Are shapeshifting druids really that rarely played?

I just found what I thought was a pretty nice Helm for a shapeshifter. Cerebus' Bite, with pretty decent rolls apparently. But looking at the item page it hardly ever gets traded on here. I almost want to make a Druid. It's probably the class I'm least familiar with. These seem like nice stats to me.

Jalal's Mane is typically a better option than Cerebus' Bite due to the +30 all resistances, +20 strength. Even after everything is said and done, both are great options with Cerebus' Bite having more % bonus attack rating which is a issue with shapeshifter druid and the Life leech is always nice to have

Due to decent % add to AR, and open wounds - high-rolled Cerberus can be decent alternative to Jalal pelt, assumin you're okay already with stats and resists w/o headgear. But in most cases, ppl prefer Jalal tho.

Schnorki wrote: 4 years ago

While I agree with the above, what's missing is the actual answer to your question:
Yes, they really are that rare. In fact, thinking about it now, I'm fairly certain I have yet to see a single shapeshifter in D2:R ever (not counting myself while experimenting on PTR). No wolves whatsoever and the only bears I've seen turned out to not be druids.

I saw a wolf in a public Baal run once. The reason I noticed is because the Ground under my character was glowing red and I asked in chat who was supplying what aura.

So yes, rare indeed.

Druid is the least played class.
Barb for Gold find, Frenzy can do Uber.
Trap Sin is good for farming DKey, KickSin can do Uber too.

Druid is too weak. Wind druid can MF but many class can do it better.
Fury druid can also do Uber but he is so weak compare to Frenzy Barb and KickSin.

I'd argue that both Assassin and Zon are stronger than necro even that necro is more played. Shifter druids aren't really "weaker" than barbs, they just tend to be more annoying to play. Enigma issues, physical immune skipping, no hork like barb, ect.

They really don't struggle any more than a barb vs ubers though. They are just a bit slower.

That said have you tried Reapers Troll on a shifter? It's mental stong.

Thanks everyone. I love that I can ask questions like this and get interesting answers here. I'm going to start a shapeshifting Druid this weekend and try this thing out. I'm okay with the idea that he won't be able to easily solo Act5 Hell.

I'm starting to get bored of magic finding with my sorceress and I need something more interesting to play.

I think The concept of Fury druids are really cool. I have a geared Fury druid and they are really strong. I kill most mobs with 1-2 shots on p1. However, I find the play to be pretty boring. And as others have mentioned, other classes and builds can do what the Fury druid does but better. My lightning sorc with Infinity can farm pretty much any area in the game at a high pace. My hammerdin has around 400 mf with Enigma and does around 10k per hammer. My barb has great Gold find and the ability to hork. Additionally, it is easier to Sacrifice damage gear for mf gear on a barb with the pitzerker build. It is possible to add some mf on a Fury druid through the use of charms, gems and Ist runes but sacrificing to much damage gear really hurts his clear speed. At the end of the day, the inability to use Teleport from Enigma is what kills the Fury druid. Javazons are op and the recent buff to bowazons makes them really fun to play right now also.