Just curious, how much healing are druids expected to do in classic and for the first couple of expansions? I've always wanted to make a wood elf druid, but I'm not much of a healer at heart. Thanks!
Druids are more of a utility-based class. They CAN heal, but they tend to need to be higher level than a Cleric would be in the group due to the differences in when they obtain the same heal. So, you will have the opportunity to main heal (even when you don't want to). Just understand that sometimes a group doesn't know when you get your heals, and they may be expecting more from you than you can provide. Druids have always been a bit of a red-headed stepchild. They aren't the best DPS, they aren't the best healer, they aren't the best CC. However, Druids are great soloists and until Luclin, will always be desired for their traveling abilities.
Max heal from druid before Kunark is Greater Healing for 300-350 at lvl 29... (except if they add the specific line of drd heal spell, which arent classics at all). Then... Then, you wait for lvl 51 and Kunark (600+) ! And then, you wait for Velious (round 1000)... If you dont like healing, be happy... Druid is crap On the bright side, you got regen spells, that can help ; but on "burst" healing, drd are on the weak side.
Druid healing isn't great until AAs and such, but don't kid yourself. If you have a heal spell, there will be groups that ask you to heal. I've main healed a group as a beastlord and paladin before, just be open. Druid is incredibly versatile and can fit in just about any slot in a group, especially as time goes on.
druids can main heal a group just fine at this stage of the game. also, the regen spells they and shamans get are very powerful currently
Level 37 druid here, still main healing all the time. Really fun class, but as others have said they're not the best at anything and their usefulness dies out in later expansions.
You'll work quite a bit harder to heal a group than a cleric would, and run out of mana faster. You can spam your semi-efficient heal, it does work, but you'll do better spot healing alongside a cleric and DPSing when you have mana.
The fun, and the trick, to being a druid, is knowing when to use your mana, and what to use it for. Playing a class that can contribute to DPS, healing, and CC when needed is very valuable to a group if the person playing the class has a brain. Druids are able to adjust on the fly, to in game situations. If you want to look at min/max situations, they will never be the best at anything, and are therefor written off by a lot of people. The reality is, it's awesome to have a class that can switch back and forth between healing and DPS as needed, and on the fly. I can't even count the number of times everything has been going along fine, and I was mostly DPS, and then the crap hits the fan for whatever reason. Being able to heal well enough to keep people afloat through a bad situation has saved wipes hundreds of times. Being a druid isn't about what you *like* to do, it's about what the group needs the most in any given situation. Managing that (to me), is a lot more interesting than /assist /cast nuke. It's like any other class in EQ, the person behind the keyboard matters much more than the class itself. I feel that druids are highly under rated, and it's surprising how few people know how valuable their debuffs are as the game progresses. This is true x10 in the current world of mages gameplay.
Reverse charm as a druid is huge fun, fast experience for those times you solo. Snare and root make it super safe also.
