Feral Druid DPS Mythic+ Tips - Dragonflight 10.2.7 (2024)

RecommendedFlex Picks

These are the talents that, while they can be swapped, should stillmostly be taken in the majority of builds unless you need to find room for flexpicks based on preference:

• Feral Frenzy - while expensive below the high value 20 gate, thisbrings an extra single-target burst tool for priority damage and resource flood.It is also mandatory with the Season 4 set bonus as it activates the very powerfulburst window.
• Convoke the Spirits - brings in a powerful 2-minute burst cooldown thatcan be used to burn down priority targets and bosses alike, and pairs perfectlywith Ashes of the Embersoul brought forward into Season 4 alongside theburst cooldown from the set bonus provided by Feral Frenzy.
• Double-Clawed Rake - a strong AoE talent that makes it easier to maintain Rake on multiple targets. This works best if you expect to spend themajority of the dungeon engaged with lots of enemies but provides no single-targetbenefit. It also doubles up the value of Sudden Ambush procs
• Infected Wounds - amplifies your Rake so works well withthe above Double-Clawed Rake to apply it to multiple targets. This is recommendedto pair as a package with other Rake talents, but it still has value in single-targetsituations, so is usually one of the last to be dropped.
• Sudden Ambush - especially if you take the above two talents, this caps itoff, allowing you to double up on the additional Pouncing Strikes damage boost.It still remains strong in its own right, though, as both a single-target and AoE (ifcycling Rakes) option and a strong pathing node down the left side.
• Moment of Clarity - if you are absolutely sure you are comfortablewith your Energy management and Predator resets, this can be dropped to fitin another throughput talent elsewhere on the tree. Removing this alongside allother Energy options puts a huge strain on your available resources, however, andshould be the last you consider dropping.
• Carnivorous Instinct - flat damage increase to your Tiger's Fury,and due to the high uptime in Mythic+ thanks to Predator has extremely goodvalue. An expensive point to fit in but highly desirable, unfortunately, in Season 4most builds can only squeeze in a single point.

These are options that can be useful in some niche builds, and do provide uniquebenefits. They are either more specialized (meaning you should think more thoroughlyabout how you will make use of them in a dungeon) or focused more on comfort:

• Dire Fixation - This is extremely single-targetfocused, but it brings so much for a single talent point that it covers someof the pitfalls of the spec by allowing it to still provide competent bossdamage. This is still recommended to play in most builds, but because of howspecialized it is, falls into the flex category if you are looking for moreAoE.
• Incarnation: Avatar of Ashamane - an alternative to Convoke the Spirits,extending and empowering Berserk by freeing up Energy to allow formore aggressive spending. Both are worthwhile, but Incarnation takes a bit moreplanning and execution to make full use of making it more of a niche option forcertain dungeons.
• Ashamane's Guidance - an option for Convoke the Spiritsconverting it into a 1-minute timer. This is a very costly talent pointto fit in but adds an extra playstyle option should a dungeon need more frequentAoE setup. When doing this, ideally, you pair it with Rampant Ferocityto leverage the free Ferocious Bite casts. Not really worth the pointto combine with Incarnation: Avatar of Ashamane however due to the long-duration debuff losing value on dying targets.
• Rampant Ferocity - generally taken as a way to convert Ferocious Biteinto AoE damage; this is something that can be taken if you want to go all-in ondoing as much to large groups as possible. Due to it providing no single-targetalongside playing counter to some of Feral's goals, it is more of a niche pick.
• Tireless Energy - solid extra Energy redundancy by increasing the cap andsmoothing the resource. While it is not a remarkable damage increase, if youare running into issues managing your Energy, this can be a good pick to make theplaystyle more fluid.
• Adaptive Swarm - allows you to focus more on priority damage when takinga more Bleed heavy build, but only one point limits its uses to single targets.The variable nature of the jumps as well, even with Unbridled Swarmconsidered can lead to more erratic damage focus, so it requires very goodexecution to play properly.
• Lion's Strength - this is an alternative to Bloodtalons thatis much easier to execute. While the alternative provides more potential, thatthis option is so hard to misplay means that if you are ever struggling to feelcomfortable in tougher dungeons you can swap to this without much worry.

AfflictedEntanglingIncorporealRagingSanguineSpiteful

Afflicted spawns up to two Afflicted Souls throughout thedungeon when in combat. These have a 12-second cast Afflicted Cry that,if successful, reduces the Haste of all players by 100% for 10 seconds thatcan stack.

This can be stopped through any friendly dispel effect or throughhealing the souls. While costly to reach on the class tree, Feral should stilltake Remove Corruption to deal with these. You can also use Predatory Swiftnessprocs to heal them in an emergency.

Entangling periodically snares all players in the group, spawning acircle around you and snaring you by 30%. If you do not snap the vine by gettingout of the area within 8 seconds, you will be stunned for 3 seconds.

Feral has a lot of base movement speed to begin with, so it barely feels the slow,and even better, if you get stuck in a bad spot, you can simply shapeshift out of Cat Form to remove it.

Incorporeal spawns up to two Incorporeal Beings roughly every 45seconds. These begin a 5-second cast Destabilize that, if successful,reduces the damage and healing done of all players by 50% for 10 seconds and canstack.

These enemies are vulnerable to all crowd control and interrupts, thereforeFeral should always play Hibernate during these weeks. If you see acast about to go through or the second target is not under control, you can use Skull Bash to buy some time until another party member covers it.

Raging causes each non-boss enemy to become immune to crowd controlfor 30 seconds after it reaches 30% Health.

All Feral builds path through Soothe, so you come with a naturalcounter to this. Due to its cooldown, prioritize using this on enemies thathave dangerous casts to keep them locked down rather than using it aggressively,and remember they can still be interrupted with Skull Bash.

Sanguine causes all non-boss enemies to leave behind a pool of Ichor,dealing 15% of players health in Shadow damage per second while inside. This alsoheals enemies by 5% while inside, and pools last for 12 seconds.

Managing this is largely on the group and the tank moving enemies out of thearea, while you aim to avoid them. Some will always slip through, however, sotaking Typhoon so you can knock enemies out of the healing area isrecommended.

Spiteful causes all non-boss enemies to spawn a Spiteful Shade,which fixates on a random player in the group. These slowly lose health, anddeal heavy melee damage if they get close.

Due to how dangerous these are, having some form of control or escape wheneach group of enemies die is advised. Typhoon is recommended here toknock them away, buying you some time, but if you are forced to tank them for long, then Barkskin and running away is advised.

Crowd Control and DispelsHealing and DefenseOther Tools

Often, the most crucial part of any Mythic+ run (after how you will deal asmuch damage to kill enemies quickly) is how you intend to lock them down andavoid dangerous casts. Feral comes with some good options for both single-targetand AoE disruption:

• Skull Bash is the Feral interrupt tool on a 15-second cooldown, a13-yard range and has a small charge. This should be used frequently todisrupt enemy casts and can also be used to re-engage targets at range usingthe charge aspect. Just be careful if using it from a distance, as the chargecan put you in dangerous situations.
• Remove Corruption removes both Curse and Poison debuffs from atargeted ally with an 8-second cooldown. Assisting your healer if they cannotremove them or multiple debuffs are present is strongly recommended. Whilecostly to reach, this is recommended during Afflicted affixweeks.
• Soothe is an offensive Enrage effect dispel. This has a 40-yardrange and a 10-second cooldown, and can be used in Cat Form.This is incredibly valuable to any group in any dungeon that has Enrageeffects or during Raging affix weeks.
• Entangling Roots is a soft crowd control option to lock downenemies in certain situations you want to keep out of range. However, theyare still able to cast or attack from range if they have the ability to.This can also be made instant with Predatory Swiftnessprocs.
• Infected Wounds is passively applied by your Rakeeffect, slowing targets by 20% for 12 seconds. Not a strong slow, butit can be useful if kiting is needed.
• Maim and Mighty Bash talents are both stun optionsavailable to Feral that can be used to lock down single targets and preventnon-interruptible casts.
• Typhoon can push enemies back or interrupt castsfrom immune enemies. It can also force targets out of groundeffects such as Sanguine if needed, which is especially usefulduring these weeks.
• Incapacitating Roar is an AoE interrupt effect on otherwiseimmune targets. The low cooldown of this makes it incredibly useful forlarge groups of enemies, but it does put you into Bear Form,so it comes with a damage loss. That said, the AoE interrupt is more thanworth it.
• Ursol's Vortex locks enemies within the area to the position,pulling them back if they are forced or try to leave. This has goodsynergy with Typhoon, acting as a pseudo-mass grip by gatheringall enemies pushed to its center.
• Hibernate is a crowd control option that can be cast onBeasts and Dragonkin with a 1.5-second cast and a 30-yard range. Thisputs your target to sleep for up to 40 seconds, but any damage takenwill break the effect. This is a recommended pick to deal withthe Incorporeal affix.
• Cyclone is an emergency crowd control tool that willbanish your target for 6 seconds, making it unable to act and immuneto all damage and healing effects. This can be used to lock down adangerous target briefly but has a 1.5-second cast time, and onlyone enemy can be affected by this at once. It is also quite costlyto reach on the tree.

After control, you also need to consider how you are going to survivein dungeons where damage intake can be extremely high or very frontloaded.That means sometimes more niche talents for raids become exceptionallyvaluable to make it through otherwise lethal mechanics in a situationwhere you are responsible yourself for surviving:

• Bear Form allows you to assume a Tank-oriented form when used andalso grants access to Growl as a taunt effect. This can help inemergencies, increasing your survival and allowing you to redirect pressure fromyour tank. With Ursine Vigor taken as well, it can act as a shortwindow of additional Health to survive potentially lethal mechanics.
• Predatory Swiftness allows you to cast Regrowth instantlyor Entangling Roots after casting a finishing move at 5 Combo Points.This can assist with off-healing or provide emergency crowd control.
• Protective Growth is an extremely costly point to take, as itis present on the spec tree where damage options are available, butis still an option if you find yourself struggling to survive.
• Survival Instincts is now mandatory pathing in 10.0.5 and isa huge cooldown that is very useful for making it through the more lethalmechanics. You also have access to the Barkskin baseline, which canbe improved with Matted Fur to give a little bit more overhead onone-shot mechanics, and the flat damage reduction from Thick Hideon the Class tree.
• Well-Honed Instincts can provide a perfect emergency healshould you be caught off guard or begin to bleed out over extended periodsin some encounters and is a great option even at one point.
• Renewal is an option for burst healing should you find yourselfticking out in bad situations due to high intake, or your healer fallsbehind. A good emergency button.
• Nature's Vigil provides a conversion for your single-targetdamage events into healing, allowing you to contribute to the groupssurvival in high-damage moments without costing damage, so it should betaken in virtually all scenarios.
• Heart of the Wild is a long cooldown, long duration optionthat gives a large amount of bonus survival while in Bear Form,or additional healing when active. This is a very niche option tohybridize between roles if necessary, but the long cooldown makes itvery restrictive in Mythic+ environments.
• Protector of the Pack can also be taken to improve furtheryour healing with Predatory Swiftness, allowing for a stronger,instant emergency heal if needed.

Lastly, these are some effects Feral has access to that do not fitinto either of the above category, but can still be extremely usefulwithin a dungeon and are worth considering and remembering:

• Mark of the Wild provides 3% Versatility to your group andis brought by any Druid. Remember to buff this at the start of everydungeon or if an ally dies!
• The act of shapeshifting in or out of Cat Form (or anyother form) will also break roots, which can be helpful for somemechanics. It will also immediately snap Entanglingvines, removing the need to run out manually.
• Innervate can and should be taken both due to pathing andthe benefit of being able to help your healer out should an extendedpull happen, and they need the 10 seconds of Mana-free casting.
• Stampeding Roar grants movement speed to you and all allies within15 yards. This can be used for getting back into range for damage, helpingallies to avoid dangerous effects or get to the next pull faster.
• Rebirth is a combat resurrection effect, allowing you to revive aplayer outside of the combat restrictions in the event of an unexpecteddeath to keep the pull alive, but does require you to leave Cat Form.