Wild shape early acces

[Richter Harding]

Been taking a gander at the druid archetypes and something struck me, the leshy warden an extremely powerful early acces, they get plant shape 3 at level 10, a seventh level spell at lvl 10, thats over 4 levels early, why is it then that the goliath druid gets giant form 1 at 12th level and 2 at 14th level.

Add to that that they get a familliar that can get an additional +6 to str and dex as well as the plant domain with the only tradeoff being a thousand faces and a slightly gimped wild-empathy.

Is it just me or does this archetype seem a bit overloaded?

[Chess Pwn]

You're stuck with just plants. That the smallest pool of utility and versatility out there. Plus it's a familiar, even buffed out doesn't make it all that scary compared to an animal companion.

[DominusMegadeus]

Yeah, there's a reason Giant Form comes so late and Plant Shape comes so early. Plants are not particularly good.

[My Self]

Plant shape is not very good for a spell of its level. It's not very good for a spell of most levels, really.

[Chengar Qordath]

Plus Giant Form makes all your equipment scale up with you instead of having it fuse into your body. That is a huge advantage (no pun intended).

[Matthew Downie]

Plant Shape III looks at least potentially good, depending on what the chosen form gives you: Darkvision 60 feet, constrict, grab, poison, energy resistance 20, Damage Reduction, regeneration 5, trample, +8 size bonus to your Strength, -2 penalty to your Dexterity, +4 size bonus to your Constitution, +6 natural armor bonus, and the natural attacks of the plant in question.

A list of huge plants I found from 2012:
Umdhlebi
Jinmenju
Canopy Creeper
Kapre
Elder Nirento
Giant Flytrap
Treant
Hangman Tree
Moonflower
Quickwood
Tendriculos

I don't think there's anything there that allows you to make full use of the above abilities, however. Is there anything from more recent Bestiaries that can unlock the true potential of the spell?

[Avoron]

No appreciation for Weedwhips? They're one of my favorite wild shape forms.

Matthew Downie wrote:

I don't think there's anything there that allows you to make full use of the above abilities, however. Is there anything from more recent Bestiaries that can unlock the true potential of the spell?

For Plant Shape III? Not much.

Corpse Lotus gives you darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, DR 10/slashing, resist acid 20, resist electricity 20, four natural attacks with grab, and a spectacular 25 ft reach. Unfortunately, your speed decreases to 5 feet.

If you want constrict, Elder Nirento gives you low-light vision, DR 5/slashing, resist sonic 20 (really? sonic?), and four natural attacks with grab and constrict.

If you want regeneration, Tendriculos gives you low-light vision, resist acid 20, regeneration 5 (bludgeoning or fire), and three natural attacks with grab.

If you want good DR, Mythic Treant gives you low-light vision, DR 10/epic and slashing, vulnerability to fire, and two strong slam attacks. Not entirely sure that it's a legal option.