Well, with the final rendition of patch 2.6 and PTR being over for season 3. I think it’s time we take a look at the overall some of new content that will make to the game. I think it’s well established that the hustle and Mosiac weapon rune words are going to be the major additions to the end-game meta from the batch. The other elemental helmets are all good nightmare and early hell options. But, they will likely get dropped once a player gets something better. But, I would also like to have a discussion the Metamorphosis new rune word for the druid. After all, the druid and assassin are still likely going to be the last 2 played classes even with these additions. So, I am curious is Metamorphosis really a game changer or just another gimmick added to the game?
Metamorphosis: Io + Cham + Fal
Werewolf strikes grant Mark for 180 seconds
Mark of the Wolf:
+30% Bonus to Attack Rating
Increase Maximum Life 40%
Werebear strikes grant Mark for 180 seconds
Mark of the Bear:
+25% Attack Speed
Physical Damage Received Reduced by 20%
+5 to Shape Shifting Skills (Druid only)
+25% Chance of Crushing Blow (No longer attached to Mark of the Bear)
+50-80% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Vitality
All Resistances +10
Cannot be Frozen
So, the helmet offers a very nice mix of stats, the dual transform buffs, +5 to shapeshifting and it can be built in a druid pelt that could be superior with up +3 to 3 additional skills. The question here is whether or not Metamorphosis is powerful enough to bring the druid toward the top of the end-game meta. After all, while with the right base this helmet is potentially very powerful, having the right skill base is a lot of trouble to find. Likewise, Cham runes don’t grow on trees. Let’s take a look and see what builds this helmet is going to really be best in the slot for and whether or not it’s worth the trouble.
The two main issues with Metamorphosis are that first the shapeshifting druid isn’t all that popular of a character. Secondly, it’s primarily competing with Jalals which, but two weeks into the ladder can be normally be bought for a lem to fal rune.
Jalal’s Mane
+150-200% Enhanced Defense
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+2 To Druid Skill Levels
All Resistances +30
+5 To Mana After Each Kill
+20 To Strength
+20 To Energy
+2 To Shape Shifting Skills (Druid Only)
Jalal’s gives you an extra 40 mana, 5 to mana after each kill, and 20, better def, all res 20, and 30 FHR. Metamorphosis requires you to transform and land an attack in each for to get the same AR bonus. But, you also get 25 IAS, 40% max life, 20% physical damage reduction, 25% crushing blow, and cannot be frozen. Although, some of these advantages can be mitigated by the fact that Jalal’s can have a socket. So, you could add a 20% IAS jewel, or just stuff a cham rune in it for Cannot be frozen. Likewise, with Jalal’s you get +2 shapeshifting and +2 all druid skills. With Metamorphosis you get +5 shapeshifting and whatever comes with the base hat you make it out of. So, let’s take a look at some of the druid builds where Metamorphosis might be a good pick and see if they rise toward the top of the meta.
Shapeshifters only:
Obviously, if you are not playing a shapeshifting druid build. Then, Metamorphosis wouldn’t be a very good choice as that is where it puts all of its abilities. So, for this discussion, let’s assume you are at level 80+, have a respec available, have all of the runes up through LO, a cham rune for Metamorphosis, and the perfect base for it as well. So, you have a druid pelt with 3 sockets and +3 to any skills you want to make it out of. Additionally, let’s say a 15/15 druid torch and a 15/15/10 Anni. So, basically ideal conditions. Last, let’s assume you have access to most midtier gear that you would need for the build, or are farming towards your end build.
So, with shapeshifting, we have 4 main offensives skills, which are, Fury, Rabies, Fire Claws, and Maul. Shockwave just got patched, and these other 4 are your primary offensive options. You could either build a pure one of these builds or some hybrid with shapeshifting mixed with either summoning or elemental skills. This would be like summoning druid who invests one in each prerequisite skill and either 20 in maul or fury with most of the other points into the summoning tree. Likewise, we might have a hybrid druid who supplements hurricane or Armageddon with shapeshifting. Let’s break it down and take a look at each.
Hybrids:
If you are a hybrid build then you likely have at least 40 to 60 points in the summon or elemental tree. Given the synergies needed to bring one of those skills up to viability. For example, 20 spirt wolf, 20 dire wolf, 20 bear or Armageddon, and 2 other fire skills to buff it’s damage or duration. In these cases, your transforming skills are just suplimenta physical damage and your main offensive option is summoning or elemental respectively. In which case, you would be better off with Jalals because it offers +2 to all of these skills along with better resistance and more manna to work with. You are also trying to refresh those skills frequently and trying to balance both bear and wolf forms every 3 minutes would slow you down. With the right +skills base, you could make it work. But, would it really be that much more powerful for the difference in cost? The main answer is not really, and the resource you would spend on Metamorphosis would probably be put to better use elsewhere.
Rabies:
So, if you are a rabies druid, you have 20 rabies, 20 poison creeper, maybe one in each of the wolves and bear and a few other points spread around the build. The buffs given by Metamorphosis deal with dealing a lot of increased physical damage. Most rabies builds use weapons such as deaths web to incease the overall poison damage. Metamorphosis is really meant to boost physical damage, physical defense, and your overall number of hits over time. Rabies, unless you are doing a physical hybrid with grief also really does fit the build here either. But, you are also likely requiring a poison sunder charm and the added all-res from Jalals would be a better fit. You could also socket it with a Tal rune if absolutely necessary. So, Metamorphosis could work but likely isn’t optimal.
Fire Claws:
Fire claws in a very powerful choice for a melee druid especially with the introduction of the Fire sunder charms. There are a number of different options when putting this sort of build together since you are not reliant on your weapon for damage. You can use fire claws as a proc build, pair it with Armagedon since they both share synergies, or do a hybrid physical build with Maul or Fury if you plan to use a good physical weapon. However, Metamorphosis wouldn’t be a good fit for a fire claw druid, even with the potential +8 to the skill.
If you have a 3-socketed druid pelt with +3 to fire claws for the base. You would be better off trading the Cham rune for a Vex rune and making a Flickering Flame out of it instead. This would only give +6 to fire claws. But, it would also add a -10 to 15% enemy fire resistance, which is key for tackling fire immunes with a sunder charm. Likewise, the resist fire aura will counter the negative fire resist penalty from the sunder charm as well.
Maul Bear or Fury Wearwolf:
So, after looking at those builds above, Metamorphosis really only is best in slot for 2 particular builds. Those are namely the Fury Werewolf or the Maul Werebear. It really is one of the best options for those two setups as you are mostly a physical melee character. It gives a solid boost to IAS, AR, and just general survivability. Likewise, if you are using a physical sunder charm the 20% physical resist counters the negative physical resistance and the 25% crushing blow is a welcome addition to any melee class. Paired with a couple of specific weapons, it makes a transformed druid into a potential Uber killer option as well.
The main issue here is that you are likely doing a physical melee build on a character who cannot teleport when transformed. Likewise, every 3 minutes you have to un shapeshift, swap forms and hit an enemy. Then you have to swap back to your main form and resume fighting. Likewise, if you are a mainly physical build you have to use a physical sunder charm with either some form of amplified damage or decertify proc. It definitely opens up some possibilities with these two builds. But, the real question is whether or not it’s worth the hassle of juggling all that or just picking a different class. I guess we will all find out.