I think you and Ignus will get along quite well ;)

In pen and paper, the fireball spell's true power is its long range. It's not a spell you use in close quarters (there are way better options), it's something you use as a first strike against a clustered group of enemies 500+ feet away from your position. This particular use of the fireball spell never comes up in CRPG's, though, even if the developers actually bothered to make it possible to target something that far away.

One other thought:

Icewind Dale 2 does not appear to implement Polymorph Self or Shapechange, but does have Wild Shape. This means that you need to be a Druid if you want to be able to change forms.

In particular, this means that only a Druid can polymorph teleport.

The question is, of course, are there any places in IWD2 where this trick is useful? (I know that in Baldur's Gate 2, polymorph teleporting allows you to skip a major dungeon in which many things important to the plot happen.)

Has it ever occurred to you that you're in the minority when it comes to exploiting the game as a primary play style? The OP asked about the usefulness of druids based on what they get, not if the class can pull off any cool exploits.

Edit: Just in case you're inclined to reply with something along the lines of "Well, XYZ exploit is pretty useful", read the first sentence of my post again.

And it is ever so satisfying

I believe they are just trying to be helpful as I have seen in the past but yes people using exploits in a game like this are in a minority. I am not among those that like exploits or cheats.

The only time I even heard of "polymorph teleporting" was when I came across a BG2 speedrun competition... ;)

So yeah, it's not a very useful piece of information to present to a newbie trying to play the game normally... :D

Except this guy simply can't resist bringing up exploits even when it's irrelevant to the discussion. He's gone on about glitching polymorph (among other glitches) in several threads in the BG forum, started his own thread about it, turning any discussion towards glitches and still yet still can't avoid bringing them up. Obviously he's very impressed with himself but that doesn't mean he needs to keep going and going and going and going and going on about it like the Energizer bunny.

http://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/polymorph_what_if_theres_no_room/post1

What's wrong with starting a topic about an aspect of the game I am interested in discussing?

Also, note that I never claimed it's useful in IWD2.

I could also point out that there are much easier tricks that are much more useful, like the one archy2 mentioned of holding enemies in place and hitting them with area effect attacks, or the of having a character drink a potion and immediately continue attacking. Those tricks are *far* easier than polymorph teleporting. (Then again, so is gem underflow, but it might not be possible in this game (it isn't in IWD1 with the expansion).)

Edit: Or, for that matter, the trick of giving a Druid a level in Monk so that she gets an AC bonus from the same stat that governs her spells. (Or the corresponding Sorcerer/Paladin trick.)

Absolutely nothing, I know you get your kicks from finding exploits in games and there's nothing wrong with that, a game is supposed to be fun after all.

But when you start posting non stop about the same exploit in threads that aren't even relevant, then we have a problem. You have posted crap here and you have even admitted it. Let me repeat your exact words.

Notice the thread title? The OP is specifically asking about the USEFULNESS of druids as a CLASS in IWD2. You go ahead and post about the exploit that you've beaten to death in the BG forum and then you make NO CLAIMS to its USEFULNESS in IWD2. Just think about that for a minute.

Here is an argument for this:

Wild Shape is useful, in part, because it allows polymorph teleporting.

Whether polymorph teleporting is useful is not the question here. The fact is, if you want to have any chance of playing around with this trick in this game, you need a Druid.

Also, Wild Shape may have other uses (like being good in combat) that are not related to polymorph teleporting.

By the way, can the natural weapons of Wild Shape forms be dispelled in this game? (I actually had this happen by accident in IWD1.)

Edit: I should also point out that I didn't bring up polymorph teleporting until later in the thread, after some answers had already been given, and I did indeed have a post earlier in the thread about a multiclass combo some players find useful.

Did you miss the part where I also said those who enjoy gltiching (ie, polymorph teleporting) their way through games are a minority?

But anyways...........as for dispelling the natural weapons of wild shapes, I've never seen it happen in IWD2. However, considering wild shapes aren't particularly useful in an unmodded IWD2, it isn't something that needs considering. From what I've read so far, only the dire bear is useful as it can bash open any lock in the game. Not much in favour of wild shapes but it is something.

Interesting that could be useful in replacing rogues what level is that form?

It comes at level 12, so quite a bit later in the game than we'd like. I've never tried an IWD2 playthrough with reliance on bashing locks though so I'm afraid I can't say if it's a viable strategy.

Hopefully someone else will be able to post more info