Feral Druid Leveling Guide From 1 to 70 for TBC Classic

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Your first talent unlocks at Level 10.

• Levels 10 to 14 — 5 points in Ferocity
• Levels 15 to 17 — 3 points in Thick Hide
• Levels 18 & 19 — 2 points in Brutal Impact

Ferocity is a significant damage gain over time due to the lowered Rage and Energy costs, Thick Hide helps with survivability and improves with the quality of your gear, and Brutal Impact increases the stun duration of Pounce by 25% which will decidedly be felt over time. Feral Aggression is a fine alternative.

• Levels 20 & 21 — 2 points in Feral Swiftness
• Levels 22 to 24 — 3 points in Sharpened Claws
• Levels 25 to 27 — 3 points in Predatory Strikes
• Levels 28 & 29 — 2 points in Primal Fury

Feral Swiftness is obtained at the same time as Cat Form and will grant you a significant movement boost while also having defensive benefits for Bear Form. Sharpened Claws, Predatory Strikes, and Primal Fury are all strong damage increases that are also very talent-point efficient.

• Level 30 — 1 point in Faerie Fire (Feral)
• Levels 31 & 32 — 2 points in Savage Fury
• Levels 33 & 34 — 2 points in Nurturing Instinct
• Levels 35 to 39 — 5 points in Heart of the Wild

Faerie Fire (Feral) is a one-point-wonder that will allow you to ranged pull while in cat or bear form while also reducing the target's armor. Savage Fury is a strong damage increase talent. Nurturing Instinct and Heart of the Wild increase your healing capabilities immensely, improving your self-sustain and allowing you to be a decent healer when needed.

• Level 40 — 1 point in Leader of the Pack
• Levels 41 & 42 — 2 points in Improved Leader of the Pack
• Levels 43 & 44 — 2 points in Survival of the Fittest
• Levels 45 to 49 — 5 points in Predatory Instincts

Leader of the Pack grants group-wide 5% ranged and melee Critical Strike chance, which is an amazing return for a single point. Improved Leader of the Pack makes it even better by introducing a self-heal effect to targets within the aura's range. Survival of the Fittest and Predatory Instincts are fine survivability and damage increases. Feral Charge and Shredding Attacks are both very powerful in group settings and in PvP, so you can take them instead of the proposed talents if that is your focus.

• Level 50 — 1 point in Mangle
• Levels 51 to 55 — 5 points in Furor
• Levels 56 to 59 — 4 points in Naturalist

Mangle (Cat) will be one of your main damage abilities, as it does significant damage on top of a buff to your bleed damage on the target. Furor increases your Energy when shapeshifting into cat form, which is especially useful when powershifting — using /cast !cat form at very low Energy to instantly gain Energy back from shifting. Naturalist doubles as a damage and healing increase.

• Level 60 — 1 point in Naturalist
• Level 61 — 1 point in Omen of Clarity
• Levels 62 to 64 — 3 points in Natural Shapeshifter
• Level 65 — 1 point in Survival of the Fittest
• Level 66 — 1 point in Feral Charge
• Levels 67 & 68 — 2 points in Shredding Attacks
• Levels 69 & 70 — 2 points in Feral Instinct

Finish maximizing Naturalist and get Omen of Clarity which allows you to occasionally get free attacks or spells, smoothing out your rotation. Natural Shapeshifter will improve your powershifting capabilities. Finish maximizing Survival of the Fittest and grab Feral Charge, which can be used to interrupt enemies in a pinch. Shredding Attacks and Feral Instinct finish your leveling tree as powerful talents that suit group play the most.

Powershifting: If you have Wolfshead Helm, use it alongside Furor to gain 60 Energy each time you go into Cat Form. You can convert Mana into extra damage by using the /cast !cat form macro, which shapeshifts you into cat regardless of your current form, whenever you run close to 0 Energy and ideally immediately after using Ferocious Bite to instantly gain close to 60 Energy!

1. Make sure Mark of the Wild and Thorns are active on you at all times.
2. Make sure Mark of the Wild, Thorns and Omen of Clarity are active on you at all times.
3. Use Moonfire and Wrath to level up until you can do the Bear Form quest at Level 10.
4. Range-pull enemies in dangerous positions with Faerie Fire (Feral) and use it as one of your first globals on a new enemy, preferably once you are under full Energy to avoid wasted Energy regeneration.
5. Open on enemies with Prowl and a Shred in the back.
6. Open on enemies with Prowl and a Ravage in the back.
7. Open on enemies with Prowl and Pounce, followed by as many Shred as you can while the enemy is stunned.
8. Open on enemies with Prowl and Pounce. Make sure to keep Mangle (Cat)'s debuff on target at all times.
9. Use Maul and auto-attacks to level up until you can train Cat Form at Level 20.
10. Use Rip at 4+ Combo Points against enemies that will live through its full duration.
11. Use Ferocious Bite at 4+ Combo Points against short lived enemies or if Rip is already active.
12. Use Claw to generate Combo Points.
13. Use Mangle (Cat) to build Combo Points.

Buying everything is, essentially, the way to go, as spell costs are quite low and all of them have uses, even if small ones.

If you are doing a completely new character and want to save as much gold as you can for your first mount at Level 30, you can opt to buy only the recommended skills for the rotation in the section above.

By setting yourself up with an upgraded user interface and macros from the get-go, you will make your leveling process much easier. Check out our Feral Druid Macros and Addons guides in the links below for the full list.

When leveling, stay alert for weapon upgrades you might encounter, as these will improve your experience significantly. You will also need to complete various class quests in order to be able to use your animal forms.

These quests can be different for Horde and Alliance Druids, and the early quests also have differences between Horde races. To help you with both weapons and quests, we have made two dedicated guides:

Once you reach maximum level, we recommend you dive into our Feral DPS Druid Guide, which covers everything you need to know about playing Feral DPS in the end game.

We especially recommend reading through these pages:

• Our Feral Druid Talent builds guide contains the PvE-oriented builds for Feral Druids;
• Feral Druid Rotation guide contains details on how to play in a variety of situations, including some advanced totem management tips;
• Browse the Feral Druid Stats guide to learn about your stat priority as an Feral Druid and how they contribute to your performance at maximum level;
• The Gear guide for Feral Druids contains the best gear pieces to look for at Level 70 in order to maximize your damage;

Alternatively, you can go into Feral Tank Druid Guide, which covers the tanking aspects of Feral Druids.