Do Druids have anything over Shammy other then ports?

[Spud]

I have to admit leveling from 50-60 is not as fun/easy as 0-50 was. It seems like I could get a group easier then and if I didn't, soloing seemed more fun/effective.

Shamans definitely are preferred over druids in PUGs. I basically only do PUG in Karnors, OS is so far out of the way and it's tougher to get groups, plus its indoors.

Raptors is about the only GOOD solo spot and it i can only support 2 droods.

But i'm going to stick it out with my druid 'till 60 because, well i've grown sort of attached to the guy.

[William_Munny15]

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

I'm inclined to disagree with that, assuming you're 45+ and have a JBB.

And before 34 druids can't even really quad can they? That would leave them with 11 levels of an exp advantage, with the rest either being equal or to the shamans favor.

Druid is a lot more boring too. Do a quad, go AFK while medding. Do a quad, go AFK while medding.

a druid with a manastone and or a luminescent staff is faster exp soloing by a long shot over a shaman. Since you're talking about an optimally geared shaman, at least throw an optimally geared druid to compare.

[soup]

Originally Posted by William_Munny15 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

a druid with a manastone and or a luminescent staff is faster exp soloing by a long shot over a shaman. Since you're talking about an optimally geared shaman, at least throw an optimally geared druid to compare.

JBB = 15k
Manastone = 65k

The guy who posted this question told me he had about 50k to spend when I was talking to him, so operating under the assumption that he could do a 15k JBB + full gear on a shaman but not a 65k manastone + full gear on the druid seemed pretty reasonable. (plus in general, someone could somewhat easily save up 15k leveling normally to 45, 65k would be.... difficult)

Druid solo spots are also much more limited. A shaman can go wherever the hell he wants to solo, indoor, outdoor, it doesn't matter. A druid has to pray his favorite spots are available.

[Zuranthium]

Druids are clearly better than Shaman at soloing before level 34. Fighting in melee is worthwhile at those levels and thus the Druid's damage shield allows them to efficiently generate a lot more damage than a Shaman can. Prior to level 24 Shaman are one of the worst classes in the game at soloing, actually.

Level 34 is a massive game changer for the Shaman, though. They get a pet which allows them to create a lot of extra damage at almost no cost and they also get a very large increase in power to their disease DoT. Even though Druids can start quad-kiting at this level, I'm not convinced that it is actually better than what the Shaman is able to do -- IF you're looking at a realistic scenario, which is the Druid not having manastone and not constantly getting a Clarity buff.

From level 39+ the Shaman definitely becomes better than a Druid. Level 39 is when pets start super-regenerating, the Shaman's own mana regeneration further improves at this level, and Shaman also get the amazing Venom of the Snake at that level. This allows them to root rot targets extremely well, as the pet provides lots of extra DPS and recovers its own HP very well without needing to spend much extra mana on it.

I've already talked over and over about how superior Shaman are to Druids at the later levels, so I'm not going to get into it again. Druids are sadly not a "real character" later in the game. They are a character that gets logged on to teleport and buff the guild, and then you log back onto a real character afterwards.

[Torven]

You make a druid to port, because they port better than wizards. That's it.

Druids have some very nice soloing options in certain locations at certain levels, but otherwise shamans are clearly superior. There are very few places you can quad in the manastone usable old world. Paw spires, the 4 spawns near the hermit, spectres, and Oggok if you're good. That's about it. The problem is these places are usually camped.

Charm however is still quite usable. There are a few variations to charming you can do as a druid. You can perma pet a mob, give it weapons, and either fear your kill targets if they are animals (mammoths, TD) or chain cast snare gloves and kite while your pet kills the mobs chasing you. (OT, EJ) Or you simply charm a mob, use it to kill one or two mobs, break charm, charm a new mob, and kill the mob that was your pet. (kedge, permafrost)

In groups however, druids are worthless. Except maybe in Chardok.

[Hijynx]

Get a Luminescent staff, its a free 184dmg quad.

[soup]

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

Get a Luminescent staff, its a free 184dmg quad.

I've always wondered about that thing, are you actually able to get the 10 second cast off before mobs can hit you? How much leeway is there?

[Trisun]

Druids are the jack of all trades and the master of none. Pretty much that way in every MMO. But hey look at the bright side they are the best characters for making money. On my druid back in the day I would port to various locations just looking for rares on track. Can't travel that quick with a ranger. Make money pretty easily.

[soup]

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

Druids are the jack of all trades and the master of none. Pretty much that way in every MMO. But hey look at the bright side they are the best characters for making money. On my druid back in the day I would port to various locations just looking for rares on track. Can't travel that quick with a ranger. Make money pretty easily.

Ehhhhhhh I don't know about that one. They might be among the best money makers for a new player, but as far as in the long run, I'd have a hard time buying that.

[Kika Maslyaka]

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

Druids are the jack of all trades and the master of none. Pretty much that way in every MMO. But hey look at the bright side they are the best characters for making money. On my druid back in the day I would port to various locations just looking for rares on track. Can't travel that quick with a ranger. Make money pretty easily.

*cough* WoW *cough* - more like master of 3 trades at a time there with no actual penalties [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
in EQ1 druid only started to shine in PoP+ era when dots started to stack, and they finally claim solid 2nd healing place in groups and even raids with 3.4k and 4.5k heals. Until then druid was "mediocre at everything" other than travel...