Druid wildshaping seems a little underwhelming

[Deepbluediver]

So I'm relatively new to 5th edition (the forum helped me get going on it actually) and while I'm having a lot of fun playing the Druid with my new group, the Wildshape forms seems a little underwhelming for combat.
I joined the group at 5th level and they had been playing for a little while before that, so I can imagine that at lower levels maybe Wildshape would have been more useful, but it seems like I'm already stretching to make this ability useful.

Maybe I'm just missing something, and as a convert from 3.5 I know that the old Wildshape was frequently called out for being abusable/cheesy, but it seems like the wildshapes available to me don't really do much damage in combat. The extra HP is nice for being tanky, and some of the animal abilities (like tracking) have made for fun roleplaying moments, but dealing 1d4 damage per round in wildshape is hardly noticeable most of the time and we've been encountering enemies lately who can burn through an entire Wildshape's worth of HP in a single round.

I'm not playing a Moon-circle Druid and I know they get stronger wildshapes, but is what I've experiencing typical? Is it intended that most Druids morph into caster-only characters past the early levels?

[JNAProductions]

In combat, non-Moon Druid Wildshaping ain't that good. Main use is cast Call Lightning, then morph into something that can fly or hide easily while Concentrating on it.

But out of combat, Wildshape is VERY useful, even without Moon Druid.

[Osrogue]

Wildshape outside of combat gives access to some of the best scouting and area traversal options in the game. No one suspects one of the the neighborhood cats to be a spy for the local insurgency. Eventually you can fly, swim, and burrow with ease through outdoor areas.

[Malifice]

So I'm relatively new to 5th edition (the forum helped me get going on it actually) and while I'm having a lot of fun playing the Druid with my new group, the Wildshape forms seems a little underwhelming for combat.
I joined the group at 5th level and they had been playing for a little while before that, so I can imagine that at lower levels maybe Wildshape would have been more useful, but it seems like I'm already stretching to make this ability useful.

Maybe I'm just missing something, and as a convert from 3.5 I know that the old Wildshape was frequently called out for being abusable/cheesy, but it seems like the wildshapes available to me don't really do much damage in combat. The extra HP is nice for being tanky, and some of the animal abilities (like tracking) have made for fun roleplaying moments, but dealing 1d4 damage per round in wildshape is hardly noticeable most of the time and we've been encountering enemies lately who can burn through an entire Wildshape's worth of HP in a single round.

I'm not playing a Moon-circle Druid and I know they get stronger wildshapes, but is what I've experiencing typical? Is it intended that most Druids morph into caster-only characters past the early levels?

It's been scaled back in 5E to be a utility feature and not a combat feature.

Other than the Moon Druid though, who are borderline OP as all heck at low levels in Bear form.

[Deepbluediver]

Ok, good, so it's not just me then.

I have been using Wildshape for in-combat mobility and out-of-combat shenanigans, and with my spell-list I haven't had any issues feeling useful in-combat, I just wanted to be sure I hadn't skipped something important and was missing out on a key part of the class.

Thank you all for your feedback!

[MaxWilson]

Ok, good, so it's not just me then.

I have been using Wildshape for in-combat mobility and out-of-combat shenanigans, and with my spell-list I haven't had any issues feeling useful in-combat, I just wanted to be sure I hadn't skipped something important and was missing out on a key part of the class.

Thank you all for your feedback!

At level five the best forms you have potentially available are things that restrain enemies on a hit so your allies get advantage, and the enemy has disadvantage to attack. E.g. Giant Frog, crocodile. Later on Giant Toad or Giant Octopus at level 8, or a flying creature. Your DPR will never be fantastic but your allies will appreciate the advantage.

It's basically like a free Sentinel+ feat, with some extra HP baked in.

[Deepbluediver]

At level five the best forms you have potentially available are things that restrain enemies on a hit so your allies get advantage, and the enemy has disadvantage to attack. E.g. Giant Frog, crocodile. Later on Giant Toad or Giant Octopus at level 8, or a flying creature. Your DPR will never be fantastic but your allies will appreciate the advantage.

It's basically like a free Sentinel+ feat, with some extra HP baked in.
I'll keep that in mind, though due to some self-imposed roleplaying restrictions I think my Druid isn't going to have many aquatic forms for a while.

Even taking that strategy into account though, it seems like what I can do with my spell-slots tends to be way more impactful (damage, CC, healing, etc) in combat than giving my allies advantage on attack rolls.

[sophontteks]

You can't be great at everything...
Unless you are a shepherd druid.

[MaxWilson]

I'll keep that in mind, though due to some self-imposed roleplaying restrictions I think my Druid isn't going to have many aquatic forms for a while.

Even taking that strategy into account though, it seems like what I can do with my spell-slots tends to be way more impactful (damage, CC, healing, etc) in combat than giving my allies advantage on attack rolls.

Absolutely. Wildshape is worse than your good spells. But hey, free HP is free HP--it's something to keep in mind for when you feel like using it.

[Unoriginal]

One of the Moon Druid's signature features is called Combat Wild Shape, as opposed to the other Druids' Wild Shape. What you're experiencing is the Druid working as intended.



Even taking that strategy into account though, it seems like what I can do with my spell-slots tends to be way more impactful (damage, CC, healing, etc) in combat than giving my allies advantage on attack rolls.

You are correct. It's because the Druid, especially the non-Moon Druid, is a full caster and is expected, or at least encouraged, to act as such.

Not that it means "non-Moon Druids are bad at melee", because they don't have to be. Clerics are full casters too and about half the builds have them as secondary tanks. But asking a non-Moon Druid to rely mainly on Wildshape in a fight is like asking a Cleric to mainly rely on their Channel Divinity in a fight: in some fights, it'll work out because the ability is relevant to this particular encounter (1 Cleric vs a hoard of undead mooks surrounding them? Hell yes), but oftentime it'll be a bit underwhelming to focus on this one thing when you have a full class and subclass to use.