Shifting Power replaces powershifting for Ferals

Feral Druids get a new way to refill Energy on the beta of World of Warcraft: Forever. The talent Shifting Power turns 55% of base mana into 40 Energy, on a 16-second cooldown. It replaces powershifting, the old trick from Classic.

What powershifting was

In Classic, Druids with five points in Furor gained 40 Energy every time they shifted into Cat Form. Leaving Cat Form and going straight back in, usually with a macro, refilled the Energy bar for the mana cost of the form. Each shift also removed slows and snares.

In Forever, Furor works differently. At five points, shifting into Cat Form gives back the Energy the Druid had when they last left it, plus 10 Energy for every second spent outside an animal form. A quick shift out and back in no longer adds anything.

The two new talents

Both talents sit in the Feral Combat tree, as the talent calculator shows.

Talent	Points	Effect
Shifting Power	1	40 Energy for 55% of base mana, 16-second cooldown, Cat Form only
Improved Shifting Power	2	4 seconds less cooldown per point, down to 8 seconds

Effects that lower the cost of shapeshifting lower the cost of Shifting Power too. Compared to powershifting there are three differences. Shifting Power has a cooldown. It needs no macro. And it does not free the Druid from slows and snares, as shifting out of a form does.

What Ferals lose

The King of the Jungle talent is gone from the tree. It made Tiger’s Fury grant 60 Energy at once, on a 30-second cooldown. The burst of Energy now comes from Shifting Power: 20 less per use, but available every 8 seconds with both talents.

In PvP the change has a cost. Testers report that a Druid who goes from Cat Form to Bear Form and back ends up with an empty Energy bar, because time in Bear Form does not count for Furor. The tooltip of Furor suggests the old Energy should come back. Whether the empty bar is intended, Blizzard has not said.

That matters for Feral Charge to interrupt a cast and Bash to stun, both of which need Bear Form. After either one, getting Energy back costs a global cooldown and mana for Shifting Power. In Classic, shifting back into Cat Form was enough.

The talents arrived with a recent beta build. Whether the values change before the launch on 4 November is not known.