Beat Feral Druid

What they want to do

Open from Prowl, stack Rake and Rip, Cyclone the extra DPS, then Maim the kill into a Berserk or Incarnation dump. They win long Solo Shuffle rounds if Rip sits on your healer and you never get a clean stun on them.

Main danger

Stealth openers plus Cyclone. You die in one stun if Survival Instincts and Bear Form are still up to stall the peel.

Interrupt priority

1. 1 Cyclone

   Always first. A free clone on the extra DPS is a lost round. Predatory Swiftness makes it instant — still interrupt if you see the cast, or line it.

2. 1 Convoke the Spirits if talented

   Interrupt or hard crowd-control immediately. Do not let the channel roll.

3. 2 Predatory Swiftness heal

   Only when Cyclone is not available. Instant heals are how they live the second stun — never spend this interrupt while clone is showing.

4. 3 Hibernate (vs beasts/dragons)

   Situational. Cyclone still beats it if both are showing.

Watch for

• Cyclone on the extra DPS the moment you press offensive cooldowns — swap off the cloned target, do not trinket it.
• Maim or Mighty Bash on the kill target after Rip and Rake are rolling — trinket Maim, not the stealth Rake.
• Rip sitting on your healer, not the kill — stop the bleed on the healer even if they are standing on a DPS.
• Survival Instincts overlapping Bear Form to eat your first go — sit or swap; do not finish burst into both.

Offensive cooldowns

• Berserk / Incarnation. Major damage window. Land your stun before they press this, never after. Wall before Ferocious Bite, not after.
• Rip. Bleed engine. Rip on your healer is the pressure even when they look busy on a DPS. A poison or magic dispel does nothing to it.
• Ferocious Bite. Execute inside the stun. Wall before the bite, not after it connects.
• Rake. Stealth opener can stun. Do not trinket this — Maim is coming.
• Convoke the Spirits if talented. Mixed damage and heals on a channel. Interrupt or crowd-control. Do not melee the channel.

Defensive cooldowns

• Survival Instincts. Big damage reduction. Stop the go. Swap or sit. Do not finish burst into it.
• Barkskin. Short damage reduction. Keep chip pressure unless Survival Instincts or Bear Form is also up.
• Bear Form. Do not dump caster cooldowns into full bear. Wait the shift or swap. A cheap spell forces the shift; press offensive cooldowns after they leave bear.
• Frenzied Regeneration. Bear self-heal. Keep hitting only if Survival Instincts is already burned.
• Stampeding Roar. Team sprint. They use it to leave a bad room, not to start one. Root the landing; do not chase in a straight line.

Crowd control

• Cyclone
• Maim
• Mighty Bash
• Entangling Roots
• Rake (stealth stun)
• Hibernate vs beasts/dragons

Dispels

• Cyclone cannot be dispelled. Do not trinket it. Swap off the cloned target and play the 2v2.
• Roots are magic. Rip and Rake are bleeds — a poison or magic dispel does nothing to them.

Mobility

Prowl, Dash, Stampeding Roar, Wild Charge if talented. They choose when combat starts and they leave on roar. Face the opener angle at gates. Do not chase travel form in a straight line — root the landing, then go.

Kill windows

• Survival Instincts down, not in Bear Form, Cyclone on cooldown
• After they Maim the wrong target or blow Mighty Bash with no partner follow
• Caught in cat form without Barkskin after Prowl drops

When to run

Cyclone is covering the peeler, you are stunned, and Survival Instincts is still available. Line. Do not greed melee uptime into Bear Form.

When to attack

After Survival Instincts. In cat, not bear. After a wasted Cyclone. Physical still works while they sit in Barkskin.

Common tricks

• They Cyclone the partner, not the kill target, so your go looks like it is working. Swap off the cloned target.
• Rake from stealth is the bait. Maim is the trinket. Hold it.
• Bear Form is specifically to eat caster cooldowns. A cheap spell forces the shift; press offensive cooldowns after they leave bear.

Common mistakes against them

• Trinketing Cyclone instead of swapping off the cloned target.
• Trinketing the stealth Rake opener instead of Maim.
• Dumping a full go into Survival Instincts plus Bear Form.
• Kicking a Predatory Swiftness heal when Cyclone is being cast.