A Guide to: Tree Slap DPS

[Elysium]

I still don't understand why people spec in Nature's reach. it reduces your threat and you're in melee range most of the time during your rotation. Not worth the 2 points.

[Alski]

fixt.

[uraken]

I think to Op won the internet

[Razulath]

The slap should realy work as a cleave.

[Cpttrips]

:P im highly amused

[Raidenx]

That is almost as stupid as a rogue punching his way to the top of the meters like I saw in a regular AN. He did it just to prove the other retarded dps that they literally weren't doing shit.

[Nenaunir]

Time to collect gear for what shall be my new spec! Good luck to all tree-slappers out there!

[KresnikHellfire]

Thanks Sir, I needed this laugh

[Emma]

I've decided to write this guide so that all of the aspiring druids out there will know that they have options for DPS specs aside from the standard feral and moonkin specs. In endgame raids (Icecrown 25 and heroic 25 ToC), tree slap DPS is a surprisingly viable option. With the right gear and a little guidance, you'll find that you will be blowing away the meters in no time. I've split the guide up into three sections:

I. Spec and glyphs
II. Gear
III. Rotation

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I. Spec and glyphs

Right now, http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#0VGfu...uxVzAcs:jxwMzm is the gold standard in tree slap DPS. This is not to say that you can't change talents around to suit your needs, but the spec is fairly cookie-cutter. However, there is an alternate spec that some tree slap druids go, where they drop Insect Swarm and Improved Moonfire and spend the points in resto to get to Wild Growth. This can be effective for tree slappers with high spell damage, but you'll need extra heals when you are thorns tanking because you won't get the -3% hit on the mob from Insect Swarm.(1)

No matter what spec you choose, there are certain talents that are simply must-get, these include: Naturalist, Improved Tree of Life, and, of course, Brambles.

As for glyphs, the options are fairly limited. I strongly reccomend:

Majors: Barkskin, Rapid Rejuvenation, Hurricane
Minors: Thorns, Unburdened Regrowth, Glyph of the Wild

Glyph of Barkskin is a must-have, and Glyph of Hurricane can be helpful in dense-mobs situations.

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II. Gear

As far as gearing up, it is important to get high-armor spell power leather. You must get hit capped as soon as you possibly can. Once there, it is sometimes beneficial to swap out some spell power rings or necks for rogue necks with agility on them. Believe me, your healers will thank you for the extra dodge and armor when you are tree slap thorns tanking!

Crit isn't terribly important, just make sure you have a healthy amount. Aside from hit, haste is probably your most important stat. You need those slaps to come as quickly as humanly possible. Stack haste until your eyes bleed!

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III. Rotation

The tree slap rotation is fairly complex. In a typical fight, you will want to dot up the target with moonfire and insect swarm. Once dotted, start slapping, but keep an eye on your health. If it begins to drop, pop Barkskin. Avoid the common mistake of trying to save it for scary situations. It's a 1 minute cooldown, so use it as such!

I'd like to point out that you should already have Thorns casted on yourself. This baby is going to be your main source of damage throughout the fight. In the unlikely event that another DPS pulls the mob off of you, simply shift to bear, Growl, and shift back to tree form. However, you should kindly point out to your fellow raid members that having to do this several times during the fight will greatly diminish your DPS.

When Clearcasting procs, use Hurricane. Obviously, pop Barkskin beforehand if it is up to avoid interruption. This is the tree slap druid tank's version of Thunder Clap and will keep bosses from beating you into the ground.

Simply keep your dots refreshed and make sure thorns doesn't wear off (the minor glyph is a great way to avoid this) and keep slapping and your DPS should be respectable in even the toughest of raids. Thanks for reading, and keep slapping!


(1) I feel I should point out that it is currently hotly debated within the tree slapping community as to whether the 3% reduced hit on the mob does more harm than good when you consider the damage of Thorns. Unfortunately I was unable to find any conclusive numbers on the subject, but I am of the opinion that Insect Swarm is generally better in that it doesn't depend on the attack speed of the mob or mobs attacking you. In the end, you'll simply have to make up your own mind.

*Work Cited

Skaggs of Spirestone originally made this and posted it on our guild website. I decided to share it with the world.

I'M ONE OF THESE!

[Simbert]

That is almost as stupid as a rogue punching his way to the top of the meters like I saw in a regular AN. He did it just to prove the other retarded dps that they literally weren't doing shit.

I actually can not believe this. I have tried it, and as a rogue, if i am punching stuff, i never do more than 500 dps. And this is something even the most retarded dps are capable of, even the bots do more. If i could use styles without a weapon, it would be different, but sadly, without a weapon, i can only autoatttack.

Hm. You were talking about regular, not heroic. I am an idiot. Should be possible.

[avengingbt]

Good thread

I remember a couple months back I was healing Old Kingdom heroic, I was PvP spec/geared so I had high hp, probably crit-immune due to resi and I had IS.. very similar to the tree-slapping spec. Anyway, we were on the boss where you have to kill the worshipers before they make it into the center, an add made it and buffed the boss. I totally wasn't paying attention and some crazy damage ensued, killing the rest of the team. I applied IS/MF/thorns and spam healed myself like crazy, managing to solo the boss from around 40-50% as a resto druid to get the achievement.

True story Try it, this spec works!

[Melonberry]

brb respeccing.

Should I use some of my feral gear to become hit and expertise capped?

What about armor pen? Should my slaps hit hard or should I rely on thorns?

[Celestial476]

I actually created my first account here just to post in this thread.

Way too epic.

[Volirus]

Posted on my own guild forum after a resto druid sarcastically said he would tank an instance. So glad i got the forum post to prove he actually can! +5 interwebs for OP

[rated]

this spec needs to be renamed from tree slap to slap nutts.

[crikk23]

ya going do this if i ever start playing wow again XD (in cata) sounds dumb but it is fun ,hope see some ppl doign this in raids !

[Oxydo]

Now I feel like levling a druid
Damn you OP, I have too many alt already!

In other news, I have no words; this is just too good.

[Tinkle]

In all seriousness though. That's pretty darned funny. Hope you're raids are full of them soon enough!

P.S. I hope to see my Christoph Walz meme make it big time!

[Deleted]

I could see this work, 1 bear tank, 1 resto druid, 8 tree DPS! You might clear Naxx with that!

[elapadrinar]

(1) I feel I should point out that it is currently hotly debated within the tree slapping community as to whether the 3% reduced hit on the mob does more harm than good when you consider the damage of Thorns. Unfortunately I was unable to find any conclusive numbers on the subject, but I am of the opinion that Insect Swarm is generally better in that it doesn't depend on the attack speed of the mob or mobs attacking you. In the end, you'll simply have to make up your own mind.

Or get the Insect Swarm Glyph.