Fix Metamorphosis

Druid
1

Metamorphosis is a d3-like item introducing two new mechanics to the game; this has no place in d2.

While the general idea of a pelt rune word with Cannot be Frozen is a good concept, I’m greatly disturbed by Mark of the Wolf/Bear as they bring unwanted change without any purpose.

First of all, these two Marks recycle graphical effects from Defilers and Shenk-like monsters, which is an absolute no-go. Furthermore, the stats that these Marks grant are partly useless and could just as well be flat stats on the pelt.
Mark of the Wolf grants only a bonus percentage to Attack Rating, which does nothing in reality, because the Werewolf skill has got plenty of that. The second stat it grants is a bonus percentage to Maximum Life, which both Shape Shifters already have as well. Mark of the Bear grants decent stats, which again could easily be added as flat stats to the pelt rune word itself.

Thus, fixing Metamorphosis is easy, and in the following I’m going to explain what it should look like and why.

The stats that Metamorphosis provides are fine, all it takes is to delete the two Marks from the game entirely and replace them with stats that are actually meaningful to Shape Shifters. The biggest thing about Metamorphosis is Cannot be Frozen, which can potentially replace Raven Frost. In it’s current state, however, Metamorphosis grants almost zero Attack Rating, therefore, most players will still be forced to equip a Raven Frost. Additionally, Shape Shifters are in great need of more movement speed, they do not need more and more hit points. So, adding a fair amount of FRW to the rune word is pivotal. The effects from Mark of the Bear can be reused for the rune word, but should be toned down a bit. The 25 EIAS should, therefore, become 25 IAS, and the 20% Damage Reduction should be divided in half.

My proposal for fixing Metamorphosis goes as follows:

Rune Effects:

  • +10 to Vitality
  • Cannot be Frozen
  • +10 to Strenght

Rune Word Bonuses:

  • +200 to Attack Rating (new)

  • +30 FRW (new)

  • +25 IAS (new)

  • Physical Damage Reduction by 10% (new)

  • +5 to Shape Shifting Skills (Druid Only)

  • +25% Chance of Crushing Blow

  • +50%-80% Enhanced Defense

  • All Resistances +10

Have a nice day!

2

Metamorphosis is amazing and i hope it never changes. What you suggest would almost do nothing different except we’d lose 10%PDR which we REALLY like to have.

200 flat AR is not going to help fury. Maybe a 1500 AR and i’d consider the 10%PDR loss.

tbqh most people dont know how to build a Wolf for endgame fury. looking at maxroll’s guide made me laugh, clearly they dont have a Fury druid player to consult. Their Uber runner build barely hits Dclone 76% of the time… laughable. CTA on switch? lol. i could write a guide that would blow that silly guide out of the water… maybe one day when i have time…

but no, Metamorphosis is perfection. The problem with Shapeshifting is lack of teleport. It’s kryptonite to Superwolfman.

3

I don’t see how its fun though to constantly shift back and forth only to keep up all the bonuses that the Marks provide. Prebuffing isn’t exactly a thing people crave to do, and it will never be.

1 Like
4

well they made it safe and easy now with patch 2.4, you can go straight from wolf to bear, hit something once, and back to wolf. once every 3 minutes, never need to be human form ever. even made it so that you can cast cyclone armor, hurricane, HotW while in wereform.

the only annoying buff to keep up is Feral Rage and that’s always been the case tbqh. Mark of the bear is just a quick swap to bear while i’m already hitting things and immediately back to wolf after one swing animation. Mark of the wolf is basically automatic. it’s no more cumbersome to me than casting energy shield+frozen armor on my Sorc every 3 minutes. And i dont ever use CTA on my wolf druid, we dont need it and it’s annoying. i run obedience on my secondary swap for a quick easy 10 minute enchant while still in wolf form.

it would suck if you switched out helms every buff as a different class like Barbarian or such, but as a druid i dont believe there is a better helm to swap to even with the buffs active on other helms. is there anything that gives better damage and utility?