Druid DPS?

[Pyrion]

Druid nukes are arguable second or third best (about on par with mage) in the game. You ARE a decent nuker. You can fill the role of a wizard, nuking down hard mobs and casters. while saving mana on easy mobs.

[webrunner5]

Druids are a Hell of a Lot better high end than most people give them credit for. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Any class solo is slow going as heck solo, and having a evac, porter in a group is a God Send in Velious, not counting Dots, DD, Charm. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Pyrocat]

Originally Posted by webrunner5 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Druids are a Hell of a Lot better high end than most people give them credit for. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Any class solo is slow going as heck solo, and having a evac, porter in a group is a God Send in Velious, not counting Dots, DD, Charm. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Better than most people give them credit for? Maybe. But worse than pretty much any other class in a group. They have crap mana regen and their nukes are easily resisted and take a lot of mana. Their buffs are outclassed by shamans and clerics (until POTG). Their CC comes down to root and snare, which a necro can do and necros get mez as well.

Want a healer? get a cleric, or a shaman for good buffs/slow + same/better heals than druid

Want DPS? get a rogue, monk, wizard, mage, necro, enchanter, ranger, warrior, all of whom do better DPS than a druid. Heck an SK with a decent weapon probably does better sustained DPS than a druid nuking/medding. Exception: druids who have the balls to charm DPS, and access to an appropriate level animal mob. This is very rarely the case in my experience.

Want crowd control? get an enchanter, bard, or necro, all of whom have better CC tools, or get a paladin for root/offtanking.

Want ports? sure, get a druid, but groups don't really need the ability to travel, they usually form up in the dungeon they'll be grouping in.

Want evac? sure, get a druid, but you'd probably be better served getting a bard or enchanter to CC so you won't need to evac.

Source: played a druid on live Kunark - Luclin. They are pretty great at traveling and soloing, but in groups they just don't have any single strong role so they end up being mediocre at several roles. The only time druids are really useful in groups is a) when they can add charm animal DPS or b) when you can't find a single shaman or cleric LFG and you need heals.

[Itap]

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

Better than most people give them credit for? Maybe. But worse than pretty much any other class in a group. They have crap mana regen and their nukes are easily resisted and take a lot of mana. Their buffs are outclassed by shamans and clerics (until POTG). Their CC comes down to root and snare, which a necro can do and necros get mez as well.

Want a healer? get a cleric, or a shaman for good buffs + same/better heals than druid

Want DPS? get a rogue, monk, wizard, mage, necro, enchanter, ranger, warrior, all of whom do better DPS than a druid. Heck an SK with a decent weapon probably does better sustained DPS than a druid nuking/medding. Exception: druids who have the balls to charm DPS, and access to an appropriate level animal mob. This is very rarely the case in my experience.

Want crowd control? get an enchanter, bard, or necro, all of whom have better CC tools, or get a paladin for root/offtanking.

Want ports? sure, get a druid, but groups don't really need the ability to travel, they usually form up in the dungeon they'll be grouping in.

Want evac? sure, get a druid, but you'd probably be better served getting a bard or enchanter to CC so you won't need to evac.

Source: played a druid on live Kunark - Luclin. They are pretty great at traveling and soloing, but in groups they just don't have any single strong role and end up being mediocre and quite a few things.

A lot of truth in this post, and I main a druid. Ive pretty much solo'd 1-55 and plan on staying in bear pits till 60. Were just not the best additions to a 6 man group, but perhaps that will change a little when we get our new heals.

We can CC, heal, DPS, buff etc, but there is always a class that can do better in most cases. When i do group, and theres a charmable animal available, I ALWAYS charm. It brings better dps than we ever could.

On raids I usually will charm (if available) and spot heal/buff. Kiting is an option too, but normally not needed.

[Itap]

In comparison;

(Druid) Natures Touch (60) - 400 mana for 978 HP, 5.5 second cast time

(Cleric) Divine Light (53) - 350 mana for 910 HP, 4.5 second cast time

[Pyrocat]

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

In comparison;

(Druid) Natures Touch (60) - 400 mana for 978 HP, 5.5 second cast time

(Cleric) Divine Light (53) - 350 mana for 910 HP, 4.5 second cast time

(Shaman) Torpor (60) - 200 mana for 1200 or 1500 HP (over several tics), 6 second cast time.

And clerics have complete heal and an array of other healing spells. Nature's Touch isn't in the game yet. When it is added, yes, Druids will become better healers, but they will still be outclassed by Clerics and Shamans with Torpor.

[Itap]

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

(Shaman) Torpor (60) - 200 mana for 1200 or 1500 HP (over several tics), 6 second cast time.

And clerics have complete heal and an array of other healing spells. Nature's Touch isn't in the game yet. When it is added, yes, Druids will become better healers, but they will still be outclassed by Clerics and Shamans with Torpor.

Oh no doubt, you cant compare to a Torpor Shaman or a CH, but like you said, it will make us a little more efficient and actually be able to heal for exp groups.

[robisatsea]

It's a little disappointing to hear that druids make lame teammates but hey, it seems to me there are plenty of people out there willing to give me a charity group as long as I make a lot of noise in lfg. Besides playing a druid first allowed me to make some descent cash, travel around easily and familiarize myself with the geography. I'll probably play a cleric ultimately because I enjoy grouping more than solo but playing a druid has been thoroughly enjoyable.

[Arkanjil]

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

[slekan]

Druids are excellent pullers and support, duo/trio with necro/chanter that charms and you're set

I would avoid any full group at the higher levels, that exp isnt good at all once you get a good duo/trio going