Druid over Necro?

[Crede]

I know necros are more powerful end game than a druid, have way better dots, better options to level 50+, etc. etc.

With that being said...Would you prefer a druid over a necro? If so, why?

Is having a leaf blower as cool as I imagined in my classic nostalgic dreams?

[mr_jon3s]

Druid just because its nice being able to pl people.

[enjchanter]

Maybe in just a huge nerd but I have certain feels that come attached to each class so I use that to determine classes that I play partially.

I will say that there is something awesome about playing as this powerful master of the force of life and death, who could kill you and laugh as you got from the inside out and send undead servants to dismiss your adversaries.

So If I felt like the druid was a class I would feel attached to in that kind of way I might prefer it.

However in a more realistic sense, druids being able to port is a pretty cool ability I imagine, you can be anywhere with the flick of your wrist. You can command powerful animals in plane of growth and turn the war dogs of Kael on their oppressive masters. You have the ability to hunt down worthy targets out in the forest, following their wretched stench only to come upon them and bind their feet to the ground by the force of karana and command the entire bee movie script to play directly in front of them at max volume and slowly kill them with attrition. You can break into the plane of mischief and cause .... mischief ...

Druids are a really cool class that is super versatile and can do cool things. I don't personally play one but it sounds like you would really like to play one over a necromancer and that's the only reasoning that matters.

[Kich867]

Maybe in just a huge nerd but I have certain feels that come attached to each class so I use that to determine classes that I play partially.

I will say that there is something awesome about playing as this powerful master of the force of life and death, who could kill you and laugh as you got from the inside out and send undead servants to dismiss your adversaries.

So If I felt like the druid was a class I would feel attached to in that kind of way I might prefer it.

However in a more realistic sense, druids being able to port is a pretty cool ability I imagine, you can be anywhere with the flick of your wrist. You can command powerful animals in plane of growth and turn the war dogs of Kael on their oppressive masters. You have the ability to hunt down worthy targets out in the forest, following their wretched stench only to come upon them and bind their feet to the ground by the force of karana and command the entire bee movie script to play directly in front of them at max volume and slowly kill them with attrition. You can break into the plane of mischief and cause .... mischief ...

Druids are a really cool class that is super versatile and can do cool things. I don't personally play one but it sounds like you would really like to play one over a necromancer and that's the only reasoning that matters.

If you're not terribly interested in raiding and are OK with occasionally feeling helpless/pointless in a group, Druids have such breadth of utility and can do so much on their own it's genuinely hard to give up playing them.

Having easy access to SoW, ports, track, and soloing, while being absolutely dope in small groups, it's pretty great.

I'm having a lot of trouble sticking with / getting into my necromancer. I tried to stay away from druids on blue because I played one for so long on red, but I'd say of the classes, Druid and Warrior have been my favorites by far.

[Nagoya]

Druids do only one thing better than any other class and that is helping people. On this ranking Necro are maybe like 8th or 9th out of 14 classes, maybe even lower.
So if that's your thing go ahead!
Druids are super fun if you're a nerd for being helpful and being told "hey thanks bro!" ten times every time you log ;)
Necro are a much more solo experience, obviously. Even in groups I mean. You're "saving the day" much less often (you still can!)

[aaezil]

druid nukes are pretty good so you are never actually useless in any group ever contrary to some popular misunderstandings

[Nagoya]

Yish... if your contribution to a group is DDs that's one very weird group lol. Druids DD is indeed #3, a tiny bit under Magician (and then a big bit under Wizard), but you have other ways to contribute that are usually better... I grouped a lot on Nagoya, and the only times I was nuking was in a group with Enchanter plus Bard, aka a shitload of mana, and probably at least another healer so I didn't have to save for heals either. It is fun when you can tho.

I do agree that at least level 1-54 (couldn't say for 55+), druids are almost always excellent in groups and you will always have an important role to play.

[Kich867]

druid nukes are pretty good so you are never actually useless in any group ever contrary to some popular misunderstandings

Aye, worst case scenario you can nuke stuff for sure.

[Bummey]

Both. Druid first, necro second.

Druids have an easier time getting around and can charm and fight animals that most other classes won't bother with. Camp taken? Port somewhere else, be on the other side of the world in 20 seconds. On top of that, having a high level druid makes it easy to farm stuff for your alts and newer characters.

[solleks]

Halfling druid>human druid>half elf druid>wood elf druid>gnome necro>human necro>dark elf necro>erudite necro>iksar necro. If this is too confusing you can just choose your group based on race or spiritual beliefs.

[Foxplay]

Druids are good solo ( just not as strong as necromancer)

But they are alot better at helping others. Necromancer is a bit better solo but worse at helping people.

On the flip side druid epic is alot easier / attainable / cheaper than necromancer epic. It also stacks with all of their dots unlike the necro epic. I paid for 2 mq things for my druids epic (pgs and pod of seawater) both together cost me a total of 32k. That's a fraction of what necro would have to pay (150k+ for slime blood) and 40k for cloak (if they don't do sky)

[Swish2]

https://i.imgur.com/c7NJRa2.gif

[Bummey]

On the flip side druid epic is alot easier / attainable / cheaper than necromancer epic. It also stacks with all of their dots unlike the necro epic.

eh?

The only stacking issue with the necro epic is darkness/snare, and that spell line is pointless beyond Dooming and has a ludicrously inefficient damage to mana ratio. You don't use darkness for damage.

Druid epic is way cheaper and easier to obtain, yes. Again, solution: both, but druid first.

[xCry0x]

If you were torn between both I would probably go with a druid just because porting is a brain dead source of money that you can start doing early one when you are bored.

[knottyb0y]

Necros are Bad Ass.

[Fleetwood]

Necros are Bad Ass.

[knottyb0y]

Necros are Bad Ass.

Really no further explanation needed, but I'd like to add a more substantive argument to this discussion.

Necros are freakin' cool. You look cool (black gloves, black boots, black robes). You are crazy powerful. Your play style can vary wildly. Necromancers are easy to play, but a skilled player can get a lot out of the class.

Let's talk abilities. There are not a lot of abilities in Everquest that necromancers cannot do.

DoT? Best in the Game
Snare Our darkness spell line is great for fear kiting, or preventing runners in groups.
DD? We aren't great but no group complains about extra dps when you are literally overflowing with mana.
AOE DD Not the most powerful but useful when getting power leveled or wiping away many weak mobs.
Lifetap? So I can dd the enemy and heal myself?!
Lifetap Over Time Not quite regen, but very good for self replenishment
Root We don't get it until 34, but it changes the entire game
Fear Fear + Snare allows us to pretty much beat down anything outdoors.
HP Buff? Self only but stacks with most other HP buffs
AC Buff? Spirit Armor is great even at high levels when you don't have a better buff.
Heal? Necromancers can patch heal, Corporeal Empathy is a good chunk heal for when the shit hits the fan.
Heal over Time? Yeah we are even better at this. Pact of Shadow and Shadowbond rock, even the low level heal over time gives us great utility in groups.
Mez && Memblur? Screaming Terror is useful into the 50s, the memblur component to this spell is very nice.
Pets Necro pets are some of the best in the game. We later get Rogue and Monk pets which give us decent sustained dps in a group.
Pacify We can calm undead, super useful for splitting camps and pulling.
Mana Regen Necromancers get the earliest mana regen (level 8 Dark Empathy), and continue to regen more mana per tick than any other class
Invis Self Only
See Invis Deadeye grants humans infravision, and DMF gives see invis to anyone.
Invis Undead Everyone (we are one of the 3 classes that can both invis to living and undead (Enchanter, Necro, Shadowknight). This is so useful as many zones have a mix of both creatures
Charm Charming Undead is a great way to add DPS to a group, or solo.
Evacuate Levant at 55 is a self only evac, ANOTHER get out of jail free card, also useful for traveling
Feign Death Only 3 classes can do this, a smart necro rarely dies.
Divine Aura Harmshield and later Quivering Viel give you another escape card
ShadowStep Super useful when playing in open zones, gives you that extra second to feign or land root
Resurrection Even at the cost of a Essence Emerald our 93% rez can save your butt and save groups and raids.
Stat Debuff We can drain AC(Shadow Vortex), and Lower Fire/Poison/Disease resist (Scent line of spells)
Resist Buffs Poison Resist via Dead Man Floating is the best in the game, We also get Resist Disease and Resist Cold. Great for camping those shaman mobs.
Levi/Travel While we do not get a speed buff, Dead Man Floating paired with SoW or Jboots makes overland travel so much better
Enduring Breath yeah Dead Man Floating again, component-less long duration Enduring Breath.
AOE DOT We can do it, they aren't great but check that box too.
Stat Buff Okay I might be reaching hear but we can both grant a strength buff and steal strength.


Pretty much we can't Slow, Regen, or a Movement Buff (but jboots and sow potions are available).

What does this do? First it makes us the most self sufficient class in the game. You are a god at soloing. It is so rare that you find a single creature(within range) that can defeat you it's silly.

Necromancers are thought of as soloers, but we shine in groups. Duos and Trios really highlight our versatility. Group with a Shaman or a Druid (or both) and destroy the world. Group with a Ranger, or Rogue and have fun mowing down mobs as you fear kite them. In a full group in a dungeon, be DPS, Backup healer, Backup CC, and even puller. Keeping in mind that you regenerate mana faster than EVERYBODY. So in a group you can use more tricks and really affect each fight. You control your mana and health regen rates giving you so much flexibility.

Fight Modes:
Pet Tank: Not super efficient but doable, you can even chain cast pets if you'd like.
Fear Kite: Let Jobaber shine while it chases down whatever you landed darkness and fear on
Root and Rot: The bees knees. Paralyzing Earth lasts forever, if you can root it (and it doesn't summon) you can kill it eventually.
Tap-Tank: Chain cast Deflux and watch whatever mob lay before you fall.
Charming: Find an undead, make him fight his friends rinse repeat. Oh charm breaks? Might as well Mez or feign death.

You can be as engaged or disengaged as you like. Some days I take it slow and find a quiet spot to solo at a slow pace. Other days I push it to the limit and be as efficient as possible. You can do it all.

Raiding:
I'm only scratching the surface of necromancer raiding but it seems like there are a couple roles.
-Mana Battery: Not so fun until you realize you are the reason the raid survived an encounter because the enchanter wouldn't have had the mana to keep things mezzed without your scaly ass.
-DPS?: Some encounters don't need extra mana, this is where your DD and short duration dots can be useful. Depending on the mob pets are nice.

Disadvantages:
You have to spend a lot of time convincing people you are good at grouping.
A lot of people hate our raid role but at least we aren't mages.
If you pick Iksar (you should) you will look like everyone else. I know other races survive without the regen, but it makes you so powerful. What makes a necro unique is not his or her looks but his or her skills.

Real talk. Druids are a good class, they are one of my favorite duoing partners. With that said Necros are unbelievably powerful. A highly skilled necromancer can do seemingly impossible thing solo, and can benefit a group even more.

[Jimjam]

Be necromancer as by the time you are 55 ranger will be in vogue again as the twink melee class and epic rangers are fun duo with necromancers.

They add slow, regen and movement buffs (see above post for why this synergies) and their blend of aggro, dps and tanking eliminates the need for doing 50% damage, fd and so on.

[Gozuk]

Good call. Necro/Ranger is sick

[Bummey]

Necros are Bad Ass.

extremely agree

[enjchanter]

Yeah necro is my second favorite character edged out by my enchanter. I would love to group on my necro more often besides in HS. I think people just under estimate what a good necro can do for you.

[Bummey]

What makes a necro unique is not his or her looks but his or her skills.

Their looks are super important tho. Be a gnome. Get a fashionable robe.


Yeah necro is my second favorite character edged out by my enchanter. I would love to group on my necro more often besides in HS. I think people just under estimate what a good necro can do for you.

Necros have the most to do when things are going bad. Adds can be controlled with mez/root or offtanked with emissary, group damage can be healed while the cleric focuses on the tank and enchanter, healer or druid/wizard can be twitched when they desperately need mana to save the tank or evac the group, you can feign or even self evac to drag and rez in case it turns into a wipe.

Necros are great to have around. There are plenty of times where I've been glad I brought my necro instead of my rogue, even if it dps is negligible. Rat tunnels in DN, for example, a place my rogue can't safely travel. Invis and ivu for spiders and constructs, track corpse is especially good for staying hidden while locating and dragging bodies out of the tunnels from above ground, where clicking chipped bone rods leaves you open to aggro and wastes charges from hitting the same body -- or that random fucking monk who left shurikens behind on their body loot your god damned shurikens guys ffs -- multiple times.

[d3r14k]

I agree with a lot of the pro druid sentiment, but I'll admit I'm very bias. Also, I have never played a necro past level 20, so I won't attempt to fully weigh in on this conversation in regard to which is "better".

Nagoya and Enjchanter did a pretty solid job of highlighting the pros and cons of the druid. I will say the only time I have ever felt useless in a group setting is when there's a shaman in the group. Need SoW? Oh, the shaman got us, OK. Need a regen? Ah, the shaman has that too. Need STR? Oh, the shaman's STR spell is better. I'm OOM, I need to sit. Oh, the shaman is canni'ing and has mana to heal.

Another thing I don't think anyone has pointed out is that there are a ton of ways to EXP as a druid. Root rot, charm kite, quad, nuke, heal in a group, support (damage shield, SoW, DD) in a group, fear kite, et cetera.

As per which you should pick: Play a druid if your goal is to play casually and you like to help people, explore, power level friends, and have the ability to be anywhere. Play a necro if your goal is to play a bit more seriously and you want to have the ability to solo higher end camps, have a permanent pet, and have a lot of death prevention in feign death.

[Bummey]

Nagoya and Enjchanter did a pretty solid job of highlighting the pros and cons of the druid. I will say the only time I have ever felt useless in a group setting is when there's a shaman in the group. Need SoW? Oh, the shaman got us, OK. Need a regen? Ah, the shaman has that too. Need STR? Oh, the shaman's STR spell is better. I'm OOM, I need to sit. Oh, the shaman is canni'ing and has mana to heal.

As per which you should pick: Play a druid if your goal is to play casually and you like to help people, explore, power level friends, and have the ability to be anywhere. Play a necro if your goal is to play a bit more seriously and you want to have the ability to solo higher end camps, have a permanent pet, and have a lot of death prevention in feign death.

First part's pretty much right about grouping with a shaman, except for the bit about regen. Regrowth takes a shitload of mana for a shaman to single cast on every player, 400 per. Druids have the edge with 600 mana Regrowth of the Grove, especially if you have a free to cast Velious chest click.

That said, I always feel 100% useless in groups as a druid. I'm always oom, without remembering what I did with my mana, if it mattered, and never feeling like I'm worth the group slot. Maybe I'm just a better druid soloer than a druid grouper.

Your final tl;dr nails it. Overall time played, I still play my druid more than any of my other characters.

[tsuchang]

Necro for lots of solo, if that's what you like, and I do. I like my druid for the porting ability but don't make much plat with the union Dial a Port around. If you are like me, and I know I am, I don't have much time to play so solo is key for me and Necro is the one I like for that.

[enjchanter]

Random thought I wanted to come back and share

I think necrosis get a bad wrap from bad players so maybe explain / consider this when selling the idea of inviting a necro

You invite a necro for support in roughly the same line of thinking you use when inviting an enchanter. Group augmentation and fluidity. Enchancing mana regen and healing, pet / charm dps potential, can serve as a dedicated CC / root class. Dots have their place of course but it should be a "I'm bumping into 100% mana" kind of deal and ideally you should never be 100% mana and dots are far from your main job.

If you want respectable dps, then go for that charm pet or bust out the rogue pet and you're already contributing enough towards fast kills. Use bursty dots on names but generally unless its clicky damage , it's not worth it.

Seb crypt groups are wonderful spots to bring a necro. Dots help on ICG's and the high hp names there and you have to option to charm !

The level 29 snare is the only darkness spell you should cast until you get your epic. That spell line is for the snare and nothing else.

Utilize FD to drop your agro! If you cast something high aggro like cessation then let it land then FD off that aggro. This your version of rogue evade !

Just had some thoughts that might be useful if you do decide on necro

[Stroboo]

Necros shine in smaller group setting much more then full groups - add them to pretty much any duo and you will double the kills/exp. add them as a 5th or 6th member and not so much...and super important to have one or 3 for roads too - twitch is sweet but avoiding those nasty CRs is where they really shine