A Worried Druid :(

[Deleted]

Hello guys, I need some strong solid advice here.

I've just resubbed last week from a 3 month break, to get prepared for MoP and all that good stuff.
Now i'm concerned about my leveling spec from 85-90.

I've always been a reasonably fast leveler on my druid in previous expansions as Feral, rolling in 2nd or 3rd place to max level!

Now i've tried looking through various threads and i can't find a solid answer on which is the strongest spec in the upcoming expansion!

I want to level Feral but i fear my gear is letting me down, it's full PVP gear, whereas i have full boomkin PVE gear but boomkins have changed alot
and im worried i won't have a clue as i've always leveled Feral!

Anyway, what im wondering is:

Should i level Feral even though i have only full PVP?
Will feral be strong levelling wise?

Any constructive replys will be greatly appreciated

Cheers,
Fuzzy

[loki504]

since its MoP is still 3 weeks away why not grind your self a full set of 397 feral pve gear? since they cost jp now. with you can easly farm now. and use a pvp weapon?

[exochaft]

Anyway, what im wondering is:

Should i level Feral even though i have only full PVP?
Will feral be strong levelling wise?

Currently, Feral and Balance are both good for leveling.

In terms of gear, it may highly depend on your server situation... and the dreaded cross-realm zone feature. If you anticipate PvP or a cross-realm gank squad, PvP gear may be your best bet at survival. If you think you'll be good at avoiding PvP to level, PvE gear may be the way to go. Since you still have some time, you can grind out some JP gear for Feral (as loki504 mentioned).

Also, there are vendors throughout the zones that will sell you green-quality gear of that zone's ilvl for any spec (including weapons). Sometimes you have to clear a bit through the zone to open the vendor, sometimes the vendor is right there when you enter the new zone. Either way, if you have holes in your gear as you level, or if you want to maintain a Feral and Moonkin set (since the quest rewards are based upon your spec when you turn in the quest), these vendors exist for that purpose.

[Docdruid]

Moonkin looks much stronger than Feral, for raiding and pvp'ing, that was my take when playing Beta.
I have never had so much fun playing Moonkin as of late, give it a try.

[Deleted]

Also, Thrash or Swipe in AoE situations?

EG: Dive into a camp of mobs with cat, do i swipe spam or do i thrash?

[Kujako]

Also, Thrash or Swipe in AoE situations?

Yes? That's really not an either or question.

[Deleted]

Yes? That's really not an either or question.

Which is the better DPS is what i ment by that question, sorry.
Or Thrash to putup the dot, then follow with swipe spams?

[Kujako]

Which is the better DPS is what i ment by that question, sorry.
Or Thrash to putup the dot, then follow with swipe spams?

Thrash has a longer cool down and applies a bleed effect, Swipe deals 20% more damage against bleeding targets. Use both, first Thrash then Swipe.

[clevin]

since its MoP is still 3 weeks away why not grind your self a full set of 397 feral pve gear? since they cost jp now. with you can easly farm now. and use a pvp weapon?

Don't do this. Remember, every xpac resets gear to some extent. By time you get to 86 you'll have replaced some gear already. I'm not sure why you care about leveling ASAP, but you'll be fine. Go feral, have fun. There isn't, probably, a 'best spec' - look over the talents and see what you think will help solo questing.

[exochaft]

Don't do this. Remember, every xpac resets gear to some extent. By time you get to 86 you'll have replaced some gear already.

397 gear will last a while, actually. Starting zone starts with 378 ilvl gear, so 397's will start getting replaced when you hit 87ish? Depends on the gear slot, as well, since I didn't even replace some 410's when I hit 90 on the beta.

If you're going for fastest power leveling, you're likely to be jumping around zones and quests, which can lead to certain slots not receiving an upgrade for an extended period of time (hence, why I didn't have some 410's upgraded... the higher level quests just were not yielding that armor slot). This problem is compounded if you bounce between a caster and a physical spec, since the quest rewards are generally specific to spec. Also... the trinkets from quest rewards, unless upgraded recently on the beta, were insanely bad compared to lower ilvl ones you can currently obtain on live. Could also be that I skipped around quite a bit and didn't get to some end-zone rewards, but most of the green trinkets are more fun than useful.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the feedback guys, i think i'll just stick with my 390 pvp gear, the stats arent all THAT different to those of the 397 PVE, i think i'll just go feral (which i enjoy most), and gogo

[Deleted]

I levelled to 90 as guardian and found it pretty easy/fast.

[Juvencus]

I levelled to 90 as guardian and found it pretty easy/fast.

Any chance you did it early-ish in beta? Guardians were way OP

[exochaft]

Any chance you did it early-ish in beta? Guardians were way OP

With the new Vengeance, Guardian is more viable in the +88 leveling area, since things hit harder. Before that, you're lucky to get low-4-digit Vengeance, even if you pull a large amount. In later leveling areas, pulling large groups is enough to easily kill a DPS and potentially threatening for a tank... so Vengeance is much higher. Also, our avoidance drops like a rock while out-gearing the content less, so we're dodging less and getting hit more often.

Still, it's pretty easy in lower levels right now on the beta, albeit slower compared to going a DPS spec. It's personal preference as to which spec is better/faster in the higher level zones.

[MachoSasquatcho]

since its MoP is still 3 weeks away why not grind your self a full set of 397 feral pve gear? since they cost jp now. with you can easly farm now. and use a pvp weapon?

2 weeks away...just saying!

[caninepawprints]

Feral is great for leveling because it has less downtime, but I don't have much experience with Balance and may be wrong. I like Feral because you can move faster, you don't have to rely on mana, and you have better stealth to get around obstacles. If you enjoy Feral, you won't have any problems leveling as that spec in MOP, especially since everyone will replace all their gear by the second or third zones. The current PVP gear is better than the first pieces you'll receive from quests, and those are obviously good enough for questing.

[Trubo]

Currently, Feral and Balance are both good for leveling.

In terms of gear, it may highly depend on your server situation... and the dreaded cross-realm zone feature. If you anticipate PvP or a cross-realm gank squad, PvP gear may be your best bet at survival. If you think you'll be good at avoiding PvP to level, PvE gear may be the way to go. Since you still have some time, you can grind out some JP gear for Feral (as loki504 mentioned).

Also, there are vendors throughout the zones that will sell you green-quality gear of that zone's ilvl for any spec (including weapons). Sometimes you have to clear a bit through the zone to open the vendor, sometimes the vendor is right there when you enter the new zone. Either way, if you have holes in your gear as you level, or if you want to maintain a Feral and Moonkin set (since the quest rewards are based upon your spec when you turn in the quest), these vendors exist for that purpose.

Oh, that's really nice. Not going to bother gearing up my fresh 85 then.

[loki504]

Don't do this. Remember, every xpac resets gear to some extent. By time you get to 86 you'll have replaced some gear already. I'm not sure why you care about leveling ASAP, but you'll be fine. Go feral, have fun. There isn't, probably, a 'best spec' - look over the talents and see what you think will help solo questing.

maybe some want to lvl asap because there in a guild that is going to raid right away?

[Deleted]

maybe some want to lvl asap because there in a guild that is going to raid right away?

No...? Raids are not available for the first week. Therefor i'd say enjoy it rahter than hurry. You wont be abl eto make a realm first with bad gear and little practise anyways.. :P No offence ofc

[Deleted]

Im going for server first druid

On a server as busy as outland that means doing dungeons till 87 and then questing, so i think guardian will work better (ill be tanking a 5 man group that should plough though dungeons) and then ill see what works better from 87-90.