Celtic Heroes

Since the beta testers are sworn to a strict code of honour and secrecy when they start to test the update content next week, it may be a good idea to start accumulating feedback on any druid areas that needs to be improved.

1) Lighting / Vines / Storm

Damage wise is fine as it is. This is also proven recently by Yrck that with the correct /extreme set up with adequate support from mage, Druids can outdps other classes even in Aggragoth fights.
My beef is with the energy cost as mentioned by Sidi:

http://www.celtic-heroes.com/forum/view ... =6&t=22877

I’m not asking for faster cast. Just the energy cost. Currently, 44 strangling vines= 538 energy, 44 lighting strike= 280 energy, 44 storm touch = 750 energy. Even with 5k energy and 400 sigils, it is not sustainable.
I get the logic with not maxing the skills and to diversify into other skills, reducing the energy cost. But this is more of a bandage solution to a constant bleeding wound. We are not really fixing the problem. This update will bring us to 180 with skill cap at 40/40. Combine this with existing royal rings + aggy bracelets + rings + corvax bracelets, end game skill caps at 50 is rapidly approaching due to skill enhancement gear.

We can also state 2 examples here:
A) Druid charges a 3s mob with lv 44 skills, kills it but rapid drain of energy.
B) Druid charges a 3s mob with lv 30 skills, kills it much much slower which results in same drainage of energy.

Yes, I know mages can supply us with energy and current ow mobs requires group training for best exp gain. The same logic here can be applied to mages as well but they got energy reduction.
I don’t think I am being unreasonable. Not asking for higher damage or casting speed. Just requesting energy reduction on druid’s damage skills. Its either this or they provide new lux regen items that provides a good boost. (Heroic ammy being replaced with Dragon ammy 50 regen for example at *X* gold)

2) Natures touch, Embrace + Breath
Touch & embrace are fine as it is. Breath’s energy cost can be quite demanding tho I am not sure of public opinions on whether breath’s cost shld be reduced.

3) Bark, Abundance, Abundance aura
Works well for me

4) Interruptions
I would say interruptions are more manageable nowadays due to HW having a boost and this is further enhanced with defence gear such as trident and earth stone gear.

5) Wards
Works well for me

6) Spring of life
http://www.celtic-heroes.com/forum/view ... ng+of+life
Enough said, please fix it.

7) Frozen + Dragon Gear

Frozen:
A) The armour side is depressing when compared to diamond due to health & energy bonuses from frozen as compared to vit & focus from Diamond.
B) Weapon side is even more depressing with proc

Admin mentioned due to new game engine, there be new bonuses such as increased casting, increase heal by 1k etc. As non beta testers cant provide feedback on its usefulness, can the druid beta testers such as tea, precision and entity please concentrate on this area. Give frozen gear the boost it needs while still keeping diamond gear useful. This obviously applies to dragon gear as well, the bonuses should be relevant and useful for druids.

Above mentioned points are from personal observation. Anyone who has other problems please comment so that the druid beta testers can hopefully rectify it with admin.

How about something similar to Mage's E-boost?


Also, possibly fix he Casting Distance of Abundance Aura? Of the buffs, this seems out of place.

How about something similar to Mage's E-boost?

Also, possibly fix he Casting Distance of Abundance Aura? Of the buffs, this seems out of place.

Its been discussed before regarding another eboost but druids already have like 30 odd skills? Do we really need another eboost skill? And just expanding on meditate, i supposed it may be workable but if mages couldnt survive with eboost / sacrifice which are better versions of mediatate, i doubt it can do much for druids.

Casting distance of AA is interesting. In the sense, I read before some ppl finding this to be good as it removes stereotypes of statue druids. Just standing there and casting. Ppl using AA are required to be more mobile and move around. Also, i think the casting distance is the same as wards.

I have book marked this thread so that I'll know what the Druid community thinks needs improvements. Thankyou for putting the time into making it and I'm sure it'll make our job easier.
Also I think we all will try as hard as possible to make sure that dragon doesn't make the same mistake that frozen did. I mean come on, why does armour and weapon achieved at lvl80 have better use than the supposed "best" armour in the game.
Anyways, what do you guys think about trying to make staffs a viable option in the end game? I know it probably won't happen but I was just wondering on your thoughts.

Good question on staff but it links to a more important reality which is the current game's 2h weapons are in no way comparable to 1h weapon due to lux offhands.

Warriors dont use 2h weapons as golden blade / trident gives more damage
Rogues and mages dont have 2h weapon atm (Event weapons not considered)
Druids dont use staff as its no way comparable to arcane orb/grimmore/trident or even bodkin etc
Rangers considered using 2h weapon but they have a quiver.

So back to yr question, in order to make staff a viable option, it has to be comparable to lux offhands. The bonus boost it provides must be attractive engh for druids to consider using it while at the same time not totally outshining ow lux.
Deciding what bonus to put can be a headache as
A) Druid needs all the energy regen the game can offer due to increasing skill level caps and skill enhancement gear
B) The new game engine which allows faster cast and increase heal etc
C) If the staff has A + B, will this outshine totem? If yes, we are basically just switching totem over to staff.

I dont have a good suggestion unfortunately apart that if staff can be reborn in its usefulness, it has to be like if u use staff, u lose totem's special ability etc.

Good question on staff but it links to a more important reality which is the current game's 2h weapons are in no way comparable to 1h weapon due to lux offhands.

Warriors dont use 2h weapons as golden blade / trident gives more damage
Rogues and mages dont have 2h weapon atm (Event weapons not considered)
Druids dont use staff as its no way comparable to arcane orb/grimmore/trident or even bodkin etc
Rangers considered using 2h weapon but they have a quiver.

So back to yr question, in order to make staff a viable option, it has to be comparable to lux offhands. The bonus boost it provides must be attractive engh for druids to consider using it while at the same time not totally outshining ow lux.
Deciding what bonus to put can be a headache as
A) Druid needs all the energy regen the game can offer due to increasing skill level caps and skill enhancement gear
B) The new game engine which allows faster cast and increase heal etc
C) If the staff has A + B, will this outshine totem? If yes, we are basically just switching totem over to staff.

I dont have a good suggestion unfortunately apart that if staff can be reborn in its usefulness, it has to be like if u use staff, u lose totem's special ability etc.

Yes it wouldn't be an easy task and Im nearly certain that we probably won't see this come update but hey, who knows.
To make staffs more appealing and diverse I was thinking that they could be could be completely different from totems.
E.g the staff has major focus and natures magic bonus' making you heal far more than with a totem but at the cost of having no regen.

Here is just an example off the top of my head:

Staff of the dragon
Speed: 4000
Damage: (not sure about this one)
Bonus: adds 2000 to natures touch

Totem of the dragon
Speed: 3000
Damage: (less than staff)
Bonus: adds 500 to natures touch

Now this evens them up imo. You can either go with the staff and have an extra 1500 heal or you can go with the totem resulting in more dps when using a blade, have regen yet have less heals.

So basically the staff is made much more useful yet at the cost of no regen, less dps and have all other skills besides their touch do less than the totem (because when using a grimoire with a totem the focus increases all skills where as the staff only adds to natures touch)

Once again I'll add that this is off the top of my head and obviously dragon weapons will not have these stats

Just my two cents and I'm probably echoing some thoughts here...

For me to consider using a staff over totem and lux offhand, the two things I'd want the most are boosts to focus and nature magic to at least compensate for the loss of what already exists for 1h/offhand. Maybe we could think of the the choice of staff or totem to match that of a specific role the druid wants to emphasize. In certain scenarios it could be more beneficial to use a staff and in others a totem and off-hand. They could be both good in in their own way, but use is dependent on the scenario in which you would use it. Perhaps the staff could serve as support to produce more abundant heals and better support a team. Maybe to make the weapon more specialized in role, specific stat boosts to things like touch, breath, and maybe wards or other support skills could be considered. I would expect that the speed and damage of the staff to be less than that of totem making it less appealing for solo play but really powerful in a group support setting. On the other hand, maybe I want to support my team in a different way or roll solo for a bit. This is when I would opt to use a totem and offhand. Instead of stats that enhance heals/support perhaps boosts in things like vines/dps would be appealing on a totem. I'm not suggesting that the details of my thoughts are necessarily the best way to execute the over-arching concept I'm presenting, but I do like the idea of somehow making each weapon more useful over the other in certain scenarios, making it appealing to own both a good totem/offhand and a staff. Right now staffs are useless but the game mechanics are there to make something out of them. I think by accomplishing this somehow it could allow for greater specialization and customization for druids later in the game. I know this is a separate desire out of the realm of this discussion already addressed elsewhere, but a nice touch would be the ability to swap out staff and totem via the skill slots rather than opening the bag screen when in combat.

Its been discussed before regarding another eboost but druids already have like 30 odd skills? Do we really need another eboost skill? And just expanding on meditate, i supposed it may be workable but if mages couldnt survive with eboost / sacrifice which are better versions of mediatate, i doubt it can do much for druids.

Casting distance of AA is interesting. In the sense, I read before some ppl finding this to be good as it removes stereotypes of statue druids. Just standing there and casting. Ppl using AA are required to be more mobile and move around. Also, i think the casting distance is the same as wards.

E-boost would work better for DPS Druids, as they cannot use Meditate in combat. Sans some areas like lava, support druids can use meditate while everyone in the group is in combat. BIG difference there.

AA does Not have the same Casting Distance as any other buff, including wards.

Hey all,

I just had a brilliant idea about staffs, to make them more appealing etc...

Make staffs like bows!!

They will be 2-handed, but you can have an offhand ''Talisman'' that increases the staff's ability. Like a Golden Talisman of Ice (equivilant to a golden Ice quiv) that adds 100 ice dmg, 75 focus, 20 energy per tick etc...

Just an idea that would be really cool to implement to make staffs more viable.

Happy Healing, and i hope this suggestion can be mentioned in your beta reports

Hey all,

I just had a brilliant idea about staffs, to make them more appealing etc...

Make staffs like bows!!

They will be 2-handed, but you can have an offhand ''Talisman'' that increases the staff's ability. Like a Golden Talisman of Ice (equivilant to a golden Ice quiv) that adds 100 ice dmg, 75 focus, 20 energy per tick etc...

Just an idea that would be really cool to implement to make staffs more viable.

Happy Healing, and i hope this suggestion can be mentioned in your beta reports

However Regenleif,

This defeats the purpose of having a two-handed weapon. If it is viable to be worn with a two-handed weapon, what makes it limited to it? If it can be used with a two-handed weapon, then it will surely be bound to be used along with a one-handed weapin, with less effectivity, though.