Shifter Class (druid revamp)

[meccagoldwin]

I was a big fan of the druid in D2 and particularily loved shapeshifters, but due to the mixture of bear and wolf forms in one tree I think they were held back... I think D3 should have a pure shifter. lets say you have the three trees still, you could have a tank class(werebear) a fast melee offensive class(werewolf) and possibly a caster form( i remember reading that the D2 druid was originally supposed to have a condor form which could be implemented with say wind skills or something). I think Ideally it would be sweet to have new forms other than wolf and bear (I loved them both but this is a new game I want to see something i never expected). I was thinking maybe some sort of like mastadon and maybe lizard man would be sweet any thoughts anyone?? forms? skills? spells ect??

[Dimmu]

both forms being in one tree wasn't the problem so much as the fact that most all the bear/wolf attacks were terrible. You basically had fury and maybe fireclaws to choose from, and if you wanted to be bold you could go with rabies. The bear form was kind of useless on top of the fact that melee was at a huge disadvantage to begin with.

I never thought of that but it's a great idea to have a caster type form. But i don't like the idea of only being able to revolve an entire character around shapeshifting unless there are alot of options. If there is a class that can shapeshift it should have healing spells too(assuming healing is actually useful this time around). And possibly even ranged attack options just to keep you from being restricted to shapeshifting.

[MortIIs]

It would be fun to play bear or wolfer in D3, we'll just have to wait and see I guess :c

[Thunderchild]

A shifter could be a cool idea... but I think you are limiting yourselves...
how'bout a Wyvern morph?
or a frost wyrm?
a Demon?
Angel/Paragon?

Could be neat, but I don't think it'll make it to the original D3... it doesn't cover any "basic" need. It's a hybrid of sorts...
I think that a Mage/witchdoctor will fill the gap for casters(sadly :( )
Barb/some sort of holy fighter will cover the melee
and a rogue of some sort will cover the stealthiness...

Could be wrong though!

[Maedhros]

Well, it seems as if the WD has fire magic, so is it not possible that the mage character could have lighting/cold and another tree with transformations, which he/she could use in different situations? Example... The tank is needs some relief, the mage turns into a bear, decreasing magical effects, but becoming a temporary tank. Or, he could turn into a hawk to improve the distance his spells could go. Or become a wolf, increasing movement speed so they are more Mobil? Stuff like that would be interesting, and would add another game level.

[Boss]

They HAVE to put in a character that shapeshifts...

And one that summons animal pets like wolves or dragons (Not a big fan of the WD's explosive zergling. Or the WD for that matter.)

Otherwise a lot of people are going to be upset. Namely the Boss.

[phillycheez]

They could make a Druid/shifter class similar to the Dungeons and Dragons form of the Druid. If I remember from the computer version of the game, the Druid had more than just animal forms. He could shift into elemental forms and use various elemental spells. Maybe give the Druid a hulking Earth Elemental form and that can be the melee form. A water form could be the healing/buff form. Fire and Wind forms could be the pure spell casting forms.

[Fizh]

They could make a Druid/shifter class similar to the Dungeons and Dragons form of the Druid. If I remember from the computer version of the game, the Druid had more than just animal forms. He could shift into elemental forms and use various elemental spells. Maybe give the Druid a hulking Earth Elemental form and that can be the melee form. A water form could be the healing/buff form. Fire and Wind forms could be the pure spell casting forms.

Good ideas, but I would just miss being a furious bloodthirsty beast with long pointy teeth :P . I wouldnt mind if they just brought the werewolf and werebear back, but with more useful skills.

How about a weretiger? :)

[lionheart]

They should bring him back in some form. The ability to transform into something else was one of the most unique in d2. With the new 3d graphics and new concepts they could make that look amazing.

[Psycroptic]

They should bring him back in some form. The ability to transform into something else was one of the most unique in d2. With the new 3d graphics and new concepts they could make that look amazing.

Why not put in some randomization of the shapeshifting. If a character has a demonic form skill tree, he might have a lvl 30 skill called random transformation, which transforms him into any one of 6 (or however many) different demonic forms, all of which have their own positives and negatives. Lower level skills, say 18 or 24 or whatever, might have set forms which are all weaker than any of the random forms. You could apply it to any sort of shapeshifting,animal,demonic,undead etc.

[lionheart]

I would like the idea to choose from more than just 2 types of transformation. I dont know if i would like them to be random though, might screw u up if u end up transforming into something that doesnt help u much in a situation where another transform is needed

[Psycroptic]

I would like the idea to choose from more than just 2 types of transformation. I dont know if i would like them to be random though, might screw u up if u end up transforming into something that doesnt help u much in a situation where another transform is needed

Well a high level character would transform into something powerful regardless. Whatever shape you end up in, would be far more powerul than your human form.It definitely wouldn't be for safe,cookie-cutter "build" players though. It would be, you know, fun.

[lionheart]

Well a high level character would transform into something powerful regardless. Whatever shape you end up in, would be far more powerul than your human form.It definitely wouldn't be for safe,cookie-cutter "build" players though. It would be, you know, fun.


True, im all about fun and cool looking stuff, so if that can make it so then by all means i would like to see it and play it

[Psycroptic]

And if you want safety in a given situation you could fall back on a slightly lower level skill (say lvl 24), so you know what to expect. It would be less powerful overall, but the skill might transform you into something which has high natural resists and high melee damage for example, which you _need_ now. Or, use your random transformation, and maybe transform into something which is a bit less effective at that particular time, but then again you might transform into something which completely wipes the floor with everything in the room.

[lionheart]

Well i guess we will see, it would be something totally different from how other skills worked before. There hasnt been any random effect of skills, you knew what you were getting (well except the damages from lightning that went from ridiculous to massive)

[voraginous]

If we're having a shifter lets have a DEMON SHIFTER, not a boring old druid. It can be our necro-like/semi-evil class.

My main problem with shifters in D2 was the uniformity of their look. It make sense that werebears/wolves had no weapons (although it can look cool like here http://skepticworld.com/cryptozoology/images/werewolf.jpg ) but I see no reason why a werewolf or werebear can't wear armor molded to fit them (think panserbjørne from Golden Compass like this http://www.popbuzzuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/the-golden-compass.jpg).

It would be a HUGE mistake for Blizz to let shifters look all the same the way they do in D2. That junk is hella boring.

Visual uniqueness for shifter skills is also important, especially if shifters won't use weapons. Fireclaws should look very different from rabies, and not just through floating orbs or a burst of fire on hit. I mean different attack animations, the way zeal looks different from vengeance; or the way fireball looks different from meteor.

[Sein Schatten]

They could make a Druid/shifter class similar to the Dungeons and Dragons form of the Druid. If I remember from the computer version of the game, the Druid had more than just animal forms. He could shift into elemental forms and use various elemental spells. Maybe give the Druid a hulking Earth Elemental form and that can be the melee form. A water form could be the healing/buff form. Fire and Wind forms could be the pure spell casting forms.

Hehe. Exactly what I had in mind when I entered this thread. The D&D shifter, IIRC, could shift into anything he killed and is within his level range. This is not really applicable for D3 as you cannot kill 4 zombies while yourself being one. YOu do not have the damage output and stamina. But perhaps, you can unlock several forms. A tough zombie form, a demon form, etc.. or like you mentioned it, also some elemental forms with several, different purposes.

[pantherus]

If they do have shapeshifting - can they not look so horrendously stupid as the knuckle-dragging, neanderthal-looking WereBear?

[a brick]

If there is a shifter form, i think the look of the individual character should be different. I think this would be hard but like depending on gear the were-form would change color, size, features, etc...
I like the idea of some armor on it also. Or in human form you're already wear were-form armor, i think that would look sick.
I just want some variation between characters cus they all looked the same no matter what... like imagine a black werewolf. i think that would be cool