First Time Druid

[ThePrincipal]

I want to roll a caster druid. No idea how to build them.

I have two options. One, is to TR into a Druid from either a Rogue, Wizard, or Bard. The other is to be a 18druid/2pally Iconic WF.

[thegreatneil]

Druids Don't mix with paladins.

they can be neutral good, lawful neutral, neutral, or chaotic neutral.

As a caster druid a wiz past life would be helpful for the +1to dc's.

But if you have Never played a druid before, start a new one, get used to the class.

It's not a sorc, or a healer, or a fighter, and you can play it as such, but, you wont get the full potential of it doing so.

[ThePrincipal]

I'm not big on another first lifer. I have too many. I have... a 25 cleric, 21 bard, 20 wizard, 21 ranger, 20 fighter, and 20 rogue all on first life.

So I TR the wizard into a Druid (I forgot about the neutral alignment restriction), it's pretty much a 2 stat class right - max wis, rest into con?

I'll probably go human for heroic feats: toughness, quicken, maximize, empower healing, empower, spell pen, spell focus, and great spell focus. Does that look about right? Is spell pen needed with druids? If not I'd probably take mental toughness for more blue. Spell focus would be evocation.

Any tips on skills or anything else?

[susiedupfer]

Below is a great build for a caster druid. Even if you don't follow it, the information within it(and the replies) is what you need to know.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/390912-The-Markeyx-Build-(Caster-healer-dps-survivability)

Couple of things about your feats, and this is just my opinion:

I would not take spell pen, heighten, enlarge. I do take all the mental toughness I can get. I am in the minority, but I have 3,427 sp on my best druid.(funnily enough, she was my very first). I need those sp, because in any given raid I am healing, reincarnating, rebuffing, CC'ing and insta-killing. This sucks sp like nobody's business. It is just a whole bunch of fun, though. :) I don't have the best DC's, but I can still make mobs on EE sit down in my earthquakes. It is good enough for me.

[unbongwah]

So I TR the wizard into a Druid (I forgot about the neutral alignment restriction), it's pretty much a 2 stat class right - max wis, rest into con?
I would put any extra pts into DEX; weak Reflex saves is one of the shortcomings of pure druids.

Is spell pen needed with druids?
There's only a handful of druid spells which have SR checks and thus benefit from Spell Pen, FoD being the main one. IMHO there's not enough to justify Spell Pen on a pure druid; if you wanted instakills, you should've stuck with Pale Master. ;)

I do take all the mental toughness I can get. I am in the minority, but I have 3,427 sp on my best druid.
It's worth pointing out that all three Mental Toughnesses add 460 SPs @ lvl 25 (130 + 130 + 200); that's <15% of your total SPs. IMHO, the MT feats do not provide enough SPs to be worth the feat cost; not when there are so many ways of boosting or regening SPs these days. But YMMV etc...

EDIT: if you're TRing a wizard, I'm presuming you've put some time into your EDs; if so, I'd consider picking up SF:Evo & Conj so you can Twist it some DC bonuses (depending on which ED you plan to make your primary).

[Pewf]

My Build is an 18/2 Druid/Monk Caster/Healer Focused.

My feats Were:

7 Feats + 1 Human +2 Monk +2 Epic = 12 Feats

-Max
-Empower
-Quicken
-Heighten
-Empower Healing
-Mental Toughness
-Improved Mental Toughness
-Wizard Past Life
-Toughness (m)
-Toughness (m) <- Couldn't really think of a better monk feat.

-Epic Mental Toughness
-SF: Evocation

He's almost level 20, and he is a whole ton of fun. I have never had more fun on any other caster, or on my divines - and I am a huge divine lover.

I plan on going into Draconic Incarnate, and he will have a decent charisma as well. I have 36 planned out at the moment, but it will have room for improvement.

I based the build on the Markeyx build, but I am an evasion junky. I also have the following past lives: 3x Sorc, 3x Fvs, 3x Wizard, 1x Cleric, 1x Bard.

[SerPounce]

My Build is an 18/2 Druid/Monk Caster/Healer Focused.

My feats Were:

7 Feats + 1 Human +2 Monk +2 Epic = 12 Feats

-Max
-Empower
-Quicken
-Heighten
-Empower Healing
-Mental Toughness
-Improved Mental Toughness
-Wizard Past Life
-Toughness (m)
-Toughness (m) <- Couldn't really think of a better monk feat.

-Epic Mental Toughness
-SF: Evocation

He's almost level 20, and he is a whole ton of fun. I have never had more fun on any other caster, or on my divines - and I am a huge divine lover.

I plan on going into Draconic Incarnate, and he will have a decent charisma as well. I have 36 planned out at the moment, but it will have room for improvement.

I based the build on the Markeyx build, but I am an evasion junky. I also have the following past lives: 3x Sorc, 3x Fvs, 3x Wizard, 1x Cleric, 1x Bard.

I'd go with more evocation focus (greater and epic) over that extra toughness and mental toughenss. Earthquake is your best spell, you want to make it work. Then stunning fist for that last mental toughness. Yeah you're not a real melee or anything, but as a wisdom based toon with monk levels it seems a crying shame to not be able to stun stuff.

[Pilgrim1]

my suggestion (per-enhancment overhaul) is to focus on 3 things - heal amp, HP, and evocation DC.

That means: 18wis/18con leftovers into dex or int.

Human:
maximize
empower
empower heal
quicken
toughness
SF: evocation
GSF: evocation
Wizard PL

Epic SF: evocation
Epic toughness

I like primal avatar for destinies but others work to
Twists: Renewal, evocation mastery, precise evocation

Goals are:
(1) be a solo healer in EE (with mass regen, heal, renewal, cocoon, and stacked vigor).
(2) Be amazing CC with earthquake, sleatstorm, and other blinding spells, as well as water form debuffs.
(3) Have passable mana dumping DPS with aoes or cold dots.
(4) Heal amp with stacked vigors (like 5 min) and 800+ hp makes you extremely hard to kill even in EE.

For more variation in your build add 2 monk and 1 wizard for 3 more feats.

[FuzzyDuck81]

my suggestion (per-enhancment overhaul) is to focus on 3 things - heal amp, HP, and evocation DC.

That means: 18wis/18con leftovers into dex or int.

Human:
maximize
empower
empower heal
quicken
toughness
SF: evocation
GSF: evocation
Wizard PL

Epic SF: evocation
Epic toughness

I like primal avatar for destinies but others work to
Twists: Renewal, evocation mastery, precise evocation

Goals are:
(1) be a solo healer in EE (with mass regen, heal, renewal, cocoon, and stacked vigor).
(2) Be amazing CC with earthquake, sleatstorm, and other blinding spells, as well as water form debuffs.
(3) Have passable mana dumping DPS with aoes or cold dots.
(4) Heal amp with stacked vigors (like 5 min) and 800+ hp makes you extremely hard to kill even in EE.

For more variation in your build add 2 monk and 1 wizard for 3 more feats.

Half elf is a good alternative choice, take monk dilly (dilly feats aren't alignment restricted) & you can boost your healing amp higher more easily - naturally you'll lose a feat but if you do the splash method then it won't make as much difference anyway.

Destiny-wise, as a caster type work towards draconic for some heavy-duty elemental damage spells & twist in cocoon for the majority of your self-healing needs.

[susiedupfer]

I did ONE druid Helf. ONE. It just did not function. My EQ's did not hit for as much, none of my insta-kills worked. So very not good. Never again. Human all the way for me.

I would either take empower or empower healing spell, not both. Depends on what you want to do with that toon.