r/baldursgate • u/Traditional_Monk2594 • 1d ago
Good peoples help me understand. What good about druide class?
I tried play that class bunch of time but seems i can't understand what good about him.
Druide don't have good early game spells untill access to lvl 3 spells, awkward exp. progression, monstrous stat requirement for dual classing or multiclassing and shapeshifting forms are useless( in my subjective opinion)
Pls share your opinion
29
u/Cyanide_Cheesecake 1d ago
Earth elemental is a phenomenal HLA, the insect swarm spells are excellent CC and spell interrupts, their lightning spells are cool, and they get a few good summons. The spells added by IWDification also help a lot
Edits: also they do have access to a lot of the best cleric spells too
3
18
u/nanorhyme 1d ago
Druids don’t REALLY shine until you can start unleashing the pests, throwing up ironskins, and summoning elements, which makes the early levels a pain. Then there’s that godawful hump you have to get over around levels 12-13.
That said, they have fantastic level progression up that point (they level up at the same rate rogues do for a good dozen levels). And once you reach about level 15 or so, they’re back to tearing ass again, right up until the end.
They synergize really well with the Fighter class, whether dualing (they get their previous fighter levels back pretty quick, so long as you don’t wait too late to dual), or multiclassing (greater utility during early parts of the game where their spells are more lackluster).
If you really are wanting to make a single class work though, it’s still a great class. ANY class that can insect swarm is a great class. Shapeshifter is pretty great (having a mage on hand to cast Enchanted Weapon helps with cases where their +2 claws can’t hit enemies). If you’re willing to keep them as a Support role, the Totemic Druid kit summons will really help bridge that early game gap until you can start unleashing the swarms.
Shamans also offer a bit more versatility than single class druids, while still offering a lot of their unique features… 👀 just saying.
10
u/First-Breakfast-2449 1d ago
Shamans are sick. Didn’t realize this until picking up M’Khin in SoD. Damn, I wish she was available in BG2
8
u/nanorhyme 1d ago
I actually really like them too, which is a pretty unpopular opinion. I think they’re a really cool, versatile option for a support druid-adjacent class, even if some of their unique features are a little clunky…
2
u/Faradize- 1d ago
good half orc shaman with Hangard, Azuredge, Rifthome, then K’logarath +Buckler of the Fist. shame shaman cant use at least small shield as the only magic buckler in 2 + Tob is from SoD import
11
u/Drayenn 1d ago
Insect spells, ironskin, fire elemental summons are nice.. but to me, druid pales compared to cleric.
Totemic druid is nice though, cc immune summons and you get lots of casts, you become a summoning machine
2
u/BelgarathMTH 19h ago
I don't think the lower level summons are cc immune. I tried using a summoned spirit cat against Tarnesh once, and Tarnesh's Horror spell worked on it. I wish there was better in-game documentation of how they level and at what levels each summon gets what.
11
7
u/CaptainMoonunitsxPry 1d ago
Druids have some more offensive spells than clerics. Insect swarm is reallly good at shutting down enemy casters. I really liked the avenger kit as it gives you some extra offensive mage spells. Wildshape isn't the most useful, but there's some cheese you can do with it.
The grind to level 14 is rough, there's not much way around it, where clerics are leveling the whole time. BUT if you make to 14, they unlock some really solid 7th level spells.
9
u/Majestic-Marcus 1d ago
“THE BEES! THE BEES! NOT THE BEES! RAAAAAGGGGHHHH!”
^ anyone faced with a Druid
5
u/dekkeane00 1d ago
Druid fighter. Multi better than druid but druid has some buffs and Insect swarm which can shut down a mage also in TOB has elemental prince summon (greater elemental summon) although I used summon fire elemental much more in bg2
5
u/RangersAreViable 1d ago
They get healing like Clerics, but also get some really good damage spells. Shapeshifter can also carry BG1
10
u/PixelWes54 1d ago
Go make an Avenger and play around with Web and spider form lol
2
u/szudrzyk 1d ago
I cheated fighter / avenger with eekeper it was the most fun ( before blade) I have ever had . Can recommend !
4
u/Nerdy_Chad And the rivers run red! 1d ago
What everyone else said, plus it's cool role-playing a divine caster/defender of nature, rather than the servant of some god.
4
u/Haldanar 1d ago
In addition to all the comments about spells:
-can use daggers for throwing daggers shenanigans (better than slings for clerics, especially with some strength) You don't have magical throwing daggers in 1, but you can get a +1 dagger at the start, and buy the poison dagger in Bergost.
-wisdom additional spells forna lot of spell slots
-dryad summon for some nifty spells earlier than you'd normally have access to, especially with Druid early level speed.
They really suffer from bad early game spells (the avenger does address that a tiny bit).
3
u/SenatorPardek 1d ago
Shamans and Druids thematically are really cool. Personally for druids i like the totemic summons. Shamans get bows, avoid the weird flat leveling stretch, and have some really cool added spells and HLAs. And who doesn’t love axes?
3
u/loudent2 1d ago
I agree for the most part, but once you get level 6 spells, it's a game changer. They're probably better off multiclassed. fighter/druid has great protections. There are some mods that make things like shapshifter more feasible but I'd argue that Totemic druids have the best summons in the game.
3
u/Acrobatic_Skirt3827 1d ago
I'm playing a berzerker druid right now. Grand mastery in scimitars, multiple insect plagues, and with my sidekick Jaheira we can summon five fire elementals. And it's relatively early in the game.
3
u/momentimori 1d ago
Insect plague is an 'I win' button to every caster, by far the most dangerous enemies, that is not immune.
3
u/gamerk2 22h ago
The two insect spells (at Levels 3 and 6) absolutely RUIN spellcasters, and will be your MVPs in SoA. Call Lightning, when outdoors, is an excellent spell in it's own right. The HLAs (especially Earth Elemental) are reasonably strong. And a dual/Multi with either a Fighter or Ranger makes them arguably the best Tank in the game via Iron Skins.
As for early spells, I usually take one Chant for pre-fight buffs, Doom is great for landing other disruption spells, and don't sleep on Armor of Faith either.
3
u/SpikesNLead 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's because they aren't very good, at least in BG1.
They were even worse in the original version of BG which didn't have the Insect Plague spell.
Fortunately they get better in BG2.
2
u/bojothemojo 1d ago
Have you ever played with Jaheira or Cernd?
Thing is the further the game goes the better they scale. Druids don't really plateau at any point in the saga even tho they have a slow start.
2
u/z_s_k I need a swig o' some strong dwarven ale 1d ago
Eh there are some usable early level druid spells. Some people enjoy the lv1 spell entangle to control larger battles (against big groups of gnolls for example), I prefer the lv1 mage spell sleep for this but I guess either works. Both let you hit stuff with ranged weapons more easily.
I actually find the lv2 charm person or animal quite fun, if you get attacked by a large group of wolves or dogs or whatever you can turn one against the others to balance the battle in your favour.
I can't imagine doing a single class druid though, would always do a fighter multi or DC for the extra proficiency points - especially since, as you say, the experience curve gets absurd midgame. Had great fun with a Berserker > Druid DC once.
2
u/Fangsong_37 Neutral Good 1d ago
They can provide support healing as well as having earlier access to insect swarm/plague. They're lightly armored spell casters with more hit points than a mage. Wild shape is pretty worthless in BG 1 & 2.
2
u/Peterh778 1d ago
Adding to what others already said - mod IWDification adds IWD druid spells into BG and druid/shaman suddenly has much better offensive capabilities on lower levels.
Druid in BG1 can reach level 9 - 10 which means priest spells of tier 5 and that's Ironskins and Insect Plague. From the moment you reach level 9 all hard fights are much easier. Precast Ironskins, cast Plague Insect, enjoy how casters can't get out one spell. Only problem is rather long casting time but Ironskins, Shield (from amulet) and other magical protections will allow you cast without interruption ...
2
u/Full_Piano6421 1d ago
Creeping doom, iron skins ( even if it's a worse version of stone skin) Nature's Beauty has some uses too (notably, there is a trick with this spell to get the 6th pair of boots of speed from Bloodscalp without killing him). The werewolf subclass is nice too. Generally, F/D are a fine multi ( Jaheira) but they really lack behind a F/M dual or multi.
I think druids are more of a RP/ flavor choice than an actual optimisation choice.
2
u/Glandyth_a_Krae 1d ago
Honestly, insect plague is the only reason druid is worth anything.
The spell is BUSTED. In vanilla it’s the best spell in the game, bar none. With scs, it’s absolutely amazing too though a little bit more balanced.
That being said with scs you get the earth elemental token, which combined with hardiness makes a fighter druid immune to physical damage.
Other than that, druids are not that great.
1
u/TonyAllenDelhomme 15h ago
Crap in bg1 until they get insect swarm. Iron skins, insect swarm, and elemental transformations make them weird but great offensive casters and tanks (earth elemental). Daveorns class guide on YouTube goes in depth on every class if you want to deep dive
1
u/Acolyte_of_Swole 8h ago
The first game-changing spell Druids get is Call Woodland Beings. Before that, their level 1 and 2 spells are pretty worthless aside from healing and poison curing. Call Woodland Beings gives you very early access to group heal as well as a bunch of free debilitation spells. You can stack Call Woodland Beings in your level 3 slot and it's like having group heals that many spell levels earlier. Plus the massive amount of other spells you get on top of it is icing on the cake.
What makes Druids good depends what kind of Druid you are. Are you a Fighter/Druid? Then you want the buffs, like Armor of Faith, Iron Skins and Earth Elemental Transformation. Caster Druids get Insect Plague, Dolorous Decay, summons that can't break free and Call Lightning that does crazy damage outdoors. Shapeshifters are caster druids but they can switch tank on a whim. Shapeshifters also get one of the strongest level 1 starts of any character in this game. A level 1 werewolf has 0 AC and hits for about 18x2apr damage at chargen. Right about the time the Werewolf form falls off, you're going to unlock strong Druid offensive magic and your Shapeshifter will transition to more of a caster until the Greater Werewolf form comes online.
1
u/SauronSr 5h ago
Wildshshape is awesome, maybe not for combat but for scouting and such. Healing spells are great at low levels. Goodberry is useful for bringing back characters making death saves from level 1 to 20. Moonbeam is a good combat spell for any fight over 2 rounds.
60
u/im-normal 1d ago
Bugs