My pfs Druid just completed lvl 11. I would like to continue to play him in some seeker lvl scenarios, but his power curve is definitely srtarting to flatten out.
I’ve been melee Saurian Shaman the whole way w animal companion. Taken feats include natural spell, combat casting, planar wild shape, power attack, blind fight, heavy armor and toughness.
I don’t see a lot of benefit in staying Druid at least as far as melee is concerned. Taking a level in fighter or Barbarian might be ok. Monk used to be a good option until feral combat training was nerfed.
Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.
Barbarian + Druid is definitely a good melee combo. You might consider taking a level in Bloodrager instead, though, if you've got a copy of the ACG. Bloodrager gets bloodline stuff at level 1, so if you're only doing a single level dip, it's probably worth the smaller HD to get a bonus power. The Verdant bloodline from Ultimate Wilderness is thematic for a Druid and gives you Fast Healing 1 while you rage. The Undead Bloodline from the ACG is another good bloodline, it gives enemies a no-save Shaken effect if you hit them on a charge attack. If you were to dip a Rage class, I'd also consider retraining Blindfight to Extra Rage. You can get Blindsight via the Echolocation spell from Ultimate Magic. It's a long duration buff, so it's fairly easy to precast it and have it last through several encounters. It makes for a good Blindfight replacement.
If you've got a decent Wisdom score Monk is still good - it's a bonus feat and a massive boost to touch AC. I'd bet you've got at least one form that can benefit from Combat Reflexes. I'd also consider Shifter. It's a 2 level dip but can partially keep the Wis-to-AC in light armor and some of the aspects give unique benefits, like Evasion from Mouse. Even if you stick with Dinosaur theme (you don't have to mechanically), the initiative boost from Deinonychus is decent. I see you have heavy armor prof, though, so maybe you don't need Wis-to-AC if you're rocking some Wild Dragonhide Fullplate?
Is your goal to keep focusing on melee? What do you feel is flattening out about the power curve?
Is your goal to keep focusing on melee? What do you feel is flattening out about the power curve?
Thanks. That’s some solid advice. My animal companion, Allosaurus, used to be a beast, but while he has a great AC, his hp and to hit are falling behind.
I think what gets hard at higher level with this character is that without a ton of prefight self buffing, they are not that great defensively. Saves are good, but hp is on the low side and AC is ok but not stellar for that level. When you are wildshaped as a huge Allosaurus, most baddies will consider you their primary target.
I feel like the damage output, which tore through things a few levels ago, is hampered pretty badly by dr/.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a great character and I love playing it. Just wondering if there’s a better path than more levels of Druid.
What about shifter?
Monk AC, some cool feats...
Swift self buffs.
Well, if you retrained Blindfight into Eldritch Claws, that only leaves Cold Iron and Adamantine DR that you can't handle between that and Planar Wildshape.
If it's your Allosaurus that's having trouble, you can rebuild your AC. You'll have to retrain any non-bonus tricks but it's otherwise basically free. I know I keep suggesting retraining your own feats but you could pick up Outflank with your companion for +2 to hit on flanking attacks and further increase that with a Menacing Amulet of Mighty Fists. You can pick feats that aren't on the AC list if your AC has at least 3 Int. Picking up AoMFs with just abilities tied to them and using Greater Magic Fang to buff is a great way to expand you and your companion's attacks.
I don't know what your money situation is like but grabbing a spare level 2 Pearl of Power or two and just casting Barkskin anytime you get even the barest inkling of a chance of combat could help AC. You're only 1 CL short of max. A Dusty Rose Ioun Stone could also be helpful if you don't have one yet. It's probably cheaper than upgrading any of your other Armor Class equipment at this point.
More of a strategy thing but you could try summoning more Ankylosaurs. You've got a few castings of SNA V and you can get them at SNA IV with your Totemic Summoning by applying the Young template. Their Daze has a good DC even when they're young, and Dazed creatures can't hit you. Similarly, the Advanced, Giant, and Giant Advanced Crocodiles you can summon are all capable of detaining foes via grapple. Using summons in this way can split up enemies so that you're not getting pounded by everything at once. Summoning as a standard action doesn't really prevent you melee-ing yourself, since most combats start with you having to approach team bad guy anyways. I know you've got pounce but if you're getting heavily targeted, it might be a good idea to hold back on occasion. You might already be doing this, though? I don't want to make assumptions.
I'd probably just stick to Druid though. CL 12 increases both Greater Magic Fang and Barkskin, so getting there is effectively +1 to AC attack rolls, and damage. To a lesser extent, it gives you Large Elemental Body, and Large Size is when Air Elemental's Whirlwind starts being consistently combat applicable.
Siegebreaker Fighter can do some crazy stuff with Overrun and Bullrush, which has interesting synergy with being a big reptile. Breaker Momentum (Siegebreaker 2) could make for a brutal trampling attack.
One cool higher-level melee trick with a Druid is Quickened Thunderstomp, since swift action knockdown can be turned into bonus attacks, and prone enemies are less dangerous.
For a dramatic change, you could switch Archetype to the awesome Urban Druid with Nobility Domain and be a non-wildshape melee powerhouse. Nobility Domain grants Divine Favor and Urban Druid grants at-will Alter Self, which combine for some pretty strong buffing. Plus a non-wildshape Druid can wear stone plate while casting Barkskin and Longstrider for decent movement with towering AC. A stoneplate-wearing Battle Druid swinging a two-hander or going spear and shield or whatever is a pretty thematic thing.