I can promise you that having barkskin potions sold at Degannwy is not harming the potency or value of a barkskin caster. Its just useful for when they are not around is all.
But even their availability does not change any of this from being true:
- Higher CL resulting in +4 or +5 versions
- Much harder to be dispelled
- Can make the whole party have it again and again and again without using any items
- Longer duration
I have a character casting the +5 version, I also have played many characters without any druid or plant domain allies. So I feel its totally balanced, great if you know one, but also playable without knowing one. And like has been stated, there frankly is not enough reagents for the playerbase to make their own. Even if there were two more treant related dungeons or areas added that would still be true. I don't really forsee a positive change from the proposal at all to be honest.
An example I can think of is my drow character, who when I am playing her, is quite reliant upon Barkskin and its especially true following the Magic Vestment nerf change. I am very happy she can now get them from the Halans instead of the elves. I would hate for it to be a case where I would have to look for Treants all the time. There was actually a period where I did that, so as to avoid having to go to Deganway. Its a individual case, and more the exception to the rule, but it seems to me that the arrangement we have now is the one that covers most bases. I would not mind the price being increased though, but in the end money is not an issue so it won't change how much people buy them.
That is my thoughts on the matter anyway.
From your points, I feel it's a lot easier for everyone to rebuff with their 100 bottles o barkskin if it gets dispelled compared the druid recasting it (since the druid will likely need a rest before having access to the spells again)
Also, the short duration doesn't matter when people have the aforementioned 100 bottles o' barkskin.
The other two I'll grant you, though. Having a druid around is definitely nifty. I think at this point my argument against it has mostly turned into a flavor one. I'd rather have items with many uses of barkskin be reletatively common in the loot tables, rather than have the infinite bottles o' barkskin.
snipped
The point i was trying to make is that removing barkskin potions removes one more option a player has. You yourself are a kind of validation of that. You have a sorc....that gives you a pretty wide variety of options for tailoring to an encounter. the fact they have an 8 con is irrelevant next to the variety of spells they can use to completely nullify or mitigate incoming damage or spell effects. Better yet...play a FIGHTER with an 8 con. You'll find that extra +2 AC from barkskin alot more useful without stoneskin, greater stoneskin, mage armor, improved invisibility, flame weapon,PFE, haste, GMW, keen edge, buffed str, con, dx, acid sheathe, shadow shield, etc, etc, etc, ad nausem....but yeah...I guess if i could cast all those by resting every few minutes barkskin would seem like pretty small potatoes.
As the people in this thread have stated repeated, the barkskin potions are not an "option". Saying, "Do you want to pay an insignificant sum to get extra ac that doesn't use up an item slot," isn't an option, it is a gift. The barkskin pots in the game are "gimme" AC. It seems like every melee character past level 6 has at least a full stack of them in their inventory. That's not choice. That's not variety. That is barkskin addiction on a global scale.
I bolded the only spells in that list that my character has access to, by the way. I think you're confusing sorcs with wizards. Wizards tailor themselves to encounters. Sorcs pick a selection of spells and cast a lot of them. (my character is basically a mage armor/PFE/Bull's str buff bot for a party) There are classes that come with a lot of options and there are classes that are straightforward. If you to have tons of options, make a character that has tons of options.
My dex is also 8, and I use a two handed weapon, so it's not like my character is some AC goddess. I have the AC of an off-tank, because my character is an off-tank. I have focused on increasing my damage, so I do a lot of damage. If my character focused on defenses, then I would be a lot more durable and my ac would be significantly higher. Again, this is how it works. If someone specializes in Defense, they are the best in defense. If you specialize in damage you are best in damage. If you want to be able to do both, you'll be a pretty good tank, and a pretty good damage dealer, but if you are best at both something's wrong. When I party, I am no where near as good a tank as a person who builds pure tank and gets my buffs thrown on them. Again, this is how it works. Solo building isn't what the server is balanced for. It is balanced for your mage and cleric and druid throwing their defensive buffs onto your fighter, and making him/her into a monster tank. Then, they are meant to throw their offensive buffs onto your Rogue, so he can dissect enemies while they're bonking your tank.
Also, as a sorc with 8 con. I have 36 hp at level 8 with toughness.
36. A level 8 fighter with 8 con would have 72 at least, or 80 with with toughness. I go from uninjured to badly wounded in 1 hit from the scarier monsters in my level range. The AC from barkskin helps me a lot, but it doesn't change the fact that I hate having dozens of bottles of barkskin in my inventory.