Want to read a Feral’s point of view on the matter? Currant of Scarlet Crusade, guildmate, friend, and author of Druid Tank talks about his issues with static forms.
Although many Druids opt to swap to a healing build at or just before level 70, many of us level up by speccing and gearing Feral (not me; I was silly and levelled Restoration). We get our first Feral form, Bear Form at level 10 and then pick up Cat Form at level 20. While both the Tauren and Druid Bear Forms are mouthbreathers with sizely posteriors, at least Night Elves are fortunate enough to have an attractive cat form (sorry Taurens). This is all quite exciting for those Druids who like to beat things to death on their way to level 70 (you know who you are). And at level 40, Druids get access to an improved version of Bear Form called Dire Bear Form which, while stronger and more heavily armored, looks disappointingly the same as its predecessor.
And these are the forms that we Druids keep all the way to level 70. And then keep for our entire tenure at level 70. And will probably keep while we level up to 80. While other players are changing appearance as they level or becoming more and more daunting aesthetically as they progress from Tier 4 to Tier 5 and beyond, a Feral Druid looks forever like the form she assumed at level 10 (or 20 for those who prefer kitty). And while there has been some some quiet grumbling about this for a while, it’s only recently become a large source of complaint, prompting a 50+ page, tongue-in-cheek thread in the official forums in which the same picture is linked over and over and described in terms of the “great gear” the player is ostensibly wearing.
Why is this a big deal?
Many players have a hard time wrapping their head around why this issue matters so much to Druids. If you don’t play a Druid (or if you play a Druid that doesn’t often use her forms), imagine how you would feel if every new item you picked up looked the same as the items you were given at level 10 or 20. Your avatar would be static with no visual clues of your in-game accomplishments, to you or anyone else. This, of course, includes your weapons and enchants which remain invisible for a Feral when in forms (which, while raiding, is 95% of the time). I think that most players — even the hardcore number crunchers — would agree that this would detract substantially from their enjoyment from the game.
And it isn’t just Ferals…
While this issue affects Feral Druids the most (since both Moonkin Form and Tree of Life aren’t acquired until level 40+), it affects all Druids who play in forms at one point or another. A Laser Chicken comes in two varieties: purple or brown and at least can show off her weapon of choice. But one Tree of Life is identical to all others, regardless of her faction (Horde vs. Alliance). This in and of itself is kind of insulting as all of our combat-oriented — and Flight — forms differentiate based upon faction. To have all Trees look the same seems to imply that healers are excluded from participating in cross-faction rivalry (of course, with its movement impairment, PvPing in Tree Form could be considered suicide).
What could be done?
So what’s the solution? After all, we don’t really want our animal forms to walk around wearing (visible) armor, do we? Well no, it’s been rare that I’ve seen that idea suggested. But there have been other suggestions that could satisfy many Druids were they implemented:
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Reskin the Existing Forms
Creating new skins for the existing meshes used for Druid forms would be a very simple method of allowing for additional customization. In fact, the Night Elf Cat Form already has two additional skins in the game since it’s a model that’s used elsewhere:
Making these skins available for selection — and creating additional ones — would let each Druid have at least some control over her appearance. At the very least, Night Elves in Tree of Life should be changed to use the Ashenvale Ent model (the one that’s purple rather than the autumnal colors more commonly associated with Taurens).
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Implement Scaling Aesthetics
Determine one or more “core” stats that would be logically associated with the strength of a particular form. Use the already determined Blizzard Item Values to create an index of how a given player’s gear compares to that of other players and adjust the appearance of the player’s forms on a incremental scale. For example, assuming that Spirit and +Healing were considered to be the “primary” aesthetic stats for a Tree of Life, a player with 450 Spirit (450 IV) and 1500 +Healing (0.455 * 1500 = 682.5) would end up with an Aesthetic Index of 832.5. A better-equipped player with 600 Spirit and 1800 +Healing would have an Aesthetic Index of 1419. The latter Druid’s form could then be adjusted to reflect her better gear. Some ideas for adjustments by form might be:- Tree of Life: Wisps that flit among one’s boughs, in various color, quantity, and glow strength; glow level of the Tree’s eyes; height; fullness of foilage; color of foliage or bark (to actually look alive).
- Cat Form: Length of claws, more rugged looking fur, a more wicked looking tail, eye glow.
- Bear Form: Size, length of fangs, more rugged looking fur, tribal markings or items sewn into the fur coat, eye glow.
- Moonkin Form: Additional feathers and beads, eye glow intensity (possibly in different colors), smoothness of coat, original or spicy.
- Model Selection
Ferals have frequently clamored for the ability to select from a variety of animal forms to fulfill their tanking and DPS roles. For example, instead of Bear Form a Druid might choose to shapeshift into a Gorilla. Instead of Cat Form, a Druid might shift into a Wolverine (snikty snikt). If I had to choose between the two implementations, I’d definitely opt for #2 over this one.
There are more important things for developers to be working on.
 |
| Sunwell Development: Do we really need more of this? |
The changes described above are in essence model changes, possibly model creation. Blizzard is currently hard at work on creating a new 25-man dungeon called the Sunwell. This dungeon will undoubtedly contain several new models, models which will more than likely only be seen by 1% of the playerbase. On the other hand, Druids comprise an estimated 4-6% of the playerbase. And these are OUR models, not models of NPCs that we will encounter. And any development effort in this vain would be appreciated long after we’ve all moved past the Sunwell (due to the release of WotLK, not because many of us will ever see the Sunwell). I’m not sure why the creation of a high-end dungeon would ever take priority over aesthetic improvements that are long overdue for one of the game’s classes.
More models, meshes, and model adjustments would take up more memory.
There are already a ton of available models for Hunter pets. And every model can be tamed in a variety of different skins, allowing a Hunter to further customize herself through her pet selection. Many Hunters pride themselves on a collection of rare and special-looking pets kept safely stabled. The fact that all of these models and meshes are tameable means that they are available to load into memory. Shouldn’t a character class be afforded the same “luxury”? As for the various glow effects, a Druid in a Feral form isn’t currently displaying enchantment glows. Allowing their eyes to glow would take up no more memory or video processing power than a weapon enchant.
If it’s so important, why haven’t Druids complained sooner?
Partly because, while you’re levelling up you’re still gaining in power from new talents and new skills (as well as gaining access to Travel and Aquatic forms). But when you reach the maximum level cap — be it 60, 70, or 80 — your entire progression boils down to gear … and maybe PvP ratings. For a Feral Druid (or one who spends the majority of her time in Moonkin or Tree Form), the impact of these changes is greatly lessened for its invisibility to others.
But it’s important that Druids be easily recognizable so I can blow them up!
… no, it isn’t. And honestly, would it be that hard to learn that an animal hurtling toward you to Mangle your face that doesn’t have the worlds “Soandso’s Pet” under her name is probably a Druid?
Conclusion
The models used for Druid forms are the same as they have been from Day 1. With the exception of our admittedly majestic Flight Form and Epic Flight Form and a couple of minor aesthetic tweaks to the cosmetic travesty that is Tauren Cat Form, zero development effort has been applied toward Druid forms. Even the Tree of Life form that was introduced prior to the release of the Burning Crusade expansion was recycled from an existing (some say “ugly”, I say “cute”) model. After three years, we are long overdue for some aesthetic attention.
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@Graylo: Oh, my mistake!! I’ve adjusted the description to be more clear.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Yay4Phae
More on the point you make about these being OUR models. The player base encounters druids daily, whereas the models used for Illidan will only be seen in screenshots for a vast majority of players. Making a graphical update to druids is not a waste of time if the model code used to display it is accessed millions of times more.
Like spending 200 dollars on sturdy boots you will wear every day, versus 200 dollars spent on a designer suit that only gets worn for weddings. If its a question of more bang for buck, buy the shoes.
I took a stab at describing “graphical motifs” on WoWInsider some time ago. I tried to imagine a way to provide some distinction between resto bears and cats, balance bears and cats, and the forms ferals are confined to. While interesting, I think your suggestion has more merit. I’d love for Nighthaven to have have a groomer for altering our shapeshifted appearances. If hunters get a pet tab to learn/teach new skills, what’s wrong with Loganaar providing us with options like sewing in a weave to my mane?
One thing: your thoughts on Aquatic Form?
December 11th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Is this really an issue? Even for non-Druid folks? I could care less what my toon looks like. He could be a purple arrow (so I know which way he is facing) and I’d be happy. But, then, maybe this is because I play a Druid (all look the same) and a Hunter (I only ever look at the back of my pet’s head, not my toon).
December 11th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I’m going to skip the headdesking repetition and eventual bruising and ask you to read Phaelia’s article in its entirety.
But to summarize: Yes. It is a very important issue.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Oh wow, that forum thread… hahaha ^^
I agree on all counts, the models need some more variety, the Tauren cat model first and foremost.
Why don’t they start with something small, like, let’s say… a guild tabard-coloured scarf around the neck?
December 11th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I’d be pretty happy if I could run around with a cape on, regardless of what form I’m in. Comic gold, imo.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
@Urthona: I read the whole thing. I just don’t see it as an issue. I guess it would allow Druids to show off their gear when “in town” (where I assume most of us use Cat, or Travel, form). But, frankly, I hardly even notice other players toons. They just appear a blobs of graphics moving across the screen. Save for a few odd grossly large weapons (Legacy comes to mind).
And once I’m “in battle” toons become even more opaque.
Maybe this is this a RP thing?!?!?! Though I don’t see that mentioned in the post.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
@ NotAnIssue - I guess you’re fairly alone in that. Obviously for Druids it’s an issue if it can gather 50 pages of posts of Druids rising up to speak out about it, and join in the meme.
Even for non-Druids, visual appearance is an important progression path for characters. People care what their armor looks like, in addition to their stats. And they will complain if their upgrades don’t look good. People want varying armor sets that look different to feel a more immersive sense of change. And people look at what others are wearing to gauge what content they’ve seen, how powerful they are, what character class they are, and more. Even in PvE, appearance is how most people recognize and think of their cohorts. If my raid leader were to tell me to “Go stand by SoandSo” I wouldn’t look for the word “SoanSo” in the sea of floaty blue names, I’d look for the armor that looks like what I know SoandSo wears.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
I think I’d like to see Druids get set changes to different aspects of their animal models based on the gear in different slots. Gloves should affect front claws, weapons affects teeth, head gear changes necklace/mane, chest/cape affects main body texture, legs affects back claws, cape affects tails. ^_^
@NotAnIssue: This isn’t World of Arrowcraft. I didn’t choose to be a yellow arrow and druids aren’t orange arrows. Obviously, Blizzard doesn’t agree with this paradigm either because they’ve spent a lot of time on models to represent the upgrades we receive.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I am tired of being an ugly tree. (Sorry Phae). I mean I think I should be able to change with the seasons, dang it. Like semi leafy green in spring, full foilage in summer, what we have now in fall and be like white with icicles hanging from my branches in winter. THAT would make me very happy.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:41 am
@Kaera: 9M folks play this game. We can generate 50 pages worth of posts on if the mushroom “trees” in Zangarmarsh are biologically viable.
I’m not going to say that making these cosmetic changes would be taken as a negative to the game, but it has been my experience that folks that “care about their toon’s appearance” are in the minority. I have 5 RL friends that play WoW (I don’t play with them), we joke all the time about folks that whine about their toon’s appearance. It has been come sort of a running gag when we meet in that halls at work, etc. “I got these great shoulders last night in Kara, but they don’t match my pants, so I just DE’d them.”
I suspect that for many folks appearance may be an issue, but its not even in the top 5 list of “changes they wish were made to the game”.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:49 am
You continue to make generalizations from an admittedly subjective view, NotAnIssue.
What Phaelia is asking for is visual representation of progression in druid forms, not “matching shoulders”.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
The progression issue for non-Druid is difficult to see as well. Most, if not all, classes have several sets of gear for various purposes (solo questing, 5-instance trash, 5-man boss, RAID trash, RAID boss, PvP BG, PvP arena, some folks even have RP “town” clothes). Such that one-minute “Bob the mage” might be wearing trash gear, the next wearing his BG set, etc. Making it such that you can’t really “see” their progression (or identify the player) unless you get a chance to inspect their gear (or read their name tag). Of course if they are wearing a single piece that is highly recognizable (though many items share similar skins that have vastly different in specs) that might be different.
Yet, if a Druid were to have extra scars in Bear form due to item level, they would most likely be present whether they were wearing their high item level healing set or their high item level bear set. This would make it such that Druids would have the upper-hand in the world of “i can see where you’ve been by the clothes you are wearing”. I don’t see Blizzard doing that, do you?
Sorry to emphasize the “how i look” aspects of the complaint. I didn’t see the “show the world my current progression” as the primary compliant. That said, I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree on the subject. I don’t want to be labeled a troll.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:32 am
@NotAnIssue
I enjoy playing my resto druid almost exclusively in PvE content. I didn’t realize how much visual appearance mattered until just recently. I have had the Forest Wind Shoulderpads for the better part of a year now. Last week I was able to purchase the Boj reward shoulders. Since then I have been absolutely amazed at how much a difference something as small as a graphic change can effect my experience. I am so happy that I am not staring at the same piece of gear I have been looking at for so long. The same is true for my ToL, it has been the same since I turned healer. I think all people are asking for is a little variety to spice up their game experience. Are there more important issues within the game? Yes. Is this going to cost Blizzard customers? Probably not. Would it improve the experience of the customer? Definitely.
December 13th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Regarding the appearance issue I intentionally stay in cat form to keep other (opposing) players from seeing my status/gear level. Kind of like running a sleeper hotrod. They gimped arenas by showing our buffs to the world ( no surprise factor ). I would like to see more appealing gear choices. I loved the flames on my High Warlords shoulders while I had them. Keep them in the bank for nostalgia.
The comment on Tauren Druids cat form being unattractive is what I expect from Alliance (I don’t talk about your big ears). Personally I’m happy to give all you purple kittys nightmares. Great blog Phae even for us feral uglies.
December 13th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I’ve thought for a long time that raid instances should drop appropriately themed armored versions of our forms. So a Karazhan druid would have somewhat ghostly looking forms, while an SSC druid would have ones with a mossier tribal motif, and a TK druid would have a druid decked out in red and gold ceremonial cloths. Essentially take the idea behind the Swift Flight Form bird having leather armor, and apply it to all of our forms. It could work through quests given by the Cenarion druids to retrieve artifacts off the final boss of an instance, and you would be rewarded with the new form choice in your spellbook. In this way a druid could better differentiate himself for his or her level of progression.
December 14th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
@Urthona: You make an excellent point that, while these models belong to Druids, updating them would positively affect other players as well. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to shapeshift into something and /dance (usually Tree, though it would probably be Moonkin if I were Balance-specced). And I love your $200 boots vs. $200 suit analogy. For me, there’s no question I’d choose the boots. My non-WoW screen name IS Loni2Shoes, after all! Aquatic form? Admittedly low on my list of priorities, but they could at least not make its genitalia less distinct. >.<
@NotAnIssue: Well, yes. If it weren’t an issue — at least to me — I wouldn’t have written so much about it. =) It matters to me a great deal and to many other players, too.
@Witch Doctor: I love the idea for a tabard-colored scarf. That doesn’t even sound all that difficult to implement.
@Kaera: I hadn’t realized it before, but you’re right. I also look for raid members based on their appearance. And it’s very confusing when a Feral shapeshifts out!
@Valenna: That is an awesome, awesome idea.
@Auryann: Ugly? UGLY!?! Okay, well sorta ugly, I guess. I hated our Tree Form when it was first released, but it’s sorta cute. I don’t think it particularly looks like a tree of “Life”, however.
@NotAnIssue: If the Aesthetic Index were applied in the way I described - where Bear form only changes based on bear-related stats - there wouldn’t be a problem with a Resto looking like an amazing Bear. She’d look like a n00blet bear and an awesome Tree instead!
@Darkam: Congratulations on your new shoulders. I picked those up myself recently. =)
@Drood: I was really, really disappointed with the change to reveal that there was a Druid (rather than a Rogue) in your Arena party. I still don’t entirely understand why they made such a change. The ability to dispel was already quite powerful as it was. And sorry for the comments about Tauren Cat Form. But leave my beautiful ears out of it!
@Saba: I love your idea. It would mean developing entirely different aesthetics for each (or several) piece of armor (as opposed to just rescaling/retailoring existing meshes to make armor fit on the different races). They might shy away from something so in depth, even if it is awesomeness on a stick.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:42 am
as a pvper in decent/good gear i kind of like people can’t tell much about me from my looks, most people judging me on appearance want to kill me lol, the less info they have the better for me. I wouldn’t mind if they let us differentiate ourselves, but as any priest who had benediction when it served as a flare to say “look i’m a priest and i’m HEALING” can attest, sometimes it’s good to blend in. This is more in the way of looking on the bright side though, i’d like druids to have more art too.
December 19th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
@Blake: That is a VERY good point! I’ve heard that it’s common for Warlocks to purchase a standard mount for use in Battlegrounds to avoid being immediately targetted due to their Dreadsteeds.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
I agree. I have been pretty much the only Druid in our current group until recently (when others saw the utility). When going into a raid/dungeon, I key off people’s visual appearance. If I see a character in trouble, then I can call out by name who it is, but if you see two cats you have no visual identifier, you need to actually look at the name.
Great blog.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:06 am
NotAnIssue, for one, your argument is cut down at the knees by the very fact that blizzard and other game companies, and marketing, every company in the world, spends so much money on artwork and design. If it’s not important they wouldn’t do it. If it didn’t translate to sales they wouldn’t spend that money.
People are different and enjoy the game in different ways. Most people play to have fun, and part of that fun is the appearance of their character. Why do you think Blizz spends so much time designing the look of armor sets? Why do you think they’re adding barbershops and hairstyle changing to the game, and so many people are so excited about it? Or why do people go out and tame unique pets that have the same stats as other pets? Or have gear in their bank they think just looks cool, but isn’t useful for stats? Or do anything that isn’t about advancing their character? Because different people have fun in different ways.
Druids are the only class in the game that cannot change their appearance. And since appearance is important to many people, that alone makes it valid. No one has the right to say it’s not valid or not an issue, any more than I have a right to say they way you enjoy the game is not an issue. Hey if you don’t like this part of the game, good for you, go do what you like. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an important part of the game for many others.
As a counter argument, for instance, raiders deserve well designed dungeons, even though most people don’t raid. If Blizz makes raids they better make good ones. Now we can argue about how many resources they should spend, but no one can say raider’s complaints about raid attunement, difficulty, rewards, etc, are not valid. They deserve quality for their money like everyone else.
And tauren cat form IS ugly! And male as well, even if your tauren is female.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Yay4Phae - I also levelled as resto (and I mean deep resto 0/0/61) ever since lvl 10! :p never actually respecced. Sure it was slow but I had fun :p
March 30th, 2008 at 3:09 am
@notanissue:
Sorry champ, your entire argument is brought down by one fact: Dressing Room. If Blizzard didn’t care, and didn’t want players to care about the way their characters look, why did they implement the Dressing Room?
And if you pay any attention to the official WoW forums at all, you would know that more people than Druids care about the way we look. One example from long ago that pops to mind is the Paladin Lightforge set. The helm for that set looked so ridiculous (Paladins complaining that they looked like Ronald McDonald) that Blizzard eventually changed the helm graphic.
I don’t think it’s too much to ask for Blizzard to spice up our forms a little. I for one am sick of staring at my character and wondering why the Tree of LIFE looks like a sick, dying tree with few leaves, those remaining turning brown, and dry, cracked bark. I want a TREE. Something impressive…something big enough that the movement penalty finally makes sense. I want GREEN LEAVES…lots of them.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
@Leeae: I think the color of our foliage in Tree of Life form was perhaps my greatest disappointment when it was first revealed. If you browse through the model viewer, it’s apparent there are skins for the model used by ToL that have green leaves and more vibrant bark. It almost seems intentionally ironic that Blizzard would have chosen such a dead-looking tree for the form (though not the deadest - there are much worse).
April 28th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Great article, and I agree entirely. Maybe it’s because I’m female, but character customisation is VERY important. I play a tauren feral, so you can imagine how much of a thorn in my side the character model is! There are several ideas I love from this post and its comments:
A druid “groomer” or (more RP) “Master Shapeshifter” which would allow basic visual changes to the default model:
- coat colour customisation
- ability to purchase coat markings/pretties
As well as scaled aethetic visuals, which take into account the level of your items and add items/glows/extentions to your model.
The current state of druid visuals is appalling, and the need for change will hopefully be addressed in WoLK. I read rumours that the devs were considering upgrading the level of customisation for druids however we still need to make our voices heard
April 28th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
@Another Druid: I love the idea of a Druid groomer. If they’re going to add barber shops and dance studios in WotLK, I hope we get something like this, perhaps in Moonglade. Especially if it doubles as a hair shop. “Oh, you want me to do Dailies with you? Let me just pop on to Moonglade and get my hair put up!” ^_^
July 24th, 2008 at 8:05 am
[...] wrote about it before, and so did Phaelia, and it looks the changes to our skins might see daylight in Wrath - but then again, perhaps not. [...]