Summary
Diablo 4has seen the grand return of many fan-favorite features from pastDiablogames including the powerful shapeshifting druid class. This class utilizes destructive nature magic to decimate its foes and stop the forces of Lilith from consuming Sanctuary. Its skill set is vast and interesting, and its shapeshifting abilities can feel virtually unstoppable in the right hands. Thismakes druids a ton of fun to play, but some parts of the class still need a lot of work.
Diablo 4’sdruids are based on the classic fantasy archetype that appears across the genre, but with a few limitations. These characters are often known for safeguarding the natural world and using their abilities to actually transform into animals, butDiablo 4’s version does not really meet those expectations. The class should have been able to change into all sorts of animals on a whim, but Blizzard chose to limit its abilities instead, and that needs to be changed in future seasons.
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Diablo 4’s Druids Deserve More Animal Transformations
Diablo 4’s druids have a wild assortment of skills to choose from, and some of those skills allow the player to actually change shape.Instead of having a specific shapeshift ability, certain abilities will transform players into either a Werewolf or a Werebear for the duration of the attack. They will then change back into their human form until they utilize another ability that has that effect. This constant shifting makes combat exciting and gives players the feeling of being a powerful nature wielder, but it only takes the concept so far.
Druids are often known to be natural shapeshifters with the ability to transform into all sorts of different animals. While druids are not as common as other fantasy archetypes,games likeBaldur’s Gate 3let players transform into numerous animals during their journey. Blizzard’s ownWorld of Warcraftalso features a druid class with many transformation options, and most of those options are a vital part of the gameplay loop.
World of Warcraft’s version of the druidcan transform into eight different animals that each serve a distinct purpose. Cat form lets them deal increased melee damage, bear form serves as a tank, Moonkin lets them attack enemies from afar, the travel form replaces their ground mount, aquatic form is vital for traversing the ocean, flight form replaces flying mounts, mount form lets other players ride them, and Treant form lets them become a tree. Each option is drastically different from the last and help give the druid a ton of versatility.
Diablo 4’s druids could benefit from so many new transformations introduced through future updates.The Werewolf and Werebear are certainly cool, but druids are supposed to be able to transform into more than two animals. Players should be able to become other types of animals depending upon the attacks that they use, and they should have greater control over when they transform. Increasing these options is the only way to make druids actually feel like natural shapeshifters, because right now, they only feel like they have a werewolf curse.
If Blizzard does not want to change the druid abilities, then it should at least introduce a travel form. Letting druid players become a stag or a horse as they traverse Sanctuary would not only help speed up travel, but also bring the class a lot closer to other versions. While it may be a lot of work, giving players these options could be beneficial for the game and may even give players a reason to actually check out druids ina futureDiablo 4season.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
