I’ve played all the hybrid classes to a fairly high level thus far, and druid is by far my favorite. My solo shaman comes in a respectable, but not necessarily close, second. My paladin, unfortunately, comes in way last; there’s just something wrong with paladins. Shamans are better for PvP, but, in my experience, druids outshine both other classes in solo and group play, particularly with a good feral spec. Here’s a level-by-level breakdown of the feral druid build I would recommend.
Level 10 – 14: Ferocity. There’s some debate as to whether Ferocity is a better choice than Feral Aggression. Both talents enhance your performance in cat and bear form. However, after you get Mangle much later in the build, you’ll probably use Rip instead of Ferocious Bite, since it inflicts bleed damage. It’s not a huge difference, so if you prefer Feral Aggression, go with it.
Level 15 – 16: Brutal Impact. When this talent first becomes available, it can be very useful to Bash, unshift to druid form, heal, and shift back to bear form before the enemy is out of stun. Later on, Pounce is the opening move of choice in cat form, so this talent will serve you well for much of your character’s career.
Level 17 – 19: Feral Instinct. This is another talent that simultaneously improves your performance in both cat and bear form. Thick Hide is nice, but it won’t help you as much at lower levels. If you follow this build, you’ll be returning to get it later, anyway.
Level 20 – 21: Feral Swiftness. The speed increase that this talent gives you is a huge boon to leveling, so get it as soon as possible. The dodge bonus is just icing on the cake, and makes the talent well worth it even after you travel form or a mount.
Level 22: Feral Charge. Warriors know that charging is a great way to open a fight, since you can get an early start on your aggro. It’s also a great way to stop runners and quickly close in on those pesky ranged mobs.
Level 23 – 25: Sharpened Claws. Especially after you get Improved Leader of the Pack, a high crit chance is a huge benefit to feral druids. And besides, it’s a necessary prerequisite to Primal Fury. On that note…
Level 26 – 27: Primal Fury. Once you’ve got your crit chance high enough, your DPS in cat form can really skyrocket thanks to this talent. Imagine having five combo points on a creature before it can even recover from its Pounce stun and you’ll understand what I mean.
Level 28 – 29: Predatory Strikes. There’s nothing particularly impressive about a bit of increased attack power. Granted, there’s nothing bad about it, but you’re really only taking this talent to get Heart of the Wild later.
Level 30: Feral Faerie Fire. This may not look like much, but it can really come in handy. It allows you to pull mobs from a distance in bear form, and gives you something useful to throw when you’re out of energy or rage. On top of that, it’s 100% free to use. What’s not to love?
Level 31 – 32: Savage Fury. Claw is your bread and butter in cat form, so increasing its damage by 20% is great. Improving Rake and Mangle is also nice, especially later when you’re dishing out massive bleed damage.
Level 33: Predatory Strikes. Now that you’ve got everything you really want from the fifth tier, it’s time to go back and finish this out, again just to meet the prerequisite.
Level 34: Thick Hide. This is really just a freebie talent point to get you to the next tier. I often tank, so Thick Hide is nice. You could also sink this point into Shredding Attacks if that’s your preference.
Level 35 – 39: Heart of the Wild. 20% more intellect in druid form, 20% more stamina in bear form, and 20% more strength in cat form. Are you kidding me?! This one’s a no-brainer.
Level 40: Leader of the Pack. To clarify for those who, like me, didn’t know whether or not this works on the druid who has it, it does. That alone is enough to take it, but it adds 5% crit for everyone else in your party as well. Paladins wish they had an aura this sweet. The only downside is that your party won’t ever want you to shift into druid form. 
Level 41 – 42: Improved Leader of the Pack. I’m sorry, did I say Leader of the Pack was nice? Scratch that; it’s awesome. With this talent, you and every member of your party get to heal with every crit. If you weren’t a solo monster before, this talent and the right agility gear will make you nigh unkillable in PvE.
Level 43 – 45: Survival of the Fittest. At first, this talent might seem deceptively underpowered. However, when you have to tank powerful bosses, you’ll understand how useful it can be. Basically, it takes your bear tank a big step closer to being uncrushable, which is one of the few advantages that warrior tanks have over bear tanks.
Level 46 – 47: Thick Hide. Levels 46 through 49 are iffy at best. Some people like Primal Tenacity; others like Predatory Instincts. Both are situationally useful. I prefer more widely useful talents, so I opt for going back and filling out lower tiers. I’d advise going with whatever best suits your play style.
Level 48 – 49: Shredding Attacks. The same argument as above applies here. I chose Shredding Attacks because Lacerate is a great tanking ability when you get to it later.
Level 50: Mangle. Oh, the pain… Pounce your unsuspecting enemy, then Mangle, Rake, and Rip them to death, because you are an animal!
Some people prefer to stick around and fill out a few more feral combat talents. However, the restoration tree has a great deal to offer a melee druid. Here’s how you spend your last 20 talent points.
Level 51 – 55: Furor. By now, you should be shifting back and forth between your various forms with some frequency. This talent makes you ready to do what your form does best the second you shift. It’s especially great for tanking, since you can shift to bear form and immediately use Feral Charge.
Level 56 – 60: Naturalist. When I first saw this talent, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Who would’ve ever thought to see a 10% boost to all melee damage in the second tier of a healing tree? Note that I passed over Nature’s Focus, which is a nice talent, but unnecessary at this level since you already have Barkskin.
Level 61: Omen of Clarity. Free abilities in every form are great, especially when you’re feral and it has a chance to proc with every melee attack. When it procs in cat form, this talent makes some truly sick opening combos possible.
Level 62 – 64: Natural Shapeshifter. Past Omen of Clarity, the restoration talents available to feral druids become less and less useful. A little added mana efficiency for frequent shifting is nice.
Level 65 – 67: Intensity. Intensity gives you a little more rage to work with, which can be very useful on occasion; the mana regeneration aspect is just a side bonus.
Level 68 – 70: Improved Mark of the Wild. There’s honestly nothing of much use left at this point. This talent doesn’t do much to improve your mark of the wild, but the benefit is constant.
Here’s the visual breakdown. For those interested, there are plenty of ways to customize it. Some people prefer to dip 11 points into restoration for Omen of Clarity earlier than 50, for example. Likewise, the last nine points in restoration are just a matter of personal preference. Experiment for yourself and find out what works best with your play style.
