Druid race query

[Doctor Jeff]

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

You could sneak pull on races that had the skill innately. That is no longer the case so the advice doesn't really apply.

You can still sneak pull, Moran.

[Triiz]

Don't most druids solo level outdoors at lower levels and can just use OP unresistable lvl 5 Harmony? Or I assume if a druid was in a group indoors they usually wouldn't be pulling.

I'm interested to hear how often Halfling Druid's use sneak vs. Tunare druid's with root neck/eventually DS gloves. I think if I was going to start a Druid today I'd go for Tunare, even though Grasping Roots doesn't take that much mana having unlimited clicky root without taking up a spell gem seems extremely useful.

[loramin]

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

even though Grasping Roots doesn't take that much mana having unlimited clicky root without taking up a spell gem seems extremely useful.

Keep in mind you're talking about a 4 second cast time when using the necklace (vs. half that if you cast the spell normally), for at best a 36 second root. Compare that to higher level roots you can cast: even just the level 24 root lasts almost 3x as long (1.6 minutes), and the higher level ones can cast faster or last even longer.

I've never actually had the Tunare symbol, so I can't speak from experience, and of course there will be times when all you need is a short duration root and you don't mind spending a couple extra seconds for it. All I'm saying is, it's still a level five spell that takes twice as long as normal to cast, so when you get higher in level you may find that it doesn't actually save you a spell slot because you want/need a better root.

[Lhancelot]

I find the Tunare necklace underwhelming for all the reasons Loramin mentioned.

Basically over time I have come to appreciate halfling mojo. Sneak and hide add to that mojo.

[Ravager]

I really like the clicky root. With that, the snare gloves and dot arms, a druid can kill (albeit slowly) anything that doesn't summon. It's very nice not having to abandon a kill because you ran out of mana from resists or fizzles.

Not trying to be snarky, but you should really try the necklace before you judge its usefulness. I use it all the time on my druid and can't think of a single time I lamented not having sneak on that same druid.

High level roots cost a lot in terms of mana. Mobs can break those roots too.

[loramin]

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

Not trying to be snarky, but you should really try the necklace before you judge its usefulness.

I'm not re-rolling my level 45 druid for a level 5 root clickie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

But look I never said it wasn't useful; in fact I said quite the opposite:

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

of course there will be times when all you need is a short duration root and you don't mind spending a couple extra seconds for it

My point was just that having the symbol doesn't mean you can forever free up your root spell slot, because there are legit reasons why you'd still want to cast other roots even if you have it.

[Doctor Jeff]

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

I'm not re-rolling my level 45 druid for a level 5 root clickie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I see a lot of people talk about reroll like you have to delete a character to do it.
Accounts are infinite and free of charge, just make more characters...

[Lhancelot]

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

I see a lot of people talk about reroll like you have to delete a character to do it.
Accounts are infinite and free of charge, just make more characters...

I hate changing accounts back and forth, and try to focus on one account. I have deleted many a toon that was partially developed which I just no longer enjoyed playing.

I like starting new toons, and have even started my third druid now to lvl up. It's my favorite class to level as I am motivated to do a third one, this time being a halfling. That or it's a sickness...

Gatmanno has inspired me, I have to be honest! I love how he looks. No robe, no matter, halfling druids look really cool.

I deleted a 29 wizard to make room for my newest alt addition. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Nagoya]

lvl 53 halfling druid and lvl 19 half-elf druid here.

halfling sneak is a joke. if you ever use it it is only as a gimmick. not because sneak is useless, but because sneak (50) is very unreliable, and the only thing you're gonna do with such an reliable skill is to bank/vendor at places you wouldn't otherwise. and druids can teleport anytime from anywhere to rivervale in 15 seconds. please tell me a relevent scenario for sneak.

halfling 5%xp is also a joke. EQ is about the journey. The more you group the less actual 5% that 5% is, and even in solo, it means you gain say 10 levels in 19 hours instead of 20 hours. big effin' deal.

hide is actually "cool" - a bit like sneak, it's just a gimmick, but at least you can use it to perma-afk med in one spot while going to the bathroom or washing the dishes or something, without having to port or go somewhere safe. you can also break charm with it if you don't have the goblin ring and are willing to try 10 attempts of hide to success (once again, 50 is low).

lastly for the halflings, they are small. which would be nice in theory, i like small races, mroe visibility, you can enter the hole without help etc. however druids get wolf form, so moot again.

as for the clicky root, well i have never used it myself. however... i know as a 53 druid that grasping root is the root you keep using all the time always. basically going up in level you keep two roots on your spellbook, the latest one in case you need longer roots (more damage), usually in groups where you have to ghetto CC, or solo root rotting sometimes... and then your grasping root, because it has a faster casting time and low mana cost. the length of the root is irrelevent. i mean, as long as it let's you go away, or cast another spell, or whatever you have to do. the only important thing is to root the mob, and for this you need to be able to cast it even when oom (35 mana is one tick even if completely oom) and you need the fastest casting time you can get! and for this Grasping Root hardcast is king (until level 56 iirc), and honestly that part is much more important than the 35 mana! Long story short, a 4 second CT Grasping Roots sounds like garbage to me. The "free" spell slot is nice, i guess, but i wouldn't want my roots to take 4sec to cast ouch no thank you o_o ... root is one spell you cast A LOT, and many times when you (or groupmate) are in deep sh!t, and you need it to work, and cast it thrice in a row cause it gets resisted or breaks etc. fast root is your lifeline. don't compromise on cast time.

so back on topic...

wisdom will be capped at some point (and by "capped" i mean somewhere above 200 and by at some point i mean at lvl 45+) whatever race you play and that doesn't make that much of a difference tbh. Anyone who played a druid a bit knows that we are ALWAYS low on mana. we have nothing to keep our mana up until PotG at level 60, and we are always casting spells, like non stop all the time. even when medding up we're somehow refreshing buffs, casting SoW on travelers, Teleporting, killing that green mob on track just cause sometimes it drops X, etc. a full mana druid is a liar or a bad druid ^^ and as we all know by now, high wisdom only means more total mana, which is only relevent when you're FM and you go down to OOM. So obviously relevent, and it's probably your primary statistic don't get me wrong, but in all reality that happens basically never. you will be somewhere between 80m and 5m 95% of your time on the server. Chill down with the WISDOM.

i think your only choice for a druid race is to go fashionquest. that's really the only thing.

Sheer look is subjective, anyway druids look like naked hobos for most of their lives until raid gear and level 56+, but i would personnaly rank them like this;
Human > Wood Elf > Half Elf > Halfling
My halfling druid is the ugliest toon i have ever played, on any game, any concept, any era, any format, any genre. There is nothing uglier in this universe than a ugly naked halfling druid. honestly. biggest regret in my EQ carreer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

then in terms of objective stat, we have originality, and that would probably go like this;
Half-Elf (Male) >*Half-Elf (Female) >*Human (Male) > Human (Female) > Wood Elf (Male) > Halfling (Female) >*Wood Elf (Female) > Halfling (Male)
Halflings and Wood Elves are everywhere, it is the two most played race/class combination on the server by a big margin. you will be one lost soul in a huge ocean of 100% lookalike copycats (remember the 'naked hobo' part).

Humans are blind as mole. That is probably a real flaw. It gets quite dark on human view.

TL;DR
For me the clear winner is Half-Elf. Half-Elf Druid FTW. Go for Half-Elf @OP.

[GreldorEQ]

I have been a Halfling Druid here for a long time, and I'd like to weigh in on some things:

HIDE - The number 1 ability for any caster who likes/needs to AFK. You can't beat it, AFK while regening mana! Its safe, and its free, and it doesn't drop unexpectedly. I use it every single day.

Secondly, I have used this skill for charm break throughout my time here. Sure it takes a few tries sometimes, but its like having a spell slot free, not working every time is a minor inconvenience. The ring or a cast will not make you magically able to clear all the bears solo a ton faster.

SNEAK - I use this skill all the time, in adventuring and raiding. Sure its gimmicky for vendoring, but its a suvivability tool! It has helped me to survive raid wipes and position for tricky pulls. If you're not much for adventuring and thinking outside the box, then I can see how this would not appeal to you.

Tunare Clickies - at 60, with some reasonably decent gear and a mana pool somewhere between 3500-3800 depending on the encounter, these don't matter. I can cast grasping roots all day long if I need/want to, and thorns is a minor convenience. I could see someone who PLs frequently for cash this one being somewhat valuable.

STATS - Doesn't matter in the least imo. With the above stated mana pool, I find that gaining more mana has a very marginal gain vs. effort. Sure it would be nice to be able to cast 4 POTGs when I need to span group heals, but 4800 mana is a tall order and I can't think of a significant reason otherwise to push for more.

As many have stated before, play the race you can stand to look at if you plan on sticking around long term.