Taril

My initial thoughts on this are: 1) What stops someone just casting all their spells before/while Spiritshifted? Bypassing the downsides by the sheer nature of just not needing to use spells at that point in the encounter. 2) How does the attack speed decrease and endurance regen work if Spiritshifts are made more usable (No longer 1/encounter)? Which is a potential buff to make a Spiritshift focused character more usable on higher difficulties/levels (Where a limited Shift may not last an entire engagement) 3) How does this debuff interact with Intellect? Will it scale up with higher intellect (Since it's a debuff being caused by your character) or is it possible to code for intellect to reduce the duration proportionately (Or will it be made to not scale with intellect at all?) I mean, it's an interesting mechanic for sure - Both lorewise and it's effect it has, it cripples spell casts and makes them much harder to use effectively (Well, some of them... A lot already hit everyone) and makes it so you can't come back into a full damage build, but gives you a heal to keep you alive while you're getting to grips with your change in ability. There's just a lot of things that can make it not as effective as a deterrent from combining a buffed Spiritshift build with strong spell casts while something more boring like -max spell casts, +level requirement for learning spells, -spells accessible at a time or even just a flat -spell effectiveness as a base effect that's always present guarantees that you have that trade off of effectiveness for the power of spiritshifting.

It's very weird how helmets/hats have been implemented. I mean, when I got my first one with no stats on I was like "What? That's a thing?" but then came finding the ones with stats (With no ability to customize cosmetics, such as a "Hide helmet" toggle that isn't done using IEmod and Console Commands) It also seemed strange that Godlikes, who have quite powerful racial bonuses, mention that they can't wear helmets/hats which seemed to me to suggest that it's an actual downside that they miss out on some statistical advantage from not being able to equip something in that slot... But no, there's such a limited selection of headwear in game that actually has stats and often comes in a small amounts (Like +1 perception which while nice, can often be made up with other gear) so they don't really miss out on anything. While, just enchanting helmets and such to being perfectly itemized is kind of boring, it's one of the easiest ways to make headgear relevant (Along with allowing customization of looks) without having to add in a ton of new items or add stats to every existing item.

Having multiple forms available in the current iteration, isn't worth it. But if tweaked enough, it's possible to give each form some benefit(s) to help differentiate them. Stats could be tweaked between them - So for example, Bear gaining more DR, gaining more engagement targets, gaining ability(s) that help reinforce being a front line tank. Meanwhile Wolf could get more movement speed, co-ordination damage (Since Wolves hunt in packs), abilities that assist with CC/Debuffing enemies (Such as Hobbled). Cat could get more attack speed, sneak attacks, damage dealing abilities etc. Which would help differentiate them (By nature of statistical differences, potentially increasing over time much like other form based stats) as well as provide a more stimulating gameplay for a Shifting Druid - Since, in the current iteration if just the base stats were changed, like 90% of fighting in a form would just be auto-attacking (Especially with how lackluster the abilities currently are). With differentiated stats and the potential to obtain a second (Or even third) form with multiple abilities each, it would help keep your options of things to do quite high - Especially if they became usable often enough to allow you to switch between forms in combat to use different abilities (Likely at the cost of even more spell usage, possibly even removing the ability to use spells at all with this much flexibility)

Well the thing is, in-game the dialogue and interactive story sections use the stats very specifically - Might is almost always picking someone off their feet, smashing down a wall (That would otherwise take fatigue worthy amounts of effort to chisel away) or having an imposing presence on someone. Much how Intellect is almost always having lots of knowledge about specific things (To the point where talking to the bandit leader in the initial caravan site, there's an option to talk about their god that's usable with either Lore or Intellect scores) If these options varied more often - Such as Might options that centred around mental prowess (I.E. Might for Wizards or other spellcasters), Intellect options that centred around practical ability (Such as a Barbarian's skill with weaponry) then people wouldn't fall victim to these DnD ideals of what stats "Should be" for various classes from a roleplaying perspective. I mean, you can justify plenty of reasoning for any of the stats on any class and have it still fit with roleplaying, but with how interactions in-game work you'll always get the DnD ideology reinforced, whether you like it or not.

As someone who often plays the shapeshifter class in games (Due to their inherent "Jack of all trades" ability by the nature of various forms to choose from for particular roles) But in PoE, it's quite underwhelming what Spiritshifts are actually like. I mean, only having one (Compared to several other games of varying genres having the possibility of 2-3), having it limited in its usage (1/Encounter and paltry 15 sec duration base), having it's unique abilities being severely limited (Both low power AND /rest rather than /encounter as well as being low usage to boot) and then having static stats that can't be influenced... All adds up to it being quite a lackluster feature and pretty much forces Druids into being essentially a Wizard. I mean, the stats could scale - They already have a mechanic of scaling statistics in the form of the Monk's fists - Every several levels they get upgraded with +damage and + accuracy. It's quite possible that Druids could get a similar thing for their claws and their DR bonus. Having jewellery work for Spiritshift would also be quite nice - Since it'd be no fun to have static characters with little to no customization other than initial stats. Heck, it may even be nice to have clothing such as boots and hats to also work (Just to increase customization) As far as the shift's abilities go... It'd be really nice to get a specialization choice (Be it an ability choice or early talent or whatever) to go for the spellcaster route (Which we currently have) or to get more limited access to spells but with a major boost to Spiritshift. Such as getting additional abilities per form (As well as making them /encounter) and more flexible shifting potential (More uses /encounter. Longer/indefinite duration etc).

So, recently started playing Pillars, made a few characters to various degrees of success (Monk, Paladin, Chanter etc) but have gotten to the point where I keep getting frustrated by party members (Either due to enemies teleporting past and/or outright ignoring all my tanky characters trying to lock them down and focusing the squishies on the back lines or just the annoyances of the extra micro it needs to keep everyone in attack range of things) As such, I started to consider solo play. I chose a Cipher for this, because well... I like the theme of debuffing opponents until they submit, the playstyle of Focus is also quite fun to work with. But at the moment, on Normal I can't seem to progress at all - I get 2 shot by literally everything and essentially just get 1 or 2 attacks off before my CC fades and things continue to wail on me. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, of if there's a certain level I need to get to with a party before it becomes possible to stand on my own. My stats are 20 Mig, 11 Con, 14 Dex, 3 Per, 18 Int, 12 Res Using the weapons Hunting Bow (Looking into getting the materials together to enchant the Dissapointer) and Stilleto+Dagger Spells: Antipathetic Field (Has been crucial to take down groups of things), Eyestrike, Mind Wave (Again, crucial for groups - Knock things down so I have time to cast APF), Mental Binding (Crucial for taking down... Everything really) and Phantom Foes (Not really had the time to use this ever... Need to spam MB so much to not instantly die) Talent: Draining Whip So, anything the matter with my build or do I need to get some more levels first (Which I guess would mean picking up Eder and Kana to tank and support me)