Druid Changes

[Eo Vew]

Where as I am not a player who has played druid for two years, I am a player who has played a number of DR based classes, to include Druid. Some tweaks may be warranted but, I think careful consideration should be given before moving towards heavy changes.

First, our favorite edition of the D&D ruleset is simply one which, due to the feat system, heavily rewards specialization, or optimization, if you will:

A very good discussion regarding the 3.0 environment

https://youtu.be/-dyEkUiH2nc?t=121

Specifically regarding optimization

https://youtu.be/-dyEkUiH2nc?t=405

What this means is that “balance” is less about bringing classes down to be in line with others, and more about maintaining the Paper, Rock, Scissors of combat. “Balancing” a class to others can also cause oversights. I am not a number cruncher, but, I know that in Wild Shape I can’t heal kit myself. Is it fair then to compare a Druid’s DR to a Warlock with 30% Slashing Immunity who also has EDR 3? A warlock with 30 Heal, let alone regen, can easily Heal Kit through most damage, even in group combat.

And where I do feel Druids fall more into the “Tank” slot of combat in the current environment, comparing them to Spellswords and Battleclerics is a little unfair as well. I’ve seen both of these classes able to reach very high AC and maintain very high AB at the same time. They don’t suffer from the “you have to be good at one thing” most classes do. They are good at both.

In this case, I think Druids compare more to Barbarians in this role, who have comparable if not on par DR, can have extreme amounts of health, and still do very good damage with good AB. Lowering DR and health and raising AB to the low 40’s on druids simply makes them mediocre at what other classes will do better. You could make the argument that Druids also get the benefit of Spellcasting but dropping out of Shape in combat is basically playing Russian Roulette. Anyone with even basic Knockdown will end you.

That said, Totem Druids are a little insane. An easy way to “tone this down” would be to make Monk AC not stack in Totem Shape, the same as Dragon Shape. If no path druid needs to be toned down as well, make them only benefit from up to EDRII, rather than removing it completely. Make incremental changes rather than over tuning a class completely will help alleviate player dissatisfaction. But, perhaps the focus should be more on bringing the classes who are lagging behind up to the standard, like Paladins. A buff to paladins would balance overall combat and the RP of the server.

As for elemental swarm, I’m not sure who wins the fight between four lesser summons and ES:MD Mummies / Vampires. I think the elemental swarm loses that fight.

[Irongron]

I believe at some aspects of this suggestion have been done.

Moving to completed.