What Druids Have In Store for 2.3....

Hi all, sorry that it's been almost 2 weeks since my last update. I'm moving (IRL), so its been a pain in the butt. My guild was also focusing on Illidan Stormrage, and I'm happy to say that we've now cleared BT. I'd like to think that part of our success was due to my leadership, but that could be my ego talking.. haha.

Anyways, more importantly, 2.3 is around the corner... what do we have in store? Well, honestly, it looks like the biggest change is going to be how HOTW works with feral druids. Previously it increased our STR in cat form by 20%. It is being changed do +10% attack power. So I guess if you hadn't made the connection yet, AGI will be by and far the premier stat of choice.

I'm not sure if you guys have checked out a site called Lootzor (http://www.lootzor.com) but it's a site that allows you to compare gear given metrics that YOU decide!! :) Previously, if you were to say, use Emmerald's stat values (http://www.gurgleblaster.net/emmerald), the lootzor mechanics you would enter in look something like this:

Cat Sustained DPS:
1 Attack Power = 1
1 Strength = 2.472
1 Agility = 2.394
1 Crit Rating = 1.498
1 Hit Rating = 1.101

(I told you I don't necessarily agree with Emmerald's rankings, but its a good list, for lack of a better replacement on the web that is as easily readable and accessible).

In 2.3, those values now change...
If you wanted to stay true to Emmerald's values, it would look something like this post 2.3:

1 Attack Power = 1.1
1 Strength = 2.236
1 Agility = 2.512
1 Crit Rating = 1.498
1 Hit Rating = 1.101

As you can see just by plugging it into Lootzor, several "rogue" pieces all of a sudden jump to the top of our ideal DPS gear. Things that were previously strength heavy no longer become easy favorites (like Hamarid's Bargain, or Razor-scale Battlecloak). Something like Unstoppable Aggressor's Ring all of a sudden drops off the chart!

Anyways, I guess I'll keep this short... try Lootzor if you want to try to find a new loot table until either Emmerald finishes his loot list, or until you get a better DPS gear calculator :)

Another change they made was how they calculated weapon skill. For druids, we previously used a stat called "Feral Combat Skill Rating" (FCSR), which was relegated to only a few items in the game (namely Shapeshifter's Signet, Earthwarden, Clefthide Leggings). 20 FCSR generally provided an insane benefit (+3% hit, -.5% chance to be dodged, parried or blocked). Past 20 FCSR however, the benefits were near non-existent.. which is why many high-end druids still used the Shapeshifter's Signet (available @ Exalted Lower City rep from the Quartermaster in Shattrah City). This stat is now being changed into Expertise. Expertise will no longer increase your %hit chance... it will however give you increased levels of Dodge/Parry/Block avoidance which will not top out @ 20 expertise rating! Another benefit is that b/c all the weapon skill stats are now a generic "expertise" rating, the # of items that you can now use is GREATLY expanded... instead of only 3 Feral Combat Skill Rating items in the entire game, there are now like dozens and dozens of expertise items you now have available. Expertise is now changed to .25% less chance to be Dodged/Parried/Blocked.. so using 20 Expertise Rating (which translates into 5.1 Expertise) will now net you 1.25% chance to be blocked/parried/dodged... which at first seems worse than what FCSR used to give us, but at the very least, you can now choose from a variety of items to use instead of only Shapeshifter's Signet.

In a DPS raid environment, you're only going to face dodge (b/c you always attack from behind, you won't be blocked or parried), so obviously Expertise is not THAT huge in terms of helping your DPS... but if you're already hit-capped (~8.6% hit), you might as well remove that last 3% dodge from bosses by trying to get yourself around 12 Expertise which will then make you dodge-proof as well as miss-proof against raid bosses :) You'll have to use a item-stat-comparison-spreadsheet or something in order to calculate which items would be worth using for Expertise however :)

2.3 changes aren't even finished yet, so who knows where we'll end up! I'll try to write more articles on the topic as I think of them, but of course, do not ignore your other resources such as Elitist Jerks, The Druid Wiki, etc.