Feral Druid DPS Stat Priority – WoW Classic: Season of Mastery

feral dps stat prios
  • Author: Oxykitten
  • Date: December 22, 2021
  • Updated: December 23, 2021
  • Expansion: WoW Classic

Welcome to our stat priority guide for Feral DPS in WoW Classic: Season of Mastery! This guide will explain how to make good gearing choices, and how valuable each stat is. Here, I will also go into great detail on how theorycrafters determine these values. For guides on other facets of Feral gameplay, follow the links above.

Stat Priorities

In the past, many guides would list “stat priorities” for different classes, suggesting to stack X stat before Y stat and so on. In reality, optimizing your character is far more about balancing the values of different stats to come up with the best overall gear set possible. For example, while 1% Hit Chance is better for a Feral DPS than 1% Critical Strike Chance, 2% Crit is better than 1% Hit. So, while your stat priority could be Hit > Crit, that wouldn’t help you accurately decide between two pieces of gear. Luckily, I’ve done all the work for you; I have published detailed Best in Slot (BiS) gear guides for DPS (and tanks) at multiple gear levels.

Still, it is valuable to have an understanding of why some pieces of gear are better than others, so I will give explanations as to why each stat is given its value. This can get a little complicated, so don’t feel you need to read it in order to play Feral well; following my BiS lists will get you the same result. I’ve therefore put my stat priorities section in a reducible tab below; only venture in if you’re interested!

Finding DPS stat weights

The most common way of balancing stats is to compare them to one common stat, setting the scale for all of them. This is usually done with Attack Power. Thereby, we consider Attack Power to equal 1, and every other stat is compared to it. For example, 1 Strength gives 2.4 Attack Power in Cat Form (including Heart of the Wild) so Strength = 2.4 Attack Power. Note that, on Alliance, Blessing of Kings increases your Strength by 10%, so Strength = 2.64 Attack Power.

With other DPS stats, this is a little bit less clear-cut; Agility increases your Critical Strike chance as well as your Attack Power. For stats like these, we use simulation tools. These tools use maths to determine how much DPS is increased by 1 attack power. Then, they determine how much DPS is increased by 1 Agility. They then determine the equivalent Attack Power (or eAP) of these stats by comparing these values; if 1 Attack Power increases your DPS by 1, and 1 Agility increases your DPS by 3, then 1 Agility = 3 equivalent Attack Power (note these numbers are made up for ease of understanding). I should note here that the simulation tool we use for Feral DPS, and therefore the source of the information in this guide, is developed by Nerdegghead from the Druid Classic Discord. Big props to them for all their hard work!

Feral Druid DPS stat weights for Season of Mastery Phase 1

Putting that all together, we come to a list of stat weights that show us the value of each stat relative to Attack Power. These weights are for a Feral DPS using Pummelers and a Bite-only rotation in Phase 1 BiS gear on a 3 minute fight. This list is designed for Alliance players with Blessing of Kings, meaning the value of Strength and Agility are 10% higher than for Horde. Credit for these weights again go to Nerdegghead, who designed the simulation tool I used to produce them.

  • Attack Power = 1
  • Strength = 2.64
  • Agility = 2.76
  • 1% Hit Chance = 32.04
  • 1% Crit Chance = 30.16
  • 1% Haste = 13.87

Do note that while Stamina does not add any DPS, it can be very useful on DPS classes to survive certain AoE or other raid damage mechanics. I personally add a 1 Stamina = 0.2 AP weight when looking at gear, just to show it has some value. I recommend everyone does something similar, but the numerical value is completely subjective and can be adjusted.

Also note that there is no need to reach hit cap. Many people believe that all DPS players must reach 9% hit so that their abilities no longer miss. However, missing your abilities every now and then has a quantifiable average DPS loss, which can be outweighed with an average DPS gain from other stats. There is no reason for a DPS player to value hit chance more than its calculated DPS contribution. So just wear your best gear, and remember that hit cap is a limit, not a goal; wearing hit above 9% has no value whatsoever. The only relevance of hit cap is that it can restrict your gearing as some strong pieces will not be usable due to having too much hit chance in other places.

For the very best results, you should use these simulation tools yourself for your character, with the buffs, debuffs, consumables and gear you have access to. Since stat weights depend on your character’s current stats, finding personalized stat weights will always be more accurate. These tools are available freely on the Druid Classic discord server.

Still, simply using reliable BiS lists is not likely to put you at any disadvantage, particularly since there are very few strong gear choices for Ferals. If you are not interested in using simulation tools and spreadsheets to make ultimately inconsequential gearing decisions, that’s up to you!

Thank you for taking the time to read our Feral DPS stat priority guide for Season of Mastery. I hope it was helpful, and if you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment below, or find me as Oxy on the Druid Classic discord.

 

About the Author

Oxykitten

I've been an avid WoW player since Vanilla. At 6 years old, I was slowly progressing through Blackfathom Deeps and levelling up with my brothers. Since Classic Wow launched, I've found a new way to enjoy the game; participating in Feral Druid theorycrafting communities and performing well in an underdog class has been a fun challenge. I hope to be able to share all I've learned with anyone who shares that interest!
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