Final druid spec

[Asq]

For some time now I've been wondering about the final druid spec I'd like my druid to have. There are numerous options, and most lvl 50 druids don't mind sharing their final spec when asking. I've asked this before, and got some good responses (including a very usefull link to a druid-oriented forum). So far the following specs seem to be mostly "in use":

• 35nu/41reg/x-nat
• 44nu/31reg/x-nat
• 40nu/35reg/9nat
• 31nu/25reg/36nat
• 25nu/31reg/36nat
• 29nu/45reg

Now, it's not that hard to see where these seperate specs lead to spell-wise. What I'm wondering about is:
1. how these spec-lines turn out in rvr;
2. wether a certain specline is more desired in rvr;
3. what the current experiences are with the different speclines;
4. wether certain speclines are completely undesirable in rvr and rvr groups;
5. wether certain spec-lines make it easier to play rvr;
6. the combination of the different spec-lines with other classes (and their specs).

I'm not really interested in the "I want y00 b00fs/heals" replies (obviously) or the "spec your druid like how you want to play it"-ones. The way druids with different spec-lines are intergrated into the different groups (guild-, random) is what really interests me.

 

[Kicks]

In our typical RvR/XP guild grp we tend to have 1 High Regrowth/Nuture Druid and 1 High Nature Druid.

From experiancing this I would say that even with high Nature you still have some good heals/buffs and you are damn hard to kill.

My own Druid is Regrowth/Nuture specced and is fun to play I get more of a kick outa keeping someone alive than killing someone - Thats wot my main is for I will probably head for 41 Reg 35 Nuture.

Druids pretty much fit in anywhere providing you got heals/buffs.

Bit vague but nm

 

[Gahldir]

Originally posted by Asq
For some time now I've been wondering about the final druid spec I'd like my druid to have. There are numerous options, and most lvl 50 druids don't mind sharing their final spec when asking. I've asked this before, and got some good responses (including a very usefull link to a druid-oriented forum). So far the following specs seem to be mostly "in use":

• 35nu/41reg/x-nat
• 44nu/31reg/x-nat
• 40nu/35reg/9nat
• 31nu/25reg/36nat
• 25nu/31reg/36nat
• 29nu/45reg

Now, it's not that hard to see where these seperate specs lead to spell-wise. What I'm wondering about is:
1. how these spec-lines turn out in rvr;
2. wether a certain specline is more desired in rvr;
3. what the current experiences are with the different speclines;
4. wether certain speclines are completely undesirable in rvr and rvr groups;
5. wether certain spec-lines make it easier to play rvr;
6. the combination of the different spec-lines with other classes (and their specs).

I'm not really interested in the "I want y00 b00fs/heals" replies (obviously) or the "spec your druid like how you want to play it"-ones. The way druids with different spec-lines are intergrated into the different groups (guild-, random) is what really interests me.

hum, hard question. With a bard that is a good mezzer and by experience can dodge getting hit to much when the mezzes on the enemy tanks fades/get purged/get resisted I'd say 40 nurt, 35 reg, 9 NA. More Nurt and you can aswell get a buffbot with 50 nurt. More reg only makes you able to waste your mana faster. Sure, full rezz is nice, but as Ola once said, then you have already failed . More Nurt shouldn't be needed for rooting (gifv animists with root for RvR ). Instead of a pet, get and obervant tank or to. Much else use isn't NA imo.

but, if the bard would need some assistance with CC in some way, then a druid with some NA wouldn't be to bad imo.

I'm gonna go 40 Nurt, 35 Reg and 9 NA with my druid

 

[Novamir]

just enough to get some AE root, and then rest between buffs/heals. make sure u get some resists. make sure u got good instant heals.

 

[raer]

I have a spec you haven't mentioned 35 Re 32 Na 25 Nu. Personally I think this spec suits me well as it suits the way I saw a druid when I signed up to it as a shiney brand new n00b, which was primary healer with pet help. I have good heals, decent(ish) buffs and some utility in the nature field to help CC or pet the enemy in times when healing is not needed.

Regrowth 35: This is the bread and butter of a druid and personally I wouldn't go any lower than 30 so that you have at least have the first spread heal which I think is indespensible as it is hugely useful. how high you want it after that all depends whether you want higher spec single heals (32 and 34) higher instas (31 and 35) or 100% rez (mmm) at 40.

Nature 32: Kitty! Some people cant see why any druid would spec high enough to get a green con pet some people (myself inclided) couldn't live without it. In RvR I find the pet is more useful in small fights where you can send it on a healer/mage and take them out of the fight until they can get some help to get it off them. The DoT I hardly ever use in RvR as there are people who can do a whole lot more damage than me. I usually only use it to help interupt enemy casters by chain casting it if Im not healing or to help bring down stragglers at the end. The root is also useful especially the instaroot which allows me to continue healing a lot longer than a support healer would be able to.

Nurture 25: This is the specline that gets me the most hassle and the one I wish I had higher in (although I wouldn't respec), not so much for the buffs which although are not high they are at least adequete. It's the resist buffs that I miss, with my spec I have 8% heat and cold buffs.

So theres the why's and wherefores of my spec, but even my "offensive" (pfft) spec it's imperative to remember it's HEAL FIRST! Nature speced druids have a bad rep (DoTing instead of healing, buffing pet instead of party), but some of us know where our bread is buttered.

I love my char and love my spec (I prefer non-cookie cutter specs) and I know a lot of people will say "noooo only Nurt/Reg for stlong hibbeh" and well, I would be the first to admit my char has some weaknesses, but thats not to say I dont bring other utility to the RvR group as well.

Er, hope that answers your question, I can't actually remember what the original post said.

 

[Affri]

Originally posted by Asq

• 35nu/41reg/x-nat
• 44nu/31reg/x-nat
• 40nu/35reg/9nat
• 31nu/25reg/36nat
• 25nu/31reg/36nat
• 29nu/45reg

Well #1 Druid on MLF has the last spec and she loves it to death AFAIK.

Other than that they're all very viable, it's pretty much damn hard to mess up a Druid spec. If you can accept being full support go with either of the first two ones or the last one.

Also a spec you didn't include is 19nu/35reg/36nat, I have this spec and it's sorta ok. Main thing is you get 4 strong instas (two 75% insta heals and two insta roots)

Once I get a hold of a respec stone from Galladoria I'm going to go with 31nu/44reg though since a Druid's job is to heal in RvR.

Like you said you didn't want the standard "I want your b00f/heal dr00d in my group" spec or people to tell you how to spec how you like but in the end it really boils down to how you want to play.

I ramble too much

 

[Asq]

Even though some of you have been vague ore rambling even I gthink 5 pretty much have made up my mind now (except maybe one or two small decisions which I'll leave for the moment a decision has to be made.

One thing that more or less boggles me though is that up until now I haven't seen a druid with nature over 36. I know two or three druids that have it at 36 but no one higher then that. Kicks did say that their guildgroups usually have a higfh lvl nAture druid... I wonder who that would be

Thanks for all those that replied (or still have to and will reply).

 

[spankya]

Originally posted by Asq

• 35nu/41reg/x-nat
• 44nu/31reg/x-nat

• 
  
  I would say either of those two are best. First one gives u uber spread heal, uber rez and nice instas etc. The second spec gives u uber buffs, which when the buff cap is changed people will love the uber buffs. I dont think nurt spec is any good for groups tbh, bards should mez and u shouldnt be playing around with a pet in rvr, u need to be healing not dotting and sending pet out to attack. And low lvl area nurture roots suck coz they dont last very long, especially again tanks with determination who r the only poeple u might need to root to tbh.
  
  My druid will be 44nurt/31reg when I get to 50

 

[angara-ffs]

Spank why?
I tried a few specs on my druid, both PvE and RvR.

Offcourse nature/root can be usefull or a pet who interupts.
No doubt about that.
But in a good group, root/pet/dot isnt needed imo.
Surely its more fun for some druids do play more "active" in RvR/PvE.
But i think its a druids job to have great heals and normal buffs.

41 reg
35 nurt
Nothing more, nothing less

 

[Arnor]

50


nature


nufff

said

 

[Kobold]

44nu/31reg/x-nat

good resist buffs damn important imo, and other very good buffs....and you can still heal pretty good with some instas....and nat just s00k

 

[angara-ffs]

Originally posted by Arnor2
50 nature nufff said

Agreed.....best spec to have

















irl

 

[angara-ffs]

Originally posted by Kobold
good resist buffs damn important imo, and other very good buffs....and you can still heal pretty good with some instas....and nat just s00k

Resists are nice to have, but i rather heal a hero for 1500Hp+ and see him wack some enemies....but, thats just imo

 

[Kobold]

I'd still rather give all group much better resists and bettre buffs than to heal one hero for some more when u prolly over heal him anyways

But since you're a druid and I'm not, I'm prolly wrong, I guess it depends on the situation

 

[angara-ffs]

Any dr00d should play like they want to.
As i speak for myself, i know peeps in my group are happy with the current spec

 

[timer]

I tried to spec an all-purpose druid:

My first duid spec was a fairly common one:

25nu/35reg/32nat

Best pet, root shout, very good healing, 8%heat and 8% cold resist. More healing imho is a wast of spec points, because you are limited by the mana anyway.

This spec enables you to RvR, solo and group mob hunting without any problem. Even if you are the only healer in the group, you can still manage (bit downtime however)

I respecced a few weeks ago to:

35nu/25reg/32nat

Now this is another ball game. Great buffing (second best buffs - almost...), 16% heat and cold and 8% matter resists (mostly RvR), the heaviest 341 hp heal actually heals for 515hp (which is too much for the casters but not enough for the hero's). I still have the pet, and the root shout. I can still do both RvR, solo and group mob hunting. I have to push the heal button more often, but my mana control improved alot since I "never" overheal again

Conclusion: I liked the 35reg speccing, but I also like the 35nurture spec. It is difficult to choose between both settings but I think that buffs are more important than heals so I'll stick for the moment to what I've got.

 

[angara-ffs]

Dunno about this buff thing.
I got the feeling i am buffing people to death somethimes.

Most of all, the insta at 35 reg is so good, i dont think a dr00d should miss such a great and important heal.
I saved my groups in both PvE and RvR with that a lot.
I dont think they would have lived with 10/20 con points extra.

Again, every druid decides for himself

 

[timer]

I agree concerning the insta group heals at 35reg (heals for 75% of your hp's) BUT !!!! the 23reg insta heals for 55% of your hp's.

This is 20% less BUT it is a question of overhealing. If you shout group heal for 75% of your hp's you overheal everyone, except for the tanks, and even they will be overhealed because otherwise you already have some dead casters.

I use the 55% group heal as the first heal when the casters are at 40-50% of their hp's, this allows me to heal everyone to full, and nobody notices (albs or mids) that I healed them.

Concerning the extra buffs---they are important because everyone in the group will benefit from them even before they will run into trouble and don't forget the double resists

It is a difficult choise to make and it should reflect your playing style. If you want to be the all mighty healer that heals even almost dead ppl, go for 35reg, otherwise, go for 35nur.

 

[spankya]

Originally posted by angara-ffs
Dunno about this buff thing.
I got the feeling i am buffing people to death somethimes.

Most of all, the insta at 35 reg is so good, i dont think a dr00d should miss such a great and important heal.
I saved my groups in both PvE and RvR with that a lot.
I dont think they would have lived with 10/20 con points extra.

Again, every druid decides for himself

For me... I dont see alot of benefit in the higher group insta myself as the high timer on reusing it sucks. If I was going to go for more regrowth, I would go for your spec Ang to get the higher spread heal and higher single heal but not for the instas. 75% insta isnt that great I think. What are the chances of most of the people in the group being on 25% health and needing 75% health restored? Not very high I would say, and again the amount of times u can use it suck anyways, too long recast timer.

But high nurture has the benefit of being something which is constantly active unlike insta heals. Buffs are there all the time helping all the time by giving more hps, more str, dex, int etc and the higher resists helps people take less damage.

So thats why I think 31 or 41 regrowth are the only option and the rest in nurture. So decide if u wanna be able to heal for massive amounts and chose 41 reg, or chose if u want to be able to buff loads and get 31 reg for decent healing.

I chose the high nurture spec

 

[spankya]

PS Angara u smell!!

 

[Gahldir]

Originally posted by spankya

So thats why I think 31 or 41 regrowth are the only option and the rest in regrowth.

will end up with the same reg either way

 

[spankya]

Originally posted by Gahldir
will end up with the same reg either way

oops

edited it

 

[panzer]

This is something that has puzzled me for a while .... why do so many peeps call druid with decent nature gimps !

If you think about hib CC, youve typically got a bard ...... and thats about it! Thats 1 immunity timer, so if the enemy purges your in trouble.

A druid with a decent amount of nature, say 32 - 36, has good aoe roots which can either be used on first contact to force the enemy to blow purge, or to keep tanks from getting to your mages/healers after mez is purged/wears off.

And lets be honest here, a high nurt druid will maye add about, what maybe 20-30 more str/dex, maybe another 80-100 hps. Is that really so important ?? i know its nice to be able to say hey i got 2.2k hps, but is 2.2k hps that much better than 2.1k !!

Anyway from experience, from experience 2 druids ive grouped with stand out in my memory as being outstanding - Raear, who used her root to great effect to keep the group alive, and Roxanna (45 regr afaik) who always amazes me with her ability to keep a group alive.

Puts my 42 regr warden to absolute shame tbh.

 

[angara-ffs]

Originally posted by spankya
PS Angara u smell!!

 

[Asq]

Originally posted by panzer
Anyway from experience, from experience 2 druids ive grouped with stand out in my memory as being outstanding - Raear, who used her root to great effect to keep the group alive.../QUOTE]
Is this Raear still playing (actively)? I'd love to spend some time talking about the high nat-spec.

 

[Kobold]

I think to many underestimate the power of buffs, try with a mage with and witho0ut uber dr00d buffs and check damage and casting speed. And my menta got allmost 1300hp with good dr00d buffs that helps alot. And as for tanks will hit alot faster with good haste, and allso take alot more beating. And resist buffs make all kinds of CC last shorter and makes all in group take much less damage from magic witch helps alot imo

 

[Kobold]

don't forget NS with uber dr00d buffs = OOOOoooOOOoooOO uber fast and hard hitter with uber evade

 

[raer]

Originally posted by Asq

Originally posted by panzer
Anyway from experience, from experience 2 druids ive grouped with stand out in my memory as being outstanding - Raear, who used her root to great effect to keep the group alive.../QUOTE]
Is this Raear still playing (actively)? I'd love to spend some time talking about the high nat-spec.

Yes, I posted earlier in the thread

I'm still active although I'm leveling my alt Rargh atm if you want to chat in game.

 

[Asq]

Originally posted by raer
Yes, I posted earlier in the thread

I'm still active although I'm leveling my alt Rargh atm if you want to chat in game.

One 1000 appologies I think I'll pm you shortly