Druid Hero Talents — The War Within (11.0.7)
This guide will walk you through the best Hero Talents for Feral Druid for Raiding and Mythic+, how they impact your gameplay, and more.
Best Hero Talents for Feral Druid in The War Within
This page is covers only the new Hero Talents available in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best standard Feral and Druid talents and complimenting builds for Feral Druid, check out our Talents page:
Raiding Hero Talents for Feral Druid
Currently, both Hero Talents are similar in single-target, with the edge
going to Wildstalker. This gap becomes much smaller once you obtain the
tier-set bonus.
Wildstalker is slightly ahead in sustained single-target, with a more
consistent damage profile focused around your Bleed and DoT effects without
needing much additional gameplay to execute.
Druid of the Claw is slightly behind, and requires more careful resource
management instead of the heavy DoT focus. Due to the set bonus having
amplifying effects related to finishers that impact
Ravage, this brings
the two Hero Talents very close together. Alongside that, it is also extremely
durable, giving it extra advantages in difficult encounters.
Mythic+ Hero Talents for Feral Druid
The current recommendation for Hero Talents in Mythic+ is Druid of the Claw
due to its slightly more favorable damage profile and significant defensive
advantage.
Wildstalker is still, however, very competitive
numerically.
Druid of the Claw has more explosive 2-minute burst windows and
provides very strong AoE with good planning while still maintaining a good core
of single-target for bosses. While not being quite as consistent as alternatives
due to the nature of
Ravage, it is fairly simple to execute.
Alongside that, it is incredibly durable, bringing multiple additional defensive
tools to deal with more lethal dungeon encounters.
Wildstalker provides a large increase to DoT effects with a build to
support it while still maintaining good priority damage. It has a shorter damage
cycle, centering around 30-second, 1-minute, and 2-minute timers to deal its burst
damage after setting up in each pull. It has a slightly higher execution
requirement due to
Unbridled Swarm management but rewards you with strong
sustained multi-target damage.
Best Hero Talents Builds for Feral Druid
Below are brief explanations of the effects the above-recommended hero trees have in each given content type.
Best Hero Talent Builds for Feral Druid
Best
Druid of the Claw Feral Druid Single-Target Build
Druid of the Claw changes very little in terms of your overall gameplay,
with the key component being
Ravage procs that enhance
Ferocious Bite
that need to be consumed quickly to avoid waste. Your
Berserk also
significantly increases the rate at which these are gained, improving its already
very strong 2-minute window.
For defense and utility, Empowered Shapeshifting granting the ability
to cast
Frenzied Regeneration from
Cat Form alongside the bonus
health it grants via
Fount of Strength is incredibly valuable.
Pair this with the stronger
Bear Form effects, and the tree outclasses
the competition in terms of raw survivability gains.
For the 3 choice nodes Ruthless Aggression provides the most in single-target
to cycle you to your next
Ravage faster.
Empowered Shapeshifting
is much easier to get value from and has defensive benefits via
Frenzied Regeneration,
and
Strike for the Heart is a universally stronger option.
Best
Druid of the Claw Feral Druid Mythic+ Build
Not much different from single-target, in Mythic+ Druid of the Claw has
little impact on what you would be doing regardless, aside from the addition of
Ravage procs. These are consumed at the same rate you would cast
Ferocious Bite, so the playstyle does not shift drastically.
It provides solid AoE through both Primal Wrath and
Rampant Ferocity
while simultaneously bringing good priority damage through
Ferocious Bite
anchor targets. Alongside that, it brings extremely good defensive tools
giving it an even bigger edge in particularly lethal Mythic+ content.
For the offensive nodes, Killing Strikes is an option for consistent
Ravage procs but
Ruthless Aggression provides much more
overall procs, so is up to preference.
Empowered Shapeshifting grants
damage and defense so is ideal, and
Strike for the Heart provides
the most throughput.
Best
Wildstalker Feral Druid Single-Target Build
The changes to your playstyle with Wildstalker are moreso from the
Feral talent tree than what the Hero tree brings, as most of what it does happens
in the background via
Thriving Growth procs. These deal additional damage
over time and amplify your own damage, and are simply procs that do not need
to be played around.
Defense and utility-wise, however, there really is not very much to write home about aside from some additional free group healing.
For the two offensive nodes, Resilient Flourishing is the better option
for additional vine uptime to maintain
Vigorous Creepers.
Implant
is also the talent of choice to add further weight to your
Tiger's Fury
windows, and due to
Twin Sprouts requiring a second nearby target.
Best
Wildstalker Feral Druid Mythic+ Build
Similar to single-target, Mythic+ Wildstalker has very little
direct impact on your decision-making and largely happens in the background via
the additional DoT effects. Performance-wise, it brings a lot of raw throughput
through the damage amplification effect of
Vigorous Creepers and
Root Network, without needing any additional rotational maintenance.
The additional free healing it can provide is a bit more valuable in the limited Mythic+ group size, but not too much to actively seek it out.
For the two offensive nodes, Root Network provides more overall damage
when paired with
Twin Sprouts due to there being additional targets present.
The alternatives are, however, better in single-target and more flexible, so both
pairings work.
Hero Talent Rotation Changes for Feral Druid
Wildstalker
There are no big rotational considerations caused by the Wildstalker
Hero Talents, as all of the effects are passive procs that come from your regular
rotation.
Druid of the Claw
Druid of the Claw only has to watch out for
Ravage procs that
occur throughout combat, making sure to consume them quickly and efficiently, which
intensifies during
Berserk.
Changelog
- 15 Dec. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.7, added recommended tags.
- 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5, made Wildstalker single-target recommendation clearer.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for recent Bloodtalons hotfix and shift to Druid of the Claw recommendation.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Page added.
More Druid Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Wordup, a frequent theorycrafter involved in a number of class communities. He is also an experienced player who has been in the world top 100 since the days of Sunwell, currently raiding in Echoes. You can also follow him on Twitter.
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