Not a very avid PvP'er so I will give my PvE version:

Healing is the same as other classes, maybe we could have a little more flashy heals( penance/chain heal) but overall it is good.

When presented with the opportunity to stick with my 70 Druid and level him up for Wrath as a healer or to level a Shaman, I chose Shaman on the basis that I could see my gear - pretty simple. As Druid I look exactly like every other Druid while in form. Dumb answer I know, but that really was the defining reason, mechanics aside.

I've healed with all classes at 70 or better, and Druid has it's own quirks for good and bad. However looking like a Tree does not amuse me at all. ToL could have been replaced with an aura or somekind of neat visual effect rather than "durp well now I'm a crusty looking tree".

No, not really. It provides no benefit in terms of PvE or PvP (the spirit healing buff is meh) and it's just another thing to shape shift into or out of. I would prefer to have our healing buffed a bit to be on par with other healers, lose tree form, and gain something else special. Then again I haven't been Tree in a while.

I like it, but feral charge was fun too. But I think tree form is better designed and easier to balance/play against then the old feral charge resto builds. It is a bit aggravating having to switch in and out to cyclone or roots, but it is a good trade off with as high as burst is at the moment.

I go resto because I want to heal, not be a running target dummy. I love how feral has cat/bear and balance has moonkin, and resto finally has a viable form for pvp. I like having my own form, and hot having to completely rely on feral forms to stay alive.

In conclusion, I enjoy it :D

Some people simply don't enjoy healing. I suspect some replies will be from druids who've never played another healing class who tried tree of life and didn't like it. My druid is 71 and I can tell you I enjoyed tree of life form in BC, though the decrease in mobility never made any sense to me (and I found it very annoying) in fights where I need to run from mobs.

The cosmetics of tree form are sufficiently unattractive to keep me from rolling druid. But that's all I can say on the matter. It's a shallow response; I understand.

I always liked ToL. I imagine most druids dislike the sameness that pertains to all forms.

I plan on being a tree on my druid and the only thing I know I'll dislike is the cutesy exterior with no differences between any trees at all.

Would be cool if you could customize your tree form with different leaves or something.

It's boring.

We're forced to use it constantly to avoid Sap, Rep...

Getting caught in caster form is more of a punishment now then just part of the game.

Shapeshifting is hardly part of the resto druids play style anymore.



When it's getting too risky to leave treeform to cast cyclone... something is wrong.


Feral charge was a HUGE part of our playstyle, but now we have nothing.

Catform used to be useful for CC chains with maim... but without furor in a PVP resto build it's impossible to do so.



Give us more reasons to SHAPESHIFT!!!!

You could say the exact same thing about moonkin form as well.

Ghostcrawler I think you nailed it when you said this:

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Q u o t e:
We think cat and bear forms are fun. They have very clear roles and unique abilities. Tree of Life has no unique abilities. It essentially forces you to give up a portion of your class abilities in order to be as good a healer as other classes. In PvP it lets you tank a little, but again with the downside of giving away a good deal of your mobility, damage and crowd control.

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There is nothing fun inherent to tree form. As far as I can tell, it's simply a balance mechanic at this point to keep resto druids from healing as well as they can while also throwing out moonfires and such.

Unfortunately, for all the reasons you mentioned above the answer is no.
And thinking back when the movement speed reduction was in place it was downright miserable.
On a personal level, even with the loss of skills aside it simply isn't fun to even look at.

Anecdotal at best and she is not really part of your key demographic but, my wife actually plays this class at 80 and used to love healing in TBC. The necessity to be in this "ugly" form as she puts it is enough of a turn off for her to prefer being any alternative spec.
There is nothing powerful, interesting or epic feeling being what looks like a disgruntled tree.
If this model was to the caliber of say, an ancient of war, this may be another story.

Even though I don't usually respond on the forums this statement "give up a portion of your class abilities in order to be as good a healer as other classes" was what really resonated.

Is there some sense that this form may have been a gimmick gone awry?

Not having any graphical update from one's character even with the best of raiding gear is not fun. The mechanics of Tree are kind of just ... caster, but with a healing bent. At least in caster form you can see the sweet new armor graphics that the artists have put so much effort into. :)

No. It is not. Outside of tree - we're very weak, and easily killable. Inside tree we're monstrosities with almost invulernability (to melee mostly).

I would love to have increased survivability without tree being the end all of it. It's really forcing us to faceroll hots without CC.

I don't play a druid, but I like tree of life form, I think it's neat. I think tree of life would be cooler if you could alter the color of their leaves or add some carvings though. Whether it's tree of life form and the benefits with that or it's just the druid healing style, but druid healers seem to be more durable than priests, for example.