# Fractured / Paragon — Balance Backlog

Open balance / scaling questions surfaced by play-testers that have not yet
been actioned. Each entry should record the *symptom*, the *suspected cause*
based on a quick code dive, the *option set* we discussed, and any *links*
to relevant code. Knock items off as they ship.

---

## Feral Cat scaling feels weak (2026-05-11)

**Reporter feedback:**

> "Weapons don't automatically feature feral AP on this server and nothing
> is currently rescaled resulting in a super low feral scale. We can either
> rescale their abilities or add the AP back to all weapons."
>
> Resident Feral expert: "this is not a bear issue unfortunately, I have
> 11k AP" / "Stam > AP and Armor > AP means this is completely a cat issue."

**What's actually happening on the server:**

Feral AP *is* being granted on weapons — `ItemTemplate::getFeralBonus`
(`src/server/game/Entities/Item/ItemTemplate.h`) synthesises it from the
weapon's DPS for any weapon with `INVTYPE_WEAPON / 2HWEAPON / WEAPONMAINHAND
/ WEAPONOFFHAND`:

```cpp
int32 bonus = int32((extraDPS + getDPS()) * 14.0f) - 767;
```

That's then routed through `Player::ApplyFeralAPBonus` (Player.cpp ~6896)
into `m_baseFeralAP`, which `Player::UpdateAttackPowerAndDamage` adds into
the cat / bear formulas in `src/server/game/Entities/Unit/StatSystem.cpp`
(~line 477):

```cpp
case FORM_CAT:
    val2 = (level * mLevelMult) + STR*2 + AGI - 20 + weapon_bonus + m_baseFeralAP;
    break;
case FORM_BEAR:
case FORM_DIREBEAR:
    val2 = (level * mLevelMult) + STR*2          - 20 + weapon_bonus + m_baseFeralAP;
    break;
```

So bear and cat get the same `m_baseFeralAP` — the only delta is `+ AGI` for
cat. The "bears feel fine, cats feel weak" complaint is real; it's because
bear damage is rage / proc / mitigation driven (Lacerate stack, Savage
Defense, Pulverize-style talents) while cat damage is much more
AP-coefficient driven (Shred, Mangle, Rake, Rip, FB).

**Options discussed (pick when we revisit):**

| ID | Lever | Pros | Cons |
|----|-------|------|------|
| A  | Bump the cat AP formula (e.g. `+ AGI*1.5`) | Cleanest, very tunable, hits both auto-attacks and abilities | Blunt instrument, also affects PvP |
| B  | Boost cat-form ability coefficients (Shred / Rake / Rip / Mangle / FB) via spellmod auras | Most retail-faithful, surgical | More moving parts, harder to communicate |
| C  | Increase `getFeralBonus` payout for druid weapons (e.g. `* 18.0f` or drop the `-767` floor) | Single-line change | Buffs bears too — bears are already fine, would over-buff |
| D  | New Cat-only passive "Predator's Edge" = `+X% physical damage in Cat Form` | Easy to balance, easy to communicate, easy to undo | Adds another aura to track |

**Recommendation when we pick this back up:** start with **D + small A** —
D is the readable "+15-20% cat damage" knob, A is a backup if AP-scaling
abilities (Mangle / FB) still feel weak relative to bleeds. Both are
trivially tunable via a single config knob during play-testing.

Do **not** pick C — it over-buffs bears, which the Feral expert explicitly
said are already fine.

**Resolution (2026-05-11, second pass):** Per the resident Feral expert
("instead of adding a new passive, you could probably just increase Cat
Form's Master Shapeshifter value along with its tooltip, alongside buffing
the agi scaling") we shipped a hybrid of **A** and a *cat-only* knob that
sits next to **D** but reuses an existing aura instead of inventing a new
one:

* `StatSystem.cpp` `UpdateAttackPowerAndDamage` FORM_CAT branch now
  reads `+ GetStat(STAT_AGILITY) * 2.0f` (stock 1.0). FORM_BEAR /
  FORM_DIREBEAR / FORM_MOONKIN are untouched, so bear's "already fine"
  state is preserved.
* `SpellAuraEffects.cpp` Master Shapeshifter FORM_CAT branch multiplies
  the talent's value by 2 before triggering 48420 (cat-form aura).
  Talent ranks: 2% -> 4% (R1), 4% -> 8% (R2) crit chance in Cat Form.
  Bear / Moonkin / Tree branches still pass `bp` through unchanged.
* Client tooltip drift handled by
  `fractured-tooling/from-workspace-root/_patch_spell_dbc_feral_tooltips.py`,
  which appends a `[Fractured]` paragraph to the Description column of
  Cat Form (768) and Master Shapeshifter ranks (48411 / 48412).

If field reports after this lands still say cat is weak, the next levers
are (in order): bump `2.0f` to `2.5f` in StatSystem.cpp, then bump the
Master Shapeshifter cat multiplier from `* 2` to `* 3` in
SpellAuraEffects.cpp, then -- only if those are exhausted -- revisit
**B** (per-ability spellmod coefficients).