Powerful AoEs, the ability to shapeshift into a vicious fursona, the very wrath of nature, these are yours to wield as a Druid in Diablo IV. With a number of different build options, the Druid is as versatile as they are powerful. But where to start?
This guide covers Storm, Pulverizer, and Shapeshifting Druids. We’ll start by discussing what your first 15 levels should ideally look like, followed by the best choices leading up to level 50.
Diablo IV’s branching skill trees can make for a number of versatile builds, some of which might even involve hybridizing the builds we’re about to delve into. Nonetheless, these three, more focused paths are excellent ways to get rolling with a new Druid, all the way to level 50.
1: Storm Druid – Levels 1-15
To start, spend your first few points by acquiring Storm Strike and unlocking Enhanced Storm Strike and Fierce Storm Strike. Fierce Storm Strike has the chance to make enemies Vulnerable, which means they’ll take an additional 20 percent damage. This is an exceedingly effective status affliction, which makes it an easy choice over the Wild Storm Strike.
Moving onto the next skill grouping, grab Lightning Storm. Feel free to max this one out by investing up to five points in it at your own pace, but be sure to unlock Enhanced Lightning Storm and Primal Lightning Storm. Primal Lightning Storm has a nice chance to Immobilize enemies, so on top of hitting foes with Vulnerability from Fierce Storm Strike, we’re stacking our debuffs.
Now you’ll want to grab some passive skills before taking more attacks. Heart of the Wild will increase your Spirit by three, which you should follow up with Abundance for increased Spirit generation. You can invest up to two more skill points in each of these abilities.
As you approach level 15, grab Cyclone Armor and Ravens. Take Cyclone Armor up to Innate and Ravens up to Ferocious (roar). Innate Cycle and Ferocious Ravens further augment your ability to place enemies into Vulnerable status.
2: Pulverizer Druid – Levels 1-15
For a Pulverizer build that is wonderfully tanky but can still hit like a truck, get started with Maul, Enhanced Maul, and then Fierce Maul to increase your attack range. This gets you into bear form, but that’s only the beginning.
Now it’s time to make that bear work even harder with Pulverize. After you’re comfortably ursine you’ll want Enhanced Pulverize and Primal Pulverize. This path enhances your tanking capabilities, with Primal Pulverize reducing incoming damage from afflicted enemies by 20 percent for four seconds.
Next up you should acquire some passives. Since we’re looking at tank scenarios, grab Predatory Instinct to increase critical strike chance against nearby enemies. Follow this up with Iron Fur for increased defenses while in werebear mode. You can invest up to three points in each of these.
After your passives, grab Earthen Bulwark and its Enhanced variant, followed by Preserving Earthen Bulwark. Preserving Earthen Bulwark will Fortify you, reducing incoming damage by 10 percent. After this, get Debilitating Roar, its enhanced version, and then Innate Debilitating Roar, as this will slow down advancing hordes.
For the remaining few levels on your path to level 15 (and thus the Druid class quest), juice up existing skills. We recommend bringing Pulverize up as high as you can until the Druid class quest opens up.
3: Shapeshifting (Bear or Wolf) Druid – Levels 1-15
This build starts differently depending on your preferred transformation. If you prefer to focus on the werebear form, start with Maul, Enhanced Maul, and Fierce Maul. Or to kick things off as a shapeshifting werewolf, invest your first three skill points into Claw, Enhanced Claw, and Wild Claw. Fierce Claw’s poison ability isn’t bad, but the additional chance for a second strike with Wild Claw makes it a little more preferable. Your playstyle might change your preference.
Next up, if you prefer bear form, take Pulverize, Enhanced Pulverize, and Raging Pulverize. The shapeshifting Druid isn’t as much of a tank as the Pulverizer build, so the ability to stun enemies with Raging Pulverize is a slightly better option here (though if you wanted a more tanky shapeshifter, you may want to consider Primal Pulverizer instead). Alternatively, if you want a werewolf form, grab Shred, Enhanced Shred, and Primal Shred. Of course, you can have both forms, but for the first stretch of 15 levels it might be wise to invest in just one form for now, and wait until after the Druid class quest to go wild.
You can be a bit flexible with your passive skills here. Grabbing both Heart of the Wild and Predatory Instinct is a good call, and you should follow that up with Digitigrade Gait to juice your movement speed in werewolf form or go with Iron Fur if you’re investing in the bear form.
Grab Blood Howl if you’re investing in werewolf form or Debilitating Roar if you’re more into being a direbear. Take whichever one you chose to its Enhanced variant, followed by the Preserving variant as well.
Finally, grab Wolves.
Druid class quest and Spirit Boons
When you hit level 15, the “Druid: Spirits of the Lost Grove” quest will automatically appear in your quest log. Enemies will start dropping Spirit Offerings at this point. Head on over to the Tur Dulra stronghold and clear it out to finish this quest. You’ll be able to turn Spirit Offerings into powerful Spirit Boons.
Much like in real life, you’ll have four spirits: Wolf, Snake, Deer, and Eagle. Deer Spirit boons are great for reducing damage and will be of interest if you’re building a tanky druid. Wolf boons will help cool down companion abilities. The Eagle boons are excellent for improving your attacks. And Snake is particularly good for Storm and Pulverizer builds, given the increased healing from Masochistic, and increased chance of a cooldown reduction on your ultimate from Calm Before the Storm.
Levels 16-50 for Storm, Pulverizer, and Shapeshifting Druid
On your way to level 50, you’ll want to be boosting all your abilities as much as possible, but there are a number of other critical skills you’ll want to grab.
Storm Druid: Level 16-50
Once you’ve cleared the Druid Class quest, acquire all three ranks of Nature’s Reach. Then, grab Hurricane and take it to Savage Hurricane. Unlock Elemental Exposure, Charged Atmosphere, and Bad Omen to increase your damage potential against vulnerable enemies. Select Cataclysm as your ultimate, bringing it all the way to Supreme status. And Pick Perfect Storm at the end of the skill tree. As you fill out the rest of the skill tree on the way to 50, invest in upping all skills you have to their max. You may also wish to consider grabbing some of these extra skills:
- Circle of Life
- Trample (Enhanced, and Savage)
- Endless Tempest
- Natural Disaster
Pulverizer Druid: Level 16-50
Your first goal after level 15 is to up your Pulverize all the way to rank 5. Then, grab Trample and enhance it with Natural. Invest in Grizzly Rage Prime and Supreme. Poison Creeper, Enhanced, and Brutal are also worthwhile investments. Grizzly Rage should be your Ultimate; max it out. Also, get Defensive Posture, Ursine Strength, Ancestral Fortitude, Vigilance, and Mending. In addition to continuing to max out ranks in every skill, you’ll also want Wild Impulses (all three ranks) Predatory Instinct, Crushing Earth, and Stone Guard.
Shapeshifting Druid: Level 16-50
Like all of these builds, your path to 50 is wisely spent on increasing the ranks of all existing skills. Upgrade Wolves to Ferocious. Get Rabies and take it to Natural. Grizzly Rage is a natural choice for your Ultimate. To increase your poison output, grab the Neurotoxin and Envenom passives. In addition to your wolves, you may also wish to grab Ravens, taking them up to Ferocious. Also consider Poison Creeper, going up to Brutal. Defensive Posture, Thick Hide, Quick Shift, Natural Fortitude, and Heightened Senses should all be in your arsenal. Take Bestial Rampage from the end of the skill tree. Continue maxing out everything you have on your path to level 50.
Effective Diablo IV character builds are often a precise science, but if you understand the basic elements of the game and the options available to your class, you still have a lot of room to get experimental. Following one of the builds in this guide will help you cover the Druid class basics and should open the door to more interesting builds should you so choose.