World of Warcraft

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 0. Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear (3.3)   03/23/2009 12:58:56 AM PDT
quote reply
LAST UPDATED: January 22nd, 2010

Feral DPS is one of the more involved DPS specs. It's in many ways similar to how Combat rogues played in The Burning Crusade; it's also likened to a melee affliction warlock. To do it well requires paying attention to several timers and maximizing their uptimes.

Index
Part 1 - FAQs
Part 2 - How to DPS
- Specs
- Glyphs
- Idols
- Abilities
- Rotation
Part 3 - How to gear
- Stats
- Stat conversions
- The Hit Cap And You
- The Crit Cap and You
- Set Bonuses
Part 4 - Pre-Heroic/Pre-raid gear
Part 5 - Misc
- Coming Soon
- Complex Mechanics

Part 1 - FAQs

These are the most common posts about feral DPS, so I'm putting them at the very top for easy access. If you are here to learn how to DPS as a feral from scratch, go ahead and skip this section and come back to it later.

Are cats competitive DPS?
Yes. The design is for cats to do slightly less DPS than rogues and hunters, since they cannot respec to tank or heal, however the gap is supposed to be only a few percent. This is close enough that gear and skill are usually the determining factors on the DPS meters, rather than class design - excepting overpowered and/or bugged specs. Cats are proving to be quite competitive, at the very high end providing above-average DPS on a static fight such as Saurfang or Festergut, although suffering somewhat when forced to switch targets frequently.

What's the DPS rotation?
There isn't one. It's all about refreshing timers. See Part 2 for more detail, but in a nutshell:
- Keep Savage Roar up
- Keep Mangle up, unless you have a bear or arms warrior in the group
- Keep Rake up
- Keep a 5-point Rip up
- Use Shred for combo points
- Use Tiger's Fury on the cooldown

Why Shred? Mangle costs less energy and does 240% damage to Shred's 225%!
No, no it doesn't. If you read the tooltips on Shred, Mangle, and the Rend and Tear talent, you will discover that using Shred when the target is mangled and bleeding will do about 50% more damage than Mangle, while costing only 8 energy more. In addition, correctly glyphed, Shreds increase the duration of your Rip up to 6 seconds, Mangles do not.

How do I gear?
The best resources for this question are:
Toskk's calculator: http://druid.wikispaces.com/ToskksDPSGearMethod
Rawr: http://www.codeplex.com/Rawr
Elitist Jerks Druid forum: http://elitistjerks.com/f73
All are excellent sources of information and theorycrafting. Almost all of the information in this FAQ has been derived (or unashamedly cut-and-pasted) from those sources.
Some pre-raid gear suggestions are in part 4 of this FAQ.

How much hit rating do I need?
- The melee hit cap on raid bosses in WotLK is 8%. For heroic bosses it's 6%.
- 32.79 hit rating is required for 1% hit
- The hit cap against raid bosses for feral druids is 263 rating, or 230 if you have a Draenei
- You to not need to hit cap as a feral druid. See the Part 3 section "The Hit Cap and You" for details.

How much expertise do I need?
- Raid bosses have approximately a 6.5% chance to dodge.
- Since we attack from behind, bosses cannot parry, unless they turn.
- 32.79 expertise rating is 1% dodge reduction.
- 2 points in Primal Precision grants 10 expertise, or 2.5% dodge reduction.
- The dodge cap against raid bosses is 26 expertise. With 2/2 Primal Precision, it takes 131 rating to reach the cap. Each point you take out of Primal Precision increases the cap by ~41 rating.
- Like hit, you do not need to cap. Assuming you are not capped on either, 1 hit rating and 1 expertise rating will increase your DPS by the same amount.

What's the crit cap?
If you're going by your character sheet, the white crit cap on a raid boss is 77.8% - chance to miss - chance to be dodged.
So if you have 6% hit and 4% dodge reduction, your white crit cap is 77.8% - 2% - 2.5% = 73.3% crit on your character sheet. See more in section 3.

What gems should I use?
Agility. Strength and agility are close initially, but in raid gear with 25-man buffs, agility is a little ahead. Gear gemmed for agility can also be dual-purposed into your tanking set. Once you are in late TOC25/early Icecrown gear, you can possibly switch to armor penetration. However, if you're reading this FAQ, you almost certainly should be sticking to agility. Toskk's calculator or Rawr will tell you if you're ready to change gems.

For a great explanation of armor penetration, read this thread:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19820504467&sid=1&pageNo=1

What glyphs should I use?
Glyph of Shred, Glyph of Rip, and Glyph of Savage Roar. No arguments. Glyph of Mangle and Glyph of Berserk are both decided DPS losses.

What's the best weapon enchant?
- Yes, weapon proc enchants work in feral forms, they have since Lich King launched, you can stop asking now.
- The best DPS enchant is a toss-up between Berserking, Massacre, and Mongoose, depending on a few factors - mostly, presence of windfury, gear level, and the particular fight.
- Massacre is affected by Predatory Strikes, making it actually 132 AP, which is the approximate same benefit of Berserking with a 33% uptime. For Berserking to be better than Massacre, its uptime must be greater than 33%.
- Berserking's proc rate can be frustratingly low soloing, and even in raids sometimes. It also pretty much requires Windfury to be present to raise its proc rate.
- Massacre is a little cheaper than Berserking, and is always active. It's the preferable enchant for soloing/5-mans, and raids without Windfury.
- You can find enchant uptimes by saving your combat log from a raid and viewing it with a web site such as WorldOfLogs.
- According to Elitist Jerks, Mongoose can slightly outscale Massacre and Berserking at high gear levels. However, like Berserking it requires very good uptime, and very good gear in addition. It also works OK as a cheaper enchant for a weapon you'll replace, and as an enchant for a weapon you intend to use for both DPS and tanking.
- Greater Savagery is very effective for the dirt cheap price, use it on weapons you expect to replace quickly.
- The recent PPM enchant change did not affect feral at all.

In short: Massacre is the baseline enchant. Berserking CAN be better, heavily dependent on haste buffs (in other words, usually only in 25-man raids), the fight, and the random number generator. Mongoose CAN be better than both, with the same caveats as Berserking PLUS the need for exceptional gear.

What are the best professions?
The professions you enjoy most. Even though some professions provide a very small amount more DPS than others, they may have other benefits that you prefer. You shouldn't necessarily pick a prof just because it's 10 more DPS than another.

At low gear levels, Jewelcrafting and Blacksmithing provide the most DPS, followed by Engineering, then everything else, with Tailoring and Skinning bringing up the rear.
At ridiculously high gear levels, Engineering takes top spot IF you use Saronite Bombs on the cooldown. Followed by Jewelcrafting, Blacksmithing, Skinning, and everything else, Tailoring last. If you don't use bombs, JC + BS still wins. Once you start crit capping, Skinning takes up its place dead last.
Alchemy, Leatherworking, Inscription, and Enchanting all provide identical DPS increases.
Herbalism and Mining grant zero DPS gains. However, Herbalism is an amazing profession for a druid due to being able to gather herbs without shifting out of flight form, as long as you "land".

What consumables should I use?
For a raid, Flask of Endless Rage is the best option. Biggest DPS increase, as well as lasting through death.
If you're set on using elixirs, Elixir of Strength (by virtue of being 50 compared to the other options which are 45) is actually just slightly the highest DPS. There are no Guardian elixirs which increase DPS.
Potion of Speed is the best potion. Stack it with Bloodlust for best results due to haste's multiplicative nature.

Does the talent Protector of the Pack affect attack power in cat form?
No. Protector of the Pack is only active while in bear form.

Does the talent Genesis affect feral bleeds?
No. Genesis only affects Balance and Restoration spells.

Does weapon skill affect DPS?
No. In feral forms you use "feral combat skill", not your equipped weapon skill. Feral combat skill is always maxed for your level. You can have skill level 1 with your weapon and it won't make a difference, except to your character sheet crit chance while in caster form.

Am I ready for heroics?
Are you level 80? Do you have at least mostly blues from Drak'tharon Keep and above, and Storm Peaks/Icecrown quests? Then yes, you are ready for heroics. Also keep in mind that your best ticket into heroics may be a good tanking set, if you don't mind doing it. Self-buffed, the best-possible pre-Heroic gear setup will have about 5600 AP, 35% crit, 5% hit, and ~22 expertise. If you're anywhere close to this (say, 4800-5000 AP, 30% crit, and 3-5% combined hit and dodge reduction), you're fine for the easy heroics, although not TOC or the three Icecrown instances.

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 1. Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 12:59:29 AM PDT
quote reply
Am I ready for raids?
Are you level 80? Do you have a fair number of decent level 80 blues from normal and heroic instances, gemmed and enchanted? Then yes, you're ready for early raids - Naxxramas, VOA, and OS for instance. A few purples from heroics and/or exalted reputations would be icing. A best-possible set from regular heroic drops self-buffed will have about 6500 AP, 40% crit, 8% hit, and 26 expertise, plus some haste and penetration. Again, get somewhere close to that and you'll be fine - 5500 AP, 35% crit, 6% hit, and 18 expertise would be a general ballpark. At this point you'll also be fine for heroic TOC, however a fair amount of Triumph badge gear is recommended for the Icecrown heroics.
For higher level raids, you're ready once you have an average itemlevel of around the same as typically dropped in the previous tier - 226 for ToC25, 232 for ICC10, etc.

What addons are good specifically for feral?
Try out:
BadKitty (feral ability timers)
Droodfocus (similar to BadKitty, different look and features)
Facemauler or FeralByNight (recommends next ability, to help you get a handle on the cycle)
Power Auras, to track things like cooldowns and trinket procs
Any other DOT/buff timer mod such as NeedToKnow, Classtimers, or Elkano's Buffbars

Part 2 - How to DPS

Specs
In 3.3, the highest DPS cat spec is probably:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0ZvGMcfrz0eo0huAkbAczb
It takes only DPS-increasing talents and nothing extraneous. This spec can't tank beyond normal-mode instances and has very little utility, but is the one to have if you're aiming for the top of the meters.

Many druids, however, take utility talents over the low return of Feral Aggression, and have a spec more like this:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZtGMsfrz0eR0huAkbAczb

If you want a hybrid spec which is capable of both tanking and respectable DPS, say for running as an off-tank or for a heroic instance spec that allows you to fill either role, the following is a reasonable hybrid spec:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZxGMsfrzceRcIuVkbA0z
However, it still will take a little more damage and put out a little less threat when tanking, and do a moderate amount less damage as cat than having a pure specs for each role, plus whatever you lose from trying to hybridize glyphs.

Glyphs
In general, most ferals will be using Glyph of Savage Roar, Glyph of Shred, and Glyph of Rip. Glyph of Mangle is a fair DPS loss, even though some may like the slightly easier cycles. Glyph of Berserk is a flat DPS loss, plain and simple.

Glyph of Rip - A very solid DPS glyph. It adds 4 seconds to Rip, our primary finisher, which has the dual effect of granting extra damage for free, and extending our cycle, making it easier to keep all of our timers up.

Glyph of Shred - A staple for boss fights, and our highest DPS glyph unless you cannot get behind your target to use Shred (Kologarn is the only fight where it's flat out impossible, it can be difficult on Faction Champions). Increases Rip's duration by 2 seconds for every Shred we use, up to 6 seconds.

Glyph of Savage Roar - Increases the damage bonus of Savage Roar by 3% (additive, total of 33%). The best trash DPS glyph, and a very strong boss DPS glyph, increases *all* cat damage by a flat 3%.

Glyph of Mangle - Increases the duration of Mangle by 6 seconds. This one is situational. If you will always have another feral druid or an arms warrior keeping Mangle/Trauma up on the boss, Glyph of Mangle won't do much for you. If you're the only feral in the raid, it does significantly reduce the number of times you have to apply Mangle, simplifying your rotation and freeing up more energy for Shred, however this is still a DPS loss when compared to Glyph of Savage Roar or Glyph of Rip.

Glyph of Berserk - Extends the duration of Berserk by 5 seconds. It's great for extra threat in bear, but is lackluster for cat DPS, because by the last 5 seconds, you're mostly tapped out on energy anyway, and it's likely to only give you one additional shred in that time.

Glyph of Dash (minor) - Yes, this is a DPS-increasing glyph. Reducing the cooldown of Dash on a long fight with a lot of movement will give you more time on target, increasing your DPS marginally.

Idols
Idol of the Crying Moon: New in 3.3 - Rake ticks increase agility by 44, stacking up to 5 times, for 15 seconds up to a total of 220 agility. This idol requires a fight length of approximately 90-100 seconds, with no DPS downtime greater than 21 seconds in order to be break even with Mutilation. On a longer fight it's better, but not by a huge amount.

Idol of Mutilation - Purchased with 25 Badges of Triumph. Has a chance to give 200 agility for 16 seconds on Mangle or Shred. The best idol for cat DPS on shorter fights and fights with significant DPS downtime.

Idol of the Corruptor - Drops from General Vezax in Ulduar25, or available from the Emblem of Conquest vendor. Grats 153 agility when you use Mangle. Our best tanking idol - if you do not have Idol of Mutilation, and are responsible for your own Mangle, this ends up being pretty good for DPS too, but is useless if you have a mangle-bot.

Idol of Worship - Drops from Grand Widow Faerlina in 25-man Naxxramas, and purchasable from the Emblem of Valor vendor. Since it is inferior in all situations to Idol of Mutilation, and is the same cost in badges, it is not recommended to use it anymore.

Idol of the Ravenous Beast - Available from the Emblem of Heroism vendor for 15 badges. Now completely outclassed by Idol of Mutilation - it is no longer recommended to purchase this idol.

Idol of the Wastes - A green quest reward in Dragonblight. For a new druid, this is probably the best DPS idol to use until you can save the badges for Mutilation.

DPSing
Feral DPS does not have a solidified rotation like, say, arcane mages or blood death knights. Doing maximum DPS as a feral relies on maximizing the uptimes of your different buffs and debuffs.

As mentioned above in the FAQ section, it boils down to:
- Keep Savage Roar up
- Keep Mangle up, unless you have a bear or arms warrior in the group
- Keep a 5-point Rip up
- Keep Rake up
- Use Shred for combo points
- Use Tiger's Fury on the cooldown

Abilities
Mangle - Although many ferals rely on it primarily for soloing and PVP, Mangle typically takes a back seat in raid DPS. Its primary function is to keep the target debuffed to increase bleed and Shred damage, and cheap initial combo points to get Savage Roar up. Bleeds check for the mangle debuff each time they tick; if it drops, their damage will drop. If reapplied, ticking bleeds' damage will increase again. Thus is is not vital to have mangle up at the moment you Rip, but it IS important to have it up before Rip starts doing damage.

Rake - It has amazing DPE (damage per energy), and will increase Shred damage by 20% through Rend and Tear if you haven't yet got Rip up. Rake should be kept up as much as possible on everything you kill, but you absolutely need to wait for the previous one to wear off before you reapply it. Refreshing it before it drops will cost you a lot of damage. There is currently an issue in which clipping Rip will give combo points but will not refresh the bleed - a further incentive to wait for it to wear off first.

Shred - Your primary combo-point builder. Comparing the tooltip directly to Mangle it doesn't look like much, however it benefits from both the Mangle debuff and Rend and Tear, causing it to ultimately outdamage Mangle by a very large amount. Its final damage is 351% + 1039. That said, if your target is not mangled or is not bleeding, don't use Shred until you've corrected that.

Swipe - Similar to the Bear version, hits everything in front of you for approximately Mangle-like damage. Does not award combo points, is mostly for use on trash. But it is incredible for trash. AOE damage caps apply.

Rip - Your primary finishing move. It doesn't give you big numbers on your screen like Ferocious Bite, but over its duration it will do more damage. Unlike Bite, it ignores armor, and doesn't consume extra energy. It has great DPE, serves as a bleed to buff Shred's damage, and fully glyphed, lasts for 16-22 seconds on just one application. Theorycrafting says it's OK to refresh rip with a second or two left on it if you have to, but most prefer to wait until it drops completely. Make sure you have Savage Roar up before using Rip; Rip's damage will not increase if you use Roar after applying Rip.

Savage Roar - Increases your damage by 30%. This is the single greatest damage increase you have. Like a Rogue's Slice and Dice, you should get it up as soon as possible, and keep it up all the time. Its potency doesn't change with the number of combo points you use, only its duration, so most druids fire it up with 2 points to start, and refresh it with 5. You can refresh it with less, but doing so uses more energy for the same amount of uptime.

Using Savage Roar will not increase the damage of bleeds already on the target - conversely, if it drops, bleeds already on the target will not lose damage.

Ferocious Bite - This is the finisher to use on a target that won't live for the duration of a Rip. It's used a lot on trash, on bosses with low health, and occasionally as a combo-point dump. Note that Ferocious Bite converts up to 30 leftover energy into damage. It will consume the extra energy even if you have Clearcasting. You should use this ability with as close to 35 energy as you can for maximum efficiency, only ever use it with 5 combo points, never less, and never use it if your target is not bleeding.

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 2. Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:00:20 AM PDT
quote reply
Tiger's Fury - Increases your melee damage, and restores 60 energy through King of the Jungle. This ability has a 30-second cooldown and is free - essentially you want to hit it every time it's up. You should hit it when you have less than 25 energy, otherwise latency or unforseen events such as the target moving or a clearcasting proc can cause you to cap out on energy and waste some of your regen.

Berserk - Decreases the energy cost of all your abilities by 50% for 15 seconds and renders you immune to Fear effects. You cannot use Tiger's Fury while under the effects of Berserk, so it is best used when Tiger's Fury has more than 15 seconds left on its cooldown. This is our big DPS cooldown, very similar to a combat rogue's Adrenaline Rush. See below for some Berserk use tips.

Faerie Fire (Feral) - Reduces your target's armor by 5%. It's free, and 5% less armor on the boss multiplied by all the physical DPS in your raid is a good raid DPS increase.

Ravage/Pounce - Our two stealth openers have little place in DPS. Ravage is a dangerous tool to use - if you crit and your tank got parried, it could cause the boss to turn and one-shot you - and its damage is not high enough to justify using it over just starting your DPS rotation. Pounce's damage is too low and its cost too high to be worth using, and most mobs in raids and many in instances are stun-immune anyway.

Rotation/Cycles
All of this assumes that you are responsible for keeping Mangle up yourself. If you have another druid or an arms warrior keeping a bleed damage debuff up, you can obviously mostly ignore your Mangle button.

Opening
Step 1 of DPS is to let the tank get aggro. If they get a parry right off the bat and you open up, you end up thinly pasted on the floor.
You should usually not bother with stealth and openers. Just run (or feral charge) into position and start your cycle.
Get Savage Roar up as soon as possible, usually people suggest opening with Mangle, Roar, then Rake.

Trash DPS - single-target
Single-target trash is all about burst. Once you have Roar up, make sure Rake is up, and spam Shred, using Tiger's Fury whenever it's up. At 5 points, judge how long your target will live - use Rip if it'll be up a while, or Ferocious Bite if it will die soon.

Trash DPS - AOE
Most trash in heroics and Naxxramas is simply AOE'd down.
Get Roar up ASAP, and just spam Swipe - Cat wantonly, again using Tiger's Fury to replenish energy as you can. Be careful, it's easy to pull mobs that are being AOE-tanked, AOE trash is the prime cause of death of raiding cats.
Use Berserk at the start of big pulls whenever it's up, but don't use it on the pull right before a boss.

Boss
Simple version is, once you've got Roar and Rake up as descriped under "opening", you should be at fairly low energy. Use Tiger's Fury, then Shred to 5 combo points. Rip and Mangle. Rake will probably have fallen off by now - reapply it, and shred to 5 combo points again. This time, refresh Savage Roar.

From here you will most likely end up doing two Rips then one Roar, and repeating until the boss dies.

Remember:
Keep Roar up at all times, at all costs.
Keep Mangle up. It's 30% more damage from all your major damage abilities.
Keep 5-point Rip up.
Keep Rake up
Spam Shred for combo points
Use Tiger's Fury whenever it is up, as long as you have less than 30 energy or so.

Berserk
Berserk is kind of a complicated animal to use perfectly. It's perfectly adequate just to use it on the cooldown, though.
- Try to Berserk with about 80 energy, depending on latency. You'll regenerate another 10 during the global cooldown, and can then start spamming abilities with close to 100 energy.
- Don't Berserk with Tiger's Fury available, or about to become available in the next 15 seconds, as Berserk prevents use of Tiger's Fury.
- While Berserk, you should mostly use Shred. Refresh Rip, Rake, Mangle, and Roar should any of them expire, but otherwise continue to spam Shred, even once you reach 5 combo points. You should not use Ferocious Bite while Berserk, but after Berserk wears off is often a good time to Bite.
- On a fight less than 3 minutes long, you should save Berserk until the end if the boss has a low-health enrage, to help power it down during the dangerous phase quickly.
- On a fight more than 3 minutes, use Berserk as soon as the tank has a safe aggro lead. This should allow you to use it again before the end of the fight.
- Because Berserk only affects yellow damage, and Bloodlust/Heroism only affects white damage, it doesn't particularly make any difference whether you use Berserk at the same time as Bloodlust or not.
- You should try to use Berserk when your best procs are active. This frequently occurs right at the start of the fight. Armor penetration trinkets are particularly potent combined with Berserk.

Pro-tips
1 - On Clearcasting procs, always Shred. Always. Unless Mangle is actually down, then mangle.

2 - Always make sure Savage Roar is up *before* using bleeds, as their damage is calculated at the moment they are applied, not on the fly. If you Rip without Roar up, then Roar, Rip's damage does not increase. If you Rip with Roar up, and Roar falls off, Rip's damage stays the same. Mangle, however, will change the damage of bleeds if it is applied or falls off after they are already ticking.

3 - If you find yourself with 5 combo points, plenty of time left on Roar, and Rip still at at least half duration or so, you can use Ferocious Bite to dump combo points. Do it with as little energy as possible to avoid wasting any. Early on you won't be able to do this at all, as your crit improves you'll be able to fit it in occasionally, although it still won't be frequent. On fights with a crit-increasing gimmick such as Loatheb, however, you can do it practically every cycle.

4 - If you find yourself in a situation similar to the above, but in which you do not have enough time on one of your timers to comfortably use ferocious bite without crashing your cycles, just hang out and only do enough to keep yourself from hitting full energy. Refresh mangle or rake if they drop, or just Shred to keep your energy under about 80. Wasting a couple combo points is a far lesser sin than wasting energy regen.

5 - Take a deep breath and relax. The path to the greatest DPS is not to spam abilities, but to wait patiently. Don't Shred unless you get up over 60-ish energy. If, while waiting to get there, a timer comes up for renewal, renew it. If you just mash Shred every time you have 42 energy, you can end up waiting several seconds for enough energy to reapply a rake or a mangle, and suffer a DPS loss. Careful planning and lots of practice on target dummies are important.

6 - If you have fairly low energy, Rake has dropped, and Rip is about to drop, but you haven't shredded 3 times on this Rip (mods like Droodfocus and Badkitty provide shred counters), you should Shred rather than refreshing Rake.

7 - Berserk is often best used between 6 and 15 seconds after Tiger's Fury. It will remove the +80 damage effect if used immediately after TF, so you want to use it in the window between TF's effect wearing off, and the ability coming off cooldown again. However, if you have trinket procs up, Berserk anyway, you'll gain more damage from Berserking with procs up - the extra damage from TF is only about 1000.

Manglespam build
With the excellent gear easily-available from badges these days, mangle spamming really cannot be recommended anymore even for new 80s. Don't bother.

Learn to use Shred, you will be far more effective in the long run.


Part 3 - How should I gear?
As mentioned at the top of this FAQ, the best answer to this question is given by two utilities:
Toskk's DPS calculator - http://druid.wikispaces.com/TosskDPSGearMethod
Rawr - http://www.codeplex.com/Rawr

Feral druids use "rogue gear" - leather with agility and attack power as the primary stats. While the itemization is not "ideal", that's not actually important - what's important is whether we can USE the available gear well enough to be as effective as other classes, and the answer to that is yes.

Stats
Agility - Our best DPS stat currently between heroic gear and late Ulduar/mid-TOC gear. At worst (unbuffed, in greens and regular instance blues) it's about equal to strength, and scales until it's a fair amount better. It can be used for tanking as well as DPS, so if you want to use a piece of gear for both roles, agility is the stat to use. It's also the stat you'll find most on gear, and the stat you'll want to gem and enchant for in most cases.

Strength - At very low gear levels without raid buffs, strength can be mathematically slightly superior to agility, however it is not a scaling stat, and is soon left behind. Since it does not appear on leather gear and we can gem for either strength or agility (and agility has a slight edge in raid buffs, plus can be used for tanking as well), the only place you might find it is on accessories such as rings, and on a few weapons. It's not a stat to seek out, but it's not terrible either - it's usually our second or third best DPS stat.

Armor Penetration rating - Armor penetration eventually becomes best DPS stat in extremely good (ToC25, Icecrown) gear. However, until then it's still a strong secondary stat, and a good DPS increase. Armor penetration is capped at 100%, or about 1400 rating. Note that at 100% armor penetration, you are not actually removing 100% of a raid boss's armor - Blizzard likes their little "up to" caveats in their tooltips.

Hit - Hit rating gets passed by almost all other stats, even perhaps haste rating at some gear levels according to calculators. It should not be gemmed for, although it is still useful to have a reasonable amount on gear to smooth your cycles.

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 3. Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:00:51 AM PDT
quote reply
Expertise - Expertise has exactly the same effect (reducing the number of attacks that fail to land, only by reducing dodges rather than misses) as hit, and the same conversion, and so it has exactly the same DPS value up to the dodge cap. If you're the sort that obsessively hit caps, don't forget to expertise cap too.

Crit rating - crit rating provides a little more crit per point than agility, but no AP. It comes in at a fairly similar DPS value to hit, expertise, and haste.

Haste rating - Initially a fairly bad stat, it improves a little in later gear. Increases white damage only, which for ferals is usually a third or less of total damage. However, it also increases the number of procs from both Omen of Clarity and weapon enchants like Berserking and Mongoose.

Mathematically it can exceed hit and crit slightly in 25-man raid gear, but hit makes cycles easier, and so is still preferable if you are under the cap and have to choose between them. Attack speed is calculated as 1 / (1 + haste%/100). e.g. with 9% haste, your attack speed is 1 / 1.09 = 0.917. Yes, ferals can attack more than once per second.

Attack Power - A staple stat on our gear, but should absolutely never be gemmed for under any circumstances - a strength gem simply provides more attack power than an AP gem, and an agility gem will be better DPS than either.

Stat conversions
1 Strength = 2 AP (2.87 AP with talents and full raid buffs)
1 Agility = 1 AP + 0.012% crit (1.44 AP + 0.014% crit with talents and full raid buffs)
1% hit = 32.79 hit rating. Cap is 263.
1% -dodge = 4 expertise = 32.79 expertise rating (8.2 rating per 1 expertise). Cap is 132.
1% crit = 83.3 agility = 45.91 crit rating. White cap is 73% on character sheet.
1% haste = 25.22 haste rating
1% armor penetration = 13.99 armor penetration rating. Cap is 1399.

Gems
Meta: Relentless Earthsiege Diamond (+21 agility/3% critical damage)
Red: Delicate (agility)
Yellow: Deadly (agility/crit rating) or Glinting (agility/hit rating)
Blue: Preferably don't use, however if you must, use Shifting (agility/stamina)
Prismatic: Enchanted or Nightmare Tear (all stats)

Unless a piece of gear has a particularly good socket bonus, it's best to primarily socket pure Delicate gems, and use one Enchanted or Nightmare Tear to activate the meta. A 4 agility socket bonus will usually break even, it's worth using an orange gem to get a 6 or 8 agility socket bonus. It's almost never worth meeting an AP bonus, and never a crit rating or haste. It's also never worth using a blue gem - if you want to meet a socket bonus that requres a blue gem, put your Nightmare Tear in that item.

The only options for Armor Penetration gems, should you reach a gear level where that is the stat to use, are Fractured (red, pure ArP) and Puissant (purple, ArP/Stam), there is no yellow gem with armor penetration.

Enchants
Helm: Arcanum of Torment (Knights of the Ebon Blade Revered)
Shoulders: Lesser/Greater Inscription of the Axe (Sons of Hodir Honored/Exalted)
Cloak: Superior (+16) or Major (+22) Agility
Chest: Super (+8) or Powerful (+10) Stats
Bracers: Striking (+38 AP) or Greater Assault (+50 AP)
Gloves: Major Agility (+20 agility)
Legs: Nerubian (+55 AP/15 Crit) or Icescale (+75 AP/22 crit) Leg Armor
Boots: Icewalker (+12 hit/crit rating) if not hit capped, or Superior Agility (+16)
Weapon: Massacre (+110 AP), Berserking (Proc: +400 AP for 15s), or Mongoose (Proc: +120 agility/2% haste)

The Hit Cap And You
One of the biggest falsehoods that gets perpetrated on the druid forums is that the first thing you should do is stack hit to the cap. This is not exactly true.

Feral druids do not suffer a huge penalty from misses or dodged attacks in PVE DPS. Our white damage is a modest portion of our DPS compared to most classes, and we don't have damaging procs like rogues' poisons or DK's Blood-Caked Blade. Our missed specials only cost 20% energy. We are not GCD-limited or on a fixed rotation, so we don't lose much time. Mathematically, hit and expertise rating are simply not as good, point-for-point, as agility.

This doesn't mean that hit rating is bad. Hitting more often DOES increase DPS reasonably well. Reducing misses smooths your cycle out, allowing you to pay less attention to whether or not your last attack connected, which makes DPS easier. It simply means that if you have a choice between exactly-equal amounts of hit rating and agility, you should probably take the agility.

The Crit Cap and You
Once you start collecting a lot of very good gear, especially Icecrown-quality gear, you will start to bump up against the crit cap. Due to the way the combat table works for white attacks, if your chance to glance, miss, be dodged, and crit all add up to 100%, you cannot increase your white crit rate any further.
For ease of use by average players, all final crit cap numbers are as they would appear on your character sheet in a standard 25-man raid, and assume the presence of all raid buffs. This number will be higher than your actual crit rate on the boss, due to the level difference. You should check it in combat, with permanent effects (including your idol) active.
To find your white crit cap, subtract your chance to miss (8% minus your hit chance) and your chance to be dodged (6.5% minus your expertise's dodge reduction) from 77.8%. For instance, with no hit or expertise rating at all, but specced for primal precision, it's 77.8% - 8% - 4% = 65.8%. If your crit chance was higher than that, your white attacks would not crit more, however your special attacks, which are calculated differently, would.
Once you hit the crit cap, models suggest you should in fact stack hit and expertise to their respective caps. This moves your crit cap up, making crit more valuable again. Once you reach the hard crit cap of 77.8% (again, character sheet number), the hit cap, and the expertise cap, you should gem armor penetration to cap if you haven't already (soft cap if you have a trinket that grants ArP, hard cap otherwise), and then finally, most likely strength beyond that point.
A recent hotfix to boss crit suppression removed a 4.8% chance to hit that couldn't be overcome. If you see in another guide either 76% or 71.2%, it's outdated.
Since this guide's aim is for you to have to do as little math as possible, I give the number that you will get if you look on your character sheet while in combat. Assuming hit and expertise caps, you will become white crit capped when you have 77.8% crit on your character sheet.

Set bonuses
Dreamwalker (Tier 7) 2-piece - Increases the duration of Rip by 4 seconds. A decent set bonus (around 1-1.5% dps increase). Keep you can get 4T8.

Dreamwalker 4-piece - Decreases the cooldown of Tiger's Fury by 3 seconds. About a 1% DPS increase, don't bother as T8 and T9 are so easily-available these days.

Nightsong (Tier 8) 2-piece: Allows Rake and Rip ticks to proc Clearcasting. With both bleeds ticking, it results in around one proc per minute. This is a pretty strong set bonus, definitely break 4T7 for it, but try to keep 2T7. Keep until 4T9 or level 245+ off-set pieces - your specific gear setup and available pieces of T8 will change which setup is best, use Rawr.

Nightsong 4-piece: Increases the duration of Savage Roar by 8 seconds. A useful cycle simplifier, it usually requires a little adjustment, but allows 2-point roars to be viable, freeing up points for extra ferocious bites. Not a huge DPS increase but a significant convenience one.

Malfurion/Runetotem (Tier 9) 2-piece: Increases Rake's duration by 3 seconds. A pretty good DPS increase, and makes it easier to keep a higher uptime. Worth breaking 4T8 for.

Malfurion/Runetotem 4-piece: Increases the critical strike chance of Rip and Ferocious Bite by 5%. A minor DPS increase. Only really worth breaking 2T9 for because the extra stats on T9 gear will overcome the DPS you lose. These days, 4T9 is usually an upgrade from 2T8 even with just the Conquest gear, but you might want to double-check your specific set in Rawr, particularly if you have more than just the T8 helm/chest available.

Lasherweave (Tier 10) 2-piece: Reduces the energy cost of Rip by 10. This is pretty terrible, but the stat increase makes it worth breaking 4T9 unless you have the Heroic (level 258) version.

Lasherweave 4-piece: Allows Rake ticks to crit. This is an INCREDIBLE bonus, roughly 7% more DPS. Every DPS feral's first goal should be to pick this bonus up. Let me repeat: If you spend frost emblems on ANYTHING before you have 4T10, unless you're an alt and don't plan to do ICC for frost emblems at all, you are making a big mistake.

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 4. Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:01:46 AM PDT
quote reply
Part 4 - Pre-raid Gear

So you're a fresh 80, and need to gear up to do heroics and raids? Here's some gear to look out for. These are by no means the only items, but they are some of the best. I have provided at least the top couple of badge options and the top couple of drops for both regular and heroic where possible. Some items may become better or worse depending on your current stats - it is still strongly recommended to use Toskk's calculator or Rawr to help you build your gear set.

Pre-heroic:
Helm
Headguard of Retaliation - Utgarde Pinnacle quest "Vengeance Be Mine!"
Hood of the Furtive Assassin - Halls of Lightning

Neck
Necklace of the Chrono-Lord - Culling of Stratholme
Severed Noose of Westwind - Icecrown quest "The Admiral Revealed"

Shoulders
Shoulderpads of the Infamous Knave - Trial of the Champion
Trollwoven Spaulders - Leatherworking BOE
Shoulderguards of the Ice Troll - Gundrak

Cloak
Dr-a-p-eof the Undefeated - Trial of the Champion
Embrace of Sorrow - Halls of Stone
Cloak of Bloodied Waters - BOE (drops in Heroic Gundrak)

Chest
Drake-Rider's Tunic - Utgarde Pinnacle
Exotic Leather Tunic - Utgarde Pinnacle quest "Junk in my Trunk"

Bracers
Drake-Champion's Bracers - BOE (drops in The Oculus)
King's Square Bracers - BOE (drops in Culling of Stratholme)

Gloves
Gloves of the Argent Fanatic - Trial of the Champion
Handwraps of Preserved History - Culling of Stratholme quest "A Royal Escort"

Belt
Belt of Fierce Competition - Trial of the Champion
Trollwoven Girdle - Leatherworking BOE
Ley-Whelphide Belt - BOE (drops in The Oculus)

Leggings
Leggings of Brazen Trespass - Trial of the Champion
Mind-Expanding Legguards - Kirin'Tor Revered
Chain Gang Legguards - BOE (drops in Heroic Violet Hold)
Azure Strappy Pants - Frenzyheart Revered

Boots
The Darkspeaker's Treads - Icecrown quest "Mind Tricks"
Rhino-Hide Kneeboots - Zul'drak quest "One of a Kind"

Rings
Urka's Band of Zeal - Trial of the Champion
Stained-Glass Shard Ring - BOE (drops in Heroic Ahn'kahet)
Bjarngrim Family Signet - Halls of Lightning
Ring of Scarlet Shadows - BOE Jewelcrafting
Signet of Bridenbrad - Icecrown quest "Light Within the Darkness"
Band of Motivation - The Oculus quest "The Struggle Persists"

Trinkets
Banner of Victory - Trial of the Champion
Fezzik's Pocketwatch - Icecrown quest "The Last Line of Defense"
First Mate's Pocketwatch - Howling Fjord quest "The Jig is Up"

Weapon
Staff of Feral Furies/Silvery Sylvan Stave - Argent Tournament (25 Champion's Seals)
Stave of Shrouded Mysteries - Kirin Tor Revered
Hewn Sparring Quarterstaff - Halls of Lightning

Idol
Idol of the Wastes - Dragonblight quest "My Old Enemy"

Pre-raid - gear from the Icecrown 5-mans is not included here due to the difficulty of those instances:
Helm
Conqueror's Nightsong Headguard - 58 Emblems of Conquest
Runetotem's/Malfurion's Headguard of Conquest - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Mask of Distant Memory - Heroic Trial of the Champion
Mask of the Watcher - Heroic Oculus
Shroud of Darkness - Heroic Violet Hold

Neck
Broach of the Wailing Night - 19 Emblems of Conquest
Ancient Pendant of Arathor - Heroic Trial of the Champion
Necklace of Arcane Spheres - Heroic Violet Hold

Shoulders
Runetotem's/Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Conquest - 30 Emblems of Triumph
Shoulderpads of the Infamous Knave - Trial of the Champion
Trollwoven Spaulders - BOE Leatherworking
Spaulders of the Careless Thief - Heroic Nexus

Cloak
Hammerhead Sharkskin Cloak - 25 Emblems of Valor
Ice Striker's Cloak - BOE Leatherworking
D-r-a-p-e of the Undefeated - Trial of the Champion
Cloak of Bloodied Waters - BOE (drops in heroic Gundrak)
Cloak of the Gushing Wound - Heroic Violet Hold

Chest
Conqueror's Nightsong Raiments - 58 Emblems of Conquest
Runetotem's/Malfurion's Raiments of Conquest - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Knightbane Carapace - BOE leatherworking
Darkheart Chestguard - Knights of the Ebon Blade exalted
Crystal Infused Tunic - Heroic Nexus

Bracers
Bracers of Swift Death - Leatherworking
Armbands of the Wary Lookout - Heroic Trial of the Champion
Wristwraps of the Cutthroat - BOE, or 60 Emblems of Valor
Dragonfriend Bracers - Wyrmrest Accord Exalted
Advanced-Tooled Leather Bands - Heroic Halls of Lightning

Gloves
Runetotem's/Malfurion's Handgrips of Conquest - 30 Emblems of Triumph
Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets - Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle
Gloves of the Argent Fanatic - Trial of the Champion

Belt
Belt of the Twilight Assassin - 28 Emblems of Conquest
Belt of Fierce Competition - Trial of the Champion
Death-warmed Belt - BOE Leatherworking
Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt - Heroic Utgarde Keep

Leggings
Runetotem's/Malfurion's Legguards of Conquest - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Leggings of Wavering Shadow - 39 Emblems of Conquest
Gored Hide Leggings - Heroic Gundrak
Leggings of Brazen Trespass - Trial of the Champion
Ravenous Leggings of the Furbolg - Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle

Boots
Treads of Dismal Fortune - Heroic Trial of the Champion
Boots of Captain Ellis - 40 Emblems of Valor
Boots of the Neverending Path - Argent Crusade Exalted
Boots of the Whirling Mist - Heroic Halls of Stone

Rings
Dexterous Brightstone Ring - 35 Emblems of Triumph
Bloodshed Band - 35 Emblems of Triumph
Urka's Band of Zeal - Trial of the Champion
Hemorrhaging Circle - Heroic Gundrak
Band of the Kirin Tor - Dalaran vendor (8500g)
Stained-Glass Shard Ring - BOE (drops in Heroic Ahn'Kahet)
Mobius Band - Heroic Culling of Stratholme

Trinkets
Darkmoon Card: Greatness - Darkmoon Faire, Nobles deck
Banner of Victory - Trial of the Champion
Mirror of Truth - 40 Heroic Badges
Meteorite Whetstone - Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle
Incisor Fragment - Heroic Drak'tharon Keep

Weapon
Marrowstrike - Heroic Trial of the Champion
Staff of Trickery - Heroic Violet Hold
Titansteel Destroyer - Blacksmithing BOE
Staff of Feral Furies/Silvery Sylvan Stave - Argent Tournament (25 Champion's Seals)

Idol
Idol of Mutilation - 25 Emblems of Triumph

Best-in-slot set: Without touching a single 10 or 25-man, or Frost emblems, this should be the highest-DPS gear set you can put together.
Mask of Lethal Intent (triumph badges)
Barbed Ymirheim Choker (Heroic Pit of Saron)
Duskstalker Pauldrons (triumph badges)
Accursed Crawling Cape (regular Forge of Souls)
Malfurion/Runetotem's Raiments of Conquest (triumph badges)
Bracers of Swift Death (crafted)
Malfurion/Runetotem's Handgrips of Conquest (triumph badges)
Flayer's Black Belt (regular Pit of Saron)
Fleshwerk Leggings (Heroic Pit of Saron)
Blighted Leather Footpads (Heroic Halls of Reflection)
Dexterous Brightstone Ring (triumph badges)
Band of Stained Souls (Heroic Pit of Saron)
Darkmoon Card: Greatness (Nobles deck)
Needle-Encrusted Scorpion (Heroic Forge of Souls)
Orca-Hunter's Harpoon (Heroic Halls of Reflection
Idol of Mutilation (triumph badges)

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 5. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:09:53 AM PDT
quote reply
Coming Soon

No significant changes to feral DPS are expected in the next minor content patch.

Complex Mechanics

For people who like math, and understanding what's going on behind the scenes.

Total AP from character sheet
Ever been playing with Toskk's, and wanted to know your character's AP without logging into the game?
Here's how you calculate it from your character sheet.
Take your AP from Armory, and subtract the raw AP (not the feral AP) on your weapon, and massacre if you have it. For instance in my case, I have 2329 AP on Armory, and a weapon with 216 AP, and no Massacre, so I'd start with 2113. If I had Massacre, I'd start with 2003.
Add your agility.
Add 280 for cat form.
Armory doesn't show FAP, so take your weapon DPS, subtract 54.8, and multiply by 14 (294.6 DPS becomes 3357 FAP). Now, add the raw AP on your weapon (including massacre if present). Multiply the result by 1.2 and add to your total.
Now, multiply the whole shebang by 1.1.
If you've done it right, you should have your total AP, plus or minus rounding error.

PPM Enchants
Many weapon enchants, most notably Berserking, Mongoose, and Executioner use the Proc-Per-Minute, or PPM, mechanic. They are set to proc on average a certain number of times in one minute - most of them set at one proc per minute.

The PPM mechanic works by assigning a proc chance which depends on two factors: the PPM of the effect, and the base attack speed of the weapon. Since a 3.5 speed weapon attacks 17.14 times in one minute, a 1 PPM enchant on that weapon would have a 1 / 17.14 = 5.83% chance to proc anytime the weapon hit the target. If you put it on a 2.5 speed weapon instead, its chance would drop to 4.16%.

Haste does not affect this chance, and it applies to special attacks as well. So if you add 20% haste, you get 20% more procs from autoattacks. And each special attack keeps that original chance to proc the effect as well.

Now, cat druids have a fixed 1.0 attack speed. This means that weapon enchants have a paltry 1.66% chance to proc on any given attack, which is why they are less effective for us than other classes - while we should get on average the same number of procs per minute from autoattacks, our special attacks have a much much lower chance of proccing the enchant, and we do not attack on every GCD like some other classes.

Armor Penetration
Armor penetration, as mentioned above, doesn't always remove 100% of a target's armor when you're at 100%. It has a cap.

The cap is calculated as the greater of two values: The target's armor, OR (armor + 15232.5) / 3. This means that on a raid boss, the cap is initially (10643 + 15232.5) / 3 = 8625. However, the cap calculates AFTER debuffs, so with sunder + faerie fire, it's (10643 * 0.76 + 15232.5) / 3 = 7773. Against a mage with 3000 armor, the cap would simply be 3000.

Armor penetration is then taken out of that cap. So 50% penetration on a debuffed raid boss is 7773 * 0.5 = 3886. This is then subtracted from the actual armor value, so 10643 * 0.76 - 3886 = 4202 armor left. At the ArP cap against a debuffed raid boss, the boss actually still has 315 armor left that you cannot reduce any further. A target must have less than 7616 armor for you to reduce it to 0 through ArP.

Note that without sunder and FF, while the same amount of ArP would be reducing more armor (8625 * 0.5 = 4312), the target's final armor will be higher (10643 - 4312 = 6331 remaining), and because of the way damage reduction from armor works, it would be a smaller DPS increase. Nutshell: Sunder + FF make ArP better.
All this math is why armor penetration rating is being removed from gear in Cataclysm.

Crit Cap
Because white damage uses a one-roll system, with "hit" as the default result for an attack that doesn't fall into any other category, it is possible to push hit completely off the attack table for white attacks. This happens when your chance to miss, chance to be dodged, chance to get a glancing blow, and your crit chance all add up to 100%, leaving no room for regular hits. With no hit or expertise, this is at 100 - 8 - 6.5 - 24 = 61.5% crit.

There appears to have been a recent hotfix to remove the "crit suppression" that players used to experience which forced 4.8% of attacks to be hits. This change has increased our crit cap by that amount.

The hard white crit cap, when you have pushed dodge and miss off the table through hit and expertise, is 76% - at this point, all attacks will either crit or glance. Beyond this point, nothing you do can increase the number of white crits you get.

When you reach your crit cap, but are not yet hit/expertise capped, the value of hit and expertise increases by 50-80%. This is because, under the crit cap, adding hit converts misses into regular hits, essentially. Over the crit cap, however, you're converting misses straight into crits, which of course do more than double damage. Therefore, once you reach the crit cap in raid buffs with just your idol procced, hit and expertise become your best stats until you are once more under the cap, or until you reach their respective caps.

In addition to suppression, there is an further 4.8% difference between your character sheet crit rate and your actual chance to crit the boss, due to the three level differential between you and your target. If your character sheet says 50% crit, you'll actually crit 45.2% of the time. This is why the actual crit cap of 76% is different from the number you will see in section 3 of this FAQ, since my goal in this guide is to write primarily for non-theorycrafters, and it's easier for them to work with their character sheet.

Also, the 3% crit buff from ret/prot paladins, elemental shamans, and assassination rogues does not appear on your character sheet, but of course is included in your crit chance calculations against your target. Which would, in the above 50% crit example, bring your actual crit chance up to 48.2%, and your total chance to 53%, although your sheet would continue to say 50%.

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 6. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:10:32 AM PDT
quote reply
Petitmort's litterbox is in another castle.

[ Post edited by Demoneater ]


Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 7. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:12:12 AM PDT
quote reply
K, discussion time. Tell me what questions I've missed, what answers aren't clear, and what needs fixing.

Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • Khaz'goroth
  • 8. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:12:57 AM PDT
quote reply
I smell a sticky!

Enchant Chest - Mammoplasty
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • Lightning's Blade
  • 9. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:17:50 AM PDT
quote reply
Very good read! thanks =)
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • Muradin
  • 10. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:19:07 AM PDT
quote reply
You need a section that details how to keep DPS up, with all the gimmicky Boss fights that Blizzard implements.


I find nothing hard about the rotations. But some DPS classes can still dmg while on the move, and others don't have horrible directional requirements. Our class gets it's best DPS from Shreds to Rip, and we are required to be behind the mob while trying to move out of clouds, and lava walls, and all kinds of other bs.

That would be the biggest help for newer kitties trying to keep up in raids where the dice are stacked against us, because we already don't scale as well as other classes with gear upgrades. What is your specific advice for dealing with losing your entire DPS rotation and having to start from scratch, due to constantly having to move in these lame Boss gimmick fights?

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours" S.R.
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • Khaz'goroth
  • 11. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:34:48 AM PDT
quote reply
Tier set affects, got any hints?

Enchant Chest - Mammoplasty
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 12. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 01:56:42 AM PDT
quote reply
I love this thread. Answered quite a lot of my questions. I've been having fun with figuring out Kitty DPS on fights that only need 1 tank (Sapphiron, Kel (before the adds) and this has really set me on the right track.

Thank you very much. *Bookmarks*
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 13. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 02:13:05 AM PDT
quote reply

Q u o t e:
What is your specific advice for dealing with losing your entire DPS rotation and having to start from scratch, due to constantly having to move in these lame Boss gimmick fights?


Practice.

There's not much you can do really. If you know you'll have to move out at a particular time, make sure the last thing you do is refresh bleeds. Leave ~2 combo points on the boss when you run out so that you can get Roar up right as you run back in.

If it's just a Grobbulus-style movement fight, then all you can do is tidy your keybinds so you can move and attack more easily at the same time, upgrade your computer so you're getting smooth framerates in combat, and practice some more.

Otherwise, er, we just have to deal with it.\


Q u o t e:
Tier set affects, got any hints?


Last section of part 3. Hmm, looks like I forgot to put in Tier 8. I'll get round to that sometime.

Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 14. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 03:58:04 AM PDT
quote reply

This is an excellent guide to feral dps, thorough & well-written. Reported for sticky.

I would recommend some version of Mangle-spam as a good build for those who like to juggle tanking, world pvp (not arenas, heh), and casual dps, and who are too lazy to constantly respec; you are perfectly correct, of course, about it being significantly lower in damage (and entertainment value) than a Shred build. In any case, dual-spec will make this a moot issue for most ferals.

"Wanton" is the perfect word to describe the ideal use of Swipe (Cat) in trash pulls; if used in conjunction with Berserk, I HIGHLY recommend getting ready to use Barskin and Survival Instincts too. By the time Berserk wears off, either the mobs will all be dead, or you will. Or both. But it's absurd dps, and ridiculous fun.

No one is a more irresponsible dpser than those who usually tank, eh?
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 16. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 05:04:39 AM PDT
quote reply
its good, well written..though wouldnt it be better to just release it with 3.1 contianing only th einfo that will be accurate after thta point?

Finding truth in a sea of opinion, thus is the challenge of any forum!
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 17. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 05:27:37 AM PDT
quote reply

Q u o t e:
its good, well written..though wouldnt it be better to just release it with 3.1 contianing only th einfo that will be accurate after thta point?


We've been without a proper feral DPS FAQ for five months, we get a dozen questions a day on it, it's time we had one. I've had it sitting mostly written on my desktop for a long while, finally got round to posting it.

It's just as easy to post it now and update it for 3.1 as it is for me to update it for 3.1 on my computer and then post it, so I figured why not go with the choice that gets it posted sooner.

Research does not consist of asking on the forums, eating some lead paint, then saying you know what you are talking about. - Gorgekhan, Mug'thol
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • 18. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 07:28:14 AM PDT
quote reply
good post!

however, now you get to read the endless amount of posts that will continue to ask what the hit/exp caps are for feral dps and whether or not it's a good idea to make reaching the cap a priority, despite having written this nice guide

im a pessimistic optimist, so the glass if half full...of poop
80
View All Posts by This User Toggle Ignore / Unignore This User
  • Dark Iron
  • 19. Re: Definitive Cat DPS FAQ + pre-raid gear   03/23/2009 08:25:00 AM PDT
quote reply
Very nice guide!!

Reported for sticky!

<3,

PP (a kitty at heart disguised as a chicken)

Reality is a poor substitute for self-delusion
(' ' ')

Moonkin WotLK Pre-Raid Gear Guide
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14134477801&sid=1&pageNo=1
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13
Forum Nav : Jump To This Forum
Blizzard Entertainment