Engineering Goodies for Druids

I was writing a post as part of a series (what does profession X have to offer for Druids?), when this gem showed up in the official druid forums. There are basically no items other than some of the low level dynamite and the Ornate Spyglass that non-engineering druids can use and my post was off to a very short start. I would put the Ornate Spyglass on my list for PvP, as it will give that extra notice of encroaching opponents, but the real decision is whether to replace or start with Engineering as a profession. Here is the original, excellent post. All credit to the author for a great informative and short communication on this subject:



"The purpose of this post is to acquaint the druid community with the amazing potential that the Engineering trade offers us. Since Engineering is at the height of its popularity right now (thanks to epic headgear and the rofflecopter), I thought this would be a good time to share my meager knowledge with my fellow druids.

The first and single most important statement I must make is that Engineering is NOT a money-making profession. There are a very scant handful of items you can make and sell that non-Engineers will want, and those few items will sell relatively slowly at that. If you're going to be an Engineer, be prepared to make the financial commitment that this decision requires. You will literally be pouring money and materials into your trade, and the final stretch of Engineering is one of the most expensive profession grinds in the game.

If I haven't scared you off yet, then you must also consider this: Engineering is not an I-Win button in ANY scenario. Most of the devices we make have a chance of backfiring and (at best) failing to work, or (at worst) working on US instead of our target. Engineering can be used as an ace in the hole, but it can also cause you many deaths when things go awry. So being an Engineer requires you to not only know what items to use but also when best to use them. And you have to accept that sometimes, things just go badly for Engineers. And that's not to mention the fact that many of the devices you can make become virtually useless the moment you hit level 60. Plus there's the fact that your bags will be in a perpetual state of overflowing, with all the parts and pieces and schematics and trinkets and explosives you'll be carrying. Imagine a class that has to deal with soul shards, ammo pouches, mining bags and dozens of reagents, and you'll start to come close to the logistical nightmare Engineers face.

Still with me? Good. You might just have what it takes to be an Engineer afterall. Now that I've outlined some of the negatives of Engineering, let me tell you this: Engineering is by far the most fun profession in the game. It allows you to do things that simply shouldn't be possible. There's so many fun toys and quirky gadgets in Engineering that you can never get bored. And the first time you manage to pull off something so amazing that your jaw drops, you'll know why we Engineers are addicted to our trade.

So how does Engineering suit a druid? Perhaps better than it does with any other class in the game. One of the main weaknesses of the Druid class is our lack of utility abilities. The WoW gods have decreed that we Druids shouldn't be allowed to have nice things, what with the fact that we can opt to heal, DPS or tank with just our one class. By the devs' thinking, since we can be good at several different roles, we should sacrifice tons of utility to pay for it. Engineering helps get around that by giving us HEAPS of utility to play with. Below is a list of some of the gadgets Engineers can make, and how they benefit our class directly.

Explosives - Druids lack spellcasting interrupts in caster/moonkin form, but explosives can sometimes serve that purpose. Their built-in stuns also suppliment the stuns we already have available from our Feral forms, and they can allow us to get a headstart on a hasty retreat, or buy time to get a crucial heal off.

Seaforium Charges - Although we can stealth and DPS like rogues, one of the things we lack is the ability to open chests, doors and lockboxes. C4 allows us to take the not-so-subtle approach to that problem.

Goggles - At low levels, these give us access to headgear to place into a slot that would normally go empty. And later on, there's even some crafted leather versions that can outdo instance drops. And the ultimate goggles rival anything Tier 5 has to offer.

Jumper Cables - Although our battle rez is mighty, it's also on a long cooldown. Jumper Cables give us access to a second rez for when our Rebirth is on cooldown. Instead of being able to rez once every 30 minutes (or 20 after the patch), we have a chance of being able to rez twice in that time. And with the XL version, the chance is really pretty good.

Pets - The various crafted pets make great ghetto tanks on NPCs to allow us to make a retreat, or they're great at distracting enemies so we can loot a quest item or resource node.

Net-O-Matic Projector - This works like Entangling Roots without having the restriction of being usable only outdoors, and if it backfires we can just shapeshift out of the net, making this an excellent tool. Unlike other classes, we don't have to worry about this one backfiring.

Parachute Cloak - Until we get Flight Form, this is a great way to not worry about long drops. You can safely leap down the Great Lift or into Un'Goro Crater, or jump off the Aldor Rise, and live to land gently on the ground. And nothing is funnier than a flying bear drifting gently in the breeze. Nothing.

Rocket Boots - The various forms of Rocket Boots are a great suppliment to our ability to Dash and our Travel Form, making flag running in Warsong Gulch that much easier. What's more to say?

Deepdive Helmet - Sure, we can already shift into Aquatic Form to breathe underwater, but this allows us to breathe underwater while in other forms as well, making it easy to fight underwater without having to shift in and out of Aquatic to catch our breath.

Recombobulators - Sure, it's extremely situational, but being able to dispel a Polymorph can come in really handy in PvP.

Elemental Reflectors - These may only be useful against enemy players under level 60, but they're useful against NPCs all the time. I can't count the number of times a Reflector has saved my life. We lack spell mitigation, so these can be remarkably useful.

Nigh-Invulnerability Belt - Damage soaking may not be a problem for Feral druids, but Balance and Restoration druids will prize the ability to soak damage until their tank regains aggro. This item can easily save a group wipe!

Transporters - We can already get back to northern Kalimdor easily, so with a pair of transporters you can bounce around Azeroth and Outland at will, saving lots of travel time in some cases.

Gnomish Poultryizer - Oh god I love this trinket. Not only does it give a fantastic boost to Stamina, it also allows you to instantly shut down enemy casters in both PvE and PvP, and even melees will see a massive drop in the damage they can deal while in chicken form. And if it backfires and you get turned into a chicken, you can simply shift out of it since it counts as a Polymorph effect. All the positives and none of the negatives make this trinket fantastic for any Druid.

Goblin Rocket Launcher - If you opt to take Goblin Engineering instead of Gnomish, you'll have this instead of the Poultryizer. A free, easy burst of massive damage helps your DPS and tanking, and it gives the same tremendous Stamina boost.

And of course, that list doesn't even take into account all the fun stuff in Engineering, like the crafted non-combatant pets, or the flares and fireworks, or the Mote Extractor for farming primals, or the Voice Amplification Modulator that helps you get out of Silences and Interrupts faster, or the Targetting Dummies, or the Explosive Sheep (which is so singularly funny the profession is worth it just for this)... Engineering isn't for everyone, but it offers so much added utility to Druids that it should almost be mandatory. It makes up for so many of our weaknesses and boosts so many of our strengths that I don't think I could ever play a Druid without Engineering. It's a slow, painful, expensive grind, but believe me when I say that it's worth it in the end. So if you're considering taking up the path of the Schematic and you're willing to accept the drawbacks of Engineering, I hope you stick with it all the way! You'll have fun! If this is the path for you, I wish you the best of luck. And if you have any Engineering-related questions, feel free to ask and I'll help if I can."