Are Druids op?

[[MOSS]-BurningUp]

I've seen a lot of people say Druids are op compared to the other caster classes...is this true? I don't really care per se I just like a challenge when it comes to RPG's and it was one of the classes I was looking at.

[Drake]

They have great damage and support spells, but they are not invincible, having a druid in the party won't make you roll over content, unless you play on easy.

[CHI LONG QUA]

I do think they are OP, their lightning and calling the maw and similar spells mean they have huge damage and huge CC

[Stoicism]

They've got shape-shifting, which is powerful early on, and their lightning spells are great, but apart from that, I found them a little underwhelming to be honest.

[Dakkaface]

They're not necessarily OP. They are however, decent to good at everything. You need a melee fighter? Pop Spiritshift and hit stuff for big single target DPS. Popping Spiritshit is basically all you need to do for every fight until you hit 3rd level. If you really build toward it, Spiritshift can output some really bonkers damage with both Wildstrike talents and the associated Elemental utility, plus any talents that boost attack speed or raw damage.

You need healing? Their best heals aren't there in the early game, but they have heals from early on, and Moonwell is a really strong heal over time and buff spell that's L4. If you just need personal healing, Taste of the Hunt is a L2 spell and is actually surprisingly strong, especially paired with Spiritshifting or a two handed weapon for a high base damage hit.

Druids also have really strong CC and decent damage - often in the same spell. Tanglefoot isn't Foe-Only, but it's fast casting and has a huge AoE - and it debuffs Reflex, so you can use it to set up later spells. The Returning and Relentless Storm spells drop stuns and damage over their duration, and after the cast goes off you can turn into a bear or whatever to tear stuff up while the storm is ongoing. Winter Wind, Sunbeam and Dancing Bolts all are pretty good 1st level damage spells, and WW and SB both have secondary CC effects - Sunbeam's Blind is invaluable early on.

They don't really excel at most tasks - there are better tanks and melee DPS that aren't dependent on a 7-15 second burst of melee damage. There are better healers and buffers. Druid IS a top tier CC caster, but it's damage is outdone by other classes. However, Druid does do ALL of it decently well.

[dbennett88]

they have the capacity to be nasty in melee and nasty with spells BOTH, moreso than any other class. for sheer versatility, they're your mans. but I wouldn't call them OP.

[hedgewitch]

My player character is a druid and very fun to play, but certainly not invincible or able to 'facetank' everything in the game. Druids are versatile offensive and support spell casters and have a decent melee option, but like all casters in this game, the AI has plenty of ways to thwart them--dominate and charm, interrupt, slow, confuse, etc that have to be actively defended against--I find their spells more generally useful and multi-purpose than the wizard, but imo they are far from OP.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by hedgewitch:

imo they are far from OP.

+1

[Dorian Gray]

Originally posted by ddosed:

I do think they are OP, their lightning and calling the maw and similar spells mean they have huge damage and huge CC

I agree 100%. I usually have a driud if nothing else for the AOE CC from their lightning spells. Also, having the ability to charm dragons with a 2nd level charm animal spell is another WTF.

My main is a mage and a druid is a great compliment to him. In fact, there are times my mage is envious of the druid's repertoire of very good AOE damaging spells.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

All depends on what difficulty level is enabled.