Vanilla Feral Discussion

[Whitepaw]

I raided in a progression raid as Feral. The game didn’t really support that gear wise, but it was fun at the time.

But going back to Vanilla as a Feral? Thank you, but no. You see, I still remember the agonising raiding experience, with endless grinding to get the consumables needed to kill bosses. I also remember the grind to get competitive Feral weapons and armor. And 40 man raiding...

Oh, and PvP. Was fun as well, but dominated by warriors, rogues and mages.

Looking back, hybrids were designed as healers. It showed in the gear and in our abilities (fx we didn’t have a spell interrupt!). WoW is so much better now, especially for the dps specs of the hybrid classes. We have gained while other classes have lost. And of all hybrid classes, Druids have probably won the most. As of right now, Druids have the highest representation in the most difficult raids, we have the highest representation in competitive PvP. We have 4 highly competitive specs, with Feral being the weakest, but still very good.

There is no reason for me to go back to Vanilla WoW.

[Snowfunk]

I guess this is a pretty common theme, for the people who "want's" vanilla.

Never played it, or forgot all about how things were, rose tinted vision or simply clueless about it.

[ReD-EyeD]

Feral didn't exist in vanilla. The only thing you needed is Nature's Swiftness talent and the rest could go anywhere.

Source: Been "feral" since the release date till Kel'thuzad kill.

[Whitepaw]

It's amazing how nearly 13 years later, the ignorance remains unchanged. Depending on how far back in the patch cycle they go, yes, after 1.8 Druid tanks were able to tank almost everything Warriors could and no, we did not require significantly more healing. The only fight I remember requiring any special attention on was the one time I was allowed to tank Onyxia, and that was simply because we lacked a fear break. I received far more compliments than complaints from healers and the most common criticism I got was more from bitter Warriors that I was doing "their job". Contrary to popular belief, there was gear designed for Druid tanking (ex: Warden Staff) and there was gear we could use with def on it. The only gear we lacked was a proper tier set, which was nowhere near as big a deal back then as it is today.

I agree completely, but would like to add that Feral actually had 1 armor set with good stats and tier set bonuses: Our PvP gear! The best time I ever had as Feral in Vanilla was the last Christmas before TBC, where Blizzard opened up for us to farm the previously locked PvP gear with Honor. I did that and I already had the 3 set from AQ20 (a Feral weapon, with a ring and cloak). That gear was amazing! We had unrivalled mobility, we did a lot of damage, we had good healing.

That was amazing - but also a bit disappointing. Because why the fuck didn’t we have all that through all of Vanilla?

[Kithelle]

yea the thousands of people from private realms sure don't like vanilla

Yeah and how many of them are just on those private servers for a free ride?

[Niwes]

ppl ever thought about the fact that they can change values without changing any game mechanics at all ???

IF they WANT, they can just „balance“ i.e. a 2 button feral (no plan how much buttons they had, just an example) against a rogue, by increasing existing numbers for the 2 buttons. that dont solve the „problem“ that the spec is boring to play. and when you want the real classic exp that also should not, or isnt even a problem at all. but it solves the problem with „no feral in raids“. instantly. with a fukin simple DB entry.

have ppl ever thought about that ? they just have to change some DB entries and all your „only rogues and warriors in raids“ nonsense is over. instantly.

ofc it dont feel well, to push 2 very high damaging buttons vs a rogue pushing 4 or 5 low dmg buttons and keep dots running, or whatever. but who cares ? when the recount bar is the same. and that class styles was vanilla. you want vanilla, you get vanilla. just with some balancing of existing stuff. that can be done in literally seconds by just changing a DB entry for dmg of spell x.

so, WTF are you discussing here ???

[ReD-EyeD]

ppl ever thought about the fact that they can change values without changing any game mechanics at all ???

It is you who don't get it at all. They have even been asked if they're going to keep unintended exploits and the guy said they wanted to make it as close to vanilla as possible and they would most likely only fix technical problems, but not game-related stuff.

And now you're saying that they can tweak numbers for balance. No. They will not do it.

[Seradi]

IKR! I lived it tho, lol. I got to tank Ebonroc and the wyrmguard trash before Chrom in BWL and take Patchwerk's hatefuls. Yeah, I was a glorified mana battery otherwise ;/

DAT AC !!!

Omg I forgot how ugly the old bear form was.

[Deleted]

no way

[Deleted]

Druid didn't have tree in Vanilla.

yes, they did - you looked like a tree in T1

[Deleted]

Played feral back in classic but started a second druid to heal...

Then TBC came along and everything was wonderful until Black Temple .

(crushing blows)

[edit: I am not planning to be returning to vanilla.]

[Rakaji]

Everyone that says Feral PvE isn't even a thing in Vanilla obviously has no idea what they're talking about. There are a small handful of Feral raiders on Vanilla private servers that not only do well enough to justify their raid spot, but they can even beat out every other DPS on certain fights.

They require a MUCH different playstyle to accomplish this, however. The playstyle revolves around using the Wolfshead Helm , a level 40 helm that allows you to generate 20 energy when shifting into Cat Form. With this and 5 points in Furor , you will always have 60 energy when you first enter Cat Form. Then, you basically shift in-and-out of cat form quickly when your energy bar is depleted, allowing you to maintain a DPS rotation that isn't at all possible without this "powershifting" method.

That's the only way to do it in PvE, however. If you play the spec any other way, then you absolutely will not deal enough damage to be brought along to anything and be worth your spot. But it IS POSSIBLE to really compete as Feral DPS.

[Doogler]

They stated they won't change things. Classes won't be touched 100%, they even won't fix gameplay bugs that don't affect server stability. Only real question is will they roll out 1.12 or will they make a progression with all patches before it. The game before 1.12 is considerably worse.

Where did you see that? Because the interview on the front page says they have not decided yet:

Q: Vanilla had a lot of mechanics/issues that might not be fun anymore. Are there any specific issues or mechanics you are looking at addressing in classic servers?
A: Team wants to keep the experience as close to Vanilla as possible, but it is also too early to answer.

[Swiv]

I was a druid main in vanilla, and some folks are in for a rude awakening. We've had years where all classes are reasonably viable, and it's made them soft. Some of the problem with druid viability in vanilla was just overall player skill, and expectations. That being said, being a skilled feral druid meant using every single weapon at your disposal, and working 5 times harder than the next guy to get mediocre results. I often joked with other players about being better than anyone at running away.

Looking forward to classic servers, but I remember vanilla and I do not have my nostalgia goggles on.

[Dannyzk]

Everyone that says Feral PvE isn't even a thing in Vanilla obviously has no idea what they're talking about. There are a small handful of Feral raiders on Vanilla private servers that not only do well enough to justify their raid spot, but they can even beat out every other DPS on certain fights.

They require a MUCH different playstyle to accomplish this, however. The playstyle revolves around using the Wolfshead Helm , a level 40 helm that allows you to generate 20 energy when shifting into Cat Form. With this and 5 points in Furor , you will always have 60 energy when you first enter Cat Form. Then, you basically shift in-and-out of cat form quickly when your energy bar is depleted, allowing you to maintain a DPS rotation that isn't at all possible without this "powershifting" method.

That's the only way to do it in PvE, however. If you play the spec any other way, then you absolutely will not deal enough damage to be brought along to anything and be worth your spot. But it IS POSSIBLE to really compete as Feral DPS.

FINALLY SOMEONE THAT KNOWS THE SHIT!
But u don't neccesarily Need Wolfshead Helm. It's ok to go for Eye of Rend for Pre-Raid and Southwind Helm with AQ20.

But it's so funny how the People that maybe didn't even play vanilla wow talk about the viability of a feral(either tank or DPS).
Maybe some did play but even they don't know how much has changed in vanilla wow. It is literally not the same game anymore as u have so much more clue about the game where even Retribution Paladins can do some "OK" DPS numbers with T2 or T2,5.

Im just waiting for the first "good old vanilla Players" that say that the Server isn't Blizzlike because with AQ Gear a Feral DPS will just swarm over there own dmg. Or that the game is shit right now and stuff like that. #cryisfree

[Deleted]

not sure with which patch you play on private servers (if it's after 1.12, i can understand that cats are ok), and not sure which patch will be used once vanilla servers will be opened ... but talents, and spells, changed A LOT between the first day until the end of vanilla ... Cats had only one finisher for example ... only rip, ferocious bite was added later. I don't remember if shred already existed at the beginning, so basically it was rake, claw, claw (or shred usable only in the back), rip at 5cp if it was near to drop (no pandemic). And i still remember my cat with rogue gear, unable to kill a gorilla near booty bay in less than 30sec ... while a war near me killed 4 of these :/ (cat damages increased after some patches)

Feral after 1.12 was ok, + this gear from aq20/40 and cat was nice, but before that, really ?

[Rakaji]

FINALLY SOMEONE THAT KNOWS THE SHIT!
But u don't neccesarily Need Wolfshead Helm. It's ok to go for Eye of Rend for Pre-Raid and Southwind Helm with AQ20.

Yeah, Wolfshead Helm isn't really mandatory after you're geared enough to a certain point. I've even heard talk of ferals that, rather than stack Strength/crit chance for more damage per powershift, they stack a lot more intellect and spirit to have a larger mana pool to powershift with through the duration of a fight. I'm not 100% about doing it that way, though.

What I'd REALLY love to see is a feral that manages to get Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian. It gives Feral druids 420 ATTACK POWER! Like... holy SHIT is that big!

[Niwes]

It is you who don't get it at all. They have even been asked if they're going to keep unintended exploits and the guy said they wanted to make it as close to vanilla as possible and they would most likely only fix technical problems, but not game-related stuff.

And now you're saying that they can tweak numbers for balance. No. They will not do it.

till 3 days ago, a lot of ppl laughed about players saying „legacy servers“, „would buy classic“, etc. and the same ppl explained to that players why EXACTLY legacy servers never will happen. the more softer crowd of that ppl mentioned that legacy servers mayyyyybe will exists in a far away future, when wow is dying, and blizz will make money out of it.

3 days ago...

before blizz announced legacy servers.

now i have 2 questions to you:

1)
are you REALLY that sure, that blizz dont change numbers, just bc they said they will not touch much of it ?

2)
why can i hear NOT A SINGLE PERSON of above mentioned ppl now, that said legacy servers will never exist ? i cant hear them now. what happened ? where have they gone ? why that silence ?

i always doubt with ppl like you, absolutelly convinced about stuff (regardless what), without any doubt. that LESS doubt you have, about „things said“, that MUCH doubt i have when it comes down to ppl like you

[Dreyen]

It's amazing how nearly 13 years later, the ignorance remains unchanged. Depending on how far back in the patch cycle they go, yes, after 1.8 Druid tanks were able to tank almost everything Warriors could and no, we did not require significantly more healing. The only fight I remember requiring any special attention on was the one time I was allowed to tank Onyxia, and that was simply because we lacked a fear break. I received far more compliments than complaints from healers and the most common criticism I got was more from bitter Warriors that I was doing "their job". Contrary to popular belief, there was gear designed for Druid tanking (ex: Warden Staff) and there was gear we could use with def on it. The only gear we lacked was a proper tier set, which was nowhere near as big a deal back then as it is today.

I have to admit I always felt like bear tanks being "bad" was always heavily exagerated. To be honest, being a bear tank probably took a lot more effort since you needed some very key items, so less knowledgable bears were probably very weak and people scoffed at them being bad.

I won't doubt that bears aren't as good as warriors, but I feel like they're not totally awful, actually they are better at aoe tanking since swipe hits 3 targets and their threat is leagues above warrior threat if i recall correctly since Maul scales is not a static threat bonus but a multiplicative threat bonus which means it scales with gear unlike prot warriors. Surely bears can be strong offtanks where high threat is necessary and damage isnt completly threatening.

Played feral back in classic but started a second druid to heal...

Then TBC came along and everything was wonderful until Black Temple .

(crushing blows)

[edit: I am not planning to be returning to vanilla.]

as far as i recall, bears were still underestimated in BC due to the ongoing mentality of "prot warriors only" but they were actually pretty competitive. In sunwell, crushing blows disappeared making them the ultimate tank since that was their only weakness that they were balanced on. They literally had more hp, damage reduction and avoidance than warriors, i dont think warrior block made up for the rest, especially with how shit i remember block rating/value items being.

[Zoibert the Bear]

HI GUISES I EXPLAIN CAT DURID IN VANILLE

First: Become an resto durid
Second: Throw HoTs, lot of HoTs 4 heels. Put HoT on 5 members of party in rade
Third: Not go back to feril, stay heel durid
Fourth: Can become cat 4 stelth