WotLK Classic Feral Druid Tank Guide

Druids are the only class in the game capable of fulling all four roles: tank, healer, ranged DPS, and melee DPS.

Feral Tank Druids are among the sturdiest tanks in Wrath Classic, with huge health pools and great Stamina scaling, but lack in the mandatory utility department as their only unique buff is Improved Leader of the Pack. They do still bring Innervate and Rebirth, and have the easiest time of all specializations when swapping between tanking and DPSing with the same talents, allowing them to put out great damage on fights that only need a second tank for short periods.

In PvP, Feral Druids are a high potential, high skill requirement melee class with stealth, high burst damage, and high mobility which prevents their targets from escaping. Barkskin, Survival Instincts, Travel Form, and Dire Bear Form also make them exceptionally tough and slippery, especially against melee enemies. Predatory Strikes enables the use of spells during melee combat and is a large part of what makes Feral so strong in Wrath PvP.

If you would like to see where Feral Druid tanks fall in the overall rankings among tank specs for PvE in Wrath Classic, we have created a page dedicated to explaining what classes and specializations are the best of the best through multiple factors. However, ultimately, you should not let this list dissuade you from playing what you enjoy.

Strengths

• High single-target damage for a tank and great survivability capabilities due to very large health pool.
• Great Physical group support with Leader of the Pack and the unique Improved Leader of the Pack.
• Best tank / DPS hybrid class, as most talents, and even gear, can be shared between both roles without requiring a respec.

Weaknesses

• Utility brought tends to either be weak or able to be brought by more meta classes.
• Area damage is limited to Swipe (Bear) and Mangle with Berserk active.
• While pure Dire Bear Form form gameplay is very simple, obtaining maximum Cat Form DPS when not tanking requires good Energy and DoT management, as well as some advanced techniques.

Unlike other classes, Druids do not have a choice when it comes to race. If you want to go Alliance, you must be Night Elf. If you want to go Horde, you must be Tauren. Thus, your only choice is which faction you want to choose, which you should make based on your guild, friends, or cosmetic and lore preferences.

• Nature Resistance reduces the chance you are hit with Nature spells by 2%.
• Quickness reduces the chance you are hit by melee and ranged attacks by 2%.
• Shadowmeld is an ability that allows you to become stealthed while standing still when used, on a 2-minute cooldown. It can be used in combat.
• Wisp Spirit causes you to transform into a wisp upon death, increasing your movement speed by 75% while dead.

Shadowmeld is a powerful ability which allow you to instantly drop threat (temporarily) in PvE or cancel enemy casts on you in PvP. Nature Resistance and Quickness are also very useful defensively.

• Cultivation increases your Herbalism skill by 15.
• Endurance increases your total health by 5%.
• Nature Resistance reduces the chance you are hit with Nature spells by 2%.
• War Stomp is a 2-minute cooldown that stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds, with a 0.5-second cast time.

War Stomp is quite reliable in PvP, often allowing for a surprise Cyclone cast, but has little PvE uses. The 5% increased health from Endurance is minor, but often useful, as is Nature Resistance.

In Wrath all professions have unique stat bonus benefits, with gathering professions giving the lowest and Engineering and Jewelcrafting (before Epic gems) having the most powerful and flexible benefits, especially in early phases. Blacksmithing also catches up later when Epic gems are introduced.

Engineering is great because of the unique Hyperspeed Accelerators tinker, which gives 340 Haste for 12 seconds every minute. By using this extra Haste during your cooldowns or on difficult parts of a fight, you can get more benefit than the static stats of other professions. Engineering also provides multiple explosives for extra damage and Nitro Boosts for a burst of speed!

Jewelcrafting is also great because while most other professions force you to take Attack Power or Stamina, you can pick from any stat with Jewelcrafting's Epic gems, allowing you to adjust your stats as needed.

Using macros and addons makes your life significantly easier when playing Wrath Classic, and they can improve your experience a lot, depending on how skilled you are at customizing them.

If you are interested in learning more about addons and macros suited to Feral Tank Druids, check out our guides below: