12-09-2004, 07:27 PM
I have now played my first character (a druid) up to level 25. I'd like to share my thoughts about the class with you. I'd ask you to keep in mind that I never played in the beta, so there may well be some obvious things I'm missing.
My first thought is that WoW is really two different games. There is the game you play solo, and then there is the game that's played in instances. The instance game rquires you to group. You can have fun outside the instances with a group, but it's rarely necessary in order to quest. For a druid, or at least for this druid, these two games play in radically different ways.
The solo game is fairly straighforward; pull with one of your ranged attacks (starfire works nicely), cast a moonfire and a faerie fire as they're incoming, keep the rejuvenation going on yourself, and whack them with your weapon of choice. When the battle is over, heal yourself; rinse and repeat. As long as you don't take on anything more than 2 or 3 levels above you, or pull more than 2 or 3 mobs, you can kill just about anything in the game with this approach.
You can make good use of entangling roots, locking them in place while you pelt them with wraths. I haven't used this strategy as much as some people do because I can't count on it working everywhere, and because this approach seems to kill a bit more slowly.
The question with the solo game is "Where do I make use of my shifting skills?"; the one thing that sets druids apart from the other classes. In the solo game I have yet to find a time where shifting to either form is to my advantage. In bear form I kill much more slowly, though perhaps with a greater safety factor, than I do as a caster. In cat form the damage output is very good, but the chances of dying go up immensely. You also have to shift back to caster form to heal for the next battle. The net result is that your overall killing speed is slower. The only times I shift are when I want to prowl as a cat, or when I want to swim more quickly.
"So what about the instance game?", you ask? If the group has any kind of tank, say a warrior or a paladin, then there is no point in trying to tank as a bear. The other players can do a better job. Playing as a bear all you'll do is make the healer work overtime trying to keep you alive. As a cat you're an underpowered rogue. Again you find yourself giving the healer fits as you wade into battle. So that leaves you in caster form. If you're wise you'll avoid as much melee as possible. As is the case with tanking, the other players do it better. Your damage output is just not on par with the melee classes. In all the instances I've played I find I do the most good as support. Mark of the wild is a good buff, and the healing spells are more than adequate for a group that's not trying to play too far above their level. Moonfire and faerie fire do a good job of increasing the damage output of the group.
The one thing that sets druids apart from the other classes is their ability to shapeshift. Up to this point it seems to me that there is no clear reason to use these abilities. I find myself playing as an underpowered priest and wondering what the designers had in mind for this class. I also wonder if I'm missing some key strategy.
-DarkCrown
My first thought is that WoW is really two different games. There is the game you play solo, and then there is the game that's played in instances. The instance game rquires you to group. You can have fun outside the instances with a group, but it's rarely necessary in order to quest. For a druid, or at least for this druid, these two games play in radically different ways.
The solo game is fairly straighforward; pull with one of your ranged attacks (starfire works nicely), cast a moonfire and a faerie fire as they're incoming, keep the rejuvenation going on yourself, and whack them with your weapon of choice. When the battle is over, heal yourself; rinse and repeat. As long as you don't take on anything more than 2 or 3 levels above you, or pull more than 2 or 3 mobs, you can kill just about anything in the game with this approach.
You can make good use of entangling roots, locking them in place while you pelt them with wraths. I haven't used this strategy as much as some people do because I can't count on it working everywhere, and because this approach seems to kill a bit more slowly.
The question with the solo game is "Where do I make use of my shifting skills?"; the one thing that sets druids apart from the other classes. In the solo game I have yet to find a time where shifting to either form is to my advantage. In bear form I kill much more slowly, though perhaps with a greater safety factor, than I do as a caster. In cat form the damage output is very good, but the chances of dying go up immensely. You also have to shift back to caster form to heal for the next battle. The net result is that your overall killing speed is slower. The only times I shift are when I want to prowl as a cat, or when I want to swim more quickly.
"So what about the instance game?", you ask? If the group has any kind of tank, say a warrior or a paladin, then there is no point in trying to tank as a bear. The other players can do a better job. Playing as a bear all you'll do is make the healer work overtime trying to keep you alive. As a cat you're an underpowered rogue. Again you find yourself giving the healer fits as you wade into battle. So that leaves you in caster form. If you're wise you'll avoid as much melee as possible. As is the case with tanking, the other players do it better. Your damage output is just not on par with the melee classes. In all the instances I've played I find I do the most good as support. Mark of the wild is a good buff, and the healing spells are more than adequate for a group that's not trying to play too far above their level. Moonfire and faerie fire do a good job of increasing the damage output of the group.
The one thing that sets druids apart from the other classes is their ability to shapeshift. Up to this point it seems to me that there is no clear reason to use these abilities. I find myself playing as an underpowered priest and wondering what the designers had in mind for this class. I also wonder if I'm missing some key strategy.
-DarkCrown
