[GUIDE] Cat DPS - Updated for 3.2.0

#0 - April 21, 2009, 6:14 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Index:

    Post 1:
    • Preface

    • Rotation

    • Spec

    Post 2:
    • Glyphs

    • Stats

    • Gear

    • Result

    Post 3:
    • Addons

    • Legend

    • Useful links



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Preface
    I made this guide to begin with since a lot people (pre-patch 3.1.0) were complaining about low cat DPS although you were able to put out a stable DPS around 4-5k back then.

    I will try cover up all aspects of feral DPS, and if you happen to find any flaws at all, even down to a misspelled word, I would be more than happy to read your criticism :) (Keep it in a civil tone though).

    After reading this guide I hope you've learned something, at least I did when writing it :).

    Best Regards
    Fanthom



Rotation
    First of all: You should know that feral DPS is by many considered the hardest DPS spec to excel in. Blue-post about this =P:
    Q u o t e:
    http://blue.mmo-champion.com/28/16474150120-zomg-too-hard.html


    Theres no specific rotation for kitty, instead it's a matter of keeping buffs/debuffs up at all times

    You have one buff you need to have up: Savage Roar. Then you have 3 debuffs you need to keep up: Rake, Rip and Mangle (you dont have to think about mangle if there's a bear tank in the group, or an Arms warrior using "Trauma")

    The priority are as follows:
    - Savage Roar
    - Mangle
    - 5-point Rip
    - Rake

    Get Faerie Fire up whenever you don't have enough energy to make a special attack.

    Starting on bosses (how to get your debuffs up the most efficient way):
    I normally start out on bosses with a Mangle, and then using Savage Roar to have it up from the beginning, then I'll apply Rake, Shred one time, blow TF, Shredding to 5 CPs for a 5-point Rip. After that I just keep everything up.

    Shred:
    To build up combo points you should use shred, and therefore it's a good idea to always place yourself behind your target (which also avoids parries and blocks)

    OoC Procs:
    Try the best you can to use all OoC procs for shreds, since that will give you the most DPE out of them.

    Ferocious Bite:
    Q u o t e:
    At high enough gear levels, you'll want to use Bite or you're wasting combo points and/or Energy. The trick is doing it without jeopardising your SR at the very least. Optimal would be to have both Rip and SR on enough duration to be able to build enough CPs again.

    You can use FB as finishers on bosses too, like if you estimate theres less than 20 seconds left of the fight.

    Save Berserk for Heroism/Bloodlust:
    Berserk only affects yellow damage/special attacks, therefore it doesn't matter whether you use it at the same time as Heroism/Bloodlust, since that only affects white damage.

    If there's a long fight I'll usually use Berserk right at the beginning, to be able to use it more than once in the fight. Although if you're able to persuade one of your DK's to give you hysteria, try to time that at the same time as Berserk. Furthermore, using Berserk at the same time as a Grim Toll or Mjolnir Runestone proc, is highly rewarding DPS-wise



Spec
    This is my 3.2.0 cat spec:

    Q u o t e:
    http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZvMMsfrz0eR0huAkbAczb:mpcVz0

    Strenghts:

      It has all +dmg talents maxed out, except FA (and AoE) - which in my opinion isn't neccesary, since I don't see any talents you can take one point from, that would do better as 3% more dmg in FB

      This spec has great utility. 3/5 Furor will give you 60% chance to regen energy when swiftshifting. You have SI, 30% speed and Feral Charge. You will regain 4% health approx every 6-10 second, nice help to healers.

    Weaknesses:

      It's not very viable for tanking, but of course you can have a bear-spec as your dual spec.

      Furor isn't maxed out, so that means you sometimes wont regen energy when swiftshifting.

      And unfortunately you wont be doing as much AoE dmg as you could...



    Theoretically this would be the 'highest' dps spec in 3.2.0
    Q u o t e:
    http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0ZEGzcfrz0eo0huAkbAczb:mpcVz0

#4 - April 21, 2009, 6:40 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Nice timing! This has been added to the Guide Collection atop the Druid forum! *hi5*

http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=8864928077&sid=1