I’ll make this quick without getting too much into it, but the druid WAS my favorite character when I began playing in 2008, and then soon became a character I didn’t want to play anymore because my brother’s necro had so much better summons, my and my other brother’s sorc always had better elemental skills. Even with raw physical damage, the druid doesn’t shine. This is what I think needs to change.
-Eliminate Werebear form and subsequent skills that many dont use.
CHANGE THE SKILL TREE
Spirit Skills Shape-shifting Summoning
-Combine Shape-shifting Skill tree with spells of Elemental skill tree, so the Druid had elemental attacks (3 options of werewolf attacks. Fire type attacks, physical like the current fury skill, and then ice attacks). Think of skills like fissure and twister, but all of them are skills you can do while in werewolf form, mauling enemies down with fire. (Of course nerf the damage so that it isn’t game breaking or superior to other melee characters).
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Make a skill called Cold Blooded that inflicts poison and cold damage and can spread to other enemies when biting in werewolf form.
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Create a new skill tree option (now that elemental is combined with shapeshifting) called Spirit skills that has passive and active skills to use as buffs. (Skills that grant extra resisitance or a mobility skill like a “wild sprint” skill to use in werewolf form. Passive skills maybe called like “Blood moon” or something which could become a massive damage boost the lower your health gets.
Just create spiritual or nature skills that give buffs that no other character has. So that the Druid is more unique and viable with different builds. Heck make options for a potion throwing build. (nobody uses potions) -
finally buff the summons a little more and give the spirits almost twice the amount of health because they’re practically useless as is.
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increase damage and number of hits from ravens (which i think should change to be a hawk or something) and change the animal model to a carrion bird (the enemy type that can swoop down on enemies). So at LEAST you can see the summon doing something.
While many people would complain about changes such as this, and miss their “windy druid” at least this way the druid could be unique. I don’t expect it to actually happen but I do think its a flaw that any elemental druid will just be a worse sorceress, any fury druid will be a worse frenzy barb, and any summon druid will be an inferior summonmancer. You could even keep the elemental skills exactly the same, but in my opinion the druid needs to be more diverse. Not the strongest, not with better magic spells or even stronger summons than necro, but better skill area of effect, and party buffs. I shouldn’t have to get ridiculously high runes I’ve never seen before just to have better area of effect and be unique (which any character can have with the same runeword).
Right now, as is, the druid is a jack of all trades, master of none.
Though I’m not even sure all of these ideas would be good to implement, I wouldn’t be upset if the druid was tweaked and made to have cooler skills.