test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Druids in Neverwinter (or "What Druids Should be Like in Neverwinter")
smilodonactual
Member Posts: 13 Arc User
I'll start with the most obvious choice;
Introduce the Druid as the first Primal class into Neverwinter.
(Preferably soon too, like, post introduction of Warlock and Ranger, because that would just be even better.)
To my knowledge (which certainly is far from all knowing), there's been no official word by Perfect World, Cryptic, Wizards of the Coast or really anyone with the authority to name drop the word "Druid" in Neverwinter as definitive fact that it will be included, but it needs be said; if there's one Primal class that has tremendous potential for a D&D MMO, its the Druid.
The Druid turns into fierce beasts of natural or Fey origin with Wild Shape, dealing out damage and control with tooth and claw, but is equally capable of shedding its animal leanings and returning to its humanoid form to unleash destruction from afar with blasts of icy wind, searing hawks of flame, or the conjuring of savage allies. One of the most mobile classes in 4e, the Druid can make rapid hit-and-run attacks, force enemies into position, and outright dismantle their ranks with proper application, all while putting out decent amounts of hurt.
One of the most significant (and alluring) features of the Druid is the access to the aforementioned Wild Shape; the Druid's ability to take on a primal, animal shape, be it a natural or Fey beast. This talent, that which every other class has no honest comparison to, is a huge lure for players, as is the fact that this beast form is not limited to one appearance. Does this really need explanation? Even if it doesn't, I'm about to expand that idea all the same.
Neverwinter has the potential to make Wild Shaping unique in allowing the player to select the animal and alter its coloration or features slightly.
This isn't terribly complex; Perfect World has demonstrated a good grasp of player character models and customization. Its pretty standard for MMOs now a days, in fact, at least in my experience, to have a lot of character customization. But the one thing Neverwinter does have on its side is the fact that, if done correctly, a Neverwinter Druid could select a "base" animal and alter it slightly within that same generator.
Short and sweet; you don't get "Cat Form", "Bear Form", "Spider Form", "Whatever Form", you get Wild Shape.
You make a Druid, you get Wild Shape, you select from base models of animals (wolves, big cats, spiders, bears, etc), modify it in the character creator to have natural, or unnatural (Fey), features such as different coloration, patterns, eye colors, and all the like. It needn't even be as detailed as regular character creation, as all it has to do is be different than every other MMO with Druids.
According to 4e's Wild Shape (PHBII) information;
"You choose a specific form whenever you use wild shape, and that form has no effect on your game statistics or movement modes."
Its a model.
A fancy model that mechanically does all of the same things any other Druid's Wild Shape does. And that's awesome. (Easier to balance too.)
Want a Fey Panther model? What about a worg model? Maybe a stag model? How about a saber toothed cat model? Cash in those Astral Diamonds or Zen, because this is potential right here; continuously added, new Wild Shape form content by Perfect World.
Why stop with just one Wild Shape model? Perhaps have a selection to cycle through at random, or allow the player to disable it and always use the same Wild Shape? It makes no impact on the game other than aesthetics and absolutely helps encourage new players to join the community. A lot of people play a Druid because they want to have the joy of a shapeshifting character at their control; to do what no other character class can do, and have fun while doing it. It defines the player, the character, and the class. I've never met anyone who played a Druid because they didn't want to shapeshift (is that even possible?), or those who played one for strictly mechanical reasons, inside and outside of D&D, such as in other MMOs.
Besides looking awesome because you can turn into a <insert favored Wild Shape here>, what else should Wild Shape do?
Well, going off 4e, which Neverwinter is in turn based upon, a Druid's Wild Shape should get them some free distance while exiting their animal form and returning to their humanoid one. What does this translate to in game? A free "micro dodge", no where near as large as the Rogue's evasive roll, but it should allow the Druid to avoid non-AoE effects, such as regular melee swings and the like. Perhaps even better, allow it to carry momentum; you as a Druid are in Wild Shape, use a power to increase speed (on top of your enhanced speed while Wild Shaped), and drop Wild Shape, moment carries you in that direction.
Well, what about your actual dodge/defensive mechanic?
Pounce, lunge, sidestep, whatever-you-wish-to-call-it, you get a leap in Wild Shape, and outside of Wild Shape and in humanoid form, you get a lesser version of leap. It doesn't go as far, but then again, why should it if momentum applied? If momentum can't apply (for whatever reason), just make it part of being a Druid; your dodge mechanic is better when you're Wild Shaped (you did just turn into an animal after all, I think that's a reasonable explanation).
This leap can help evoke some of the extreme mobility Druids can pull off in 4e, where they can shift and zigzag across a board with astounding efficiency, along with being thematically appropriate.
What about for combat skills in Wild Shape?
You drop your ranged spell casting for melee skills; you get two At-Wills for Wild Shape, and two At-Wills for non-Wild Shape. Your At-Wills in Wild Shape are brought up for use when you take on your animal form, disallowing the use of the ranged spells (and if for some reason you find a way to try and cast while in Wild Shape, just disallow casting via a condition in the humanoid At-Wills/Encounter/Daily powers if the Druid is Wild Shaped and vice-versa for humanoid form and Wild Shape specific powers).
What about the actual At-Wills in Wild Shape?
Savage Rend and Grasping Claws; your go to "I move you" or "I slow you".
Shifting through the enemy's ranks, getting behind them, and shoving them into the party, or keeping a mob from getting away from you and your allies. Always mechanically viable? Nope, so include one more in the form of Pounce under the unlockable At-Wills/Encounters/Dailies section. Pounce should have a very minor "lock-on and force Druid toward" sort of lunge, just a foot or so to give it more utility and purpose to exist, or else it falls into the same shadow it did with 4e versus other Wild Shape powers, and so its not mechanically frustrating on certain fights.
Well, what about At-Wills outside of Wild Shape?
This list is too good to choose from, but seeing as the Druid is a Controller in 4e (more than anything else) I am for Flame Seed (the "Don't stand in the fire" adage), Chill Wind (the "Everyone moves") or Fire Hawk (the "You, yes you, do nothing right now or get hit again") as good candidates; everything else is not quite as alluring personally, but that's just me.
Encounters and Dailies? Follow a similar vein, but they don't switch when you Wild Shape (that would just be cheating). A good balance of Wild Shape and non-Wild Shape powers are really needed for the Encounters and Dailies. Given there are currently no "summoners" for player characters in Neverwinter, allowing Druids access to their 4e summons as Daily powers is a good candidate for more battlefield control.
After all, when I think "battlefield control" I think "summon a dire tiger, or two (three?), right in the middle of all those bad guys", don't you?
Nothing says "control" like "terrifyingly distracting".
How about Implements?
Totems are the obvious candidate and there isn't much to say about them other than Druids need them, and they should be implemented into the game at some point given Neverwinter is ultimately going to start including Primal classes (because they totally should). Staffs too, because... Druids use staffs, that's also a given.
In general, here are some other ideas worthy of note;
General Ideas for Druids in Neverwinter
- Playable Druids are Predator Druids
-- Why? Because Wild Shape. Its something no one else can do, and its a niche that really has potential; the melee Controller-Striker. Ideally as a Predator Druid, you should be highly mobile, annoyingly so with a lot of forced movement and movement reduction in your inventory to compliment that mobility and bonus to speed while Wild Shaped. Add in the fact you can control from afar with spells in humanoid form, and you're a super harrier/support player with potential for solid damage.
-- Thematically the Predator Druid feels the most appropriate; sure Swarm Druids and Sentinels are all 4e canon, but nothing says "Druid" quite like "I Wild Shape into a dire wolf" and that's after you've been blasting things with howling, bone chilling wind, and lightning cracks from the heavens.
-Balance of Nature
-- Druids should be formidable outside of and inside of Wild Shape; which one is more tough to handle depends on their feat and point allocation. Either way, a Druid should have a certain sturdiness in them that other classes lack, and while they can't put out the numbers a Rogue can, they can sure out maneuver you and ultimately out play you.
-- This is just a sort of classic theme of Druids, and PHB II from 4e describes it well lore wise about Druids needing to not lose themselves entirely in their animal aspects or to shrink away from them as a mortal form.
-Wild Shape Should Be Iconic
-- Self explanatory, the Druid's Wild Shape should make up at least half the class, and a lot of the class's Wild Shape should be put in the hands of its player. Give the Druid models to choose from, give them minor customization, make them as iconic and recognizable as a Guardian Fighter is from a Control Wizard.
-- Just breaking the established mold in MMOs of "this form does X and Y" is a great step of progress, and a huge boon that would be in favor of Neverwinter.
-Emphasize Control
-- Controller-Striker; a Druid in Neverwinter really should be that element which controls up close and personal and from afar. A party should want a Druid; why? You move enemies into place, disable them, and bring a buff along (Cat's Grace, Bull's Strength, Eagle's Splendor, etc), and do a respectable amount of damage, and are very versatile. If Summons are included, you can expend a Daily to help even out what might be a dire situation by bringing in a giant boar, or Fey crocolisk, distracting the enemy and indirectly controlling their actions.
-- PvP wise, the ability to force movement, reduce movement, circumvent the enemy, escape attacks and overall provide harassment while dealing damage can't go without any form of mention.
With that summary of sorts, what are your opinions, comments, concerns, hopes, dreams about the general topic of Druids in Neverwinter?
Introduce the Druid as the first Primal class into Neverwinter.
(Preferably soon too, like, post introduction of Warlock and Ranger, because that would just be even better.)
To my knowledge (which certainly is far from all knowing), there's been no official word by Perfect World, Cryptic, Wizards of the Coast or really anyone with the authority to name drop the word "Druid" in Neverwinter as definitive fact that it will be included, but it needs be said; if there's one Primal class that has tremendous potential for a D&D MMO, its the Druid.
The Druid turns into fierce beasts of natural or Fey origin with Wild Shape, dealing out damage and control with tooth and claw, but is equally capable of shedding its animal leanings and returning to its humanoid form to unleash destruction from afar with blasts of icy wind, searing hawks of flame, or the conjuring of savage allies. One of the most mobile classes in 4e, the Druid can make rapid hit-and-run attacks, force enemies into position, and outright dismantle their ranks with proper application, all while putting out decent amounts of hurt.
One of the most significant (and alluring) features of the Druid is the access to the aforementioned Wild Shape; the Druid's ability to take on a primal, animal shape, be it a natural or Fey beast. This talent, that which every other class has no honest comparison to, is a huge lure for players, as is the fact that this beast form is not limited to one appearance. Does this really need explanation? Even if it doesn't, I'm about to expand that idea all the same.
Neverwinter has the potential to make Wild Shaping unique in allowing the player to select the animal and alter its coloration or features slightly.
This isn't terribly complex; Perfect World has demonstrated a good grasp of player character models and customization. Its pretty standard for MMOs now a days, in fact, at least in my experience, to have a lot of character customization. But the one thing Neverwinter does have on its side is the fact that, if done correctly, a Neverwinter Druid could select a "base" animal and alter it slightly within that same generator.
Short and sweet; you don't get "Cat Form", "Bear Form", "Spider Form", "Whatever Form", you get Wild Shape.
You make a Druid, you get Wild Shape, you select from base models of animals (wolves, big cats, spiders, bears, etc), modify it in the character creator to have natural, or unnatural (Fey), features such as different coloration, patterns, eye colors, and all the like. It needn't even be as detailed as regular character creation, as all it has to do is be different than every other MMO with Druids.
According to 4e's Wild Shape (PHBII) information;
"You choose a specific form whenever you use wild shape, and that form has no effect on your game statistics or movement modes."
Its a model.
A fancy model that mechanically does all of the same things any other Druid's Wild Shape does. And that's awesome. (Easier to balance too.)
Want a Fey Panther model? What about a worg model? Maybe a stag model? How about a saber toothed cat model? Cash in those Astral Diamonds or Zen, because this is potential right here; continuously added, new Wild Shape form content by Perfect World.
Why stop with just one Wild Shape model? Perhaps have a selection to cycle through at random, or allow the player to disable it and always use the same Wild Shape? It makes no impact on the game other than aesthetics and absolutely helps encourage new players to join the community. A lot of people play a Druid because they want to have the joy of a shapeshifting character at their control; to do what no other character class can do, and have fun while doing it. It defines the player, the character, and the class. I've never met anyone who played a Druid because they didn't want to shapeshift (is that even possible?), or those who played one for strictly mechanical reasons, inside and outside of D&D, such as in other MMOs.
Besides looking awesome because you can turn into a <insert favored Wild Shape here>, what else should Wild Shape do?
Well, going off 4e, which Neverwinter is in turn based upon, a Druid's Wild Shape should get them some free distance while exiting their animal form and returning to their humanoid one. What does this translate to in game? A free "micro dodge", no where near as large as the Rogue's evasive roll, but it should allow the Druid to avoid non-AoE effects, such as regular melee swings and the like. Perhaps even better, allow it to carry momentum; you as a Druid are in Wild Shape, use a power to increase speed (on top of your enhanced speed while Wild Shaped), and drop Wild Shape, moment carries you in that direction.
Well, what about your actual dodge/defensive mechanic?
Pounce, lunge, sidestep, whatever-you-wish-to-call-it, you get a leap in Wild Shape, and outside of Wild Shape and in humanoid form, you get a lesser version of leap. It doesn't go as far, but then again, why should it if momentum applied? If momentum can't apply (for whatever reason), just make it part of being a Druid; your dodge mechanic is better when you're Wild Shaped (you did just turn into an animal after all, I think that's a reasonable explanation).
This leap can help evoke some of the extreme mobility Druids can pull off in 4e, where they can shift and zigzag across a board with astounding efficiency, along with being thematically appropriate.
What about for combat skills in Wild Shape?
You drop your ranged spell casting for melee skills; you get two At-Wills for Wild Shape, and two At-Wills for non-Wild Shape. Your At-Wills in Wild Shape are brought up for use when you take on your animal form, disallowing the use of the ranged spells (and if for some reason you find a way to try and cast while in Wild Shape, just disallow casting via a condition in the humanoid At-Wills/Encounter/Daily powers if the Druid is Wild Shaped and vice-versa for humanoid form and Wild Shape specific powers).
What about the actual At-Wills in Wild Shape?
Savage Rend and Grasping Claws; your go to "I move you" or "I slow you".
Shifting through the enemy's ranks, getting behind them, and shoving them into the party, or keeping a mob from getting away from you and your allies. Always mechanically viable? Nope, so include one more in the form of Pounce under the unlockable At-Wills/Encounters/Dailies section. Pounce should have a very minor "lock-on and force Druid toward" sort of lunge, just a foot or so to give it more utility and purpose to exist, or else it falls into the same shadow it did with 4e versus other Wild Shape powers, and so its not mechanically frustrating on certain fights.
Well, what about At-Wills outside of Wild Shape?
This list is too good to choose from, but seeing as the Druid is a Controller in 4e (more than anything else) I am for Flame Seed (the "Don't stand in the fire" adage), Chill Wind (the "Everyone moves") or Fire Hawk (the "You, yes you, do nothing right now or get hit again") as good candidates; everything else is not quite as alluring personally, but that's just me.
Encounters and Dailies? Follow a similar vein, but they don't switch when you Wild Shape (that would just be cheating). A good balance of Wild Shape and non-Wild Shape powers are really needed for the Encounters and Dailies. Given there are currently no "summoners" for player characters in Neverwinter, allowing Druids access to their 4e summons as Daily powers is a good candidate for more battlefield control.
After all, when I think "battlefield control" I think "summon a dire tiger, or two (three?), right in the middle of all those bad guys", don't you?
Nothing says "control" like "terrifyingly distracting".
How about Implements?
Totems are the obvious candidate and there isn't much to say about them other than Druids need them, and they should be implemented into the game at some point given Neverwinter is ultimately going to start including Primal classes (because they totally should). Staffs too, because... Druids use staffs, that's also a given.
In general, here are some other ideas worthy of note;
General Ideas for Druids in Neverwinter
- Playable Druids are Predator Druids
-- Why? Because Wild Shape. Its something no one else can do, and its a niche that really has potential; the melee Controller-Striker. Ideally as a Predator Druid, you should be highly mobile, annoyingly so with a lot of forced movement and movement reduction in your inventory to compliment that mobility and bonus to speed while Wild Shaped. Add in the fact you can control from afar with spells in humanoid form, and you're a super harrier/support player with potential for solid damage.
-- Thematically the Predator Druid feels the most appropriate; sure Swarm Druids and Sentinels are all 4e canon, but nothing says "Druid" quite like "I Wild Shape into a dire wolf" and that's after you've been blasting things with howling, bone chilling wind, and lightning cracks from the heavens.
-Balance of Nature
-- Druids should be formidable outside of and inside of Wild Shape; which one is more tough to handle depends on their feat and point allocation. Either way, a Druid should have a certain sturdiness in them that other classes lack, and while they can't put out the numbers a Rogue can, they can sure out maneuver you and ultimately out play you.
-- This is just a sort of classic theme of Druids, and PHB II from 4e describes it well lore wise about Druids needing to not lose themselves entirely in their animal aspects or to shrink away from them as a mortal form.
-Wild Shape Should Be Iconic
-- Self explanatory, the Druid's Wild Shape should make up at least half the class, and a lot of the class's Wild Shape should be put in the hands of its player. Give the Druid models to choose from, give them minor customization, make them as iconic and recognizable as a Guardian Fighter is from a Control Wizard.
-- Just breaking the established mold in MMOs of "this form does X and Y" is a great step of progress, and a huge boon that would be in favor of Neverwinter.
-Emphasize Control
-- Controller-Striker; a Druid in Neverwinter really should be that element which controls up close and personal and from afar. A party should want a Druid; why? You move enemies into place, disable them, and bring a buff along (Cat's Grace, Bull's Strength, Eagle's Splendor, etc), and do a respectable amount of damage, and are very versatile. If Summons are included, you can expend a Daily to help even out what might be a dire situation by bringing in a giant boar, or Fey crocolisk, distracting the enemy and indirectly controlling their actions.
-- PvP wise, the ability to force movement, reduce movement, circumvent the enemy, escape attacks and overall provide harassment while dealing damage can't go without any form of mention.
With that summary of sorts, what are your opinions, comments, concerns, hopes, dreams about the general topic of Druids in Neverwinter?
Post edited by smilodonactual on
0
Comments
On a side note, I have no issue with shapeshifters, as druid do that in normal D&D games anyway, but I'd rather see a pet summoning master first, similar to the Necromancer from GW2 or Diablo2. I want a bunch of minions to fight for me while I passively buff them or debuff baddies.
But enough about my class wants, this thread is about your thoroughly planned and well written druid/wildshape class. While I commend your efforts, they will prolly get us the warlock and Ranger first, and mayhaps even before even announcing any other classes, if any are planned at all.
The only issue I see is the fact that druids wildshape ability is only part of their class, yet your suggest it needs to be at least half of their class. Thats like pushing way to hard for a ranger to be a dual-wielder, while rangers are well known to use bows as well. Or to emphasize more on the Bards singing and party buffs, when bards are notoriously good at agile combat as well. This might only be loosely based on D&D, but remember, it IS based on D&D.
I believe a lot of the fascination about Druids, and animal shapeshifters in general is our affinity as people for animals. We love wolves, we love felines, we love birds, we love dinosaurs, all of the sort; we as human beings can't escape that fascination, hence why fantasy includes the Druid among other things (like Lycanthropes). I personally have always played through 3.5e and 4e as a Primal class or a Ranger (with associated pet), and have carried such behavior through with MMOs.
Large portions of the PHB II (and Primal Power) describe how and why the Primal power source is what it is, and what it means for Druids; the fact that Wild Shape was the original design for Druids in 4e, along with the Class Feature of "Balance of Nature", suggests that was sort of their vision for Druids as being in between the realm of mortal races and the Primal Beast as a force.
I'd much rather delegate straight-up summoning to another class than the Druid for Neverwinter (as you mentioned, Necromancer), but if they're continuing to build off of the spirit of 4e, Druids should absolutely have access to summoned animals and magical beasts, but I wouldn't specialize them in it still.
Warlock and Ranger are indeed first to what I've heard last; and I am quite glad they are still expanding the game in those routes. Warlock was a surprising choice, but Ranger I more or less expected. If they're going to introduce any after that, I'd say a Druid is a solid choice, as it seems to be they're skirting Leader classes.
Building off of the way 4e's Balance of Nature Class Feature is intended, Wild Shape should be about half of what it means to be a Druid, and the fact its novel. You can specialize in it, like a Two-Blade Ranger would his swords, or follow the other path and specialize in spell casting and control from afar, either way, a Druid should have more versatility for what they get. You're not a true jack-of-all-trades, but you're certainly no niche like the Trickster Rogue or Guardian Fighter.
And because its based on D&D this ideal of "half and half" Druids works very well; I'd advocate the same for a Bard, wanting to emphasize the importance of bolstering themselves and their allies with song and swashbuckling with rapier in between.
All extremely valid points, and I agree. Either way, Druid would be a great addition to the roster, it would appease alot of fans, for both MMO grinding AND RPers in general. As I said, I wouldnt mind seeing it and if anything, have the tab button to switch between beast and human form, similar to the way Cleric go between normal and Divine mode. And you can choose different beasts based on your two passive slots. One passive to just be a passive slot, like increased defense or such, and the other to be his choise of what animal he shifts into. That would be fascinating.
The major reason I shrunk away from the idea of having Druids get "forms" is because every other MMO and RPG Druid currently does that; 4e D&D doesn't. Its unique in that sense; that a Druid who Wild Shapes into a badger has the same agility, strength, and stamina a Druid who Wild Shapes into a wolf does. Why? Magic. It sounds silly to say, but just think on how some of these features actually function in reality; they have to have elements of magic. A Guardian Fighter may not have magical aptitude, but he certainly finds himself wearing magical armor and toting a magical shield.
Your increased defenses are your mobility; you have AC roughly the same as a Rogue, but significantly greater movement speed while Wild Shaped (~15% to ~20% baseline, with diminishing returns on armor that grants bonus Movement) and the ability to do small evasive maneuvers when exiting Wild Shape, along with having a short lunge/dash for your defensive ability.
Perhaps humanoid form grants defenses through their Quarterstaff? That's a reasonable answer, but I doubt they'd truly need it when they get a lot as is (in theory).
Thank you for the comment.
While Druids are masters of primal forces and nature, Druids primarily do Fire and Cold damage when they do cast spells, albeit there are some exceptions like Call of the Beast which deals Psychic damage, but that's primarily because of how it works (invoking inner bestial savagery that clouds the mind).
Natural Spell, or essentially giving Druids access to spells in Wild Shape is more or less cheating and does not fit in well with the 4e design for Druids, which really presses for them to alternate between their humanoid and Wild Shaped form.
As for Wild Shape itself, I am entirely against Druids having "forms", as it goes against the ideal of Wild Shape being any animal without effecting its stats.
CW already has lightning attacks at 30+ lvl, nature damage for druids should be kinda like tree leaves and grass flyin at your face, then stones/rocks lol, gotta be epic.
Druids do have attacks which deal Lightning damage, such as Storm Spike (PHBII pg85), but attacks like Flame Seed and Chill Wind (and notably Fire Hawk) are much more Controller-ish. Flame Seed leaves a pool of flame adjacent to its target that lasts for a short duration, basically "Don't move or take more damage because you walk through fire", whereas Chill Wind does the opposite by sliding targets out of position. If they're basing Neverwinter off 4e (which they are), these are the most likely candidates (Fire Hawk is just imbalanced as to how good it is, as basically anything you do provokes the second attack because its akin to having threatening reach) for a Druid to have as At-Wills.
A sad truth that could be very easily rectified given what Neverwinter already has; this current concept is a model and palate swap combined with a very simple idea. Its more about getting to choose your Wild Shape traits more so than anything else, and its viable because it doesn't change the game's balance. You know that's a Druid player because they're Wild Shaped into an ebony tiger.
Natural Spell is not present in 4e, and would be fairly broken if a Neverwinter Druid could Wild Shape, and kite you to death from afar with Chill Wind while he easily outruns you in his animal form. That's no fun, and goes against the ideas put in place for 4e.
Admittedly, Natural Spell is just too awesome for its own good.
Still, like I mentioned, your ideas are very thought-out and deep. Whatever direction Cryptic hopes to take, I truly hope they include the Druid class, for the two of us at least.
-Passive Chicken
1) Wild Shape is just an at-will Minor Action (and shifting out of it lets you slip out of melee as well), you don't have X/day attempts at it that eat a whole turn.
2) There's generally a viable Beast Form power at every level, as well, so you can just stay Wild Shaped the entire time.
I primarily focused on the element of Wild Shape because of the way its handled in 4e and the fact that, to my knowledge, no one has done something similar with Druids in an MMO where their alternate forms get a lot of priority. Wild Shape is half of the class in PHBII, and the Predator build is a melee Controller-Striker, whereas the Guardian Druid is a Controller-Leader with primarily spell based attacks. We don't honestly need more ranged attackers once the Warlock and Ranger are introduced, and very few melee classes fit the role of melee Controller.
Seeing how the game is developing, they're selecting archetypes more than anything; the Guardian Fighter, the Trickster Rogue, the Devoted Cleric, etc. Right there they have the "Holy Trinity of MMOs", your tank, DPS and healer. The Control Wizard is kind of out there on his own, as is the Great Weapon Fighter, filling auxiliary roles.
I highly appreciate your comment, and hope you enjoy your Druidic endeavors in your pen and paper game.
I avoided Swarm Druids for a few reasons as the "default" Druid type. The first being that Druids, at least whenever anyone mentions them, come to mind are not those who swarm; they're a sort of naturalist, primal priest in a sense. Not to say they cannot become swarms, but they bring to mind people in robes and hide who guide nature's will and take on animal forms.
The second is mechanically speaking, a Swarm Druid would be a real pain in the ash tree to contend with; a swarm is a lot of particle effects, and has a huge amount of animation to it. In environments which are crunched for FPS on some computers, a Swarm Druid could end up particularly taxing, and not just on the game, the players too; I recall vividly Unholy Blight's animation lagging people terribly in a certain MMO when Death Knights were first introduced.
Its not to say a Swarm Druid can't be done, but I'd rather leave swarm effects to Encounter or Daily powers if they're implemented.
There really was little reason to include it in 4e, and including it in Neverwinter could have some bad results. My biggest concern is the fact Druid mobility in Wild Shape (which it should have plenty of) combined with ranged control attacks might be well past overwhelming in PvP and cheesy in PvE.
For 4e, Wild Shape specific powers (Beast Form powers as mandoknight mentioned), there's no reason to need Natural Spell. Adding in the fact that Druids already get a great selection and can alternate forms easily as a Minor Action, well, there's ample understanding as to why it doesn't exist in 4e.
Yeah the swarm form I could see being problematic. I personally never had issues with the Death Knights spells but I knew a few people who could barely be in the same zone as a DK when they used a certain one of their spells, can't quite recall which one exactly. When I think about it functioning I imagine the Control Wizards Conduit of Ice power as a small tornado of bugs instead of frosty wind. I'd like to think that there would be a good way to make it work. Hopes and wishes and all that stuff.
With Cryptic showing they have no issues using two builds from one class who knows, maybe one day we can have both druid types.
Edit: Was just thinking mechanics over to make it work easier. The wild shape doesn't turn you into a swarm tornado, it instead just changes your skin to be a mass of insects. Also, Swarm druid is kind of melee-ish controller. most of your power are very close range with your primal swarm class feature grants damage reduction due to you needing to be close and personal.
I'm not a big fan of specific animal shapeshifts, vine lashing, and all that. I'm quite partial to D&D's approach where Druids aren't limited to "natural" spells, and have access to more elemental forms of magic, too. A Wizard conjures frost, flame and lightning, but a Druid commands it.
Again, its very reasonable as an Encounter or Daily power, and hopefully Cryptic and Perfect World see it the same way; it has a lot of potential and is very much backed up by the presence of such abilities in 4e.
It's be equivalent (assuming 3 wildshapes available to start) to coding 3 entire classes on top of druid.
I would LOVE for druid to come out (specifically Predator Druid) but from a workload standpoint, it'd be a huge undertaking and take up a LOT of time.
I do have some thoughts on it myself, though they are not as well through out as smilodonactual's original post.
On the subject as to what shape to shift too... There has to be a limit of shapes available -- being a programmer my self, I can see that a lot of different shapes could get difficult to implement. Maybe limit it to 4 to 6 basic shapes (wolf, bear, eagle, tiger, etc). Each shape should affect the Druids base abilities in some way unique to the shape. Increase critical strike, or power, or some combination that makes sense.
Another thought... maybe the animal shapes could be implemented as paragon paths? Not sure if that would work.
Obviously, the Druid should have some nature-based damage, control, and/or resistance spells to use when not in animal form. The Druid is a force of nature.
I would definitely purchase an extra character slot if the Druid class was implemented. Would I pay to get access to the Druid class? I hate to say it, but I probably would (unless the cost was too extreme).
The most important thing in life is to be yourself. Unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.
I have long hoped the Druid class would be introduced in to the game. All classes viability and combat prowess are subject to what the developers design them to be. That being said, I hope there will be a druid class.
In all actuality, the survivability would be very low and not too useful in current party structures.
Also, thread necro...
glassdoor.com - Cryptic Studios Review