I'm not a game dev, but I am a project manager and a writer -- and it does seem a bit strange that the biggest patch ever is delivering a new class instead of closing loose threads that would, well, give a better story impression to newcomers.
I'm not looking at this from a veteran D&D player's perspective who cares a lot about different races, classes and customization, but a one of the many newcomers drawn in by the plot and the story. I love the Druid option, but on a superficial level it looks like a very cosmetic change that is not essential to gameplay or to the story. There are so many threads left -- in particular that inaccessible Githyanki crèche and the Underdark Lake -- that look like they should be in EA but aren't. Unless -- unless -- there's something in Act 1B that requires a previously unimplemented Druid Mechanic or plot point to work -- for instance, the party morphing into animals or some twist regarding the new "Faith Guardian of the Circle" quest, and Larian decided to finish Druid to be able to proceed.
I'm happy about the Druids and looking forward to playing as a sneaky, stealthy polar bear, it just seems like such a strange deliverable at this point.
They announced that Patch 4 is so big that it overtakes all previous versions of the game + patch, so there must be a lot of content in there. Dataminers are going to have a blast.
Alternatively, do you think it's possible that Patch 4 is going to unlock Origin Characters, and that's why it's so massive? Or is the size related to the new cinematics and Speak with the Dead improvements?
Well, I wouldn't complain if it was a cool class, for example a Sorcerer. As I have pointed
out earlier, Sorcerers are an essential class - instead of Druids. Sorcerers are not only more charismatic and better looking, but also less smelly than Druids.
Since we only got smelly Druids, I am of course as outraged as you are. Larian could at least have offered a little additional area. Preferably one with NPC sorcerers
