druids in bc

ok, lots of new stuff and plenty to talk about but i want to focus on a few druid specific things.  i'm starting with resto since that's what i know.

for the most part, i adore the new resto talents.  the big one everyone asks about is tree of life.

i've tried this out and it's kinda fun in a unique sort of way.  you get the standard protection from polymorph and for some reason, this form also has a buff icon stating as much.  the /sit command produces a very minor graphic change and isn't that exciting and there isn't a /dance at all (i really hope it includes falling leaves once they put it in though!).  the attack animation is kinda fun as it looks like you are doing some sort of kung fu move.  but by far, the best is /jump cause the leaves on your head go back and you look a lot like e.t. lol 

there are a few drawbacks to this form though.  one that people comment on the most is the speed reduction (speed is reduced BY 20% not to 20%) and i don't think it's that much of an issue to be honest.  sure, would be nice if it wasn't there but unless you plan to explore in tree form it's really not a big deal.

the only spells you can cast are heal over times (regrowth, rejuv, tranq, lifebloom), swiftmend and innervate.  that means NO healing touch, NO nature's swiftness, NO decursing and NO rebirth while in tree form.  that doesn't sound too bad until you see yourself trying to spam regrowth because the tank is dying and you need a heal boost (where you'd normally toss in a healing touch) or until the tank dies and you have to take time to shift out of form and then cast rebirth...when that sort of thing happens, you realize just how bad it is that you are so restricted in what you can cast.

the bonus to healing is nice, it's 25% of whatever your spirit is (and this is an aura with a 45 yard range so an all heal group would be hawt).  unfortunately, most druid gear doesn't focus on spirit so it doesn't actually work out to be a huge amount.  you can invest talent points to up your spirit but i think resto druids who want to make the most of this form are going to also need to invest in some +spirit gear and enchants.

not positive if it is a bug or intended, but tol form also doesn't allow drinking or using consumables--so no potions at all and in between fights you have to shift in order to regen mana.  this sucks and i'm really hoping it won't remain.

so how about keeping a tank up in this form?  a lot is gonna depend on the instance, your gear and the tank but unless the instance is normally easy for you or you have some other healing, i think you'll find it lacking.  it's just not got the flexibility you get in natural form.  if you could use all your heals--definitely!  it makes using hots much more mana efficient and keeping them on everyone was no problem.  i tried in a 5 man to stay in tol but i just couldn't, i had to switch out to use healing touch due to the cooldown on swiftmend and the lack of nature's swiftness.  with a better tank (i actually was using a paladin, but he was healing himself at times and the shadow priest was using vamp embrace so i also had some help) it might have been easier, i'll try some other group combos and see what happens.  also, i currently don't have lifebloom (still too low) so that extra hot may be all the difference.

i can't see wanting a lot of tol druids on a raid.  i think one would be a great asset, but don't see a need for more than that.

the other thing people have asked about, is the ability to use rank 4 healing touch.  i don't know the math on the scaling, but i took screenshots from both live and bc wearing the same amount of +heal to demonstrate what rank 4 was healing for.  i forgot to get a pic of my spec so i'll check on it--but in bc i have all the resto points that improve healing in any way.  (first pic is what rank 4 is like in live, pic on the right is beta)

Comments

[Dreadmoon]

"not positive if it is a bug or intended, but tol form also doesn't allow drinking or using consumables--so no potions at all and in between fights you have to shift in order to regen mana. this sucks and i'm really hoping it won't remain."

That's also true to cat and bear forms