Character: Larese Drysien
Wildshape: Powerful form - Shark
EfUSS Swimming: 10
I get slowed to a crippling speed, even as a shark when I am swimming.. but only when the wildshape "refreshes" (That is, when it makes the noise and shows the polymorph VFX.)
it's always been this way unless recently changed, sadly you need freedom spell to move normal underwater
Sometimes shifting (to Shark) before you dive in can help.
It happens because it is refreshing your armor and provoking a new swimming check, so it takes a second for the swimming check to refresh and re-recognize that you are not wearing any armor. Just a six second pause in the swimming check at most. Same thing happens when you equip/unequip a shield or two handed weapon for instance. There isn't really anything that can be done about the wildshape forms refreshing though. It just happens sometimes.
No, I get a permanent slow.. not just 6 seconds.