EverQuest/Character classes/Druid

External Class specific links

 * http://www.everquestdruids.com/ - not updated for a while, Forum is not that busy anymore either.
 * http://eq.crgaming.com/menu/druid.asp - from Skill caps to basic infos, Casters Realm is still running and being updated once in a while.

Overview
The Druid is a class that is built to do everything, but not as well as specialized classes. This makes them a very versatile class. They can "Nuke" (cause direct damage from a distance using a spell) nearly as well as a Wizard or a Magician. They can "Buff" (cause beneficial spells to an ally from a distance, possibly increasing their stats) nearly as well as the Shaman. They can "Solo" (kill monsters to gain items, experience, or AA experience while not in a group) nearly as well as the Necro. There are those who would say that the Druid is the best class in the game.

Creating a Druid
When building a Druid, you can choose one of four races. Wood Elfes, Half Elfes, Humans, or Halflings.

The race doesn't really matter in the end because stats differ very slightly between the races, so just choose what you like best for your druid. Assuming you are playing with the expansion pack "Planes of Power," it will not matter what race you choose based on where you start out, because you can easily access the Plane of Knowledge from nearly any location on Norrath (or on Luclin.)

As for distributing your skill points, up to you really. Some suggest Wisdom, some Stamina (as Wisdom is easier to raise with Items than Stamina). Wisdom directly influences how much Mana (magic power, used to cast spells) you have, and Stamina directly influences your HP (Health Points; when monsters attack you, you lose hit points. If you lose them all, you are knocked unconcious. If you reach -7 HP, you die) which is important for a Druid, because a Druid has very low melee skills and will not survive long in melee combat if he does not have some extra HP.

Starting a Druid
(when doing the EQ tutorial, some of the infos below will not be relevant to you)

Halfling
If you start out as a Halfling, you will begin next to your Druid Trainer in Rivervale. Right (Control) Click on your Trainer and train in whatever you want; they do not matter at such a low level. Open your inventory (one of the buttons at the top, or press "i".) Give your trainer the Note you have. Take the item and equip it (put it in the open area in your inventory and it will "autoequip" to where it is supposed to go on your body.) Open your spellbook by clicking on the small book at the bottom of your Spells window, and put the spells that are in your inventory into it. It may take a while. When that is done, click on the icon in your spell book for Minor Healing and then place it on one of the blank spaces in your Spells window. You will "memorize" the spell, and be able to cast it at any time by holding ALT and pressing 1-8 for the spell at the top to the spell at the bottom, respectively. After memorizing Minor Healing, memorize Blast of Flame.

Then, exit the building and turn to your left. There will be a small opening in the clearing you are in. Go through it and turn left. Go straight and go to the clearing where there will be a large building (called Fool's Gold) to your right. Go through the opening to the left. After a bit, you will "zone" to a place called The Misty Thicket. There are low level monsters in the Misty Thicket here for you to kill. Don't lose sight of the cave that you came from; you will need to run to here if you are in trouble. When you find a nice juicy Rat, walk up to hit, click on it, and hit your attack button. By default, it is "A". Make sure you have your club equipped, by the way. Kill it, and then a couple more. By killing a monster, you gain experience. Don't forget about the spells you memorized. If you're low on health after just killing a monster, you can heal faster if you select yourself (F1) and click on the "Minor Heal" spell from back when you memorized it. Also, if you want to do some quick damage to a monster, then before you attack it, use your Blast of Flame spell. The monster will take damage, and run to you, where you can combat it as normal. If you think you might lose a fight, run back to the cave you came out of and your fellow Halflings will kill the monster(s) you were fighting. After you get to level two, head along the path going away from the cave until you find a book. At this point, all the guides are the same, so skip ahead to "Playing the Druid through the lower levels."

Wood Elf
If you start out as a Halfling, you will begin next to your Druid Trainer in Kelethin. Right (Control) Click on your Trainer and train in whatever you want; they do not matter at such a low level. Open your inventory (one of the buttons at the top, or press "i".) Give your trainer the Note you have. Take the item and equip it (put it in the open area in your inventory and it will "autoequip" to where it is supposed to go on your body.) Open your spellbook by clicking on the small book at the bottom of your Spells window, and put the spells that are in your inventory into it. It may take a while. When that is done, click on the icon in your spell book for Minor Healing and then place it on one of the blank spaces in your Spells window. You will "memorize" the spell, and be able to cast it at any time by holding ALT and pressing 1-8 for the spell at the top to the spell at the bottom, respectively. After memorizing Minor Healing, memorize Blast of Flame.

Exit the building and head across the bridge that is ahead and to your left. Then head accross the bridge that is ahead and to your right. Take a sharp right and go across the bridge. Go straight until you hit a hut. If you look to your left you will see a small table with a little black switch sticking out of it. Click on the switch and wait. An elevator will come up shortly. Get on the elevator and press the switch again. You will go down out of the city of Kelethin into the "Faydark." Jump off the elevator when you get the whole way down. Notice that there are guards here; they will kill any monsters that are near them. If you are in trouble, run to these guys and they will help you. Do not lose sight of this entrypoint, incase you need to run to them. Go search for a nice, juicy Decaying Skeleton. Go up to it and click on it, then press your "Attack" button. By default it is set to "A", but you can change it in the options. When you kill it, you gain experience. Continue killing Decaying Skeletons for a while; they're fairly easy. Remember, don't lose sight of the ramp. Don't forget about the spells you memorized, either. If you're low on health after just killing a monster, you can heal faster if you select yourself (F1) and click on the "Minor Heal" spell from back when you memorized it. Also, if you want to do some quick damage to a skeleton, then before you attack it, use your Blast of Flame spell. The monster will take damage, and run to you, where you can combat it as normal. After you reach level 2, go back to the entry point. Follow the path you see until you find a book that is open on a table to your left. Click on it. At this point, all the guides are the same, so skip ahead to "Playing the Druid through the lower levels."

Half Elf
For simplicity, have your Half Elf start out in Kelethin (Greater Faydark.) You can follow the exact same guide as the Wood Elf. Thanks :).

Human
If you start out as a Human, you have a choice as where to appear. Choose the "Surefall Glade," after choosing Tunare as your Diety. You will begin next to a trainer in a hollowed out tree. Right (Control) Click on your Trainer and train in whatever you want; they do not matter at such a low level. Open your inventory (one of the buttons at the top, or press "i".) Give your trainer the Note you have. Take the item and equip it (put it in the open area in your inventory and it will "autoequip" to where it is supposed to go on your body.) Open your spellbook by clicking on the small book at the bottom of your Spells window, and put the spells that are in your inventory into it. It may take a while. When that is done, click on the icon in your spell book for Minor Healing and then place it on one of the blank spaces in your Spells window. You will "memorize" the spell, and be able to cast it at any time by holding ALT and pressing 1-8 for the spell at the top to the spell at the bottom, respectively. After memorizing Minor Healing, memorize Blast of Flame.

Head outside the hollowed out tree. Go forward until you hit the wall, turn right and hug the wall until you reach a cave. Go inside the cave, and follow it through to the end. You will not be able to see anything; just keep walking forward. Soon, the windows on the edge of the screen will disappear and you will "zone" to the Qeynos Hills. Head forward until you break out into light. You can see some people here; they're sitting next to a fire. Follow the path. After a bit, you will run into a fork; go straight. In a bit, you will "zone" again, to North Qeynos. Head forward until you find the gates; you will see some guards here. They will be friendly enough. Here is where you will kill some monsters. Kill everything you see. Do this by going up to a monster, clicking on it, and pressing your attack button. It is set to "A" by default. You will start swinging your club at it, and eventually kill it. If it is getting the better of you, flee to the gates! The guards there will kill the monster for you, thus saving your life. When you hit level to, go to the Qeynos gates, facing away from the city. Turn 90 degrees to the left, and go straight until you can go left. Go to your left, and click on the book. At this point, all the guides are the same, so skip ahead to "Playing the Druid through the lower levels."

Congrats
Congragulations! You have arrived in the Plane of Knowledge, the main city of EverQuest!

Playing the Druid through the lower levels
You should be level two, and you should arrive in the Plane of Knowledge. Find your way to the Main Bank. There will be a Vah Shir (Catperson) guard on the right side of the bank door, and a Human on the left. This is one of the main meeting places for PC's. For instance, when you ask for a buff from someone, they will often say "Meet me at MB" or just simply "MB", which refers to the Main Bank. If you go inside, you can Right Click on one of the bankers inside, and put your items in the bank. Put everything that is in your inventory in the bank, along with all the money you have.

Grouping your way to level 10
Grouping is when you get together with one or more people to kill monsters together. You get the same ammount of experience, rather than dividing it up, and with larger groups you even get an exp bonus.

If you want to try grouping, type something like this.

/ooc Level 2 Druid looking for group

The /ooc command sends a message throughout the zone you are in. You are informing the entire zone (The Plane of Knowledge) that you are a level 2 druid, and that you are looking for someone to group with.

If someone wants to group with you, then they will send you a tell. It will appear in your chat box as "Soandso tells you 'Soandso'". This is basically a private message, and no one else can see what you say in a tell. Let's say that "GofG" and "Blayze", a level 3 Warrior and a level 2 Cleric, respectively, want you in their group. It might appear like this.

GofG tells you, 'Hey Soandso! Me and Blayze would love to have you in our group. Meet us at the Cabilis stone.'

They are inviting you to a group, and tell you to meet at the Cabilis stone. In the Plane of Knowledge (which serves as a hub to many places (zones) in EQ, there are many stones that, when clicked on, warp you to other places. The "Cabilis" stone takes you to a zone outside the city of Cabalis, called Field of Bone (FoB). Generally, Cabilis is an evil city, with evil snakelike creatures called Iksar. They will kill you on sight, but you don't have to go to the city.

(Work in progress)