Overview
Jungle Cleave is a pressure-cleave built around two of the best sticky melee in TBC. The Feral druid brings Mangle-armor shredding, bleed damage and a full CC kit (Cyclone, Bash, Maim), while the Beast-Mastery hunter layers Kill Command burst, traps and a burst window where he and his pet cannot be crowd-controlled. The Resto Shaman glues it together with Earth Shield, Nature's Swiftness, Grounding and Tremor totems, and enough Purge pressure to strip shields off enemy healers.
The comp's ceiling is defined by CC layering rather than raw damage. Because neither DPS relies on casting, they keep hitting through most defensive play, and the hunter can peel his own shaman with Scatter Shot, Wyvern Sting and Freezing Trap. The weakness is symmetrical: the roster has no spell interrupt, so a healer left free to hardcast will out-heal a sloppy train. Winning means chaining CC on the enemy healer while the melee dump everything into a soft target.
Win condition
Pick a squishy target — enemy healer's DPS partner or a cloth caster — and open the burst window: the hunter pops Bestial Wrath and The Beast Within so he and the pet are CC-immune, syncs Kill Command with the Feral's Mangle into Rake and a big Ferocious Bite, while the shaman keeps Earth Shield rolling and Purges enemy absorbs. The kill comes when the enemy healer is locked out — Wyvern Sting or Freezing Trap the healer, Cyclone the off-peeler, and the two melee delete the target inside a single Bestial Wrath. If the first go stalls, Scatter Shot into a re-trap resets the healer for a second attempt.
Strengths
- +Two mobile, hard-to-peel melee — Feral Charge and pet uptime keep pressure glued to a target through kiting
- +Bestial Wrath + The Beast Within makes the hunter and pet CC-immune for a guaranteed burst window
- +Deep, layered CC: Cyclone, Wyvern Sting, Freezing Trap, Scatter Shot and Maim can lock two enemies at once
Weaknesses
- −No caster interrupt on the roster, so a healer that gets a Grounding-safe cast off can stabilize easily
- −Shaman is squishy and immobile — trap-and-train the shaman and the whole comp folds
Cooldown timeline
Round one, land CC on the healer before committing — Freezing Trap or Wyvern Sting buys the clean opener. Then the hunter fires Bestial Wrath + The Beast Within timed with the Feral's Mangle burst and Kill Command for the main damage spike; hold Nature's Swiftness on the shaman purely as an emergency instant Healing Wave, never spent early. Readiness gives the hunter a second Freezing Trap and Scatter Shot to re-chain CC on the healer for the follow-up. Drop Grounding Totem to eat a Polymorph or Fear, Tremor Totem against fear teams, and save Feral Charge to shut a healer's cast the instant your CC drops.
Positioning
The hunter plays max range and manages his deadzone, kiting melee with Wing Clip, Frost Trap and Aspect of the Cheetah while never dropping pet uptime on the kill target. The Feral stays welded to the target, using Dash and Feral Charge to close gaps and Cower to shed threat swaps. The shaman is the pivot — he hugs a pillar for LOS against casters, keeps Earth Shield on whichever melee is being trained, and pre-drops Grounding and Tremor before the enemy setup lands. Against caster teams, force fights around pillars so their hardcasts eat LOS; against melee, peel for the shaman with Scatter Shot, traps and Maim.
Vs. the meta
RMP dismantles a cleave with CC volume: Polymorph and Blind chain the shaman while the mage kites the hunter into his deadzone and the rogue peels the Feral. Beat it by opening on the mage or priest, not the rogue — force early Blink and Ice Block. Grounding Totem their Polymorphs, Tremor is dead weight here so run Grounding, and save Freezing Trap for the priest so the shaman survives the Blind. The hunter must not get trapped in the deadzone: Aspect of the Pack out of Frost Nova range and keep the pet on the mage to pressure Blink.
LSD (Warlock/Shaman/Druid) outlasts you through fear, drains and dispels — a straight damage race loses. Tremor Totem is mandatory to survive Fear chains, and the shaman must Purge the druid's HoTs and the warlock's shields relentlessly. Train the Resto Shaman or Elemental partner, not the warlock, and Wyvern Sting the druid to stop the cross-heal. The hunter's Viper Sting on the healer and heavy Purge pressure are your real win condition — end the game before your own mana runs dry, because their drain outlasts a slow train.
Gear requirements
- ▸Feral wants a high-DPS feral weapon (staff/polearm) for attack power and Merciless Gladiator's pieces for crit; hunter prioritizes a fast Merciless ranged weapon, crit and resilience for reliable Kill Command spikes.
- ▸Resto Shaman stacks resilience first, then Intellect/mp5 to survive long CC games — Earth Shield uptime and Mana Tide are what carry attrition fights, so mana longevity beats raw throughput.
Tips
- •Never blow Bestial Wrath without CC on the healer first — an uncontrolled burst just gets healed through and wastes your window.
- •Grounding Totem is your single best tempo tool: pre-drop it to eat the enemy's key Polymorph, Fear or Cyclone right before your go.
- •Use the hunter to peel your own shaman — Scatter Shot, Freezing Trap and Wyvern Sting on enemy melee keep the healer alive far longer than out-healing does.
- •Purge is free value every global the shaman isn't healing: strip Power Word: Shield, Blessing of Protection windows and druid HoTs to make your damage stick.
Gear & talents for this comp
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