack > 2 stacks.
    • If you have 2 or fewer Adaptive Swarms iconAdaptive Swarmsof at least 2 stacks, cast on your enemy target when swarm is not on them, and is not traveling towards them.
  6. Incarnation iconIncarnationif it's ready.
  7. Berserk iconBerserkif it's ready. This should always be paired with Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury.
  8. Feral Frenzy iconFeral Frenzywith 1 or no combo points. 2 combo points is also acceptable during Incarn iconIncarn.
  9. Feral Frenzy iconFeral Frenzywith 1 or no combo points. 2 combo points is also acceptable during Berserk iconBerserk.
  10. Convoke iconConvokewhen:
  11. You may also Convoke iconConvokeif the fight is about to end. Usually you want to Convoke iconConvokewith Berserk iconBerserk.
Second Priority: Finishers
  1. As Wildstalker there are 2 scenarios where you can use 3+ combo point rips:
    1. Rip iconRipis in pandemic range near the start of Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury
    2. Rip iconRiphas less than 16 seconds remaining at the end of Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury
  2. Rip iconRipif all of these are true:
  3. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bitewhen:
    • You have 5 combo points AND
    • You have at least 50 energy or are inside Incarn iconIncarn/Berserk iconBerserk.
Last Priority: Generators
  1. Below this point, skip any spells you've already casted towards Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons, if you have 0 or 1 stacks of Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsremaining.
  2. Shadowmeld iconShadowmeldinto Rake iconRakeif all of these are true:
  3. Rake iconRakeif any of these are true:
    • Rake iconRakeis in pandemic and Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Furyis up.
    • Rake iconRakeis in pandemic and will expire before Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Furyis up. Delay as long as reasonable if you are downgrading its snapshot value.
    • You are in stealth.
    • You have a Sudden Ambush iconSudden Ambushproc, and you would be upgrading Rake iconRake's snapshot value.
  4. Use Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashif it will cap on charges within the next 4 seconds.
  5. Cast Thrash iconThrashif it is in pandemic range.
  6. Shred iconShredwith Clearcasting iconClearcastingprocs.
  7. Use Lunar Inspiration Moonfire iconMoonfireif it is in pandemic.
  8. Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slash.
  9. Shred iconShred.
  10. If you still need Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsproc it with this priority:
    1. Swipe iconSwipe.
    2. Rake iconRakeif it will not downgrade Rake iconRake's snapshot value.
    3. Clip Lunar Inspiration Moonfire iconMoonfire.
    4. Clip Thrash iconThrash.

Multi Target

Multi Target Opener
Advanced Multi-target Priority

What is a priority list?

When reading the priority lists below, you should not think about these as steps to follow in a specific order. At any given point in combat, you should cast the first thing in the list that you are able to cast.

The way this section is written is very formulaic and has the same structure as the Action Priority List (APL) used in sims.

Pre-Combat:

  1. Heart of the Wild iconHeart of the Wild
  2. Prowl iconProwl
  3. Rake iconRakefrom stealth.

Select which talents you have to filter the priority list:

AoE priority list (2+ targets):

Highest Priority: Cooldowns

Special Note: Use single-target spells on higher priority/higher healthed mobs

  1. Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Furyat 5 combo points or if you're missing 35+ energy, whichever happens first.
  2. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bitewith Apex Predator's Craving iconApex Predator's Cravingprocs if it won't stop Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsfrom proccing.
  3. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bitewith Apex Predator's Craving iconApex Predator's Cravingprocs.
  4. Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmwhen all of these are true:
  5. With Unbridled Swarm iconUnbridled Swarmtalented, use Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarmas often as you can with this priority:
  6. Incarnation iconIncarnation. This should always be paired with Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury.
  7. Berserk iconBerserk. This should always be paired with Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury.
  8. Feral Frenzy iconFeral Frenzywith 2 or fewer combo points outside Incarn iconIncarn, or 3 or fewer inside Incarn iconIncarn.
  9. Feral Frenzy iconFeral Frenzywith 2 or fewer combo points outside Berserk iconBerserk, or 3 or fewer inside Berserk iconBerserk.
  10. Convoke iconConvokewhen:
    • Your Rip iconRip's will not fall off during Convoke's iconConvoke'schannel. AND
    • Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Furyis up. AND
    • You have 1 or fewer combo points outside of Berserk iconBerserk, or 2 or fewer combo points during Berserk iconBerserk.
    • *note: You generally want to pair this with Berserk iconBerserkif possible.
Second Priority: Finishers
  1. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Biteat 5 combo points and both of these are true:
  2. Primal Wrath iconPrimal Wrathwith 5 combo points if any of these conditions are met:
  3. Rip iconRipon targets without Rip iconRipthat will live for a decent amount of time.
    • Please, I beg you, if you are using Rip iconRipon multiple targets; you should seriously be talenting Primal Wrath iconPrimal Wrath. It's as close to mandatory as it gets.
  4. Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Biteat 5 combo points with either 50 energy or inside Incarn iconIncarn/Berserk iconBerserk.
Last Priority: Generators
  1. Below this point, skip any spells you've already cast towards Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsif you have 0 or 1 stacks of Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons.
  2. Thrash iconThrashif it's either missing or in pandemic range.
  3. During Incarn iconIncarn/Berserk iconBerserk, Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashif you have any charges. Yes ignore Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsfor this.
  4. During Incarn iconIncarn/Berserk iconBerserk, Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashif you have any charges starting at 3t. Yes ignore Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsfor this.
  5. During Incarn iconIncarn/Berserk iconBerserk, ignore Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsand Swipe iconSwipe.
  6. During Incarn iconIncarn/Berserk iconBerserk, ignore Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsand Swipe iconSwipestarting at 3t.
  7. Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashif it will cap on charges within the next 4 seconds, or mobs will die in the next 4 seconds.
  8. Swipe iconSwipeif there are 5 or more targets.
  9. Prowl iconProwlinto Rake iconRakeon a target where Rake iconRakeis either missing, in pandemic range, or can be upgraded as long as you don't have a Sudden Ambush iconSudden Ambushproc.
  10. Prowl iconProwlinto Rake iconRakeon a target where Rake iconRakeis either missing, in pandemic range, or can be upgraded.
  11. Shadowmeld iconShadowmeldinto Rake iconRakeon a target where Rake iconRakeis either missing, in pandemic range, or can be upgraded as long as you don't have a Sudden Ambush iconSudden Ambushproc.
  12. Shadowmeld iconShadowmeldinto Rake iconRakeon a target where Rake iconRakeis either missing, in pandemic range, or can be upgraded.
  13. Refresh Rake iconRake's that are either missing, or in pandemic range if you're not capped on Clearcasting iconClearcastingstacks.
  14. Swipe iconSwipeif there are 3 or more targets.
  15. Refresh Moonfire iconMoonfire's that are either missing, or in pandemic range if you're not capped on Clearcasting iconClearcastingstacks.
  16. Rake iconRakeif it's either missing, or in pandemic range.
  17. Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slash
  18. Swipe iconSwipe
  19. Swipe iconSwipe
  20. Shred iconShredif Sudden Ambush iconSudden Ambushis not up.
  21. Shred iconShred
  22. Thrash iconThrash
  23. If you still need Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons, proc it with this priority:

Talents:

Raid Talents:

Feral has a lot of build options for raid, and perhaps the most significant choices of those being which Hero tree you play. Here, we’ll try to outline situations you might play one or the other, but keep in mind both are competitive and nothing should be set in stone. It’s recommended you play around and see what works for you, and to also check out what others are running on logs.

Note: until you get your 4-set, you should play Wildstalker.

Single Target: With 4-set, Wildstalker is a bit better in pure single-target, especially with Druid of the Claw being punished slightly more by downtime compared to Wildstalker.

Fights with Adds: Druid of the Claw will often be the better option, particularly as adds in raid are typically short-lived. Ravage iconRavageplays into this much better than Bloodseeker Vines iconBloodseeker Vines. That and Druid of the Claw has Bestial Strength iconBestial Strengthoffering better AOE with just a single talent point invested into Primal Wrath iconPrimal Wrath. Conversely, Wildstalkers focus on damage over time effects naturally loses value when mobs die too quickly.

Cleave or Council fights: With extended multi-target (2-4), Wildstalker likely wins out slightly, as its multi-target value is partly dependent on Rake and targets living long enough. That being said, the two are fairly close in this scenario, and the choice likely depends on other factors on these sorts of fights.

Mythic Neru'bar Palace Raid Builds
Ulgrax
Bloodbound Horror
Sikran
Rasha’nan
Broodtwister Ovi'nax
Princess Ky'veza
Silken Court
Queen Ansurek
Generic raid build archetypes.
WS ST light adds
WS Thrashing Claws (a bit less damage but one less dot)
WS ST L Build (highest simming for pure st)
WS Hybrid ST-AOE
DOTC ST
DOTC Hybrid ST-AOE

Please note you can significantly customise the above, see the talent write-up in the following M+ section. Or take inspiration from the given Mythic Raid talents.

Dungeon Talents:

WS

DOTC

Feral goes into TWW with even more options when it comes to M+, with both Hero trees creating two distinct options on their own, and within each the widest variety of spec-tree talent options yet. Embrace these options and find what works for you, there is simply no ‘best’ build, especially because different talents will suit different dungeons and groups. However listed below are some reference builds you can play around with, and the images above can help guide you to customise these builds to your liking.

DOTC All-Rounder
DOTC Burst
DOTC caelus-proudmoore (psst: play me if you can't decide)
DOTC Heavy Single-Target
DOTC Wild Slashes (note: a bit worse, mostly because single target concerns)
Wildstalker Basic
Wildstalker ST/Prio
Wildstalker Bees+LI
Wildstalker Thrashing Claws

Talent Explanations:

Section 1 Options Explained

Tireless Energy iconTireless Energy: generally it’s recommended you take 1 point in this, unless running Thrashing Claws as Wildstalker. Two points as Druid of the Claw can be decent too.

Double-Clawed Rake iconDouble-Clawed Rake: always run this as Wildstalker. Optionally strong for cleave and medium (pug-size) pulls as Druid of the Claw.

Merciless Claws iconMerciless Claws: particularly good as Druid of the Claw, providing good single-target, decent AOE, and great burst, particularly due to its synergy with Berserk: Frenzy iconBerserk: Frenzy.

Thrashing Claws iconThrashing Claws: great option if running Lunar Inspiration, frees up more globals to Moonfire more. Video guide here.

Section 2 Options Explained

Taste for Blood iconTaste for Blood: strong single-target and funnel (if a particular dungeon has priority mobs you want to funnel Apex procs into). Strong synergy with Convoke iconConvoke, and particularly Druid of the Claw in general.

Infected Wounds iconInfected Wounds: decent single-target and cleave, particularly good if playing Double-Clawed Rake iconDouble-Clawed Rakeand Wildstalker in general. As Druid of the Claw this is generally only taken if playing Taste for Blood iconTaste for Blood.

Sudden Ambush iconSudden Ambush: good single-target, and similar to above can be great for cleave due to the synergy it has with Double-Clawed Rake iconDouble-Clawed Rake. Generally recommended as Wildstalker, but this expansion can be easily skipped as Druid of the Claw for dungeons with large pull sizes or when playing Merciless Claws iconMerciless Claws‘swipe builds’.

Savage Fury iconSavage Fury: great burst and great for larger pull sizes, however a little bit less effective on single-target. Longer travel time between packs in some dungeons can give time for TF to reset, thereby giving talents like this higher overall uptime as well. Also of note, one of the m+ affixes this season gives cooldown reduction, which this talent greatly benefits from.

Lunar Inspiration iconLunar Inspiration: strong single-target and cleave as Wildstalker, and can help proc Bloodtalons more often.

Moment of Clarity iconMoment of Clarity: good single-target and decent all-rounder, can help if you are struggling with energy too.

Raging Fury iconRaging Furyvs Tiger’s Tenacity iconTiger’s Tenacity: both are good for both Hero trees, Tiger’s Tenacity is generally a bit better overall, particularly with DOT-focused builds, but Raging Fury is competitive and the added uptime can be useful depending on how long packs are living, or if you simply prefer playing with a higher uptime on Tiger’s Fury iconTiger’s Fury.

Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashvs Wild Slashes iconWild Slashes: Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashis always better, largely due to it being a relevant dps gain in Single Target, unlike Wild Slashes iconWild Slashes. That being said, Wild Slashes iconWild Slasheshas a straightforward way of playing, and is decent enough to comment on. Do NOT pair Wild Slashes iconWild Slasheswith Double-Clawed Rake iconDouble-Clawed Rake. Talent Merciless Claws iconMerciless Clawsinstead.

Section 3 Options Explained

Convoke iconConvokevs Incarn iconIncarn: Druid of the Claw in general favours Convoke iconConvoke, however both are competitive as Wildstalker, with an edge towards Convoke iconConvoke. Similar to last expansion, Convoke iconConvokeis a bit more single-target oriented than Incarn iconIncarn, however it still offers great AOE burst as well. If you drop Taste for Blood iconTaste for Bloodwith Wildstalker, Incarn should be very competitive, and I recommend playing around with it in different dungeons, especially if there’s any boss mechanics you can dodge with the free Prowl cast.

Bloodtalons iconBloodtalonsvs Lion’s Strength iconLion’s Strength: similar to last expansion, feel free to play the latter for an easier option if you are learning the spec or simply prefer it. The difference is probably even smaller than sims suggest as you’ll be making less mistakes and can focus that tiny bit more on mechanics or crowd control.

Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarm: good for both Hero trees, with 1 point in bees is one of the single best options you can take for pure single-target, and I would recommend running it almost all the time as Wildstalker. 2 points into Unbridled iconUnbridled‘beekeeping’ is where it gets really interesting if you want more cleave and AOE value, particularly on medium size pulls. However its value drops off on really large AOE.

Carnivorous Instinct iconCarnivorous Instinct: good all-rounder, with particular strength in large AOE, and for burst, due to not only amplifying Tiger’s Fury iconTiger’s Fury, but also synergies with Berserk iconBerserkand Convoke iconConvoke. Related to burst, it’s one of the only talents in the bottom section that buffs Brutal Slash for example, which again is stronger inside of Berserk iconBerserk. Gains even more value if playing Raging Fury iconRaging Fury.

Feral Frenzy iconFeral Frenzy: a good single-target/prio option for both Hero trees, and decent in AOE as well, as it can help you weave Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bitewith the free combo points.

Rip & Tear iconRip & Tearvs Veinripper iconVeinripper: this node is more competitive than ever, and somewhat comes down to R&T offering more AOE, with Veinripper offering more priority damage - as the added Rip iconRipduration in AOE can help you weave Ferocious Bite iconFerocious Bite. However the added Rake iconRakeduration is also great for Wildstalker, with more Rake iconRakeuptime resulting in higher Bloodseeker Vines iconBloodseeker Vinesuptime.

Saber Jaws iconSaber Jaws: a pure single-target option for Druid of the Claw, its value will vary significantly based on dungeon.

Consumables:

Potions

Tempered Potion iconTempered Potion is your dps potion for every situation.

Algari Healing Potion iconAlgari Healing Potion is the only health potion available. That being said, if you find yourself equipped with an engineering crafted piece, Heartseeking Health Injector iconHeartseeking Health Injector can situationally be a superior option.

Food

Feast of the Midnight Masquerade iconFeast of the Midnight Masquerade, Feast of the Divine Day iconFeast of the Divine Day and Beledar's Bounty iconBeledar's Bounty are all essentially equal, with Beledar's Bounty iconBeledar's Bounty being by far the cheapest option.

Phials

Flask of Alchemical Chaos iconFlask of Alchemical Chaos for every situation

Weapon Oils/Stones

Ironclaw Whetstone iconIronclaw Whetstone/Ironclaw Weightstone iconIronclaw Weightstone or Algari Mana Oil iconAlgari Mana Oil. These have very similar value, though Algari Mana Oil iconAlgari Mana Oil is much cheaper.

Augment Rune

Crystallized Augment Rune iconCrystallized Augment Rune

Gearing:

 

Stat Priority:

Sim yourself using Raidbots Top Gear. Do not follow any stat priorities.

Gems and Enchants

Gems: 1x Elusive Blasphemite iconElusive Blasphemite or Culminating Blasphemite iconCulminating Blasphemite and a mixture of the other gems based on your sims. It is not worth slotting in a Stamina gem. Personally don't think Elusive Blasphemite iconElusive Blasphemite is necessary as a Feral Druid, given that we already have a lot of speed, but it would be a disservice to not mention it.

Weapon: Authority of the Depths iconAuthority of the Depths or Authority of Radiant Power iconAuthority of Radiant Power The former provides better pure single target damage, while the latter is better with more targets-- and Neru'bar Palace has a lot of adds. Thereotically, Stonebound Artistry iconStonebound Artistry is the best for pure AoE, but that is fairly rare.

Chest: Crystalline Radiance iconCrystalline Radiance

Cloak: Chant of Winged Grace iconChant of Winged Grace

Legs: Stormbound Armor Kit iconStormbound Armor Kit

Wrist: Chant of Armored Avoidance iconChant of Armored Avoidance

Boots: Defender's March iconDefender's March or Scout's March iconScout's March

Ring:  You should always sim your own character to determine what enchant to use in this slot. They tend to be very close. If you don't want to sim, Radiant Mastery iconRadiant Mastery is usually a safe choice.

Crafting

Special Note: You can craft 610 PvE item level PvP gear with Forged Gladiator's Heraldry iconForged Gladiator's Heraldry and slot your 2nd embellishment slot on that at the start. This requires farming 525-700 conquest depending on item slot. This item can additionally be socketed by farming Honor to purchase Vicious Jeweler's Setting iconVicious Jeweler's Setting.

Trinkets

These trinket lists are in rough order of strength, assuming the highest item level version of the items. You should always sim your own character to determine which trinkets you should equip.

For use in Raid:

For use in Mythic+:

Trinket FAQ

Q: How does Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg iconOvi'nax's Mercurial Egg work in sims and can I change the stacks?

A: To sim Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg iconOvi'nax's Mercurial Egg at different stack counts, copy the following into the Custom APL box in Raidbots:

thewarwithin.ovinaxs_mercurial_egg_initial_primary_stacks=20
thewarwithin.ovinaxs_mercurial_egg_desired_primary_stacks=20

From here, you can tweak the desired_primary_stacks value to see how the trinket performs at different stack counts. The sim will hover around the desired stack count of the 'standing still' buff. The given is the default setting.

Q: Shadow-Binding Ritual Knife iconShadow-Binding Ritual Knife is simming better than some of the other stuff on this list for me, should I use it?

A: Absolutely. This trinket is particularly potent for its item level, the only reason it isn't on the list is because it can't be acquired at myth track item level.

Q: How do I use Treacherous Transmitter iconTreacherous Transmitter?

A: Treat it like a 2 minute on-use, but make sure you send it a few seconds before cooldowns. This gives you time to complete the task for when you want the buff.

There are 3 possible tasks.

  1. Jump three times
  2. Stand on a purple disc
  3. Collect a moving orb

You can use this weakaura to track the task you need to complete.

Q: Why does Mad Queen's Mandate iconMad Queen's Mandate do more damage as Wildstalker?

A: The Wildstalker Hero Talent Vigorous Creepers iconVigorous Creepersbuffs non-feral damage as well, including the damage from the trinket.

Miscellaneous:

What is snapshotting?

Snapshotting refers to the process of continually ensuring that your strongest bleeds are ticking on your targets. The strength of feral bleed ticks is snapshotted (calculated) at the moment of application and lasts for the duration of the bleed. If certain buffs are active when the bleed is applied, such as Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury, the damage of its snapshot will be stronger. A good feral player is aware of this and will weave between applying stronger bleeds and leaving currently ticking bleeds alone. 

Tracking the strength of different bleeds across multiple/changing mobs is notoriously difficult, so we recommend the use of Weak Aura bleed packages such as those found in dreamgrove.gg. All our WA packages follow the same general format:

  • If the bleed’s icon is highlighted in green or its number is higher than 100: this is a stronger bleed than the one you currently have active.
  • If the bleed’s icon is highlighted in grey or its number is equal to 100: equal value bleed
  • If the bleed’s icon is highlighted in red or its number is lower than 100: this is a weaker bleed than the one you currently have active.

Note: You will not necessarily upgrade every snapshot. Please review the rotation section.

Which bleeds are snapshotted?

  1. All Feral dots and bleeds will snapshot at higher values when paired with Tiger's Fury iconTiger's Fury
  2. Rake iconRakewill also snapshot
  3. Rip iconRipwill also snapshot Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons
  4. Thrash iconThrashwill also snapshot Moment of Clarity iconMoment of Clarity

A dot will ideally be applied only when 30% or less of the prior dot remains. This triggers a mechanic known as “pandemic,” which is common to most damage over time spells.  

What is “pandemic range?”

This term refers to a DoT mechanic in WoW. The baseline duration of a DoT can be extended by up to 30% if a target is already affected by that DoT. Due to the 30% cap on extension, DoTs generally shouldn't be refreshed too early, as potential ticks will be lost. The ideal window of time to refresh a DoT is known as its “pandemic range.” 

Let’s use an example. Consider a 10 second DoT:

  • Refresh with 1s remaining: the new DoT will be 11s long (10s baseline duration + 1s from prior DoT)
  • Refresh with 3s remaining: the new DoT will be 13s long (10s baseline duration + 3s from prior DoT)
  • Refresh with 8s remaining: the new DoT will still be 13s long (10s baseline + up to 30% from prior DoT)

It is therefore most efficient to wait until 70% or more of your bleed has ticked to refresh its DoT. 

Fun trivia: the name “pandemic” derives from an old warlock passive that was eventually integrated as a baseline feature of damage over time spells. 

What is “clipping?”

Clipping refers to refreshing a dot prior to its pandemic window. Sometimes you will want to do this with Feral because of snapshotting and/or Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons.

Macros

Here, we provide a list of helpful macros. These macros are not required, but using them may elevate your gameplay. (Note: These macros are not set in stone. Customize them as you see fit!)

Cast Ursol's Vortex at your cursor location (@cursor macro):

#showtooltip
/cast [@cursor] Ursol's Vortex

Use your trinket(s) and/or weapon at the same time as an ability:

Some trinkets and weapons should be used with a major cooldown. A lot of players will bind these items with Berserk. 

  • 13 is the top trinket slot
  • 14 is the bottom trinket slot
  • 16 is your weapon slot

If you would like to use all three items with Berserk, use this macro:

#showtooltip
/use 13
/use 14
/use 16
/cast Berserk

This macro may be modified. For example, the macro below only uses the 2nd trinket with Berserk:

#showtooltip
/use 14
/cast Berserk

Cast Entangling Roots on your mouseover target:

This macro casts Entangling Roots on your mouseover target. If your mouse is not hovering over a target, the macro instead casts Entangling Roots on your current target.

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover, harm, nodead] [] Entangling Roots

Dispel/Soothe on the same bind:

This is the classic help/harm macro, but using mouseovers as well.

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover, harm, nodead] Soothe; [@mouseover, help, nodead] Remove Corruption; [harm, nodead] Soothe; Remove Corruption

Skull Bash your Focus target:

This macro casts Skull Bash on your focus target. If you have not set a focus target, the macro instead casts Skull Bash on your current target.

We recommend creating a keybind that will assign a target as your focus with one click. This option can be found in the game's keybind settings. 

#showtooltip
/cast [@focus, harm, nodead] [] skull bash

Cast Adaptive Swarm on your ally or enemy mouseover target:

This macro casts Adaptive Swarm on a friendly mouseover target. If your mouse is not hovering over a target, the macro instead casts Adaptive Swarm on your current target.

Many abilities that are cast on allies - Rejuvenation, Regrowth, Innervate, etc - may be macro'd in this fashion. To make those macros, simply replace the term "Adaptive Swarm" with your spell of choice. If you want mouseover to work for both friendly and enemy targets, replace 'help' with 'exists'. If you want it to only work on enemy targets, replace 'help' with 'harm'.

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] [] Adaptive Swarm 

Cast Rebirth on an ally:

This macro casts Rebirth on your current friendly but dead mouseover target. If your ally is alive, the macro instead casts Mark of the Wild.

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover, help, dead] Rebirth; Mark of the Wild

Why does my mouseover macro not work?

You probably have it bound to a mouse button, which doesn't allow mouseover macros by default. To fix this, you can use an addon like Clicked, or just map the mouse-button to a different key. Backtick (`)/Tilde (~) can also have this issue. If you don't have it bound to a mouse-button and it still doesn't work, then there is likely an issue with the macro itself. In this case, it's almost always the ommission of help, harm or exists in the brackets containing mouseover.  

Useful WeakAura(s) and Addons

Full WeakAura Packages for Feral

To play feral competently, many variables must be tracked. A single WeakAura is not up to this task, so our contributors have spent many hours assembling full WA packages from individual WeakAuras. 

Each package contains multiple WeakAuras that work with each other to help you understand what's happening in combat. No package is superior to the others in the list. We recommend you try out several, and settle on your favorite.  

Common Standalone WeakAuras and Addons

None of these WeakAuras or Addons are required, but using them may elevate your gameplay.

Feral Bleed Power by Oi This WA will make it easier to track the power of your next bleed compared to the currently active one. For more details, check out the WA description. 

Feral Snapshots by Enth This Addon does many things, including tracking the talents, buffs and damage modifiers affecting DoT abilities. This information is displayed on WAs, standard Blizzard nameplates, Plater, and other addons. For more details, check out the Addon description.

Rake Plater mods by Sretnuh This links to a collection of Rake mods for the Plater addon. Their purpose is to help you track which targets have Rake at a glance. No listed mod is superior to the others. We recommend you try out several, and settle on your favorite. 

Clearcasting Glows by Sretnuh This WA generates a glowing icon on your Shred iconShred, Thrash iconThrash, Swipe iconSwipeand Brutal Slash iconBrutal Slashbuttons when Clearcasting iconClearcastingprocs. For more details, check out the WA description.

Apex Predator's Craving by Marvel This WA produces a glowing icon + sound cue when Apex Predator's Craving iconApex Predator's Cravingprocs for a free bite. For more details, check out the WA description.

Adaptive Swarm Helper by KnewOne, updated by Drufearr  This WA assists with proper use of Adaptive Swarm iconAdaptive Swarm. It also includes Unbridled Swarm support for casting on allies. For more details, check out the WA description.

Bloodtalons Tracker from Fore's pack This WA tracks your progress towards crucial procs of Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons. Bloodtalons is procced when you cast three different combo point generation abilities within 4s. This WA displays the 4s timer. For more details, check out the WA description.

Bloodtalons Tracker from Cheesey's pack This WA is another alternative for tracking crucial procs of Bloodtalons iconBloodtalons. For more details, check out the WA description.

Focus Skull Bash This WA tracks when your Skull Bash interrupt is off cooldown and ready for use on your Focus target. For more details, check out the WA description.