tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post2137374838590771191..comments2023-10-03T03:48:35.523-07:00Comments on ThinkTank: [Druid] Bear FAQ for 3.1Kalonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05193899462301079034noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-90311662157715306662009-05-08T10:25:00.000-07:002009-05-08T10:25:00.000-07:00Jheusse - Savage Roar is going to be a bigger win ...Jheusse - Savage Roar is going to be a bigger win for DPS than rip is. Rip is nice, but a few more seconds is not as crucial as 3% more damage to everything. I think Frenzied Regen is probably the second choice given that it gives an additional cooldown. I'm not a fan of SI unless you've got not a lot better; having a ton of health vs a ton and a half doesn't save you that much. So if I knew that I'd be doing a mixed spec, I'd go FR, SR, and either maul, rip, or SI depending on what I was going to be doing more.<br /><br />My current spec/build is pretty hybrid-centric, and so far I've been fine as a bear and able to do decent damage as a cat. The cat part is the weaker link, but it's not so horrible that you can't do well enough.Kalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05193899462301079034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-58059078126722582042009-05-08T09:11:00.000-07:002009-05-08T09:11:00.000-07:00For a feral hybrid Karthis recommended Savage Roar...For a feral hybrid Karthis recommended Savage Roar, Frenzied Regen, and Rip in early April, though he had a slightly different spec for it. My bear spec matches the bear hybrid you have in this post.<br /><br />Kal, do you agree with those glyph choices? Rip and Frenzied Regen I'd say are the gimmes, the question becomes savage roar to offset the lack of MSS and PI, or Survival Instincts to boost your bearishness?<br /><br />In your opinion how role limited would a feral be in Ulduar spec'ed as above? I'm really trying to keep my second spec free for tree but don't want to fall behind on viability in main spec.<br /><br />I run Uld10 and 25 but with relatively slow progression and help out Naxx10 and 25 runs for guildies, alts, and to build my tree set, I have almost all Naxx BiS feral stuff.<br /><br /><br />and re: above, shredding attacks I consider mandatory when filling out my bear main spec, it has more value to a bear than predatory instincts, and is a core cat talent<br />(hmm gotta go find the iMangle vs. shredding attacks blog post again)Jheussenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-31976575787815349862009-05-05T08:08:00.000-07:002009-05-05T08:08:00.000-07:00Jheusse - shred spam is great if you have shreddin...Jheusse - shred spam is great if you have shredding attacks. If you don't, it's pretty hard to get anything reasonable for a rotation - you just don't get enough combo points. If you do have it, well, go with your normal rotation. And it was 7k buffed; talking about unbuffed numbers makes my teeth itch. <br /><br />Anon1 - Feral Aggression is an interesting talent. The problem is that warriors can and usually do get it, which makes it totally superfluous for you. It's not really a FAQ-type of question, and I'd rather not have a bunch of ferals out there grabbing that spec and then wondering why their FA isn't all that useful. It's one of those things that you'll know whether or not it's good for you. Don't have a warrior to put it up? It's great. Need more threat and less damage reduction? Not so much. There are a lot of talents like that in the bear tree, and there's no one build that'll make or break you.<br /><br />Bludge, I answered your post with another article. Hope ya like it. :)<br /><br />Xan - blood draining is tricky. I really want to test it and get results - but NO ONE has it hordeside so far. Sigh. The short answer is that it's equivalent to about 200 stam under certain circumstances, 40 stam under others, and 0 under many others. Which circumstances those are depends a lot on the encounter; for instance, it's not very likely that you'll ever be below 35% on certain fights and guaranteed you will on others (XT, Iron Council). When I can test it, I will - but for now, I'd recommend mongoose. Mongoose is never bad.Kalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05193899462301079034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-40256531368924117822009-05-04T09:41:00.000-07:002009-05-04T09:41:00.000-07:00Not sure about blood draining. I wouldnt call it e...Not sure about blood draining. I wouldnt call it equivalent to stamina though. Its not like *having* the stamina in advance; you need to get hit before you get the benefit. If the hit kills you with a 40 stamina overkill, then no benefit. Whereas if you had 40 extra stamina on your gear, the hit would not have killed you. <br /><br />Personally, I'm totally unexcited by this enchant. Why do spellcasters get straight upgrades each time, and we're still using mongoose? Is it easier to upgrade dps enchants somehow?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-39454252647797198422009-05-04T09:28:00.000-07:002009-05-04T09:28:00.000-07:00Is Mongoose still the best Enchant?
Blood Drainin...Is Mongoose still the best Enchant?<br /><br />Blood Draining looks pretty promising, in a best case scenario it is probably equivalent to 200~ stam. And in a situation where you're dippping under 35% alot it's still 40~ stam.Xannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-47234618749791850052009-05-02T17:07:00.000-07:002009-05-02T17:07:00.000-07:00FF seems odd because of the fact that it's based o...FF seems odd because of the fact that it's based off spell hit. I notice mine missing more than any other ability I have. So using it in a rotation seems like a bad idea except to refresh it. I <I>might</I> be able to imagine a bear that is melee hit capped, but a bear that is spell hit capped? Now you're smoking.Bludgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-53846808666181327472009-05-02T13:45:00.000-07:002009-05-02T13:45:00.000-07:00I like Anon's comments above. These are all go...I like Anon's comments above. These are all good points you raise. The reason I use MSS instead of FA is because the bosses dont hit that hard (20-26k? lol, bite me steelbreaker) <br /><br />Once we get to hard modes, then yes, I'll take more of the survivability specs, if it appears we need them. But even then, I feel there's a trade off between a tank survivability at the expense of tank dps. As per Kal's previous post, we're not challenged because my MT tank spec isnt optimal for survival - we're challenged because our 25 raid members aren't optimal to play warcraft! Which is fair enough. Outside professional wow gaming, I dont expect perfection every night. An extra 3% mitigation on me, tanking Mimiron, is never in a million years gonna make up for 3 healers/dps getting nuked by rockets. Nor will it save me if I dont run out of shock blast in time (which has happened)<br /><br />So, I'd rather have higher dps at times to finish an encounter quicker - especially mimiron. Less time = less risk for the entire raid. Tank death isnt the weak point. It actually makes tank gearing & speccing kind of fun again, because there's trade offs happening that aren't about (a broken) savage defense, and aren't about max armor, stam & avoidance either.DavePnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-20134644674539762632009-05-02T06:03:00.000-07:002009-05-02T06:03:00.000-07:00PS: I am using Naxx gear with some BiS and I am do...PS: I am using Naxx gear with some BiS and I am doing Ulduar.<br />(Trailer to the post above:p)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-27090825822351155932009-05-02T06:01:00.000-07:002009-05-02T06:01:00.000-07:00I like the idea of this post and it is very inform...I like the idea of this post and it is very informative.<br /><br />I do have some questions though. Master shapeshifter is all about threat. If you go for a MT build why not put those 5 points into Feral Aggression? Feral Aggression is about 2,5-5% mitigation (the harder the boss hits the better it gets)?<br />In comparrison Primal Precision is woth about 1% less damage taken (granted it is spike damage). PP and FA is quite similar with FA being slighly better (per talent point).<br /><br />Regarding your hybrid spec. If you are expertise capped without PP you should consider putting those 2 points into Predatory Instincts. PI is worth about 5-6% dps increase (for 3 points) for a cat whereas PP is worth almost nothing if you are soft expertise capped. And PP isnt that great for tanking - it reduces physical damage by about 1% which isnt that much (although it is spike damage it prevent).<br /><br />Question: <br />Which glyphs do you recomend for a hybrid spec? <br />How much dps (in %) do you think a hybrid spec looses compared to a full dps spec?<br />How much more damage do you expect a hybrid spec will take compared to a full MT spec?<br />What is the biggest loose for a hybrid spec compared to the full dps/MT specs?<br /><br />I am asking because I only have 1 spec for feral - the other is a resto spec.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-6493450278240708392009-05-01T10:57:00.000-07:002009-05-01T10:57:00.000-07:00Excellent article, nailed a number of my thoughts ...Excellent article, nailed a number of my thoughts about how to keep my traditional cat/bear roles viable while adding tree.<br /><br />One further question/request for clarification: You recommend throwing on the 2T6 and blasting away with manglespam, noting it's pretty good damage even without the bonus.<br /><br />I never got 2T6 myself, and now sport various amounts of T7. Fight positioning allowing it, wouldn't shred spam still be higher dps with mangle only used to put the debuff up if no trauma? I know the EJ forums sliced this many ways many times, can't keep it straight.<br /><br />Taking the hybrid build shown, the principle losses are the 4% crit rate from MSS ( 5 pts blech) and the loss of 10% additional damage on crits from PP.<br /><br />Oh and is that 7k buffed or unbuffed, as I think I fall on either side.<br /><br />Hmm WTB an Astrylian macro set.Jheussenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-69738162815006119082009-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:002009-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:00Gah! I totally forgot to edit that. It's been chan...Gah! I totally forgot to edit that. It's been changed. <br /><br />Also added some bits about lacerate and swipe and doing maximum damage vs. maximum threat.Kalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05193899462301079034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-35369556130336980842009-05-01T09:59:00.000-07:002009-05-01T09:59:00.000-07:00Hi Kalon,
In the FAQ, you answer the question abo...Hi Kalon,<br /><br />In the FAQ, you answer the question about Master Shapeshifter:<br /><br />Master Shapeshifter would be good if it were only 2 points, but it's essentially 5. And natural shapeshifter is worthless. There are a lot of other places to spend 5 points for more threat/DPS.<br /><br />Then latter you list the spec you'd use at 80 as 0/55/16 which includes Master Shapeshifter. Do you use it even though you consider it a suboptimal talent?<br /><br />Very nice FAQ. I'm like you in that I do a lot of reading and theorycraft research but I know there are a lot of other teddy bears that can use this info. Thanks for writing it up.Gingershnapsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-15715748654914354512009-05-01T09:23:00.000-07:002009-05-01T09:23:00.000-07:00Im using master shapeshifter on my current MT uldu...Im using master shapeshifter on my current MT ulduar build - where else would I point the points? I dont see what I've missed out on. Feral agression I dont need, infected wounds is pretty optional. Have a lot of talents lying around unused. I do love the extra dps/threat, and it comes in especially useful for hodir, when I'm wearing resist gear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-56421222770159040242009-05-01T09:21:00.000-07:002009-05-01T09:21:00.000-07:00Kalon, first, this was an excellent post. I'd like...Kalon, first, this was an excellent post. I'd like to consider myself a passionate player that has researched my role extensively, but it's easy to lose sight that not everyone follows the same path as I. As far as FAQs go, I couldn't think of a better way to do it.<br /><br />In regards to Falkan's swipe question, why wouldn't swipe be in your rotation if tanking a boss, regardless of AP? On mobs, I can understand, considering how much rage is saved in a non-swipe rotation.Lushioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04633614001246011728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-49379517419579982342009-05-01T08:06:00.000-07:002009-05-01T08:06:00.000-07:00Hey, Felkan -
Nothing really changed, exactly - ...Hey, Felkan - <br /><br />Nothing really changed, exactly - lacerate and swipe were always very close to each other in threat. The really complicated answer is that it very much depends on your armor penetration and the debuffs on the boss as well as your AP. So I just put a number that if you have it, you're guaranteed to do more threat per swipe than you would with lacerate regardless.<br /><br />For DPS, you should use swipe when you can and keep up the lacerate stack.Kalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05193899462301079034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1872162580492321772.post-67824901023030825952009-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:002009-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:00if mangle is off cooldown, mangle
if faerie fire i...<I>if mangle is off cooldown, mangle<br />if faerie fire is off cooldown, faerie fire<br />if you have more than 7k AP and the lacerate stack is > 5 seconds, swipe<br />else lacerate.<br />And at all times, maul.</I>I've been focusing on cat dps so much, I must have missed this...<br /><br />So, if I don't have 7K AP in bear form (which I don't), I should NOT use swipe on single targets? Just mash Lacerate, Maul, Mangle and FFF??? Did something change in 3.1 to change this rotation? I understand that Primal Gore means we want to keep the stack up, but doesn't swipe still provide more threat than Lacerate??? What about for DPS fights, should I still just use Lacerate???Felkannoreply@blogger.com