Right now at lvl 17 I have 2 points in Thick Hide and single point in Feral Instinct. Until I get cat form, I think it may make more sense to pick-up Brutal Impact (mostly for quick in-fight heals) rather than Feral Instinct. Once I reach lvl 20 re-spec out of Thick Hide and take Feral Instinct since it I'll be in Cat form most of the time.

IOW...
10-14: Ferocity
15-16: Brutal Impact
17-19: Thick Hide

at level 20, re-spec to...

5/5 Ferocity
3/3 Feral Instinct
2/2 Brutal Impact
1/2 Feral Swiftness

Or should I keep 2/3 Thick Hide (rather than 2/2 Brutal Impact) for the 7% armor boost even in cat form? Does 7% help all that much when it isn't multiplied by the 400% bear form boost?

Any thoughts? I have the money, so that isn't an issue. I'm just trying to speed up the leveling process as much as possible.

i think for leveling u dont need "thick hide"!
get your damage and combat abilities which max your damageoutput!
its better to take out the mobs quicker than rely on your +7% armor which is like nothing in the low lvls.

I agree, I would say don't get thick hide unless you are level 70 and a main tank for a raiding guild/heroic instances.

But when leveling up and needing to get 5 more points in the feral tree after Ferocity, what else would you put it in? Feral Instinct is even more worthless at that level. I guess you could throw 3 points into Feral Aggression, that would benefit you more while leveling than Thick Hide or Feral Instinct.

So if I were level 20 again, I would have:

1/1 Nature's Grasp
5/5 Ferocity
2/2 Brutal Impact
3/5 Feral Aggression

Thick hide is basically a talent for the min/max'ers. It does help but it won't make or break your survivability. Go for Brutal Impact unless you are serious about tanking endgame.

I ding'd lvl 21 last night, so the painful process of leveling without DPS is all over! Woot!

I didn't realize how pitiful my DPS was without Cat form until I decided to kill a mob my same level with Cat form. So much faster! I had told myself that I'd give Druid a chance 'till at least lvl 22. If it was too painful, I'd go back to playing my hunter.

With just bear form I felt like a Paladin.:grin: