Jaheira's Shape Shifting Abilities

BaldursCat

Hello all

Simple question, druid shapeshifting abilities do you use them? If so when is it best to use them? Also, how long are the effects supposed to last and if you have used them have experienced any glitches where her portrait / stats failed to reset? If you have experienced this how did you fix it?

Cheers

Cat ^_^

srvk

Depends on the party composition. If you don't have another healer, it doesn't make sense to use her shapeshifting abilities. In BG2 her plague ability is the best option against mages. As for the glitches, did you update the game with the latest patch?

Shin

Hardly ever use them on Jaheira, never really encountered a situation where it seemed worth it, given that she's already a fighter. There are mods that improve the shapeshifting somewhat, might make it more worthwhile for those who like playing with it.

Drugar

I prefer her to be in Fighter/Druid form because she'll beat people to snot with her club after she's buffed up than she'll do in bear form (though it's useful for about the 10 minutes immediately after getting the Brown Bear form, then she grows out of it).
I use wolf form occasionally for scouting though. Wolves are pretty fast.

As far as I know, the effect lasts until you rest and I haven't ever had any glitches (though, as said, I didn't use it often).

awin123

I don't use shapeshifting at all personally I prefer druids to be spellcasters, it would be nice if druids got the ability to cast spells while shapeshifted though.

Shin

awin123 said:

I don't use shapeshifting at all personally I prefer druids to be spellcasters, it would be nice if druids got the ability to cast spells while shapeshifted though.

Disagree, goes against the entire established procedure of casting in D&D. They should be separate, but the animal forms should be more useful/specialized imo. It will likely always be tricky to make them mesh well for a fighter/druid though.

elminster

Shapeshifting isn't very useful even for a regular druid much less a fighter/druid. I would not bother with it personally since by level 7 as a druid she's already got plenty to work with.

BaldursCat

Sorry, very remiss of me for not replying in my own thread. Thanks for your thoughts. I may try her wolf form but that's probably all, especially as I suspect some of the mods I have running on the Gog version of BGII I have installed may be affecting the change, last time I tried to use the bear form, for a giggle, she became permanently Jaheirbear and I had to restart.

CaptRory

I doubt Khalid would notice the difference. *snicker~*

elminster

I think personally that the animal forms should have gotten more powerful around the 14th level, like the werewolf forms, but they don't so like I said there really isn't much point in using them other than curiosity

Nuin

The animal forms are great on a single class druid. It basically gives them free attacks per round. For Jaheira though, they're mostly there for a) self-healing (the amount gets better at higher levels) b) carrying heavy items back to town or c) emergency melee burst damage. You could indeed also use the wolf form to make quick escapes I guess.

Note that unlike the WoW version, BG1's shapeshift forms are there mainly to complement the druid's abilities - a bag of tricks, if you will, much like the Dragon Age: Origin Shapeshifter's animal forms. The only druid that should be spend a significant amount of time shapeshifted is the Lycanthrope Shapeshifter - this is made pointedly clear in the class' design. This druid only has 1 alternative form, meaning he has had to dedicate all this will and other worldly powers towards attempting to keep that form under control (it's a pretty steep price for power, considering the risks).

It's true that werewolf form badly needs to be rebalanced for mid-high level play in SoA.

ZanathKariashi

The generic druid shapeshifts are pretty horrible. Even the avenger's extra shapes are pretty lack luster (the sword spider is ridiculously powerful though (even trumps the werewolf and greater wolf forms in pure ass kicking), 5 attacks, chance to poison, decent AC, immune to web (which the avenger can cast), hasted)