Technical Specifications
Name: Survival of the Fittest
Class: Druid
Spec: Feral
Tier: 6
Ranks: 3
This is a talent I’ve wanted to highlight for some time, simply because it is recockulously amazing. I’ve been running more dungeons than anything else lately, and so I’ve been putting extra effort into refining my Critty Kitty DPS.
Survival of the Fittest is primarily a tanking talent. In fact, it is no small stretch to say that it is required for tanking. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Crit Immunity.
Tanking 101: See, when a Warrior or a Death Knight or a Paladin want to tank, they put on lots of heavy metal and defense items so as not to die. Enemy raid bosses, no matter who they are, have a 5.something-or-other % chance of scoring a critical hit on you, making you take double the deuce in damage. What’s worse, that’s spikey quick damage that healers may not be quick enough to deal with. Luckily, you can raise your defense rating and reduce your chance of being critteded. They want to hit a magical “def-cap” number (which, oddly enough, isn’t a “cap”, since it’s actually a desired minimum, not a maximum) where the crit reduction is higher than that 5.whatsit%, making it so they’re incapable of ever scoring a critical hit.
And this is all well and fine, except you’re a drood. You don’t deal in metal and shields and such. You rob the Rogue’s kinky leather wardrobe and expect to tank in it. Enter SotF! Survival of the Fittest gives you +6% crit reduction! 6% is higher than 5.Jiminy-Cricket%, and thus you can never be critted by those nasty raid bosses. What’s more, now you can spend all your gem slots and fancy armor on Stamina and Agility and chrome grills. The plateys are jealous.
You don’t have to be a tank to enjoy this protection, though. 6% is a healthy chunk of crit reduction off of what you could be taking in PvP. You’re obviously not immune, but at the cost of 3 points, there are few defenses better worth your time. Nope, you don’t have to be in your Bear Form to enjoy it. I enjoy the luxury on my PvE kitty build. As a melee damage role, I’m going to take a few lumps. A stray crit can take you out of the fight fast, so I carry insurance.
Feature #2
+6% to all attributes. Yay! It’s the better half of a Blessing of Kings up all of the time. Since every attribute is useful to a Druid in some capacity, I’ll take whatever I can get. If anyone ever asks why I took SotF on a DPS build, I quietly point to this talent, and don’t have to say anything else. Publicly, it’s about the attack power. Privately, I like not dying. You’re a druid. You can have it both ways.
Feature C (C is for Cookie!)
SoataFu’s last benefit, as if it needed more, is pure and unadulterated tanking. In Bear Costume, you get +33% armor from your cloth and leather armor. It’s roughly equivalent to giving Bear a shield. If you’re not a tank, it can still come into play. PvP Cats sometimes swap to Bear to survive a few hits or to dispense a quick Bash. If no one brought a tank to AV, you also might be able to weather the boss for them. It’s all about versatility.
Point of note: I get in trouble during dungeons for turning into a bear. If you’re in as a damage role and people see a bear for even a split second, I’ve found that you will be scolded for breaking role. I’m not even joking. I’ll be passing out Mark of the Wild before a run and accidentally Bear it up, simply because they share the same mouse button, and people will go for the throat. And they’re sort of right. Kitties take small, quick healing really well and are remarkably easy to keep alive with minimal attention. As a dispensable damage dealer, that’s what they’re going to cast on you. Pop a potion and Barkskin and ride it out if you even remotely trust your healer.
I’ve had to, on occasions, use Bear to pull stray enemies back to the real tank, but that’s only when the tank has been really bad. Doing this to even a half-decent tank will just blow their rhythm and make their job harder.
Bear responsibly. The more you know!
Summary
Survival of the Fittest is about survival. That’s why it’s a “tanking talent,” and thus this is mandatory for Bear tanks. But it’s important not to neglect your survivability in your PvP and DPS roles as well. Kitties are quick little melee damagers who can be extremely resilient and easy to maintain with the slightest of heals. Combine with talents like Nurturing Instinct and Predatory Instincts, stir in the ample Stamina your gear already has, and your healer will love you. The extra damage afforded by the +6% to your attributes is icing on the cake, but if anyone asks, it’s why you took this talent. Let them think you’re being a good little glass cannon.
And your fortune cookie:
Buttercup is marry Humperdink in little less than half an hour, so all we have to do is get inside, break up the wedding, steal the Princess, and make our escape, after I kill Count Rugan.
