Feedback based on ZiggyD's videos.

Based on what I've seen from the videos, I have questions; watching the druid gameplay, I feel increasingly confused by how things are being designed. To me, it seems like Bear and Wyvern have a bunch of internally consistent ideas with external support that doesn't have to rely on outside sources to achieve what they want to do.

Bear generates rage naturally, generates Endurance naturally, combos well with Volcano and tornado, has the ability to use spell totems because it generates charges naturally, can socket other warcries into ferocious roar like a buffed form via Ancestral Call, can use shockwaves for synergy with fissures and volcano.

Wyvern doesn't have built in rage generation so you have to figure that out for flame breath but does have power charge generation which many of its skill use and also makes rage generation go further on flame breath, combos well with volcano and thunderstorm, again has charge generation for spells totems.

But, Wolf just kinda seems like it's just there: it gets neither natural rage generation nor does it get any form of charge generation but wants both for Lunar Blessing and Arctic Howl, gets increased freeze chance from thunderstorm which feels like an afterthought, can socket a different mark skill into pounce, I guess?

It just seems all over the place and inconsistent. In a similar vein, with the idea of druid being a sort of hybrid, multiple elements multiple forms where are we supposed to get all these passive points to support any of this multi-faceted playstyle? I've had issues with this in the general combo playstyle they want where the potential combos are just at odds with the choices you'd actually be making.

What's the idea? Is there one? Do they even know?

The idea is that you not have to use all available synergies for a skill.
So yes, there can be a wolf skill that uses rage, but you are perfectly fine using it without rage. And there is the option to go bear-wolf hybrid, use bear to generate rage and spend it in wold form.

You get the skill points from weapon sets, e.g. using 1 weapon set for melee damage and the other for spell damage.

Unless they changed the rage nodes you can take that node that gives you rage passively. I think the idea is not to force every shapeshifting form to use spell totem or totems in general. Maybe they have some other psynergy that ziggy didnt figure out.

I think your question is comparative to saying. "herald of ice works good on wolf, but not on bear" Well of course, because the bear is scaling fire damage not cold damage.

And to add I totally didn't know zealots oath worked that way (ziggyd clicked on it) in poe2. Hard to say without seeing the new tree but im hoping its good for druid.

I agree with OP's message. Theres very little synergy within the wolf itself and it should definitely have something, whether thats rage generation and/or charge generation.

My solution to this was to not use the Druid class at all and opt to make my werewolf build based on the invoker. Making up for the very weak attacks and no ascendancy synergy with invokers cast on crit and elemental damage.

I do believe they are going to need to make a lot more skills for the shapeshifting forms, but from what Jonathan was saying is that they ran out of ideas. but like c'mon I can think of at least 2-3 more skills for each form.

I think you're missing the point when it comes to the synergies; my issue is that the forms aren't congruent when it comes to ease of using them. Bear, in particular, doesn't have to make any changes to get the full value of almost everything at its disposal and that there's much more support naturally from the other skills that it wants to do.

This is a talk about design; in that bear and, to a lesser extent, wyvern look and feel much more fleshed out and internally consistent; whereas wolf, feels out of place and like an afterthought.

Bear doesn't need to swap to any other forms to do anything it wants to do. Wyvern needs to use bear form to generate rage, passive points, or a support gem; and, Wolf needs to do both swap to bear for rage and endurance charges or fix it through passives, supports gems, or gear.

essentially the gameplay loop of the werewolf is to freeze them with lunar assault. Then to shed ice fragments with the basic attack shred. These ice shards explode on their own over time but with cross slash you can pull them into a single enemy to explode immediately.

Arctic howl is essentially staggering palm / boneshatter but with freeze instead of stun.

if you use wolf summons then predators mark is good to keep on, but if youre a lone wolf then swap it with frost mark for more freeze damage.

The charge generation is fixed with resonance and alliths chime support.



it seems like it will be good but lunar assault needs to be buffed and maybe nerf the freeze chance a bit

The campaign looks like a complete joke now, i miss the harder camping during 0.1

You guys watched a preview of 1 person playing a character for the first time. People will find psynergies.

The problem is they wont launch the trees to the public so we can theory craft.

Honestly the most fun I have during a league is the 3 days leading up to league start when im trying to pob things.

They don't allow for this kind of fun when they don't release anything.

Its hard to imagine theyre still trying to balance all of this when it was allegedly delayed from animation problems. It tells me that they weren't even done with the ascendancies, skill tree, or anything. Then just blamed animations for their problems. Its kind of interesting because the way jonathan framed the delay of druid was entirely due to animations but for some reason theyre still changing things on the ascendancy and tree as while ziggy was playing his ascendancy node just changed out of no where.

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Haziza#1519 wrote:

The campaign looks like a complete joke now, i miss the harder camping during 0.1

Its probably not that much easier now considering the first time you do anything at all in the world it will always be more difficult.

Honestly, it's a bad sign they supposedly ran out of ideas when all they really did was rework a number of Warrior skills, merc skills, and monk skills while taking skills from D2.