Season of Discovery seems to have the starting premise that it aims to tackle classic World of Warcraft by introducing new and innovative ways that classes could be experienced. A lot of skills or changes were added to add quality of life changes that buffed or hindered areas of the game that were originally extremely one sided.
Feral Combat was the worst of these. Not only was it already difficult to fully immerge in your class, you had to branch off into specs that had nothing to do with your role, except that talents were placed in trees they have no business being in; while those other specs (Balance & Restoration) have ways of completely avoiding getting the talents that Ferals need for their game style…!
In keeping with the spirit of what I think this seasonal style aims to accomplish, here are some ideas I have (as a long time feral player–since WoW inception) that could make Feral Combat more fun for players:
Mangle and lacerate need to be separate skills.
Rune (or additional effect) that gives Omen of Clarity after 11 points are spent in Feral Combat tree
Rune effect (Wild Strikes) to add crit chance to Shred
Rune effect (Wild Strikes) to add bleed crit chance
Survival Instincts rune to add gaining resource on attack; not dodge
Ferocious Bite doubles damage at 25 additional energy
Ferocious Bite crit chance increased on bleeding targets
Savage Roar uses talent points on dead enemy units/players
Savage roar duration greatly increased per combo point
Rake lowers hit chance while in Cat Form
As I’m experiencing, Feral is no different from how it had been, except the good damage buff from Savage Roar. Enemies die too fast (in group play), and any or all combo points I’ve built up, go to waste before I can use them. Savage Roar isn’t lasting long enough for me to use other combo finishers, or begin battles with the buff already present. I have to keep repeating the same cycle, which again, make using other combo finishers unlikely.
Feral Cat also needs more survivability. I’m observing many who are speaking as if this should still operate as Classic originally did: “yOu’Re A hYbRiD, uSe AlL yOuR kIt.” What does that even mean? We have pure DPS classes with healing and tanking capabilities now. That argument never made sense originally, and it surely doesn’t now, as feral (Cat) still has poor healing and any mana with which to use it with; and meaningless defensives with no damage output that are melted away in the face of the newly added damage potentials of others. Someone should be able to can fully be Cat Form and play that way, or fully Bear and play that way.
Feral isn’t fun, and I’ve not reached max simply because with what time I do have to play, I’m just not excited to play the thing. The runes are not exciting, and I’m just the same old spec from Classic with Mangle and a damage buff.
Or you could just go into balance to pick up 10% increased damage and Omen it’s worked for every other expansion (including classic)
How about they just make a rune that allows all bleeds to crit and you get bonus damage and/or crit on bleeding target. Stack per bleed on the target. Wild strikes is powerful enough how it is.
Just replace Savage Roar with said rune.
Survival Instincts is a PvP or Tanking rune it doesn’t need to be changed, just Powershift and/or use KotJ.
Change the base game so that all weapons give Feral Attack Power and make shifting forms cheaper.
Your overall comment seems to be implying that the requests/suggestions I’ve presented are perhaps asking too much. With it (perhaps) is also the slight hint that my unsatisfaction with the spec as it is, is due to an issue of my not considering what I could just do. I’m guessing you don’t play Feral.
Wild Strikes is just Windfury totem. Other melee classes (I am being told) have their skill damage abilities proc. That is not the case with Feral.
Change the base game so that all weapons give Feral Attack Power and make shifting forms cheaper.
This idea is also one I suggested in another thread I made, but forgot to add here. This is, and would be a very good change/addition.
Nah, as melee hunter I got killed by cats from behind , I died quicker than I am stun locked by rogues. I don’t know, you guys must be criting like 700,800 dmg? Shoulg get nerfed
So to even get that number in pvp a cat would have to do some decent setup. One, they have to get to you as a melee. Two they have to mangle you which is a 40 or 35 energy builder talented on the gcd, then they have to use that combo point for another 30 energy or 25 i forget, gcd to savage roar for 30% increased dmg. Then the only thing that could hit you that hard is a shred which requires them to be behind you, shred is 60 energy base, and 48 if specced into. Shred would require the 30% dmg buff from savage roar and 30% dmg increse to shred from mangle and crit you to do that much dmg in pvp. Mind you they have to pull this off with no slow and being squishier than a clothy.
I’ll take things that never happened for 100, Alex.
My hunter alt got ganked (well he at least tried to) by a feral druid who was 40 when I was 35 and he couldn’t pull it off because of trap launcher…
If you’re gonna be out in the world with possible pvp you should spec accordingly or at least try to not put all of your eggs in one basket so to speak and just rely on melee alone to smack kids and mobs.
Lol, my point is ppl get killed in all kinds of situation. My pet is sent out and my trap is on cd. In stv it happens in any minutes. And I am on steamdeck so if I got attacked from behind I can’t even turn myself around. So what. I will never cry for a nerf.
All feral needs is guaranteed omen of clarity proc on Faerie fire similar to the glyph they added in WOTLK, so that we don’t have to powershift. Our single target damage is already stellar and i’m sure eventually we’ll get some sort of cat swipe in a later phase to deal with aoe.
Yes powershifting was the way it was for vanilla but with SoD they should focus on improving the base gameplay away from unintended mechanics like that.
it’s worked for every other expansion (including classic)