Druids, less DD spells than even 'Holy' Priests

[Roland]

Hi all.

I made a similar post to this on the European Druid forums, and was mostly replied with "But you can melee with your forms..."

I've got a level 34 Pure Balance Spec Druid, and have now become frustrated by the lack of DD spells I have.  Ignoring Roots (which is a root with some added small damage, not reallt a DD spell - also decause of diminishing returns...) All Druids have access to Three Direct Damage Spells.  Wrath, Moonfire and Starfire.  In my opinion, Wrath is just a mini version of Starfire, leaving us with really two different untalented spells.  We get a third, Hurricane, as a 31 point Talent.

Consider Priests, the other 'Primary Healer' class (Ho hum, what do Blizzard do when they can't figure out how to make thier hybrid class work?  Re label it as Primary Healer.  Not only do Druids suffer the Hybrid penalty of not being able to use thier Ranged weapon slot, but as no longer ture Hybrids, Druids also have thier weapon timer re set by spells, unlike true hybrids...).

Priests (and I'll look at NE Priest compared to NE Druid) have access to five non talented DD spells. Smite, SW:P, Mindblast, Mana burn and Starshards.  On top of that, they have the potential to learn another three from Talents.  Mind Flay, Holy Fire and Holy Nova.

Not even comparing mana efficency or damage, it seems backward to me that a pirmary 'Healing' spec Priest can have 7 DD spells of various effect compared to a 'Balance' spec Druid's four (or three if you discount Wrath).

The most common response I received was that yes, this is fine as Druids can Melee in forms, Priests can't and anyway Priest can only cast spells, so they should have more of them.

I think the problem is the fudamental way the Driud forms act against each other.

As a Balance Druid, I have +Int/+Spell Dmage Gear.  I have base Str and Agility.  Shifting to a melee form is redundant.  It makes me worse.  On top of that, If I have mana left to shift, I would be better using it on a heal, root, last ditch damage spell or shifting to travel form to run away.  Bear and Cat serve no purpose for me (apart from the generic uses of Stealth, Dash, Track H and the ocasional Bash...).

But what happens if I stay in Caster form?  I can't melee, I only hit with a weapon to hope for am Omen Proc.  BS when I get it might be nice, but as after my Moonfire is ticking away, my primary means of damage is Starefire/Wrath, BS will make these even slower...

What is a Druid meant to do?  I assume Blizz entertained the notion that Druids would all, regardless of spec, shift into an animal form any time a mob get close enough to worry them.  But in application, that doesn't work.

I've also been disheartened by a recent American Druid post claiming a Priest with PW:S, IF and Cloth armour whacking away with a staff out performed a non feral Bear in Melee.

So why does a Caster class, that not only can heal but out melee a Druid when spec'd as a Primary Healer have more versatility in nuking as a purely damage spec'd (as that's really all the Balance tree does) 'Balance' Druid?

As Blizz doesn't seem to invisigion Druids as damage capable casters, what is the Balance tree for?
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You're playing a "Variant", in the classic Diablo sense. Because of this, you truly have nothing to complain about.

The Druid, all imperfections aside, is balanced to use ALL its abillities, even if it's Talented towards only one. If you Talent only for one, and also use ONLY that one thing you're Talented for, you're crippling the entire character. It'd be like a Hunter using ONLY Marksmanship Talents and skills, and never using a Pet. They'd kill their effective playing, and could easily, as you are doing here, complain that such-and-such a class is better, pound for pound, because they can do all this AND this.

You're not comparing apples to apples. At best, you're comparing kiwis to bananas. A Druid is a truly hybrid class, and perhaps (IMHO) the best of all of them (Paladins are a complete wash, Shamans have their glaring strengths, but equally glaring weaknesses, and Hunters aren't truly "hybrid" IMO). Completely cutting out what makes them so special and powerful is simply cutting them into one-third of themselves. There's nothing wrong with doing this, but expecting them to be Gods while doing so is wrong. I'm not going to tell you to learn to play the class; although I have no doubt you have a lot of learning to do, it's not a learning curve that's holding you back - it's your attitude. Simple as that. And as long as you stick with that attitude, you're never going to be happy.

I don't mean to sound harsh, and I'm not critiquing your playstyle. Personally, I think it's a grand idea, and could certainly add some flavor, excitement, and challenge to the game. But to complain that it's not performing to your expectations is not an inherent problem with the class, but rather an inherent problem with your expectations. Only you can change that, and only by choice.

So my advice is as follows:
a) Learn to love what you can do with your choice, and forego looking for something to complain about. Take your choice as a challenge, and try to inject some flavor and excitement into your playing with it.
B) Try something more in line with what you want, i.e. a Mage, Warlock, or even a Hunter. All three can do strong ranged damage, and two of them have excellent casting abilities (the Hunter has Traps, which add a unique flavor to the class all its own).
c) Give up on the notion of playing a Variant and expecting it to be as strong as a normal character, and use the class the way it was designed in ADDITION to the goal you have in mind. There's NOTHING wrong with blasting the hell out of a mob, only to briefly switch to Feral to help you overcome certain challenges, before switching back to Caster-mode. It may not be as effective 100% of the time over your normal, Caster-oriented playstyle, but I guarantee you that at certain points it beats your Caster style hands down.

Again, I'm not trying to criticize you. Merely enlighten you some. Whatever you do, try to enjoy the game, period. That's the most important thing. Oh, and try not to take what some people here too much to heart - most people don't mean to be as critical as they sometimes come off, myself especially. ;) The Internet is a very poor medium for communication at times.