And now they have the perfect excuse to nerf druids for the 4th balance patch in a row

[Pirindolo.9427]

So glyph of empowermet was a bit too passive, they said. And what's the alternative to it after patch?

Well, considering that the new elite glyph is garbage (7 second channel with a huge CD), there is only a viable and obvious alternative for druids: add another spirit to the build and play with 4 spirits + heal or directly with 5 spirits. In other words: the most passive build ever.

And that's the excuse for what will be for sure the 4th druid nerf in the last 4 balance patches. Devs will observe that, after this patch, druids are just passive shepherds of spirits, and so spirits will receive another huge nerf... "But only to make druid less passive".

[Lazze.9870]

I remember back when they previewed Druid before the launch of HoT and a lot of people were moaning about a full healer spec. I saw it had some potential, and as it turned out, I enjoyed it quite a bit during its first months. Running around with traited glyphs on your bar, the reworked heal shout and elite, and greatsword and staff as your weapons while racking up some damage in pvp. There were few build options for raiding too that didn't just involve being a healbot with spirits.

It was probably overpowered in several ways back then, but the direction they have taken druid in has truly made it one of the dullest thing you can play in the entire game. A spirit slave made for one fraction of one out of three game modes.

[Pirindolo.9427]

@Lazze.9870 said:A spirit slave made for one fraction of one out of three game modes.

Spirit Slave. That's it. Perfect definition. Even banner slaves will feel privileged now with 3 free spots to deal with.

[Durzlla.6295]

Have you played with spirits since the rework? Because if you’re just placing your spirits and leaving them there forever like they’re banners you’re using them completely wrong.

[Brosef.7852]

Seeing what they have done to Druid in the last several patches has made me drop the game entirely. Raids have increased in difficulty for seemingly no apparent reason other than the dev's demand it to be. We use to get clears wings 1-4 in one night in 3 hours with my static team. Now we are lucky to get 5 kills in a night. Yes i understand raids are made to be difficult, but they keep artificially raising the difficulty for arbitrary reasons like, "druid's were to passive as a class" which I never agreed with in the first place. Might stacking and getting your quickdraw off coll down while watching and monitoring your team health is not passive game play.

[Pirindolo.9427]

@Durzlla.6295 said:Have you played with spirits since the rework? Because if you’re just placing your spirits and leaving them there forever like they’re banners you’re using them completely wrong.

No, I'm not. Clicking ONLY 4 (or 5) spirits every 20 seconds because the CD is over is the most passive setup ever.

[Durzlla.6295]

@Pirindolo.9427 said:

@Durzlla.6295 said:Have you played with spirits since the rework? Because if you’re just placing your spirits and leaving them there forever like they’re banners you’re using them completely wrong.

No, I'm not. Clicking ONLY 4 (or 5) spirits every 20 seconds because the CD is over is the most passive setup ever.

I mean that’s still an improvement to the old Druid raiding style of using glyph of empowerment on Cd and just letting your spirits sit there the whole time.

[Changer the Elder.2948]

@Durzlla.6295 said:

@Pirindolo.9427 said:

@Durzlla.6295 said:Have you played with spirits since the rework? Because if you’re just placing your spirits and leaving them there forever like they’re banners you’re using them completely wrong.

No, I'm not. Clicking ONLY 4 (or 5) spirits every 20 seconds because the CD is over is the most passive setup ever.

I mean that’s still an improvement to the old Druid raiding style of using glyph of empowerment on Cd and just letting your spirits sit there the whole time.

I'm sorry, but... if you just "let your spirits sit there the whole time" before this change no matter what, that's not very good druiding (especially on encounters where you actually move a lot, since that means your spirits are on the other end of the arena, doing buggerall). I do like the previous change of keeping the spirits alive and moving them about instead of having them on set timer, but it did make things considerably more passive. Instead of planning a strategy for using things like Nature Spirit or when its worth it to pop the minimes for their effects to still have them ready to be cast on time when you need them next, you just place them, and you can very well just let them sit there for the entire fight if it's a static one. Some thought on when to pop their active effects is useful in some fights, but that's about it.

With five (or even just 4) spirits, it's the most boring thing ever.

At least the glyph had some variety. You could use it in a pinch to decrease incoming damage if your group was about to get smacked in the face with a mechanic, for example.