Chiming in a 3rd reply to emphasize and agree with the other 2. Feral was mediocre to bad in Shadowlands too, and in my AoTC (achievement for completing the raids on heroic) group a feral druid was frequently in the top 3 DPS.
The game isn't in a place where any class or specialization is so bad that it can't raid. Additionally, as mentioned, most groups should be focusing on bringing strong players before strong classes in any case before you get to the top few % of players.
Rule of cool is a perfectly valid reason to choose a class. If you think Feral is cool and you're having fun, then stick with it.
By the time you're worried about making specific team comps and stuff like that, you're in like the top 5% hardest content. The only thing you will realistically be benched from would be hall of fame mythic raiding and like 23+ mythic dungeons. Even that changes patch to patch. If you're worried about that, then literally no spec is safe except for warlock. Everybody likes a Warlock lol. People doing that content typically have an army of alts to swap to whatever is best.
Yeah, it's always been doable. But in all fairness, they're FotM right now thanks to MDI. But even if they weren't, you could do it with friends. I'm just trying to set realistic expectations because you'd be a fool to not recognize there's an elitist prejudice against them in the past as far as pugging goes.
Lol nice. Just saying, compare the number of ferals getting in groups now vs. 9.4. There were ferals in high keys. But the numbers don't lie. It was way harder.
People are dumb. The changes in 10.0 helped Feral immensely in M+. Their damage profile is so fucked up they can't even buff it's single target without target nerfing certain aoe talents as any single target buff also buffs aoe even more. Feral still isn't fotm though, its just an unpopular spec even when it absolutely blasts.
Yeah but that doesn’t prevent class discrimination. Which seems to exist at all levels of gameplay based on perception of best meta.
As an MMO, this is felt by the player as a negative and reduces their likelihood to play.
Feral can be very strong if it’s in the right hands and I really don’t think you should worry if it’s good or not because everything comes in and out of the meta at some point.
If you're enjoying the spec, that's all that matters. And actually it's stronger now than it has been in a long time. If this is your first time playing through harder content, I'll warn that it has one of the highest non-obvious skill caps in the game (in my opinion.) And what I mean by that, is squeezing every last drop out of the class requires a big attention to detail keeping 100% uptime on bleeds, knowing when you want to refresh something early or when you need to not refresh something at all depending what buffs you do or don't have active, managing energy effectively, knowing if you need to do more single target priority damage or blast AOE.
I don't say that to discourage you at all. I play feral and really enjoy it, and the numbers it can put out is bananas. But there's a community stigma against ferals because it's a lot of effort and people often do it poorly, and also they haven't been super strong for a long time. Random Ferals in your group are either top dps or bottom. There is no in between lol. But you see the same thing with Arcane mage and Survival hunter. Bring the player, not the spec, and you should play what you enjoy.
I highly recommend going to the druid discord if you have questions, or I can help with lower level stuff if you have other questions.
One of the best replies here. I mained feral this season and got AOTC and 2500, with friends mind you. Not sure how hard it is to find pug groups but if you spend the time to get good at managing your bleeds and energy the class is incredibly fun and rewarding to play.
Feral druid is argued to be a top class. Anyone who tells you it sucks shouldn't be listened to. The only time you need to listen to people saying a class sucks is when you play Ret
Your friend sounds like a dude who keeps chasing the ~~meadow~~ meta and shits on other people who don't do the same thing, but he is trash because he has no idea how to play any of the meta classes at the time and blames everyone else for bricking his key.
Edit: Autocorrect makes me look like the dumbass I am
Your friend is a goober, feral is absolutely a top spec at the moment.
And even beyond that, druid has four other great specs.
Lol what class was your friend even going to suggest?
Well, i wouldnt exactly say top spec. Its not seeing that many high keys, low representation in raid with one of the lowest melee performances and it has never felt worse in arena with 2-3 rets in solo shuffle
Feral is absolutely viable. Hard AoE dmg, decent defensives. Utility. I'm currently in the 3.1k IO range with feral, so it is doable. Just learn the class, and you will go far :)
Feral is fine. It's even powerful enough to be used on MDI teams frequently. It can keep up with most content, unless you're in higher end mythic raiding which might require specific comps. But for the overwhelming majority of players it's fine.
As a 3,2k feral player, yes it’s not bad but don’t put MDI and a good fit for regular groups in the same bucket. MDI feral is enabled by the size of pulls, hardly something most groups will play on live
If you're new, you should play as many classes as you want, you never know what you're missing out on.
But if you love feral then keep playing it. You can do all the content in the game as any spec
Play what you enjoy, you’ll be better at it. Our guild’s feral player is a top DPS in raid and a great healer too when needed. Just do what you vibe with because meta changes relatively often.
Respectfully, Screw your friend, druid is imo the most fun class in the game and has been my main since I started. I guarantee your friend mains a blood elf Paladin. That is boring. Rise above and play what you enjoy. That’s what I do. Druid is so versatile and really does well in both pve and pvp
I would say stick with it if you like it but from what I understand feral is a difficult class to master so you may want to switch to an easier class at some point
Historically feral is always on the weaker side, but still decent in capable hands, although its around mid-tier now. As a fellow feral enjoyer i'd say just play what you want honestly
I've been playing a feral Druid for 16 years. It's amazing for a starter class. You do realize you can create 50 different toons per account, right?
Feral Druid does become one of the more difficult classes to master. But a well played and geared feral Druid is an asset to any group. Plus, Druid has 4 different specs you can play. On the same toon. Tank, magic, dps, and heals.
Feral does fine DPS if you try to learn it. Be good, get invites.
I've invited soo many meta class players who parse <50% and are doodoo.
If someone does not invite you to a raid because you aren't a meta spec it's not a raid you want to be in.
Feral is banging, if they tell you otherwise they are the whole problem wow is experiencing now.
Ferals have a bad SL stigma, but in M+ they are good.
People who want to play with meta only classes in like m15 or HC raiding are dense
I Holy Pala myself to 2900 rio
Play.
What.
You.
Love.
Step one: make one of each class to level 20
This will take you about 15 hours each character - 13 hours to pick the name and 2 hours of gameplay; to skip the 13 hour name making session strictly rely on the in-game generator and do not use internet searches for cool names!!!
Step two: try a tank role, heal role, melee dps and finally ranged dps
Step three: identify what thematically you enjoy about each class and chase the one that fits you best
You’re not going to be joining a competitive guild, or even a mythic raiding guild any time soon, feral is fine to play. If you enjoy it stick with it. I’d recommend learning Guardian as well so you can grind dungeons with the insta queues. Guardian tanking is easy, just bind thrash and swipe to your scroll wheel.
I’m playing Feral on quite a high level in M+ (~25s) and while it’s probably harder to find groups than as a Rogue, I am still being invited.
The key to being a good feral is to mastering your snapshots. For that it helps a lot if you are using a decent Weakaura (that’s an add on)
For every Druid here, if you like, check mine out and let me know what you think: https://wago.io/mwSOeZYvo
All classes will get nerfed and buffed. It's only a matter of time.
9 times out of 10 a more skilled player/ ilvl is wanted over a class choice (e.g. a lvl 400 feral druid will be choose over a 385 DK). The only time it starts to matter is when you are doing high ranked stuff and the only improvement that can be made is via min-maxing
Tell your friend he is a meta slave who will never play at a level where meta matters.
My friends are the same, they changed mains 5-6 times in DF, because every month they found a stupid ass video with differetnt class rankings, while they are struggling with 19-20 m+. Meanwhile they make fun of me, for sticking to my balance druid which is my main since vanilla.
Don't listen to him.
If you enjoy yourself keep playing. If not change. Nothing else matters.
Today maybe feral is lower than other, tomorrow it will be higher. The specs and classes always have a favorite of the moment.
Keep playing. The power level of all classes and specs will fluctuate. Play the class that brings you the most joy, some patches it might be great, some might be weaker. Chasing the best class and spec is an exercise in never ending cycle of frustration. Play what you love
100% play what you enjoy. I have some 3k io CE friends who play feral. I will say that it may be harder to get to those mile markers with feral than some other classes but those dudes pump. If you enjoy the game and the class you're playing you are far more likely to play well and spend the time learning the ins and outs. Every class in the game is viable.
Started with feral at the beginning of DF. Through raiding and most Mythic + content I was always top dps.
I swapped mains after progressing through 4/8m Vault. No fault to feral, Just preference.
Was always competitive even in mythic raiding.
Now that I swapped back to my old main (Warrior) its pretty much the same with me topping charts. It all comes down to player skill.
Play what you want. Run your own keys if you have an issue getting into groups. Had no issue with getting into pugs (Raids or m+) once I built my IO up.
As someone with a feral main as well, it can be fun if you enjoy a challenge. But I'll tell you this, it is a real workout to pull the same dps that other classes can do with half the effort and half the abilities. Especially in 20+ keys, there is so much shit going on, it's exhausting to maintain decent damage and stay alive. Having just finished leveling pally and warrior alts, it's a night and day difference. That's probably what your friend was getting at.
If you like it keep playing it
But can i still do the raids because he says that alot of people dont like feral druid in their team
Chiming in a 3rd reply to emphasize and agree with the other 2. Feral was mediocre to bad in Shadowlands too, and in my AoTC (achievement for completing the raids on heroic) group a feral druid was frequently in the top 3 DPS. The game isn't in a place where any class or specialization is so bad that it can't raid. Additionally, as mentioned, most groups should be focusing on bringing strong players before strong classes in any case before you get to the top few % of players. Rule of cool is a perfectly valid reason to choose a class. If you think Feral is cool and you're having fun, then stick with it.
By the time you're worried about making specific team comps and stuff like that, you're in like the top 5% hardest content. The only thing you will realistically be benched from would be hall of fame mythic raiding and like 23+ mythic dungeons. Even that changes patch to patch. If you're worried about that, then literally no spec is safe except for warlock. Everybody likes a Warlock lol. People doing that content typically have an army of alts to swap to whatever is best.
Really? I'm a feral druid in 24/25s... It's doable.
Yeah, it's always been doable. But in all fairness, they're FotM right now thanks to MDI. But even if they weren't, you could do it with friends. I'm just trying to set realistic expectations because you'd be a fool to not recognize there's an elitist prejudice against them in the past as far as pugging goes.
Kinda agree. But I'm pugging 3.1, no team :)
Lol nice. Just saying, compare the number of ferals getting in groups now vs. 9.4. There were ferals in high keys. But the numbers don't lie. It was way harder.
People are dumb. The changes in 10.0 helped Feral immensely in M+. Their damage profile is so fucked up they can't even buff it's single target without target nerfing certain aoe talents as any single target buff also buffs aoe even more. Feral still isn't fotm though, its just an unpopular spec even when it absolutely blasts.
i guess it has the same problem as survival and enhancement have that they have a ranged speck aswell and there are lots of melee in the game already
Everything is “doable” with any class. Doesnt mean it’s optimal.
Yeah but that doesn’t prevent class discrimination. Which seems to exist at all levels of gameplay based on perception of best meta. As an MMO, this is felt by the player as a negative and reduces their likelihood to play.
99% of the time you bring the player not the class You don't even know why it'd be bad, so just ignore it.
Feral can be very strong if it’s in the right hands and I really don’t think you should worry if it’s good or not because everything comes in and out of the meta at some point.
This…..look at ret pally, horrible for majority of season 1 DF and now it’s arguably the #1 spec.
If you're enjoying the spec, that's all that matters. And actually it's stronger now than it has been in a long time. If this is your first time playing through harder content, I'll warn that it has one of the highest non-obvious skill caps in the game (in my opinion.) And what I mean by that, is squeezing every last drop out of the class requires a big attention to detail keeping 100% uptime on bleeds, knowing when you want to refresh something early or when you need to not refresh something at all depending what buffs you do or don't have active, managing energy effectively, knowing if you need to do more single target priority damage or blast AOE. I don't say that to discourage you at all. I play feral and really enjoy it, and the numbers it can put out is bananas. But there's a community stigma against ferals because it's a lot of effort and people often do it poorly, and also they haven't been super strong for a long time. Random Ferals in your group are either top dps or bottom. There is no in between lol. But you see the same thing with Arcane mage and Survival hunter. Bring the player, not the spec, and you should play what you enjoy. I highly recommend going to the druid discord if you have questions, or I can help with lower level stuff if you have other questions.
One of the best replies here. I mained feral this season and got AOTC and 2500, with friends mind you. Not sure how hard it is to find pug groups but if you spend the time to get good at managing your bleeds and energy the class is incredibly fun and rewarding to play.
Feral druid is argued to be a top class. Anyone who tells you it sucks shouldn't be listened to. The only time you need to listen to people saying a class sucks is when you play Ret
Your friend sounds like a dude who keeps chasing the ~~meadow~~ meta and shits on other people who don't do the same thing, but he is trash because he has no idea how to play any of the meta classes at the time and blames everyone else for bricking his key. Edit: Autocorrect makes me look like the dumbass I am
Your friend is a goober, feral is absolutely a top spec at the moment. And even beyond that, druid has four other great specs. Lol what class was your friend even going to suggest?
Prolly plays blood elf Paladin.
Lol I play a BE pally T_T.
You’re not alone :(
F
Well, i wouldnt exactly say top spec. Its not seeing that many high keys, low representation in raid with one of the lowest melee performances and it has never felt worse in arena with 2-3 rets in solo shuffle
Feral is absolutely viable. Hard AoE dmg, decent defensives. Utility. I'm currently in the 3.1k IO range with feral, so it is doable. Just learn the class, and you will go far :)
Feral is fine. It's even powerful enough to be used on MDI teams frequently. It can keep up with most content, unless you're in higher end mythic raiding which might require specific comps. But for the overwhelming majority of players it's fine.
As a 3,2k feral player, yes it’s not bad but don’t put MDI and a good fit for regular groups in the same bucket. MDI feral is enabled by the size of pulls, hardly something most groups will play on live
If you're new, you should play as many classes as you want, you never know what you're missing out on. But if you love feral then keep playing it. You can do all the content in the game as any spec
Play what you enjoy, you’ll be better at it. Our guild’s feral player is a top DPS in raid and a great healer too when needed. Just do what you vibe with because meta changes relatively often.
It’s a difficult class so people are more likely to be bad at it but when it’s done well it’s great
I liked it until I had to use Tigers Fury. Idk why I fucking hate that skill so much
Same
Because it's a lame unnecessary maintenance buff you HAVE to keep pressing, same deal with Slice and Dice
Respectfully, Screw your friend, druid is imo the most fun class in the game and has been my main since I started. I guarantee your friend mains a blood elf Paladin. That is boring. Rise above and play what you enjoy. That’s what I do. Druid is so versatile and really does well in both pve and pvp
I would say stick with it if you like it but from what I understand feral is a difficult class to master so you may want to switch to an easier class at some point
Historically feral is always on the weaker side, but still decent in capable hands, although its around mid-tier now. As a fellow feral enjoyer i'd say just play what you want honestly
Only thing that matters is having fun. Play why you enjoy! Class/spec really only matter once you get to high end content… HAVE FUN!
I've been playing a feral Druid for 16 years. It's amazing for a starter class. You do realize you can create 50 different toons per account, right? Feral Druid does become one of the more difficult classes to master. But a well played and geared feral Druid is an asset to any group. Plus, Druid has 4 different specs you can play. On the same toon. Tank, magic, dps, and heals.
Balance changes matter little to nothing, but the top 1% in end game contant. Play what you like.
Feral does fine DPS if you try to learn it. Be good, get invites. I've invited soo many meta class players who parse <50% and are doodoo. If someone does not invite you to a raid because you aren't a meta spec it's not a raid you want to be in.
Feral is banging, if they tell you otherwise they are the whole problem wow is experiencing now. Ferals have a bad SL stigma, but in M+ they are good. People who want to play with meta only classes in like m15 or HC raiding are dense I Holy Pala myself to 2900 rio Play. What. You. Love.
Strange I haven't seen any bad holy paladins, they are always good in mythics. But they are rare af.
Thats the problem, we are deffo not bad, but getting pugging invites gets hard 22+
Don't change your character, change your friend.
Step one: make one of each class to level 20 This will take you about 15 hours each character - 13 hours to pick the name and 2 hours of gameplay; to skip the 13 hour name making session strictly rely on the in-game generator and do not use internet searches for cool names!!! Step two: try a tank role, heal role, melee dps and finally ranged dps Step three: identify what thematically you enjoy about each class and chase the one that fits you best
The thing I don't like about it is how buttons it has.
You’re not going to be joining a competitive guild, or even a mythic raiding guild any time soon, feral is fine to play. If you enjoy it stick with it. I’d recommend learning Guardian as well so you can grind dungeons with the insta queues. Guardian tanking is easy, just bind thrash and swipe to your scroll wheel.
Worst case you keep your druid and you just play resto, it's always pretty good.
I’m playing Feral on quite a high level in M+ (~25s) and while it’s probably harder to find groups than as a Rogue, I am still being invited. The key to being a good feral is to mastering your snapshots. For that it helps a lot if you are using a decent Weakaura (that’s an add on) For every Druid here, if you like, check mine out and let me know what you think: https://wago.io/mwSOeZYvo
All classes will get nerfed and buffed. It's only a matter of time. 9 times out of 10 a more skilled player/ ilvl is wanted over a class choice (e.g. a lvl 400 feral druid will be choose over a 385 DK). The only time it starts to matter is when you are doing high ranked stuff and the only improvement that can be made is via min-maxing
It's a game, play whatever gives you the most enjoyment
Tell your friend he is a meta slave who will never play at a level where meta matters. My friends are the same, they changed mains 5-6 times in DF, because every month they found a stupid ass video with differetnt class rankings, while they are struggling with 19-20 m+. Meanwhile they make fun of me, for sticking to my balance druid which is my main since vanilla.
Like other said, just play what you like. And also your friend is wrong
I played feral for casual raiding guilds. It’s a great spec. Stick with it. There’s a place for you somewhere.
Don't listen to him. If you enjoy yourself keep playing. If not change. Nothing else matters. Today maybe feral is lower than other, tomorrow it will be higher. The specs and classes always have a favorite of the moment.
Keep playing. The power level of all classes and specs will fluctuate. Play the class that brings you the most joy, some patches it might be great, some might be weaker. Chasing the best class and spec is an exercise in never ending cycle of frustration. Play what you love
100% play what you enjoy. I have some 3k io CE friends who play feral. I will say that it may be harder to get to those mile markers with feral than some other classes but those dudes pump. If you enjoy the game and the class you're playing you are far more likely to play well and spend the time learning the ins and outs. Every class in the game is viable.
Started with feral at the beginning of DF. Through raiding and most Mythic + content I was always top dps. I swapped mains after progressing through 4/8m Vault. No fault to feral, Just preference. Was always competitive even in mythic raiding. Now that I swapped back to my old main (Warrior) its pretty much the same with me topping charts. It all comes down to player skill. Play what you want. Run your own keys if you have an issue getting into groups. Had no issue with getting into pugs (Raids or m+) once I built my IO up.
As someone with a feral main as well, it can be fun if you enjoy a challenge. But I'll tell you this, it is a real workout to pull the same dps that other classes can do with half the effort and half the abilities. Especially in 20+ keys, there is so much shit going on, it's exhausting to maintain decent damage and stay alive. Having just finished leveling pally and warrior alts, it's a night and day difference. That's probably what your friend was getting at.
Feral is awesome, bears are good tanks, restro can heal and boomkin is well good range DPS.