Druid Class Hall Followers Optimization

[Polarthief]

Hi, I like to optimize my Followers. I found your Order Hall Champion Optimization by Polarthief/Frozenclaws and I have some questions about it please.

Is there a Order Advancement recommendation ? I can see that you are using 7 followers. I took Wardens of the Grove was then a bad decision of me?

I do not have Moroes. What is the different between Non-Moroes Druid Main and Non-Moroes Druid build in your google doc?

Thanks !

T1: Right. Left is beyond worthless once you're 110.
T2: Right. Left is okay if you're low-geared for world questing or you want the Resto hidden artifact.
T3: Right if your followers still need iLvl upgrades, Left once you're good.
T4: Right. Left is not as good.
T5: Right, get an Ancient of War (the spec you want; you may need to keep killing it and rerolling), then keep it alive on Mushrooms and then go Left (you can stay Right if you're swimming in Order Resources though. It saves you 4k a week)
T7: Left, get the 2 Dreamgrove Wardens you want (like the AoW. Refer to the roster on my spreadsheet), keep them alive on Mushrooms then switch to Right.

Moroes is like Meatball and very powerful, but also like Meatball has no counters. You can use him to fill a Specialization that's currently unavailable (like Resto) or to cap off a mission to 200% (100% for Elite Strikes), especially if the counters that are bad (such as Slowing or Cursed) are already filled, or the mission has no bad counters (Powerful, Disorienting, Lethal <Lethal half bad, half doesn't matter>).

Hope that helps! If not, feel free to ping me on here or Discord

[clavarnway]

I love all this mission reduction shit!

http://i.imgur.com/Fl4hYgC.png

[Polarthief]

I love all this mission reduction shit!

http://i.imgur.com/Fl4hYgC.png

It's nice, but unless you really care about AP (at this point you should have your main and maybe even an off-spec at Concordance) or Nethershards, it's best to maximize Reduction on Supplies so you can do the mission maybe 3 times per CC.

Note: Elite Strikes that are on your mission board do NOT automatically expire when the CC is destroyed, and once completed, another one should appear in an hour or so. So far, my record is 3 of the same mission, but it might even be possible to hit 4 with stupidly high Reduction.

[clavarnway]

Yeah I was kinda so excited to hit all 3 with reduction I didn't consider whether I should. :-p. I'll probably just stack the shit out of the war supplies and run it 3, maybe 4 times next time.

[Polarthief]

Yeah I was kinda so excited to hit all 3 with reduction I didn't consider whether I should. :-p. I'll probably just stack the shit out of the war supplies and run it 3, maybe 4 times next time.

I mean, sometimes I do all 3, but then I remember how much my missions get stacked and I might miss out on a few important ones. At least to me, it doesn't feel good having people out for a day or two at a time. I remember last week when I put a single champion (and some troops) on a supply mission on my DH and couldn't even counter the slowing. That was a loooooooong 5 days without Jace... (but it was that or the mission was going to expire cuz CC was gone for a few days at that point and Jace was all I had).

I typically just throw Meatball and Sylendra on the mission. If that's not enough, a troop or the Specialization counter with Reduction as well.

[Nodoze]

... Hope that helps! If not, feel free to ping me on here or Discord

Polar,

I am a returning player and Druid is my main but I am thinking of doing more 110 alts on my account and using bloods to fund their resources (if I understood this thread correctly).

Can you add to your FAQ some guidance as to which class(es) makes the best Alt(s) for Mission farming? Maybe list them in order of best>2nd best>etc with some info on why you rate them the way you do...

Thanks in advance.

[Myztikrice]

Is there a cap on the follower item drops or do they only appear on certain missions? I completed missions with Sylendra and Meatball for like 3 days and didn't receive a single ball/mushroom

[Polarthief]

Polar,

I am a returning player and Druid is my main but I am thinking of doing more 110 alts on my account and using bloods to fund their resources (if I understood this thread correctly).

Can you add to your FAQ some guidance as to which class(es) makes the best Alt(s) for Mission farming? Maybe list them in order of best>2nd best>etc with some info on why you rate them the way you do...

Thanks in advance.

Umm, gonna need to give me a bit of time on that one. If you're impatient, just look at each class and make the best judgment. If you see my class notes say the class is good, AND the roster you go with is balanced (2/2/2 for Specs and Counters across the board), then it's a great class to pick.

Is there a cap on the follower item drops or do they only appear on certain missions? I completed missions with Sylendra and Meatball for like 3 days and didn't receive a single ball/mushroom

All Success Bonus/Troop Summoning/Troop Healing items are Unique 5. Once you have 5, you won't gain any more. If you're under 5, then just a string of bad luck, sadly. As long as you get a "Mission Success" message and not a "Mission Failed" one, you have a chance to get the items.

[st33l]

Is there a cap on the follower item drops or do they only appear on certain missions? I completed missions with Sylendra and Meatball for like 3 days and didn't receive a single ball/mushroom

There is a cap for the balls (5) not for the mushroom. Balls usually drop every mission, mushrooms have a lower rate.

[clavarnway]

There is a cap for the balls (5) not for the mushroom. Balls usually drop every mission, mushrooms have a lower rate.

Shrooms definitely have a cap of 5 as well. Note the (5).

http://imgur.com/XbUtbIW


@Myztikrice - check your bank, if you have them in your bank you won't gain anymore until you fall below the cap.

[Polarthief]

There is a cap for the balls (5) not for the mushroom. Balls usually drop every mission, mushrooms have a lower rate.

IIRC, both were ~30-50%. The drop rate is quite high, and I haven't noticed a difference between Balls/Shrooms/other class items for Success/Healing/Summoning.

Also no, all items of this nature have a Unique (5) tag. Every class, every champion.

[Nodoze]

Polar,

I am a returning player and Druid is my main but I am thinking of doing more 110 alts on my account and using bloods to fund their resources (if I understood this thread correctly).

Can you add to your FAQ some guidance as to which class(es) makes the best Alt(s) for Mission farming? Maybe list them in order of best>2nd best>etc with some info on why you rate them the way you do...

Thanks in advance.

Umm, gonna need to give me a bit of time on that one. If you're impatient, just look at each class and make the best judgment. If you see my class notes say the class is good, AND the roster you go with is balanced (2/2/2 for Specs and Counters across the board), then it's a great class to pick. ...

Thanks. I am patient. I realize that you likely haven't had time to do 1 of every class and to max level & gear all the alts followers... That being said you likely have done much more than most.

Feel free to couch &/or qualify any answer to the above and/or you could just limit it to the ones you feel you fully understand and TBD on the others.

[Marrilaife]

Polar,

I am a returning player and Druid is my main but I am thinking of doing more 110 alts on my account and using bloods to fund their resources (if I understood this thread correctly).

Can you add to your FAQ some guidance as to which class(es) makes the best Alt(s) for Mission farming? Maybe list them in order of best>2nd best>etc with some info on why you rate them the way you do...

Thanks in advance.

If you don't mind sharing my thoughts...

I'd avoid Shaman and Monk, due to no work orders for armaments - takes slower to develop alts' followers (low ilvl followers = only crappy missions).

I'd probably also pick a class that has the "1 free WQ per day" perk because that allows you to snatch free 500-1k resources or 5-10 bloods to help lessen the burden of the whole mission farm. Those classes are: DK, DH, Paladin, Mage, Warlock, Warrior.

From the above, Warrior has quite weak options I feel. Too many champions that require specific troop conditionals to be met to take advantage of them.

DK is a really good choice because once you upgrade greater troops they gain a spec, allowing you to counter a mission boss where your champs are still too low ilvl to counter (you can't send missions with only troops but you can let the troops do all the job while the champ is getting carried). Thassarian's horns of winter are also another band-aid you can use when your champions are not fully fledged yet and you're missing % from the success chance. (Warning: doesn't work if the champion is massively undergeared [red] for the mission.)

DH has pretty decent roster of champions and quite powerful upgraded greater troops too.

Mage / Warlock have the advantage of both -20% mission duration class hall perk and a champion with that perk, allowing you to stack both (and equipment), in case you wanted to go for fast mission farming. Although both of these classes have some awkward / weak champions.

Paladin has also awkward roster (most good champions are prot) and weak greater troop upgrade.

I would probably prio DK & DH (also start at higher level, and easy to level classes).

If I remember Polar's spreadsheet correctly, he was also saying Rogues have good champion roster, but they suffer from the fact they have no baseline mission duration reduction from either perk or champion, and no "free WQ" perk either.

[Nodoze]

Polar,

I am a returning player and Druid is my main but I am thinking of doing more 110 alts on my account and using bloods to fund their resources (if I understood this thread correctly).

Can you add to your FAQ some guidance as to which class(es) makes the best Alt(s) for Mission farming? Maybe list them in order of best>2nd best>etc with some info on why you rate them the way you do...

Thanks in advance.

Umm, gonna need to give me a bit of time on that one. If you're impatient, just look at each class and make the best judgment. If you see my class notes say the class is good, AND the roster you go with is balanced (2/2/2 for Specs and Counters across the board), then it's a great class to pick. ...

Thanks. I am patient. I realize that you likely haven't had time to do 1 of every class and to max level & gear all the alts followers... That being said you likely have done much more than most.

Feel free to couch &/or qualify any answer to the above and/or you could just limit it to the ones you feel you fully understand and TBD on the others.

After reviewing the spreadsheet it is great that DH are solid. For people like me only having one 100+ character so far I am glad that DH are a good option. I created one yesterday and starting at 98 is great. Sad to read that Hunters are not good as that was one I was planning to do (though I may still do one anyway as I like them).

[Raugnaut]

If you don't mind sharing my thoughts...

I'd avoid Shaman and Monk, due to no work orders for armaments - takes slower to develop alts' followers (low ilvl followers = only crappy missions).

I'd probably also pick a class that has the "1 free WQ per day" perk because that allows you to snatch free 500-1k resources or 5-10 bloods to help lessen the burden of the whole mission farm. Those classes are: DK, DH, Paladin, Mage, Warlock, Warrior.

From the above, Warrior has quite weak options I feel. Too many champions that require specific troop conditionals to be met to take advantage of them.

DK is a really good choice because once you upgrade greater troops they gain a spec, allowing you to counter a mission boss where your champs are still too low ilvl to counter (you can't send missions with only troops but you can let the troops do all the job while the champ is getting carried). Thassarian's horns of winter are also another band-aid you can use when your champions are not fully fledged yet and you're missing % from the success chance. (Warning: doesn't work if the champion is massively undergeared [red] for the mission.)

DH has pretty decent roster of champions and quite powerful upgraded greater troops too.

Mage / Warlock have the advantage of both -20% mission duration class hall perk and a champion with that perk, allowing you to stack both (and equipment), in case you wanted to go for fast mission farming. Although both of these classes have some awkward / weak champions.

Paladin has also awkward roster (most good champions are prot) and weak greater troop upgrade.

I would probably prio DK & DH (also start at higher level, and easy to level classes).

If I remember Polar's spreadsheet correctly, he was also saying Rogues have good champion roster, but they suffer from the fact they have no baseline mission duration reduction from either perk or champion, and no "free WQ" perk either.

Eh, I really don't see why you would bother with the free WQ. Most of the huge resources/BoS quests tend to either be "Go here, kill 1 dude", or "make/farm item (for BoS)" For DKs, for instance, I would rather have the occaisonal Abom then the do 1 daily per day.

[Nodoze]

If you don't mind sharing my thoughts...

I'd avoid Shaman and Monk, due to no work orders for armaments - takes slower to develop alts' followers (low ilvl followers = only crappy missions).

I'd probably also pick a class that has the "1 free WQ per day" perk because that allows you to snatch free 500-1k resources or 5-10 bloods to help lessen the burden of the whole mission farm. Those classes are: DK, DH, Paladin, Mage, Warlock, Warrior.

From the above, Warrior has quite weak options I feel. Too many champions that require specific troop conditionals to be met to take advantage of them.

DK is a really good choice because once you upgrade greater troops they gain a spec, allowing you to counter a mission boss where your champs are still too low ilvl to counter (you can't send missions with only troops but you can let the troops do all the job while the champ is getting carried). Thassarian's horns of winter are also another band-aid you can use when your champions are not fully fledged yet and you're missing % from the success chance. (Warning: doesn't work if the champion is massively undergeared [red] for the mission.)

DH has pretty decent roster of champions and quite powerful upgraded greater troops too.

Mage / Warlock have the advantage of both -20% mission duration class hall perk and a champion with that perk, allowing you to stack both (and equipment), in case you wanted to go for fast mission farming. Although both of these classes have some awkward / weak champions.

Paladin has also awkward roster (most good champions are prot) and weak greater troop upgrade.

I would probably prio DK & DH (also start at higher level, and easy to level classes).

If I remember Polar's spreadsheet correctly, he was also saying Rogues have good champion roster, but they suffer from the fact they have no baseline mission duration reduction from either perk or champion, and no "free WQ" perk either.

Absolutely don't mind and thanks for sharing. Polar is the most prolific on this thread and only he can adjust his guide's FAQ but certainly I would appreciate input from the larger community.

Thanks for pointing out DK. I mainly studied Druids, Hunters, & Paladins on his guide as those are my favorite classes. I did my best to read every class and take in their class notes and DH jumped out at me but I missed DKs. I had created my first DK yesterday and was extremely pleased it started at 98 and then when I came back and saw your post I was glad to see DK are also rated well (and also start with higher levels and level fast).

[Polarthief]

<snip>

I mean, there's your answers, @Nodoze.

The one argument I'll say about DH is that it's a bit awkward with the counters. I personally use Jace as my only Fel Rush, but I use 2 Shivarras with Fel Rush as well, but it kinda sucks.

Eh, I really don't see why you would bother with the free WQ. Most of the huge resources/BoS quests tend to either be "Go here, kill 1 dude", or "make/farm item (for BoS)" For DKs, for instance, I would rather have the occaisonal Abom then the do 1 daily per day.

Have you played with an alt at maximum laziness? Literally all my alts are DH, Paladin, and Warlock (all classes with the free WQ) and I use it every day. It's easily one of the best alt perks that I don't care for on my main.

Speaking of which, that perk just got me 27 bloods today (9 per toon) I otherwise wouldn't have really bothered to do without the perk.

[Marrilaife]

Eh, I really don't see why you would bother with the free WQ. Most of the huge resources/BoS quests tend to either be "Go here, kill 1 dude", or "make/farm item (for BoS)" For DKs, for instance, I would rather have the occaisonal Abom then the do 1 daily per day.

Going to the broken shore to kill 20 mobs for 10 bloods is easy and fast, but if you have 10 alts or something it suddenly adds up. If you have an alt army you want to fuel through bloods for missions, more free bloods are always welcome. Another source of blood quests are profession quests once you obtain the recipe (need some luck, sometimes they're just AP / random mats like ore / herb / cloth / enchanting dust, but I found one that gave me 3 epic crystals), and the beauty is you can snatch these without farming / buying mats for the craft, so it's a net gain, and we're discussing a situation when a person wants to make gold from alts / mission table in the least amount of time, so it's defo a helper in the whole plan.

The dk troop (abomination) I never tried, but if he's similar to the shaman guy (random ascendant with 1hp and +15% to spells / hazards / minions at random and no spec or ability counter unlike ancient of war on druid), then I wouldn't have great use of him. At least from how I understand he doesn't cost resources to build, but he's a random drop from missions, so that's a plus, but thing is on most champions I will have +15% / +20% token for greater troop affinity, and the "special" troops don't have anything like that so they're basically weaker.

@Nodoze you can make everything work, if you like Hunter or Paladin as a class, just play it, no point forcing yourself to level something you dislike just because their followers are 10% better or something (hard to quantify anyway). Hunter has some good followers like Hemet, and generally most benefit comes from follower ilvl and trinkets, the passive perks are just for extra oomph.

- - - Updated - - -

The one argument I'll say about DH is that it's a bit awkward with the counters. I personally use Jace as my only Fel Rush, but I use 2 Shivarras with Fel Rush as well, but it kinda sucks.

My own DH has a bit awkward setup in the way I only have Stheno as Outcast (no Akama), but I can often manage to counter an Outcast mission with no outcasts due to powerful passives on champions (Allari and Jace are really good for this). I have 3 veng followers enabled but if you want to do the Polar's trick with Shivarra + Korvas souls + 6th champion I guess you can go with 3 Havoc instead (swap Asha for Korvas). On the other hand Polar's setup with 3 glaive throws if I remember correctly can do wonders on command center missions because they seem to ALWAYS go with minions (=glaive throw) + something else, that can be even another glaive throw...

[Polarthief]

Going to the broken shore to kill 20 mobs for 10 bloods is easy and fast, but if you have 10 alts or something it suddenly adds up.

I just CBA (can't be arsed) to do WQs sometimes. I'd rather throw 100 resources at a mission.

The other choice is USUALLY a weak one. A free seal (I don't raid on those toons), Combat Ally gives 100 Resources (I don't WQ on those toons) and IIRC none of those alts have the T5 Troop choice.

My own DH has a bit awkward setup in the way I only have Stheno as Outcast (no Akama), but I can often manage to counter an Outcast mission with no outcasts due to powerful passives on champions (Allari and Jace are really good for this). I have 3 veng followers enabled but if you want to do the Polar's trick with Shivarra + Korvas souls + 6th champion I guess you can go with 3 Havoc instead (swap Asha for Korvas). On the other hand Polar's setup with 3 glaive throws if I remember correctly can do wonders on command center missions because they seem to ALWAYS go with minions (=glaive throw) + something else, that can be even another glaive throw...

Thinking about it, counters might be more vital than specs since Meatball/Moroes can fill that gap. I might have to swap someone for Kayn and then fix my T7 troops.

[davidrm15]

Polar , if dont have a meatball and moroes, what is the best combination about followers and Order Advancement ?

And if possible to write what items use in followers, for example, probably Remulos need Druid of the claw item, because combination of that + talent give a lot of succefull chance no ?