5.5, Class by Class: Druid

 The Druid is, in theory, the most versatile class in D&D. You can shift into various animal forms for both combat and utility purposes, and then you have a wide array of unique spells. The Druid also gets some features similar to a monk that aren't strictly "powerful" but have interesting flavor implications. However, in contrast with the Cleric, the Druid also just has a lot more class features, especially some really crazy ones that come online at late levels.

The Druid is a class I haven't really played much of, but one that I've been interested in, given how unique it is. The Druid is also, arguably, the only other class that can play a party's primary healer (setting aside the Divine Soul Sorcerer). While there are still some healing spells that Clerics get and Druids don't, the expanded spells granted in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything have made Druids a much more viable choice should your group lack a Cleric.

In 5.5, I'd love to see them lean into that. I don't think any one class should be so good at its role (or rather, so much better at its traditional role) than any other that you'll feel crippled if you don't have one. I think it's all well and good that Clerics should be excellent healers, but I think that a Druid that chooses to heal should be just as powerful in that role.

How one accomplishes that is something I don't really have a specific answer to. I think it's good that Clerics have some unique healing spells that Druids don't get, but I think that this means that Druids should get some unique healing spells that Clerics don't. (There are like one or two, but especially at higher levels, Clerics really take over).

Another thing I'd look at is how Wild Shape works. To be fair, I think that recent subclasses - the Circles of Stars, Wildfire, and Spores - all manage to come up with a way to do something else with Wild Shape that's more unique to their subclass.

And I'm a bit torn: on one hand, it would be nice to see a subclass other than Circle of the Moon be able to effectively use Wild Shape as-is as a viable combat option. On the other hand, I think these "pick anything out of the Monster Manual" features can sometimes be overwhelming.

Now, speaking of subclasses:

Circle of the Moon is solid, grade-A material, and not only feels like a good representation of a key Druid archetype, but is also mechanically sound and feels powerful. Circle of the Land, on the other hand... is somewhat lacking. I like the idea of a subclass that emphasizes a Druid's role as a spellcaster, but surely later options have done it better. Indeed, I think Circle of the Shepherd as written would make for a good inclusion in the PHB. With Moon and Shepherd we get the Druid as shapechanger and the druid as summoner. However, we do still need a Druid-as-elemental spellcaster subclass.

I would basically scrap Circle of the Land and build something new. My inspiration here is kind of the Shaman from World of Warcraft - a spellcaster that calls upon the four elements and has a more kind of primordial connection to not just life, but the ancient material of reality that allowed life to arise in the first place. Perhaps it could be Circle of Elements, or something along those lines.

Again, I think the PHB should have a minimum of three subclasses per class, so going with Moon, Shepherd, and this "Elements" one would have us covered.

I think basically all subclasses should have Circle Spells, with the possible exception of Circle of the Moon. Subclass spells never feel game-breaking but provide an opportunity to give these subclasses something of a greater identity, as well as making it easier to use those rare utility spells that you'd usually not prepare.