Wildshape now has a duration

[PlayaCharacter]

Character: Mira Summers
Account: Sweet Summer Child

It's been about three years since I last played a druid, so this may be a bug or it may be working as intended. The last I knew, wildshape lasted indefinitely. I searched the forums and I could find no reference to any change of this sort.

Today I was kicking around in the Howling Canyons and my wildshape wore off. That has never happened to me as long as I have been playing EfU. I was in cave rat form, the wildshape icon started flashing in the notification area, and then it wore off, reverting me to human. My wildshape lasted approximately 30 minutes before wearing off.

I hope this is in fact a bug, because it's pretty annoying. If it is working as intended, some clarity on what factors influence the duration would be appreciated.

[AllMYBudgies]

Wildshape has never been indefinite, but thirty minutes does seem quite sudden.

[PlayaCharacter]

Whatever the old duration was, it was looong. On my EfU:A druid, I can remember going AFK in wildshape, walking to the store a mile away, and coming home to find myself still in wildshape. I've never run out the timer until today. I always thought it just lasted forever.

To clarify, this is not the old server save bug that would kick you out of wildshape. This appeared to be handled through the normal NWN system.

[Kotenku]

Maybe game time was pushed forward by a DM? Do you have an idea of when exactly you were knocked out of wildshape? Other players would have lost buffs then as well.

[Paha]

"The transformation has a duration of 1 hour per class level" as said in nwn wiki. It's always been the same and obviously it depends on your level. I don't think we've edited that at all, so it follows our servers length of hour, for spells or gametime, I am not sure which actually. So it's either 2 minutes per hour (that means per level) or five minutes, so you still need some levels to be able to reach 30 mins even with 5 minute per level duration.

No bug here.

[Apocryphal Misconceptions]

If it followed its script correctly it would last for hr/level (which can be either 2 or 5 min as Paha points out).

The duration is randomly being reset over and over due to a glitch, which is why it feels like it lasts permanently.

The fact that this bug did not kick in is highly coincidental.  Don't "worrry".

[PlayaCharacter]

I don't think we've edited that at all

Back when the server first started wildshape was broken (it would kick you out of your form when the server saved) and nobody played druids because of that. The solution was to add a script that made the wildshape state persist through server saves, as indicated by the occasional wildshape VFX and animal roar sound when in animal form. EfU hasn't used default NWN wildshape rules since Chapter 1 because it flat out does not work in multiplayer persistent worlds. Ever since that time, I have never been nor seen anyone else kicked out of their wildshape, even after hours and hours of gameplay. The same was true for native lycanthropes and their associated animal and hybrid forms.

If this is the new status quo that's cool and all, but there has definitely been a change from the way things used to work. Maybe, like Apocryphal says, the old way was the one that's bugged? Regardless, thanks for clearing it up.

[mini_me]

I've played countless druids and never once had it wear off by duration and I've explored entire server areas in EFU:A which was a large trek without it wearing off, sounds like a bug in the script to me or a freak accident, has it happened again?

[Paha]

Well as far as when I was testing the shapes in november, they still had the normal duration and workings. The vfx kicking in and hp healing up with the kind of reapplying, is and has been both in nwn and our server, as far as I know, for ages. I've never considered it weird since I first played nwn. 5 minutes per level is quite a long time, and that is what I believe it follows within our hours. Therefore you can basicly keep going until you rest again, if you are lvl 6 or so, and then do it again. But the duration has never been removed, unless someone did it and I am unaware. In november it surely was there in our shape testings when I did scripting.

[PlayaCharacter]

Thank you, mini_me, I knew I wasn't going crazy.

I also would like to simply add that the duration is annoying not simply because I'd like it to last longer, but also because transitioning to wildshape and back de-slots all your player tool buttons and on druids, you really really need to quickslot the Control Companion and Climbing Tool player tools. If we could have it changed back to the old way, I'd like that very much.

[Paha]

Well, as I said, as far as I know, nothing has been touched. If someone has, I am not aware where or how. For all intent and purpose it acts pretty much as normal ever does in mechanical aspects. Though if any other of the team know otherwise, feel free to look.

[Haer Dalis 83]

I have toyed with druids frequently, and casting wildshape right after buffs like barkskin, bull's or cat's, it alway expires just a few seconds after they do. Not even once has this not happened.

[Paha]

Doesn't that sound pretty logical. What level are you? Usually those long lasting spells expire around same time which is 20-30 mins at mid range levels, and that's pretty much what the wildshape lasts if we follow mechanical duration.

[xXCrystal_Rose]

I've played a lot of druids in all chapters and have always experienced wildshapes being hour/level. Except when they occasionally refresh at random. As mentioned many times it syncs up with your strength and barkskin spells also so if you cast them a little ahead of time you can anticipate when your wildshape will wear off. Hours/level is a long time, and when you get multiple wildshape uses per day it is really not much of an issue. Just stating that in my experience even back on efu:a where I timed how many minutes it lasts it's been 5 min per level. Think about it like this: if you reach level 7 as a druid, which is fairly reasonable to do at least once before you run out of quest take limits, you can wildshape for a total of 105 minutes. One hour and 45 minutes of wildshape time before you have to rest.