Soloing Outland Elites Follow

My 68 Feral Druid is unable to solo any of the 63rd elites that
I've had quests for. This includes;
1)The Colossal's and Blacktalon in HFP
2)Terrokantula and Torgos in TF.

My equipment is decent greens (I'm cheap and saving up for level 70)
but this feels all wrong. I can and did take out a 61 elite at level
63 so why do I suck so much more now?

I did get Blacktalon but only because a 70 Shammy* showed up as I was
decorpseifying and gave me a hand. Even then that sob had the Shammy
down to about a third of his health bar before he went down. (He
ignored me) Is this normal or am I ******** up somehow ? All constructive
comments welcome.


*Resto geared but respecced to Enh.

What Level items have you got??
cause at your level i was almost all blue from doing quests/instances.
what is your attack rotation?

1) Attack rotation
-Get rid of claw...even remove it from your action bar...it's better to spam mangle
-If you're going to initiate with pounce, your next 1-2 attacks should be shreds (depending on attack speed and stun length)
-Your CP finisher should be rip for pure dps, FB if the mob is close to death, or maim to give yourself time to heal your self

2) As mobs hit harder you often have to be more creative in your attack patterns...use of form switching to take more hits in bear and use that forms stun abilities etc.

Well, no Cyclone at 68, but Ataraxi's suggestion is pretty much my "tough fight" rotation, and I'm the same level as you.

I substitute my "bear pot" macro (cancelform, use super healing potion, cast Bear Form) between cat and bear, though. That way you still have your bash and barkskin for another HT if things get dicey.

Also, don't forget your trinkets (like I usually do).

Edit: Ouch, speaking of trinkets, Colossal should be priority. Regal Protectorate is really nice for other boss fights. Also, since all these Elites are a little different, make sure you do your homework and read how OTHER people defeated them. For instance, here is Allakazam's writeup on the Colossal Menace quests:

http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?wquest=10132

Good luck

Edited, Jun 12th 2008 10:56am by SCNecron

All I do for elites is throw on my bear gear (Armor wooh), hot up, bear form and pull them with faerie fire. I've managed to do all sorts of 2 and 3 man quests solo by doing so, the most memorable being the "Where is the book?" shattrath quest where you have to beat up the guy and his two buddies. It's amazing what 65% damage reduction does.

What i do on is

Cat form
Pounce
Mangle
Shred
OOc Shred
Rip
If HP < 30% then
Bear form
Enrage
Frenzied Regeneration
Mangle and maul
if HP <30% again
Bash
Regrowth
Lifebloom
Rejuvenation
Cat Form
Repeat


and normally the mob would be killed before you need to bash. you could in theory keep this up for a long period by using cyclone then healing your self and by then Enrage and Frenzied Regeneration should be off the cooldown and just start all over again.

Edit: Some Spellings, sorry if there are more mistakes

Edited, Jun 13th 2008 7:43am by Plainwalker

I'm not sure what caused my jaw to drop the most. Seeing "Claw" in your rotation or finding out that you haven't tanked anything. Ever.

The Druid plays on versatility. Sticking to one form will get you wtfowned.

You're Resto geared, but using a Feral talent build? Ugh.

At around 14k health, it's about 500 health returned. Quite a nice amount considering elites only hit me for around 200 or so in Bear form and my crit chance is 32%.

On shred, unless someone else is tanking, you basically only do that when the mob's stunned. Any hostile mob will automatically turn to face you. So you can usually shred only after pounce or maim in PvE. No point in trying to run around -- it rarely works. Just stun them and shred. Otherwise spam mangle and rip or maim when you have the combo points.

2)What about pick-up groups? Been doing those since the birth of the game and they're not all bad. At least not while leveling. Generally because those who are bad at their classes tend to not do any instances until end-game. Which, ironically, doesn't help much on their poor performance. Not that I'm saying you're bad at what you do or anything, but...
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I got snake bit in some group work within our guild with the Lock and I am a bit gun-shy about grouping with people I don't know.
I did do it once with the Druid (LBRS) and it wasn't too bad. But having caused a couple of wipes and several near misses I am
just a bit reticent.


3)Out of curiosity, how did you handle accidental mass-pulls while leveling in Outland if you never used the Bear form? Must've been ghost running a lot.

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1) My boots have the speed chant fot that very reason! :)
2) I was and am very very careful. I never take on three
and up except by accident. And then I die or run or both.



4) On normal mobs you don't really need to use Shred if you don't want to. Without the energy cost reduction talent, it's not worth it, to be honest. However, if you plan on using your Druid for PvP or DPS in groups, I recommend maxing out Shredding Attacks, because Shred spam blows Mangle out of the water (provided the Mangle debuff is up at all times).

In solo PvE I only ever use it after opening up with Pounce, but not until I've landed a Mangle first (the debuff is what makes Shred so powerful). Sometimes I use Maim instead of Ferocious Bite for the finishing move and then use the temporary desorientation effect to get behind the target for a Shred. I've killed many a level 70 mob with a Pounce > Mangle > Shred > Mangle > Maim > Shred rotation.

Again, Shred isn't really worth it unless you have the talent Shredding Attacks maxed out, and even then it only really shines in groups and PvP
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Well I am strictly a PvE type. This is my first MMORPG although I have played many other games over the years. PvP calls for
reflexes that I just don't have anymore. And while I love him in Cat Form in a group he will have to either Off-Tank or Heal.
(not, I repeat not, going to main tank) There are others who can do DPS and do it better than me.

Dang I concentrated on the stunning part of maim and forgot its a finishing move. Thanks. I will try this out later.

One other thing. What is the mangle debuff you mentioned ?














Edited, Jun 17th 2008 8:55pm by JDLKY

with mangle i think he's talking about the additional damage from bleed effects for 12 secs.

if all else fails go moonkin! :D

And while I love him in Cat Form in a group he will have to either Off-Tank or Heal.
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If you are going to OT, you need to learn the dps mechanics. As a feral OT you will normally be the first one asked to dps when a 2nd/3rd tank isn't needed in a fight. This is extremely important in fights with enrage timers (unless your guild is dps heavy) and in 10 mans.
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This is what comes from having only a partial knowledge of a term. I thot as an off tank you would stay in bear form
almost exclusively. Obviously not so. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, raids that require 2+ tanks in some situations also only require 1 tank in certain fights/phases. If you're in a 10-man, or a guild that doesn't have the boss on farm, the extra dps from you switching gear and forms will be very helpful in being successful.

A note on the healing aspect. Outside of popping out of form and throwing a few heals/BR/Innervate, without being spec'd and having a good set of resto gear, your contribution as a healer won't be as necessary as your dps, and the raid help of FFF/Mangle/ILotP. Also, you're raid will most likely be set up with the necessary healers, and every bit of dps will be needed as many fights have enrage timers