A few questions about druids

[Unrealdream]

Ok so i'm trying to build a caster/melee druid, and i have a few questions about this class.

1: I plan on using mostly the Winter Wolf form, and i've heard that the feat IC: Bludgeoning is the one that will improve my crit range, is that right?

2: Will using improved critical make my winter wolf attacks crit range go from 19-20 x3 to 17-20 x3?

3: Does the Vorpal Strikes feat work with form melee attacks?

4: Is Extend worth it on a Melee/Caster druid?

5: Is Quicken a better choice than Extend?

6: Does the wolf form attack speed bonus stack with haste?

7: Would ToD rings work with druid form melee attacks?

Thank you!

[~Susie1262]

4, No
5. Yes

[Cesious]

1.) Yes.
2.) Yes. It's currently bugged to show 18-20, but it's actually 19-20, so it would go to 17-20 with Improved Critical.

4 and 5 were covered by Susie.

6.) Winter Wolf has a natural 30% boost that stacks with haste and other similar effects(It's about equal to dual wielding in speed from some arguments).

That's all I know.

[jsaving]

1 - For feats that benefit "weapon groups," you want unarmed whenever it is available as a separate category but bludgeoning when it isn't. In the case of IC, there is no separate unarmed feat so bludgeoning is the way to go.

2 - Improved critical functions normally, yes, doubling your crit range. Just be aware that the correct crit range without the feat is 19-20x3, rather than the 18-20x3 some had hoped for.

3 - You need 12 monk levels to get vorpal strikes, so it definitely isn't compatible with a caster/melee druid build.

4 - If extend still worked with offensive spells, it would be a solid choice even for a feat-starved class like the druid. Now that it doesn't, extend isn't a great choice for most casters and is an especially poor choice for wolf-form druids, who can essentially refresh their main buffs at-will for little to no SP using essence of the shrike.

5 - I haven't found quicken to be all that useful on my wolf-form druid, to be honest. And on a melee-oriented build, it can be quite difficult to find room for it. You'd generally want to take natural fighting x3, shield mastery x2, IC bludgeon, toughness, power attack (or precision), and maximize at a minimum. Which of these would be worth giving up for quicken, on a divine that does have some cure spells but can't cast mass heal?

6 - The wolf form attack speed bonus stacks with haste, yes. But the fatal harrier attack speed bonus won't, because they are both enhancement bonuses.

7 - The elemental burst rings (only ones I have tested thus far) work in wolf form.

[Bluenoser]

With respect to 1), why IC: Bludgeon? Inventory screen and wiki both say that wolf form attacks (for both wolf forms) are slashing and piercing, and OP is planning to use Winter Wolf. Only bear forms are slashing and bludgeoning. Can someone confirm if IC feats are WAI?

[Brennie]

With respect to 1), why IC: Bludgeon? Inventory screen and wiki both say that wolf form attacks (for both wolf forms) are slashing and piercing, and OP is planning to use Winter Wolf. Only bear forms are slashing and bludgeoning. Can someone confirm if IC feats are WAI?

Confirmed. IC:Bludgeon is actually a collection of subfeats, including IC: Heavy mace, IC: Quarterstaff, IC: Warhammer and of course IC: unarmed.

What type of damage a weapon does is irrelevant for Improved Crit purposes (And weapon focus for taht matter, as well). The only thing that does matter is what subcategory that weapon falls into! In this case, since all WildShape forms use unarmed attacks, all wildshape forms use IC: Bludgeon. Likewise, while the new Spear/quarterstaff Sireth from MotU does peircing/slashing damage, the fact that is is infact a quarterstaff means it uses IC: bludgeon as well!