Druids are not meant for groups

[Nirgon]

Harmony in KC. Charm in lots of dungeons and zones. Flame lick and snare kiting/root pulling, patch heals and good quick nuke assistance if a mob is going for a CH or gate. No they don't replace a cleric or shaman for their roles but you have to play classes I'm EQ to their strengths. You are setting up a druid to fail by saying it should slow mobs or be the most efficient healer.

The flame lick and snare kiting groups on a fresh box are stronger than those with a warrior just taking the raw hits the whole time.

See also: perma pit, kedge and WW druid charming


Source: watched rogue+druid and enchanter+druid combos putting on an xp clinic on red launch

[Sage Truthbearer]

A properly played Druid brings plenty to the table. They can snare fleeing mobs, patch heal, root adds, regen, DS the tank, evac to prevent a full group wipe. A poorly played Druid sits in wolf form 75% afk and casts a nuke every 4 minutes.

[86753o9]

Originally Posted by Robbintha Hood [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Grant it, most druids won't bother doing dungeon groups which really hurts them in the long run. But to bash druids on the reg for being a "almost a little bit of everything class" is kinda dumb. I wont begin to say that druids are better than clerics and shamans, but they serve their purpose in a group like every other class. OP clearly hasn't played a druid.

Did you type "grant it" on purpose? Also, druids built stonehenge.

[Jimjam]

You gotta group with a druid to benefit from their ports.

If you aren't doing cutting edge content (ie not facing a lot of high damage hits), then regen and a DS go a long way.

Wolf form is great for running around (and adding attack) if you aren't sitting still in a dungeon.

OP I can see why you might think druids suck if you just want to sit down in one spot and be handed XP by your perfect group, but then I have to question if the druid is the only xp leach in that situation.

[Baler]

When I first made this post I was pretty angry, it's clearly a rant. I've not had the best luck with a majority of the druids I've been in groups with. Looking back at some of the druids who were actively filling their role(s) and coordinating it to all the useful information that some of you have shared.

I can certainly now see how a druid will benefit a group, with or without the classes I mentioned.

One thing I find so great about EQ is that you never stop learning new things about the game. Through the information some of you shared I've learned about how the druid class is good for groups.

To the people who just wanted to be name callers,. I posted in RnF's so it's to be expected.
Thank You P99 community for being such a diverse and amazing experience!

[Troxx]

A good druid will always find a way to make themselves useful. They are, however, victims of a non-specialist status. There isn't any job other than succor/evac (in which case they are clearly a better addition than a wizard) that another class can't do better.

Clerics heal better.
Shamans heal better (a lot more mana on demand) ... Not counting the impact of slow.

Having said that, they are capable enough to get the job done. When I play my shaman a cleric is unnecessary for most all content if I also have a Druid. Point is I don't need to wait for a cleric when playing my shaman if there's a Druid lfg.

Damage output? If there's a good animal to charm they do great damage. An enchanted will do better.

Non charm damage output? To be honest they suck in the sustained department just like wizards but will win out imo via damage shields and having other backup support they can provide. This isn't the Druids fault mind you - it's just the problem with playing a raw casting class that has no pet dps and is limited by their meditate potential. A Mage pet, necro pet, or hell even a shaman pet (a sustained 20dps buffed), or meleeing bard will outpace a Druids potential damage output over time in a sustained pulling (chain pull) environment.

Druids are not a min max class. A well played one will be helpful, but they're not going to be the most amazing addition to a well oiled group.

[Uuruk]

Originally Posted by Llandris [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Paging Daldaen

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Daldean reporting in sir

Ready to spend the next 10 years of my life farming Velious.

[Daywolf]

Meh depends on the player. I can purple club people I don't like just as easily with my druid as with my cleric. In fact don't even bother asking for buffs and heals in full groups, I'd rather just drop DD's and maybe watch the MT's back a little. But if you ask real nice I might share wolf form... or maybe not, depends how I'm feelin'

[azeth]

damage shield on tank > all of your crap-geared melee dps

[Daywolf]

Originally Posted by azeth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

damage shield on tank > all of your crap-geared melee dps

Yep, DS helps a lot for MT's. No matter what a drui can or can't do, that should always be up. And saves mana if MT can hold aggro better with it. No one wants to waste heals on a half dead ranger [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]