One of our party members is a Wild Order Druid. Are his attack rolls on par with the Barbarian or is he further behind? I am playing a Bard and trying to figure out which one to buff, my initial thought is Barbarian, but im not totally sure. The Barbarian is a straight Barbarian, the Druid has Fighter dedication AOO. The Barbarian also has AOO but he's of the dragon order so doesn't have the long reach like the Wild Order Druid has.
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Can't you just ask what their to-hit modifiers are?
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The question you should answer is
"Is there a barbarian among my allies?"
If so, buff the barbarian.
About the reach, remember that a barbarian, as any other character, can benefit from a shifting rune.
1) greatpick for a single target damage
2) greataxe for swipe attack ( 2 adiacent targets)
3) polearm if enemies are out of range, or he is planning a whirlwind strike on his next turn ( or to have a nice trade between greatpick and greataxe )
4) release hand + athletic maneuver + grip if needed ( or if the weapon doesn't have the trait ).
More or less that's it.
Ps: remember that a lvl 12 barbarian flies. Best mobility ever.
Pps: I would also consider to end the fight asap with 3x inspire heroics + inspire courage.
These is a discussion started here
HIt Crit chance graph
There is a sweet spot but if they are similar in to hit, then buff the bigger hitter tends to be a safe bet
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I did the math a while ago comparing wild order druid, barbarian, and rogue. Assuming all max out their relevant combat stats, the barbarian and rogue's to hit are always equal. The Druid bounces between one behind, one above, or equal, when wild shaped. The fighter dedication does not allow faster expert unarmed which is all that would change the math, so I think the results hold.
Basically, the druid usually lags the martials by one tier of proficiency (but that penalty is erased by the +2 bonus when using own to hit while wildshaped). The druid is also usually 2 points behind on their combat stat, for a net -1. At levels where the druid gets the proficiency bump, they pull ahead, briefly, until the martials get their bump. The martials hit the 19 in stat first, so the druid can close the ability gap for those five levels, allowing them to match the martials exactly for a bit.
Damage wise, the barbarian's expected damage always beats the wild-shaped druid. So generally speaking I'd buff the barbarian. However there might be cases where it _feels_ like you should buff the druid -- buffing the barb is probably still the right move from an expected damage aspect, but from a 'more people have the chance of contribuing' there's some table-camaraderie aspects.
Remember that barbarian hit chance will be greater since lvl 16 with reckless abandon ( even if you Plan not to use it all the time ), so the last 1/3 of the game a barbarian will have better chance to hit.
A barbarian can also rely on reach with Giant stature or animal reach ( saving actions because he won’t need to move, and can trigger aoo if target moves )
Can use dragon breath if dragon instinc
Barbarian is way above a rogue.
All day long.
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I had missed reckless abandon, so that's fair above level 16 -- the barbarian reaches fighter tier there.
The I think the point stands -- a wild-order druid, who has maxed (16 Str for them at start and boosts every time) stays within 1 point of non-fighter martials throughout their career. The wild order druid is always behind on damage, and falls rather far behind if they don't spend most of their feats on keepnig forms up to date. The barbarian can pull ahead at 16 for their to-hit.
NielsenE wrote: I had missed reckless abandon, so that's fair above level 16 -- the barbarian reaches fighter tier there.
The I think the point stands -- a wild-order druid, who has maxed (16 Str for them at start and boosts every time) stays within 1 point of non-fighter martials throughout their career. The wild order druid is always behind on damage, and falls rather far behind if they don't spend most of their feats on keepnig forms up to date. The barbarian can pull ahead at 16 for their to-hit.
Yeah, but it is intended ( because of heroism, druid could increase his performance, even if it would be wiser to use it on a martial combatant ).
A shapeshifter druid can cast spell like any other primal spellcaster, and can turn the tides with healings or other stuff, while a barbarian could only rely on his damage.
Same goes for a rogue, master of skills. While still good enough to compete in fights, he won’t be the top dps because of his jack of the trade class.
Both solutions have pro and Cons.
And obviously, as any other version, the more hybrid classes, the safer ( but you can switch more to the offense if you want ).
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