The Version 3.5 Druid is pretty awesome, actually, although clerics with the animal domain are (in my opinion) superior. Anyway, that isn't the same as the Version 2 druid - which has a few high points, but is pretty blasé across the board. That's not the same as saying they suck. They give the player a unique option from an RP standpoint and, when used well, provide utility to the party. There are stronger classes (no kidding), but (again), that doesn't mean that druids suck.
Druids best spells are ironskin and summon elemental princes.
Ranger/Clerics get ironskin (although they shouldn't really).
Elemental princes are great, but not that much better than devas to make up for the loss of heal, greater restoration, resurrection and various useful clerical buffs.
Tho if you want to go cheesy and keep recharging the rod of resurrection then clerics are pretty much obsolete too!
swarm of insects summon nymphs differenct greater werewolf something cool only for druids
I just can't get into it. Cernd might as well have 4 in every attribute. And Jaheira just keeps getting outshined by everyone else in everything she does. I ditched her about half-way through the romance, again (I'm playing BG2 right now).
Although, I did find insect plague to be a very useful spell against wizards, I didn't really see it useful enough to waste a whole party slot on it.
I'm sorry, Jaheira (not really), but you gotta go. You may be a hot widow, but I gotta survive this harsh world of bhaalspawn-capturing evil wizards.
I believe, for the first time in this forum, that i truly found a thread which i totally disagree.
Answering your question: Yes, you don't know how to play a druid, that's pretty obvious. Druids in IWD/IWD2 are better shaped than druids in Baldur's Gate (the better spells on IWD series belong to druids), but even in Baldur's Gate Druids rock.
You're probally new to BG, and your experience with BG kept your spell access to lvl 4 spells probally, specially if you only used jaheira (whom is a multi-class) as a druid. You're probally base your opinion on Holy Smite (lvl 3 priest spell) and raise dead (lvl 3 priest spell). Insect swarm (lvl 3 druid spell) and Call lighting (lvl 3 druid spell) specially in BG EE the last one, cover very well the good priest spells of lvl 3.
To give you a hint, remove XP cap from the game, active CLUAConsole and cheat the level of one of your druid. Take a look on druid spells of level 5/6/7 to see how awesome they are.
The only thing i give credit in complaing about druids, is that the druid kits on BG sucks, vanilla druid is some times better than any of the kits, and the only multi/dual allowed for druids is fighter/druid cos for some reason the devs probally will not implement druid/mage dual/multi (an valid dual/multi combination).
Been playing BG and BG2 for about 5 years, but been playing IWD1 and IWD2 since they came out. I hated druids in IWD, too. I have had druids in IWD up to their maxed out spell levels, and I can't say that I was impressed, even with their better spell selection. Now you're telling me that BG druids, which are worse than IWD, are awesome?
It was very painful, but I have I had Jahiera up to her 7th level spells once. After all the effort I put into her, the summoning of an elemental prince, which is supposedly a druid's most powerful spell, was anti-climactic. My cleric was summoning devas before my Jahiera could even cast a 7th level spell. What's the point?
But this isn't about my past experiences with druids, this is what I can do to improve my "druid experiences" now.
I value roleplaying way more than powergaming, and the way druids are portrayed in DnD just grate on my nerves. Of course, could I figure out how to take advantage of druids, I might be able to look the other way.
If I ever played a "druid" as a protagonist, than I would have to go with Ranger/Cleric (which aren't druids). They get everything that a druid gets (which isn't much), plus everything that a cleric gets. Oh, and they are awesome rangers.
Comments
summon nymphs
differenct greater werewolf
something cool only for druids
I just can't get into it. Cernd might as well have 4 in every attribute. And Jaheira just keeps getting outshined by everyone else in everything she does. I ditched her about half-way through the romance, again (I'm playing BG2 right now).
Although, I did find insect plague to be a very useful spell against wizards, I didn't really see it useful enough to waste a whole party slot on it.
I'm sorry, Jaheira (not really), but you gotta go. You may be a hot widow, but I gotta survive this harsh world of bhaalspawn-capturing evil wizards.
It was very painful, but I have I had Jahiera up to her 7th level spells once. After all the effort I put into her, the summoning of an elemental prince, which is supposedly a druid's most powerful spell, was anti-climactic. My cleric was summoning devas before my Jahiera could even cast a 7th level spell. What's the point?
But this isn't about my past experiences with druids, this is what I can do to improve my "druid experiences" now.
I value roleplaying way more than powergaming, and the way druids are portrayed in DnD just grate on my nerves. Of course, could I figure out how to take advantage of druids, I might be able to look the other way.