Damage shields are the most efficient damage per mana of any spells in the game for the classes that can cast them well (druid and mage).
39 druid thorns is 100 mana to cast for a 14 DS that lasts 4 minutes. If you get 10 hits a minute it works out to 5.5 damage per mana - more efficient than the level 34 quad spell. The question is whether or not you can survive the hits and whether the healing required allows for the efficiency to actually matter. This all boils down to gear. Obviously insane items like Fungi change the game entirely at the low to medium end. Items with high ac help a ton. Druid defense caps at 200 (lv 39). With a dodge of 75 and defense at cap ... reasonable gear ... it's a viable strategy though probably not the most efficient.
My druid is about to turn 40. I will probably pause there for a hot minute to get defense up to 200 and use the DS as a means of killing. After that - it will probably take a nose dive.
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