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Mid game build advice

#1
I am level 136 and could use some advice regarding my current build, skills, and what lux/offhand I should be saving for. Currently have only quest gear (met/froz), and still using energy ammy from Shalemont (having serious energy issues already esp at bosses). I spend about 25% of my time solo leveling and the rest bossing in support role. I am currently using bark, vines, strike, touch, and natures breath. Still saving for an offhand, using met totem at the moment. I only have 75k saved so far, so unable to buy proper gear. Not sure if I should start working on beastbone.

My current stats:

Health: 1991
Energy: 3436

Focus: 444 (511)
Vitality: 251 (253)

Attack: 330
Damage: 124
Defence: 14
Armor: 194

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Mid game build advice

#2
Greetings Ayleth, and to all my fellow Druid brothers and sisters out there.

I apologize for not answering this earlier, "real life" and all that. But I think you raise some important issues that are applicable at some point to all those who take up the responsibilities of this noble class. As such, I hope that my "two cents" can be in some small way helpful to you on your journey. That said, I feel obliged to caveat this post with the disclaimer that I am by no means an "expert" on all things Druid (as compared to Regenleif and some other notables), for reasons that will become apparent. However, I do know what works for me (at least from my point of view) for the in-game goals which I have set for myself, the most important among them being to "have fun and meet nice people".

Congratulations on attaining level 136 (and presumably higher by now). For me at least, this was the point at which I really started to have some fun and be able to help out my fellow players in a more meaningful way. By this point, you can most likely solo lower level bosses, and attain most in-game objectives with only an occasional assist. I found that around this time I started to go from being a "net consumer" of charity and assistance to a "net provider" of the same. That's not to say that I didn't benefit from the kindness of others (I did...particularly for bone shards) but I could also "hook up" lower level players with their requirements for quest items. One thing I've never been accused of is being a "Good Merchant", I don't know that I've ever really sold anything except Dragon Frags, the proceeds from which I use to support my ugly Sigil habit :-)

But to your questions about build and gear- and I only offer these as points of consideration for further discussion by Druids more knowledgable than I am:

I agree with your decision to stick with the quest armor (Frozen in your case) particularly until you are done doing Bounty Quest missions into the OW molten lava zone. The set bonus is worth maintaining as long as you can. That said, eventually the Beastbone set in my opinion is definitely worth pursuing for the bonuses it provides, and then Alchemical and Occult after that. I say that as a member of a long-inactive clan, from which I receive zero assistance for DL and EDL items, so I can't speak to that.

Like you, I maintained the Meteoric/Frozen totem for a long time, it was more than sufficient for my needs until a "Totem of the Undefeated" came on the auction block. Although it's only marginally better than the Frozen Totem (65 versus 60) it adds 225 to Lightning Strike and 200 to Nature Magic. Most of the time I carry a Darkheart Grimoire of Ashes in my right hand for the bonuses it provides, hot swapping with the totem for hand-to-hand and a Stormskimmer when it's time to egress the area.

Now, here is a point upon which my fellow Druids may disagree, but what works for me. In my left hand I have chosen to carry a Fiery Dagger of Haste. Yes, I know, by doing that I forego the potential for more focus from an orb or other off-hand, but what the Dagger DOES do is add 150 points to Dexterity (which otherwise is 5) which raises my Defense a full 300 points. Maybe I am falling victim to confirmation bias, but I do feel that the increased Defense has decreased the number of times I am interrupted casting spells with longer cast times, such as Vines, Bark, and Natures Touch. Plus, the Dagger adds 100 points of heat damage. The Dagger stays in the left hand as I hot swap between the Totem and the Grimoire. To compensate for the loss of potential Focus points, I completed the necessary steps to obtain the Godly Armband of Focus in OW, which is free and just takes a little bit of time and effort to get the 100 Focus points. I recommend it.

As to your spell selection, I generally agree with what seems to be your intent. In my own case:
Lighting Strike: Maxed (currently 50/40 with gear). Hits hard, quick cool down.
Bark: Maxed: 50/40 with gear. I'm currently able to lay 790 armor points on my allies.
Vines: Maxed (43/40)

What I didn't see you mention was Stinging Swarm versus Storm Touch. For me, I much prefer the Bees over the ST for a number of reasons. Yes, I get it, Bees costs a lot of energy for the damage inflicted and doesn't last very long. But, that said, it casts relatively quickly, is seldom interrupted, and allows me to get SOMETHING on the enemy when Vines gets interrupted and/or evaded. Once you get enough skill points to start diversifying your portfolio, I recommend the Bees (fellow Druids, feel free to differ).

This last part leads me into the energy discussion you mentioned. Yes, eventually you need to finally give up the old reliable Shalemont Amulet ha ha. It's OK, you'll be alright. Although you're not there quite yet, I am currently employing a Paradai Flaming Starstone Necklace that I was able to pick up from a sympathetic player for a reasonable price (thanks again!). Focus +90 / Bark +6.

I did not see you mention your pet, which can go a long way to helping with your energy issues. Again, others may differ, but I highly recommend the rabbit, both in terms of energy points available via the focus bonus and energy regeneration even in combat. Again, I know to some extent we are comparing apples to pineapples with regards to our level disparities, but in my case my bunny is giving me 742 hit points every 15 seconds (so 2968/minute) with an energy regeneration of 107 points per tick. Given that the rabbit can be obtained for free via bounty quests, that is a super good deal for low plat players. In my own case, I chose the Black Rabbit after a cost/benefit analysis (helped by Bitey's research) showing that the Black Rabbit provides 89 percent of the potential goodness for significantly fewer tokens as compared to the Gold. And, everyone knows that the Black Rabbit looks the coolest.

One thing to consider is that with a self-heal of 2968 points per minute, I've been able to significantly dial back the number of points put into Natures Touch. Generally, I've made a commensurate increase to the points in Natures Embrace, which I keep on myself and allies all the time, and save Natures Touch for emergencies. I'm currently only 5/40 on Nature's Touch, but still yielding with gear bonuses 1220 points of healing for those times when the enemy's damage production gets ahead of what Bark and Natures Embrace are able to cope with, which isn't often.

Last bit of unsolicited advice is to buy Energy Sigils slowly over time as you can. I've seen posts stating that "by level so-and-so you should have 2000 energy Sigils" etc, but in my case that's just not economically feasible. I currently have 731 and with the Bunny added in I am regenerating 850ish energy points per tick, which is generally OK for now. Not ideal, but OK.

In my own case, I've been using the 3 Focus / 2 Vitality method almost exclusively since the beginning, so I'm currently 572 (1111) Focus / 368 (493) Vitality.

Looking back over your post, I think I've addressed everything. Please feel free to correct me if not. In the meantime, what I'm really hoping is that your post yields a continued thoughtful dialogue within the Druid community of interest on all the multiple ways we can best serve in the role we've selected for ourselves. Please stay safe.

Very respectfully-

Dadizbad / Dadzdruid
Ranger 136
Druid 185
Planet Lugh
Clan Ancients

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