Do Druids have anything over Shammy other then ports?

[VincentVolaju]

So getting pretty discouraged with me Druid, I originally made it cause I was thinking like "Oh I hate traveling, Ill get ports, heals and buffs, everyone will want me! And if they don't, Ill solo!"

However its not exactly feeling that great anymore lol. It seems like Shamans get all the same types of buffs I get, plus some other better ones like haste. They can melee decently, they get a pet, they get slows/debuffs, they have self manastone, they a ton more normal stat buffs, there usually taken over a Druid in groups, and they can solo better then a Druid too right?

Its just kinda like, damn if I didn't have ports would there be any other reason to play this Druid over playing a Shaman? Really considering rerolling atm lol, unless there is something im missing here?

[Kika Maslyaka]

until druids get their dot stacking in late velious, shaman is in every way better for groups.
Druid can probably solo some thing shamans can't approach in melee by root+dot, and snare comes VERY handy for many things - buts its very long and very boring way to play the game...
And yeah you can port =)
I had a druid main on LIVE - or at least I tried - it didn't really got good until PoP+ era.
I ended up mostly porting around and selling things to buy twink gear

[VincentVolaju]

Thats EXACTLY the path it feels like im going down right now lol ... I am usually always not picked for a group when there is a shaman lfg also. So I tried soloing until I could get a group but the whole root, dot, dot, sit and wait for root to wear off style of solo is sooo long and boring and makes me wanna kill myself. So Ive prob spent 50% of the time just trading in EC, or porting around and offering ports to other zones. Its "alright" money I suppose for the amount of effort it takes which is basically zero lol. But other then that I feel so useless compared to other class's, and the main way to solo just feels like its so not effcient at all and way too slow.

The best part about Druid I think is being able to bind myself at an exp spot, and just gate back instantly when I want to level, while still being able to port to WC for example to trade and in EC etc. That is really the only part about Druid that I am liking right now ... so I am kind of between just sticking out and try to continue leveling or to just scrap it now and start something else before I invest any more time into it =/

[Frytard]

Nope Shamans are Overpowered

[Kika Maslyaka]

yeah exactly how it was for me on live ;)
if you want to be support group healer/buffer - better go shaman now. and SLOW - never gets obsolete - you will be guaranteed a spot in every raid ;)

If you looking for more soloing power - then necro pretty much is the easiest path to go, and their dps contribution to a group still many times greater than druids.

[Gamgypsy]

the whole root, dot, dot, sit and wait for root to wear off style of solo is sooo long and boring

It speeds things up a good amount by charming a pet and putting the damage shield on it then sending it after your root/dotted enemy. Don't worry about letting the pet heal after battles - once it gets to like 13% hp or so you can cast camouflage on yourself and you'll lose the pet, but at 13% hp it'll end up running away from you (slowly) so you can just dot it for full dot dmg while it runs for life, and continue killing the mob you originally had root and dotted. The pet will die and give you full xp, in addition to the current mob you're working on rooting and dotting.

So yeah, that's playing it like a pet class now :D

[SupaflyIRL]

until druids get their dot stacking in late velious, shaman is in every way better for groups.
Druid can probably solo some thing shamans can't approach in melee by root+dot, and snare comes VERY handy for many things - buts its very long and very boring way to play the game...
And yeah you can port =)
I had a druid main on LIVE - or at least I tried - it didn't really got good until PoP+ era.
I ended up mostly porting around and selling things to buy twink gear

I seem to remember shamans being way better soloers (on tough mobs like nameds and WW dragons etc) than druids in velious. They could solo about as well as my monk druid duo thanks to slow and regen.

[soup]

I played a druid to 50 before Kunark, and now I play a 56 shaman. Druid is basically a crappy version of a shaman that can port. I'm actually bound at the firepots so they don't even that going for them from my perspective. Shaman buff better, they have cannibalize, they debuff, they group better, they solo better for the most part (45+ with a JBB you're right on par with necro/mage soloing)

In my mind, playing a druid at this point is laughable at best.

[Pyrocat]

Druids beat shamans when it comes to exp soloing rate. Boss mob soloing, shamans win every time. Group desirability, shamans win.

[soup]

Druids beat shamans when it comes to exp soloing rate.

I'm inclined to disagree with that, assuming you're 45+ and have a JBB.

And before 34 druids can't even really quad can they? That would leave them with 11 levels of an exp advantage, with the rest either being equal or to the shamans favor.

Druid is a lot more boring too. Do a quad, go AFK while medding. Do a quad, go AFK while medding.

[Spud]

I have to admit leveling from 50-60 is not as fun/easy as 0-50 was. It seems like I could get a group easier then and if I didn't, soloing seemed more fun/effective.

Shamans definitely are preferred over druids in PUGs. I basically only do PUG in Karnors, OS is so far out of the way and it's tougher to get groups, plus its indoors.

Raptors is about the only GOOD solo spot and it i can only support 2 droods.

But i'm going to stick it out with my druid 'till 60 because, well i've grown sort of attached to the guy.

[William_Munny15]

I'm inclined to disagree with that, assuming you're 45+ and have a JBB.

And before 34 druids can't even really quad can they? That would leave them with 11 levels of an exp advantage, with the rest either being equal or to the shamans favor.

Druid is a lot more boring too. Do a quad, go AFK while medding. Do a quad, go AFK while medding.

a druid with a manastone and or a luminescent staff is faster exp soloing by a long shot over a shaman. Since you're talking about an optimally geared shaman, at least throw an optimally geared druid to compare.

[soup]

a druid with a manastone and or a luminescent staff is faster exp soloing by a long shot over a shaman. Since you're talking about an optimally geared shaman, at least throw an optimally geared druid to compare.

JBB = 15k
Manastone = 65k

The guy who posted this question told me he had about 50k to spend when I was talking to him, so operating under the assumption that he could do a 15k JBB + full gear on a shaman but not a 65k manastone + full gear on the druid seemed pretty reasonable. (plus in general, someone could somewhat easily save up 15k leveling normally to 45, 65k would be.... difficult)

Druid solo spots are also much more limited. A shaman can go wherever the hell he wants to solo, indoor, outdoor, it doesn't matter. A druid has to pray his favorite spots are available.

[Zuranthium]

Druids are clearly better than Shaman at soloing before level 34. Fighting in melee is worthwhile at those levels and thus the Druid's damage shield allows them to efficiently generate a lot more damage than a Shaman can. Prior to level 24 Shaman are one of the worst classes in the game at soloing, actually.

Level 34 is a massive game changer for the Shaman, though. They get a pet which allows them to create a lot of extra damage at almost no cost and they also get a very large increase in power to their disease DoT. Even though Druids can start quad-kiting at this level, I'm not convinced that it is actually better than what the Shaman is able to do -- IF you're looking at a realistic scenario, which is the Druid not having manastone and not constantly getting a Clarity buff.

From level 39+ the Shaman definitely becomes better than a Druid. Level 39 is when pets start super-regenerating, the Shaman's own mana regeneration further improves at this level, and Shaman also get the amazing Venom of the Snake at that level. This allows them to root rot targets extremely well, as the pet provides lots of extra DPS and recovers its own HP very well without needing to spend much extra mana on it.

I've already talked over and over about how superior Shaman are to Druids at the later levels, so I'm not going to get into it again. Druids are sadly not a "real character" later in the game. They are a character that gets logged on to teleport and buff the guild, and then you log back onto a real character afterwards.

[Torven]

You make a druid to port, because they port better than wizards. That's it.

Druids have some very nice soloing options in certain locations at certain levels, but otherwise shamans are clearly superior. There are very few places you can quad in the manastone usable old world. Paw spires, the 4 spawns near the hermit, spectres, and Oggok if you're good. That's about it. The problem is these places are usually camped.

Charm however is still quite usable. There are a few variations to charming you can do as a druid. You can perma pet a mob, give it weapons, and either fear your kill targets if they are animals (mammoths, TD) or chain cast snare gloves and kite while your pet kills the mobs chasing you. (OT, EJ) Or you simply charm a mob, use it to kill one or two mobs, break charm, charm a new mob, and kill the mob that was your pet. (kedge, permafrost)

In groups however, druids are worthless. Except maybe in Chardok.

[Hijynx]

Get a Luminescent staff, its a free 184dmg quad.

[soup]

Get a Luminescent staff, its a free 184dmg quad.

I've always wondered about that thing, are you actually able to get the 10 second cast off before mobs can hit you? How much leeway is there?

[Trisun]

Druids are the jack of all trades and the master of none. Pretty much that way in every MMO. But hey look at the bright side they are the best characters for making money. On my druid back in the day I would port to various locations just looking for rares on track. Can't travel that quick with a ranger. Make money pretty easily.

[soup]

Druids are the jack of all trades and the master of none. Pretty much that way in every MMO. But hey look at the bright side they are the best characters for making money. On my druid back in the day I would port to various locations just looking for rares on track. Can't travel that quick with a ranger. Make money pretty easily.

Ehhhhhhh I don't know about that one. They might be among the best money makers for a new player, but as far as in the long run, I'd have a hard time buying that.

[Kika Maslyaka]

Druids are the jack of all trades and the master of none. Pretty much that way in every MMO. But hey look at the bright side they are the best characters for making money. On my druid back in the day I would port to various locations just looking for rares on track. Can't travel that quick with a ranger. Make money pretty easily.

*cough* WoW *cough* - more like master of 3 trades at a time there with no actual penalties :cool:
in EQ1 druid only started to shine in PoP+ era when dots started to stack, and they finally claim solid 2nd healing place in groups and even raids with 3.4k and 4.5k heals. Until then druid was "mediocre at everything" other than travel...

[Pyrocat]

Ehhhhhhh I don't know about that one. They might be among the best money makers for a new player, but as far as in the long run, I'd have a hard time buying that.

Necros and Enchanters are probably the best at making money because they can solo so well and have a plethora of utility spells to allow them to reach named mobs without fighting through.

[soup]

Necros and Enchanters are probably the best at making money because they can solo so well and have a plethora of utility spells to allow them to reach named mobs without fighting through.

This I can buy.

[Kika Maslyaka]

the only truly benefit of a druid being able to buy things cheaply in EC, then port to Gfay or go to EverFrost area (rich people camping Igs) and auction your wares there - this is how I made 20k before my first char ever hit level 30 =)
Making money was way easier than leveling :D

[VincentVolaju]

See Id like to believe that its just a bad rep Kimm but, when you look @ what I have to offer compared to what the Shaman has its like basically, I get a Dmg shield, while he gets stat buffs, haste buff, slow debuff and self manastone. Not to mention gets all the same spells we get, but at a sooner level =/.

I just cant decide if being able to port is worth losing all those extra spells/abilities. I mean I really do like my Druid but I hate soloing with it, and I hate feeling like I am just a weaker version of another class. Which sucks cause traveling around as a Shaman is going to suck lol >_>, assuming I do just reroll Shammy.

[Trademaster]

If you enjoy being a druid, then stick with it. You won't feel gimped so long as you paly your class well. It all depends on what you find enjoyable about druids over Shamen. If it's just the travel thing, then Heck, go Shaman, and carry coin for ports.

[Zanti]

Well now... on live snare and evacs mattered and were even required for success in dungeons. Here they usually are not needed at all.

[Shrubwise]

Well now... on live snare and evacs mattered and were even required for success in dungeons. Here they usually are not needed at all.

Agreed. As a druid, I never use snare. I just quad kite mobs running at full speed. No problem.

[Enderenter]

Prior to level 24 Shaman are one of the worst classes in the game at soloing, actually.

Not sure if you are assuming twinked or non-twinked, but either way, I'd think that Shamans would be better than most... certainly better than any melee.

[Zuranthium]

Well they are definitely worse than any other caster class and also worse than Bards. So that puts them in the lower 50% at least, if not assuming twinking. If you do assume twinking, then all of the melee classes gain more than a Shaman does and should solo at least as good as a Shaman if not better (except for Rogues of course).

Even without twinking, I'd say SK, Paladin, and Monk are just as good overall in that pre-24 range. As soon as the SK can fear kite at 15 they become better than a Shaman and the Paladin should be just as good as a Shaman when they get meditate at 12, and then become better at 15 when they get the undead nuke. Then level 20-23 those classes should be WAY better than a Shaman because of getting Double Attack and the damage cap being removed. Monks have a higher bind wound + mend + avoidance + a lot more damage. Should put them on equal ground to a Shaman.

[Hithrohir]

To be fair, SK fear-kiting doesn't really become very viable until the 20s, probably closer to 30. For one thing, Clinging Darkness is shit in both duration and snare percentage, and you don't get Engulfing until level 22. Then comes the mana cost, and the thing to consider here is that, unlike kiters, you don't get to meditate while doing damage. A typical fear kite will take an Engulfing Darkness (60 mana) and up to three Fears (40 mana each), and that's a considerable amount of medding that has to be done afterwards. Then add the occasional lifetap as you take some damage while re-fearing the mob. I'd still call it a reasonable soloing method, especially for a tank, but it'll never really approach that of an actual soloing class. Even shamans under level 24.

Shamans solo alright in the lower levels. It isn't great, you won't grind non-stop like a magician or abuse bind wounds and mend like a monk can while his base hp is still nearly doubled from 55hp rings and HBC and such, but it works out alright. You have heals, you have SoW, you have dots that are reasonable enough even at that level, and you have the ability to tank adequately through your teens in just banded armor. With any kind of decent weapon, you can dot-and-tank your way to the early 20s with relative ease, and from then on you grow steadily better at soloing.

[Numbers_]

I'm someone who has a shaman and a monk, both untwinked, around or just went through that level range.

I found the monk easier to solo for sure. Sometimes with the shaman I get two or three resists and I may have to zone the mob, it can be kind of frustrating. The monk kills faster and has less downtime.

I enjoy the monk more so far and I'm trying very hard just to make it to 24 (on my shaman) because of how much I hear it picks up then. I like to buff and heal in groups, so it appeals to me in theory.

[Zuranthium]

To be fair, SK fear-kiting doesn't really become very viable until the 20s. For one thing, Clinging Darkness is shit in both duration and snare percentage, and you don't get Engulfing until level 22. Then comes the mana cost, and the thing to consider here is that, unlike kiters, you don't get to meditate while doing damage.

Yeah, clinging is not ideal, but I've seen plenty of people do it. Of course, it all depends on how good of a weapon you get. People should definitely be focusing on getting as good of a weapon as possible at the lower levels, rather than armor.

Shaman under level 14 have really shitty damage, that's the problem. They also have to engage in melee while casting their spells, meaning they'll still be soaking up damage and then have to spend more mana on heals afterward. At level 14 it gets better with the new DD and Root, but you're still just a bad Wizard. Then, at Level 19, the new disease DoT you get really sucks and you don't get a new DD, so your damage output is just wretched and soloing is very tedious.