Yeah, the fake patch notes are coming true -- push by push. There was a leaked post containing a lot of the changes in the game thus far. They had leaked:

  • Cyclone range reduced to 20 yards
  • Lifebloom coeff reduced
  • Treants now have a 15% chance to proc entangling roots
  • Natural Perfection was nerfed slightly
and 3/4 have happened (though the lifebloom one was changed from the leaked version to simply affecting the bloom version... but w/e).

Yes, cyclone has had its range reduced by 10 yards... I don't really mind. Why? Well, fear has a 20 yard range... so this brings our biggest CC option in line with other all the other class'. I believe this will affect how restoration druids play, but not a huge amount. Currently, resto druids have a hard time with fast melee classes -- that is to say, shs-rogues and warriors in open areas. Reducing the range on this spell is not a huge deal, but it does put the druid into intercept range while casting it, so that is a warrior buff, and rogues did not really need help killing druids... between mace stuns and the rest of their slew of "stand there whilst I beat you down without retaliation" abilities.

Oh well, the spec most hurt by this is balance druids. Balance druids can no longer cyclone-nuke warriors or rogues. Before, 36 yard range on cyclone and starfire was perfect for cyclone the target, then at 2.99 seconds remaining, start casting starfire. When cyclone ended, starfire landed without worry of the warrior mashing intercept or the rogue mashing shadowstep. Now, this will be a problem (if you cycloned the warrior in berzerker stance) as those two classes can end your nuke-fest rather easily by mashing either of those abilities.

Okay, enough QQ. Again, I think that feral has actually gotten some buffs (and the other classes have gotten some nerfs) which may make feral+warrior a viable 2s team in the 1800 brackets. Who knows, but casual play as this spec could not be any worse-off than casual play as resto. There will be teams we stomp, and teams who stomp us, most likely. It won't be an easy road to 1850... that's for sure, but it will be one worth playing. I started grinding honor again (as resto) which is just as annoying as I remember it being. However, I have this goal in sight: get 4 pieces of the feral set, and you can respec. I'm 2 weeks-worth of arena points away from the s2 feral mace... so I have to wait at least 13 days (though, if I just did some 5s atm I'd have enough next tuesday... maybe that's what I'll do...)

The day I get 4 pieces of feral gear and the mace is the day I respec back to feral... and what a day that will be...