[kaluppo]

Originally Posted by valenwood [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The only "niche" that druids seem to fill as a healer that's substantial is having an "outdoor shrink". Other than that, they seem to be the "Wizards of the Healers", always Oom, and rarely being able to contribute in a very powerful way. They sit in the back, and hope no one calls on them to be the main healer.

I'm shocked at your ignorance on the Druid class considering how old this game is. But let me educate you with thirteen ways your assessment is incorrect.

1). Harmony. This along with sow/wolfform this actually makes druids an ideal puller or assistant to the puller. Harmony is low mana and it can't be resisted.

2). Damage Shield. Unless there is a mage in the group, I always keep DS on the tank whether I am healer or DPS. It's low mana and the damage adds up.

3). Regeneration. This is highly underrated. It only costs 100 mana and I love it for the non-tanks who take a little damage here and there. Keeps the healer from having to cast larger mana heals on multiple players making their mana last longer.

4). Snare. Very low mana and it can keep your mob from aggroing adds when low health. For groups with minimal DPS this can be very useful.

5). Fire/ICE based nukes. These do considerable DPS for the mana spent. In a good group I can keep DS on the tank and nuke once per fight without ever getting below 50M. Add a chanter with clarity and I can nuke 2-3 times per fight. Right now at CE entrance, my fire nuke does about 20% of mobs health. I nuke twice then I did 40% of the kill + DS damage.

6). Swarm DOT. Mostly this is a solo spell. But the magic based swarm DOT is extremely mana friendly and highly effective against higher level mobs that the group may take longer to kill. This spell is also never resisted by anything non-red. When I know the puller grabbed a mob that takes awhile to kill then I will throw the dot on to get more damage done for less mana.

7). SOW/share wolf form. Speaks for itself.

8). Heals. You can never beat a cleric but you can come close. From level 1-28 the Druid can heal nearly as good as a cleric. From 29-34 the Cleric, Druid and Shaman all have the same greater healing spell as their best. 34+ the Clerics run away with it but the Druid can fill in nicely in a pinch. Not to mention having a backup healer in a group can be huge when two members are getting beat on or the Cleric is taking aggro. When main healing I can manage my mana very efficiently as long as we have a good puller and tank. In other words, If I only have to heal one player most of the time then there is no issue with premature 00m. If however, the puller, tank and chanter are all taking damage on every pull then sure mana will be a problem. That's certainly not the Druids fault.

9). Evac/ports. I can't tell you how many times I saved an entire CE entrance group from wiping on a bad pull. The ones who can gate back do so and I can go get the rest so they can make the relatively short run from Steamfont druid rings. Not to mention all the times a replacement has been found for someone who needs a ride.

10). Skin/STR/MR buffs. This is the least useful but when you are encumbered the STR buff is a lifesaver. When the Cleric is LOM or non-existent the Skin buff is awesome for the tank, puller and chanter in the group. Magic resist is also nice to have on for a low mana buff when pulling caster mobs.

11). Levitate/enduring breath. There are zones where this is huge even in a group setting.

12). Whirling wind. Low level, low mana nuke with a stun to interrupt caster mobs. This was huge when fighting at orc highway whenever they pulled an orc priest.

13). Root. Druids have a great root line which lasts 1.6 minutes and does a little damage on impact. It's also low mana to cast so it makes it great for groups with a tank who can't keep aggro or just as CC for that pesky add when the group lacks a chanter or bard.