So, I've been reading about WoW druids and how they can shapeshift and it sounds really cool. I started a druid all those years ago because i heard that they could transform into wolves, and i thought that would be awesome. I remember grinding out of the last exp in level 23 and finally dinging 24, casting wolf form and running in circles in third person for like 10 minutes =) It would be great to bring that idea back. But there is more then wolf form.

The basic idea would be to have different forms that enhance parts of our diverse abilities, and suppress others. Maybe they would take a good chunk of mana to switch but would be fast (insta?). Maybe if you changed too many times in a short period, you would get tired and lose stats or something.

Wolf form could be +atk, maybe some overhaste and +spell damage like Rizlona's and detrimental spell haste (like blessings of reverence), even if it's self only. Maybe add crit melee or combat effects or higher chance to crit nuke, avoidance, innate DS. Or maybe some innate proc. Could be our attack form. Maybe beneficial spells would cast a little slower or take more mana to cast in this form. Would be cool if it was a group spell version also.

Tree form could be a healing form. improved healing (maybe that even worked with KR!), some beneficial spell haste, beneficial mana preservation, but detrimental spells cast slower and take more mana. maybe it would have a snare so we couldn't move as fast (but make it stack with soe so that it can be clicked off if you have to run or something). Maybe could be counted as medding while standing, like on a horse.

Maybe earth form (earth elemental?) that would be a defensive form. Could have the snare again, and spells cast slowly and take more mana (rocks aren't so smart), but mana and hp regen would go up and maybe defensive abilities could increase (AC, shielding, avoidance?) or just a downtime form to commune with the earth to get ready for the next battle.

could have some sort of travel form (Form of the cheetah?) also... like they tried with spirit of scale... spells would take longer to cast/more mana and attacks would be slowed, but it gives speed, lev, see invis, ultra vision, eb... whatever... maybe if it a group spell, give people the ability to use an insta invis while it's up (not sure how that would work, but it would be cool)

maybe wolf form can be shark form in water like someone mentioned. And i'm sure there are more that people can think so.

Polar bear form where ice nukes do more damage/cast faster/take less mana, but fire nukes/debuffs/dots take a lot more mana/do less damage?

For this to work these would have to work everywhere. And maybe some of the annoying animations in wolf form cleaned up a bit.

What do you think?

I remember making 24, getting wolf form and my DL port, and promptly becoming Puppy Kibble for Gorenaire.

Its a nice idea, and one thats been tossed around here before.

Sadly it'll never happen. No other class would stand for druids to get something like that. Even the ability to tank and deal melee damage 50% of a warrior would be seen as "overpowering" by most melee's. EQ simply cannot handle something like that without radical redesign.

94 out of 107 people choose Shapeshifting over Fireballs.

http://lucy.allakhazam.com/newspells.html?source=Test&date=2004-06-04%2001:57:12&page=7

Shape Change? Any thoughts?

Something drastic is going to need to be done to the entire game to keep interest. If it really is a thing that is seperate from EQ2 and the designers want as many as possible playing both then I think things like shapechanging, and the such need to be added to change the game enough to bring back a lot of interest.

the developers and some of the player base is so used to thinking inside of the molds the classes have created that nothing creative can be done.

Basically each expansion is new graphics and a multiplier on skills, spells, items, and some new quests. There have been some interesting additions that really were nice like augments, horses, and chat tools, but its still basically the same game as it was 5 years ago with bigger numbers... druids included - snare, nuke, heal (actually snare hasnt changed).

have fun

There have been some interesting additions that really were nice like augments, horses, and chat tools, but its still basically the same game as it was 5 years ago with bigger numbers... druids included - snare, nuke, heal (actually snare hasnt changed).
Actually snare has changed. Two changes. The first is that it now stacks with root (good news). The second is that there are now snare immune mobs (bad news).

Of course, it isn't a change to snare but the fact that so many other classes now have a snare like spell has diluted druid worth. Also whether or not mobs need to be snared to prevent them from running is a factor (either good or bad).

My only thought is that if they did have real shapeshifting in EQ, and for a moment lets say they gave it to druids, it would take all of 7 seconds for at least 7 different class boards to explode with posts about how their class should get it before druids should, and all of 3 weeks before other classes got a version of it that was superior to the druid ability ; ).