Comments on: Druids: First Impressions

By: Janna

Janna — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:12:00 +0000

@ Bryce: Yeah, ‘Controller’ is an MMO term. Controllers basically run crowd control by taking out multiple enemies at once. Think area-effect blasty spells to “thin out their numbers”.

By: Jeff Sepeta

Jeff Sepeta — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:27:01 +0000

After more thought, I think that the Druid class should have 2 builds: Animal-shapechanger and Nature-controller. This would better define the druid rather than having it be a half-and-half.

Also, the creature types available should vary by level. That is to say, a level 1 Druid could be a bear cub, but a level 19 Druid could be a Dire Bear. And damage should increase according to level, but not necessarily according to animal type — the way they’ve done it makes a bit more balanced. Although if I were an NPC or monster, I’d be pissed if a 25th level Druid/pigeon were kicking my ass.

A lot of the classes in 4e have been streamlined/stripped of character. Maybe they’re trying to break some of the stereotypes/archetypes of previous editions, but for me that makes the game more bland. Having to accomplish certain goals as you level up was a challenging part of AD&D1 and 2, so why drop those requirements?

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:12:21 +0000

@Sian: I’m not sure what that means.

I’ve played a cleric in 2nd, 3.5 and I’m playing one in 4th right now. My cleric can stand up in melee, has some ranged holy attacks, and buff and heal his allies. He can do everything my 3.5 cleric could do and is actually more potent than my 2nd ed. cleric.

By: Sian

Sian — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:31:04 +0000

I can understand the desire to maintain the history role of the druid, which was to be able to do everything.

Why? They took that advantage away from the cleric for the sake of game roles.

By: Redhobbit

Redhobbit — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:32:17 +0000

At least they could have done something similar to the warlock pacts, let the player choose a favored form category (ursine, lupine, feline, etc.) and provide distinct bonuses based on that.

From what I recall from the reviews and excerpts of Martial Power didn’t they already do this with the Ranger’s animal companion? Couldn’t they just apply the same concept here? It wouldn’t necessarily have to be as specific as animal types either. Categories as broad as ‘skimisher’ or ‘mauler’ could work just fine.