Gear
Onyx Annulet and Primordial Stones
Patch 10.0.7 introduced the Onyx Annulet, a Ring with no Secondary Stats that you can socket Primordial Stones into to get a variety of different bonuses based on what Stones you opt into.
The ring starts off at a base Item Level of 405, but scales with the Item Level of the Stones socketed into it, making it Item Level 424 with maxed out Stones socketed. This only increases the Stamina it gives, as the effects of the Primordial Stones themselves only scales with their own individual Item Levels.
It is worth noting that the effects of the Primordial Stones essentially do not scale at all with target count, so their value is diminished the more targets that are present when compared to other Rings that simply give you Secondary Stats.
The 3 Stones that are currently best for Feral are:
- Humming Arcane Stone: A damage proc that requires magic damage to proc and scales with the number of different families of Primordial Stones you have equipped. In our case all 3 are from different families so we get the full effect. Using Flaring Cowl notably enhances how often this procs.
- Desirous Blood Stone: A damage proc that also heals you.
- Prophetic Twilight Stone: The most interesting stone, this one causes your healing effects from your other Stones to trigger one of your damaging effects. The reason this is so good is that Desirous Blood Stone’s damage proc also counts as a heal, meaning that whenever either of your Stones proc, the other one is guaranteed to as well, effectively doubling your DPS gains from your first two Stones, giving you the value of four Stones for the cost of three.
Tier Set
In the first Raid Tier, Tier Set Bonuses do not affect gameplay for Feral Druids. The 2-Set Bonus increases the damage of Ferocious Bite and Rip by 5%, and the 4-Set Bonus grants 1% Critical Strike per Combo Point spent for 5 seconds when using finishers. To maximize the 4-Set Bonus, it's best to pool Energy before using finishers and fit as many GCDs as possible within the 5-second buff window. Priority should be given to obtaining the 4-Set Bonus, and the ideal pieces to aim for are Chest, Legs, Gloves, and Pants, as a crafted helm will be discussed in the next section.
Crafted Gear
With the new Dragonflight expansion, there is an overhauled crafting system that includes powerful crafted gear. Players can obtain a Spark of Ingenuity every two weeks to craft a piece of Epic quality gear from one of the crafting professions. Some of these items have their own unique Embellishments, while others can have one of a set list of Embellishments added to them, with a maximum of 2 being able to be equipped at once. The initial item level cap is 392, but it can be increased to 405 or 418 with Primal Infusion or Concentrated Primal Infusion, respectively, making them useful for a long time.
There are a few ways to approach crafting, such as crafting your BiS pieces early on and simply sitting on them for the entire patch, perhaps recrafting them at some point to increase their Item Level. The approach I would recommend, for the sake of progression, is to craft the most significant upgrade you can every single time you have a craft available. This approach will ensure you’re as strong as possible at every given point while naturally guiding you toward your BiS pieces. It's important to note that while these pieces are technically "Best in Slot," the Embellishments have relatively minor gains and the item level upgrades will generally have more impact.
I will discuss several noteworthy pieces of gear and provide a recommended crafting order below.
Notable Crafted Gear
Flaring Cowl: This is one of the two "Best in Slot" pieces, a helm that deals fire damage to enemies around you while in combat. The damage may not be particularly high, but it has good synergy with a ring that can be obtained from the raid, which will be discussed later. When deciding whether to craft this or not, consider whether it will negatively impact your 4-set bonus or make it harder to obtain, as that should be a higher priority, especially if you don't already have the ring.
Slimy Expulsion Boots and Toxic Thorn Footwraps: are two pairs of boots that have a damage proc and a downside. Both options have similar values, but Slimy Expulsion Boots slightly outperforms the other. The main difference between the two is that Slimy Expulsion Boots reduce your Haste, while Toxic Thorn Footwraps reduce your Stamina. Slimy Expulsion Boots is technically considered the "Best in Slot" option, but either pair is acceptable, and the difference in performance is minimal.
Elemental Lariat: While not the "Best in Slot" for Feral, like it is for many other specializations, it remains an early solid craft and should be considered. The Secondary Stat proc depends on the type of gems socketed in all of your gear, not just in the Lariat itself.
Embellishments
Fang Adornments: A small generic damage proc.
Bronzed Grip Wrappings: A small generic damage proc.
Blue Silken Lining: Gives you Mastery while above 90% health.
The choice between the 3 options isn't critical. While the 2 damage procs are nearly identical in value, they are both safe choices. Blue Silken is slightly better but requires consistent uptime, which depends on the type of content you will be engaging in.
Recommended Crafting Order
Reminder: It is a safe choice to craft the item that sims the highest for you at any given point.
- Weapon: This is the most significant early craft you can make, especially if you can increase its item level to 418. It can only be replaced by weapons with item level 421 from your M+ vault slots or Kurog, and even then, the upgrade is minimal because you can control the Secondary Stats on crafted gear. Note that this can either be a Polearm, 2-Handed Mace, or Staff, and there is no difference between the three.
- One or multiple of the pieces outlined earlier: All 4 pieces have similar value, and you should decide which one to craft based on your specific situation. This includes your Tier Set situation when it comes to Flaring Cowl and the item level of the pieces you're replacing for the rest. Keep in mind that if you happen to have relatively solid pieces in the slots, these items go into, it may be better to make an off piece in a slot you have a low item level piece in.
- Whichever off piece is the biggest upgrade for you: After completing both of your Embellishments, you should use the crafting system to fill in any gaps in your gear, regardless of the slot.
Notable Gear Pieces
Manic Grieftorch: A strong trinket from the Raid. It has a 2-second channel and deals fire damage on use. Its cooldown is reduced by 90 seconds whenever an allied player dies (it does not work if they are too far away from you). A powerful trinket that gains even more value from the resets, which should be reasonably common during progression.
Whispering Incarnate Icon: Another Raid Trinket. Also BiS. Effectively a Crit Stat Stick, with an extra reasonably strong Secondary Stat proc on top of it, assuming there are people of the appropriate roles with it in your group/raid.
Algeth’ar Puzzle box: A dungeon Trinket. It gives you an enormous amount of Mastery for 20 seconds on a 3-minute Cooldown but, unfortunately, has a cast time to do so. The best way to get around this is to use it right before combat starts, effectively bypassing the downside entirely. Technically BiS if you can get it at Item Level 421 from the vault.
Windscar Whetstone: Another dungeon Trinket. A pretty straightforward on-use damage Trinket with a 2-minute Cooldown that deceivingly does not scale with the number of targets despite seemingly being AoE. This is very good to aim for early on.
Gift of Radiance: Yet another dungeon Trinket. It’s a Stat Stick that also comes with a damage on-use on a 1-minute Cooldown. Extremely similar in value to Windscar Whetstone. It is very important to note that, for some reason, this is classified as a Tank Trinket, so you need to be in Guardian Loot Specialisation to loot it. Also a very good option to aim for early.
Seal of Diurna’s Chosen: A Ring from the first boss of the Raid. It comes with a damage proc that has a chance to activate every time you deal Fire damage. Naturally, Feral has no innate Fire damage, but that is where Flaring Cowl comes in. Combining these two items is a notable DPS gain. Manic Grieftorch is another source of Fire damage for us, but significantly weaker since it’s much less frequent.