Feral Druid DPS Spell Summary — Shadowlands Pre-Patch 9.0.1

Feral remains dedicated to the core of the same spells that any player who has ever picked up the spec will remember. This page serves as an explanation on each specific ability and the tools Feral has available to them in Shadowlands, covering any changes that have happened in the transition. This is a good starting point for any new player who is looking to give Feral a try before diving into the more advanced pages of gameplay.

Feral comes with a dual resource system of Energy and Combo Points. Energy fuels the majority of your abilities, most of which either generate a Combo Point (builders) such as Shred, or spend your Combo Points (finishers), such as Rip. You come with a baseline cap of 100 Energy, though some talents and effects can alter this, which slowly regenerates each second scaling with your Haste rating. Combo Points are spent all at once on your finishers, and the intensity of your finishers is based on how many Combo Points were consumed (up to the maximum of 5).

Having access to some quick Macros and Addons that can make gameplay smoother is always helpful,and you can find some on our dedicated page below:

Note that this page simply lists all the different abilities, assuming you are at max level. If you are leveling, check out our dedicated Druid Leveling page, which has detailed information on when you unlock all of these abilities.

You will spend the majority of your time in Cat Form, which grants access to your Feral abilities. It also increases your base movement speed by 30%, grants immunity to Polymorph effects and reduces fall damage.

Below are your primary abilities that come with the spec before any talents get involved. All of these form the core of your gameplay and most things are built around them.

Feral has a focus on Damage over Time effects called Bleeds, dealing high Bleed damage to targets (meaning they bypass Armour) over a moderate period of time, sped up by Haste. Having Bleeds active can also buff the strength of other specific spells cast, so managing your Bleeds is a core concept of Feral gameplay.

Rake is your first rotational Bleed, instantly dealing moderate Bleed damage then high Bleed damage over 15 seconds, and generating one Combo Point, at the cost of 35 Energy. Managing this is relatively easy as it has no pre-requisites other than the Energy to cast it, and should be kept up at all times on your main target. This also deals additional up front damage and stuns the target for 4-seconds when cast from stealth.

Rip is your finisher Bleed, costing up to 5 Combo Points to deal very high Bleed damage, with the duration extending based on how many Combo Points were consumed. This consumes all available Combo Points when cast, and costs 20 Energy. You want to always make sure you have enough resources available to keep this active at all times.

Thrash is your AoE Bleed tool, costing 40 Energy, dealing a burst of Bleed damage and then leaving a DoT Bleed effect for the next 15 seconds on all targets hit in Melee range. Also generates one Combo Point. This provides a way to apply Bleeds to multiple targets in range to activate some effects within the toolkit.

Shred is your core filler spell, dealing high Physical damage at the cost of 40 Energy, and dealing 20% additional damage if there is a Bleed effect present on the target. If used while Stealthed, it deals an additional 60% damage and has double the chance to critically strike. This is your main builder to convert Energy into Combo Points in single-target.

Swipe is the AoE alternative to Shred, dealing moderate Physical damage for 35 Energy, and also dealing 20% additional damage to Bleeding targets. This is only used in situations with more than one target and is coupled with Thrash to maintain Bleed effects to make use of the damage boost.

Ferocious Bite is a direct damage Feral finisher, dealing heavy Physical damage for 25 Energy, and consuming up to 5 Combo Points. It will also consume up to another 25 Energy to deal 100% extra damage. This is used whenever you have surplus Combo Points available to deal a high burst of damage, but is used sparingly so as to not get in the way of your Rip uptime. The Sabertooth talent does a lot to alleviate this and make it a mainstay in your rotation.

Moonfire deals low Arcane damage to your target leaving a small Arcane DoT effect lasting 16 seconds. This cannot be used in Cat Form without Lunar Inspiration taken, but can be used at range to pull additional targets or deal damage when forced out of range.

Maim is a Combo Point spending move that deals low Physical damage for 30 Energy, and spending up to 5 Combo Points to stun your target for up to 5 seconds, on a 20-second cooldown. Due to its high resource cost this is reserved for situations where a stun is desperately needed.

Tiger's Fury is an off Global Cooldown ability that instantly generates 50 Energy, and increases all damage you deal by 15% for 10 seconds, on a 30-second cooldown. This is used rotationally to boost your Energy back up after spending a large amount, and for the damage bonus window it provides. This increase is snapshotted and applied to the entire DoT effect of any Bleed applied when active.

Berserk is Feral's big cooldown, causing your Shred and Rake casts to behave as if you were in Stealth, and granting any Finishing Moves cast to have a 20% chance per Combo Point spent to refund one Combo Point. This provides a burst of heavy damage, making your Combo Point Generators deal significantly higher damage and your Finishers to cycle into each other much faster. This should ideally be paired with Tiger's Fury whenever possible.

For more information on how these abilities play together in your rotation, read our rotation page.

Primal Fury is a passive effect that causes any direct damage Critical Strikes to generate 2 Combo Points instead of the usual 1. This is not applied to your DoT Bleed effects. This can also only generate 1 point with AoE tools such as Swipe, regardless of the number of Critical Strikes that occur. This directly increases the value of Critical Strike rating as a secondary stat, improving the generation of resources.

Omen of Clarity grants your auto attacks a chance to make your next Shred, Swipe or Thrash cost no Energy when cast. This provides additional Energy via allowing free casts during your rotation, filling up some gaps in the rotation caused by slow Energy generation.

Predatory Swiftness is a proc that has a 20% chance to occur per Combo Point spent, up to a guaranteed 100% when spending 5. This causes your next Entangling Roots or Regrowth within 12 seconds to be instant cast. This provides a way to use some utility spells without committing to leaving Cat Form.

Prowl has a 6-second cooldown, allowing you to enter Stealth, reducing the distance enemies and players can see you. This also activates some specific bonuses from Shred and Rake when active. The cooldown only begins recharging after leaving Stealth. Can only be used when out of combat.

Skull Bash is Feral's interrupt spell that interrupts your target for 4 seconds on a 15-second cooldown, but comes with the added advantage of a mini-charge to your target from up to 13 yards away, that can often be very useful.

Infected Wounds causes your Rake effect to reduce the movement speed of any targets affected by 20% for 12 seconds when applied.

Barkskin reduces all damage you take by 20% for 12 seconds, and prevents damage taken delaying spellcasts. This can also be used when stunned or incapacitated, and has a 1-minute cooldown. This is an incredibly flexible damage reduction tool and should be used liberally due to its long duration and low cooldown whenever you expect to be taking damage during an encounter.

Survival Instincts reduces all damage you take by 50% for 6 seconds on a 3-minute cooldown. This is a powerful tool due to its high reduction effect but due to its low duration and long cooldown means you should use try to use it when absolutely necessary to deal with mechanics, and Barkskin is not available.

Bear Form shapeshifts you into a Bear granting 220% increased Armour, 25% additional Stamina, and access to some Bear Form only abilities. This is an instant shift, and can be used as an extra survival tool due to the increased Health. This can be particularly useful due to having no cooldown, and should be used whenever you are worried about dying to a mechanic. Also grants access to Ironfur at the cost of 40 Rage, increasing your Armour for 7 seconds.

Growl taunts your current target, causing it to attack you for up to 3 seconds. This has a 30-yard range, an 8-second cooldown, but requires you to be in Bear Form.

Regrowth heals your target and leaves a small HoT lasting for 12 seconds. This has a 1.5-second cast, a 40-yard range, and can be made instant cast via Predatory Swiftness.

Dash instantly activates Cat Form, and grants an additional 60% Movement Speed within your Cat shapeshift for 10 seconds on a 2-minute cooldown. While it provides a big boost to speed while active, the long cooldown and relatively short duration means you should be ideally plan when to use this.

Stampeding Roar, increases the movement speed of you and all allies within 15 yards by 60% for 8 seconds on a 2-minute cooldown. This is a very useful raid tool in fights that require raid movement, but bear in mind the short radius that requires you to position around your raid to make sure those that need it most are affected.

Travel Form shapeshifts you into either a fast moving land or aquatic beast, conferring significantly increased movement speed in each scenario but pacifying you. This can only be used outdoors, but has uses for open world content.

Entangling Roots roots your current target in place for up to 30 seconds, but any damage dealt may break the effect. This has no cooldown, a 1.7-second cast, and a 35-yard range. This serves as a point and click crowd control tool, and can be made instant via Predatory Swiftness.

Soothe has a 10-second cooldown, and a 40-yard range. This removes dispels all Enrage effects active on your target when cast.

Remove Corruption has an 8-second cooldown, and a 40-yard range. This dispels all Curse and Poison effects on the you or the targeted Ally when cast.

Hibernate has a 1.5-second cast and a 30-yard range, and causes your target to fall asleep for up to 40 seconds, but any damage taken will break the effect. This can only be used on Beasts or Dragonkin. Only one target can be affected by this at a time.

Cyclone has a 1.5-second cast and a 20-yard range, causing your target to be crowd controlled and immune for 6 seconds. This has no cooldown, but only one target can be affected by this at a time.

Feral being a Druid also comes equipped with access to Rebirth as an in-combat resurrection tool. This has a 10-minute cooldown, a 2-second cast time, but must be cast outside of shapeshift forms.

The abilities below are all gained from talents specifically, and will be ordered based on their position on the tree. For more detailed information on each of these options, please look at our talent page.

Tiger Dash — replaces Dash, increases movement speed by 200% decaying over 5 seconds on a 45-second cooldown. Provides frequent high intensity burst movement.

Renewal — instantly restores 30% health on a 1.5-minute cooldown. Personal survival tool with a long cooldown.

Wild Charge — 15-second cooldown that confers different movement options based on your current shapeshift form. You should check our talent page for details on the different effects, but provides flexible mobility depending on circumstance.

Affinities each grant access to a number of different specialization abilities depending on your selection.

Balance Affinity increases the range of all of your abilities by 5 yards and grants access to Moonkin Form and the following abilities:

• Starsurge;
• Starfire;
• Sunfire;
• Typhoon.

Guardian Affinity reduces all damage you take by 6% and grants access to the following abilities:

• Frenzied Regeneration;
• Incapacitating Roar.

Restoration Affinity grants the Ysera's Gift passive healing you or a nearby ally every 5 seconds, and grants access to the following abilities:

• Rejuvenation;
• Swiftmend;
• Wild Growth;
• Ursol's Vortex.

Mighty Bash is a 1-minute cooldown that stuns your target in melee range for 4 seconds. Can be used in any shapeshift form and provides point and click crowd control.

Mass Entanglement is a 30-second cooldown that roots your target and any other enemies 15 yards around them in place for 30 seconds, with a 30-yard range. This can be cast in any shapeshift form, and provides AoE crowd control.

Heart of the Wild enhances your Affinity for 45-seconds on a 5-minute cooldown. This provides:

• 30% additional healing and 50% reduced Mana cost with Restoration Affinity
• 30% additional damage from Balance Affinity spells and makes Starsurge instant cast
• 20% additional Stamina in Bear Form with Guardian Affinity, allows Ironfur to stack multiple times and grants Frenzied Regeneration an additional charge.

Savage Roar is a finisher that grants additional damage and Energy regeneration, with its duration increased based on Combo Points spent when cast.

Incarnation: King of the Jungle replaces your Berserk, conferring the same effects, and also has a 30-second duration and reduces the Energy cost of all abilities when active by 20%. Also allows one use of Prowl during combat when cast.

Brutal Slash replaces Swipe, has 3 charges and 8-second recharge time (reduced by Haste) and costs 25 Energy. Deals heavier damage than Swipe and has a reduced Energy cost per cast.

Primal Wrath is a finisher that costs 20 Energy to deal AoE damage to all nearby targets and applies the Rip effect to any hit. The damage dealt and duration of Rip scales with the number of Combo Points spent.

Feral Frenzy costs 25 Energy, has a 45-second cooldown and deals a burst of Bleed damage, then leaves a 6-second Bleed on your target. Also generates 5 Combo Points rapidly over 1.5-seconds when cast. Quick burst of resource generation and heavy damage on a medium cooldown.