Classic Feral Druid Tank Guide
Welcome to our Feral Druid Tank guide for WoW Classic, tailored for PvE content. Here, you will learn how all you need to know to play the Druid class as Feral Tank. Click the links #below to navigate the guide or read this page for a short introduction.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Feral Tank Druid guide.
Introduction
Druids are most often described as, "the jack of all trades, but master of none." This is quite accurate since Druids are the only class in the game capable of fulling all four roles: tank, healer, ranged DPS, and melee DPS. However, every Druid specialization and build is considered sub-par for PvE and is outclassed by other classes that share the role.
Feral Druids are not the best tanks in WoW Classic, but bring specific niche abilities that make having one a good idea for some raids. While Warriors are the dominant tanks for most of the content, there are specific roles that Feral Druids can be decent for, making them a viable option. Most guilds will only choose to have 1 Feral Druid, usually one that can swap between DPS and off tanking as needed. This is the main benefit of being a Feral Druid; it is the only spec in the game that has two unique roles and builds built into one talent tree. Because of this unique setup, many of the Feral talents will give you benefits as a DPS while in Cat Form along with tanking benefits for while in Dire Bear Form. This means that, with a single build, you could swap between tanking something and DPSing in Cat Form with just a single form swap. Tanking as a Feral Druid is possible, but finding a raid group or guild will most likely be an uphill battle, so it is important to know what you are signing up for.
Feral Druid in the Season of Mastery
Although the Season of Mastery brings with it a number of changes to how you may experience the content of WoW Classic, these tweaks do not include any adjustments to how you play Feral Druid. As such, this guide will cover all you need to know regardless of which version of Classic you wish to play.
However, due to certain pieces of content from later Phases now being available at an earlier date, gearing recommendations for Feral Druid will be different. Because of this, we have created additional pages detailing your best in slot items for both pre-raid gear and the current raids available.
Feral Druid Strengths as a Tank
- Can use Cat Form for strong damage while not tanking;
- The best threat generation of any tank;
- Reasonably strong AoE threat through Swipe and Challenging Roar;
- Strong utility spells such as Innervate and Rebirth.
- Provides the largest raid DPS increase out of any tank through Leader of the Pack.
- Easy to gear for due to lack of competition for the gear;
Feral Druid Weaknesses as a Tank
- Highest damage taken out of the tanks;
- Using most utility and consumables requires you to leave Dire Bear Form;
- Very few potential raid spots.
Best Races for Feral Druids as a Tank
Unlike other classes, Druids do not have a choice when it comes to race. If you want to go Alliance, you must be Night Elf. If you want to go Horde, you must be Tauren. Thus, your only choice is which faction do you want to choose, which you should make based on your guild, friends, or any other number of reasons.
Night Elf
- Nature Resistance increases your Nature Resistance by 10.
- Quickness increases your Dodge Chance by 1%.
- Shadowmeld is an ability that allows you to become stealthed while standing still when used, on a 10-second cooldown. This cannot be used in combat.
- Wisp Spirit causes you to transform into a wisp upon death, increasing your movement speed by 50% while dead.
Tauren
- Cultivation increases your Herbalism skill by 15.
- Endurance increases your total health by 5%.
- Nature Resistance increases your Nature Resistance by 10.
- War Stomp is a 2-minute cooldown that stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds, with a 0.5 second cast time.
Best Professions for Feral Druids as a Tank
The best profession to have as a Feral is Engineering. It provides powerful items that you can use in both PvE and PvP content to either deal damage or help you get out of a tough spot.
Leatherworking is also a great choice for Feral Druids. The Devilsaur set is a great crafted set that you can make for when you are max level and is very strong throughout the first raid tier for threat generation and damage. It also can be quite profitable to sell.
While Engineering and Leatherworking are great professions, probably the more important thing to think about is how you plan to make gold. Gold is incredibly important in WoW Classic for a number of reasons and will be quite hard to come by especially at the start. Check out the Druid Goldmaking section for more information on other potential professions for making gold.
Changelog
- 02 Dec. 2020 (gear page): Updated for Phase 6.
- 02 Dec. 2020 (enchants page): Updated with Phase 6 Naxxramas Enchants.
- 06 Aug. 2020 (gear page): Reworked for Phase 5 BiS with alternatives.
- 26 Jul. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Idols.
- 21 Jul. 2020 (gear page): Added link to AQ BiS.
- 02 Jun. 2020 (enchants page): Updated the best raid consumables list.
- 18 May 2020 (enchants page): Updated with current World Buffs as of Phase 4.
- 14 Apr. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Zul'Gurub gear.
- 14 Apr. 2020 (enchants page): Updated with Zul'Gurub enchants.
- 13 Mar. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Arathi Basin gear.
- 23 Feb. 2020 (gear page): Updated for P3.
- 23 Feb. 2020 (enchants page): Guide added.
- 09 Nov. 2019 (gear page): Updated with Raid BiS.
- 22 Oct. 2019 (gear page): Updated Pre-Raid BiS to include Dire Maul.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (gear page): Page added.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (enchants page): Page added.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (stats page): Page added.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (rotation page): Page added.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (talents page): Page added.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (spells page): Page added.
- 15 Jul. 2019 (this page): Page added.
- 13 Mar. 2019 (enchants page): Added Phase 3 enchants.
More Classic Druid Guides
More Classic Guides from Other Classes
Classic Dungeon Guides
Classic Profession Guides
This guide has been written by Impakt, an Officer in BDGG, the #2 North American guild on retail. In addition to live WoW, he has also been a classic theorycrafter and enthusiast for many years. You can watch him stream on Twitch, or follow him on Twitter.
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