Druid · Feral Combat

Feral Combat Druid

Prepare separately for Cat damage and Bear tanking, with current resources, form-specific stats and weapon upgrades.

WoW Forever beta Client 1.60.1.70205 Checked 2026-10-04

Current beta cap: level 30. Advice assumes ordinary talent points without Legacy bonuses. Deeper talents and later abilities are identified separately.

Cat and Bear share a talent tree, but they ask different questions of your resources, equipment and attention. This guide separates the two current-beta roles and points out the Forever changes that make older rotations and stat-stick advice unreliable.

One tree, two different jobs

Feral Combat supports Cat damage and Bear tanking. Cat spends Energy and builds combo points; Bear spends Rage while controlling enemy attention. Decide which role you are preparing for before spreading points and buying equipment. A useful hybrid can still need a gear swap and different talent trade-offs.

The linked player discussion raises this practical problem: splitting investment can leave both damage and tanking feeling incomplete. Treat it as a planning question, not a measured class ranking. If you queue as the tank, prepare to control pulls and survive them; if you join as damage, support the tank’s target and control plan.

Section references

Cat Form current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Bear Form current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Player discussion: hybrid roles and split investmentPlayer questions about gear and role trade-offs; not proof of class power, threat coefficients or current tuning.
L0uki: level 20 Bear beta experienceSeptember 29 early tank and item-source references; threat/debuff behavior checked against later official known issues.

Forms and attacks worth checking as you level

Bear Form’s native level is 10, and Cat Form’s is 20. Beta authors describe class quests for these forms; Cat includes The Great Cat Spirit or its Skyborne variant. Check your class quest and spellbook before treating the level as a completed unlock.

The table shows selected first-rank level metadata. Keep the attacks needed for your chosen role current, then add utility you will actually use. Spell-level fields do not supply trainer prices or prove that an uncompleted quest has taught the ability.

Selected first ranks in build 70205; quest and trainer acquisition remain separate.
Native level	Ability	Role use
10	Bear Form; Maul; Growl	Initial Bear toolkit
16	Swipe	Bear attacks against nearby multiple enemies
20	Cat Form; Claw; Rip	Energy, combo builders and a bleed finisher
22	Shred	A positional Cat attack once learned
24	Rake	Another Cat bleed option once learned

Section references

Build 70205 native spell levelsSpell-level metadata, not trainer offers, quest completion or talent acquisition.
Lexolas: level 20 Feral damage beta experienceSeptember 29 practical/quest references; predates October 1 replacement of Tiger’s Fury. No fixed time-to-kill threshold imported.
Frankensteak: level 20 Restoration beta experienceSeptember 29 role/talent/item references; Legacy-only recommendations and blanket downranking claims are not imported.

Cat: spend Energy on a target that will live

Claw builds a combo point and costs Energy. Rip spends combo points on damage over time. Build toward a useful finisher, but consider the target’s remaining life: a bleed applied as the enemy dies cannot deliver its full value. Let Energy recover while auto-attacking instead of expecting an ability every global cooldown.

As Rake and Shred become available, check their role and requirements before adding them to the sequence. In a group, move to a sensible rear position for positional attacks without standing excessively close. The October 1 known issues report parries and blocks from behind when players are too close; positioning is not a guarantee that every attack lands.

The October 1 update replaced Tiger’s Fury with talented Shifting Power. It converts 55% of base mana into 40 Energy, with a listed 16-second cooldown before modifiers. Use it only when talented, Energy can be used and spending that mana will not compromise the healing or form change you need next.

Section references

Claw current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Rip current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Shred current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Rake current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Build 70205 native spell levelsSpell-level metadata, not trainer offers, quest completion or talent acquisition.
Blizzard beta update: October 1Dated cap, Druid changes and known issues; no numeric build supplied.
Shifting Power current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.

Bear: build control, then keep it

Enter the pull prepared to stay in Bear. Put damaging attacks into the main target, then respond to secondary enemies before they reach your healer. Maul is a single-target Rage spender; Swipe covers nearby multiple enemies. Keep enough resource for the next response rather than emptying the bar without looking at the pack.

Use Growl to recover an enemy targeting an ally, then follow with actions that maintain control. It is a recovery tool, not a complete threat plan. Agree the focus target with the group and ask for a brief opening before everyone attacks different enemies.

Primal Bite is a talented Bear option once you have the required investment. Blizzard’s October 1 note fixes Swipe to gain 3% of AP and warns that its tooltip will lag. The same dated known-issues list says debuffs such as Faerie Fire do not cause threat. Do not rely on that debuff as a verified threat opener.

Section references

Maul current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Swipe current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Growl current Forever entryCurrent selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Blizzard beta update: October 1Dated cap, Druid changes and known issues; no numeric build supplied.
L0uki: level 20 Bear beta experienceSeptember 29 early tank and item-source references; threat/debuff behavior checked against later official known issues.

Read the form-specific stat benefit

The base Druid class coefficient gives 2 AP per effective Strength: +7 Strength contributes +14 baseline melee AP before additional modifiers. The matching client separately gives Cat Form 1 AP per effective Agility. Thus +10 Agility has a +10 Cat AP contribution; that Cat branch must not be applied to Bear or caster form.

At level 20, +10 effective Agility contributes about 1.139 percentage points of baseline weapon crit; at level 30, about 0.891. These contributions do not determine final crit or DPS. Talents, form rules, target outcomes and mitigation still matter.

For Bear equipment, keep health, armor and control needs in view alongside offensive stats. Check the health your character gains from Stamina and the damage shown in each form; attribute totals alone do not predict survivable pulls.

Section references

Build 70205 class attribute coefficientsDruid base 2 AP/Strength and 0 AP/Agility; Cat-specific override is separate.
Matching client stat arithmetic and Cat Agility branchCat Form Agility AP branch; ordinary weapon display is not a form damage simulation.
Build 70205 class and level critical-strike coefficientsContentSet 0 baseline coefficients; percentage-point contribution, not full live hit table.

Weapon upgrades now matter inside forms

Blizzard’s Druid explanation says the equipped weapon’s DPS feeds form auto-attacks, while the form changes attack speed. This makes a weapon upgrade more than a bag of attributes. Compare its base DPS, useful stats and effect conditions; a slow listed weapon does not simply make Cat attack at that weapon’s listed speed.

Smite's Mighty Hammer is a concrete candidate listed by the current Feral tank author for Mr. Smite in The Deadmines. The current item requires level 18, binds on pickup, and has 11 Strength, 4 Agility and displayed base DPS of 19.71. Confirm weapon training and compare it with what you already use; this is a target to investigate, not a proven universal BiS choice.

The ordinary weapon comparison’s AP/14 accounting is not a total Cat or Bear damage model. Weapon effects working in form does not establish their exact proc rates, interactions or damage contribution.

Section references

Blizzard Druid class deep diveCurrent public design and talent changes; dated October 1 notes supersede older future-build language.
L0uki: level 20 Bear beta experienceSeptember 29 early tank and item-source references; threat/debuff behavior checked against later official known issues.
Smite's Mighty Hammer: current itemLevel 18, bind-on-pickup hammer with 11 Strength, 4 Agility and displayed base weapon DPS. No universal form-DPS prediction.
Matching client stat arithmetic and Cat Agility branchCat Form Agility AP branch; ordinary weapon display is not a form damage simulation.

Plan later tools without importing old rotations

Berserk is a deeper 31-point talent beyond the ordinary points available at the current level-30 cap. Lacerate is announced for level 42. Neither belongs in an early-beta rotation merely because it appears in a complete talent tree.

Improve the current role first: useful finishers and mana left for recovery in Cat, or stable targets and survivable pulls in Bear. Older powershifting, stat-stick and raid-gear advice needs a current Forever check before becoming part of the plan.

Section references

Blizzard Druid class deep diveCurrent public design and talent changes; dated October 1 notes supersede older future-build language.
Blizzard beta update: October 1Dated cap, Druid changes and known issues; no numeric build supplied.

Sources & scope

Forms and attacks require actual quest, trainer or talent acquisition; native levels are not automatic permission.

Cat Agility AP is a form-specific client contribution and is not applied to Bear or caster form.

Ordinary AP/14 weapon accounting is not a total Cat or Bear damage model.

October 1 notes remove Tiger’s Fury and list threat/positioning issues; old rotations and debuff threat assumptions can be stale.

Berserk and level-42 Lacerate are later planning; ordinary points without Legacy bonuses are assumed.

Blizzard beta update: October 1 Official beta notes · 2026-10-01
Dated cap, Druid changes and known issues; no numeric build supplied.
Blizzard Druid class deep dive Official announcement
Current public design and talent changes; dated October 1 notes supersede older future-build language.
Build 70205 native spell levels Client data · 1.60.1.70205
Spell-level metadata, not trainer offers, quest completion or talent acquisition.
Build 70205 class attribute coefficients Client data · 1.60.1.70205
Druid base 2 AP/Strength and 0 AP/Agility; Cat-specific override is separate.
Build 70205 class and level critical-strike coefficients Client data · 1.60.1.70205
ContentSet 0 baseline coefficients; percentage-point contribution, not full live hit table.
Matching client stat arithmetic and Cat Agility branch Client tooltip · 1.60.1.70205
Cat Form Agility AP branch; ordinary weapon display is not a form damage simulation.
Lexolas: level 20 Feral damage beta experience Author guide · 2026-09-29
September 29 practical/quest references; predates October 1 replacement of Tiger’s Fury. No fixed time-to-kill threshold imported.
L0uki: level 20 Bear beta experience Author guide · 2026-09-29
September 29 early tank and item-source references; threat/debuff behavior checked against later official known issues.
Frankensteak: level 20 Restoration beta experience Author guide · 2026-09-29
September 29 role/talent/item references; Legacy-only recommendations and blanket downranking claims are not imported.
Player discussion: hybrid roles and split investment Community discussion
Player questions about gear and role trade-offs; not proof of class power, threat coefficients or current tuning.
Smite's Mighty Hammer: current item Rendered beta tooltip
Level 18, bind-on-pickup hammer with 11 Strength, 4 Agility and displayed base weapon DPS. No universal form-DPS prediction.
Bear Form current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Cat Form current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Claw current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Rip current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Maul current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Swipe current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Growl current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Shifting Power current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Shred current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.
Rake current Forever entry Rendered beta tooltip
Current selected spell entry; native spell level is not acquisition. Raw effect values and rank-dependent display can be misleading.

Original StatRat guide. Game names and icons © Blizzard Entertainment. StatRat is an independent fan project.

Go deeper · Feral Combat

Feral Combat · decisions and mechanics

Current beta play is capped at level 30. Level 60 reference models and deeper talents are identified as later planning. Client descriptions and server updates can differ.

In this guide

Choose the next action

Decide whether the current job is Cat damage or Bear tanking. Changing form changes the resource and available actions; it does not transfer an Energy plan into Rage.
For Cat, use a learned builder and spend Combo Points on a finisher useful for the target’s remaining life. A bleed needs time, while a positional attack needs actual usable position.
For Bear, secure the pull and choose the next Rage spend around target control and incoming danger. A damage comparison alone cannot identify the safest tanking choice.
Treat Shifting Power as a learned mana-to-Energy action, not the removed Classic Tiger’s Fury routine. Preserve the mana required to leave the damage role and respond.
Compare the Cat and Bear reference models separately. The Cat custom rotation and the Bear tank-damage preset are distinct sources, not one rotation shared by the talent tree.

Sources for this section

TalentsForever: current beta talents and spell tooltips Forever beta report · 1.60.1.70170 · 2026-10-04
CC-BY-4.0 author-client export generated October 4. Build 70170 with dated research/hotfix annotations; client descriptions do not establish every current server effect or trainer offer.
Blizzard Hunter and Druid deep dives Official announcement · 2026-10-04
Announced Hunter and Druid class design. Later beta notes override older details.
Blizzard beta update: October 1 Official beta notes · 2026-10-04
Dated cap, Druid changes and known issues; no numeric build supplied.
Forever class attribute coefficients Client data · 1.60.1.70205 · 2026-10-04
Class baseline attack-power coefficients; form-specific branches and modifiers are separate.
Matching Forever character-stat display Client interface source · 1.60.1.70205 · 2026-10-04
Client display basis: 14 AP per nominal ordinary weapon DPS, 2 Armor per Agility, and Cat-specific Agility branch. Not a special-attack or shapeshifted damage model.

Changing form changes the resource job

Click through an illustrative sequence. Conditional effects require the named spells and talents; this is not a damage, resource, threat or timing simulation.

Begin in Bear: Bear uses Rage for its tanking actions; this is not Cat Energy.
Choose Cat for damage: After learning the form, switch the role to Cat’s Energy and Combo Point context.
Use a Cat builder: A learned Cat builder adds points to the chosen enemy.
Use a Cat finisher: Spend the illustrative points on an appropriate learned finisher; the form did not turn Rage into points.

Inspect the interaction

The scene explains this named mechanic. The saved level 60 priority reference, where present, is separate.

Changing form changes the resource job Current beta · use the spells and talents you know

Changing form changes the resource job

Click through an illustrative sequence. Conditional effects require the named spells and talents; this is not a damage, resource, threat or timing simulation.

This scene illustrates a named interaction. Playback does not simulate combat timing, damage, resource costs or enemy behaviour.

Sources for this section

TalentsForever: current beta talents and spell tooltips Forever beta report · 1.60.1.70170 · 2026-10-04
CC-BY-4.0 author-client export generated October 4. Build 70170 with dated research/hotfix annotations; client descriptions do not establish every current server effect or trainer offer.
Blizzard Hunter and Druid deep dives Official announcement · 2026-10-04
Announced Hunter and Druid class design. Later beta notes override older details.
Blizzard beta update: October 1 Official beta notes · 2026-10-04
Dated cap, Druid changes and known issues; no numeric build supplied.
Forever class attribute coefficients Client data · 1.60.1.70205 · 2026-10-04
Class baseline attack-power coefficients; form-specific branches and modifiers are separate.
Matching Forever character-stat display Client interface source · 1.60.1.70205 · 2026-10-04
Client display basis: 14 AP per nominal ordinary weapon DPS, 2 Armor per Agility, and Cat-specific Agility branch. Not a special-attack or shapeshifted damage model.

Level 60 reference priorities

Night Elf; saved 9/34/8 talent split; level 60; 10,000 iterations; one level 63 target; nominal 120 seconds with ±15 seconds variation.

Level 60 reference priorities
Action	Condition in this saved model
Cat Form	NOT (active effect: Cat Form)
Shifting Power	Energy < (maximum Energy − 60)
Ravage	active effect: Prowl
Faerie Fire	(NOT (active effect: Faerie Fire on target) OR model refresh decision: Faerie Fire on target (maximum overlap 1.0s))
Elune's Light	(known model effect: Elune's Light AND active effect: Cat Form AND NOT (active effect: Berserk))
Rip	(Combo Points ≥ 5 AND NOT (periodic effect active: Rip))
Ferocious Bite	(Combo Points ≥ 5.0 AND remaining periodic time: Rip > 5s AND NOT (active effect: Clearcasting))
Innervate	(active effect: Cat Form AND known model effect: Furor AND Energy ≤ 30 AND (learned in model: Innervate AND ready in model: Innervate) AND Mana % ≤ 10% AND fight time remaining ≥ 20)
Shred	No additional priority test
Claw	in front of target

Sources for this section

MythicSim: Feral Druid Model documentation · 2026-10-05
Saved level 60 reference, inspected October 5, 2026. Engine forever-f43215d07e51fc228c2e32366d7563b03d76fec8. Its priorities and events describe this model, not tested live gameplay.

Inspect the saved opening

These timestamps show selected events from one recorded model opening. A row can be a triggered event; it is not automatically another button press. Negative times are preparation before the encounter.

Saved endgame model · later planning

Saved level 60 reference

Inspect events from this saved setup.

Level 60 single-target damage reference · later planning

Inspect the saved opening

These rows are events from one model timeline. A triggered hit or effect is not automatically an extra player cast.

Saved model event · -1.5 sProwl

These are the visible core spell decisions in this saved model’s effective rotation, in source priority order. Check the first usable higher-priority action; later entries can be skipped. Item, racial and other auxiliary management remains in the full report, and execute-phase percentages are encounter settings rather than proc chances. The preset uses fixed gear and buffs. It does not prove an optimized BiS set or current beta access. This reference models Cat damage only; it does not model Bear tanking.

Inspect the original setup and full report →

Sources for this section

MythicSim: Feral Druid Model documentation · 2026-10-05
Saved level 60 reference, inspected October 5, 2026. Engine forever-f43215d07e51fc228c2e32366d7563b03d76fec8. Its priorities and events describe this model, not tested live gameplay.

Equipment in this reference

The publisher describes these sets as primarily dungeon and crafted equipment, rather than optimized BiS. The Survival and Holy / Protection references have beta-gear exceptions. This is an item sample without inferred inventory slots.

Equipment in this reference
Reference item	How to use this comparison
Warbear Woolies	Fixed reference item; verify your level, source and current access.

Sources for this section

MythicSim: Feral Druid Model documentation · 2026-10-05
Saved level 60 reference, inspected October 5, 2026. Engine forever-f43215d07e51fc228c2e32366d7563b03d76fec8. Its priorities and events describe this model, not tested live gameplay.
Forever item reference: build 70205 Client data · 1.60.1.70205 · 2026-10-04
Item names and requirements; client presence does not establish a drop source or current access.
MythicSim: reference-model methodology Model documentation · 2026-10-04
Dated level 60 damage-model references; selected profiles are not gameplay or healer-performance evidence.