While I admit that I've seen a reduction in the sheer number of Druids running around, I have to say it's just a matter of perspective. I remember a time when Druid was one of two classes considered hands down the best soloer (Necro being the other). At that time, they were everywhere. You couldn't be within sight of the druid ring in WC without seeing three of 'em. They were more apparent because you'd hear them in OOC selling ports "for donations". I know coming up, I saw and encountered a whole lot of druids. I recall older Shaman advising me when I was littler not to be a "Druman" (i.e. a Shaman who loads up on WIS gear to the exclusion of all else. Wearing leather as a chain class is bad, I learned
![Razz :P](./images/smilies/icon_razz.gif)
).
I don't think the problem is with the class though. I think the problem (if you choose to call it that) is with the loss of so many so-called "hardcore" players. These were the folks spending 20 hrs a week in betas for expansions, digging through every little detail on their class's additions (and subtractions). These are the folks who gathered the data and presented it to the community, and debating amongst themselves the good and bad sides of everything. Yes, others contributed, but these were the folks who jumpstarted the discussions. Too many of them have moved on or just don't see the point in doing that anymore. It isn't just here, look at pretty much all the class sites. You see it ingame too. Personally, being a relatively low level (my highest are two 80s, main toons I play are 70-75), I know I don't see nearly as many people in my range and lower as I once did.
I can say that I love my druid and always have. I don't adhere to any of the "conventional wisdom" that gets thrown about though. My druid is not a healer (my clerics do that very well) and she's not DPS (wiz/rog/zerker/mage/necro/monk tend to outshine her). She's a druid, which means she can do all of that without BEING any particular one of them. Over the years, I've had several druid friends/mentors quit or shelve their druids because folks tried to paint them into one particular corner. Believe it or not, there are druids who refuse to be main healer in groups. That's not why they rolled their toons a decade ago. I know I rolled Ceni for two reasons: 1) After Jenen solo'd Lodizal during the Luclin era (bah, we still needed 1-2 full groups to kill that damn turtle at the time) and 2) After playing a betabuffed 65 during LDoN beta. I know if one day it was determined that I was now a 'healer' (largely to the exclusion of all else), Ceni would refuse to group with anyone who subscribed to that notion. I'm a Shaman. If you want a healbot, pay Xpp/15 mins for it.
Anyway, from my point of view, the sheer number of druids running around has definitely decreased. But I've seen this happening over time anyway. As their defining roles and abilities eroded, the compelling reason for playing one (as opposed to another class) went with it for many folks. The activity (or lack thereof) you see on class forums has more to do with the decreased population and a somewhat 'ho-hum' attitude than anything else. You look at the class forums/sites for other games that supposedly have just as many players as EQ1 (EQ2, LOTRO, CoH/V, WAR, etc) and the activity level is higher because the "ooooh shiny" feeling hasn't yet worn off. In "the old days", EQ had well over 50 active fansites, including at least one for every class (and several classes had more than one. Ranger, Druid, Shaman, Cleric, Mage, etc). That's no longer the case because there just aren't enough people to support that. So as people lost their preferred sites, they just stopped engaging in discourse. Also, many of EQ's current players are a lot more casual than they may have been in the past. Life (and babies and careers and spouses and...) changes everything.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
So a lot of those folks just log in and play instead of visiting fansites and chewin' the fat.
Just my perspective. I think Druid has always attracted the more casual of players. The folks who didn't have the time to spend an hour LFG and wanted to still be able to get xp but didn't want to deal with the hassle of being "evil", rolled Druids. The folks who wanted to be able to do a little bit of everything without having to specialize, rolled Druids. Likewise, these were the folks most likely to vote with their feet when games came out that supported their playstyle better. There goes a quarter to a third of your druid population right there, in my view. It's not just the folks with the high post counts. It's also the lurkers who hit the Paypal link during donation drives but that no one's ever heard of. I don't think it's necessarily SOE's fault (besides them not working to keep EQ competitive, even after all these years or hiring less than adequate item & spell designers in a game that revolves largely around spells, effects, and GEAR). Hmm, okay, maybe it is. :p