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[EuchreJack]

Screenshots of the skill and attribute selection screens would help.

Off the top of my head: Druids can summon wolves and vines (and maybe something else, spiders maybe?); Transform into a bear or wolf (or both, but that's highly wasteful of skillpoints); Use the Powers of Nature (create tremors in the ground, flaming boulders, tornadoes, storm clouds that shoot lightning and fling tornadoes).

The Druid is a pure multiclass character: Transformation grants combat ability; Summoning provides allies; Powers of Nature provide spellcasting.  I imagine the biggest problem is balancing those three things; like most multiclass characters, proper balance towards one's preferences and the game world is vital.

[Darkmere]

Depends on how far you want to go. Normal can be beaten with any class and a sharp stick.

Druid pets are beyond lackluster. You can only have the 5 paper-thin regular wolves, OR the 3 dire wolves, OR the bear. Vines aren't worth casting. Oak Sage and Heart of the Wolverine are good, but you can only have 1 at a time. If you play pets it's basically a necro with no curses and a tiny meatwall... so grab a crossbow and keep firing.

Druid casting is broken due to how the engine works or inherent design flaws (Arctic wind is bugged and will do 20% of the listed damage. Volcano is highly wasteful mana-wise, untargetable except for the primary rift which has the same 20% damage problem due to nextdelay. Hurricane is pitiful. Armageddon can't be targeted. Tornado can't be targeted...)

If you pick werebear you'll have serious problems with attack rating, attack speed, and life leech going untwinked. Also if you take a shield to werebear tank, you'll need faster block rate too.

The best bet for a fresh start is werewolf with heart of the wolverine and (frenzy? I think that's it). Rabies doesn't do enough damage to help unless you do some stacking, which is probably beyond the scope of this impromptu guide.

TL;DR: Don't try to multiclass, everything will suck. Pick a non-elemental tree and put spare points into the two non-barbs spirits and you should be fine for normal.

[joemoben]

Just a post to show the first skills we will be able to pick, and the stats.

Spoiler: Stats And Skills (click to show/hide)

Here we have the beggining stats of the druid. Strength functions in on how hard you hit stuff, and quality of armor you can wear. Generally, more strength = better armor.

Then there is dexterity. Dexterity, increases chance to hit, chance to block with a shield, and chance to dodge an attack. It is required to equip a few weapons, most notably ranged.

Vitality. Vitality raises health and stamina. Stamina is how far you can run without getting tired. It's the yellow bar at the bottom in the screenshot. The red orb is health.

Then there's energy, which is the magic stat. More energy means more mana, and that's about it. The mana is the blue orb in bottom right.


This is the skill tree page, or more specifically, the elemental skill tree of the druid.

Here is the shapeshifting tree

And this is the summons skill tree.

Every time you level up, you get one skill point. For now, we only need to worry about the first things we can get on the skill tree, and here they are-

Firestorm when cast sends out three spurts of flame on the ground, each doing the damage described above.

And here is one of the mainstays of the shapeshifting tree, the werewolf. We can transform anywhere, and as a werewolf we attack faster, get extra health and stamina, and we get a boost to hit chance. The skill right next to it may look like we can get it right from the start, but it requires werewolf in order to be learned.


Here we have the summon raven spell, a spell that most consider to be mildly useless by the time the early mid game comes around. They can only stay around for a predetermined amount of attacks and the spell has to be recast nearly constantly due to that.


Here is the poison creeper. He will trail along below the ground and spit out poison every now and again.

The summons probably appear lackluster at this stage, but later on they get mildly powerful with the addition of dire wolves and bears.

Spoiler: UI Details (click to show/hide)

Here is the basic screen. Standing there in the middle of it all is our druid.
That gauntlet pointy thing is the mouse.
Near the bottom left is something that looks a little like a spear. That shows that our left mouse button does a normal attack. On the right is our right mouse button, typically used for magic, but we have none, so it's just a normal attack.


Here is the inventory, showing us our current equipment and what nots that we currently have equipped. On the left side of the inventory is our club, which is the Druids starting weapon. Right side, shield. On the top is our helmet, bottom left is gloves. bottom right boots. At center we have our body armor slot. Now, you may notice the little roman numerals above our club and shield.These are our weapon sets, which we can use to switch what weapons we are using very quickly


Here is what happens when we switch said weapons, revealing our second set that i never use.


Down there in the bottom middle is our quick bar. The quick bar lets us quickly use potions using the numbers 1-4. As we get better belts, our quick slots will grow higher, allowing us to stack potions on top of eachother, so that when we use one, another takes its place.


This is our private stash, if you couldn't tell


Basically a chest to store shit. Not very complex.

Oh yeah, and those scrolls in the bottom right are useful. Red one is for identifying any unidentified object, which is virtually every magic and above items. Blue scrolls are scrolls of town portal, they take us back here.

Ok, that's all I've got. Let me know if you want to know anything else.

[joemoben]

 Ok, time to get this started. I'll have the 1st part up in a minute, in the meantime enjoy a ton of druid backstory!

Spoiler: Backstory Overload (click to show/hide)

The Druids are a race of nomadic warrior-poet-kings. Driven from their homelands long ago by their Barbarian brothers, the Druid tribes live primarily in the northern forests. Using mystic secrets passed down through the generations, they summon the elements of fire and wind to do their bidding, and command the creatures of the forest to aid them in battle. Shifting from their human forms into that of wild beasts, gives them abilities far beyond those of other mortals.

In the ancient tome of the Druids, the Scéal Fada ("Long Story"), it is written that Bul-Kathos, the great and ancient king of the Barbarian tribes, had a mysterious but trusted confidant, who was only referred to as Fiacla-Géar ("Sharp-Tooth"). This man is sometimes described as Bul-Kathos's close friend, and at other times, he is referred to as his brother. Whatever the source of their relationship, their bond was strong, and together they shared the secrets of the ancients: of the mysteries below the peaks of Mt. Arreat, of the venerated task put to their people to protect those mysteries, and of the prophecies regarding the dark times ahead. They both agreed that, in order to fulfill their sacred trust, their people must devote themselves to nothing save that charge. However, they disagreed on exactly how the people could best do this. Bul-Kathos believed that only by bringing the tribes together and training them in strict martial discipline could the tribes faithfully concentrate on their goal for generations to come.

Fiacla-Géar, on the other hand, believed that only through obtaining a spiritual oneness with the land they had sworn to protect could the people truly appreciate the importance of their role. Both agreed the other's philosophy had merit, and so around the time Bul-Kathos united the tribes, Fiacla-Géar gathered together a small group consisting of the tribes' greatest warrior-poets and shamans and mysteriously retreated into the forests surrounding the area known as Scosglen. There he and his people created the first of the Druid Colleges, huge mortar-less stone towers, covered in vines and safely hidden beneath the leafy canopies of the dense forests. They have dwelt there ever since, forging a new way of life for themselves. They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, ("Great Holocaust") between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells.

Here, in preparation for the impending conflict, he taught his people the Caoi Dúlra ("Way of Nature"), a harmony with the natural elements of the world, its plants and animals, as the heart of its most intrinsic beliefs, for they are the personification of the very world that the Druids have sworn to protect. Not only was Caoi Dúlra the basis for their system of values, but through its study and practice, the Druids learned to bond with the natural entities of Sanctuary. This bonding was so absolute that eventually they discovered how to talk to the plants and animals, and these beings taught them all the secrets of the natural world. They taught them methods to call animals from far away, how to summon sentient plants from the earth, ways to change their own forms to share the strengths of their animal cousins, even, to a limited extent, techniques to control the weather.

At the Túr Dúlra ("Tower of Nature"), the greatest of the Druid Colleges, stands a great tree Glór-an-Fháidha ("Glory of the Oak"). This tree is the most revered source of the Druids guidance and teachings. Under its branches, for centuries, the Druids of Scosglen have been honing not only their powerful arsenal of natural magic, but also the martial skills they have retained from their Barbarian forefathers. They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world's last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand. Lashing out in fury at the recent insurgence of denizens of the Burning Hells, and at the Leathdhiabhala ("Half-Demons"), demonic corruptions of the very creatures they have vowed to defend, the Druids have, at last, emerged from their forests, marching toward their final stand against the minions of Chaos.

Spoiler: Gameplay! And More Exposition! YAY! (click to show/hide)

So we have arrived. Here is us, and here is Warriv, a caravan master.


    /Warriv intro -
    Greetings, stranger. I'm not surprised to see your kind here. Many adventurers have traveled this way since the recent troubles began.
    No doubt you've heard about the tragedy that befell the town of Tristram. Some say that Diablo, the Lord of Terror, walks the world again.
    I don't know if I believe that, but a Dark Wanderer did travel this route a few weeks ago. He was headed east to the mountain pass guarded by the Rogue Monastery.
    Maybe it's nothing, but evil seems to have trailed in his wake. You see, shortly after the Wanderer went through, the Monastery's Gates to the pass were closed and strange creatures began ravaging the countryside.
    Until it's safer outside the camp and the gates are re-opened, I'll remain here with my caravan. I hope to leave for Lut Gholein before the shadow that fell over Tristram consumes us all. If you're still alive then, I'll take you along.
    You should talk to Akara, too. She seems to be the leader of this camp. Maybe she can tell you
/Warriv out

Ok, we wont have to talk to that long winded bastard till the end of this act! Yay!

And here is Kashya the leader of the rogues. Intro time!


Welcome, outlander, to our glorious hovel. I know you're here to challenge the evil that's driven us from our ancestral home.
    But, know this. Akara may be our spiritual leader, but I command the Rogues in battle. It will take more than just killing a few beasts in the wilderness to earn my trust.
 /Kashya out

Ok, she is pretty useful later in, but for now she is useless.

And here is Akara. She is plenty useful now, but we'll get into that later.



    I am Akara, High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. I welcome you, traveler, to our camp, but I'm afraid I can offer you but poor shelter within these rickety walls.
    You see, our ancient Sisterhood has fallen under a strange curse. The mighty Citadel from which we have guarded the gates to the East for generations, has been corrupted by the evil Demoness, Andariel.
    I still can't believe it... but she turned many of our sister Rogues against us and drove us from our ancestral home. Now the last defenders of the Sisterhood are either dead or scattered throughout the wilderness.
    I implore you, stranger. Please help us. Find a way to lift this terrible curse and we will pledge our loyalty to you for all time.
/Akara out

After that, she gives us our first quest! Yay!



    There is a place of great evil in the wilderness. Kashya's Rogue scouts have informed me that a cave nearby is filled with shadowy creatures and horrors from beyond the grave.
    I fear that these creatures are massing for an attack against our encampment. If you are sincere about helping us, find the dark labyrinth and destroy the foul beasts.
    May the Great Eye watch over you.
/Akara yet again, out


That's the quest right there.

Ok, so Akara is useful to us for a couple of reasons. The first being that every time you talk to her, your health gets filled back up. The other is that she is the only NPC in the camp that sells town portal spells and identify spells, along with potions.

BUT! Time for more intros!

Here's Charsi.

  Hi there. I'm Charsi, the blacksmith here in camp. It's good to see some strong adventurers around here.
    Many of our Sisters fought bravely against Diablo when he first attacked the town of Tristram. They came back to us true veterans, bearing some really powerful items. Seems like their victory was short-lived, though... Most of them are now corrupted by Andariel.

/Charsi out.

Ok charsi repairs your stuff and sells armor and ranged, along with quite a few melee weapons.

But now, it is time for Gheed.




    Good day to you partner! I'm Gheed and I can already tell that I'll be your best friend in this forsaken camp.
    A spare weapon, some gold, a small gem is all I want in exchange for the equipment you'll need on whatever quests you might undertake.
    Now, now, now... Don't be shy, all of my items are guaranteed for life and come with a two-day warranty!

He is kind of like charsi, except for one thing. He gambles.


The gamble option.

And the gamble scene.
Gambling is interesting because you CAN buy some sweet items, but you wont know if they are until you buy them.

Shown here is an unidentified bow. It could suck, or it could be frickin amazing.

Pictured is a ring going for an INSANE AMOUNT. Amulets sell for that price as well.

Anyways, on to actual gameplay! YAY


Here is our club. It's a club. Not much to see here so moving on.

This is our buckler. The twenty percent is blue for a reason that I cannot ascertain.


Here is the first enemy you are likely to see, One of the fallen. He's a small and weak little bugger that will likely go down in one hit but rather annoying in all. Let me show you why.


They tend to come in groups of three or five and are cowards. I quickly bash one with my club and the rest run for the hills so that I have to find and kill them.



Here we have a zombie, and a new piece of UI. The zombies are slow, hit slow, but harder than fallen. Zombies also tend to come in packs of two, but can be taken down in two or three hits.

The UI is that wonky overlay there. That is the map, which I will try to take down for most battles, shows me where I and my allies are.
After defeating the vile zombies, I find a new threat, known as the Quill Rat


They are ranged, and shoot their quills at you. Not much else to say about them.


This is a shrine. Shrines pop up just about everywhere. If you want a list, click here
This shrine is an exploding one, meaning it shots out some explosions in random directions, and gives us exploding potions which can be thrown

After we move on, we come upon a abandoned house, with a quill rat inside. The rat is disposed of quickly, and then i notice the loot.


Our first chest! Yay! Chests generally give out some rather average stuff but this was an excellent chest, giving us a large charm, a chipped amythest, and gold!




And then I notice the bed. I move over to it and remove the blanket. As soon as I did so, I heard a lever turning, and low and behold, two zombies claw their way through the rotted floorboards.



I quickly bash their heads in, and  quickly leave the place.

As I head outside, I notice a rather large band of Fallen and Zombies.


I send them from this land only taking minor hits, and I also feel an increase of my druidic power, rolling up from inside of me.


So I leveled. Get choosing what skills and attributes you wish for me to get.

 

Yay update one! The little blanket thing really is a hidden container though. It's a hidden one and I think I first found it on accident after getting chased by quill rats into there.

[Sonlirain]

Unless you play an outdated version Akarra (the lady that gives you the first quest) will let you reset your skill tree once per difficulty level (don't squander it).

Personally i think you should go Summons at first and invest heavily into poison vine wolves and Dire wolves forget about the other vines because they give pitful ammounts of health/mana.

on higher difficulties the druid summon tree is somewhat lackluster but by that time you can reset and go Elemental or Shapeshifter.

[joemoben]

Update one is directly above Sonlirains post since he's a ninja.

Edit: Here's stats and available skills

Spoiler: Stats And Skills (click to show/hide)

Here we have the beggining stats of the druid. Strength functions in on how hard you hit stuff, and quality of armor you can wear. Generally, more strength = better armor.

Then there is dexterity. Dexterity, increases chance to hit, chance to block with a shield, and chance to dodge an attack. It is required to equip a few weapons, most notably ranged.

Vitality. Vitality raises health and stamina. Stamina is how far you can run without getting tired. It's the yellow bar at the bottom in the screenshot. The red orb is health.

Then there's energy, which is the magic stat. More energy means more mana, and that's about it. The mana is the blue orb in bottom right.


This is the skill tree page, or more specifically, the elemental skill tree of the druid.

Here is the shapeshifting tree

And this is the summons skill tree.

Every time you level up, you get one skill point. For now, we only need to worry about the first things we can get on the skill tree, and here they are-

Firestorm when cast sends out three spurts of flame on the ground, each doing the damage described above.

And here is one of the mainstays of the shapeshifting tree, the werewolf. We can transform anywhere, and as a werewolf we attack faster, get extra health and stamina, and we get a boost to hit chance. The skill right next to it may look like we can get it right from the start, but it requires werewolf in order to be learned.


Here we have the summon raven spell, a spell that most consider to be mildly useless by the time the early mid game comes around. They can only stay around for a predetermined amount of attacks and the spell has to be recast nearly constantly due to that.


Here is the poison creeper. He will trail along below the ground and spit out poison every now and again.

The summons probably appear lackluster at this stage, but later on they get mildly powerful with the addition of dire wolves and bears.

[Baneling]

If you want the game to be even remotely challenging, don't go with a predetermined build. Me and a friend recently started playing and though it might just be that I managed to pick an overpowered build and Act 2 weapon halfway through Act 1 I'm basically carrying him, despite his being a level or two higher.

We're currently at pretty much the beginning of Act 2 normal and the only things we've really had trouble with are a single elite from just before you retrieve Cain and the boss of Act 1, since I can just use Double Swing for everything as it's free to cast if you level it up enough.

And, of course, if you feature other people playing with you, make sure they aren't playing Magic Hammerdins, heh.

[GreatJustice]

Necro is pretty fun.

Back when I had Diablo II (since I've lost some of the disks since it had about 6 ><) I always played a summoning-specialized Necro and easily creamed most of the early bosses. Then I ran into Andariel and was beaten silly because she kills skellies/golems in about two hits and I didn't have any curses or close combat ability.

[Sonlirain]

Necro is pretty fun.

Back when I had Diablo II (since I've lost some of the disks since it had about 6 ><) I always played a summoning-specialized Necro and easily creamed most of the early bosses. Then I ran into Andariel and was beaten silly because she kills skellies/golems in about two hits and I didn't have any curses or close combat ability.

There was an update with that in mind. It made skellies less numerous but far stronger and after this patch pretty much every boss became gangbanged by a bunch of pretty resiliant skellies.

[JackOSpades]

for the love of god if your going to play Druid on diablo 2 GO WERBEAR tank and rip those demons apart with your bare hands....er BEAR paws...