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Difference between revisions of "Druid all-in-one guide by Gaviilan"
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| + | == Preface == | ||
| − | '''Abstract of the guide:''' Hello | + | '''Abstract of the guide:''' Hello everyone, I will introduce myself first. My name is Gaviilan and I have been playing in Project 1999 for a long time. I always kept my druid as my main toon, despite the many challengues druids have to face upon. |
| − | + | The purpose of this guide is to offer some help and tips to druids, mostly in the high end (51+), in order to maximize the potential of the class. Also I want to show druids "solo" level tactics, like quadding and charm kite. Lastlty, it's also the purpose of the guide to point out the strenghts of the druids either in a standard group and when raiding. | |
| − | + | '''''Introduction:''' Ok, so you made it. You levelled a druid 51+. You fought against all those who told you a druid is useless in the high end and you should let it in lvl 39 forever to rott as a porting machine. You ignored all those peeps that insisted you should level a monk/rogue instead. You sweated to explain people in KC/Seb a druid is indeed usefull in groups. You experienced victory when a possible wipe, followed for a 2h CR in Seb, turned out in a safe and pleasant walk from Emerald Jungle with an evac. You emerged victorious in every single Solo quite. You embraced the joy of outdpsing people in raids with charming tactics. Yes, you are a real Druid. This guide is for you.'' | |
== Good histories always have a sad part == | == Good histories always have a sad part == | ||
| − | To begin with, I must warn you, the path of the druid is not easy. We can't heal as well as a cleric, or even a shaman, | + | To begin with, I must warn you, the path of the druid is not easy. We can't heal as well as a cleric, or even a shaman, until Velious expansion hits. We don't have the miriad of buffs that a shaman has, but our natureskin buff it's probably the best all in one buff. We can't deal, in raw output, much damage as a wizard, but we're similar, if not better, than a magician class (our last nuke, wildfire, is similar to the magician high end one, plus we have DoTs and some useful clickies). |
But by far, the real handicap of a druid is the lack of a slow spell. This can often turn you down in groups for shamans. We have to deal with this problem with our own strenghts, and remember that we have ports. | But by far, the real handicap of a druid is the lack of a slow spell. This can often turn you down in groups for shamans. We have to deal with this problem with our own strenghts, and remember that we have ports. | ||
| − | Many people won't understand our true potential in groups and you'll often be turned down for another class; its our duty to make those close-minded people change their mind about us. | + | Many people won't understand our true potential in groups and you'll often be turned down for another class; its our duty to make those close-minded people change their mind about us. To make this happen, be sure that you always have the appropiate spell set in any group given situation. Use your nukes, heals, damage shields and buffs efficiently. Remember that you can do almost every role in game with a druid - so get advantage of it. |
| − | == | + | == Druid strenghts == |
| − | |||
| − | * '''BUFFS''': It's your duty to keep the party buffed according to the situation | + | * '''BUFFS''': It's your duty to keep the party buffed according to the situation. A level 59+ druid can do a huge favor to the group by boosting it's hitpoint Regeneration by 15 per tick (regrowth of the grove), Increase AC by 19 and HP by 405 + 4 HP regeneration (natureskin), increase Magic, poison and disease resist by 40 each (resist magic, poison and disease), increase Fire and Cold resistances by 45 each (circle of summer/winter), increase Strenght by 42 (girdle of Karana), increase attack of party up to 42 (Share Wolf Form), and put a DS up to 32 in main tank (Shield of Blades). Not counting having the most extensive travel buffs with SoW, spirit of scale and even share wolf form. |
| − | + | Use the appropiate buffs for a given situation always, and remember that natureskin doesn't stack with heroism and that your strenght buff doesn't stack with the high level shaman one. Also remember that our resist magic doesn't stack with the group resist magic of the enchanter class. Lastly, our circle of winter/summer spells will overwrite every other resist fire/cold spell and the high level magician damage shield will overwrite our damage shield. | |
| − | * '''Direct Damage and DoTs''': Druids have 2 line of DoTs, one magic Based and other fire based, along with a clicky Drones of Doom that stack with any other DoT | + | * '''Charm animals''': Go ahead and do it everytime that you can. We have a single target magic resistance decrease spell (Glamour of Tunare), we have charm spells, we even have a buff to our pets (feral spirit). Go ahead and charm as much as you can, it will hugely increase your DPS. |
| + | |||
| + | * '''Direct Damage and DoTs''': Druids have 2 line of DoTs, one magic Based and other fire based, along with a clicky Drones of Doom that stack with any other DoT!. On the direct damage side, we have a strong fire based DD line, caping at 1024 hp with wildfire. Lastly, we also have some ice-based DD, but they are not as strong as the fire line. | ||
*'''Ports''': I don't need to say anything here, do I? Bread and Butter of every druid ! | *'''Ports''': I don't need to say anything here, do I? Bread and Butter of every druid ! | ||
| − | *'''Tools to enhance mana regeneration''': | + | *'''Tools to enhance mana regeneration''': We also have some tools to enhance our mana regeneration: |
| − | - [[Spirit of Oak]] (+9/tick). | + | - [[Spirit of Oak]] (+9/tick) (downside is that it turns you into a tree, thus unable to move) (also it overwrites SoW). |
| − | - [[Mask of the Hunter]] (+3/tick). | + | - [[Mask of the Hunter]] (+3/tick) (Now it stays after zoning, so be sure to have this spell always on). |
- [[Form of the Howler]] (+2/tick) (Greatest run speed in game without counter-benefits). | - [[Form of the Howler]] (+2/tick) (Greatest run speed in game without counter-benefits). | ||
Revision as of 10:04, 24 August 2014
Contents |
Preface
Abstract of the guide: Hello everyone, I will introduce myself first. My name is Gaviilan and I have been playing in Project 1999 for a long time. I always kept my druid as my main toon, despite the many challengues druids have to face upon.
The purpose of this guide is to offer some help and tips to druids, mostly in the high end (51+), in order to maximize the potential of the class. Also I want to show druids "solo" level tactics, like quadding and charm kite. Lastlty, it's also the purpose of the guide to point out the strenghts of the druids either in a standard group and when raiding.
Introduction: Ok, so you made it. You levelled a druid 51+. You fought against all those who told you a druid is useless in the high end and you should let it in lvl 39 forever to rott as a porting machine. You ignored all those peeps that insisted you should level a monk/rogue instead. You sweated to explain people in KC/Seb a druid is indeed usefull in groups. You experienced victory when a possible wipe, followed for a 2h CR in Seb, turned out in a safe and pleasant walk from Emerald Jungle with an evac. You emerged victorious in every single Solo quite. You embraced the joy of outdpsing people in raids with charming tactics. Yes, you are a real Druid. This guide is for you.
Good histories always have a sad part
To begin with, I must warn you, the path of the druid is not easy. We can't heal as well as a cleric, or even a shaman, until Velious expansion hits. We don't have the miriad of buffs that a shaman has, but our natureskin buff it's probably the best all in one buff. We can't deal, in raw output, much damage as a wizard, but we're similar, if not better, than a magician class (our last nuke, wildfire, is similar to the magician high end one, plus we have DoTs and some useful clickies).
But by far, the real handicap of a druid is the lack of a slow spell. This can often turn you down in groups for shamans. We have to deal with this problem with our own strenghts, and remember that we have ports.
Many people won't understand our true potential in groups and you'll often be turned down for another class; its our duty to make those close-minded people change their mind about us. To make this happen, be sure that you always have the appropiate spell set in any group given situation. Use your nukes, heals, damage shields and buffs efficiently. Remember that you can do almost every role in game with a druid - so get advantage of it.
Druid strenghts
- BUFFS: It's your duty to keep the party buffed according to the situation. A level 59+ druid can do a huge favor to the group by boosting it's hitpoint Regeneration by 15 per tick (regrowth of the grove), Increase AC by 19 and HP by 405 + 4 HP regeneration (natureskin), increase Magic, poison and disease resist by 40 each (resist magic, poison and disease), increase Fire and Cold resistances by 45 each (circle of summer/winter), increase Strenght by 42 (girdle of Karana), increase attack of party up to 42 (Share Wolf Form), and put a DS up to 32 in main tank (Shield of Blades). Not counting having the most extensive travel buffs with SoW, spirit of scale and even share wolf form.
Use the appropiate buffs for a given situation always, and remember that natureskin doesn't stack with heroism and that your strenght buff doesn't stack with the high level shaman one. Also remember that our resist magic doesn't stack with the group resist magic of the enchanter class. Lastly, our circle of winter/summer spells will overwrite every other resist fire/cold spell and the high level magician damage shield will overwrite our damage shield.
- Charm animals: Go ahead and do it everytime that you can. We have a single target magic resistance decrease spell (Glamour of Tunare), we have charm spells, we even have a buff to our pets (feral spirit). Go ahead and charm as much as you can, it will hugely increase your DPS.
- Direct Damage and DoTs: Druids have 2 line of DoTs, one magic Based and other fire based, along with a clicky Drones of Doom that stack with any other DoT!. On the direct damage side, we have a strong fire based DD line, caping at 1024 hp with wildfire. Lastly, we also have some ice-based DD, but they are not as strong as the fire line.
- Ports: I don't need to say anything here, do I? Bread and Butter of every druid !
- Tools to enhance mana regeneration: We also have some tools to enhance our mana regeneration:
- Spirit of Oak (+9/tick) (downside is that it turns you into a tree, thus unable to move) (also it overwrites SoW).
- Mask of the Hunter (+3/tick) (Now it stays after zoning, so be sure to have this spell always on).
- Form of the Howler (+2/tick) (Greatest run speed in game without counter-benefits).
- Protection of the Glades (+6/tick). (Velious).
Levelling
Although this is not the purpose of the guide, I will share here some tricks to quick level your druid to full potential. I've never been a fan of charm Kitting, however, I did some in SolB (Bats), but mostly did quadkite to level. This is my experience:
1.- I recommend to start quadding at lvl 37 on Frontier Mountain giants. You can start pulling the blue "A montain giant tump" and move up. I did this up to 42.
2.- At 42 and till 49 move to dwarfs in BB. Great XP and great loot. The only faction hit you will get killing those it's against themselves ("Kaladim citizens")
3.- 49-53. You can either quad bouncers in Oggok or the much more easier Aviaks in Timorous Deep. I did aviaks till 53. If you have a lumminiscent staff, you can basically powerlevel yourself from 49 to 53 here, with no downtime.
4.- 53+. Only really two good choices avaliable for quadkite. Seafuries in Ocean of Tears and raptors in Timororus Deep. Seafuries are easy but have a lot of HP. Also they are great money wise. Raptors are difficult, have a HUGE aggro range and drop little money, but the xp is better. Your choice.
5.- 50+ Bats in SolB: This is a good spot for charmkite. Buff up and cast levitate on you upon entering the dungeon. Go right from the entrance and continue through the lava river. Soon you will see a bat standing in a little rocky platform. Charm it and make your way back. Now you can try do kobolds if you're 50-55 (Move to Royal's probably), or do some Bat'n'bugs.
6.- 55+ Bear Pits charmkite in Permafrost: If you like charmkite, this could be an option for you, although somewhat difficult. Bear pit below Voxs lair is a slight pain to get into, but once you are down there you can easily do 55-60. Pathing can be a pain with the ramp, but once you get the rotation down it's simple. Also dont use Tunare's Request (It only works on 35 and less mobs), use Call of Karana instead.(Thanks Auvdar for this contribution)
7.- 55+ charming in Chardok. You can charm the hounds near the entrance, and move bit up. It's very risky and I would recommend have Gate memmed all times. At lvl 58 I've found Call of Karana holds pretty well in them.
If you're going to charm, dont forget to savage spirit/Regen/DS your pet. If you planning to stay some time in the zone, it would be a good idea to cast natureskin and strenght on it too. Obviusly, if there's enough mobs to make pets of, forget the above, it's much better to simply make both of them fight each other, camouflage yourself and then kill both of the mobs with a nuke (they should have low health before you break your pet). But, unfortunately, this is not the case in the dungeons listed above, so you best buff your pet so it can last a while.
Let's talk about spell setup
I will use this part of the guide to show you my usual spell setup.
Spell setup when quadding
1.- Heal.
2.- Nuke (The most powerfull you have).
3.- Lighting Blast.
4.- Lighting Strike (To finish out a quad if needed).
5.- Random (Levitate, Regen, Skin etc).
6.- Root (The most powerfull you have).
7.- Ensnare.
8.- Spirit of Wolf.
If you dont have lighting blast still, you can mem. lighting strike in the third position and leave the 4 for a DoT or a low level nuke, in order to finish off low Hitpoint MoBs.
Spell setup when charming
1.- Heal.
2.- Nuke (The most powerfull you have).
3.- Regrowth / Natureskin / Thorns.
4.- Call of Karana.
5.- Switch between Glamour of Tunare/Savage Spirit.
6.- Root. (I found the higuer level Roots to be the most usefull time/damage/mana wise, so use always your last one)
7.- Ensnare / Fire DoT / Gate.
8.- Magic based DoT.
If you have your elder spiritist's auntlets on, you can use the 7.- slot for Gate or your fire based DoT
Tipycal spell setup in groups
1.- Heal.
2.- Nuke (The most powerfull you have).
3.- Buff slot (Regrowth / Thorns / Natureskin / Strenght / Resistances)
4.- Evacuate
5.- DoT.
6.- Root.
7.- Ensnare.
8.- Spirit of Wolf or second buff slot (The AoE root Entrapping Roots, can be usefull here too)
Some people use snare rather than ensnare in groups. It costs a little less mana but last only 3 minutes (anyway, you don't need snare to hold more than 1 minute in groups). However, from "my" experience here and in live, ensnare is less resisted than snare, and so I use it always. Please note there is no proper evidence on this and is based on my personal feelings. If you have your Elder Spiritist's Gauntlets on, you can also save this spell gem for anything else (maybe keeping thorns memmed all time)
Maximizing Damage output/Usefullness in Raids/Groups
This is the most important part of the guide. I will try to show here how to maximize druid power.
1.- Always ask for enlightement. As druids, we are mostly manaburners, the more mana the better in most situations. Also if you're above 54, use always your form of the howler spell. If you can use without disturbing the raid, you can use Spirit of Oak (level 59). However there is little use of this spell in raids, in PoF the tree is Huge and having to refresh sow/FotH each time is time/mana consuming.
2.- Always use group buffs: It will save you mana and will help your dps output (regrowth of the grove, circles, pack spirit, etc ..).
3.- Always ask your melees if they want share wolf form. It will increase their ATK by 30.
4.- The drones of doom effect of (Elder Spiritist's Vambraces) stacks with your higuer level magic-based DoT (Winged Dead) AND your fire based DoT!! So you can have a MoB Triple DoT'ed at any time! Use it on bosses and High HP mobs.
5.- If you having trouble landing DD's in a certain MoB you can try to first cast your "Ice" spell (lowers by 50 the fire resist of it) and then use your favorite DD (scoriae/wIldfire are youur best bets damage/mana output).
6.- Always Have your evac Memmed !! And I mean always !!, you dont know when a fight could turn into a cinch and you could need it. Of course, this only apply to groups.
7.- Dont understimate the power of Egress/Succor when travelling. It could save you a lot of time.
8.- Don't use Tunare's Request, Call of Karana is your best friend when charming. Tunare's Request is a fixed duration charm spell (2 hours) for only 35 and less level MoBs. My advise is to never use it, even on those > 35 level MoBs. The reason is simple, is not working as intended here in P1999, it won't last two hours. From my experience, Call of Karana always keeped the MoB charmed more time.
Charming in Raids
Charming is your best bet to do DPS on raids. It will hugely Increase your damage output. I found that Charming on raids is not reliable if youre not above lvl 54, so try it at your own risk.
- Preparing for charm.
To begin with, I will talk a bit about the controversial charisma issue. About 50% of the druids in Project 1999 thinks that Charisma has Nothing or very very little influence in druid charming, and another 50% thinks it has 0 (zero) influence. Count me in the 50% first ones. If I would need to give you a tip (this is a guide, after all) I would say that in most situations you will probably do better simply keeping your +WIS/MANA equipment on, in order to have a larger mana pool. However, I would advise you to stay above 75 charisma when charming (A charm buff always come handy, and you dont have to swap gear).
Anyway, if you want to test it by yourself,here are some items that will help you boosting your charisma.
- Ok, Im ready, What Mobs can I Charm?
There are 5 Mobs you can charm on raids so far in P1999:
- A revultant rat
- A shiverback
- Spite Golem Pet (PoH)
- A Soul Harvester
- Hounds in Chardok (But difficult to bring them up to royal's)
You will need the spell Call Of karana to charm Shiverbacks/harvesters.
- Lets Do it !!
First of all, tell your raid leader if you can charm.
Target your MoB and tell your local shaman/enchanter to lower it's Magic resistance (Tash/Malo). You can do this when the MoB is mezzed or when the main tank of the raid has aggro. Use Glamour of Tunare on it, Use Call of Karana on it. Asking another Druid/cleric/Shaman to watch over your HP upon breaks is also nice. Dont forget to ensnare the MoB you're going to make your pet before doing it, so you can outrun it when it breaks (simply run a bit and recast Call of Karana). Having it mezzed helps debuffing/charming again.
Don't forget to buff your pet (Feral Spirit) and also tell Shamans or enchanters to haste it.
- Considerations.
Ok, so now you have a pet that hits for 120, double hasted, you can DoT, Buff, Heal and DD for 1024, along with massive tools to enhance your mana regeneration. Who can say now that a druid is useless? You can outdps almost every class with a charmed pet in raids. Now's the time to turn the tides againts all those who called druids a waste of time.
When Velious Hits
The greatest improvements to druids when Velious come live in Project 1999 will be, no doubt, our new spells. The most important are the following ones:
Chloroblast 428 HP for 175 mana.
Nature's Touch 1000 hp for 400 mana.
Protection of the Glades. Arguably one of the best buffs in the game, and group casteable.
Druid Velious timeline
Root and Snare stack now -- 1 Month after Velious
Chloroblast + Nature's Touch spells added -- 2 Months after Velious
Track Skill Cap Increased from 50 -> 125 -- 3 Months After Velious
Faydedar + Venril Sathir made triggerable for Epic Quest -- 3 Months after Velious
Venril Sathir made 3 day respawn, VSR faster respawn -- 4 Months after Velious
Foraging when hungry/thirsty makes you automatically get food/water -- 4 Months after Velious
Wind of the North/South can be casted from anywhere + Egress works indoors -- 6 Months after Velious
(Thanks Daldaen)
Final Considerations
You can rest, you made it. You have a extremely powerfull class in your hands. It will surely require a lot of dedication and effort to make it truly ubber, but well, the path of the druid is not easy as I said Before. Go ahead, Stop Rain in zones like a God, Harmony those Aggro mobs in outdoor zones like a boss and Outdps people in raids. But dont forget, have fun when doing it.
I hope this guide helped you,
Gaviilan, Tunare's master.
