How to gear a Druid

[-{AU}-Piracy]

I playing a Druid and wish to focus on the shapeshifting forms (feral Druid). Does the bonuses on gear work while in feral form? What kinda of gear should I focus on? On my first play through I remember so gear tune for feral druids. I am very impressed atm with the class. The amount of damage they soak is just incredible

[Hobocop]

Most gear won't have any effect in form unless it specifically mentions benefits while shapeshifted or while in Wild Shape, so just equip for while you're in caster form until you see those specific items then grab them.

[BiggieJohn]

Druid is the budget class that is really strong in act 1 and then levels out. You just wear leftovers from what the others don't want mostly and carry them into mid/late game scaling. You could build hybrid monk or barb I think for when your out of form. If so I don't know, I don't typically do hybrid druid builds. Moonbeam and growth spikes at lvl 3 carry a party through act 1.

[Pat Fenis]

Druid seems bad, but maybe I'll try playing one. So far the best build for me has been leaving them in their default clothes and chilling in camp. They can't be totally useless, right?

Damn it looks like they can transform into a myrmidon late game, when my wizard can just summon one and keep casting other spells. Huh.

It looks like they would be best off staying in humanoid form and doing caster / range things. I can't see how an owlbear or actual bear would be better than having a plated up fighter.

[BiggieJohn]

Originally posted by Pat Fenis:

Druid seems bad, but maybe I'll try playing one. So far the best build for me has been leaving them in their default clothes and chilling in camp. They can't be totally useless, right?

Damn it looks like they can transform into a myrmidon late game, when my wizard can just summon one and keep casting other spells. Huh.

It looks like they would be best off staying in humanoid form and doing caster / range things. I can't see how an owlbear or actual bear would be better than having a plated up fighter.

Only moon gets bear form and shapeshifting as a bonus action. Land druid gets access to mirror image and misty step if you choose it at lvl 3 as well as a large terrain dmging cc. I like to go all 12 into land druid myself and use mirror image/haste into owlbear before a fight starts. This gets me 2 flying leaps and like 4 attacks a turn starting at lvl 6. As land druid you can also just stack AC into the 20's and put haste on a party member while staying back with utility and summons.

Druid is basically like playing as Batman. You often spend more time prepping/mulling over positioning and tactics.

[-{AU}-Piracy]

Originally posted by Pat Fenis:

Druid seems bad, but maybe I'll try playing one. So far the best build for me has been leaving them in their default clothes and chilling in camp. They can't be totally useless, right?

Damn it looks like they can transform into a myrmidon late game, when my wizard can just summon one and keep casting other spells. Huh.

It looks like they would be best off staying in humanoid form and doing caster / range things. I can't see how an owlbear or actual bear would be better than having a plated up fighter.

Bear seem to be a very effective damage sponge. There a taunt ability and in act 1 I have 40HP. Once you loose that 40HP you return to caster form (with original HP) and can cast back into bear with another 40HP. You also have the ability to use spell slots for heals. A Druid in bear can take 100 damage in act one and still stay up without outside heals

[-{AU}-Piracy]

Does armour count in bear form? If I pick up the heavy armour feat will I have that armour bonus in bear form?

[larhtas]

Originally posted by -{AU}-Piracy:

Does armour count in bear form? If I pick up the heavy armour feat will I have that armour bonus in bear form?

No :)

[AokiYakumo]

There's 3 different playstyles for the Druid: the Caster, the Shifter, and the Spores Druid.

Casters you build and play . . . just like any traditional caster. Give them gear to boost their casting, equip a set for elemental synergies (Ice set for ice builds, Lightning set for lightning builds, that sort of thing), pair with a support who can multiply their effectiveness. You'll be relying on Moonbeam, Spike Growth, Thorn Whip, and Call Lightning a lot while also playing summoner/healer when needed.

Shifters are - as others pointed out - primarily gonna be not in human form for the majority of the game. You'll be a spider, owlbear, 'bear' bear, sabretooth, dinosaur, or a Myrmidon for the majority of your playtime, so most item effects won't have much use unless you're knocked out of a shifted form. This would be the playstyle to equip some of those off-brand or quirky items or item sets that provide a lot of utility: things like extra Misty Steps, Speak with the Dead, Pass Without Trace, skill bonus items like Mage's Friend or Smuggler's Ring, those sorts of things; save for one specific armor set you can get in Act III (which is at the end of the game).

Spore Druids are their own playstyle: You're basically a melee caster with a ton of extra HP thanks to Symbiotic Entity, and you'll be using Shillelagh to pump your melee damage to the moon thanks to how Torches work. Here you'll equip anything that nets you extra resistances (or pair this with an Abjurer Gale who can hold a Warding Bond), shaves damage off, boosts resilience, or otherwise makes you chonkier, since your job is to either harass one guy in particular, or be the wall that other guys have to get past. (You can have up to 184 total HP between base, buffs, and your THP from your Symbiotic Entity, paired with high AC and damage reduction; only thing thiccer than that is a Bear-barian with Amulet of Greater Health and Tough.) Anything that boosts spell attacks or adds damage bonuses to weapon attacks also helps, since you'll be making less attacks than a traditional frontliner, meaning you need to make those hits count.

Hope this helps.

[larhtas]

There is some item that works with shapechanging as told earlier.
Here you can check all items and think your build: https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Equipment+and+Crafting

[AokiYakumo]

Originally posted by larhtas:

There is some item that works with shapechanging as told earlier.
Here you can check all items and think your build: https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Equipment+and+Crafting

There's an actual wiki for BG3 now, we don't need to be using FExtraLife:

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Equipment

[larhtas]

Originally posted by AokiYakumo:

Originally posted by larhtas:

There is some item that works with shapechanging as told earlier.
Here you can check all items and think your build: https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Equipment+and+Crafting

There's an actual wiki for BG3 now, we don't need to be using FExtraLife:

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Equipment

Great, even better.
Thank you for sharing

[AokiYakumo]

Originally posted by larhtas:

Originally posted by AokiYakumo:

There's an actual wiki for BG3 now, we don't need to be using FExtraLife:

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Equipment

Great, even better.
Thank you for sharing

No prob, Bob.

[DontMisunderstand]

Originally posted by Pat Fenis:

Druid seems bad, but maybe I'll try playing one. So far the best build for me has been leaving them in their default clothes and chilling in camp. They can't be totally useless, right?

Damn it looks like they can transform into a myrmidon late game, when my wizard can just summon one and keep casting other spells. Huh.

It looks like they would be best off staying in humanoid form and doing caster / range things. I can't see how an owlbear or actual bear would be better than having a plated up fighter.

Druids are absolutely broken. I haven't really engaged with the Wild Shape thing because Circle of Spores gives you an option to use wildshape charges without transforming, so you get the benefits of massive stacks of extra hp without losing your casting. I built it as a dual wielding melee attacker, and at level 7 it's outdamaging my Great Weapon Master Fighter. And it has been for the entire campaign. The best dps, the best tank, and the best utility caster all at the same time.

[DontMisunderstand]

Originally posted by BiggieJohn:

Druid is the budget class that is really strong in act 1 and then levels out. You just wear leftovers from what the others don't want mostly and carry them into mid/late game scaling. You could build hybrid monk or barb I think for when your out of form. If so I don't know, I don't typically do hybrid druid builds. Moonbeam and growth spikes at lvl 3 carry a party through act 1.

I've been waiting for the point when literally anybody else can match my Druid in any area of combat. My best single target dps, my best group dps, my best tank, and my best utility caster. About to hit level 8, maybe things will change eventually, but up until now every level has only widened the gap between the druid and everything else, not shrunk that gap.

[Flavalicious]

Originally posted by AokiYakumo:

Originally posted by larhtas:

There is some item that works with shapechanging as told earlier.
Here you can check all items and think your build: https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Equipment+and+Crafting

There's an actual wiki for BG3 now, we don't need to be using FExtraLife:

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Equipment

Even when a game doesn't have a wiki, we don't need to be using Suxtralife.