Feral Druid DPS Spell Summary — Shadowlands 9.2
On this page, we present you with all spells and procs that you need to understand as a Feral Druid in World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Feral DPS Druid spells.
Spell Summary of a Feral Druid
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 Druid's Main Resources
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:
Unlocking Abilities
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.
Feral Druid Basic 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.
Bleeds
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.
Other Feral Abilities
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. This deals full damage up until
5 targets, and then will deal reduced damage to any beyond that.
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.
Feral Offensive Cooldowns
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.
Feral Procs and Passives
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.
Feral Utility Tools
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.
Talented Abilities for Feral Druid
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.
Level 25
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.
Level 30
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:
Guardian Affinity reduces all damage you take by 6% and grants
access to the following abilities:
Restoration Affinity grants the
Ysera's Gift passive
healing you or a nearby ally every 5 seconds, and grants access to the
following abilities:
Level 35
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.
Level 40
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.
Level 45
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. This deals full damage up until 5 targets, and then will deal
reduced damage to any beyond that.
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.
Level 50
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.
Covenant Abilities for Feral Druid
Kyrian: Kindred Spirits allows you to link
with another player for 1 hour (can also be cast on self), and
the bond can be empowered every minute. This grants a 10-second
buff that stores 20% of all damage dealt and places it in a pool
for the other player to consume, adding extra damage to all
damage they deal. This is refreshed whenever damage is stored,
so you each effectively have 20 seconds to consume it all.
Necrolord: Adaptive Swarm is a 25-second
cooldown that applies a Shadow DoT to your current target for
12 seconds with 3 charges, increasing the damage/healing of all
other DoT/HoT effects you have active on them by 25%. When this
expires, it jumps to an an Ally healing them for the same amount,
and then back to an Enemy repeating in that same 12 second
cycle. Each time it jumps it loses a charge, and repeat casts
on a target add charges to the effect.
Night Fae: Convoke the Spirits is a 4-second
channel on a 2-minute cooldown that casts 16 different Druid
spells in quick succession. The pool of abilities that can
be cast is:
Rake
Shred
Tiger's Fury
Thrash
Ferocious Bite
Feral Frenzy (reduced chance)
Wrath
Moonfire (counted as having
Lunar Inspiration when cast)
Rejuvenation
Regrowth
This also has a leaning toward trying to cast Ferocious Bite
while you remain in
Cat Form.
Venthyr: Ravenous Frenzy grants a
20-second buff on a 3-minute cooldown that causes each ability
cast to grant a stacking buff that increase your damage/healing
by 2%, and Haste by 1%. If you perform no actions for 2 seconds
however, you will be stunned for 1 second, lose the buff and
take damage based on the stacks present. When this expires
naturally, these effects do not occur.
Shadowlands Leveling Passives for Feral Druid
- Level 52:
Regrowth has an additional 40% chance to Critically Strike if the target already has the HoT active.
- Level 54:
Shred grants an additional Combo Point if used from Stealth.
- Level 56:
Entangling Roots targets can now take 20% more damage before the effect breaks.
- Level 58:
Berserk now grants an additional Combo Point whenever the refund effect triggers.
Changelog
- 20 Feb. 2022: Page reviewed and approved for Patch 9.2.
- 01 Nov. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1.5 target cap changes.
- 28 Jun. 2021: Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Page reviewed for Patch 9.0.5; updated Adaptive Swarm values.
- 23 Nov. 2020: Page updated for Shadowlands launch.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
More Druid Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Wordup, a frequent theorycrafter involved in a number of class communities. He is also an experienced player who has been in the world top 100 since the days of Sunwell, currently raiding in Echoes. You can also follow him on Twitter.
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