08-09-2005, 06:50 AM
I think the biggest challenge on the Druid front will be to make the class at least APPEAR to be the little brother of the classes it emulates.
Bear form could use some additional way to help build aggro. Right now it has Growl and Intimidating Roar, but in my experience the painfully slow attack speed (and lack of real damage on hits) makes it difficult to build aggro on enemies. Perhaps an instant attack skill on a timer?
To play devil's advocate against myself... it is possible for a Druid to tank. I've even done some pinch-tanking in MC when a Warrior went down against Core Hounds, shifting to bear and growling to pull one off the cloth. Even in casting gear, it worked for getting us out of a tight spot.
Cat form is going to see some increases with 1.7, so I'll reserve my judgement until I have experience with it. The addition of agility to attack power is a welcome change, and the shot in the arm that's planned could be enough to do the trick. It's my understanding that Cat form is to be the Druid's emulation of the rogue class, and the additional damage may make it function as just that.
I've seen people calling for a variation of Kick, giving the Druid some form of spell interruption. I don't see the need for it. Leave that in the realm of Rogues.
Restoration is the wannabe Priest route, and right now it's filling that role well. The only beef I have is with pointless talents like those that add life and mana regen in combat (amounting to a pittance in practice), or the Improved Tranquility talent that apparently was forgotten with the advent of Barkskin. Fix/improve those three talents or remove them in lieu of something else.
And now Balance... the little Mage that could. I have the most experience here and thus have quite a bit to address. I actually don't have much to request in the way of buffs, but some of the talents are in serious need of review.
Improved Entangling Roots is pointless. If you have those talent points to spare, place them in Nature's Grasp and you have an INSTANT means of rooting while under attack. If anything, change the talent to make it decrease the chance roots will break when damage is taken. That might make the talent more attractive.
Improved Thorns only works when the spell is cast upon the Druid himself. Bug or feature? *shrugs* Either way, 5 talent points are not worth spending to have a CHANCE of getting some extra damage when an enemy strikes the Druid. That's a CHANCE of 18 additional damage. No thanks. Suggestion? Make the talent increase the damage of thorns. Period. No "chance of" involved at all.
Weapon Balance has me confused. I melee quite a bit in primary form in order to get OoC procs, and I still wouldn't spend talent points here. 10% damage doesn't amount to much outside of Feral forms. While I appreciate the option it gives for a melee-oriented caster, the melee weapon damage of a Druid is low enough that 10% isn't going to do much for his efficacy.
And finally, my favorite spell in the Druid's repertoire: Hurricane. I use it all the time when I don't have to function as a dedicated healer. When I am a primary healer, there are still many situations where it comes in handy. Still, this in no way lives up to the idea of being the ultimate Balance spell at a Druid's disposal. It is the only AoE spell at the Druid's disposal, and is and end-tree talent at that. Blizzard has stated they don't want this spell to be more powerful than the other classes' AoE skills. With the damage it does, and a 1 minute timer, that's hardly going to be an issue. This is the one place I want to see a true buff to the class. Either incrase the damage SLIGHTLY, improved the debuff SLIGHTLY to slow movement as well as attack speed, increase its AoE; anything, really. The nature of the spell (*groans* pardon that pun) is such that +damage gear hardly increases its damage, since it is spread out over time. Barkskin was a good start to making it viable. Let's see some more.
Bear form could use some additional way to help build aggro. Right now it has Growl and Intimidating Roar, but in my experience the painfully slow attack speed (and lack of real damage on hits) makes it difficult to build aggro on enemies. Perhaps an instant attack skill on a timer?
To play devil's advocate against myself... it is possible for a Druid to tank. I've even done some pinch-tanking in MC when a Warrior went down against Core Hounds, shifting to bear and growling to pull one off the cloth. Even in casting gear, it worked for getting us out of a tight spot.
Cat form is going to see some increases with 1.7, so I'll reserve my judgement until I have experience with it. The addition of agility to attack power is a welcome change, and the shot in the arm that's planned could be enough to do the trick. It's my understanding that Cat form is to be the Druid's emulation of the rogue class, and the additional damage may make it function as just that.
I've seen people calling for a variation of Kick, giving the Druid some form of spell interruption. I don't see the need for it. Leave that in the realm of Rogues.
Restoration is the wannabe Priest route, and right now it's filling that role well. The only beef I have is with pointless talents like those that add life and mana regen in combat (amounting to a pittance in practice), or the Improved Tranquility talent that apparently was forgotten with the advent of Barkskin. Fix/improve those three talents or remove them in lieu of something else.
And now Balance... the little Mage that could. I have the most experience here and thus have quite a bit to address. I actually don't have much to request in the way of buffs, but some of the talents are in serious need of review.
Improved Entangling Roots is pointless. If you have those talent points to spare, place them in Nature's Grasp and you have an INSTANT means of rooting while under attack. If anything, change the talent to make it decrease the chance roots will break when damage is taken. That might make the talent more attractive.
Improved Thorns only works when the spell is cast upon the Druid himself. Bug or feature? *shrugs* Either way, 5 talent points are not worth spending to have a CHANCE of getting some extra damage when an enemy strikes the Druid. That's a CHANCE of 18 additional damage. No thanks. Suggestion? Make the talent increase the damage of thorns. Period. No "chance of" involved at all.
Weapon Balance has me confused. I melee quite a bit in primary form in order to get OoC procs, and I still wouldn't spend talent points here. 10% damage doesn't amount to much outside of Feral forms. While I appreciate the option it gives for a melee-oriented caster, the melee weapon damage of a Druid is low enough that 10% isn't going to do much for his efficacy.
And finally, my favorite spell in the Druid's repertoire: Hurricane. I use it all the time when I don't have to function as a dedicated healer. When I am a primary healer, there are still many situations where it comes in handy. Still, this in no way lives up to the idea of being the ultimate Balance spell at a Druid's disposal. It is the only AoE spell at the Druid's disposal, and is and end-tree talent at that. Blizzard has stated they don't want this spell to be more powerful than the other classes' AoE skills. With the damage it does, and a 1 minute timer, that's hardly going to be an issue. This is the one place I want to see a true buff to the class. Either incrase the damage SLIGHTLY, improved the debuff SLIGHTLY to slow movement as well as attack speed, increase its AoE; anything, really. The nature of the spell (*groans* pardon that pun) is such that +damage gear hardly increases its damage, since it is spread out over time. Barkskin was a good start to making it viable. Let's see some more.
See you in Town,
-Z
-Z