Hiya

Does one's choice of specialisation still make a huge difference?

Just about to hit 60 and starting to think about what happens next (AAs, skills etc), and recalled that I chose Evocation back in the day. I'd actually switched from Alteration as at the time our heals were a bit half-hearted at the higher end IIRC and so the advice was to aim to be a bit of a mini-mage. Given that I was soloing a lot, this made good sense.

Naturally, things have changed a bit. Several expansions have come out, classes have changed, and due to the servers being really quiet now groups are difficult to get at the best of times (hence mercenaries being introduced).

Right now I'm 99% soloing (well, often with a merc) but that's not to say I wouldn't like to group once in a while or even participate in raids some day. I already know that people will basically refuse you in any half-decent group later on if you don't have a good few hundred AA's, but what about if you're still Evoc specced? Will people say "What's your spec?" and balk at this?

Is it worth doing that re-speccing quest (for a second time) and going through all that re-training, even though I primarily solo, in case I want to group or raid one day? Or would something like Secondary Forte be enough?

Thanks!

I'm an Evoc druid and honestly couldn't be bothered changing it. In raids i mostly heal, outside raids i mostly dps. /shrug.

I recently switched from evocation to conjuration. I've noticed that I am able to sustain my healing for far longer than I used to be able to. Even before SoD came out and they bumped the efficiency of our heals.

I thought healing was Alteration? Or did this change?

Still not sure, but thanks for the feedback so far!

I'd be very surprised if any pickup groups asked about specialization.

Anyway, I'd say if you do find yourself grouping more often, make the switch, but not until that happens. (If you plan on raiding regularly, go ahead and make the switch before you start, though.)

Another consideration is whether you want to start charm soloing, which is easily the most efficient way for druids to solo for exp through at least the low 80's. Charm spells are alteration based, which is convenient for druids that primarily heal--you can get the best of both worlds, for the most part. If you find that you like charming, go ahead and make the switch.

Whatever you decide, there is good news! There is an AA called Secondary Forte that will allow you to raise a secondary specialization to half of the cap on the primary specialization. So, initially you'll be able to get one specialization to 200 and another to 100. With additional levels both will increase.

Alteration: healing, charming, root, etc.
Evocation: nuking
Conjuration: dots
Abjuration: buffs
Divination: invisibility/sensing

Bah! You're right, I was thinking alteration and got it stuck in my head. I wouldn't switch to conj from evocation unless you solo more than half of the time, even then I would probably consider staying evocation.

I'd be very surprised if any pickup groups asked about specialization.

Anyway, I'd say if you do find yourself grouping more often, make the switch, but not until that happens. (If you plan on raiding regularly, go ahead and make the switch before you start, though.)

I'm employed and during free time do more than just EQ, so chances are I'll never get into a "raiding guild" type situation - more like the occasional raid in some family type guild (if there are still any around!)

Another consideration is whether you want to start charm soloing, which is easily the most efficient way for druids to solo for exp through at least the low 80's. Charm spells are alteration based, which is convenient for druids that primarily heal--you can get the best of both worlds, for the most part. If you find that you like charming, go ahead and make the switch.

Ah. :) I just actually started having a try at charming, based roughly on Tobynn's guide in this thread (http://thedruidsgrove.org/eq/forums/showthread.php?t=15795). Was having a go at multi-charm tactics in Western Wastes last night, albeit altered slightly... they're mostly non-social mobs so I was rooting them all in one cluster and getting the charmed one to "Back off/Attack this one" until he was on all their hate lists that way.

Tactical learning aside, I find the 'swarm' type charm method to be quite fun and amazingly quick EXP. Far better than Root/DoT/die of boredom or straight kiting (inefficient) or quad kiting (dangerous). So that's going to be a huge swaying factor here - I'm highly tempted to switch to alteration now. As you say - best of both worlds (and from what I was reading, rotting or kiting gets less viable after 70 or so.
Thanks again.

As you say - best of both worlds (and from what I was reading, rotting or kiting gets less viable after 70 or so.
Thanks again.

Depends on your goals, if you just want to xp yeah Charming is the way to go. However if you decide to go above 80 your gonna have to get that charming form and familiarity out of the way. The animals in SoD are classified as weak for the mellee to be able to solo and extremely spread apart. There is only one good spot for charm kiting that I have found in SoD and at that is extremely risky, those Racnars around Trakanon. Everything else in SoD is either Root Rot or Kite depending on the area and your mana pool/mana regen.

Hrmmm okay. I think it'll be ages before I get to 80 anyway. Perhaps conj or evoc as a secondary forte AA to cover that, and alter as the main to keep any groups/guilds happy and for the charming up to then.

Update - decided to re-spec alteration. Looks like it learns nice and quickly too (the only reason I was hesitating in the first place was I thought it'd take ages to learn). Cheers.