Druid Tank Guide (4.x Cataclysm)

Welcome to the Guide to Cataclysm Feral Tank Druid. I am Morde from the Kingdom of Dun Modr, and in this guide I intend to teach you how to make your bear skin strong enough to take on Deathwing's lieutenants.

It should be noted that this guide is still a work in development and there are some sections of it that we will improve over time. I hope you find it useful and any comments or constructive criticisms will be well received.

Table of Contents

1. Talents
2. Statistics
3. DR (Diminishing Return)
4. SD (Wild Defense)
5. Revenge
6. aggro
7. Team
8. Enchantments
9. Gems
10. Reforge
11. Glyphs
12. Consumables
13. addons
14. Macros
15. Others
16. Mix & Logs

«Fear is the way to the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred, hatred leads to suffering. I see very much afraid in you»

Talents

We are not all the same, nor do we all carry the same distribution of talents. There is no "best" distribution because we neither have the same team, nor the same raid configuration, nor do we play at the same level (Heroic 5, Band 10, 25, 10 HC, 25 HC).

There is a configuration that is mandatory and easy to identify because it is shared by all distributions. Then, as with the rest of the classes, the other points are best put to taste, seeking both to feel comfortable and adapt to our needs

Until completing the content in normal I used a distribution sacrificing (compared to the current one) king of the jungle to spend it on lowering the cooldown (CD) of the abilities to cut.

My current setup for 25 player Heroic Raids is The next.

http://es.wowhead.com/talent#0ZfMGfou0zrckMcu:0qr

Statistics

Our priority is the pieces that have ENDURANCE + AGILITY.

1 AGU = 17.99721 hit points (Bear form, with leather on all our armor pieces, with heart and mark of the wild (or paladin kings))

The first thing we need is an effective life team. Effective life reflects how much we are able to endure receiving consecutive blows from an enemy without any type of dodge, mitigation, cure ...

A very simple example. If a boss hits 30,000 hits every 2 seconds, and our life is 120,000. 120> 90> 60> 30> To the ground-

2 seconds x 4 sustained hits is 8 seconds of effective life. The concept comes from the need to think about the worst case that is to spend a few moments without any kind of help, without being able to use our skills, or skills of others, or cures of the healers. They are 8 seconds of margin that we have until we die.

Having more life improves revenge (When taking damage in bear we gain Attack Power = 5% of the damage received, limited to 10% of our health).

With which: Endurance > "Salud" > Damage points > Threat.

The second thing we look for is Agility, which gives us Attack Power, critical hit and dodge.

• 1 Agility = 2.8875 AP
• 324.85324 Agility = 1% Critical Hit
• 243.58281085 Agility = 1% Dodge before diminishing returns

Force. A piece falls that gives ENDURANCE + STRENGTH, is it worth it or not?

As I have been through this situation several times, I better explain it.

The force pieces They are ALWAYS WORSE than those of agility in equal level. This means that NEVER we will seek strength.

Now, searching does not mean that we cannot find it. At low levels of equipment, with green and blue pieces, it is not uncommon for a higher level piece of force to improve us a lot in stamina and armor. It is not agility, but we do improve something.

Of course, do not throw for the Force pieces as the first team if a class wants them that does use force (warrior, paladin, CM). Let them have preference, then us, and then them again for the second team.

Index	Derived from our statistics for 85
Dodge	1% Dodge for every 176.71899 Dodge rate.
Bang	1% for every 120.109 Hit Index. The hit cap is 8% (to have 100% interrupt spells)
Operational	Increase melee attack speed by 1% for every 128.05701
Critical	Increases our critical strike chance by 1% for every 179.28.
Expertise	Reduces 0.25 points the probability that our physical attacks will be dodged for every 30.0272 The first limit is 6.5%
Master's degree	179.28 (For every 179.28 Mastery Rating increases our Mastery by 1, causing our Wild Defense to absorb 4% of our additional AP damage)

Diminishing returns (DR - DODGE DIMINISHING)

After talking about statistics we must take into account an important fact, the diminishing return. Agility, and all avoidance attributes are affected by diminishing returns.

Diminishing returns is a conversion factor that means that the higher we raise a stat, the more we need to raise it to gain another 1% Evasion.

Simply put, it's a simple way to force a "check" on team progression so that progression is moderate.

Savage defense

In this 4.x expansion, the master's degree, an ability that we have for our specialty (feral). In our case it is the Savage defense (SD). Savage defense makes us have a 50% chance to generate a shield of 35% of our Attack Power when making critical hits with certain hits.

• Activate Savage defense: Melee strikes, Mangle, Bruise, Lacerate (initial), Thrashing (initial) and Flagellum.
• DO NOT activate Wild defense: Lacerate (the ticks), Thrashing (the ticks), Feerico Fire (feral) and Scourges of fury.

We masterfully increase the amount absorbed by Savage defense at a 32% base and an additional 4% for each Mastery point. With the feral specialization, it is supposed to absorb 46.2%.

Also know that Savage defense it does not stack and if we receive a blow that does not require 100% of its absorption, the remainder does not remain, we lose it.

Revenge

Increases Attack Power by 5% of damage taken up to a maximum of 10% of our total health. When we take damage for the first time we gain revenge, equal to 5% of the damage taken. From here it is checked in ticks of 2 seconds.

Check tick every 2 seconds:

• We have received damage since the previous tick: New V = [Previous V * 0.95 + Damage taken * 0.05]
• We have not received damage: New V = [Previous V - MaxV * 0.1]

(MaxV is the highest Revenge value we will reach)

aggro

Area rotation

In principle we use the usual basic: Flagellum y Thrashing as soon as we have it available (they are our area shots), Bruise when we have anger and if it is left over, some Shatter if we don't have any free cooldown.

Rotation to a single target

The most typical priority is Shatter > Bruise > Grind up > Thrashing > Lacerate

1. Feeric Fire (feral): As it is at a distance and lasts 5 min, the most practical thing is to throw it as we start the fight (I, for example, what I do is use it if I want the boss to come to me, or if I have to go get him I throw it in the middle of the run, and so I take advantage of that second that I can not do otherwise).
2. As it lasts 5 min, we have no urgency to renew it, but if there is occasion, since it is free, let's use it, or if we see that there is more than one objective, we can use it.
3. It is a priority to maintain Grind up active (+ 9% critical) and only with 3 charges of Lacerate. Swipe is not usually used except in case of being in a band leader that has an additional objective.

Team

As I mentioned before, we are looking for pieces of Stamina and Agility.

I use and recommend using a BIS (Best in slot / best in each position) list. The pieces of equipment drop randomly, so a help is, at least, to know what and where we drop equipment to improve. When viewing it in a table, it is always easier to see all the pieces, where they fall, what each one gives, etc.

With the list we will be clear about our priority when looking for equipment.

1. The first logically is what we can achieve by our means.
   1. Twilight Highlands ending quest pieces, or quest chain ending from some other high-level zone.
   2. All the pieces so much blue 346 as epic 359 reputation.
   3. Incidentally we raise reputation for team we also need to get to exalted as soon as possible both with Therazane, for the shoulders glyph; as with The ground ring for the head glyph.
   4. Pieces created (fur, jewelry ...)
   5. Pieces for points of justice and value.
2. Once we advance to point 1 we will be able to do heroics, where we will get level 346 equipment and above all, points of justice and courage.
3. And finally, band pieces, where we already depend on our allies.

Being bear, as advice, it is interesting to agree with the other tanks and the tank officer if you have to rotate with your head (if you never rotate, no, of course).

What we do is:

We are 3 tanks (ABC). Each one made their BIS list and we talked about the bosses who YES they interest each of us. We follow a base rotation for days, which is ideal. One day rotates A (BC enters), the next rotates B (enters AC) and the next rotates C (enters AB).

What we always look at is if one (or both) official tanks that day have a boss who does not release anything to them, we consult with the one who rotates. If nothing falls, we continue, but if something falls, enter through one that does not fall at all.

With this, what we seek is to avoid the possibility of losing equipment that improves us by not planning it. If it is because of DKPS it is another issue, but never for lack of strategy.

Dodge team

If our desire is to complete all the content, it is advisable to make a second team (the so-called dodge team), older than the main one (effective life).

First team (effective life)

To prepare the first team we can follow these fairly simple principles.

1. Equipment pieces up to item level 346
   • Everything improved. (Enchantment / gems / buckle / patches etc etc etc).
   • Gems as discussed in the gem point.
   • Reforging is not a priority.
2. Equipment Parts 359 and 372
   When we reach the point of having at least 50% of the 359 pieces equipped we will do the following:
   • Everything improved (Gems / enchantment / head and shoulder glyphs / patch….)
   • Gems as discussed in the gem point.
   • Reforge to dodge pieces 359 and 372.

[notice] A part up to level 346, it is quite likely that we will exchange it shortly (for badges, for reputation, for auction, for profession or whatever) and it is not a priority to make the most expensive upgrades, that is a waste . In the same way, a 359 piece with the cheapest is a waste. The reasonable thing is to improve the non-epic pieces as best as possible, but without using the best in each case, but in the epic ones if you try to make an effort and use the best. [/ notice]

Second team (dodge)

Complex is, to give a common solution, because each bear depends on his companions. It is not the same to be a single bear, than to be two, how many rogues / cats we have, the advancement of our brotherhood etc, etc, ... And since this does not have a secret formula, I explain what is my system to streamline the second team, such as Sinatra said, in my own way. This is for other classes looking for a second team as well, not just Bear.

1. We start from the premise that we are in a "normal" brotherhood, with a more or less fixed group of people and a normal number of bosses thrown in a week.
2. As we repeat bosses (and therefore loot) there comes a time when the repeating pieces are transferred to second team or are disenchanted (loot option).
3. You also have to think that heroic pieces replace their normal equivalent.

All this added implies that we can gather for the second team:

1. Repeated pieces (359 or 372 if necessary).
2. Parts that we can get by badges, by reputation, auction house, Argaloth.
3. 359 parts that we change for a 372 (or a "better" 359).

This allows us to play with the pieces, making combinations with the team. We can take the complete effective life team, or change 2 pieces with the dodge, or 4, or take the entire dodge.

Closing remarks

The objective is not to gather a complete dodge team and use one or the other. The main objective is to put together pieces to complete it, and in the meantime we can start to do tests by exchanging equipment and study if it benefits us or not.

Enchantments

Head	Arcanum (Revered Ring of Earth)	+90 Stamina +35 Dodge Index
Shoulder	Inscription (Exalted Therazane)	Inscription (Exalted Therazane)
Cover	Enchantment - Protection	+250 Armor
Chest	Enchantment - Unmatched Stats	+20 all stats
	Enchantment - Greater Stamina	+75 Stamina
Bracelet	Enchantment - Agility	+50 Agility
Gloves	Glove reinforcement	+240 Armor
	Enchantment - Greater Mastery	+65 Mastery
Legs	Carboscale Leg Armor	+145 Stamina +55 Agility
Boots	Enchantment - Earthen Vitality	+30 Stamina and Movement Speed ​​increased
	Enchantment - lava corridor	+35 Mastery Rating and Movement Speed ​​increased
Belt	Ebony steel buckle	+1 gem slot
Arma	Enchantment - mighty agility	+130 Agility
	Enchantment - ride the wind	Dodge rating sometimes increased by 600. and movement speed by 15% for 10 sec when hitting in melee.
	Enchantment - landslide	Sometimes + 1k AP is increased for 12 seconds on melee hit.

Gems

Meta gem	+81 Stamina and increases item armor value by + 2%	Ask for 2 equipped yellow gems
BLUE	+60 Stamina	+101 Stamina if we are jewelers
Red (Purple)	+20 Agility +20 Stamina
Yellow (orange)	+20 Agility + 20 Dodge Index
Yellow (green)	+30 Stamina + 20 Dodge Index

The eternal question. Do I put the gems according to the color or not?

And as a good Galician the best answer is it depends. It depends if the bonus is worth it or not. The smartest thing is to discard. In the non-colored holes (relic, buckle) and the blue ones we use Stamina (it is our base gem).

As the goal asks us for 2 yellow gems, we use 2 hybrid gems (purple, orange or green) in the two pieces with the best bonus.

And then from there on, depending on what we see, or stamina or a hybrid + bonus.

Reforge

Another new feature in Cataclysm is being able to reforge. The only thing that can prevent us from reforging is having trouble with the Threat. It is not something that is very frequent, in my case I have reforged each piece of level 359 up.

We will reinforce ALL a dodge rate.

Priority for reforging is Haste> Hit Rating> Critical> Expertise

Glyphs

• Primordial: Mangle - Rage - Lacerate
• Sublime: Bruise, Frenzy Regeneration, Thorns, Reborn, Feral Faerie Fire, Feral Charge
• Minors: Carrerilla, Mark of the Wild, Defiant Roar, Unburdened Rebirth

Consumables

• Jar: Steel skin (gives us +300 stamina)
• Meal: According to the team and the needs we have. I always carry food of expertise, dodge, hit index and agility.

addons

The basic interface, as the name suggests, is very basic. We can improve greatly with a few addons. Especially those referring to Aggro (omen), control of effects and band leaders times (DBM), aids to visualize pulls (TidyPlates).

For those who like tests and experiments I use these.

• Omen - For the aggro
• DBM - (Although I will try DXE shortly, which I am looking forward to).
• Ctmod2 - For the menu bars, hide the Blizzard standard and some chat options. (I tried the Dominos but as this gives me some improvement for the chat, I continue with it)
• TidyPlates - With the Neon module, very useful for pulls.
• Skada - I used to have the recount, but I like this one better.
• NeedToKnow - To control times of Buffos, Debuffs, Damages etc (in my case to see as time bars the Spray, lacerate (and number of charges) and FFF.
• Pitbull - For the frames of the character, target, target target, focus and focus target.
• Grid - To see raid status, proximity, debuffs, etc.
• Click - To assign effects to the mouse
• Bbuff - Change and move the buff and debuff bar.
• ErrorMonster - Redirect skill spam to chat. (For reading Zieprakis, a relief)
• MoveAnything - Allows you to move anything.
• SpeedyActions - Changes the way keys are activated. By default it is when the key goes up after pressing it, changing it we activate it directly to when it goes down.
• DeathNote - To see X seconds until death what happens to us. (Thanks for the info Gaza)

Macros

Something that should be in our "wow kit" is macros. It is not necessary to have very elaborate and very rare macros. With a couple of things we can improve a lot. Read some specialized macro guide and you will discover new horizons

Others

All of this is a bottle from many, many sources. As a bibliography for those who need more depth I recommend (many in English).

• elitejerks
• tankspot
• The big bear butt
• Official forums
• Insomnia and Perception have very good guides (currently not bear) but Ui's, other classes, gang strategy, etc, very interesting.
• Gaza Blog (EU - Dun Modr - Perception) Very good gang guidance, including heroic mode with specific tanking notes in some.
• MMO Champions
• BossKillers
• World of Matticus
• Wow head
• Wow heroes

Mix+Log

Acknowledgements

To my two best friends (they already know who they are and why)

To the Barons Rebirth clan - EU - Shen'dralar - Horde and most especially Nedyem (and his panda) and Aêol (and his phoenix), Vuyafren (and his Crow).

And so they don't ban Littlemaik and Hartish, the RL who suffer me.

log

24/03/11 - First “clean” version

06/04/11 - Dodge team expansion

• Pending improvements to addons and macros.
• Pending: photos - photos addons - ui photos - full macros - pending graphic enhancements
• Pending next patch 4.1 (not yet implemented on official servers)

Morde (Adrenaline), EU - Dun Modr

"A head non stop"