Contents |
Introduction
I thought that I would wait until I hit the level cap before I did my write up on druids. But, since I’m bored at work, I figured I’d do a write up in a similar fashion to Eleanoid’s Rogue Review.
I mentioned in my rogue review that it would take one hell of a class to pull my interest away from the rogue. Well, the druid may well have done it. This class is FUN AS HELL. I really appreciate the way Blizzard has implemented the druid. They fit the game very well. They can do pretty much anything, but, as you would expect, not as well as the ‘parent’ class that their abilities are mimicking.
For example, druids have a few healing spells (Healing Hands, Regrowth and Rejuvenation). Their healing ability is probably not far off the priest, but they are missing some of the Priest’s key abiltiies: namely, Resurrect and Shield. They can take the form of a bear, which is a warrior complete with a rage meter, but again, watered down. They still make an effective tank with taunts (Growl), stuns (Maul), and AE debuffs (Demoralizing Roar), but they lack a few key elements that the warrior gets: massive hit points, great armor, Charge, and stances. I have not made it to ‘panther’ form yet, but I understand that they are similar to a rogue in that they acquire opening moves to build up combo points and finishing moves to discharge them. I am sure they could not match the damage output of a rogue, but it gives the druid the flexibility to hop into combat with a little more damage potential if there is already a tank in the group. That is how Blizzard chose to implement the class, and I think they have done a bang up job.
The druid seems to be able to fit any role that the party needs, and that utility is the druid’s major selling point. While another class may fill the role better, the druid can adapt and fill ANY role. So, although they don’t have some of the key class abilities of the other classes, they make a great second choice. I think it takes a certain kind of person to play a druid. You need to acknowledge that you will never be the ‘best’ in a given situation, but you can fit well into ANY situation. Some people enjoy being the best at what they do, some people enjoy variety.
In addition to being able to play whatever role is needed in a party, druids gain even more utility with the ability to shapechange into an aquatic form at level 16, and a cheetah at level 30. Let me tell you, swimming at the bottom of the ocean as an angry looking seal-monster is a blast. I have been questing in Darkshore for the last couple levels, and my standard choice for travel is to run down the beach and dive in the water and swim in aquatic form. In addition to travelling faster than on land, you don’t need to really be worried about creeps jumping on you. A great way to travel! I can only imagine how the cheetah will travel, but I’m expecting it will be speedy!
There is a great list of druid spells here, so I won’t describe the spell effects in great detail here, but I’ll provide a summary of abilities, and also my experiences as I leveled.
The druid’s impressive spell and ability list includes:
Healing Spells
Cure Poison: Cures any poison that a character is afflicted by.
Healing Hands (bread and butter heal spell): I tend to not use these spells very often unless a group member is getting really hammered on.
Rejuvenation (instant cast heal over time): Fire and forget healing. Gold. Time it right, and you can almost keep attacking with no extra delay.
Regrowth (A moderate heal + a heal over time). This is a great spell, but I tend to only use it after a fight. It’s kind of a mana hog like Healing Hands. I would never use this spell on a rogue, they just do not have enough hit points to absorb all the healing this spell can provide over time. It’s great for a tank though. They live long enough to reap the benefit of the entire spell and they have the hit points to use all the effect.
Buff Spells
Mark of the Wild (OMFG AWESOME!): Kestrel is only level 19, but already this spell bestows a HUGE bonus. At Kestrel’s current rank of Mark of the Wild, she provides something like +2 to all stats, +40 armor, and +2 to all resists for 30 minutes. And it just gets better. By level 30, I believe it confers something to the tune of +4 all stats, +50 armor, +4 all resists. That’s enough to turn any class into a monster.
Thorns: A buff that can be cast on friendly players. This spell adds a nature based damage shield. Rank 2, which Kestrel currently has is 6 damage / hit. One little trick I’ll share with you (and the druid has many tricks). Find creeps that swing really fast and watch them kill themselves as they slice themselves up on your bristly coating. If you are fighting conservatively (so let’s say it takes roughly 25 seconds for a given fight) you can add up quite a bit of damage with this buff. If you’re up against a creep that swings quite fast (say 1.5 – 2.0 delay), that’s 6 damage every 2 seconds for 25 seconds. That adds up to 75 extra damage. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent to two casts of the druid ‘nuke’ spell Wrath. Not too shabby.
Damage Spells
Wrath: Decent ‘nuke’ spell that does low damage relative to a mage’s nuke, but still a decent ranged attack option (especially combined with Entangling Roots). Not to mention it looks great. The graphic is a crackling bolt of energy which explodes on the target, enveloping it momentarily in blue electricity.
Moonfire: An instant cast minor direct damage + dot effect. This is a staple in any fight. I use this spell at least once in every fight unless I am the dedicated healer. Typically, I will use this spell 2 or 3 times in a fight, just for the extra instant damage, let alone the dot.
There are other damage spells available at higher level, such as Starfire, but I have no practical experience with these spells yet. I’ll update this review / guide once I’ve had a chance to play around with them. From the Blizzard Druid guide, it appears that Starfire is very similar to Wrath, but ‘Arcane’ rather than ‘Nature’ in case you are up against a creep with nature resistance, you’ve got options.
De-buff / Hindering Spells
Entangling Roots: Unreliable goodness. I am of a mixed opinion on this spell. At times, it is a boon, other times a curse. You will learn very quickly not to rely on this spell, but it can be a lifesaver at the same time. Once you cast this spell, roots spring up from the ground holding your target in place. In addition, the thorns on these roots deal out a bit of pain. The rank that I currently have does 50 damage over 12 seconds (the duration of the root). If the root breaks, so does the damage effect.
Now for the downside(s). This spell soaks up a lot of mana, and there is no reliable duration. Your root might last for the entire 12 seconds, or the creep may break free after less than a second. Every couple of seconds, you can see the roots re-grasp on the target, so there is some kind of resistance check going on. I’d say, against an equal level creep, the average duration is about 6 seconds and it scales up or down based on the level of the creep (ie against a lower level creep, this spell will likely last longer, and usually the full duration). That makes using the spell not really worth it in my books. On the occasion that you do get a full 12 second root, it’s pure gold. That creep will be at 30% health by the time it gets to you. This is also a good spell to pull from a camp. It’s unreliable, but it buys you and your group a few extra seconds to lay some beatdown on any other creeps that charge you in protest of you rooting their friend.
Faerie Fire: This is a no-brainer instant cast debuff. The duration is 40 seconds and you debuff the targets armor by x amount (50 points at Rank 1) and it prevents stealth and invisibility. The only time I would not cast this spell is if I am fighting against a caster. Otherwise, this spell is great. The spell effect is also very clear and visible to everyone around, so it makes a great pulling spell. Golden fairies circle the creeps’ head showering faerie dust as it does.
Alternate Forms
Bear form: At first, when you shapechange you are in for a treat. The bear looks amazing. I’m sure you’ve all seen screenshots by now, but for those who haven’t, it’s sort of a stylized bear with a white spiral tribal marking on each shoulder. I received some comments from people saying that the bear form looks more like a werebear than an actual bear (I’ll have to defer to the werebear experts on this one – personally, I have no experience with werebears), so don’t be surprised if you don’t look exactly like a bear. Although the Beta community seems to be generally disappointed with bear form, it has it’s uses. The bear makes a great secondary tank or in a pinch, a primary tank. Not because of it’s hit points or damage, but because of it’s ability to taunt. I have been in groups while in bear form and taunted 3 or 4 creeps at once. Nothing to write home about, but it works very well. As far as I can tell, it’s identical to the warrior’s taunt. When you shift into bear form, you lose some basic damage from your weapon, but you get some nice abilities to make up for it (Maul, Demoralizing Roar, etc.).
Having said that, being in druid form is far superior than bear from when you are soloing. Bears can not eat, use items, cast spells, etc. so you pretty much have to shapeshift after each fight, heal yourself and $!@% back. There is roughly a 30% mana cost to shift back and forth so it’s not very efficient.
Aquatic Form: I love this form. I imagine that I was a stylized monstrous seal in a previous lifetime, because I relate so well to this form. This form is fun! It’s like riding a roller coaster for the first time. You can swim ANYWHERE there is water! No drowning, no fatigue meter! Don’t feel like boating to Theramore or Menethil Harbour? Then swim! As I mentioned earlier, you can swim faster than you can run, so if you can find your way to a river or body of water, you can speed along quite nicely. Additionally, I have heard of a druid or two who have explored the floors of the ocean and come across things like a discarded armor crate with items inside it. I have yet to do this myself, but if I had a bunch of extra time and nothing to do with it, I might very well consider exploring the ocean floor.
Panther Form: I can’t directly comment on this one yet. I’m about 2 hours of gameplay away from having panther form, so I’ll provide more information once I can assume this form. I have played a rogue to 30 (Eleanoid), and can say that if they are anywhere near as fun as playing an actual rogue, Kestrel will be spending a fair amount of time in this form.
Travel Form: A distant 11 levels away. I’m hoping it will be at least 2 x running speed. Anyone have any experience with the cheetah form that they’d like to share?
Other Forms
Innocuous Creature Form: I’m not sure if / when a druid acquires this, but I remember in a Blizzard interview back in the day with Bill Roper, he mentioned that druids would be able to assume the form of an ambient creature. Tres useful. Nothing but speculation at this point, unless anyone else can confirm details.
I’d like to share one impression that I had very early on, as I left the Night Elf starting city to the nearest town. My jaw dropped as I saw the town patrolled by several immense Ancient Protectors. The ground rumbled deeply as they walked by and their foliage shook with each gigantic step. The first thought I had was that it would be very cool and innovative if druids could assume the form of the Ancient Protectors, but call them something different, such as “Force of Nature.” I think it would be a very cool experience to be able to shift into a giant form, and what better form than a huge tree! How ‘druidy!’ I have made this suggestion to Blizzard twice, and I also suggested what it’s potential uses could be. We know that there will be some sort of instanced PVP. If they plan on implementing some type of siege combat, the “Force of Nature” form could be something of a siege weapon. Very good at taking down doors or other keep defenses, but horrifically slow movement and attack rates (making using this form for anything but battering down doors or other inanimate objects somewhat ineffective). Since they are so huge and made of wood and shrubbery, I offered the suggestion that their fire resistance be significantly lowered in this form. So, imagine if you will, a large scale battle with giant tree-like druids bashing down keep doors, pulling people from parapets while every archer and mage lobs a dazzling array of flames, ice, and electricity at the hulking masses of tree and vegetation.
As an alternative to the ‘battering ram’ option, perhaps they could be the trees from Warcraft 3 (sorry, I can’t recall their name) that lob rocks when they are rooted in the ground. A reasonable limitation would be that this ability would only be useable outdoors where the druid could root it’s feet in the earth. What a sight! And an innovative twist on MMORPG siege warfare. Instead of someone manning a catapult, become one! If you like this idea, let’s roll with it – every druid who supports this idea or something similar, make an in game suggestion.
Conclusion
As a point of reference, I have played a Rogue to 30, 2 x Mage to 18, Warlock to 17, Warrior to 16, Shaman to 12, Priest to 8 and several others. Granted I have only seen the high level stuff once, but the low-mid range stuff I am very familiar with. The druid stands out not as the ‘best’ class in terms of either solo or group play, however, when looking at the whole package, druids are quite a sweet little rig. I’ve enjoyed playing every minute so far, and not once have I wondered if I’d be having more fun playing another class. I think that is apretty good measure of a class’ success.
