A Quick Guide to WoW Classic Feral Druid Tanks

How to make an effective Feral Druid Tank

Among all the classes of WoW Classic, none are as versatile as Druids. They can fill any role in a group, whether melee or ranged DPS, Healer, or Tank. It came at a price though, as to be able to do that, they traded effectiveness for versatility. That said, they are good as back up or off-role positions. Here, we’ll discuss how to build a Feral Druid Tank. Save up WoW Classic gold for all the WoW Classic items you need!

Building a Feral Druid Tank

You don’t have to choose a race for your character. Only one race from each faction can become a Druid. That’s the Night Elf for Alliance and the Tauren for the Horde. You should pick the race/faction that fits your preferences.

Like the other classes, Druids have three talent builds. They are ‘Balance’, ‘Feral Combat’, and ‘Restoration’. For a Feral Druid Tank, you should get most of the damage mitigation and threat generation talents in Feral Combat. Feral Aggression is the exception. In the Balance tree, you should get Nature’s Grasp and the Omen of Clarity. There’s also Enrage from the Restoration tree.

You should focus on damage mitigation, as well as generating and using rage. That is your role as off-tank. Your ability rotation revolves around the use of Maul, sometimes using Swipe to use up rage or Faerie Fire when not. Still, you should always be using Maul.

As for Hybrids, you sacrifice some of the damage mitigation talents to be able to deal damage in cat form. You can also take the Natural Shapeshifter ability so you can swap roles in a heartbeat. The lost armor from not getting some of the abilities can be made up with consumables and certain pre-raid gear.

Gear and Best in Slot

Here are the best in slot WoW Classic items for a Feral Druid Tank. Alternative equipment will follow in parenthesis.

Head – Guise of the Devourer (Circlet of Restless Dreams, Warlord’s Dragonhide Helmet, Genesis Helm)

Neck – Mark of C’Thun (Master Dragonslayer’s Medallion, Pendant of the Qiraji Guardian, Prestor’s Talisman of Connivery, Medallion of Steadfast Might, Onyxia Tooth Pendant)

Shoulders – Defiler’s Leather Shoulders (Taut Dragonhide Shoulderpads, Mantle of Wicked Revenge, Warlord’s Dragonhide Epaulets, Fireguard Shoulders)

Back – Elementium Threaded Cloak (Sandstorm Cloak, Dragon’s Blood Cape, Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape)

Chest – Malfurion’s Blessed Bulwark (Thick Silithid Chestguard, Vest of Swift Execution, Warlord’s Dragonhide Hauberk, Breastplate of Bloodthirst)

A Quick Guide to WoW Classic Feral Druid Tanks
A Quick Guide to WoW Classic Feral Druid Tanks

Wrists – Qiraji Execution Bracers (Dragonspur Wraps, Forest Stalker’s Braces, Blackmist Armguards, Malefic Bracers)

Hands – Gloves of the Hidden Temple (Bile Covered Gauntlets, Gloves of the Immortal, General’s Dragonhide Gloves, Slaghide Gauntlets, Devilsaur Gauntlets)

Waist – Thick Qirajihide Belt (Molten Belt, Taut Dragonhide Belt, Belt of Never-ending Agony, Belt of Preserved Heads)

Legs – Outrider’s Leather Pants (Dark Heart Pants, Genesis Trousers, General’s Dragonhide Leggings, Warstrife Leggings, Devilsaur Leggings)

Feet – Hive Tunneler’s Boots (Boots of the Shadow Flame, Defiler’s Leather Boots, General’s Dragonhide Boots, Ash Covered Boots)

Rings – Ring of Emperor Vek’lor, Heavy Dark Iron Ring (Archimitros’ Ring of Reckoning, Signet Ring of the Bronze Dragonflight, Angelista’s Touch, Ring of the Godslayer, Band of Accuria, Don Julio’s Band)

Trinkets – Mark of Tyranny, Smoking Heart of the Mountain (Frostwolf Insignia Rank 6, Vigilance Charm, Mark of the Chosen, Styleen’s Impending Scarab, Drake Fang Talisman)

Weapon – Warden Staff (Unyielding Maul, Manual Crowd Pummeler, Blessed Qiraji War Hammer, Hammer of Bestial Fury)

Idols – Idol of Brutality (Idol of Rejuvenation)

Many of the best in slot gear would cost you lots of WoW Classic gold to buy from the AH. Otherwise, you’d use it for consumables to hunt or grind for the drops. Some of the alternate gear you can get as rewards for raising your reputation in certain groups or your rank in PvP. Some Engineering devices can also help raise your effectiveness as a tank.

As a whole, you should get gear that will increase your armor and your effective health pool. Your role as a tank is to draw attention from your weaker allies and not succumb to the flurry of the attacks coming from the enemy. With that in mind, you should focus more on defensive attributes than damage-dealing ones. That means get gear with high armor ratings or give a boost to stamina, defense, or agility/dodge rate.

That goes for any enchantment you might want to add to your gear. Focus on surviving rather than dealing damage.

Additional Notes

You can also use consumables for your Druid, especially if you find yourself in a bind. It will let your character become more effective, though obtaining them can be a bit pricey. Of course, it’s still ultimately your choice whether or not you’ll use them.

You can also change up your equipment to suit the situation. The first raid you’ll encounter in WoW Classic is Molten Core, so you can have Fire Resistant gear equipped for it. Even so, you should still consider the stats those Classic WoW items boost.

Druids are rather easy to gear up since there’s less competition for the kind of gear you want for them. However, demand is rather low for the class in raiding or guilds. You might have some trouble finding groups to raid with.

Those are all the main points you need to remember to effectively build a Feral Druid Tank. Have fun with your Druid, and enjoy WoW Classic!

 

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