What exactly will I miss out on if I don't use a druid?

georgelappies

Hi all

I have never been fond of the Druid class. I read here that in IWD a Druid is quite useful.

What exactly will I miss out on if I don't take a Druid?

Currently my party I am planning is:

Human Undead Hunter
Dwarven Defender
Half Elf Fighter Cleric
Halfling Fighter Thief
Human Bard
Human Fighter 1 / Mage

What can I swap out if I must have a druid?

Chidojuan

I'd say the Dwarven Defender with your party composition won't be necessary, sort of overkill with your other party members, but being overpowered can be fun. You don't necessarily need a druid with your composition, but Druids are amazing in IWD. Especially Fighter/Druids. Great spells throughout the different levels, and they also have some interesting dialogue and interactions with NPC's. All in all, not really missing anything huge, but having a druid in IWD will change your opinion of them quickly.

Wesboi

Druids are far better in IWD than the BG series. Don't think I've ever gone without one in any if the runs I've done. The dwarven defender is probably the best one to drop.

georgelappies

Thank for the feedback guys, will change my dwarven defender to a fighter druid then.

sarevok57

I've been doing a lot of IWD modding lately ( working on my mega mod) and I've noticed that druids get lots of great offensive spells, although the cleric has the odd okay offensive spell, druids completely outshine clerics in that regard,

it looks as if that clerics are better at the protection line of spells, while druids are much better when it comes to the offensive

Teo_live

The druid is basically a psuedo-mage with a hint of cleric, they nuke and summon as a major. Support and healing as a minor.

So the easiest replacement for a druid would be the bard or the Mage as they are the closest representation to the druid playstyle. The bard just like the druid is for all power gaming purposes a bit of an "optional extra".

georgelappies

sarevok57 said:

I've been doing a lot of IWD modding lately ( working on my mega mod) and I've noticed that druids get lots of great offensive spells, although the cleric has the odd okay offensive spell, druids completely outshine clerics in that regard,

it looks as if that clerics are better at the protection line of spells, while druids are much better when it comes to the offensive

Thanks, should I make a specialized druid with a specific kit, if so which one? Or is a fighter a better choice? Can I start as a fighter and then dual class to druid at level 2 for the initial HP and weapon pips? Or should I go fighter/druid multiclass?

Wesboi

Depends on what game mode your playing and if u plan to do multiple runs with the characters. Multiclass is better due to how the level cap works.

sarevok57

georgelappies said:

sarevok57 said:

I've been doing a lot of IWD modding lately ( working on my mega mod) and I've noticed that druids get lots of great offensive spells, although the cleric has the odd okay offensive spell, druids completely outshine clerics in that regard,

it looks as if that clerics are better at the protection line of spells, while druids are much better when it comes to the offensive

Thanks, should I make a specialized druid with a specific kit, if so which one? Or is a fighter a better choice? Can I start as a fighter and then dual class to druid at level 2 for the initial HP and weapon pips? Or should I go fighter/druid multiclass?

it is exactly has @Wesboi says, completely depends on what type of game mode you are playing, druids have in the early and mid game have a pretty quick level up, so a multi class isn't all that bad, the only thing is, with a multi class they will need a killer 3 000 000 XP to hit level 7 spells, so if you don't plan on doing multiple playthroughs or if you don't have the "extra XP" for higher difficulty setting on, you will probably never hit level 7 spells

dual classing is always a great option, especially having 7 levels of fighter in any class can really help crank up the HP and damage potential with a weapon, the only problem being is that druid dual classes, require some high stats to do so, and especially if you want to make it a melee character, something is going to have be dropped low, a fighter dual classing into a druid needs a minimum of 15 STR, 17 WIS and 15 CHA, and as I said, if you want to melee, you will want some pretty high CON and DEX, so your dual class druid might be one of those characters that ate glue when they grew up, because you will need to sacrifice something somewhere, and that is the place to do it

as to kit choice, out of the 3, I think totemic druid is probably the best, because of their summons, best part is, you can start summoning stuff at level 1 which is a nice plus, for the other 2, I find the shapeshifter to be kind of meh, problem with the shapeshifter is, once you hit greater werewolf stage, you will NEVER get better in combat basically, and damage output is a bit weak, the avenger is okay, they get those extra spells, but in IWD those extra spells are peanuts compared to what druids get normally, also they get extra shapeshift forms, but from my bg1 experience, I remember shapeshifting into a salamander and was getting my butt kicks by the gnolls in the gnoll fortress ( friggin' lol indeed)

so, many options to choose from, if it were me, I would probably go with level 7 fighter then dual into a druid afterwards, with the weapon of choice being scimitar for melee, or sling for ranged

georgelappies

sarevok57 said:

georgelappies said:

sarevok57 said:

I've been doing a lot of IWD modding lately ( working on my mega mod) and I've noticed that druids get lots of great offensive spells, although the cleric has the odd okay offensive spell, druids completely outshine clerics in that regard,

it looks as if that clerics are better at the protection line of spells, while druids are much better when it comes to the offensive

Thanks, should I make a specialized druid with a specific kit, if so which one? Or is a fighter a better choice? Can I start as a fighter and then dual class to druid at level 2 for the initial HP and weapon pips? Or should I go fighter/druid multiclass?

it is exactly has @Wesboi says, completely depends on what type of game mode you are playing, druids have in the early and mid game have a pretty quick level up, so a multi class isn't all that bad, the only thing is, with a multi class they will need a killer 3 000 000 XP to hit level 7 spells, so if you don't plan on doing multiple playthroughs or if you don't have the "extra XP" for higher difficulty setting on, you will probably never hit level 7 spells

dual classing is always a great option, especially having 7 levels of fighter in any class can really help crank up the HP and damage potential with a weapon, the only problem being is that druid dual classes, require some high stats to do so, and especially if you want to make it a melee character, something is going to have be dropped low, a fighter dual classing into a druid needs a minimum of 15 STR, 17 WIS and 15 CHA, and as I said, if you want to melee, you will want some pretty high CON and DEX, so your dual class druid might be one of those characters that ate glue when they grew up, because you will need to sacrifice something somewhere, and that is the place to do it

as to kit choice, out of the 3, I think totemic druid is probably the best, because of their summons, best part is, you can start summoning stuff at level 1 which is a nice plus, for the other 2, I find the shapeshifter to be kind of meh, problem with the shapeshifter is, once you hit greater werewolf stage, you will NEVER get better in combat basically, and damage output is a bit weak, the avenger is okay, they get those extra spells, but in IWD those extra spells are peanuts compared to what druids get normally, also they get extra shapeshift forms, but from my bg1 experience, I remember shapeshifting into a salamander and was getting my butt kicks by the gnolls in the gnoll fortress ( friggin' lol indeed)

so, many options to choose from, if it were me, I would probably go with level 7 fighter then dual into a druid afterwards, with the weapon of choice being scimitar for melee, or sling for ranged

Excellent reply, thanks much appreciated.

koz

it is a big over simplification but...

Overall there are 2 primary tactics:

1. Charge straight in, put everything to the sword, get patched up after the fight, rinse repeat.

2. Nuke from orbit, use spellcasters, archers, traps & summons - engage the enemy at range make them approach you, and punish them every step of the way.

--

If you are in group 2, Druid has a lot of potential for that style of play with a well rounded selection of AOE, single target, CC, Summons & Heals.

Otoh if you are in group 1, a Cleric is probably better overall (Raise Dead, Resurrection, a party friendly nuke in Holy Smite, better overall selection of equipment vs Druids, a slightly more straightforward leveling curve)

That being said - if my group is going to contain 2 divine casters - I try to make one a druid, if I am sticking with 1 then I go cleric every time.

nuther

I think Shape Shifter kit is severely underrated on this board. It does lots of damage and when its not shifted it is packed with heals. A Cleric and a Druid sharing heals is nice.

Wesboi

Thing with shapeshifter is its not very useful on HoF mode. Druids have amazing crowd control and a great overall offensive spell set.

Jirayia2

Shapeshifter is the best druid, because he is a compromise between speed and strenght, yes his damage is lower, but his attacks are MAGIC damage, so he is 100% guarantee auto-magic w/o any weapon.