Some ideas about the shifter class :
1. Let shifter have air/water/land forms. This is to facilitate exploring and travelling with groups to more places like water especially. (more below) A limitation I had as an offense shifter was the underwater places (which I really liked). But water forms have restrictions that hinder cabal involvement.

2. Let shifter speak thru' cabal channels. It is difficult when you want to report findings and communicate. Makes them quite useless in raids or defense when the need to communicate is very important.

3. Give them enliven detect invis.

4. As a shifter I can pick major and minor. However, if I pick water major, I'll get a more powerful form than one who picked a land major but has a water form. Take it like a warrior with all weapons. But on 30th rank, he specializes.

Level 17:
Spell: Shapeshift
Land, offense

Level 20:
Land, utility

Level 23:
Land, defense

Level 27:
Water
Air

Level 30:
2nd Major
Form skills:
If offense, additional attacks or damage
If defense, more damage reduction or regen.
If air/water, less mana or movement

Level 37:
2nd Minor
Form skills:
If offense, additional attacks or damage
If defense, more damage reduction or regen.
If air/water, less mana or movement

Level 45:
3rd Major
Form skills:
If offense, additional attacks or damage
If defense, more damage reduction or regen.
If air/water, less mana or movement

5. Re-code the lower forms to beef them up, like ferret, boar, tortoise, bat, etc. to last at higher ranks. Maybe give them better damage reduction for defense.

6. The damage each form gives is relative to the level of the shifter. With this in mind, a major focus will have another new form, much more powerful.

7. I find shifters limited to shapeshift, murder/special attack victim. Revert. Cast slow. There could be more to their skills too.

Comments appreciated.

>1. Let shifter have air/water/land forms.

This is already possible. The reason shifters only get two focii is so they have to choose where they want to be strong. If you want to explore land and water then go utility/water and live with the fact that you can't flyto;murder.

>2. Let shifter speak thru' cabal channels.

Lack of speech is an intentional limitation to shifters. At least, the staff has said as much in the past.

>3. Give them enliven detect invis.

This I could maybe see happening. Not like it'd be super-overpowered. Then again, how hard is it to revert and cast?

>4. As a shifter I can pick major and minor. However, if I pick
>water major, I'll get a more powerful form than one who picked
>a land major but has a water form.

So you're saying shifters would only get 4th-tier forms in their primary focus? Or they'd still get two 4th-tier forms, but one of them would be souped-up above that form's current incarnation? The first seems like a major downgrade, and the second subject to all sorts of balance issues.

>5. Re-code the lower forms to beef them up, like ferret, boar,
>tortoise, bat, etc. to last at higher ranks. Maybe give them
>better damage reduction for defense.

I agree, the low-ranking forms suck. Then again, so does a warrior with crappy gear and un-practiced skills. At least with the shifter your usefulness isn't as much a product of your gear or skill percentages. I'm not sure I'd want low-ranking shifters to be as powerful as well-geared well-practiced low-ranking warriors (even given their lack of lagging skills).

>6. The damage each form gives is relative to the level of the
>shifter. With this in mind, a major focus will have another
>new form, much more powerful.

I don't necessarily agree with how you envision this being implemented, but at its core it's actually a good idea. Having form effectiveness increase with level would give shifters an incentive not to level sit at whatever rank they get their first major form. It would also help "even out" shifters usefulness across the ranks. It sucks when you're still using timber wolf at lvl45.

>7. I find shifters limited to shapeshift, murder/special
>attack victim. Revert. Cast slow. There could be more to their
>skills too.

Maybe, but that would incur balance issues. I'm sure one of the assumptions in setting shifters' damage/defense levels is that most forms can't reliably lag, disarm, maledict, etc. Adding that stuff would likely result in their damage/defense being toned down.