Hey all.
I have only recently started a new playthrough with Druid as main character and wanted to share some suggestions with the devs.
So far I'm enjoying the mechanics of the Druid. Except for the interference of animal shape charges and the need to participate in important dialogs.
With a Druid as a main character, I find myself reluctant to shift into animal form because of fear of having to waste the charge by changing to human form to be able to participate in an important dialog.
Possible solutions I can think of:
(a) Have animal form charges be consumed only when shifting into a
different shape than before. So if I shift into a bear, I can shift between human form and bear form as many times as I want without consumig a second charge.
(b) Everytime a Druid in animal form wants to have a dialog with another humanoid (not an animal) the Druid is temporarily shifted back to human form in order to participate in said dialog. As soon as dialog is finished/interrupted, the Druid shifts back to it's previous animal form.
Bear in mind that in its current state this second option is already used for essential dialogs (such as when a new party member ambushes you), where your main character is automatically transformed to human form just during the conversation, and then switched back.
Regarding the Kagha storyline...
I just meant to say that I found the Faithwarden staff "Paleoak" it quite underwhelming. Damage wise, it is the same as a starting staff. The bonus spell, Faithwarden's Vines have a long rest cooldown. The passive bonus, Faithwarden's Stride (no entanglement by vines) is decent but very situational. Plus the tooltip is confusing: does it apply to any vines or just "Druidic vines"?
On my playthrough I had found somewhere in the Druid grove an uncommon staff called Nature's Snare which despite having the same damage and no bonus spell has proved to be much more useful. It's passive Fly Trap ability gives every attack (even misses) a decent chance to Ensnare (the same effect as the Faithwarden's Vines bonus spell) an individual creature that is not a plant or a beast. This has amplified my Druid's possible uses in combat outside of animal form.
It just seems to me that after all of the effort, hard fights and high rolls necessary to get the Faithwarden staff, it should definitely be better. If it were up to me, I would aim for just-below-overpowered, much as the doublehanded flaming sword looted from the Demon in the Nautiloid (and which Lae'zel just rocks). Here are some of the things I hoped this staff might have while I was watching Kagha summoning it from thin air:
* bonus (fire?) damage to attacks with the staff
* bonus (fire?) damage to attacks in animal shape
* bonus (fire?) damage to spells
* new (fire based?) animal shape
* additional animal shape charges
* bonus spell: summon animal
* a Druid apprentice accompanies you as a "pet"
Finally, if mechanically possible I would love to ask for a tackle+pin move while in animal shape, much as there is in DragonAge Origins, where the hound or Morrigan in animal shape can tacke, pin down and bite/claw opponents failing a resistance check. It would add more weight to combat in animal shape.
Hope this was helpful.
Cheers.
