Quote:
Originally Posted by NZV
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Hey there. I recently started playing P1999, and have been enjoying myself thus far. Prior to this I hadn't touched EQ since the Luclin days, so it's a pretty great nostalgia trip.
Anyways, I decided to make a druid since they seem pretty self sufficient, and am now level 11. I've never really played a druid before though, and I'm not entirely sure what I should be doing. In a group, for example, what role should I be taking? Should I just be saving all my mana for heals and buffs? Should I even bother trying to melee? Should defensive buffs be up on everyone in the group, even if that means a long med break every ~30 mins? Is it worth trying to dot/nuke or just a laughable waste of time?
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If you're the
primary healer...medding is ALL you should be doing. You're a poor man's cleric here...which pretty much sums it up for any grouping you do as a druid throughout your career. You CAN keep a group alive, but the group needs to understand that pulls are going to be slower, and med breaks are a regular necessity. As the primary healer, the group needs to understand you can't buff them to smithereens AND keep them alive. Some groups will never understand that. If you can toss a buff every now and again, cool...but your job is healing.
If you're not the primary healer... ALWAYS DS the tank - forget the low-level dots. Mobs shouldn't last long enough for them to be mana-effective. Nuking is your best damage. Always reserve mana in case the primary healer has an "oh-shit" moment, and also in case
HE needs heals. If you have two non-cleric healers in the group...watch each others backs.
Melee is never your game past level 5 or so.
Pro Tip: Never underestimate your ability to ghetto crowd control. Root adds and tell the tank to back up - it's commonly known as "root parking". (Don't dot them while rooted, either...you'll be in for a nasty surprise when root breaks, and your tank has a tough enough job as it is.) That's one HUGE difference between a good and a great druid. You can heal, nuke, dot, and ghetto CC. Not bad. Later on you'll also have the "get the group the frick out of trouble" card. Woot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NZV
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What about soloing? I'm not bothering with kiting until I hit 14 for SoW, but when I do reach that level, am I supposed to be using DDs or just letting my dot slowly do all the work? Should I be using root, or just snare?
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You really won't be able to effectively kite until 19. You CAN at 14, don't get me wrong, but it's ungodly painful. Snare kite with Dots until you can safely nuke 'em down. This holds true till you can quad. Snare, Dot...run a ways out, sit and med until the mob needs to be resnared/dotted...rinse/repeat. In classic this is torture. You kill a mob, then wait 30 minutes on your mana pool. Bring a book. Or forget soloing and GROUP.
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Root dot works for a while, but at some point mob HP far outstrips your ability to root dot and/or nuke down. Can't remember what that point is. You'll figure it out. You only need to root dot in confined places. Your best bet is to go to open areas and snare kite. After 19 you can hit the Karanas, et al.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NZV
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And are there any specific items I should be looking for, either to purchase or to acquire out in the world? I'm still rocking a cracked staff and I don't even have a shield, but I'm really not certain what I should be aiming for. I don't exactly have a ton of money, but if there are any cheap/moderately easy to get pieces of equipment out there that won't bankrupt me to the point that I can't afford spells anymore, I'd be interested in hearing about them. Even something a little more long term that I can reasonably save up for.
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Here's an oldie but goodie:
Gear Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by NZV
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On a related note, what about decent ways to make money? All I've really done for cash so far is sell CB belts, but group exp in in Crushbone is starting to get fairly poor sans throne room, which has been nothing but a death trap. And I certainly can't go off soloing legionnaires.
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Until you can port...one tip. AVOID Oasis. Go to Unrest...drops you need are there, some good items drop that can be sold for decent plat at that level, too. Zombie skins for rogue poisons, bone chips for necros...bunch of other good stuff.
I'm sure I'm missing a bunch...been a long time since I played a druid, but it's a fun class, and well worth playing. Planar guilds need droods to help kite all the Fear adds the chanters can't handle...and be port hoors for raid calls. So you're needed.
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