Since the opening of the ICC raid in World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King, the most discussed powerful DPS specialization has been Fire Mage. With the support of the 4T10 set bonus, even the top players with the legendary axe have only been able to follow behind and eat the “exhaust fumes”. It was thought that the reign of Fire Mage would last a long time, but unexpectedly, just after the fifth cooldown, Fire Mage was surpassed.
Off-Meta Specialization Surpasses Fire Mage to Claim the Top Spot
According to the latest statistics from WCL, the current top DPS specialization in ICC is no longer Fire Mage, but Feral Druid. Fire Mage’s output is at 12,900, while Feral Druid has reached 13,100, making it the only specialization to break the 13,000 mark across all classes.
Although most boss rankings in ICC are still dominated by Fire Mage, the overall ranking represents the overall strength of a specialization; the higher the overall ranking, the stronger the specialization’s overall power.
Feral Druid has not been a popular specialization in the WLK version. Before Blizzard buffed “Clearcasting”, Feral Druid was nearly extinct, and even now, the number of players is still low. Among all specializations, Feral Druid ranks only second in the B-tier popularity, with numbers just above Enhancement Shaman, Shadow Priest, and Affliction Warlock, making it a true “off-meta specialization”.
Analysis of Feral Druid’s Rise to the Top
Many players may not understand why, despite the claims that Fire Mage is the strongest, Feral Druid suddenly topped the charts. In fact, Feral Druid’s rise can be attributed to three key factors.
The first is that Feral Druid has the highest output on training dummies among all DPS specializations, and ICC features a large number of dummy bosses.
Many bosses in ICC that originally required high-frequency movement can also be safely fought on dummies in normal mode, creating an excellent output environment for Feral Druid (back damage).
The second factor is that the player base of Feral Druid is characterized by being “few but elite”. Among the four Druid specializations, the number of Balance Druids is the highest, and now the number of Restoration Druids is also gradually increasing. Those who choose to play Feral Druid are almost all players who pursue high DPS.
With a higher overall player skill level, the overall ranking naturally rises. In contrast, while Fire Mage has the highest potential, the large number of players somewhat dilutes the average score.
The third factor is the technology of WeakAuras (WA) for Feral Druids. The first WA widely adopted in the Chinese server was for Feral Druids, and with the help of the “one-button press” feature, the complexity of the output rotation for Feral Druids has been greatly simplified.
Although some players disdain the use of “one-button WA”, this technology is inherently part of the game framework, and the Chinese server has not issued any ban on its use.
Feral Druid is the True Answer of the Version
At the end of the WLK version, the three giants were Fire Mage, Feral Druid, and Fury Warrior with the legendary axe. These three specializations have topped the charts at different times, but only Feral Druid truly laughs last.
After the P4 phase of ICC, there will be the P5 phase of Ruby Sanctum, where Fire Mage and Fury Warrior with the legendary axe have already concluded their roles, while Feral Druid is ushering in its most glorious moment, leading all specializations by a significant margin.
Although ICC is considered the endgame of the WLK version by many players, in essence, Ruby Sanctum is the last raid for level 80, making Feral Druid the true answer of the version.
It is worth mentioning that the number one speedrunning guild on the Chinese server has already started using Feral Druids in their raids, and among the top 50 speedrunning guilds, Feral Druids account for the highest percentage of all DPS specializations (with a melee representation of 31.5%), indicating that Feral Druid’s status in raids has completely surpassed that of Fire Mage.