- Author: Oxykitten
- Date: November 9, 2022
- Expansion: WotLK Classic
Knowing which stats provide value to your class is an important part of understanding the class you play. It also allows you to make gearing decisions independently of gear lists, which is useful to assess whether an item you’ve received is an upgrade (even if it may not be best in slot!).
However, keep in mind that stat priorities do not mean that you should completely stack one stat over another; all the listed stats provide some value to Ferals, so an optimal set will provide a balance of these stats for the most overall value. For example, while 1 Strength may provide more value than 1 Critical Strike Rating, 2 Critical Strike Rating will provide more value than 1 Strength. Therefore, it is important not only to know which stats are the most valuable, but how each stat objectively compares to the others.
The relative value of each stat can be determined through the use of simulation tools. These tools take the optimal DPS rotation and simulate thousands of encounters to compare how much DPS is added by each stat. The most up-to-date simulation tool for Feral DPS is developed by Nerdegghead and is freely available on the Druid Classic Discord — the information presented here is derived from this. The numbers from this tool demonstrate a stat’s value relative to Attack Power. For example, if 1 Strength increases your DPS by the same amount as 2.379 attack power, we give strength the value of 2.379 “Equivalency Points” (EP).
Note that these values change based on your rotation, gear, buffs and debuffs, number of targets, duration of encounter, and other factors affecting your DPS. These particular values are calculated for a “Mangle-weave” rotation on a single-target, 3 minute encounter with full raid buffs/debuffs and Phase 1 BiS gear.
Stat Priority & Value
- Strength (2.379 EP)
- Agility (2.2 EP)
- Hit rating (2.16 EP) not exceeding 263 rating (or 230 with HeroicPresence)
- Armor penetration (1.98 EP) not exceeding 1400 rating
- Expertise rating (1.96 EP) not exceeding 132 rating with PrimalPrecision
- Critical strike rating (1.87 EP)
- Feral attack power (1.2 EP)
- Attack power (1 EP)
- Stamina (no DPS value, but adds survivability)
Stat Explanation
Wtf is 1400 armor pen? Game has much lower values
Should post the in-game percentage instead, like under Hit Rating it says I have armor pen rating 25, which is 1.79% enemy armor reduced
The in-game percentage is not fully representative of how Armor Penetration works and is kind of dishonest unfortunately.
1400 armor pen is 100% armor pen
Roughly 15 Armor Penetration is = to 1% reduction in boss armor
1400 Armor Penetration is the hard cap, meaning you will not gain anything past this point.
Reaching that is effectively impossible currently, but in later Phases there is a lot more Armor Penetration on gear, allowing you to potentially hit 1400, even if it is only temporarily.