druid w/o shape changing

[farsight]

i have been thinking of purchasing the druid class and have a couple of questions:

are druids competent for soloing and grouping w/o relying heavily on shape changing?

also, my highest level character is only lvl 10. i do not level quickly, on purpose. would i be better off purchasing the class separately or in a bundle?

[Vooduspyce]

i have been thinking of purchasing the druid class and have a couple of questions:

are druids competent for soloing and grouping w/o relying heavily on shape changing?

also, my highest level character is only lvl 10. i do not level quickly, on purpose. would i be better off purchasing the class separately or in a bundle?

Most builds, regardless of whether they are melee or caster or tank, etc. will primarily stay in one form. Elemental forms are caster-focused. Animal forms are melee-focused. As a capped caster druid I stay in water elemental form 90% of the time, but for some quests like Temple of the Deathwyrm or Ghosts of Perdition, I will run in fire elemental form because cold spell power isn't very effective in those places.

[farsight]

Most builds, regardless of whether they are melee or caster or tank, etc. will primarily stay in one form. Elemental forms are caster-focused. Animal forms are melee-focused. As a capped caster druid I stay in water elemental form 90% of the time, but for some quests like Temple of the Deathwyrm or Ghosts of Perdition, I will run in fire elemental form because cold spell power isn't very effective in those places.

thanks for the reply. it sounds like you are saying that shapeshifting is fundamental to the gameplay of druids. if so that answers my first question.

[edrein]

thanks for the reply. it sounds like you are saying that shapeshifting is fundamental to the gameplay of druids. if so that answers my first question.

Yes and no. Depends entirely upon the build and what you are trying to do. If you plan to min-max everything, you are pretty much required to take an wildshape form. But you can still do fine even in Elite content outside of form.

[Scrabbler]

thanks for the reply. it sounds like you are saying that shapeshifting is fundamental to the gameplay of druids. if so that answers my first question.

It'd be like a Monk who doesn't punch or a Ranger who doesn't TWF: you would be leaving a lot of your class power unused.

But if you feel like being a weaker cousin to a Cleric, you can go for it (at least until you learn Earthquake)

[unbongwah]

are druids competent for soloing and grouping w/o relying heavily on shape changing?

Caster druids are great and they don't rely on animal forms; however there are nice perks to using fire / water elemental form, inc. form-specific spells. A good druid caster knows when to switch between the two based on what they're fighting.

would i be better off purchasing the class separately or in a bundle?

My recommendation would be to hold out for a bit and buy MotU SE: ton of content and unlocks both druids and Epic Destinies (EDs). Last year it went on sale for 75% off during Cyber Monday, so hopefully Turbine will do that again this year. You can also buy it bundled with Shadowfell at a discount.

[Violith]

thanks for the reply. it sounds like you are saying that shapeshifting is fundamental to the gameplay of druids. if so that answers my first question.

your not required to use them. its just there are benefits in doing so, and no real reason not to use them. personally, in heroics you can play just about anything and still do fine, so nothing is really required.

druid caster would probbaly be best if your not going to use forms. their SLA's and spells are great in heroics without any real building, and their healing, most of which is healing over time spells, help alot.

[unbongwah]

its just there are benefits in doing so, and no real reason not to use them.

Actually, there are downsides. The animal forms cause your spell cooldowns to increase 2.5x (I don't think it affects SLA, though, IIRC); you also can't use scrolls or wands while shapeshifted - guess you need opposable thumbs! And the elemental forms cause a -3 penalty to caster level and max caster level of your spells from other elements; the upside is +1 bonus to caster level and max caster level to your primary element and access to form-specific spells like Freezing Spray or Body of the Sun. Again, it's about knowing which form is best for your purposes and using them accordingly.

[farsight]

thanks everyone. you've given me some solid and clearly explained info concerning my questions and i appreciate it.

[Scrabbler]

Unless you're especially eager to give Turbine money, I wouldn't bother playing Druid until you'd advanced a Cleric and Wizard. It's like: you get some classes for free, so why not play them before buying more?

[farsight]

Unless you're especially eager to give Turbine money, I wouldn't bother playing Druid until you'd advanced a Cleric and Wizard. It's like: you get some classes for free, so why not play them before buying more?

agreed. i have played off and on since launch and just wanted to try the Druid to see if it were a playstyle i would enjoy or not and also to play with multiclass builds for Druid..

having said that, i went ahead and got a month's VIP which gives me the Druid class temporarily.

[Panzermeyer]

i have been thinking of purchasing the druid class and have a couple of questions:

are druids competent for soloing and grouping w/o relying heavily on shape changing?

Depends on if you mean animal for or elemental form. I have not met a druid yet that does not play shapshifting as something.
Most tend to be melee druids in animal form, or caster druids in elemental form. However in all cases it seems the players settles on one form at least 90% of the time.
So while most players play druid in some sort of form, that form does tend to remain rather static.

My caster druid has been extremely competent soloing, and it groups really well having something for every one.
Provides great dps with spells, a good set of buffs for the team, and excellent healing if you are aware that druid healing tends to be front loaded healing.

also, my highest level character is only lvl 10. i do not level quickly, on purpose. would i be better off purchasing the class separately or in a bundle?

As a VIP I cannot really offer you anything on this. I am not sure what the difference for you would be.

Personally with my style I love casters and I have found my druid caster to be the most fun. Hell after running my tank/caster druid in the guild for some time, I have now seen 2 other guildies build a similar type druid.