Review of Wildstalker Hero Talents: A Missed Opportunity for Feral Druids

At the end of February, Blizzard unveiled eight new Hero Talent Trees in a sneak peek at the new system coming with the release of The War Within expansion. In this blog post, we will be providing an early review of the Wildstalker Druid Hero Talents, one of the newly revealed Hero Talent Trees.

Overview of Hero Talents

Hero Talents are an extension of the Talent system designed to explore class fantasy with a third talent tree, separate from your class and specialization. Blizzard has revealed an early preview of Hero Talents coming in the next expansion, The War Within. Our guide writers have provided initial first impressions on the Hero Talent Trees revealed so far. You can check out each of our released editorials below:

Wildstalker Feral Druid Review

With the reveal of eight new hero talent trees, we now have our first look at one of the two trees that will represent Feral for The War Within expansion, Wildstalker. The Wildstalker tree will be shared between Feral and Restoration Druid specs.

• What I Expected?

Before the reveal, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a talent tree for Feral and Restoration Druids. These specs do not share many core rotational abilities, so it was difficult to predict what the Hero Talents would entail. We've seen two clear patterns in the previously revealed talent trees - one where Blizzard focused on a single or thematically similar ability shared between two specs and built the tree around it, and another where a new ability was introduced and centered the tree around that ability. Given the lack of shared abilities between Feral and Restoration, I was uncertain about what to anticipate.

• What Could We Have Gotten?

Prior to the reveal of the Wildstalker talent tree, our spec community put together a bingo sheet of possible predictions. While most of our guesses were far off, there were a few nodes in the tree that had some similarities to our predictions. For example, the "Flower Walk" node shares some tangential links to "Forestwalk," and there were accurate guesses regarding increased healing received and Regrowth abilities. However, there were missed opportunities to explore more interesting interactions with abilities like Regrowth, Bloodtalons, and Omen of Clarity, or to introduce new abilities that would enhance the gameplay experience.

• What Did We Get?

Ultimately, the Wildstalker talent tree is a bit disappointing. While it is not necessarily negative, it is rather dull. The tree mainly consists of passive damage increases, which do not significantly impact gameplay or provide interesting interactions with other abilities in the Feral Druid kit. The core node of the tree, "Thriving Growth," enhances the damage of Rip and Rake ticks with a chance to proc a vine that deals bleed damage. However, this node does not change how you play or think about your spells.

The other nodes in the tree are mostly generic amplifier talents or lack interactivity. The "Strategic Infusion" talent stands out as one of the more interesting nodes, offering increased critical strike chance similar to a previously introduced azerite trait. However, the tuning on this talent may not be significant enough to have a substantial impact. Overall, the Wildstalker talent tree fails to deliver exciting and engaging gameplay possibilities.

• A Thematic Failure

In addition to the issues with the individual nodes, there is a thematic mismatch in the Wildstalker tree. The name "Wildstalker" does not align well with a talent tree shared between Feral and Restoration Druids. While some nodes, such as those related to vines increasing damage over time effects and healing over time abilities, establish a connection between Feral and Restoration Druid themes, it does not fully align with the name of the tree and lacks a cohesive thematic intention.

Verdict

In conclusion, the Wildstalker talent tree for Feral and Restoration Druids is a disappointment. While there is nothing inherently negative about the tree, there is also nothing particularly exciting or engaging about it. The lack of interactivity and uninspired design make it difficult to feel passionate or enthusiastic about this addition to the spec. Hopefully, the Druid of the Claw talent tree will bring something more exciting to look forward to.

About the Author

Written by Guiltyas, a dedicated Feral Druid player since Wrath of the Lich King. Guiltyas has extensive experience in various aspects of the game, including high-end raiding, RBGs, Challenge Modes, and Arenas. Known for their expertise and passion for Feral Druids, Guiltyas is an active member of the Feral Druid community and can be found providing information and assistance on platforms such as Twitter and the Dreamgrove Discord.

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