Still working my way up (lvl 21) It just doesn’t feel great. (And if you can’t tell from my name, druid is what I was REALLLY looking forward to in D4.)
Have not played with the earth or bear as I’m more interested in how the wolf and storm feels, so I’ll not comment on them.
Werewolf form: Is this a UI issue, or is there literally no point in being in Werewolf form other than appearance? Am I just missing some sort of stat bonus? (D2 had stamina, health, accuracy, etc…not applicable here but surely we could have something aside from a wolf transmog while we slap them?)
Claw: It’s “OK” It doesn’t feel particularly good since it only hits one target and only slightly faster than any other ability… and it doesn’t do much more damage to compensate, and the spirit regen from it seems slow compared to Stormstrike or Wind Shear.
Stormstrike: It’s pretty nifty in that it’s like a small chain lightning, but it seems at odds with the rest of the storm build because you HAVE to get in melee range to use it… so if you have no spirit in Storm build, you’re a melee druid and don’t even look like a wolf.
Windshear: Best Spirit generation of all of them with the extra spirit talent and the only ranged basic option, but visually it just seems like a cartoon half-frisbee. Probably just spoiled by a blizz-loved class such as sorc.
Lightning Storm: This one feels okay by comparison to the other skills, but it doesn’t do that much damage for something that restricted to 4-6 shots in a chain. (I played a lightning sorc in early access, and the lightning damage on there felt a lot stronger.)
Tornado was interesting, but it costs WAY too much for how unreliable it is. Feels bad spending 1/3rd of a full tank to watch something that MIGHT hit something once or twice at range, if at all, for not much damage.
Shred was okay, the dashing upgrade was a nice mobility enhancement, but compared to Lightning Storm and pretty much any of the sorc abilities… it’s really just lackluster. And again questions about “what is werewolf form at base?”
Cyclone Armor feels okay.
Bloodhowl also feels okay, but only because with a certain boost it’ll buff your party too… without that it feels like a waste when compared to other options.
Hurricane feels pretty weak for being a CD. Comparing that to the Sorc 20sec CDs… it’s a light breeze smelling of a fart.
I got kinda bored with the gameplay so I haven’t made it to the big CDs…I’ll leave those to the more enthused players with more time (I purposely skipped most of the storyline as much as I could because that’s not what is going to be important long term, and I’d rather enjoy it fully on release.)
I’m pretty sure if you took a druid and a sorc and put them in matching basic gear. (prioritizing Willpower/Intelligence accordingly) and sent them solo through the exact same dungeon in a side-by-side computer scrolling experience- the sorc is going to have a much more fun time, and be at risk of dying a whole lot less than any flavor of the druid.
I hope it improves dramatically before launch, because I’ve been looking for D4 to fill the game hole…HOTS and Warthunder are frustrating experiences.