Druids can be useful in groups: they have heals (not as good as cleric heals, though), they have thorns, they have harmony which is extremely useful in outdoor zones, and they have root and snare. They are not generally at the top of people's lists when looking for more people for a group but they can definitely be useful for groups.
In raids they are not very useful, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to find a guild that will take you in and let you raid with them.
In terms of soloing, quad kiting is kind of overrated; animal charming is the real EXP godsend.
In terms of gear, don't worry about it. You need money for spells first and foremost. If you have that money, the only reason you'll really need gear is if you plan on quadding, in which case you should stock up on +mana and +wis gear. If you plan on grouping or charming, then you don't really need a big mana pool (I mean, it doesn't hurt, but you can level perfectly fine naked). Also, a good weapon can be useful for the early levels, i.e. before you hit 14 and start charming.
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