The Druid
Updates to the "Roles of the Druid" section 07/30/06y Grey Lord Brennan.
Introduction
As we have several
up and coming Druids, I figured I'd pass on some things that I have learned to
assist in making you a better Druid, and being a very useful addition to a
group.
You will see (or probably have already seen) the statement that the Druid is a
"Jack of all trades, but master of none"...implying that the Druid can
fill many roles, but not that well. While this is true to some extent, a well
built Druid, and well played Druid can often outperform in many roles. The key
is knowing what your role is, as well as knowing what you are capable of, and
what your limitations are.
Choosing Your Role
Before building your Druid (i.e. spending your talent points), you will need to
review what each talent does, and decide on how you want to play your Druid. Do
you want to concentrate on damage output...do you want to cast nature/damage
spells, or concentrate on healing...or try to build a balance between them? In
deciding what you want, you will find that you will likely not be able to have
everything that you want, and must compromise.
Ok...you have now decided on what kind of Druid you want to be. You will slowly
spend your talent points (as you level) and work towards the ultimate
goal...your vision of your Druid. So...how do you play your Druid?
When completing quests solo, you can do whatever you want, what you find
enjoyable, regardless of how long it takes to do the task, or how many times you
visit the graveyard. In a group however, it is a different story...especially if
you want to be a valued member of the group, and invited back.
As a Druid, you can fill several roles: The role of Main Tank or Off Tank, the
role of DPS, or the role of Healer (this is the most common). Know what role is
expected of you in the group. If you are not comfortable with this role, discuss
it with the group, and if necessary decline from the group.
Roles of the Druid
The Main Tank/Off Tank: This role is normally only filled if you are a
Feral Build (i.e. have most of your talents in the Feral Talent Tree). Your job
will be to engage the mobs, and hold aggro as the group kills the mobs. Your
role is NOT to deal large amounts of damage, but rather to take the damage from
the mobs, and ensure they stay away from the healers/mages (cloth wearers). In
this role, you are dependent on the healer keeping you alive. Do NOT shapeshift
to caster and try and heal yourself...it will not work, and you will die (and
most likely the group as well). If you haven't already guessed...the Tank or Off
tank role will be done in Bear or Dire Bear form.
Feral Druids are known to be just as good at tanking as warriors. Some argue this is due to the Feral Druid knowing how to tank better then most 2-handed warriors.
Also, if you are a
Feral Druid, be sure to announce this fact to any group you are getting into as
most groups expect you to be a healer by default.
The DPS role: In this role, you primary purpose is to do damage, either
in Cat form, or Caster form. Which form will depend on how you have spec'd
yourself.
The Healer role: In this role, you will stay in caster form, and only
cast heals, debuffs, remove curse, remove poison, etc. You will NOT cast damage
spells (i.e.. No Moonfire/starfire, no Wrath, etc.) You must ensure you have
sufficient mana for the entire fight, so conserve mana, and heal smart.
You should be aware that in instance groups and especially at high levels, this is what everyone is going to expect you to do. Nothing turns a group mood sour faster than a druid that doesn't like to heal.
However, you must
consider that you have a 30 minute rez timer. If you are the only rezzer
this could cause a group to fall apart (figuring that more then one person dies
in a brief amount of time). Druids also lack a quick heal like Priests
have, so you must be on your toes.
Equipment
I also want to discuss equipment a little bit. As you level, you should be
collecting at least 2 or 3 sets of equipment/armor for your potential roles. For
your Feral roles, you will require Strength/Agility/Stamina gear, with as much
armor as you can get. For your caster/healer roles, you will require
Intelligence/Spirit/Stamina/+healing gear, to provide you with the largest mana
pool possible, most efficient healing, and good mana/health regeneration.
If you read any of the Druid forums, you may see various posts where Feral
Druids have 5000+ health and 10,000 Armor. Yes the numbers are correct. You must
remember that for Dire Bear form, and the appropriate talents, your base
"caster" armor is multiplied by 3.6X to get the Feral Armor
Equivalent. So, if you can get around 3000 armor in caster form, it will equate
to about 10,000 in Dire Bear form.
In addition, it is quite possible for a Druid to have 7500+ mana in caster form.
This will rival other caster types mana pools. Drallanon, in his Intelligence
gear, with Raid Buffs has 7664 mana! (and he is Feral spec).
Know Your Limitations
Lastly, you will need to know your abilities, and your limitations. A Druid is
difficult to kill one on one, however if he gets swarmed, he dies real
quick...just like any other player. A Druid can resurrect another player...but
only ONCE every 30 minutes, and only if he has the appropriate reagent (seed).
If party members die during a battle, and you are required to rez one, please
rez someone that CAN rez the rest of the group...Your Resurrect spell can also
be cast in combat (the only one that can), and can save your group from a wipe
if used appropriately. If your party is starting to die during a big battle, you
must decide if the party can be saved from a wipe if you use your resurrect, or
if the situation is hopeless. If the battle can be won, you can opt to combat
rez a key party member, or wait till after the fight to do the rez...the call is
yours. If the fight is hopeless...take your death along with everyone else, and
come back to try again.
Closing
I hope I have provided a bit of direction/suggestions for you...I by no means
know everything, but I wanted to share some of my observations and knowledge
with you. If you have any questions, please ask...either here on the boards, or
in game.
I hope this was useful.
Grey Lord Brennan
Contributions by Templar Kaihawk, Templar Errochis, Knight Nioclas
Editing by Templar Sturn