Druid/Paladin duo

[tadkins]

I recently rerolled from wizard. Half because I wanted to do more in the game that port people and quad wyverns, and partly because my sister who mains a paladin is getting to the point where she could use a good partner. Went full in on the reroll, sold most of my wizard's gear and everything.

Originally I rerolled as a shaman, but try as I might I just couldn't get into the class. Made it to 16 before I couldn't take it anymore. I know the class picks up much later, but I just got sick of looking at my troll pretty quickly and none of the other shaman races appealed to me either. I looked up some options and mulled them over. Enchanter seemed good but it also seemed like kind of a show-stealer, and I wanted my sister to be the star there. Necromancer also might have worked, strangely enough, but I decided on Druid in the end.

Just thinking about the future with this soon to be duo and had some questions.
1. Can this duo make it to 60?

2. In your guys' opinion, how well do you think this will work in the endgame? Would we be able to accomplish a lot with this setup?

[Danth]

1. Can this duo make it to 60?

2. In your guys' opinion, how well do you think this will work in the endgame? Would we be able to accomplish a lot with this setup?

1. Sure it can since each class can do so individually. It's slower than some other duos and will demand patience past level 45-50 or so, but you can get there if you're dedicated.

2. Moderate. It's not a helpless duo, but it's not a powerhouse either. Enchanter- or Shaman- based duos will do more than you can. This is a serious limitation if you plan to play primarily or solely as a duo, but if you figure on being more social it's largely a nonissue. Druid charm might open a few areas like Siren's that few folks care to try. As a rule I think it's a better idea to pick a class you enjoy playing and see what you can do with it rather than trying to force yourself into something you don't like. Pushing the limits is its own sort of fun. The "better" choice won't do you any good at level 60 if you quit long before getting there.

Danth

[tadkins]

1. Sure it can since each class can do so individually. It's slower than some other duos and will demand patience past level 45-50 or so, but you can get there if you're dedicated.

2. Moderate. It's not a helpless duo, but it's not a powerhouse either. Enchanter- or Shaman- based duos will do more than you can. This is a serious limitation if you plan to play primarily or solely as a duo, but if you figure on being more social it's largely a nonissue. Druid charm might open a few areas like Siren's that few folks care to try. As a rule I think it's a better idea to pick a class you enjoy playing and see what you can do with it rather than trying to force yourself into something you don't like. Pushing the limits is its own sort of fun. The "better" choice won't do you any good at level 60 if you quit long before getting there.

Danth
Thanks for the response. :)

I knew druids can solo well, wasn't aware that a paladin could either. I do know that my sister is 45 now though and finding spots she can solo in has been tough. I didn't mind rerolling to help out, partly because I was getting kind of sick of wizard and not being able to group with anyone. Druid itself seems like a pretty fun class so far.

I certainly don't expect to do crazy stuff like duo WW dragons or anything like that with us two. It would just be cool to be able to do more than my wizard was able to. There's still a lot in the game I haven't seen yet, and just being able to level/gear up a bit, then explore through SolB or something for the first time will be fun. Was just wondering if we'd even have some Velious options open up for us as well.

We're not opposed to being social of course and we did consider that having a tank + supporter/porter already set will make forming groups easier when we're able to, but on those offtimes when others can't be counted on it'll be nice to be able to progress as a duo. Maybe no one responds to our LFM check in the Hole one evening or something.

[Danth]

I wouldn't call the Paladin a "good" melee solo'er past 50, but people have solo'd them to 60 so it's possible. With a Druid partner and some cheap health recovery like a Deepwater Helm it's definitely doable, albeit it won't set speed records. That's all the more reason to pick a class you enjoy playing, since you can expect to be playing it for awhile.

From what you describe as your goals it sounds like the Dru/Pal duo should serve your purpose. With lull splitting you can work your way from Guk or Sol-B through most of Sebilis, some of Velketor, most of the Hole, and so forth. With charm or the use of some click items there's space for more advanced progression and some ability to experiment in some out of the way places. You should be able to do much of Plane of Mischief for example. If I don't call it quite the top tier for duos, it's certainly not junk either, and ought to fit the bill you describe.

Danth

[tadkins]

I wouldn't call the Paladin a "good" melee solo'er past 50, but people have solo'd them to 60 so it's possible. With a Druid partner and some cheap health recovery like a Deepwater Helm it's definitely doable, albeit it won't set speed records. That's all the more reason to pick a class you enjoy playing, since you can expect to be playing it for awhile.

From what you describe as your goals it sounds like the Dru/Pal duo should serve your purpose. With lull splitting you can work your way from Guk or Sol-B through most of Sebilis, some of Velketor, most of the Hole, and so forth. With charm or the use of some click items there's space for more advanced progression and some ability to experiment in some out of the way places. You should be able to do much of Plane of Mischief for example. If I don't call it quite the top tier for duos, it's certainly not junk either, and ought to fit the bill you describe.

Danth

That's awesome to hear, thank you very much. :)

We don't expect to be a duo on the level of Cleric/Enchanter or anything like that, but having a good amount of the game be accessible to us is what we were hoping for. And that's not even counting the fact that we could always invite more people who are interested later on as well.

I hear you on the class choice as well. I genuinely think I will like Druid. I liked Wizard but got sick of the class not being able to get into groups (spent a whole day just LFGing in the Hole a while ago, still feeling kinda scarred by that), and I wasn't afraid to reroll from Shaman after I ended up not liking that class either. But the Druid is chugging along pretty nicely and at the moment I can see it being my future main.

[RevSaber]

You got like no dps, but you can survive.

[myrddraal]

Uber slow dps, less effective heals, crappy mana regen, limited cc, it might not be efficient but yeah it could work. At least you have sow.

[myrddraal]

In your 50s though you could Druid charm in chardok and paci pull.

[Toxigen]

Just charm animals on the druid and have your sister help out when things are going sideways. It'll be far more efficient than trying to heal / DS / manage the paladin. You'll still be doing the heavy lifting, but it won't quite be the show-stealer that is enchanter (or charming necro for that matter).

Oasis crocs are great to cut your teeth on the method / strategy. From there, you can bounce around the outdoor zones until you get high enough for Cazic Thule. Its one of the highest ZEMs in the game, and you'll want to charm the crocs there until they basically green out. Not sure what level that gets you to, but it will be insane XP.

Maybe after / as a break from CT you could consider doing Overthere and funneling all the braid turn-ins to the paladin for a free OT hammer (bind at HH on the druid and no matter what your sister goes off and does by herself you guys can reunite quickly). In your late 40s you can do Bats n Bugs in SolB, Emerald Jungle has some gorillas, then once you get Call of Karana at 52 you can head over to Chardok for a few levels. You'll probably do 54/55 to 60 exclusively in Bear Pits way down in the bottom of Permafrost. Heck, even Kedge is an option if you want a challenge.

Having the pally there to stun / pick up broken charm pets will essentially take all the risk out of charm solo. Additionally, you don't have to worry about the charmed pet eating 50% of the XP in a duo. Just haste / DS the pet and let it tank until it gets low. Break the pet w/ invis vs animals (dispel it if its hasted / DS), and you and the pally finish it off for full xp. The paladin should only be taking damage when helping you with charm breaks, pulls gone sideways, or finishing off mobs if there is no other animal around to charm and do it for you.

That being said...you can always /who all and add a bard, enc, or shaman and trio with a dedicated slower. This will allow you to sit back and heal / CC and let your sister do some real tanking for a change (bonus points if you still continue to maintain a charm pet too)...and let you go explore some other awesome dungeons (early Permafrost, Splitpaw, Guk, etc).

[drackgon]

Like many have said, it does work. It will mainly be doing stuff like charm kill with druid. And pally is there 2 help stun charm breaks, root, stun, backup heal druid. Early levels wont be an issue. But once ur around 50 this will mainly be only way to lvl. As most like hole groups won't really want a druid dps/healer/cc? Not saying you wont find a group as a druid its just rare.

Always play what seems fun:)

[kaev]

If you're not thrilled by the notion of using druid animal charms to play as a weaker imitation of a chanter/cleric duo, push the paladin's AC as high as you can with gear. The mitigation benefit of AC is huge for maximizing the benefit from the druid's DS buff (you're not working with complete heal so the size of the paladin's HP pool is not as important as her AC.)

I like paladin/druid duo, it's a super survivable combo and with a paladin partner a druid actually gets to play in indoor dungeons instead of listening to crickets chirp when you /ooc druid LFG. When doing dungeons be sure to keep an evac or other port mem'd to escape a train on a lull-line crit resist or a failure to prevent a gate. In outdoor dungeons like Karnor's a druid who is not afraid to pull is great.

[tadkins]

That's kind of what I was worried about. I was hoping I wouldn't have to rely on charms to get anything done, but instead play the classic way of buffing the tank, dropping a nice DS on the tank, and letting the mobs break themselves on the tank. I was planning to use charming when applicable to provide support DPS, but not to steal the show from my sister. It's precisely why I didn't pick enchanter as the duo.

[Keebz]

You can play tank and spank with this duo; your DPS will just be trash as you get higher level. There's always the option pick up a third though (Enchanter, Rogue, Mage, Monk even) to help speed things along.

[tadkins]

You can play tank and spank with this duo; your DPS will just be trash as you get higher level. There's always the option pick up a third though (Enchanter, Rogue, Mage, Monk even) to help speed things along.

I figured the DS would provide a decent amount of DPS in a sense. Having a nice hard tank with two sets of protective buffs would give the DS plenty of time to shine. But maybe it was one of those "seems good on paper" type deals.

I'm just hesitant to rely on charm too much because I'm notoriously bad at it. It's why I quit enchanter early on and it was part of the reason I took so long to really consider druid as a class. Wizard was appealing at the time precisely because I wouldn't have to worry about charming. And history is repeating itself because I'm seriously stumbling around trying to learn how to charm in EK as we speak. Every instinct in my gut right now is screaming to stop trying if I want to get at least a little exp by the end of the night hehe.

[Keebz]

I mean bad DPS isn't the end of the world. The duo is pretty survivable and versatile if you know what you're doing.

Just stick with something you enjoy and play it. That's the secret to this game tbh.

[tadkins]

I mean bad DPS isn't the end of the world. The duo is pretty survivable and versatile if you know what you're doing.

Just stick with something you enjoy and play it. That's the secret to this game tbh.

I appreciate that. I do admit that I like the wizard class in of itself. It appeals to me on a thematic level, exploring the cosmos and blowing people up instead of playing mind games with them. I just got to level 53 and realized I wouldn't get to do much besides port people and quad wyverns, and a wizard/paladin combo doesn't sound at all effective. I just had to accept that.

I guess the journey now is finding the second best thing that I enjoy. Druid itself is a fun class so far though. My only real issues there so far are the reliance on charming (something I'm honestly dreading) and that I kind of miss being evil. xD

[RevSaber]

The prob with ds is, its pretty weak the whole way. Sure youll kill 2 or 3 mobs but then itll be med city. Maybe if ya get a fungi and some quality haste?

[Danth]

My only real issues there so far are the reliance on charming (something I'm honestly dreading) and that I kind of miss being evil. xD

You don't rely on charming for leveling unless you're determined to level as quickly as possible. Taking it slower, let the damage shield do the work, heal up between battles, that's valid too. Tradeoff is you'll take longer to get to the top. You might need to rely on charming for some of the more advanced level 60 activities, but by then you'll either feel like giving it a try or have other things you can do instead if you don't feel like it.

Paladin is a nice (for a melee) duo partner for a druid in no small part because the el-cheapo Deepwater Helm goes a long way towards helping out with the mana situation, provided the player is willing to pause to heal when necessary. Druid's long-duration root allows for doing so in combat (against non-summoners) even more reliably than the paladin's own root permits.

Danth

[tadkins]

You don't rely on charming for leveling unless you're determined to level as quickly as possible. Taking it slower, let the damage shield do the work, heal up between battles, that's valid too. Tradeoff is you'll take longer to get to the top. You might need to rely on charming for some of the more advanced level 60 activities, but by then you'll either feel like giving it a try or have other things you can do instead if you don't feel like it.

Paladin is a nice (for a melee) duo partner for a druid in no small part because the el-cheapo Deepwater Helm goes a long way towards helping out with the mana situation, provided the player is willing to pause to heal when necessary. Druid's long-duration root allows for doing so in combat (against non-summoners) even more reliably than the paladin's own root permits.

Danth

I've given it the good ol' college try today in EK earlier. Had some mixed success with learning charming, and a lot of fumbles. I kinda wish I had a coach or something to tell me what I'm doing wrong, because I don't feel like I have the technique down. But that said I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that I'm only level 22 right now, and that the charm spells I get later will actually be far more reliable at later levels. Maybe I will be more receptive to it when my charms aren't breaking a second after I cast the spell on an animal. xD

[Taiku]

I've given it the good ol' college try today in EK earlier. Had some mixed success with learning charming, and a lot of fumbles. I kinda wish I had a coach or something to tell me what I'm doing wrong, because I don't feel like I have the technique down. But that said I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that I'm only level 22 right now, and that the charm spells I get later will actually be far more reliable at later levels. Maybe I will be more receptive to it when my charms aren't breaking a second after I cast the spell on an animal. xD

Once you get that super long snare duration spell (Ensnare?) charming on druid is extremely safe, I would recommend getting some sort of timer thing to watch the duration of it, like n-parse or GINA, I use n-parse. Break your charm (with invis/hide) before snare is up and re-snare/charm. As long as everything is always snared it should be very comfy, just try to avoid charming things that run at SoW speed like griffs, though griffs are probably fine with snare management, too.

Edit: Also as far as I'm aware higher level charm spells DO NOT improve your charm break rates, they just let you charm higher levels, you typically want to use the lowest level charm you can get away with, your level difference to the mob you are charming, and CHA for enchanters(not sure for druids!), and target's magic resist are what change the chance of it breaking early. I would recommend always trying to charm the lowest level mob you can use for what you're doing, Especially since you have a paladin tank to take the hits, a lvl 15 mob will be better than trying to charm a level 20 mob that breaks constantly.

[tadkins]

Once you get that super long snare duration spell (Ensnare?) charming on druid is extremely safe, I would recommend getting some sort of timer thing to watch the duration of it, like n-parse or GINA, I use n-parse. Break your charm (with invis/hide) before snare is up and re-snare/charm. As long as everything is always snared it should be very comfy, just try to avoid charming things that run at SoW speed like griffs, though griffs are probably fine with snare management, too.

Good to know! It's actually not too bad so far. I've experimented with charming a couple different ways last night, and I think the difference between learning charming as a druid vs learning as an enchanter has been night and day. Enchanter never got the luxury of a snare or a SoW.

1. Running around tanking mobs with a DS and a "DPS companion". Just picking a nice hard hitting blue like a griffawn and going to town on all the gorge hounds. I liked this, my twink gear is pretty good on this druid, and I can still tank blues at my level pretty nicely but I know I won't be able to do this forever.

2. The standard tactic; grab a pet, sic it on another animal, try to break charm when they are low. I struggled with this the most. Never knew what to do when a third animal would jump in. Hide didn't always work to break charm and I'd lose half the exp. May have to resort to buying a GGR or something?

3. Creating a "suicide bomber". I'd take one of the lower leveled blue/green animals like a chasm crawler or a griffawn. Then I'd go find something bigger like a crag spider. I'd root the spider, DoT it, and then I'd turn to the pet and give it everything; feral spirit, DS, and then send it in. I'd let the pet die but hope it did plenty of damage before it did. I actually found this tactic pretty fun. :)

Edit: Also as far as I'm aware higher level charm spells DO NOT improve your charm break rates, they just let you charm higher levels, you typically want to use the lowest level charm you can get away with, your level difference to the mob you are charming, and CHA for enchanters(not sure for druids!), and target's magic resist are what change the chance of it breaking early. I would recommend always trying to charm the lowest level mob you can use for what you're doing, Especially since you have a paladin tank to take the hits, a lvl 15 mob will be better than trying to charm a level 20 mob that breaks constantly.

I asked about this and druid charming doesn't go off CHA. Which is very fortunate as a halfling. :D

[Taiku]

Hide didn't always work to break charm and I'd lose half the exp. May have to resort to buying a GGR or something?


invis to animals works pretty well, but not instant which is why GGR is great, another thing you can do as a druid is snare + fear animals with a charm pet, another thing an enchanter can't do ;-; would be pretty great in a duo setting where you dont need to break your pet.

Enchanters with snare would be wild.

[Ooloo]

invis to animals works pretty well, but not instant which is why GGR is great, another thing you can do as a druid is snare + fear animals with a charm pet, another thing an enchanter can't do ;-; would be pretty great in a duo setting where you dont need to break your pet.

Enchanters with snare would be wild.

True but good luck finding animals that aren't already being fear kited by a druid, cause there aren't that many animal class mobs.

[Ennewi]

I mean bad DPS isn't the end of the world. The duo is pretty survivable and versatile if you know what you're doing.

Just stick with something you enjoy and play it. That's the secret to this game tbh.

Agreed. It may be less than ideal in all other ways, but if it does it for you personally, keep doing it. The other duo combinations are an everyday sight. Shaman/monk. Cleric/enchanter. Powerful, but commonplace. Druid/paladin is unusual, which ought to make the journey from 1 to 60 go off the beaten ZEM path.

True, the pair's damage output leaves something to be desired, but the druid does have access to charm, which benefits from the many paladin stuns. And if the paladin really wants to tank, thorns would provide enough damage. A decent amount of synergy is there. At least their buffs stack, unlike cleric/paladin, so the majority of what's in each spellbook will find its way in both buff windows.

With evac and lay hands, plus eventual soulfire charges and 90% rez, you won't be hurting for solutions to sudden, unforeseen problems. Making use of camo, ivu, harmony, and lull, dungeons like Kaesora and City of Mist will be less problematic, with the different mob types being a nonissue when moving from camp to camp. The duo could even fall back on snare and undead fear for casual xp sessions versus spectres.

[tadkins]

invis to animals works pretty well, but not instant which is why GGR is great, another thing you can do as a druid is snare + fear animals with a charm pet, another thing an enchanter can't do ;-; would be pretty great in a duo setting where you dont need to break your pet.

I've been relying on halfling hide, which is a bit hit and miss. My spell slots are kinda full right now/

Enchanters with snare would be wild.

I'd say that a snare would make enchanters the most OP class ever but let's be real, they already are. Screw it just give it to them. xD

True but good luck finding animals that aren't already being fear kited by a druid, cause there aren't that many animal class mobs.

Truth, druids are the most populous class and I know there are zones basically tailored to them. I fully expect to run into a lot of druids in those places.

Agreed. It may be less than ideal in all other ways, but if it does it for you personally, keep doing it. The other duo combinations are an everyday sight. Shaman/monk. Cleric/enchanter. Powerful, but commonplace. Druid/paladin is unusual, which ought to make the journey from 1 to 60 go off the beaten ZEM path.

True, the pair's damage output leaves something to be desired, but the druid does have access to charm, which benefits from the many paladin stuns. And if the paladin really wants to tank, thorns would provide enough damage. A decent amount of synergy is there. At least their buffs stack, unlike cleric/paladin, so the majority of what's in each spellbook will find its way in both buff windows.

With evac and lay hands, plus eventual soulfire charges and 90% rez, you won't be hurting for solutions to sudden, unforeseen problems. Making use of camo, ivu, harmony, and lull, dungeons like Kaesora and City of Mist will be less problematic, with the different mob types being a nonissue when moving from camp to camp. The duo could even fall back on snare and undead fear for casual xp sessions versus spectres.

For sure. Basically we're just picking the classes we want to play and doing the best we can to make them mesh well. We won't outdo a monk/shaman or anything but that's totally cool.

I'm just happy to hear that this could work in some capacity though. I appreciate all the advice and tricks you guys have given us in this thread so far.

[HalflingSpergand]

U could be human druid and paladin for blackburtow or u could be halfling druid and dwarf paladin and meet in freeport for befallen. Half elf druid and paladin would be p sweet for blackburrow too. Wood elf druid and high elf paladin wouldbe nice for crushbone. Either way good luck getting to level 20

[tadkins]

U could be human druid and paladin for blackburtow or u could be halfling druid and dwarf paladin and meet in freeport for befallen. Half elf druid and paladin would be p sweet for blackburrow too. Wood elf druid and high elf paladin wouldbe nice for crushbone. Either way good luck getting to level 20

Human Paladin and Halfling Druid. Pally is already 45, druid currently just dinged 24, working hard to catch up. Both of us are Karana followers too which is a nice thematic bonus. :D

[Philistine]

I don't really have anything to add. Just wanted to say I think it's awesome both you and your sister play. No bad combos if you're both having fun!

[tadkins]

I don't really have anything to add. Just wanted to say I think it's awesome both you and your sister play. No bad combos if you're both having fun!

Aw thanks, I appreciate that. :)

[skyfoxnz85]

I love druid and it is my main now. You got heal/DS/sow skin buffs regen not to mention ports! The only problem with druid, like other casters in game, is mana. If you got some patience to med through, you will be ok. Otherwise, Enchanter + druid might be other option you can think of. I am taking bit of break from game due to RL but if I would re-roll for duo I wanna try cleric + ench. :D

[Toxigen]

not charming on a druid is sad times

[Fleelord]

Was this like a "Let's see if we can pick a horrible combo and prove everybody wrong" situation?

[tadkins]

not charming on a druid is sad times

I'm not opposed to charming, I was just expressing my fear and confessing my lack of skill regarding it. It's why I quit enchanter and it's why I'm having a hard time with it on a druid despite the safety tools they get and the limited focus their charming path has.

I am trying, though.

Was this like a "Let's see if we can pick a horrible combo and prove everybody wrong" situation?

No, my sister just wanted to be a paladin (it was her main back in the day and she was trying to recreate it) and it was just me trying to find a class I could like that could potentially pair up well with her. Otherwise I could have stuck with my wizard where there would have been absolutely no synergy with a paladin.

[Fleelord]

No, my sister just wanted to be a paladin (it was her main back in the day and she was trying to recreate it) and it was just me trying to find a class I could like that could potentially pair up well with her. Otherwise I could have stuck with my wizard where there would have been absolutely no synergy with a paladin.


You will definitely have a challenge post 30-40. But you can also do a lot of dungeon content with having Roots, Pacifies, and lots of survivability. Do Runnyeye, Sol A, etc. Chase the dungeons with low hp mobs and high ZEM bonus you'll be good. Make friends with a rogue to speed things up.

It could be fun, but also boring at times. Good luck!