Introduction
Druids are perhaps the best soloing class in the game. They have a number of elements which makes them very efficient at killing mobs without putting themselves at excessive risk.
Druids are very easy to travel with, both in their ability to increase running speed, and also to get directly to areas of the world. They can gate not only themselves, but also groups of people also.
Druids also have a powerful offensive spell combination for performing what is known as "kiting". This involves slowing down the enemy whilst speeding up their own movement rate. They can then run ahead of the monster attacking it with an array of their direct damage spells and damage over time spells.
Druids also have the ability to single pull one enemy out of a group of monsters. This allows them to attack much more safely. However, this spell, and a number of other Druid spells, can only be cast outdoors. This is the major drawback to the druid class. There is a large selection of outdoor zones for Druids to operate in if they choose, but if they enter an indoor dungeon they are generally forced to group.
As a grouping class the Druid has a number of valuable assets. They have the ability to both increase the healing rate of party members, and directly heal when needed. They have some of the most powerful damage shields in the game, able to inflict unresistable damage. Druids also have some stat and resistance buffs. At later levels they can even evacuate the party to safety if needed.
Druids are limited to leather armour types, and take damage fairly quickly when being hit. They can use most blunt weapons in the game, and also a selection of Scimitars (one handed slashing weapons).
Druids are a fairly fun class to play, and are exceptionally good in a support role. They are fun to play both in a group or solo, although they do level much faster when soloing.
Statistics
Strength: Strength determines how much you can carry. It influences maximum and average damage and how quickly you learn many offensive skills. Since druids generally wear light armour, they often have plenty of carrying capacity. They also have strength buffs to increase this if needed. There is no real need to put bonus points into this stat.
Stamina: Stamina affects how many hit points you have, and how long you can hold your breath. The amount of hit-points gained from increasing this at creation is very minimal, and there is no real benefit in doing so.
Agility: Agility affects how quickly you can learn some defensive skills, how difficult it is to hit you as well as how much damage you take when you are hit. The true effect of Agility is often debated, however since druids are so lightly armoured, any chance of increasing AC should be taken. You should put some bonus points into this area.
Dexterity: Dexterity affects how quickly you learn weapon skills, and how often weapons will do their special. Druids rarely melee after level 25, and even then rarely with weapons which have a special proc. There is no need to consider increasing your Dexterity when starting out.
Wisdom: Wisdom affects the amount of mana the priest classes have, also rangers and paladins. It also affects how quickly you can learn many skills if your wisdom is higher than your Intelligence. It is the core statistic for Druids and a good amount of your bonus points should be allocated here. Whilst some people may say it is easy to reach the soft cap of 200 wisdom through the many bonus items in the game, this is one stat which you can never have enough of. Once you reach 200 you can then free up slots for other stat enhancers such as for hit-points, direct mana, or AC.
Intelligence: Intelligence directly affects how quickly you can learn most skills. It affects the amount of mana for bards and all pure casters, as well as shadow knights. Since a Druid always has a higher wisdom, skill raising is based off that statistic. Do not put bonus points into intelligence.
Charisma: This affects amount you will be paid for goods by NPC merchants, and how much they will pay you. This is not a stat to worry about at creation. Although vendor prices do add up for purchasing spell components, you can easily raise your charisma with in game items.
Picking the Right Race
Wood elves are one of the two best classes for druids. They lean towards being heavily mana based with good starting wisdom, and the best agility of all the classes. They get infravision, and also a native ability to forage. Wood elves also have the ability to hide, though it doesn't raise beyond a minimal level in skill.
Half-Elves are more melee based. They aren't strong stat wise and are probably the weakest race overall in the druid class. Half-Elves also get infravision.
Halflings are the most popular druid race. Halflings trade off their intelligence and charisma for higher strength and stamina. Besides the added bonus of having hairy feet, Halflings also possess infravision and basic hiding and sneak skills. Halflings level sightly faster than other druid races.
The human is the most well rounded character. Human druids can be quite a competent and balanced character. Their low agility and lack of night-sight however makes them a more burdensome character to play compared to other races.
| RACE | STR | STA | AGI | DEX | WIS | INT | CHA | BONUS |
| Wood Elf | 65 | 75 | 95 | 80 | 90 | 75 | 75 | 30 |
| Half Elf | 70 | 80 | 90 | 85 | 70 | 75 | 75 | 30 |
| Halfling | 70 | 85 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 50 | 30 |
| Human | 75 | 85 | 75 | 75 | 85 | 75 | 75 | 30 |
Here are our suggested allocations of your bonus points at creation:
| RACE | STR | STA | AGI | DEX | WIS | INT | CHA |
| Wood Elf | 65 | 75 | 100 | 80 | 115 | 75 | 75 |
| Half Elf | 70 | 80 | 95 | 85 | 95 | 75 | 75 |
| Halfling | 70 | 85 | 100 | 90 | 115 | 67 | 50 |
| Human | 75 | 85 | 80 | 75 | 110 | 75 | 75 |
Religion
Religion does not play an overly important role to Druids. There are a few which they can select from, and the only impact they will have is later in relation to religion only items released later in the game.