Druid of the Claw (Warcraft III)

These ancient Druids have adopted the totem of the bear and use the powers of their totem to defend their society from any external threats. They are fond of assuming Bear Form and roaming in seclusion throughout the wildlands of Kalimdor. When riled, the Druids of the Claw display ferocious power and stamina. Their magical spells augment their allies' fighting skills and bravery as well.

Information
Druids of the Claw are mixed units. In Bear Form they are an advanced melee unit such as an Abomination, Knight or Tauren. In Night Elf Form they are a spell caster such as a Priest, Sorceress, or Shaman. Druids of the Claw are initially in Night Elf Form. You must research Druid of the Claw Master Training to turn into Bear Form. Druids of the Claw are very useful additions to your army in both forms. In Bear Form they can be up front tanking as a melee unit while Druids of the Claw in Night Elf Form take up the rear casting Rejuvenation and Roar.

After you have upgraded to Tree of Ages build an Ancient of Lore which you can use for Dryads and Druids of the Claw. Build one Druid of the Claw and send him to your army and use Roar. Roar gives a 25% bonus to damage to all of the units in the area with only one cast. You may have to pack units tightly into a small area to have Roar cover them all since it has a small area of effect when cast.

If you plan to build a lot of Druids of the Claw it can be very difficult to transition to them. It's far more challenging to upgrade to Bears than Knights, Tauren, or Abominations. One possible option is to just create a Hero and use it to harass the enemy early on while you upgrade straight up to Bears. To do this build a Huntress Hall and no Ancient of War and then lay down two Ancients of Lore once you reach Tree of Ages. Then continue to upgrade to Tree of Eternity and research Adept and Mastery upgrades. This can work if you can confuse and harass the enemy until you get upgraded while keeping them away from your town. Another option is to make a bunch of Archers without upgrades and use them until you can convert to Bears. Another option is to play normally but go get an expansion pretty early. Build lots of Moon Wells and two Ancients of Lore and two Hunter's Halls to research both upgrades at once.

It's very important to prevent Druids of the Claw from dying using Rejuvenation. It's very expensive and time consuming to replace lost Druids of the Claw. The best way to do this is using subgroups. Watch the portraits of the Bears while having the Rejuvenation icon active. Select Rejuvenation and click on the portrait of the damaged Bear to heal him. You can also use the "Alt" key to watch for low hit point bars.

Some players like building a lot of Druids of the Claw but leave them in Night Elf Form. While they don't do as much damage as they would do in Bear form they can cast Rejuvenation on themselves and Roar. Usually when focusing on Druids of the Claw it's best to mix them up having most in Bear Form and some in Druid Form to cast Rejuvenation and Roar on the Bears. Research Mark of the Claw so that you can use Roar while in Bear Form.

Druids of the Claw cannot attack air units so be aware of this weakness. Druids of the Claw and Archers with range upgrades are a good combination.

Use Moon Wells to build up the Druid of the Claw's mana so he can cast his most powerful spells right away. Then send him off into battle.

Use Roar to waste mana so that the Spell Breakers cannot use their Feedback against you. While it may seem against your best interest to use Roar because of the Spell Steal, in reality it will work in your favor if you keep spamming it.
 * Vs. Spell Breakers


 * a) you will run the Spell Breakers out of mana
 * b) you will have more units Roared than the enemy, since it is an AOE buff, and Spell Steal is single target
 * c) less mana on your bears = less feedback damage

Night Elf F orm

 * Transforms the Druid into a Night Elf, allowing him to cast spells and regenerate mana faster.


 * When in Night Elf Form he may cast these spells:

R oar

 * Gives friendly units around the Druid a 25% bonus to damage.

Roar is a great bonus to give to your troops, especially in large team games where Roar can help a large army. Use Roar during battle whenever possible.

Research Mark of the Claw so that you can use Roar while in Bear Form.

Use Dispel abilities to remove roar or you can run away until it wears off.
 * Roar Counters

R e juvenation

 * Heals a target friendly unit for 400 hit points over 12 seconds.

Rejuvenation is great for casting on Heroes or even allied Heroes. If your partner has a damaged Hero cast Rejuvenation on their Hero to help them out. Cast Rejuvenation on nearly dead units and especially on powerful units you do not wish to lose.

Cast Rejuvenation on the Priestess of the Moon when she Starfalls. This can allow her to cast it much longer even under attack.

You can cast Rejuvenation on units with full health. You can cast Rejuvenation on magic immune units.

Use Dispel abilities.
 * Rejuvenation Counters

Bear F orm

 * Transforms the Druid into a bear, slowing mana regeneration, but making him an excellent warrior. While in Bear Form he cannot cast any spells unless you upgrade to Mark of the Claw, allowing you to use Roar in Bear Form.

If you no longer need the Druid of the Claw as a spellcaster, turn him into a Bear and use him as a melee unit.

Upgrades

 * Druid of C l aw Adept Training
 * Increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 25%, hit points by 75, minimum and maximum attack, and gives them the ability to cast Rejuvenation.


 * BTNDOCMasterTraining.png
 * Druid of C l aw MasterTraining
 * Further increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 25%, hit points by 75, minimum and maximum attack, and allows them to transform into Bear Form.


 * {| class="darktable" style="text-align:center"

! Research Cost !! Researched At !! Requirements !! Upgrade Time
 * - class="alt"
 * 100 [[File:WC3gold.gif]] 150 [[File:WC3lumber.gif]] || Ancient of Lore || Druid of the Claw Adept Training, Tree of Eternity || 35 sec.
 * }


 * BTNEnchantedBears.png
 * M ark of the Claw
 * Allows Druids of the Claw to cast Roar while in Bear Form.


 * {| class="darktable" style="text-align:center"

! Research Cost !! Researched At !! Requirements !! Upgrade Time
 * - class="alt"
 * 25 [[File:WC3gold.gif]] 100 [[File:WC3lumber.gif]] || Ancient of Lore || Druid of the Claw Master Training || 20 sec.
 * }


 * Strength of the W ild
 * Increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.


 * BTNImprovedStrengthOfTheWild.png
 * Improved Strength of the W ild
 * Further increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.


 * {| class="darktable" style="text-align:center"

! Research Cost !! Researched At !! Requirements !! Upgrade Time
 * - class="alt"
 * 175 [[File:WC3gold.gif]] 175 [[File:WC3lumber.gif]] || Hunter's Hall || Tree of Ages || 75 sec.
 * }


 * BTNAdvancedStrengthOfTheWild.png
 * Advanced Strength of the W ild
 * Further increases the damage of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.


 * {| class="darktable" style="text-align:center"

! Research Cost !! Researched At !! Requirements !! Upgrade Time
 * - class="alt"
 * 250 [[File:WC3gold.gif]] 275 [[File:WC3lumber.gif]] || Hunter's Hall || Tree of Eternity || 90 sec.
 * }


 * R einforced Hides
 * Increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.


 * BTNImprovedReinforcedHides.png
 * Improved R einforced Hides
 * Further increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.


 * {| class="darktable" style="text-align:center"

! Research Cost !! Researched At !! Requirements !! Upgrade Time
 * - class="alt"
 * 200 [[File:WC3gold.gif]] 150 [[File:WC3lumber.gif]] || Hunter's Hall || Tree of Ages || 75 sec.
 * }


 * BTNAdvancedReinforcedHides.png
 * Advanced R einforced Hides
 * Further increases the armor of Druids of the Claw in Bear Form, Druids of the Talon in Storm Crow Form, Dryads, Mountain Giants, Faerie Dragons, Hippogryphs, and Chimaeras.


 * {| class="darktable" style="text-align:center"

! Research Cost !! Researched At !! Requirements !! Upgrade Time
 * - class="alt"
 * 250 [[File:WC3gold.gif]] 200 [[File:WC3lumber.gif]] || Hunter's Hall || Tree of Eternity || 90 sec.
 * }