Ghostcrawler dropped in on the Damage Dealing forums to answer a number of questions about the future of the feral spec in Cataclysm.
Ghostcrawler on Feral Druids in Cataclysm
Q u o t e:
2) Can you make savage roar undispellable?
This is something we're discussing, but haven't made a decision yet.
Q u o t e:
3) Will Shred ever have no positional? : \
We like Shred and Backstab with positional requirements. We haven't changed our stance on this. If you find Shred too difficult to use in PvE, then Mangle. If you're not happy in PvE with the damage you can do while Mangling, and can't manage to stay in a position where you can Shred, then I hate to say it but this probably isn't the spec for you. In PvP we think it's more of an issue, but we've also buffed Mangle to where you can do credible damage with it.
Q u o t e:
6) will dash be given the same treatment as sprint? (lower CD lower dura)
We think Dash is fine.
Q u o t e:
7) is the new version of innervate intended to be worth less to specs with small mana pools like Feral?
Yes, exactly. In Cataclysm, healer mana matters a great deal. In that environment, having some dps who can prop up healer mana so well is quite overpowered. It's okay to have utility in providing the healers extra mana, but it can't get out of control. Balance and Resto druids will have bigger Innervates, but then they are also balanced around needing to use those on themselves most of the time.
Q u o t e:
Can you change the new version of survival instincts to have less of an effect but a shorter CD?, 60% is great, but at a 5 min cd, id rather have 40% on a 3 minute cd or something to that effect ya know?
This is the kind of thing we're still messing with. There are situations where the short cooldown weaker version is more useful and others where it isn't.
Q u o t e:
9) is Bear form damage going to be a little bit higher then it currently is for Cata? can pulverize and mangle at least hit harder then maul? its kinda lame that our talented abilities hit much weaker then maul in bear atm
I wouldn't worry too much about numbers yet. We haven't made much of an effort to adjust them and won't until we're happy with the basic mechanics.
Q u o t e:
10) what is the purpose of thorns? you've been consolidating weird buffs so, i figure this is on the list of weird buffs with no real purpose
We think it has more of a purpose with more damage packed into a smaller window than weak damage available 100% of the time. In the latter case you'd never think twice about attacking someone with Thorns because it's never not there. It also asks a little more of the druid to use Thorns at the right time rather than just whenever the buff drops off. Thorns isn't a raid buff on the scale of something like Fortitude or Bloodlust so we see no reason to consolidate it.
Q u o t e:
How can I become a better player and use shred on Kologarn?
When we make an entire instance full of Kologarns then it will be a problem. I think you'll be fine if you can't manage maximum dps on every raid boss. I think the game loses far more when we can't make original bosses with unusual mechanics that we gain by having every dps spec do about the same relative damage on every fight.
Q u o t e:
any further insight to why there is a discussion on this? i am trying to see the arguments to keep it, but i can't come up with any.
Many buffs can be dispelled because they are magical effects and because it's strategic to do so. Some buffs can't be dispelled either because it doesn't make sense, because the class couldn't function without the buff, or both. Slice and Dice can't be dispelled, but Savage Roar and Inquisition can be. We might decide to make or all or none of them dispellable. We really need to see more end-game PvP to make that determination.
Q u o t e:
The thing is, Shred produces the highest potential damage compared to Mangle. Unless Mangle is made to put out the same damage long term, mangling instead of shredding means we will be in a less than 100% potential.
PvP is rarely ever decided by someone's long term sustained dps though. It has a lot more to do with making the right decision at the right time.
In PvE there is no question that Shred is superior, but in most fights you can Shred. Those few fights where you can't Shred aren't ubiquitous enough to feel like a big deal. If you just find it too difficult to always get behind a creature to be able to Shred, then I'm not sure what to tell you. We don't think this problem is so widespread that Ferals are at a huge disadvantage overall. We agree that Feral has a really high skill cap in Lich King, but that's more do to the John Madden nature of the rotation than to Shred's positional requirement, and it's also something we've taken steps to improve in Cataclysm.
Many specs can't perform their highest 100% potential when mobs are moving or when they have to step out of the fire, but we aren't about to change those in order to make things easier on the player. I think raiding is plenty easy to be honest, unless you're talking about the more challenging heroic-mode encounters in which, yeah, we're asking you to step it up a little.
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