06-29-2005, 01:02 AM
Brista,Jun 28 2005, 07:18 PM Wrote:Druid - jack of all trades class with near specialist level healing, it should be a lot more popular than it is.[right][snapback]81923[/snapback][/right]
Now I don't mean to go on a rant here...
Wait, yes I do. Forgive me for the tangent later, but this is something people I play with have heard me complain about. Druids will never get anymore attention than they already get from players the way they stand. Do I know why people didn't choose druids to begin with? I have no idea, to tell the truth. I know a main reason they'll continue to stay away after they know the game: res abilities. We all know the "other" druid rolls are inferior to the alternatives. Maybe they should be, maybe not so much, but 90% of groups pulling in a druid expect a healer. There is the fact that a druid can be worse healing stat-wise than a priest, especially considering PW:S. More important, in my eyes, is the res.
Two groups I've taken through DM North for Tribute runs:
1) Warrior, Priest, Mage, Rogue, Hunter. All goes smooth until the 6 dogs right before the king. During the 6 dogs, the Mage goes down. It's alright, he's used to it :whistling:. Priest does a res and we move on to the King. Warrior goes down with the King at 4% life, we kill King. Priest does a res and we collect our rewards.
2) Warrior, Druid, Mage, Rogue, Hunter. All doesn't go smooth until the 6 dogs, but that's of no consequence since we all ran back it was no fault of priest versus druid. At the 6 dogs, the Mage dies again. So the Druid uses his res, and we keep going. The Warrior dies right before the King goes down again. Oh crap, Res is on cooldown. Warrior releases and starts running back. An Eye of Kilrogg respawns and kills him. Now we're stuck because we have to make sure the King doesn't disappear. So the warrior opts out of the loot, we grab it, and run back to help him.
A warrior lost his chance of loot simply because of the difference in Res ability.
The druid vs priest argument may not make that much of a difference true healing wise. But then you try to take care of the res difference, so you bring in a Paladin. Who gets kicked out on a Tribute Run? Take out the Mage, you have it much harder because of lack of AoE. Sure, the plants aren't too tough, but dogs are. You also lose the always awesome Polymorph. Take out the Hunter, and you lose the common strategy of Hunter's pet on Cho'Rush. Take out the Rogue, and you lose the easiest way to one key, and the ability to pick open another (instead of killing a guard and losing tribute). This + lost Sap makes it a little more difficult, though an Engineer or Blacksmith can cut in to bust open the one door. Take out the Warrior might be the best option, so now your two main positions have the 2nd option instead of the first -> Pally/Druid instead of Warr/Priest.
Can anyone tell me any of that is really preferable to simply having a Priest?
Trade yourself in for the perfect one. No one needs to know that you feel you've been ruined!