Best expansion character

[WetWilly]

Ok..;I've changed it...what's your fav. expansion character ok? The one you prefer! I'm sorry for my annoying question... :(

[Az3ar]

WHEN WILL YOU PEOPLE LEARN?!

THERE IS NO 'BETTER CHARACTER'!

THERE IS ONLY 'STYLE OF PLAY'!

YOU ARE GOOD IN PLAYING SOME CHARACTER, THEN AGAIN YOU MIGHT NOT BE GOOD AT ANOTHER!!!!!!

Edit: Well, sorry for that response, it has to be said, there is too many questions regarding a "better character", you cant really determine that.........

Who do YOU play better, druid or assassin?

Thats the right question to ask, 'whose the better character' cannot be answered.... :ph34r:

[Elric of Grans]

[WarBlade]

The better question, especially considering this is all a matter of opinion would be:

"What is your favourite LoD character?"


Well I vote for Baal. The way he splats tht guy at the start? That's a fairly decent splat kill IMO. I mean where else have you ever seen a splat like that? "I shall take your position into consideration . . ." SPLAT!

[AtomicKitKat]

Too bad the real deal turned out to be such a cheese ball.

[Master Oake]

I've got to agree that its all about play style. I was really unexcited by the druid at first, but I found Hwanin's Bill of Justice, and combined with my werewolf form, he is UNSTOPPABLE. I'm running around killing whole hordes before my merc can even get off three shots.
I'm a trap assassin, and really like the ability to do stuff around corners rather than confront a LEM directly.

[blanthis]

The Druid is the supreme character of the universe and rules all men and animals before him! :lol: Did you want an answer like that? IMHO I like the druid, because it's fun and I like my summons (but that's me). Is he the best character for everyone? ...I hope not, because every class adds something that another doesn't. I mean if everyone built a druid, then it wouldn't be as much fun to be a druid. B)

[Occhidiangela]

Is your ego riding on the outcome?

The Werebear is a better Tank.

The Traps Assassin is a very good "safety" character.

Martial Arts Assassins have neat graphics and some neato skills

Elemental Druids are a nice change of pace from Sorceresses.

So much to love, be ye leather clad temptress or fuzzy fur ball?

The game is better for having them both, if we could just get the various bugs out . . .

[ManaCraft]

Didn't really bother to vote, seing as I don't believe there is such a thing as a "better" character.

That being said, I myself prefer the assassin (more specifically the martial arts specialist), since I believe she is the hardest character to actually play well, due to the high amount of micro-management involved compared to the druid - or any other character for that matter.

Yes, I'm a big fan of micro-management. :D


ManaCraft

[the Langolier]

I've got to agree that its all about play style.  I was really unexcited by the druid at first, but I found Hwanin's Bill of Justice, and combined with my werewolf form, he is UNSTOPPABLE

No offense intended, but that isn't a "playing style" :)

[Conner Macleod]

LOL Langolier.

Ummmmmmmmm, given the 2 short choices in that list, you forgot the None of the Above, which I definitely would have voted for. Since it is LOD, the BEST character is a well built Necro because his set is better than Aldur's and Nat's, and he is capable of killing ANY Druid or Sin in any game. All he has to do is cast his UBER Curse - Lag Game (a well known skill for Necros once they reach level 30 revive).

But of the two, I voted Sins because of a friend of mine who is a Sin nut and I've seen those things in action. Didn't know they could kill that fast. As for the Druid, meh, I've got plenty of them - as mules. :P

[Cartimandua]

While I agree with everyone who has said, effectively, that there is no 'best' character class, and that all classes can be equally enjoyable to play, I would argue that the Assassin class is much better designed that the Druid.

In saying this I am not suggesting that Druids 'suck' or anything of that sort - I love the Druid, and have started more of them than any other class.

What I mean by a well-designed class, is a class whose skills support each other and combine in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways. The Assassin is excellent in this respect: you can go Traps, you can go MA, you can take a combination of the two. The SD tree complements both the others. There are upwards of 15 really good, usable skills and only a handful that are close to useless.

The Druid is not like this. If you are a shifter, then you have no access to one whole tree, and you can only really use half the shifting tree, so you are really looking at one-and-a-half trees' worth of skills, about ten of which are worthwhile (after substracting Raven, Poison Creeper etc). This means that the number of different were-Druid builds is quite limited. Basically, you can do the Fury wolf, you can do the Maul bear, with slight variations on each.

The elemental druid, in my view, is much more interesting - I think it's the shift tree that needs fixing, not the elemental one - however, the real problem tree for the Druid is Summoning. It's (usually) a support tree but there's almost no synergy with the other two. Compare it with the Necro's Curse tree, or the Barbarian's War Cries - they have skills that combine with, and cover the weaknesses of, skills in other trees - eg War Cry's stun compensates for Berzerk's DR=0 effect; Lower Resist makes Poision Nova, BS & CE more effective, while AmpD helps out Revives and boosts CE's damage.

What I would like to see are spirits that would enhance spell damage (as HoW enchances physical), or perhaps spells that transfer some of their effects to minions, so that a character with, say, maxed Arctic Blast, can get a Grizzly with high built-in cold damage.

Or something. I trust Blizzard's imagination more than my own - they have produced a wonderful game here - but I think that when LoD shipped the Druid was only half-done.

[WarBlade]

If you are a shifter, then you have no access to one whole tree, and you can only really use half the shifting tree, so you are really looking at one-and-a-half trees' worth of skills, about ten of which are worthwhile (after substracting Raven, Poison Creeper etc). This means that the number of different were-Druid builds is quite limited. Basically, you can do the Fury wolf, you can do the Maul bear, with slight variations on each.

Using half a tree is nothing new. If fact many builds only really focus on particular skills at the bottom of a tree and simply invest in half a tree to get the pre-requisites. I personal opinion of the Shape Shifting tree is that is has some design flaws, but focusing on one side or the other is not one of them.

The elemental druid, in my view, is much more interesting - I think it's the shift tree that needs fixing, not the elemental one - however, the real problem tree for the Druid is Summoning. It's (usually) a support tree but there's almost no synergy with the other two. Compare it with the Necro's Curse tree, or the Barbarian's War Cries - they have skills that combine  with, and cover the weaknesses of, skills in other trees - eg War Cry's stun compensates for Berzerk's DR=0 effect; Lower Resist makes Poision Nova, BS & CE more effective, while AmpD helps out Revives and boosts CE's damage.

What I would like to see are spirits that would enhance spell damage (as HoW enchances physical), or perhaps spells that transfer some of their effects to minions, so that a character with, say, maxed Arctic Blast, can get a Grizzly with high built-in cold damage.

Funny . . . The Elemental Tree is the one that everybody wants to see fixes for . . . Not to mention that the Elemental tree is truely a one side or the other affair with the sole exception being one horrible skill that demands all others in the tree for it's pre-requisite. :blink:

The problem tree is summoning???

The Summoning Tree is actually fairly well implemented IMO. Perhaps not entirely well thought out in concept, but well implemented anyway, which is something of a surprise reversal in this game. Well ok, Spirit of Barbs is a little silly compared to its predecessors, but otherwise Summons are fine.

The non-melee Druids have one thing that other casters lack: Castable tanks, any time, anywhere. And that's the benefit of the Summoning Tree. On top of that, Solar Creeper is fantastic for covering mana expenses, Oak Sage ups the survivability and you want to compare one Druid Tree with Two Necromancer trees, then complain that the Druid lacks something?

True, the Elemental Druid has a comparative deficiency against other casters at high level. The fix would be better if it remained inside the Elemental Tree alone though. I mean, just look to the Sorceress travelling close to a Conviction Paladin for a clear example of a really bad game feature and take that into consideration when you imagine a Sorceress benefiting from the same minion aura as your Druid . . . :blink:

[Cartimandua]

Using half a tree is nothing new. If fact many builds only really focus on particular skills at the bottom of a tree and simply invest in half a tree to get the pre-requisites.

Well, yes. What I was getting at was that as a shifting druid you only have about 15 skills to choose from. Whichever skills you focus on have to come from that group, whereas with other classes you have close to a field of 30, so there are simply more permutations to try.

I should say at this point that I favour builds, of whatever class, that involve the use of plenty of different skills. That's just a personal preference and I realise there are those who prefer narrowly focused, more specialised builds. All equally valid.

The problem tree is summoning???

OK. I think was a rather ill-judged comment of mine. I think the real problem tree is shifting B) .

Funny . . . The Elemental Tree is the one that everybody wants to see fixes for . . . Not to mention that the Elemental tree is truely a one side or the other affair with the sole exception being one horrible skill that demands all others in the tree for it's pre-requisite.

Agree about Armageddon's prerequisites. Otherwise I actually quite like the elemental tree as it is. I know it doesn't have the damage potential of even mid-level Sorceress skills, but then we don't need a second Sorceress. Now I grant that the elemental Druid does get assistance from the summoning tree, in the ways you mention. What I am suggesting is that there could a bit more interaction between the trees. Or ... perhaps mutual support between skills on the elemental tree, in the same way that Spirit Wolf, Dire Wolf and Grizzly boost each other. Would that be a plan?

The non-melee Druids have one thing that other casters lack: Castable tanks, any time, anywhere.

I would have said that the Necromancer, traps-based Assassin and (maybe this is stretching the point) mageazon-style Amazon have this capability. But I agree that said tanks are very helpful to elementalists, far more so than to shifters in my view.

On top of that, Solar Creeper is fantastic for covering mana expenses, Oak Sage ups the survivability and you want to compare one Druid Tree with Two Necromancer trees, then complain that the Druid lacks something?

I agree that Solar Creeper and Oak Sage are good skills, but I'm not comparing one Druid tree with two Necro trees: I am suggesting that the Necro has skills in different trees that are mutually supportive, and that that isn't true to the same extent of the Druid.

I mean, just look to the Sorceress travelling close to a Conviction Paladin for a clear example of a really bad game feature and take that into consideration when you imagine a Sorceress benefiting from the same minion aura as your Druid . . .

I'm not really thinking of anything as powerful as Conviction and I agree that one should avoid giving a further unneeded leg-up to the Sorc. Maybe something that does a moderate of damage to monsters around it, a la Holy Fire/Shock? The element used could be that of the druid's currently selected skill, or chosen randomly. Or one could envisage something completely different. I'm imagining, however, that it would take the place of Spirit of Barbs in the tree. Ravens, meanwhile, could be reimplemented as elemental dive-bombers :o .

Of course, this is just idle speculation to pass the time :) . We can be sure that the content of 1.10 is not going to change at this stage.

[FenrisWulf]

As has been brought up, the main complaint leveled against the design of the Druid always involves the minimal degree to which his spells seem to interact. In the end, it always seems like the Druid is about choices, and once you choose one path, you're stuck with it. Elemental or Shifted? Wolf or Bear? Oak or HoW? :D (the latter is less of an immutable decision, but always seems to be a point of contest)

Strangely enough, I find myself liking the Druid because of this. :)

What does having such an exclusive skill selection do to the Druid? It allows the potential play styles available to you to radically diverge. Feel like charging into the fray with little to no regard for your safety? Go with Werewolf. Want to lumber around, chuckling as your enemies flounder about trying to hit you, or simply stand in place looking stunned? Werebear it is. You can call upon your Elemental self, going up close and personal with Armageddon and Hurricane...or, you can take a bit more distanced approach, and launch your attacks from as far away as possible; we've got spells for that, too. Laissez-faire your mantra for the day? Throw out a few Summons and watch the fireworks. The Druid is truly a jack-of-all-trades...just one trade at a time, please. :)

Plus, the fragmented Druid has the fun pleasure of being able, nay, even encouraged, to stick to a single tree and be none the worse for it. Oh, yes, I'm a pure Shapeshifter, and you? A pure Summoner, as it were, just walking along with my friend, the pure Elementalist. It's rather a point of pride.

You can make a valid argument that any character can subdivide itself in this manner, and wander about happily. But the Druid seems to so well cater himself to so many completely unrelated styles of play; always something unexpected waiting around the next turn. This may turn many people off, but for me, it's perfect. :)

Of course, I'm biased, as I only play Druids. To date:

FenrisWulf (93): Werewolf, HoW. Raises welts with large IK Maul (shaeled), also moonlights as a Magic Find character. Just found a Harlequin Crest today, so be sure to congratulate him if you two happen to meet! Fast friends with his HF Merc.
FenrisMuleTwo (87): Werebear, HoW. From common birth as a mule, he dreamed of becoming a dueler, but a tragic bike accident (and a serious lack of funds) shattered his hopes. He now trudges along with a mean glint in his eye, Defiance merc in tow, just daring the monsters to attack him. What, chance to hit not high enough? Try again. Here, have some Shockwave, too. Want to wash it down with some Buriza?
FenrisWulfPack (85): Hunter. People originally laughed at FWulfPack when he took up archery. His secondary weapon, a bright purple bow, didn't help matters one bit. And letting his pets sleep indoors, on the sofa? What's up with that? Then they met his Might Merc, and his slvl 32 Grizzly, and his Eaglehorn. Not so much laughing after that.
PhoenixWulf (84): Werewolf, Oak. Kid brother to FWulf.
FenrisMage (76, ret.): Meleementalist. Started off ordinary enough, but got caught up with some cult. Before you knew it, he was off, ranting and raving about the end of the world, armageddon, hurricanes sweeping across the globe, so on and so forth. Even the reassuring words of his Might Merc and the playful romping of his Grizzly did little to assuage his dementia. Last seen waving his Earthshaker around, muttering cryptic comments about life, death, and how he needed more AR.
FenrisMulch (75): Artimentalist (majoring in Tornado, Volcano, Fissure, and Arctic Blast). Keeps to himself. Doesn't like animals, doesn't like people. Doesn't even like monsters much, which is why he tries to use spells that keep him as far away from them as possible. Just one guy, killing demons.

Works in progress:
FenrisBear: Shockbear (Shockwave and high-level Summons)
FenrisClaus: Werebear (Fire Claws and Maul variant)
FenrisRave: Werewolf/Werebear (Rabies/Fire Claws, high +Shapeshifting skills, should allow dual shifting pretty well)

[TheDragoon]

That's all? :lol: Here are my Druids (if I can remember correctly)

Zhakaro (54): This was the first character that I made when I got the expansion. I was playing him online during those couple days when no one was supposed to have the game and so I made it up as far as #3 on the USWest ladder during this time. When they wiped those first characters from the realm when the game was officially launched, I deleted him and started anew. :) -Deleted

Zharka (65): This character I made for the newly wiped ladder. However, when I got him to Act IV in Nightmare, he stalled (because of the 50% global resistance bug in Nightmare). Had I known that Hell difficulty was actually easier than Nightmare, at that point, I'd have kept him going. As it worked out, however, I stopped playing Druids because I thought they were sadly underpowered. -Deleted

Then it was a long time before I went back to Druids. Finally, I realized that the reason they had stalled so badly in Nightmare was due to the resistance bug and so when they fixed it I went back and continued trying to build a good Druid.

Zhakaro (64, 72, 83): These were the 3 incarnations of my Werebear build that eventually led to the conclusions I drew in my Werebear Guide. Each took a slightly different route (#1 used Oak Sage while the other two used Heart of the Wolverine, #1 had strong summonables, #2 was a solo-Werebear and #3 was a sort of mix of the first two) in terms of skill selection. The last Zhakaro was finally retired and eventually deleted due to inactivity on USWest. -Deleted, Deleted, Retired

Zharka (85): This was my attempt to put my Werebear equipment strategies to work on a Werewolf. This character could seriously tear through just about anything with his Buriza. B) -Retired

LordKarn (76): An Elementalist from the start, LordKarn used Armageddon, Tornado and a pack of Spirit Wolves to decimate the hordes of hell. -Retired

At this point, I moved onto the private realm where I currently play....

Zhakaro (78): Basically a more efficient version of Zhakaro #3 from USWest, this build capitalized upon the speed of Messerschmidt's Reaver and later wielded The Reaper's Toll. Shockwave all around for this guy while his defense was greatly enhanced through the use of the Kira's Guardian armor. -Retired

Zharka (~83): Can you tell what names I like, yet? This guy was my turbo-wolf on Sanctuary. The Reaper's Toll is just way too fun to use in combination with Feral Rage and Fury. This guy flew around levels like he had the armies of hell hot on his tail, leaving destruction in his wake. -Retired

Karn (79): The final incarnation of my elementalist, this Karn used Volcano and Arctic Blast to mow down everything in his way. His summonable Dire Wolves could dish out some damage, too. -Retired

Now I don't play too much any more, but if someone could find me a nice fast weapon on Seven Lances, I might be willing to give the old Werebear build a few tweaks and another try... :lol:

Adam (0): Werebear... to be built in the future

[FenrisWulf]

Pfft. :P My Wolf and Bear are higher level, and with the exception of one character, they're all active. Booyah. O_o

Though...hrm, your Elementalists pwn mine. Gogo 4 more levels! :)

[TheDragoon]

The level 4x volcano is fun. B) As for character level, I very, VERY rarely bother to level up past 80 since it usually just involved tedium in the extreme. I enjoy leveling my characters UP to that level. As always, it's the journey, not the destination, that this game is all about. :lol:

[FenrisWulf]

As always, it's the journey, not the destination, that this game is all about.  :lol:

Agreed. This is why my Artimentalist is one of my characters that I'm most proud of. He's not only a pretty stupid variant (no Summons? No Merc? +22 Fire Skills? Sounds perfect. :D), but he's also one of the few characters that I've essentially entirely soloed through Hell. My earlier characters have almost always done party games, or skipped past annoying quests, and I don't feel that I got as much out of that. Having every WP and every quest completed, up to Nihlathak (where I am right now)...it feels good. :)

Now, of course, if the journey happens to be one that leads to a lvl 99 character, I can live with that. :P

[Elric of Grans]

Hail Fenris,

Artimentalist? Eww!

I have a clvl79 Elemental-only Druid too, who has completed ALL quests ;) I forget what his +skills are now, but I know they are enough: I have joined an 8 player game with him, and was scoring kills: and people say he's weak and helpless! Having almost all points in Vitality also allows him to take a few hits, though he *still* scored one-hit-kills at times: if THAT character can be one-hit-killed, the Blizzard Crack Monkey has hit a few wrong buttons.

I was going to get him to clvl80 (I like round numbers), but mindless leveling bores me, so I have not gained a level since killing Baal.