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What do you think is being made up?

Nov 6, 2011 -- 1:25PM, Marshall wrote:

.....and as good as Charm Beast is at 7, what is the point of Dominate Beast at 23? Its the same dang power 16 levels later maybe even worse.

Which brings up another thing, grab random Druid power of nearly any given level and compare it to the Wizard list at that level. I'd be shocked if more than a handful of these powers are even competitive with the wizards list 7-10 levels lower. 

Yeah, I'm not sure about Dominate Beast.  IMO it should have been multi-target, but in any case it won't be rated as highly as Charm Beast in my guide given the higher level.  Still, having both could certainly be nice, as dominate is arguably the best status effect.

As for comparing Wizard powers to Druid powers, I'm not necessarily going to disagree but I do think you're exaggerating a little bit.  The simple fact is that Wizards have gotten more support than almost any other class in the game, and Enlarge Spell puts them ahead of other controllers by quite a bit.  Wizards quite simply beat out Druids when it comes to exerting hard control over large areas.  The Druid's strength lies more in its superior summons, and its competency as a striker by using Grasping Claws or Savage Rend to charge (w/ CA), while simultaneously exerting solid single target control.  Druids also do anti-artillery really well, which is something that most controllers struggle with.  Still, I don't think the gulf is quite as wide as many people make it out to be.

Level 1 encounter:  Icy Terrain is one of the better Wizard powers, and it's quite similar to the Druid's Gust of Wind.  They're the same area even if the Druid's is a close blast, Gust of Wind deals slightly more damage and has forced movement as an effect, whereas Icy Terrain creates difficult terrain.  They're quite competitive until the Wizard uses Enlarge Spell.  Both are solid powers (blue in their respective guides).  Sure, there are some better Wizard powers (I personally like Charm of Misplaced Wrath), but Druids also get Thorn Spray, which is also better.  The Wizard has a handful of other good powers compared to the Druid's more sparse list, but again this is a support issue.

Level 3 encounter:  Color Spray is probably better than Predator's Flurry, but the latter is easier to use and can affect targets that are further apart.  Between Icy Rays, Maze of Mirrors, and Hypnotic Pattern the Wizard again has a repertoire of moderately more effective spells, but the Druid's Wind Wall, Quills, and Tundra Wind aren't too far behind.  The Druid powers are a little more fiddly and perhaps more niche, but they can still generate action denial if used tactically.

Level 7 encounter:  Twist of Space, you bring your class the gold at this level.  But to be fair this used to be the Druid's big dud level, and now Charm Beast actually gives them a potent option.  As far as I know nobody else gets an encounter dominate this early.  Wizards also have several other top-notch options, while Druids are left with single target control (Grasp of Winter, Latch On) or just forced movement (Blood Spray Bite).

Wizards do have a bit of an advantage when comparing powers of the same level, but the situation is nowhere near as dire of Wizard powers 7-10 levels lower being superior to the Druid powers.  Wizards have a bigger selection of good powers, and both classes have their fair share of crappy powers. 

I'd also like to point out the list of at-wills, which paint a slightly different picture.  The Druid sacrifices some push distance with Magic Stones for superior damage and/or targeting compared to the Wizard's Beguiling Strands and Thunderwave.  The only other sky blue Wizard power is Winged Horde, which is indeed impressive but doesn't have the action-denial power of the Druid's Grasping Tide.  Druids also get Fire Hawk, which is soft control done right as it results in major damage if triggered.  Grasping Claws and Savage Rend are also notoriously powerful MBAs.

Wizard dailies have historically been more powerful, but the trend has been to tone them down with errata (we'll see what the final verdict of the Arcanist playtest ends up being).  Wizards will probably remain the kings of daily powers, but Druid dailies aren't that far behind compared with other classes (Druids and Invokers are probably close seconds behind the Wizard). 

Finally, Protectors give Druids the option of picking up an actual controller class feature in Nature's Growth.  This will have much more of an impact in a given encounter than the Wizard's Implement Masteries and usually the Mage benefits as well (though some specialized Mage builds may get more out of their class features assuming they stick with their theme when choosing powers).  The Druid is a solid controller, and even if it can't overtake the Wizard who cares?  There's not a controller in the game that can.  It may be too early to tell, but it seems to me that HotF places Druids solidly ahead of Psions and approaching Invokers in terms of effectiveness as a controller.  Third place isn't too shabby, especially considering the Druid's versatility in bleeding into other roles (namely striker and defender). 

Nov 6, 2011 -- 6:07PM, erachima wrote:

(Hybrid)'s specifically count as the normal class feature for the purpose of feats.

Are you referring to this

Such a class feature counts as the full-fledged feature for the purpose of meeting prerequisites and applying various game options.

from page 136? If so, I'm not denying that it meets the prerequisite, but I can't see how that contradicts the quote from p 137 I quoted earlier.

Unless you were referring to some other rule and not the one above?

(And I'm somewhat baffled regarding how to interpret "various game options" - it doesn't say all game options, and it doesn't list out the ones it does apply to.) 

Will you preview a non-lazy high damage Skald encounter or daily power if he has any? I'm really hoping they have the ability to hurt things the way a warlord or cleric can.

Nov 6, 2011 -- 7:42PM, Jack of All Trades wrote:

Will you preview a non-lazy high damage Skald encounter or daily power if he has any? I'm really hoping they have the ability to hurt things the way a warlord or cleric can.

...by throwing their allies at them and tagging large vulnerabilities for their allies to trigger, respectively?