Diablo 2 Fallen Classes: The Druid

[Flix 5,167]

Read more detailed info on the SacredWiki page for The Druid.

Character: Druid
Focus: Magic / Summoning
Aspects: Primal Magic, Elemental Magic, Nature Summons

Lore: The Druids shun the use of traditional magic. They instead practice a form of magic based in their close bond to nature. Through this intimate kinship with the world of Ancaria, a Druid has the power to command fire, earth, and the winds. He is a friend to the animals of the wilds and can call upon them to aid in his struggle. He can also use his heightened rapport with the animals to change the shape of his own body, drawing on the strengths and abilities of his woodland companions to better serve their cause.
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Aspect: Primal Magic


Firestorm - Wielding this ability, the Druid projects waves of molten earth that spread outward and burn a wide swath of destruction through his foes.


Fissure - Sending his plea to the very core of the earth, the Druid rends the earth's very crust, tearing open volcanic vents beneath the feet of his adversaries, charring them to the bone.


Armageddon - This terrible force of nature's vengeance rains down flaming stones around the Druid who cast it, pummelling any opponents foolish enough to be caught in its fury.


Werewolf - This ability allows an enlightened Druid to take on the form of a wolf, imparting to him quicker reflexes and heightened combat facilities. In his changed form, the Druid enters a trance and fully focuses on the battle.

Feral Rage - (temp buff) When in wolf form, the Druid using this ability enters a frenzied rage, viciously tearing into foes and becoming more ferocious with each consecutive kill. The more damage sustained by the Druid, the higher his damage output.

Fury - (multi-hit attack) The use of this ability drives the Druid into a bloodthirsty frenzy, allowing him to attack many foes simultaneously with a raging fervor.

 

Change Back - Ends the transformation early.

 

Werebear - This skill empowers the Druid with the capacity to assume the form of a savage bear, granting him great strength and fortitude. In his changed form, the Druid enters a trance and fully focuses on the battle.

Maul (temp buff) - A Druid in Werebear form uses his mighty paws to rend brutal gashes in the flesh of his enemies. Using this ability, the fury of his assault increases with every blow he lands. [Charges up and releases damage novas like the Shadow Warrior's Killing Spree.]

Shock Wave (nova attack) - With a tremendous roar, the Druid shakes the earth, stunning any enemies in the surrounding area with the resultant tremor.

 

Change Back - Ends the transformation early.

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Aspect: Elemental Magic


Arctic Blast - Aided by the will of the North Winds, the Druid conjures up a chilling torrent of frost that incapacitates all caught within the frozen blast.


Twister - Calling to the winds, the Druid sends small whirlwinds advancing into the midst of his enemies, buffeting and stunning them as they go.


Tornado - Manipulating the great winds into a fearsome cyclone, the Druid sends this force of destruction into a throng of opponents, crushing into them and leaving devastation in its wake.


Hurricane - Particularly talented Druids can summon this most potent gale of devastation. A fierce storm wreaks havoc around him, slowing and disarming enemies, while the Druid stays cradled within the gentle calm of its eye.


Cyclone Armor (Buff) - Allows the Druid to sheath himself in a swirling mass of charged particles that improves his defense, provides a chance to block spells, and absorbs damage from fire, ice, and wind (physical) based attacks.

======================================================================
Aspect: Nature Summons



Poison Creeper - A more subtle ally, these intelligent vines travel through the ground and use their cruel thorns to ensnare and poison any opponents they contact.


Oak Sage - The Druid uses this ability to call upon a helpful spirit of Nature to enhance his well-being, as well as the health of his companions.


Heart of Wolverine (Buff) - This ability grants the Druid the knowledge needed to summon into being a spirit that increases his skill in battle, as well as that of his party.


Dire Wolf (Buff) - This gift of Nature allows the Druid to conjure forth one or more wolf allies who, with their mystical powers, provide the Druid a potent and ferocious colleague.


Grizzly (Buff) - This boon grants the Druid the aid of a tremendous wild bear with huge claws and great fangs that fights ferociously alongside him with terrible strength and unmatched fury.


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Dev Notes:
I had a lot of fun making the Druid. Like the Dragon Mage, he was my favorite character in D2. So he was the first for me to tackle. In a way, it was the easiest character, because they were already so similar with the Shapeshifting and Elemental spells. Why not an entire shapeshifting aspect? There were only two forms for the D2 Druid: Werewolf and Werebear. All the other skills were either passive or to be used while transformed. I have faithfully recreated the Werewolf and the Werebear. That being done, I decided to merge the fire spells with the shapeshifting into "Primal Magic" because I'd rather recreate more classic spells than just start making up new shapeshifting forms (which would be severely limited anyway).

The fire spells of Primal Magic are very close to their vanilla Sacred 2 counterparts. However, Firestorm is much more narrowly focused than Blazing Tempest so you actually need to aim somewhat (like D2), and Armageddon has a huge radius compared to Incendiary Shower (long cooldown though). Fissure is stolen from the Carnach. 2-3 vents appear at a time. Cooldown keeps more then 6 going at once.

Moving the fire spells freed me up to add in all the wind Elemental spells. I stole the Twisters from the Mist of Miasma. Tornado is mostly unchanged from its Enhanced Spells counterpart. Hurricane is something I was very pleased with. It actually follows you around like a damage aura, just like the original D2 spell. Arctic Blast is a redesigned Gust of Wind, with cold damage, new visuals and a more focused cone shape.

Finally there are the summons. I learned from Enhanced Spells that the only viable summons are permanent buffs, so there is a concentration of them in this aspect. I consider this the support aspect with only one attack spell, but a pure Summoner could work. Poison Creeper is a redesigned Tangled Vine. The range is wider now, damage is a bit lower and 100% poison to start. Oak Sage is a temp buff, similar in effect to Goldenglade Touch. Heart of the Wolverine is there to boost melee power of the Druid and his summons. And the fuzzy friends do a bang-up job of chomping down on bad guys.

[Flix 5,167]

New Character Designs

The Druid


Those are the new Druid portraits made by Silver Fox. Here is the new character appearance:



The dragon tattoos are gone, and the red eyes are now green. The red and black color scheme on the clothes is now brown and green. He now has red hair and a small red chin beard. The skin color selections remain the same.

 

When you start the game, he will be equipped with some additional starter equipment: a random furry shoulder pelt and a wooden staff.

Here are the new animal pelts (helmet and shoulders are separate). They appear as new custom rares that can be shopped or found. Helmets have +aspect bonus, shoulders have aspect regen bonus, both have a silver socket and two random bonuses.

Spirit Mask and Spirit Mantle (Bear Pelt and Shoulders) Nature Summons Oriented



Wolf Head and Wolf Tail (Primal Magic Oriented)




Brown Variant:


The brown shoulders can be found as rares just like the grey ones. The brown wolf mask, however, exists only as a recreation of the D2 unique, Jalal's Mane.

Antlers and Deerskin Cloak (Elemental Magic Oriented)



Aldur's Watchtower (New Set)
The final set of pelts is that of a Ram. They exist only as part of this set, a recreation of the D2 set Aldur's Watchtower.






Dragon's Nemesis
You may remember that this bow turns the Dragon Mage into a Dracolin if he tries to use it. The Druid has no such problems, so he can safely use it. It also has improved stats (racial damage against dragons and ice damage %)


Druid's Class Quest
The Druid is the first character to get a rewritten class quest. It's only about half the length I ultimately plan for it (remember the Dragon Mage had a very short class quest compared to the others), but it still follows a complete story arc in the current version. Here are some shots at the beginning:



Serious Textures
As a feature of the mod, I list "custom version of Wardust's Serious Textures Mod built in." What does that mean? Well, mainly that means we incorporated the things that worked and fit in, and discarded or corrected those things that did not. It's best explained with pictures.

New Druid Armor Re-textures
Most of these are Wardust's changes, however I also worked on some of them, to get them looking a little more consistent. Silver Fox also deserves all the credit for the "Special set" changes (adjusting the torso to remove all the clipping issues, removing the neon glow, and removing the dragon tattoos).
Some of these don't work quite so well as ensembles anymore, but since they're all random pieces of armor in-game, you'll be wearing random mismatched pieces anyway.

Cloth Armor:


Leather Armor:


Iron Armor:


Magic Armor:


Dragon Magic Armor:

Pyx's set (focused on Primal Magic aspect) on far right

Special Armor:

Torik's set (focused on Nature Summons aspect) on far left

The following armors were not changed:

• Generic
• Commander
• Kha-Beleth

Dragonscale Armor:
One final thing I've added is this dragon armor from Skyrim, made by Pesmontis. There are two skins:


The dark red skin can be found or shopped as random rares. The green skin I made into a set, but it's not really finished. For one thing, it's much more of a Dragon Mage set than a Druid one. I named all the pieces after the DM's class quest, which is now much different for the Druid. Also the bonuses are just copied over Kha-Beleth's set as placeholders. It may drop for you, but I made it extraordinarily rare until I can get it completed, so you probably won't see the green set.

Edited July 27, 2017 by Flix

[Flix 5,167]

Mini-Set Redesigns: Druid

This post will show that I've overhauled the appearance of the mini-sets. Unlike full armor sets, mini-sets are typically 3-5 pieces that aren't focused on any particular aspect. Unfortunately, many are assembled of random mismatched pieces, which I think is a missed opportunity to showcase the standard sets. All random armor, from junk to rare, actually belongs to a visually coherent "set" of armor (such as leather, iron, cloth, etc.). Now the pieces of the mini-sets match each other better. I also changed some unique armor piece designs so they're not shared by set pieces. I know some players choose their armor not just on function but also appearance, so hopefully this will help make the mini-sets more appealing.

These changes don't apply retroactively. Only new copies of the items that drop will be changed. So if you already have copies or get them from the downloads section they will still be the old designs.

Druid


1st pic: Mavv's Vow - now has a new helmet (no longer named "Winged") that matches the other pieces.
2nd pic: Thraken's Command - still a somewhat random assortment, but better matched visually
3rd pic: Halgrim's Law - complete overhaul, now uses pieces of the green Dragonscale armor from Skyrim.

[Flix 5,167]

As you guys might have noticed, each of the character classes of D2F have now got their own dedicated threads where the info about them can be kept together. For each one you'll see a post for their combat arts, then character designs, then mini-set armor redesigns. I'll try to keep the pics and info up to date as I change things, and hopefully add info about the new class quests if I'm able to get to those.

[Flix 5,167]

Here are some upcoming changes to Druid armor. I grew to dislike how mismatched many of Wardust's armor textures were, so I adjusted them to match and still look like "sets."

 

Cloth Armor

 

Leather Armor

 

Iron Armor

 

Magic Armor

 

I'll update the Druid's character design overview above when the next version is released.

[Flix 5,167]

Here are the changes to the Druid for the upcoming Beta 7 release:

• Tornado duration, range, critical chance, and hits per second now scale better with CA level. I felt this CA was under-performing at high levels compared to Twister and Hurricane.
• Druid can now use Alchemy charms while in Werewolf form. Like the Dragon form, Werewolf can now make use of Charms. Charm of Concussion (critical hits +X%) will be especially valuable for the Werewolf.
• Dragon form gets improved duration boost from '''Concentration''' mod. Spend more time in Dragon form now.

[gogoblender 3,206]

 

Here are the changes to the Druid for the upcoming Beta 7 release:

• Tornado duration, range, critical chance, and hits per second now scale better with CA level. I felt this CA was under-performing at high levels compared to Twister and Hurricane.
• Druid can now use Alchemy charms while in Werewolf form. Like the Dragon form, Werewolf can now make use of Charms. Charm of Concussion (critical hits +X%) will be especially valuable for the Werewolf.
• Dragon form gets improved duration boost from '''Concentration''' mod. Spend more time in Dragon form now.

Charm is such a WAY better word then Trophy, far more "magical" and interesting.

I think the word trophies actually was a bit strange for me while I was playing....

gogo

[Flix 5,167]

Charm is such a WAY better word then Trophy, far more "magical" and interesting.

 

I think the word trophies actually was a bit strange for me while I was playing....

gogo

Yeah, in this mod, Charms are the new Trophies, and "Trophies" now refer to the Amazon items which replace the old Dryad Shrunken Heads, and Shrunken Heads are now a type of Necromancer shield. It's like all these secondary item types played a game of musical chairs.

[jordan0422 39]

Not sure if this has something to do with my mod install, or something amiss with the Druid (Dragon Mage).

 

I can't find any Druid-related modifiers on jewelry. Visited several Runemasters and Merchants, but none of them carry Druid's combat art modifiers on amulets and rings. Things like +1 to Dire Wolf/Grizzly/Hurricane, etc. on rings and amulets do not show up.

[Flix 5,167]

Not sure if this has something to do with my mod install, or something amiss with the Druid (Dragon Mage).

 

I can't find any Druid-related modifiers on jewelry. Visited several Runemasters and Merchants, but none of them carry Druid's combat art modifiers on amulets and rings. Things like +1 to Dire Wolf/Grizzly/Hurricane, etc. on rings and amulets do not show up.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I've just done a preliminary comparison between the Druid's bonus Aspect: Nature Summons +X and the Necromancer's Aspect: Dark Summons +X bonuses. And you're right, it does seem that there's some kind of imbalance. The Necromancer's bonus appears in 20 different bonusgroups across a range of item types and tiers, while the Druid's corresponding bonus only appears in 2 bonusgroups! It may be that when I look at the other bonuses to aspects, individual CA's, and aspect skills, I could find the same lack. If so, I have my work cut out for me. Bonusgroups are long boring lists of numbers and there are a lot of bonuses to distribute to the proper places.

 

I can only imagine this oversight must have been due to Ascaron rushing out Ice and Blood. This is definitely not something I caused.

[Flix 5,167]

Werebear or Dragon form?


I need opinions from players of the mod: should I replace Dragon shapeshifting form with Werebear?

Pros:

• Werebear is more authentic and faithful to the original Diablo 2 Druid's shapeshifting forms
• Dragon form is just a copy of the Dragon Mage spell, nothing to do with Diablo
• The only reason Werebear was not in the mod from the start is because I couldn't find a good model for the creature - now I have one
• Form will get 3 new attack Combat Arts based on the Werebear from D2

Cons:

• Dragon form is a more unique, magic-using form that would be replaced with another melee form
• No more swift flying, or Leap, Blaze, and Fireball Combat Arts
• Previous players of the Dragon form will have to deal with the sudden change (the mod is still in Beta testing status though)
• Dragons are cool

Misc:

• The game can only support TWO shapeshifting forms for the Druid. A choice must be made.
• If replaced with the Werebear, the Dragon's current Blaze CA may become the Sorceress's new Firewall, because this spell is more similar to the original D2 Firewall than the current "flame pillar."

 

EDIT: Possible third option: Werebear can be made as an upgraded form to Werewolf, by taking an optional gold modification. Werewolf modifications would have to be reworked. But this would allow all three forms to exist, in a sense. Neither the CA name nor any description text could be changed to Werebear however, it would still be called Werewolf.

What are people's thoughts?

[jordan0422 39]

So I guess the Werebear is tankier? Would the Werebear have some unique CAs that would differentiate it somewhat from the Werewolf?

 

Anyways, my vote would be in this order of preference:

1) Werebear as a gold mod for Werewolf.

2) Werebear to replace Dragon form. Faithfulness to D2 slightly trumps uniqueness of the Dragon form.

3) No Werebear. Werewolf and Dragon form are good.

[Flix 5,167]

Anyways, my vote would be in this order of preference:

1) Werebear as a gold mod for Werewolf.

2) Werebear to replace Dragon form. Faithfulness to D2 slightly trumps uniqueness of the Dragon form.

3) No Werebear. Werewolf and Dragon form are good.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll wait and see who else responds but this has been a quiet development cycle for the mod.

 

So I guess the Werebear is tankier?

Yeah, think strength over speed. Hits slower but harder. Moves slower but soaks up more damage. More Defense, Armor, etc. BTW I sped up the Werewolf's move speed in this next version regardless.

 

Would the Werebear have some unique CAs that would differentiate it somewhat from the Werewolf?

It depends. If added as a new full-fledged shapeshifting form, then yes. I was thinking adaptations of Rabies, Fire Claws, and Shockwave. To make it a bit more versatile in terms of damage output and also give it a spellcaster feel despite being a tank.

 

If it was added as an upgrade to Werewolf, then no. It would still just have Maul and Fury, though it could still gain the tankiness. Basically it would just upgrade the Werewolf's stats and appearance.

[Tharkun 40]

Tough choice... That model is beautiful.

I'd say the werebear, the druid already has a magic skill tree. I don't see the point in having a spellcaster form in a spellcaster character, so the choice may be between having a speed (+attack/defense rating +attack/movement speed +critical hits) or a strength (+damage +armor/secondary effects resistance +life/life regen) build (shapeshifting).

Or you could just change the werewolf for werebear and keep the dragon form.

You're doing an amazing job Flix, keep it up!

Edited September 29, 2016 by Tharkun

[Dragon Brother 619]

I do like the look of the werebear, that would be my vote.

 

Definitely suits the druid type better than a dragon I feel.

[gogoblender 3,206]

LOVE the werebear. you've created a unique asset

 

 

gogo

[Flix 5,167]

Thanks guys. After talking it over with Pesmontis, we both agree to try go forward with the Werebear replacing the Dragon form. It's not certain yet, it could only be added IF we're able to adapt it to the frame and animations of an existing creature in Sacred 2.

 

If we're successful I'll start a discussion about the Sorceress's Firewall vs. Blaze in her thread.

[gogoblender 3,206]

Thanks guys. After talking it over with Pesmontis, we both agree to try go forward with the Werebear replacing the Dragon form. It's not certain yet, it could only be added IF we're able to adapt it to the frame and animations of an existing creature in Sacred 2.

 

If we're successful I'll start a discussion about the Sorceress's Firewall vs. Blaze in her thread.

 

gogo!

[Flix 5,167]

Teaser

 

 

It's happening folks.

[gogoblender 3,206]

Teaser

 

 

It's happening folks.

This is just amazing guys.. .over and above!

 

gogo

[Flix 5,167]

Since the Werebear is now in play, I'm rebuilding the two shapeshifting forms from the ground up. That means I'm starting from scratch thinking about what attributes and bonuses each form would have, and which special CA's they may get.

 

First, the Werewolf form has got a total redesign. He has a unique look and is no longer a clone of enemy werewolves:

 

 

No more black fur and red chains. He's now got natural brown fur. If you will miss the old texture, don't worry because you will see it again. It's actually meant to be used by the "Mesmerized Werewolf" enemy type in the Swamps. It was created by Ascaron but deactivated for some reason but I have reactivated it for the next release of the mod.

 

Tentatively I'm thinking of emulating the original D2 selection:

Werewolf would get active skills Feral Rage, Rabies, and Fury.

Werebear would get active skills Maul and Shockwave.

 

Fire Claws, Hunger, and Lycanthropy would be passive skills available to both forms through modifications.

 

Werewolf would have faster overall speed and better attack rating; Werebear would have greater damage, defense, and health.

 

Here's some more pictures of my Werebear texture. It's subject to change, since Pesmontis has decided to do a total retexture which may knock all our socks off. It not, it will have this appearance that I designed:

 

[Dragon Brother 619]

Looks great Flix!! You're gonna have to show us a video of this in action!

[Flix 5,167]

OK, I'm now considering the Druid's new shapeshifting forms complete and ready for testing. In one week I'll build the mod and send it out for testing.

 

Here's a brief overview of the two forms. I'll write a more comprehensive guide to shapeshifting after Beta 7 is released, including side by side comparisons and detailed stats.

 

Werewolf - This ability allows an enlightened Druid to take on the form of a wolf, imparting to him quicker reflexes and heightened combat facilities. In his changed form, the Druid enters a trance and fully focuses on the battle.

 

Feral Rage - (temp buff) When in wolf form, the Druid using this ability enters a frenzied rage, viciously tearing into foes and becoming more ferocious with each consecutive kill. The more damage sustained by the Druid, the higher his damage output.

Fury - (multi-hit attack) The use of this ability drives the Druid into a bloodthirsty frenzy, allowing him to attack many foes simultaneously with a raging fervor.

Werewolf in action:

 

 

Werebear - This skill empowers the Druid with the capacity to assume the form of a savage bear, granting him great strength and fortitude. In his changed form, the Druid enters a trance and fully focuses on the battle.

 

Maul (temp buff) - A Druid in Werebear form uses his mighty paws to rend brutal gashes in the flesh of his enemies. Using this ability, the fury of his assault increases with every blow he lands. [Charges up and releases damage novas like the Shadow Warrior's Killing Spree.]

Shock Wave (nova attack) - With a tremendous roar, the Druid shakes the earth, stunning any enemies in the surrounding area with the resultant tremor.

Werebear in action:

 

The Werebear is a fully-functioning replacement for the Dragon form, down to the sound effects and even the shapeshifting animation, which was redone by Pesmontis:

 

 

I'll update the lead post in this thread with all the new info after release.

 

Bonus: Standard Werewolf vs. Druid

[Flix 5,167]

Druid Changes Upcoming in Beta 8

 

 

One project in D2F Beta 8 is making player-summoned creatures distinct from enemies. So instead of summoning an enemy wolf or bear the Druid now has unique minions.

 

 

Dire Wolf

In addition to upgrading the Dire Wolf model, I activated some of the wolf sound fx it was missing.

 

Grizzly

Thanks to some dialog with dimitrius154 I had a breakthrough in understanding summon AI. This allowed me to make the required edits to have some of the melee-oriented minions use special attacks without otherwise changing their attack behavior. So in Beta 8 the Grizzly will have a "Freezing Hard Hit" attack. His base damage is slightly adjusted downward to compensate.

 

Werewolf Shapeshifting Form

With the introduction of the Werebear in Beta 7, the Druid got a somewhat realistic, intimidating new form. But the Werewolf form remained looking cartoonish by comparison. In Beta 8 the Werewolf form will get a visual upgrade, becoming stylistically a peer of the Werebear.

 

[gogoblender 3,206]

The new werewolf's design is terrifically menacing, really liking the visual on third from left forward facing... that "swipe" posture is great

 

 

gogo