Needful things for Druid

[dterror]

1. More spells. Druid has exactly one acid spell, obtained at level 17+, and is just a relatively low damage spell that is part electrical as well. Druid has only one non-DoT electrical spell, call lightning. 3 DoT electrical spells, all of which are slow to inflict their damage. Similar for cold, only two non-dot ice spell and both form dependant. JoW and SS are not cold spells even though they are winter wolf only and would appear they should inflict cold damage. There is one cold based weapon enchant as well that is self only for the winter wolf. Level 9 spells have 2 that can be used in any form, 3 others that are form dependant, plus the always present spontaneous cast with one of the summons being next to useless (dryad). Additionally, druid has a level 9 spell component (mistletoe) but NONE of the level 9 spells require material components!

2. Change Body of the Sun to be a floor hugging aura like Death Aura. Right now it's too big, too ugly, interferes with seeing things....the same complaints that were made about DA before it was changed to the purple carpet.

3. Remove the spell point cost off all wolf and bear form dependant spells so that they function like any other tactical move *OR* remove the hit roll off all the wolf and bear form dependant spells so that they function like any other spell. Takedown, snowslide, jaws of winter, baiting bite, all the bear attacks require BOTH a mana cost (and can be disrupted by a beholder or by too much damage) AND an attack roll. Further, reduce the cooldown on Jaws of Winter to 10 seconds from the current of 20 seconds. While the equivalent tactic, stunning blow, does have a 15-20s cooldown it also has no additional saves beyond the initial save, and can be used regardless of it being a sneak attack or not. JoW has a save every TWO seconds, and only inflicts the freeze upon a sneak attack.

4. Snowslide needs to be changed (as in point 3) so there is NO attack roll and the initial freeze cannot be resisted. It is a LEVEL NINE SPELL, but functions like I'd expect a level FIVE spell to work. Additionally, the saves need to be reduced to once every 6 seconds (once per round) instead of the current once every 3 (twice per round). A snowsliding wolf frequently cannot stop, turn around, and get back to the target(s) they just froze before the targets have broken free...assuming the player didn't just flat out "miss" on the attack roll.

5. Change the pet enhancement Feed so that it is automatic on any kill the wolf makes, instead of making the wolf stop and chew on the corpse for awhile. As soon as the wolf makes a kill, the regen effect should be activated.

6. Reduce the cost of all the druid damage enhancements to 1 AP per tier, and split them into their component halves. They are too expensive and too useless as they are now due to the extreme lack of spells utilizing most of the damage components.

7. Wolf form negates any striders you are wearing, instead getting a flat 15% movement boost. Really? Anyone wearing 20% striders or better can easily outrun a wolf? Give wolf a 15% movement boost and winter wolf a 25% movement boost plus an additional 5% movement boost per 4 caster levels, so that a winter wolf with caster level 20 is moving like they have 50% striders. Remove the strider boost off snowslide. A player who has mastered their wolf form should be able to run like the wind, keeping up or even passing monks and barbarians of the same level.

8. Fix the crit range for winter wolf. Don't just "fix" it by changing the tool tip, FIX THE WOLF!

9. Change the flameblade spell to be a self only weapon enchant for just the fire effects. Make it so that the flameblade will not gain blinding embers or incineration unless it's being used in Fire Elemental form.

10. Give the Fire and Water elemental forms SLA's. Fire should be able to throw scorching rays and fireballs at a minimum. Water should get frost lance and freezing sphere at a minimum. Perhaps make them enhancements the druid must purchase similar to Archmage spells. If they are made enhancements, then there should be additional tiers of SLA just like Archmage.

11. Give druid additional CLASS feats, chosen every 5 levels. Class feats would include natural fighting, some of the metamagics, etc.

12. Boost the druid mana gains per level to be on par with wizard and cleric. PnP druids do not receive fewer spells per day than these classes, why is druid receiving fewer spell points since that is supposed to represent the # of spells cast each day?

There are probably many other things people could add to this. Right now Druid is obviously a half finished class. Level 9 spell components that are not used by any spell, prestiges that only have 2 tiers, etc

[HatsuharuZ]

All of these suggestions seems reasonable to me, except for number 9. Why do you want Flame Blade to be changed?

Otherwise, +1 to you.

[dterror]

All of these suggestions seems reasonable to me, except for number 9. Why do you want Flame Blade to be changed?

Otherwise, +1 to you.

Flame blade as it stands now is pretty much useless past maybe level 10. The weapons you can get (greensteel ML 12, plenty of various drops from quest chains) are all better than what flameblade is. If the various aspects of flameblade were able to be added to a druid's weapon (fire, fire burst for all druids, incinerate and burning embers for fire elemental druids), even if it were limited to scimitar type only weapons, it would be much more useful.

The only 'good' benefit of using it right now is that it does gain 1 caster level if you are in fire elemental mode, but does not gain +2 in Summer mode (for season's herald pre users). Meaning a level 14 fire ele can cast the 15 version, and 19 can cast the 20, but an 18 Summer mode cannot do the 20 even though all fire spells are supposed to be boosted 2 CL in summer mode.

Here's another couple needful things for druid:
13. Lock the Season's Herald prestige into Summer mode when in fire elemental form, and in Winter mode when in water form.

14. Making Fire and Water elemental immune to their respective elements would be a little too much IMO, but give Fire Elemental an automatic -50% incoming fire damage, as per the fireshield cold spell, and vice versa for water elemental. Make these enhancements that the druid must purchase to be active. They should not interfer with actual casting of the fireshield spell, but should also not stack with the same element fireshield. Meaning that a Fire elemental who casts fireshield cold would not get the benefit of both the inherent 50% and the spell's 50% for a total 75% reduction in fire damage, but a fire elemental who casts fireshield hot would get the benefit of 50% damage reduction in both fire AND cold spell damage. The +10 resist they have now just feels weak considering that you're entire body is made out of fire or water.

[sirgog]

I think the first pulse of their HOT spells should heal for more so that Druids that heal have some tools to deal with burst damage.

[Rian]

The fire elemental lvl 9 buff "Anger of the Noonday sun" is just stupidly weak as well.
-5 fire resistance and 2% fortification, non stacking...

[Jay203]

also treat Shillelagh as a separate weapon buff so it can stack with deadly weapon
make it more useful :P

[susiedupfer]

Please, please, please reduce the time it takes to cast Reincarnate. I am often the only healer in parties, and by the time I cast a quickened Reincarnate, 3 other people have died.

[dterror]

Please, please, please reduce the time it takes to cast Reincarnate. I am often the only healer in parties, and by the time I cast a quickened Reincarnate, 3 other people have died.

DOH! How'd I forget that one in my list, considering it's one of my biggest gripes.

3 players dead, I announce on voice I'm going to raise xxx. Cleric in the party has time to raise both the others AND the one I'm in the middle of casting res on before my cast completes.

[JustMe_ca]

2. Change Body of the Sun to be a floor hugging aura like Death Aura. Right now it's too big, too ugly, interferes with seeing things....the same complaints that were made about DA before it was changed to the purple carpet.

I love the hamster ball - however I have had complaints for others cause it does make it harder to see.

[danotmano1998]

Please, please, please reduce the time it takes to cast Reincarnate. I am often the only healer in parties, and by the time I cast a quickened Reincarnate, 3 other people have died.

/Signed

It's broken. No reason whatsoever that a druid takes a day longer to cast this than it's similar divine counterparts. Must be an error, right?

[dterror]

/Signed

It's broken. No reason whatsoever that a druid takes a day longer to cast this than it's similar divine counterparts. Must be an error, right?

You mean other than the "whoops, I turned a WF into a Sahuagin" random buff/debuff?

Brings me to another point for druid, but would (imo) be a very low priority but logical change:
When the reincarnation buff is active, change the player model to reflect the "new" race, and change certain racial attributes to reflect the 'new' race. WF lose their WF immunities, but gains full healing for the duration of the 'buff'. Sahuagin take more damage from monstrous humanoid bane weapons, myconids take more damage from horrid wilting, halflings/dwarves gain the +1 size bonus to AC, etc and so on.

Very low priority because of the massive effort that would likely have to be put into this change to make it work properly.

[samthedagger]

Good lord yes!

[manfredshw]

Yes, yes, yes!!!!