Druid Forms from world mobs

Classes Druid
21

I did a post with this ideas while ago, unhapply it never workout fine =/ …

I agree with all your feelings =)

1 Like
22

This would only be an issue if they gave out forms all willy-nilly.

Using your example, if the crocodile appearance is only available to Feral’s then you’re essentially in the same boat as we are now, you see a druid crocodile you know it’s a Feral because only Feral’s can use that appearance. Same deal with a hydra if they made it Guardian specific, you see a Druid hydra and you know it’s a Guardian Druid etc.

I believe that’s what OP was implying when they spoke of the beasts carrying ‘classifications’. Of course it would take the player base a second to adjust to Druid’s not just being cats, bears and the likes but people would pick it up soon enough really and it’s not like it isn’t something that’ll need to be faced with the advent of Zandalari Druid’s anyway.

5 Likes
23

I don’t think it’s a principle they should hold to hard and fast. But as the original post, and some others have mentioned I think certain restrictions would make sense; that is restricting choices to animals that make sense for your spec/role. For example, you couldn’t choose say a rabbit for your bear form, and then go about tanking. Or you couldn’t choose a turtle for your travel form then go about running at 200% movement speed.

I would love to see something like this implemented. I love my druid, but I do get bored with having the same old forms.

24

Honestly i just want them to add a quest for non kt and zandalari druids to be able to use the kt and zandalari druid forms.

2 Likes
25

As said above, the whole silhouette thing is kinda going out the window with the release of Zandalari.

It’d be awesome to be able to be able to shift into a different animal as long as it was spec appropriate.

Guardian - Bear, Turtle, Rhino etc
Feral - Cat, Wolf, Alligator etc
Balance - some other sort of laser animal…

Also I think it’d be great to be non KoS for predator animals that aren’t “corrupted” or frenzied or something. I remember playing Druid in EQ1 and being able to just walk by wolves and bears that would agro non druids/rangers.

1 Like
26

I think the real issue is, this could be done easily with bear and cat form, all blizzard would have to do is refer to hunter pets and their “specs”. Boomkin and resto on the other hand i can’t really think of anything that would make sence.

1 Like
27

The main issue with is that it would be too fun and awesome. I don’t think that’s allowed. Lucky I don’t report you.

3 Likes
28

I’d be curious to see what percentage of people aren’t using the glyph that makes you not a boomy. I rarely see any moonkin.

Might as well make the humanoid form baseline and that would negate the need for forms for laser chickens.

1 Like
29

Try being a Shadow Knight and grouping with a Druid, just for them to port the group to a Druid ring and you zone in to being half dead because you were an Evil class and thus KoS to the Druids at the ring lol

1 Like
30

I use Moonkin Form but it kinda doesn’t took like a caster. Just look at the arms it looks like it could rip someone’s head off.

I wish they implemented this idea.

3 Likes
31

If I could have Arakkoa for my Balance form instead of the Owlkin, I would absolutely get rid of my form glyph. I have nothing against the Owlkin form, just after so many years I’m bored of it.

32

After playing druid as main for so many years, i really like this idea, this option would give us a real challenge to pursuit rare-epic skins for our forms. Based on the Lore, we are “one with nature” so we can transform in obviously more than 7-8 animals.

33

The idea is cool, and I’ve seen similar topics like this pop up before. There is one other thing you gotta factor in too, and that’s the technical aspect of it. Many of the models in game are considered NPC models only. They will only have basic animations and probably one attack animation. We as players move all over the place in many different crazy manners. We strife, jump, twist mid air, and attack, sometimes all at once, and most of these models are going to look awful and just float mid air if you try to do that. They were never meant to move like a player. Also there will hardly be any /emote based animations either, so no /dance, or anything fun like that.

Not knocking the idea. I think it’s pretty neat, but I don’t think they’ll put the time into it, sadly.

34

A cool idea, though to play Blizzard Dev for a moment “it might infringe on Hunter’s class fantasy”

But this could be a stepping off point to a more… uniquely druidid way of acquiring forms now that we’re past Legion… (and maybe a better way to manage those forms? I was flat our dumbfounded by how it worked, having come to the party late)

Thinking back to how we got Feral’s hidden appearance though - that was pretty darn ‘communing with nature’ - if a bit random in nature. Maybe we could see more ‘hidden’ or side quests where we meet some bestial incarnation of nature on one of the islands, or in older zones - and we get their form by communing with them…

Gonna be words words words below here.__
Bit more technical though - sorry I’m in to this kind of thing :grin:

Iamnatman’s point about NPC only models is good - if I understand right , it relates mostly to lack of full animations. i.e. when you mind control certain NPCs, they do weird things if you jump or strafe.

It seems like the WC engine got animation re-targeting at some point recently, so it could be they have any new forms use the cat/moonkin/bear/wolf/etc dances.
A possible example would be the artifact ‘salute’ you did in Legion - which is possibly a retargeted animation. (based on most races having 1:1 poses - proportions aside)
It’s a mathy thing, but basically retargeting is where you take what bones match on a different skeleton, and move them the way you would the original skeleton - which for most bones would mean rotating them, maybe squash/stretch (only a few special bones would be actually moved directly - barring anything unique to how the WC engine handles animation).

I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for Horse form.

35

I like this idea. There are so many interesting models that you could use out in the open world. I love the cat forms in Drustvar that run around. It would also solve the problem of people complaining about not updating models. When you get a new XP you get new forms to transmog.

36

Hmm, I wondered what that was called. I noticed too that many of the races had very identical casting animations now, even though they’re all vastly different models underneath. If they’re migrating to that style of animating, then that’s a pretty good sign (and improvement).

I think for the combat forms, something a bit more manageable and lore friendly would be to copy the same species image. Since all of the cat and bear models in game share the same rig, all of your current attacks and player movements would work and look the same.

There are a TON of different cats and bears out there. There’s tigers in Pandaria, lions in the Barrens, the plague bears in Hillsbrad, and even the rare spectral (and now mechanical) ones throughout the world.

You also have to factor in too that your current toolkit is based on what a cat or bear would do in combat. If say, you were an alligator; you’re still gonna have cat based abilities, which aren’t going to translate very well to another completely different type of animal.

Again, I’m not knocking the idea. I’m just trying to imagine their perspective if it was asked in Q&A.

37

That’s a good point. Blizzard should start work on resolving this immediately. I want it done in time for the next expansion. In 9.0, I want to be playing a druid that can learn forms from the wild, as well as a Mechagnome allied race with the new Tinker class with a mech suit.

If neither of these happen by 9.0, consider me unsubbed.

38

Do i keep useing leather on my drud

39

This hasn’t been true since like Wrath at best, and it’s why they caved on hiding most of the pieces since this thread started. Half the leather in my mog list straight up looks like plate. I’m pretty sure at least two of these pieces are just recolors of the old warrior tier set’s spiked jaw thingy. Plus now a guy running around in warbear woolies and nothing else could be just about anything.

And it doesn’t matter. The only small-scale competitive content in the game where it might matter already shows you their class/spec in the UI, and the large-scale PVP colors the nameplates.

40

Please give me dryad/keeper form for boomkin, lol

1 Like