Key features for a Predator Druid?

[Greyfeld]

Well, aside from the DR, I thought Scattered Form was an amazing level 1 Encounter Power. And the whole poison approach is interesting, too. Though I can see where it might be underwhelming in comparison to the other choices.

Sadly, the Luminescent Swarm paragon path doesn't really "wow" me. It has a couple interesting abilities, but overall it feels a bit lacking.

 

[fba827]

i played an elven predator druid, though i started him at higher level to join an existing group so i can't say what would have been most helpful at the early levels.. as i had the benefit of several feat slots and levels to customize/shape him...

. but my experiences were this ...


1) being elven and a predator, my speed was fast. i'd frequently end up on the opposite side of a battle field before allies even finished coming through the door.

2) my initiative kept me at the top of the order. so if the enemies were separated, i'd end up charging the lone straggler. else, if the enemies were clumped up i actually ended up delaying a lot so that i wouldn't be in the middle of enemies without my allies close by to help take some attention off of me.

3) despite being a "controller" with striker secondary, the way i built my predator was out-damaging even the strikers in the party... in fact, any powers that i took for control hardly ever got used as it was mostly my beast form attacks that got used 99.99% of the time. so don't feel constrained that you -have- to be a controller. as you can build a predator to be striker with some controller effects tossed in.

4) this is a matter of personal play style, but i noticed that during combat, i tended to get in to either wildshape or elf form and stay that way for the majority of combat (and typically it would be wildshape). so the feats related to switching forms didn't really come in handy and i retrained out of them at the first opportunity since i'd most often just be staying in one form or another with little switching back and forth during combat. but that's a matter of playstyle and maybe i just didn't give myself the type of variety in power choices to make switching forms more necessary.

i'll admit that after seeing another player do a swarm druid, i was underwhelmed so i turned away from all the swarm-themed druid powers despite how they might have appealed on paper -- but that's all personal preference on my part -- it's all about taking powers that you think will be interesting for you and work with your party.


anyway, it's late and that's all i can think of at the moment.

but in general, you're build seems fine. no need to over think it. you'll get your best info from that first session and keep an eye out for a power or feat that you just don't see yourself using in practice and note it for retraining when you level up.

 

[Greyfeld]

Sounds good, thanks for the advice.

The reason I took Agile Form at first level is because I felt it was just too useful to pass up. While 8 square movement speed is great for covering a lot of ground, being able to get that 1 square shift for a minor action works wonders, because it means I can shift away, use my move to reposition, then let loose a blast spell, all without the worry of getting my face punched for trying to cast a spell in melee.

 

[Raunalyn]

Here's what I know from the Predator Druid in my group.

She is an elf, so her speed is 8. This makes her extremely mobile, so she plays a lot like a striker with some nice controllery features.

She chose Grasping Claws as opposed to Savage Rend. Strictly speaking, Grasping Claws is a better power (they both do the same damage; Grasping Claws slows, and Savage Rend slides). However, if you were to take the Ruthless Killer feat, that slow you get from Grasping Claws becomes an immobilize. This is DEADLY if you have a way to prone someone. As long as you stay next to that prone enemy, they are immobilized and CANNOT get up. Later, for even more lulz, you can take Vicious Advantage as a feat, so you'll have CA almost consistently.

She chose the Giant Frog as her daily, which is a very nice summon (All Glory to the Hypnotoad!). I'm not sure how the wolf compares, however. But, if my memory serves, the wolf has a prone attack. Using the above combo, that makes some great single target control.

Anyway, this is just my experiece with Druids. YMMV, of course.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Actually, a swarm druid can work i guess... you just have to leave your stats as they are now...

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 1
Wood Elf, Druid
Build: Swarm Druid
Primal Aspect Option: Primal Swarm

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
STR 11, CON 14, DEX 16, INT 12, WIS 18, CHA 8

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
STR 11, CON 14, DEX 14, INT 12, WIS 16, CHA 8


AC: 16 Fort: 12 Ref: 14 Will: 15
HP: 26 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 6

TRAINED SKILLS
Athletics +4, Heal +9, Nature +11, Perception +11

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +2, Arcana +1, Bluff –1, Diplomacy –1, Dungeoneering +4, Endurance +1, History +1, Insight +4, Intimidate –1, Religion +1, Stealth +2, Streetwise –1, Thievery +2

POWERS
Basic Attack: Melee Basic Attack
Basic Attack: Ranged Basic Attack
Elf Racial Power: Elven Accuracy
Druid Feature: Wild Shape
Druid Attack 1: Swarming Locusts
Druid Attack 1: Savage Rend
Druid Attack 1: Flame Seed
Druid Attack 1: Scattered Form
Druid Attack 1: Summon Pack Wolf

FEATS
Level 1: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Agile Form

ITEMS
Ritual Book
Animal Messenger
Hide Armor x1
Adventurer's Kit
Totem x1
Create Campsite
====== End ======

exactly the same, except resist 2 to all damage instead of +1 to speed.
But you may have to be a bit careful, which powers you take, as your kicker attribute is rather low.
You may want to start with 15 con and drop int to 10 so you can get to 17 con at epic for second skin.

 

[Greyfeld]

To be honest, if I'd decided to go Swarm, I'd probably go Dwarf for the Con bonus. Or Human for the extra feat and at-will.

You know, I had a hard time deciding between Grasping Claws and Savage Rend. But in the end, I took the latter because I wanted to be able to slide creatures into my various zones I drop on the battlefield. In addition, if I pin a creature up against the wall, like so:

|X X X
|M D X
|X X X

Where | is the wall, M is the monster, D is the druid, and X are empty squares...

I can essentially completely lock that enemy down and keep him from moving. Savage Rend can be used as a melee basic attack, so any time he tries to move, I just yank him back when he provokes an OA.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Seems like you would be better off maxing your CON and just taking Hide Expertise. You can get 18 WIS and 18 CON, so you get 4 resist, and keep your AC at 15, but you get some better power riders. You can still hit DEX 15 by epic, which I think is enough, though I'd check on what implement feats you may want. The resist isn't stunning, but there are a few ways to get more, and stuff like Stinging Cloud is not bad. The problem is you just get hammered at low levels and when you're in human form you just better not get attacked at all...

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

To be honest, if I'd decided to go Swarm, I'd probably go Dwarf for the Con bonus. Or Human for the extra feat and at-will.

You know, I had a hard time deciding between Grasping Claws and Savage Rend. But in the end, I took the latter because I wanted to be able to slide creatures into my various zones I drop on the battlefield. In addition, if I pin a creature up against the wall, like so:

|X X X
|M D X
|X X X

Where | is the wall, M is the monster, D is the druid, and X are empty squares...

I can essentially completely lock that enemy down and keep him from moving. Savage Rend can be used as a melee basic attack, so any time he tries to move, I just yank him back when he provokes an OA.

You can yank him back, but that doesn't end his movement.

 

[Greyfeld]

Seems like you would be better off maxing your CON and just taking Hide Expertise. You can get 18 WIS and 18 CON, so you get 4 resist, and keep your AC at 15, but you get some better power riders. You can still hit DEX 15 by epic, which I think is enough, though I'd check on what implement feats you may want. The resist isn't stunning, but there are a few ways to get more, and stuff like Stinging Cloud is not bad. The problem is you just get hammered at low levels and when you're in human form you just better not get attacked at all...

Since HAE was errata'd, it only grants its effects for characters without a bonus from INT or DEX. It's markedly less useful now than it used to be, which is one of the main reasons Swarm Druids have fallen off the map a bit. According to what I've read, it's still useful if you're only playing heroic-tier, but once you go beyond that, it starts really falling behind.

 

[Greyfeld]

You can yank him back, but that doesn't end his movement.

Technically you're right, but if that happens, I've just forced him to blow an entire turn moving.

But as I said, it's just an added bonus. The real reason I took it was because it'll make it easier to force movement into all my zone powers. I can see the usefulness of both abilities, but I just felt that this one would help my playstyle a bit more. And if I end up being wrong, then I can retrain it later.