I love wildshapes, I do. But there are many issues with them. I could go on all day about how they basically nullify 99% of this games progression systems (illithid powers, multiclass features, gear), but today I just want to talk about the Panther. Owl bear and panther are obtained at the same level, meanwhile panther has zero bonus actions, 15 dex (so just +2 to its attack rolls vs the owlbears +5 from 20 strength), its prowl has been bugged since release and hasn't worked properly, its pounce is a saving throw and a full action that does not trigger wild strikes so you cannot even follow it up with a jugular strike even in the off chance that you somehow do successfully prone something, and my personal gripe that even this dex using panther cannot utilize rogue sneak attacks.
In DnD, panther has 15 dex, yes, but it still has a +4 to attack rolls with its bite and claw. Increasing the panther's dexterity in BG3 to 18 would be a fine choice in BG3 since it is obtained alongside the Owlbear which is a much much stronger form. Its made even worse in BG3 since Tavern Brawler has been made the de facto choice for feats for wildshaping, which boosts owlbears +5 to attack rolls up to +10, meanwhile panthers 15 dex and 14 strength makes this +4 altogether. Wow. Why is panther obtained at the same level as owlbear again?
In DnD, its pounce allows the player to use a bonus action to attack. Granted they dont have jugular strike in DnD, but I don't quite understand why Larian would even include Jugular Strike if panther wildshapes can't even prone + attack in the same turn anyways. It forces you to rely on party members to prone enemies, which feels out of character for a panther that would ideally be stalking the back line ranged/casters rather than running straight into the middle of combat. Pounce should be a bonus action to fall in line with owlbears AOE prone in crushing flight, dilophosaurs pounce, or even sabertooths prone via basic attack. Also, since it uses your spell save DC but you have no way to boost your spell save DC (except by +3 via battlemage elixir) at all while wildshaped since your gear has no effect on you, it's likely to fail every time anyways. So why not just let it be a bonus action?
Panthers prowl at level 6 is concentration and applies invisibility and +1d8 damage to your next attack. Panther prowl at level 8 and onwards loses the bonus damage entirely and always has since release. Coupled with wild shapes being incapable of using most illithid powers, specifically Luck of the Far Realms (which is the one a panther would probably want to use the most), this is a pretty big loss IMO. Would really love this fix. I reported it like 5 times many months ago and would really enjoy seeing it fixed.
All of the above feel like they need to happen in order to make panther at least mildly decent at existing in any combat scenario. But I would also like to mention that a sneaky panther (or spider as it also uses dexterity to attack) should be capable of sneak attacks via rogue multiclass.It's kinda weird that they can't, to be honest. But I digress. This one is not a requirement but I am a big fan of the 7 Moon druid/5 Assassin Rogue playstyle and would just enjoy a bit more benefit from investing so many levels into rogue and giving up my third attack. As it is now, you only benefit during the first round of combat if, and only if, you surprise the enemy. For the remainder of combat you are essentially nothing more than a level 7 druid.
