WTF people? If you guys wanted a Moon Druid that could tank, give them back the damage soak ability from 5e. Soaking damage is just as viable a mechanism for tanking as AC - just ask the Barbarians out there.
The consensus was that Moon Druids should NOT be able to tank. Barbarians and Paladins should be the best tanks in the party. Druids and Moon Druid should not be as tanky as them they are full casters so should play as squishy full casters not as melee tanks. In which case low AC and low tmp HP are intentional. Giving the WSed moon druid a higher AC than the unarmoured Barbarian is bad, giving the WSing moon druid more hp/thp than the Paladin gets Lay on Hands is bad!
The current incarnation of Moon Druid is still mainly a damage-absorber but they have to use spell slots to continuously cast Healing Word on themselves in order to achieve that. Giving them an AC that rivals a Fighter wearing magical armour is not necessary nor desirable, as having a high AC would discourage enemies from attacking the WSed Moon Druid which makes them less effective as a tank, and since their DPR is still going to mostly suck that's leaving them without much of a role in combat.
The consensus was that Moon Druids should NOT be able to tank. Barbarians and Paladins should be the best tanks in the party. Druids and Moon Druid should not be as tanky as them they are full casters so should play as squishy full casters not as melee tanks. In which case low AC and low tmp HP are intentional. Giving the WSed moon druid a higher AC than the unarmoured Barbarian is bad, giving the WSing moon druid more hp/thp than the Paladin gets Lay on Hands is bad!
The current incarnation of Moon Druid is still mainly a damage-absorber but they have to use spell slots to continuously cast Healing Word on themselves in order to achieve that. Giving them an AC that rivals a Fighter wearing magical armour is not necessary nor desirable, as having a high AC would discourage enemies from attacking the WSed Moon Druid which makes them less effective as a tank, and since their DPR is still going to mostly suck that's leaving them without much of a role in combat.
Sorry who's consensus was this? because i'm not buying it
Moon Druid in 2014 was/is a damage soak. playtest 6 has put out a different option which i disagree with. I don’t agree with druid being able to cast spells while in wild shape (until very high level) and so I dismiss the healing word options. I don’t like the AC in playtest 6 and I’m putting it out there for discussion.
Actually reading through the UA PHB 6 again, there is an ultra simple solution to Wildshape:
1) Keep the general druids Wildshape exactly as it is in 5e.
2) Change the Moon Druid Wildshape to allow them to use the Beast Master Ranger's Primal Companion stat block, and simply giving them 2 attacks per action + force-damage attacks at level 6. And let them keep their full spellcasting while in Wildshape. Since WotC considers these statblocks balanced for the Ranger's Bonus Action they must also be balanced for the Druid's main action.
Or we could not retread the same minefield that already blew up once. It looks pretty clear that they got enough negative feedback on templates for Druids to drop the concept. Really, if you want to tune up a few base stats on the Moon Druid, I’d look at the original Beastmaster; check how adding PB to some of the core beast stats plays. Maybe half rounded down if straight PB is too much.
The concept of templates was not the problem. The problem was: 1) giving all druids combat-focused templates, when most druids use WS purely for exploration / utility not combat. 2) having the combat-focused templates be totally insufficient to actually perform in combat for the one subclass that does use WS in combat.
Moon Druids absolutely should be able to tank, at least to some extent. A lot of their forms are Large or bigger, which means they can get surrounded and take way more punishment for it than other melee classes. Given a huge part of the fantasy of Moon Druid is turning into large animals damage soak just comes naturally to the player's expectations. When I turn into an allosaurus I am absolutely not expecting my character to be a glass cannon. I am expecting to be able to wade into combat as a big threat and draw attention to myself by virtue of being a big ol' dinosaur.
That said, I do agree that 5e's damage soak was a better way of doing this than just giving druids good AC. It needed to be smoothened in scaling and to be nerfed at level 20, and they already solved the last problem by just getting rid of infinite wildshape. Unfortunately, Wizards seems absolutely Hellbent on making it so druids don't have that much HP anymore. Everything that has been said in their interview videos suggests they aren't going to budge on this. So if druids can't HP tank anymore the other option is AC.
I also feel we should just let templates die, at least for core and Moon Wildshape. We're only going to get so much playtest time, and if they spend it swinging back and forth between Beast Stats and Templates we'll likely not have time to just refine one mechanic to a functional level before UA ends.
I think the temp hp buffer is good enough to prevent them from instantly being knocked after assuming a wildshape. 15 hp at lvl 5 is equivalent to an aid spell all stacked onto yourself. That seems pretty ok to me, but felt the full hp shield to be too strong. If anyone got to max level they had near infinite hp. Did that happen often, no not really.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
A two weapon fighting fighter, ignoring secondary features such as action surge, and assuming magic = +1 per tier, has
Level 1: attack +5, damage per round 2d6+6 (13). A moon druid using a brown bear (which is kinda iffy being CR 1) is at +6/19.5.
Level 6: attack +8, damage per round 3d6+15 (25). A moon druid using a polar bear (similar issues) is at +7/21.5
Level 12: attack +11, damage per round 4d6+28 (42). A moon druid using a stegosaurus is at +7/26, with an additional 4.5 for primal strike (9 at level 15)
Level 20: attack +14, damage per round 5d6+40 (57). A moon druid using a mammoth, assuming a 1/3 chance to trample, is at +10/35, with an additional +9 for primal strike.
So, we're still at the same problem we had before: too strong at low levels, doesn't scale well enough. There's also the issue that a full caster shouldn't manage fighter-level damage output without a meaningful investment. So, to make this all work out:
Circle Forms (Level 3)
Now costs a spell slot. No other changes (at this level)
Combat Wild Shape (Level 3)
Armor Class: add your proficiency bonus to the beast's AC.
Temporary Hit Points: now equal to 5x the level of the spell slot used. You may refresh them with a spell slot and a BA, no need to use wild shape again.
Spells: I would change 'abjuration spells' to a choice of abjuration and transmutation, but that's not a balance issue.
Improved Circle Forms (level 6)
Max CR is now the level of the spell slot expended.
If the CR of the new form is lower than the level of the slot, gain one of the following benefits per 2 levels difference:
You turn into a beast of unusual size. Increase Size by one step, and gain advantage on Strength checks and saves. The first time you hit with an attack on a turn, do an additional 2d8 damage of the attack's type.
You may cast druid cantrips as a bonus action, ignoring material components. Cantrips are cast at level 6, rather than your level.
Worn equipment (but not shields or wielded weapons) changes shape to match your new form, allowing using their benefits normally.
You turn into an elemental beast. You gain resistance to one of Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder damage, and the first time you hit with an attack on a turn, do an additional 2d6 damage of the same type.
Once per turn when you take bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, reduce the damage by 5, unless the source of the damage was a silver weapon.
Moonlit Form (level 6)
While in wild shape, you may choose to have your attacks do radiant damage instead of their normal damage type.
While in wild shape, you may use your spell attack modifier in place of the beast's spell attack modifier, and your spell save DC in place of the beast's save DC. If a magic item was modifying either value and is merged with your wild shape, that modification remains effective in wild shape.
While in wild shape, you may choose to glow with moonlight, shedding dim light in a 30' radius.
You can see by moonlight as if it were sunlight.
Moonlight Step (level 10) and Lunar Form (level 14)
Here is only part of the new suggested druid that makes no sense:
Objects. Your ability to handle objects is determined by the form’s limbs, rather than your own. In addition, you choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s size and shape. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.
If the worn equipment can function as normal but does not change size or shape, then it can't function as normal. For example, a halfling druid wearing +1 armor that wild shapes into a dire wolf, according to these rules, is no longer able to use the armor. This means the druid will have to absorb the gear into the new form, rendering it useless, which is exactly what we already have in the 2014 phb.
Maybe WS into an ape would be close enough? But I think they should have just left it as merging with the new form. At least for armor. But there are things like a magical amulet or something that would work on various forms
To be honest, I think it is kind of weird that Wildshape doesn't benefit from most magic items. No other class has a feature that prevents them from benefiting from dungeon loot, and that is a big part of what makes Wildshape fall off at later levels. Everyone else is getting cool magic gear that gives them +1s and unique abilities while the druid sacrifices all that to turn into a completely normal elephant.
The gear merges into your new form. Why not have MAGIC gear you're attuned to fuse with your form, giving your form the abilities of those magic items?
Here is only part of the new suggested druid that makes no sense:
Objects. Your ability to handle objects is determined by the form’s limbs, rather than your own. In addition, you choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s size and shape. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.
If the worn equipment can function as normal but does not change size or shape, then it can't function as normal. For example, a halfling druid wearing +1 armor that wild shapes into a dire wolf, according to these rules, is no longer able to use the armor. This means the druid will have to absorb the gear into the new form, rendering it useless, which is exactly what we already have in the 2014 phb.
Armour and weapons definitely wouldn't work in WS, but e.g. a giant eagle could hold and thus use a magical staff no problem (except that WS explicitly forbids casting spells at all even from magic items), but something like Bottled Breath, a satchel of potions, gems, orbs, and even a rod could be held in the mouth of a beast and used.
A two weapon fighting fighter, ignoring secondary features such as action surge, and assuming magic = +1 per tier, has
Level 1: attack +5, damage per round 2d6+6 (13). A moon druid using a brown bear (which is kinda iffy being CR 1) is at +6/19.5.
Level 6: attack +8, damage per round 3d6+15 (25). A moon druid using a polar bear (similar issues) is at +7/21.5
Level 12: attack +11, damage per round 4d6+28 (42). A moon druid using a stegosaurus is at +7/26, with an additional 4.5 for primal strike (9 at level 15)
Level 20: attack +14, damage per round 5d6+40 (57). A moon druid using a mammoth, assuming a 1/3 chance to trample, is at +10/35, with an additional +9 for primal strike.
So, we're still at the same problem we had before: too strong at low levels, doesn't scale well enough. There's also the issue that a full caster shouldn't manage fighter-level damage output without a meaningful investment. So, to make this all work out:
Circle Forms (Level 3)
Now costs a spell slot. No other changes (at this level)
Combat Wild Shape (Level 3)
Armor Class: add your proficiency bonus to the beast's AC.
Temporary Hit Points: now equal to 5x the level of the spell slot used. You may refresh them with a spell slot and a BA, no need to use wild shape again.
Spells: I would change 'abjuration spells' to a choice of abjuration and transmutation, but that's not a balance issue.
Improved Circle Forms (level 6)
Max CR is now the level of the spell slot expended.
The problem here is that as soon as you hit level 7, there is no reason to use WS anymore because you have the choice of using Polymorph and being a Giant Ape, or using WS +4th level slot to be an Elephant..
The problem here is that as soon as you hit level 7, there is no reason to use WS anymore because you have the choice of using Polymorph and being a Giant Ape, or using WS +4th level slot to be an Elephant..
I expect polymorph to be whacked with a nerf bat, but even if it doesn't, WS has a bunch of advantages over polymorph, including
Doesn't require concentration, so you can maintain a spell.
Keep your mental stats and proficiencies (most importantly, saves; having your Wisdom save drop from, say, +7 to +1, is a big loss)
I think the temp hp buffer is good enough to prevent them from instantly being knocked after assuming a wildshape. 15 hp at lvl 5 is equivalent to an aid spell all stacked onto yourself. That seems pretty ok to me, but felt the full hp shield to be too strong. If anyone got to max level they had near infinite hp. Did that happen often, no not really.
With the latest UA, druids do not get knocked out of wildshape by losing hit points. So even after they lose the temps they can keep going. If things get dicey, moon druids can expend a spell slot to wildshape again and get some emergency temps back (and/or heal themselves)
For the record, I hated the template system as it was presented previously, because for me the entire point of wildshaping - even as a moon druid - was not simply wading into combat but for the different utilities of different forms. I could turn into a giant spider to climb up that cliff and web opponents, or a giant snake to restrict an opponent and keep them busy while my allies mopped up the others, or, yes, a cave bear if I simply wanted to jump in and hit things with two attacks.
The template "same stats, just make it look like you want" actually took away choices and the sense of creativity. You lost all the utility effects of different beasts. Any form was the same stats. So...what was the point of picking different forms? Can't spider climb, so may as well be giant frog. Can't web so may as well be a giant frog. Can't restrain so may as well be a giant frog. Same attacks/damage whatever my form looks like. May as well be a giant frog.
The problem here is that as soon as you hit level 7, there is no reason to use WS anymore because you have the choice of using Polymorph and being a Giant Ape, or using WS +4th level slot to be an Elephant..
I expect polymorph to be whacked with a nerf bat, but even if it doesn't, WS has a bunch of advantages over polymorph, including
Doesn't require concentration, so you can maintain a spell.
Keep your mental stats and proficiencies (most importantly, saves; having your Wisdom save drop from, say, +7 to +1, is a big loss)
Can do radiant damage.
Can use the druid's Primal Strike ability.
At level 7: Typical enemy AC : 15 Giant Ape : +9 th, for 2x 22 bludge on a hit or 1x 30 bludge on a hit at range = 0.75*(22)*2 = 33 DPR, or 16 DPR if enemy has resistance
Elephant (proposed WS with 4th level spellslot cost): +8 th, for 1x 19 bludge on a hit = 13.3 DPR
Ankylosaurus (current WS, no spellslot cost): +7 th, for 1x 18 bludge on a hit = 11.7 DPR
Even against an enemy with resistance to non-magical bludge/slash/pierc, Polymorph is giving you higher DPR than WS. But these are all still pitiful compared to a Fighter using a Greataxe that would be dealing 22.1 DPR thanks to GWM + Weapon Mastery (assuming the most basic magic weapon).
Adding in a 3rd level Moonbeam, and ignoring the fact that it requires an Action to move the moonbeam, we get only an increase of +12.4 DPR. You see Druids aren't good at DPR, and they have never been good at DPR. But that's fine, druids are fine as support/utility casters using WS to add a ton more versatility to their utility tool belt. Moon druid's whole shtick was being super tanky, now they are not which means there's not much reason to play one but that's also fine, it gives new life to the nature-wizard vision of the druid and removes the massive bias towards moon druids at tables.
I was looking through the druid spell list and came up with an idea I think could be interesting. What if instead of Abjuration spells, Moon Druids gained the ability to cast spells with a range of Self and Touch?
That would let Moon Druids protect themselves with spells like Absorb Elements, Barkskin, Protection from Good and Evil, and Stoneskin.
They'd be able to heal themselves with Cure Wounds, Lesser Restoration, or Regenerate.
They could enhance the power of their Wildshape with Longstrider, Enhance Ability, Elemental Weapon, Fire Shield, Guardian of Nature, and Investiture spells.
They could even do some blasting/control with spells like Thunder Wave, Earth Tremor, Flame Blade, and Sunbeam. And because Wildshape gives them a beefier chassis to work with they can position themselves in melee more easily to use these spells too.
This would turn Moon Druid into a melee caster whose animal form attacks deal out low but still meaningful damage, as well as give them a few different playstyles. They could turn into a giant constrictor snake or giant crocodile and rely more on Earth Tremor and Thunder Wave to knock enemies over while restraining them with their special attacks or focus on being a damage dealer running around wreathed in flame and attacking enemies left and right. Or they could turn into a bird and fly around giving people heals and buffs and play more of a support role with good mobility.
But to access their best spells like Entangle, Call Lightning, or Conjure Animals they'd need to revert to their natural state as they do now.
Either way, Moon Druid would have reason to burn through spell slots if they want to maximize their potential on the front line.
Limiting us to, at maximum, 5 forms is stupid. In my experience, turning into creatures via wild shape was more a spur of the moment decision. For example, I have lost count the number of times that being able to wild shape into a raven or a cat for recon has proved useful for the entire party. Now, under the new rules, I am going to have to waste at least 2 of my forms presetting for these animals, lessening the options I have in case combat arises.
If what Jeremy Crawford said about giving animal forms flight that never had flight (wolves) is true, then the entire wild shape feature has gone from badly designed to purely idiodic.
If these changes make it in the 2024 phb, then, in my opinion, the druid is ruined.
I disagree that having to prepare your forms "ruins" the druid. Its a bit of a setback but maybe it solves an issue where the game always stalled when it got round to the druid's turn because only at that point would they spend an age going through every creature trying to decide what they wanted?
I don't know how big an issue this was realistically. Personally, playing a druid (and the only person in my group who ever has), I would always try and plan out what I intended to use before it got to my turn, but hey-ho. Its not the worst thing.
At least they got rid of that horrible template idea. That would have ruined the druid.
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WTF people? If you guys wanted a Moon Druid that could tank, give them back the damage soak ability from 5e. Soaking damage is just as viable a mechanism for tanking as AC - just ask the Barbarians out there.
The consensus was that Moon Druids should NOT be able to tank. Barbarians and Paladins should be the best tanks in the party. Druids and Moon Druid should not be as tanky as them they are full casters so should play as squishy full casters not as melee tanks. In which case low AC and low tmp HP are intentional. Giving the WSed moon druid a higher AC than the unarmoured Barbarian is bad, giving the WSing moon druid more hp/thp than the Paladin gets Lay on Hands is bad!
The current incarnation of Moon Druid is still mainly a damage-absorber but they have to use spell slots to continuously cast Healing Word on themselves in order to achieve that. Giving them an AC that rivals a Fighter wearing magical armour is not necessary nor desirable, as having a high AC would discourage enemies from attacking the WSed Moon Druid which makes them less effective as a tank, and since their DPR is still going to mostly suck that's leaving them without much of a role in combat.
Sorry who's consensus was this? because i'm not buying it
Moon Druid in 2014 was/is a damage soak. playtest 6 has put out a different option which i disagree with. I don’t agree with druid being able to cast spells while in wild shape (until very high level) and so I dismiss the healing word options. I don’t like the AC in playtest 6 and I’m putting it out there for discussion.
I appreciate your passion though
Actually reading through the UA PHB 6 again, there is an ultra simple solution to Wildshape:
1) Keep the general druids Wildshape exactly as it is in 5e.
2) Change the Moon Druid Wildshape to allow them to use the Beast Master Ranger's Primal Companion stat block, and simply giving them 2 attacks per action + force-damage attacks at level 6. And let them keep their full spellcasting while in Wildshape. Since WotC considers these statblocks balanced for the Ranger's Bonus Action they must also be balanced for the Druid's main action.
Or we could not retread the same minefield that already blew up once. It looks pretty clear that they got enough negative feedback on templates for Druids to drop the concept. Really, if you want to tune up a few base stats on the Moon Druid, I’d look at the original Beastmaster; check how adding PB to some of the core beast stats plays. Maybe half rounded down if straight PB is too much.
The concept of templates was not the problem. The problem was:
1) giving all druids combat-focused templates, when most druids use WS purely for exploration / utility not combat.
2) having the combat-focused templates be totally insufficient to actually perform in combat for the one subclass that does use WS in combat.
Moon Druids absolutely should be able to tank, at least to some extent. A lot of their forms are Large or bigger, which means they can get surrounded and take way more punishment for it than other melee classes. Given a huge part of the fantasy of Moon Druid is turning into large animals damage soak just comes naturally to the player's expectations. When I turn into an allosaurus I am absolutely not expecting my character to be a glass cannon. I am expecting to be able to wade into combat as a big threat and draw attention to myself by virtue of being a big ol' dinosaur.
That said, I do agree that 5e's damage soak was a better way of doing this than just giving druids good AC. It needed to be smoothened in scaling and to be nerfed at level 20, and they already solved the last problem by just getting rid of infinite wildshape. Unfortunately, Wizards seems absolutely Hellbent on making it so druids don't have that much HP anymore. Everything that has been said in their interview videos suggests they aren't going to budge on this. So if druids can't HP tank anymore the other option is AC.
I also feel we should just let templates die, at least for core and Moon Wildshape. We're only going to get so much playtest time, and if they spend it swinging back and forth between Beast Stats and Templates we'll likely not have time to just refine one mechanic to a functional level before UA ends.
I think the temp hp buffer is good enough to prevent them from instantly being knocked after assuming a wildshape. 15 hp at lvl 5 is equivalent to an aid spell all stacked onto yourself. That seems pretty ok to me, but felt the full hp shield to be too strong. If anyone got to max level they had near infinite hp. Did that happen often, no not really.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
So, doing some basic crunching of the numbers
A two weapon fighting fighter, ignoring secondary features such as action surge, and assuming magic = +1 per tier, has
So, we're still at the same problem we had before: too strong at low levels, doesn't scale well enough. There's also the issue that a full caster shouldn't manage fighter-level damage output without a meaningful investment. So, to make this all work out:
Circle Forms (Level 3)
Combat Wild Shape (Level 3)
Improved Circle Forms (level 6)
Moonlit Form (level 6)
Moonlight Step (level 10) and Lunar Form (level 14)
No changes.
Here is only part of the new suggested druid that makes no sense:
Objects. Your ability to handle objects is
determined by the form’s limbs, rather than
your own. In addition, you choose whether
your equipment falls to the ground in your
space, merges into your new form, or is worn
by it. Worn equipment functions as normal,
but the DM decides whether it is practical for
the new form to wear a piece of equipment,
based on the creature’s size and shape. Your
equipment doesn’t change size or shape to
match the new form, and any equipment that
the new form can’t wear must either fall to the
ground or merge with it. Equipment that
merges with the form has no effect until you
leave the form.
If the worn equipment can function as normal but does not change size or shape, then it can't function as normal. For example, a halfling druid wearing +1 armor that wild shapes into a dire wolf, according to these rules, is no longer able to use the armor. This means the druid will have to absorb the gear into the new form, rendering it useless, which is exactly what we already have in the 2014 phb.
Let the Mists surround you...
Maybe WS into an ape would be close enough? But I think they should have just left it as merging with the new form. At least for armor. But there are things like a magical amulet or something that would work on various forms
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
The size does not change, even for an amulet.
Let the Mists surround you...
To be honest, I think it is kind of weird that Wildshape doesn't benefit from most magic items. No other class has a feature that prevents them from benefiting from dungeon loot, and that is a big part of what makes Wildshape fall off at later levels. Everyone else is getting cool magic gear that gives them +1s and unique abilities while the druid sacrifices all that to turn into a completely normal elephant.
The gear merges into your new form. Why not have MAGIC gear you're attuned to fuse with your form, giving your form the abilities of those magic items?
Armour and weapons definitely wouldn't work in WS, but e.g. a giant eagle could hold and thus use a magical staff no problem (except that WS explicitly forbids casting spells at all even from magic items), but something like Bottled Breath, a satchel of potions, gems, orbs, and even a rod could be held in the mouth of a beast and used.
The problem here is that as soon as you hit level 7, there is no reason to use WS anymore because you have the choice of using Polymorph and being a Giant Ape, or using WS +4th level slot to be an Elephant..
I expect polymorph to be whacked with a nerf bat, but even if it doesn't, WS has a bunch of advantages over polymorph, including
With the latest UA, druids do not get knocked out of wildshape by losing hit points. So even after they lose the temps they can keep going. If things get dicey, moon druids can expend a spell slot to wildshape again and get some emergency temps back (and/or heal themselves)
For the record, I hated the template system as it was presented previously, because for me the entire point of wildshaping - even as a moon druid - was not simply wading into combat but for the different utilities of different forms. I could turn into a giant spider to climb up that cliff and web opponents, or a giant snake to restrict an opponent and keep them busy while my allies mopped up the others, or, yes, a cave bear if I simply wanted to jump in and hit things with two attacks.
The template "same stats, just make it look like you want" actually took away choices and the sense of creativity. You lost all the utility effects of different beasts. Any form was the same stats. So...what was the point of picking different forms? Can't spider climb, so may as well be giant frog. Can't web so may as well be a giant frog. Can't restrain so may as well be a giant frog. Same attacks/damage whatever my form looks like. May as well be a giant frog.
At level 7: Typical enemy AC : 15
Giant Ape : +9 th, for 2x 22 bludge on a hit or 1x 30 bludge on a hit at range = 0.75*(22)*2 = 33 DPR, or 16 DPR if enemy has resistance
Elephant (proposed WS with 4th level spellslot cost): +8 th, for 1x 19 bludge on a hit = 13.3 DPR
Ankylosaurus (current WS, no spellslot cost): +7 th, for 1x 18 bludge on a hit = 11.7 DPR
Even against an enemy with resistance to non-magical bludge/slash/pierc, Polymorph is giving you higher DPR than WS. But these are all still pitiful compared to a Fighter using a Greataxe that would be dealing 22.1 DPR thanks to GWM + Weapon Mastery (assuming the most basic magic weapon).
Adding in a 3rd level Moonbeam, and ignoring the fact that it requires an Action to move the moonbeam, we get only an increase of +12.4 DPR. You see Druids aren't good at DPR, and they have never been good at DPR. But that's fine, druids are fine as support/utility casters using WS to add a ton more versatility to their utility tool belt. Moon druid's whole shtick was being super tanky, now they are not which means there's not much reason to play one but that's also fine, it gives new life to the nature-wizard vision of the druid and removes the massive bias towards moon druids at tables.
I was looking through the druid spell list and came up with an idea I think could be interesting. What if instead of Abjuration spells, Moon Druids gained the ability to cast spells with a range of Self and Touch?
That would let Moon Druids protect themselves with spells like Absorb Elements, Barkskin, Protection from Good and Evil, and Stoneskin.
They'd be able to heal themselves with Cure Wounds, Lesser Restoration, or Regenerate.
They could enhance the power of their Wildshape with Longstrider, Enhance Ability, Elemental Weapon, Fire Shield, Guardian of Nature, and Investiture spells.
They could even do some blasting/control with spells like Thunder Wave, Earth Tremor, Flame Blade, and Sunbeam. And because Wildshape gives them a beefier chassis to work with they can position themselves in melee more easily to use these spells too.
This would turn Moon Druid into a melee caster whose animal form attacks deal out low but still meaningful damage, as well as give them a few different playstyles. They could turn into a giant constrictor snake or giant crocodile and rely more on Earth Tremor and Thunder Wave to knock enemies over while restraining them with their special attacks or focus on being a damage dealer running around wreathed in flame and attacking enemies left and right. Or they could turn into a bird and fly around giving people heals and buffs and play more of a support role with good mobility.
But to access their best spells like Entangle, Call Lightning, or Conjure Animals they'd need to revert to their natural state as they do now.
Either way, Moon Druid would have reason to burn through spell slots if they want to maximize their potential on the front line.
Personally, I hate the new version of wild shape.
Limiting us to, at maximum, 5 forms is stupid. In my experience, turning into creatures via wild shape was more a spur of the moment decision. For example, I have lost count the number of times that being able to wild shape into a raven or a cat for recon has proved useful for the entire party. Now, under the new rules, I am going to have to waste at least 2 of my forms presetting for these animals, lessening the options I have in case combat arises.
If what Jeremy Crawford said about giving animal forms flight that never had flight (wolves) is true, then the entire wild shape feature has gone from badly designed to purely idiodic.
If these changes make it in the 2024 phb, then, in my opinion, the druid is ruined.
Let the Mists surround you...
I disagree that having to prepare your forms "ruins" the druid. Its a bit of a setback but maybe it solves an issue where the game always stalled when it got round to the druid's turn because only at that point would they spend an age going through every creature trying to decide what they wanted?
I don't know how big an issue this was realistically. Personally, playing a druid (and the only person in my group who ever has), I would always try and plan out what I intended to use before it got to my turn, but hey-ho. Its not the worst thing.
At least they got rid of that horrible template idea. That would have ruined the druid.