New Druid: Season's Herald Question

[MisterVo]

So I started playing a Druid a few days ago, got to level 8 and used the Stone of Experience from Otto's Box to jump up to a higher level.

A little about my character:
32-pt 1st life
Started with Max Wisdom, 16 Dex(+1 tome for ITWF), and remainder into Con.
Feats focused into improving Flame Blades (Took WF: Slashing, IC: Slashing, TWF, ITWF)
Also have Toughness and Maximize

So in the early levels, I played my Druid as a Jack of All Trades. Buffing the melees at the start, meleeing during the quest, throwing heals and offensive spells as needed. Since I jumped up from 8 to 16, I unlocked a truckload of Spell Levels, so now I actually have access to good nuke spells and SP to do it.


So here's my question: Is it worth spending AP on Season's Herald? Since it only gives +30 Spellpower and +2 Caster levels to the spells affected by the current season, is it worth it?

And should I keep my Scimitar-based feats for my Flameblades, or get rid of them?

[AzB]

Druid is tricky in DDO. And it depends a lot on what you want out of it and how you play it.

First off, stoning a first time druid is a bad idea. This class needs to be leveled and learned... it's not like playing a barbarian. There are all sorts of little tricks, buffs, and enhancements to be used and chosen between. Jumping into level 16 is like climbing into a Formula 1 race car for the first time and attempting to be competitive.

Secondly, if you are looking for a powerful druid, remember DDO is a game of min/max. You need to decide on melee or caster druid. If you do both, you will suck at both. That doesn't mean a caster can't melee or a melee can't cast, but the power will be in the primary choice. The secondary will be useful, but not particularly powerful.

That being said, Season's Herald is obviously a caster oriented enhancement. It's one of those you have to play with. Essentially, it gives you casting power based on an arbitrary cycling seasonal change that boosts specific spells of that season. You will likely not be focusing on spells from both seasons, so it means your power will rise and diminish with the seasons. You do have some control over what season it is, but it's a little bit of wild card. Useful? Probably, depending on spell choices and focus.

[jsaving]

I think asking whether its bonuses to spellpower and caster level are "worth it" is the wrong question.

Neither season's herald nor nature's warrior are very good on their own, but both open the door to subsequent enhancements that are quite strong. In the case of nature's warrior, you can grab fatal harrier and celerity or opt for reaver's roar, either of which are very helpful for DPS. And in the case of season's herald, you can grab spring resurgence, which provides an inexhaustable source of mana-free healing and thereby enables you to use a greater proportion of your blue bar for offense.

[EnjoyTheJourney]

Trying to string together your build plan conceptually, you'll probably put up a persistent AOE (crowds of trash mobs) and/or single target damage spell (boss / dangerous caster) and/or CC (earthquake, for example), and then wade into the fray and take stuff down with your dual-wield fire swords. Operating in melee while your persistent damage dealing spells are also ticking away can help you take down mobs pretty quickly.

Spring resurgence can be a great friend to your druid, in those efforts, along with other buffs and healing powers.

I don't have enough experience at higher levels to know how well this plays out in-game, but it sounds like a feasible build plan.

[susiedupfer]

I take Season's Herald for exactly the reasons stated above. Spring Resurgence. I don't think it is worth it otherwise. But it makes a huge difference when thrown on the tank/melee right before a boss fight. I don't use scimis at all, so no help there.