+9 Dmg or +15 Str?

[Grayclaw]

I'm curious if anyone knows the theorycraft well enough to know which is better for feral cat dps: +9 weapon dmg or +15 str on weapon?

[TheNIF]

15 str would corespond to (with 5/5 hotw and BoK) 15*1,2*1,1*2=39.6 attackpower.

It takes 3.5 attackpower to increase your dps by 1. So since cat attackspeed is 1sec, it would correspond to 9*3.5=31.5 attackpower.

15 str is therefore better.

[Finalflash]

15 str would corespond to (with 5/5 hotw and BoK) 15*1,2*1,1*2=39.6 attackpower.

It takes 3.5 attackpower to increase your dps by 1. So since cat attackspeed is 1sec, it would correspond to 9*3.5=31.5 attackpower.

15 str is therefore better.

wut

[Finalflash]

you need 14 attack power to get 1 dps in cat form.

+9 wep dmg = 126 attack power

Dense Weightstone(+8 wep dmg) = 112 attack power

these 2 enchants stack

[Keftenk]

And just in case any of you wanted the full stat weighting for Feral (Cat):

1agi=2.1
1str=2.4
1hit=15
1ap=1
1crit=22
1dmg=14

[TheNIF]

you need 14 attack power to get 1 dps in cat form.

+9 wep dmg = 126 attack power

Dense Weightstone(+8 wep dmg) = 112 attack power

these 2 enchants stack

Thx, that makes a lot more sense. A person wrote me yesterday asking if my forum post was really true and I said I doubted it myself and I would have to re- check it.

I was unable to find the correct AP-to-dps ratio it seems, perhaps the one I worked with was from a later expansion. It was the one that came up on a google search.

[Yurf]

you need 14 attack power to get 1 dps in cat form.

+9 wep dmg = 126 attack power

Dense Weightstone(+8 wep dmg) = 112 attack power

these 2 enchants stack

Have you tested to make sure +dmg works in forms on Nost? It didn't on live, from my memory.

[Theloras]

you need 14 attack power to get 1 dps in cat form.

+9 wep dmg = 126 attack power

Dense Weightstone(+8 wep dmg) = 112 attack power

these 2 enchants stack

Have you tested to make sure +dmg works in forms on Nost? It didn't on live, from my memory.

It actually did work in Feral form on retail:

Might of Cenarius
Binds when picked up
Unique
Finger
+8 Stamina
Equip: +4 Weapon Damage.
Equip: Improves your chance to hit by 1%.

By smcn on 10/23/2006 (Patch 1.12.2)
This is *the* best feral ring in the game. +4 weapon damage in cat form = +4 dps = +56 AP = ~23 strength with 5/5 HotW.

http://db.vanillagaming.org/?item=21189#wh-comments

[Lorilay]

That wowhead comment was made by someone who didn't get the item and was just assuming it worked (and disputed in later comments on wowhead). I wish the ultimate cat thread on elitist jerks wasn't deleted, because me and a few other druids explicitly tested weapon damage in cat form and found that it had no effect (and posted our results there). To be fair, I never tested the might of cenarius specifically, just weapon enchants, so it's possible it had a different mechanic. The first item that was confirmed to increase cat attack damage was the Ogri'La trinket, that wound up being super OP for the entirety of TBC.

Unfortunately, the only supporting evidence I can find today is the discussion here: http://thedruidsgrove.org/archive/wow/t-12335.html

However, this was something that was tested in vanilla, and there's a reason why +25 agi and +15 str are listed as the enchants for your feral 2h and 1h, respectively, on Elitist Jerks. Due to the lack of evidence against the status quo, I don't think it will get changed on here, but it's definitely not blizzlike.

[TheNIF]

It is true that in retail vanilla, the enchant that gave +X weapon damage did not have any effect.

But, if the effect was not on the weapon (like the ring [Might of Cenarius]), then it worked in retail too.
Nostalrius is a bit different, which means not exactly blizzlike. Here on this server, both the enchant works in feral forms (I have tested it multiple times) - and I presume once the ring is available in-game it will work too. It is reflected both in the character sheet damage in cat and bearform, and in the amount of damage you do in cat and bearform.