[Didn't know whether to post this under expansions or AA points. Leave it up to moderators to put this where it belongs.]

I've gotten LDoN and desireability in LDoN groups became a priority for me. I currently have run3, regen3, scm3.

Now I have 12 UNSPENT AA points. I originally planned to spend them in SCF1 to 3 (I think I do not need HA atm since ordinary xp groups seem to do ok with me acting as MH) but then decided to save them up to see if I should put them elsewhere to make my druid more desireable or useful in LDoN.

I've read that RC and SotW is very useful in LDoN.

Where would you suggest I put the 12 AA points I have with the main objective being MOST useful in LDoN groups?

Thanks. This could serve as a guide too to other relatively new AA levelers.

Spirit of the Wood
Maybe Radiant Cure, I haven't had too much trouble with horrible traps or DoTs unless we open the chests/barrels.. which we don't anymore, since they don't ever have anything decent.

SCF can be good too, depending on your usual role in LDoN. If it's DPS, then SCF and Fury of Magic (think that's the name, the PoP version of spell crits), will help you push more DPS out of your nukes.

At least get spirit of the wood 1. 2 and 3 are minor upgrades, but 1 is extremely useful. Great ability to use when things look like they might be bad (but you're not certain enough to start evaccing), while you get the situation under control. Good for times when you need to heal yourself and your group but you're stuck kiting unsnareable mobs for the moment.

Radiant cure is nice to have too; it often saves swapping out a spell slot to dispel tashes and slows and random dots, plus it has a chance to cure things that no other spell or ability (besides dispel) can cure.

I'd get at least level 1 in each before considering other abilities, assuming you already have exodus.

If you don't already have it exodus is one of the most useful druid abilities in ldon. Since there is no respawn in the dungeons evacing is a very valid tactic and can save the day.

As said above since you do not have many aa yet get i would get exodus 6 points, radiant cure 1, 6 points, sotw 1 at 4 points.

Radiant cure in particular will seem like a waste sometimes cause it fails alot at levl 1 but its only two points and often tmes in a group with a shaman or cleric both people using it wil get rid of one really nasty effect.
Im about to get the final upgrade myself.
I also have the words to make remove greater curse....go me!

i used Radient cure alot in ldon last night... mostly for the AE tashes and normal caster dots... although it did get rid of one trap dot.

i used sotw 3 times in one dungeon when we were pulling a bit too much... =) with the lower melee output, sotw can really save the day with a bunch of mobs in camp... and you do lot of damage with the DS =)

haven't used exodus, but i hovered over it a few times =) yeah... it's better to exodus and take 2 minutes to run back to where you were then have people die

it's hard to say... scf is a dps upgrade, exodus, Rc, sotw are ultilty upgrades... but ones that you'll click a good bit and will probabaly be glad to have... and the best reason is that clickly abilities are really fun =)

Personaly, I would reccomend Spell Casting Mastery 3. In a LDON group, your ability to progress quickly is strictly dependant on your mana pool. SCM3 basicaly adds a 10% savings across the board on every spell you cast, every cast. For spells your specialization is 50, your total savings is around 13% off the cost of the spell. For your 200 spec, your total mana savings is like 21% per cast. This can make a huge impact on having enough mana to get things done.

SCM3 is so powerfull that they removed Advanced Spell Casting Mastery from the PoP after they had allready printed the official strategy guides listing it as an available power. Yes, SCM is that good that any more and it was considerd broken. It is also the only thing that can reduce the mana cost of Tunare's Renewal and Karana's Renewal, which really helps with casting those 400/600 mana heals. If your alteration specilized, the costs reduce to around 316/474 mana per heal.

Tough decision, definitely put RC high on your list but SoTW is going to be up there too. We encountered AE stuff, people muck with traps and things even when you tell them not to. Been tashed a fair amount, even mezzed once. But healers get low on mana in LDoN too, so having a free heal available is good.

Uh, guys, it says he already has SCM3. In which case, I agree with the above poster:

SotW1
RC1
Exodus

I haven't done one dungeon where I didn't use SotW atleast twice. I use RC alot regardless of the circumstances. It even has a chance to remove root/snare which nothing besides dispel does (as mentioned).

Exodus, you won't use all the time, BUT, the times you do will easily make it worth it. To save 1 life is a great thing, to save the party's lives is priceless.

/agree sotw1, rc1, exodus

Just agreeing with the rest, exodus, sotw, rc1, probably in that order.

- Xylem, E'ci

I love radiant cure in the LDoN, very useful

not a druid, but a warrior. fairly well traveled in ldon for a week of exp =D

Evac, priceless if you have a group without a mezzer and you get a 5 pull. My only losses are due to overpull wipeouts. Period. Evac more than saves the day in LDON, it ... really saves the day =D

Radient cure, most dungeons have a lot of shaman, wizards, necro mobs. Snares, roots, Malo, all common. Malo particularly is nasty, as it lasts forever. VERY useful, VERY noticable when druid has these AA, they make a difference as well.

Critical nukes. Nuking damage is noticed, doing a cricital, although "nice" isnt going to save the day. Its going to make the progression faster, but if critical nukes are making the difference, something is wrong.

I dont know about anything else. And will leave it there.

MC1 would also be a good investment unless you have a lot of mana regen already. Horses don’t work in LDoN and it is often hard to sit down a med without getting aggro. MC2 may also be worth considering, probably not MC3 though.

Also the innate metabolist AAXP have gain more value in LDoN.

In the 3 them I have try, I wasn't able to forage water or food in the donjon. If you have stats food and was using the forage skill to get free food/water to force eat/drink to avoid to consume the food/drink with stat.

Eridalafar

AA's I recomend are:
RC
SotW
SCM3 (of course)

The one AA I haven't worked on, SCR, LDoN has inspired me to work on. Without any sort of Reinforcement AA or Focus Item, Pot9 seems to drop just before the end of an adventure when you really need your mana.

Generally spped is of the essence for LDoN. So SotW and Exodus.

(also Exodus frees up a spell slot and that increases your versality; sitting aggro is a pain in LDoN)

Spirit of eagle can also be made to last for the full duration of the adventure with SCR3, SCRM and an extended enhancement item.

I would even say HA and HG if you do a lot of healing, improve your heals, make them more powerful, save some mana while you are at it.

MC1, good thing if you don't have a lot of FT.

SOTW - great skill to have for exp groups or massing for raid on certain AE mobs.

RC - another great one since it cures so many things from tash to slow and snare.

Exodus - Pricess skill, definitely something you want to train in, can save your own rump when soloing or your group on bad pulls and no CC.

I agree with all the above but would like to add channel focusing. As a main healer if I get beaten and myself or someone needs a heal I have been successful at casting if the beating isn't too hard :)

Can someone explain in simple terms why SotW is useful?


Silverfur Mangycoat
60 DRU of The Nameless
<The Fools Republic>

SoTW is mana-free, 200-250 hp per tick group heal (our only group heal), once per 22 minutes. It comes in handy during emergencies when you need a little extra healing while you're casting other heals, or for AEs, or traps... at least that's what I tend to use it for.

Also goes nicely with divine arbitration if you're grouped with a cleric.

Ah, didnt realize it was a group heal. Thanks.

also group damage shield (stacks with most others).

I generally use right at beginning and then on multi-pulls through out. Most dungeons seem to be designed so that there is a big pull early on.

<--- only done one adventure with a chanter, never with a bard so CC always been fun :)

Would be nice if the DS on SoTW stacked with Legacy of Bracken instead of overwriting it, but still SoTW is the most valuable AA I have used in LDoN so far.

Exodus is a good one to have in or out of LDoN, but in LDoN can mean the difference between failing and succeeding an Adventure, especially if you dont have a cleric along for rezzes. It can take some time to run back to the dungeon, and rebuffing for a continued run eats valuable time... So, yes to SoTW, yes to Exodus, and unless the other dungeons are worse than Takish and MMCaverns, then probably not too concerned over Radiant Cure. The random Tash was the only headache we faced and even that was only an optional removal. I once had an entire run with Tash on me and never missed a beat... I think there may be concern in a dungeon where casters are more plentiful, but Takish and Mistmoore seem to be weak casters only.... I love the hierophants in Takish chain casting snares/roots while dying to our tanks. AI could use some work I think , but otherwise 3 thumbs up for SOE on LDoN.

KOBARA,

Legacy and SOTW does stack.

Just tried it myself, put up legacy and hit wood, wacked a guard in shar vahl....it hurt but yes they were getting hit for 95 damage shield.

Kind of sorry for doing it where I did it though beacause the suckers summoned..bleh

Legacy of Bracken (or the mage DS), Brackencoat, Spirit of the Wood, Shield of the Eighth (or the 10th ring effect, or a shaman DS potion, or Fire Elemental Form), Shield of Torment (or Thorny Shield, Icicle Aura, or Shield of Pain), Wrath of the Wild, and any worn DS (Blessing of Vah Kerrath, Shield of Pain I-X) should all stack together.

Oh, and damage shields from a bard. Psalm of Veeshan adds 15*3.9=58.5, Warsong of Zek adds 15*3.9=58.5. Total of 106, or 107 if fractions are kept. I'm guessing 106.

Let's see...as a druid, maximum damage shield:
45: Maelstrom of Ro (type 1)
33: Kilva's Skin of Flame (type 2)
13: Brackencoat (type 3)
6: Icicle Aura (type 4: Bone Chill Chield or Cloak of Icy Shadows)
650: Wrath of the Wild 3 (type 7)
55: Spirit of the Wood 3 (type :cool:
106: Bard with enough AA's and instruments to get 3.9 singing/brass modifiers
8: Blessing of Vah Kerrath (worn)
=916, plus any additional worn damage shields (LDoN augmentations?)

Anything I'm missing?

could also add in 8th or 9th ring (8ds) or 10th ring (10ds)

When we have a shammy in the group, most folks have only one buff slot free for cleric Heal Over Time. Does this mean that they will only get partial benefit of SoTW (either the heal or the DS)?
So far I haven't needed to use SoTW in one of these situations, but it would be good to know ahead of time.

You've no doubt spent the points already, but I'd get:

SotW1
Exodus
MC1

Radiant Cure is too flaky, and too situational for my tastes that early in the AA path. Mental Clarity gives you more mana for everything, healing, nuking etc. Innate Camo is another really really nice AA, but it won't fit in your current budget!

Gala, Spirit of the Wood and any multi-effect buffs, only take up 1 buff slot. The slots in lucys display are for stacking really. One buff slot open = Spirit of the Wood works just as if you had 15 open.

8th ring doesn't stack with Kilva's Skin of Flame, I think. That's why I didn't include it (the DS potion gives 33, compared to the 8 on the ring).

hm.. For aa's in LDon i kinda would take another approach. Might be my way of pulling to do it that way. But its more what i see my own aa help me most.

- Sotw, a life saver.

- RC, as stated above.

- CA and LR, I take so much little damage with that AA. Specially lin a dungeon with so little place where you (read I) allways get hit a lot, it makes a huge difference on your mana and other healers mana.

- channeling aa, name kinda skipped me - That last nuke when you're tanking an add. That heal when you get bashed on. If you channel it. It is often a life saver again. i love that AA.

- ND3, ha3, hg3. I'd say these are kinda equally important for LDON. but not that high on my list.

Also 1 thing to keep in mind. Specially why i also say CA, LR and channeling AA. I love charming and we can charm in i think its the Ruj theme. The wolves make awesome pets. They hit for like 370 i think double. Give em speed and they are kinda the dps of the group ;) Charm breaks in a place where you can't kite (you can't snare wolfs) means you have to tank it untill you can recharm or have someone else taunt it or mez it. Mostly you will get a decent chunk of hits on you.

I myself have yet to use exodus in LDoN. So i wouldnt put it to high on the list. Specially since there is no repop. It's not to much trouble to get to your corpses anyways i'd guess.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I myself have yet to use exodus in LDoN. So i wouldnt put it to high on the list. Specially since there is no repop. It's not to much trouble to get to your corpses anyways i'd guess.[/quote]

I find Exodus MUCH more useful in LDoN that it was in PoP. The issue isn't CR (as you mention, no respawn means easy CR unless you didn't clear to where you died).

The issue is that having the group die (or even a couple of deaths) means time wasted when you are on a clock. Compounded with this is the fact that most groups need to let go of cautious playing in LDoN - you have to get multiple pulls instead of single ones. That increases kill rate, but also increases the likelihood of deaths. Being able to instantly evac and then run right back to where you were with only about a 30 second delay is a HUGE benefit for a small point cost. I know that several of our wins would have been losses without that one AA. (Although I think SotW is more useful - I love that one since we get so many multiple pulls - the extra DPS and healing is very nice to have.)

My druid has only radiance cure 2 right now and it is not very effective, at least in the 65th dungeons. It doesn't cure that... dark plague or poison or whatever it is that some of the traps release (not chests, just the traps). Further, it seems that even if you move out of the area, the person who got hit with the trap gets hit again in another 30 seconds and, of course, RC isn't ready for use then. I'm still glad to have it when fighting casters that snare, DoT, etc. but it isn't any more helpful in LDoN than it was previously.