Storm Lord 4.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV S2 [ULT Spam Synergy]

Storm Lord 4.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [BIG Spam Synergy]

(Call forth the power of Storms as you rapidly Claw away at your foes)

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Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you a Claw & Petrify Druid with a ULT Spam Synergy for the Archetype. The build’s relatively easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 4 out of the 5 Uniques are also Duriel Drops. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Storm Lord 4.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for my builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added a link to a new build calculator/planner (MOBALYTICS) that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.

This build will be updated when needed.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active) Claw – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and shred an enemy, dealing 20% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
    Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical
    Generates: 9 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Claw Claw’s Attack Speed is increased by +10%.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Wild Claw Claw has a 10% chance to attack twice.
  • (active – auto-cast by Greatstaff of the Crone) Storm Strike Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing 20% (X-?) damage to your target and chaining to up to 3 surrounding enemies, dealing 20% less damage each time it chains.
    You gain 25% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds after dealing damage with Storm Strike.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 25%
    Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning
    Generates: 15 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike Storm Strike has a 15% chance to Immobilize all enemies hit for 2.5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 ) we’re not using an Active Core Skill

  • (active)
  • (1st upgrade)
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take) Iron Fur
    • (upgrade – did NOT take) Digitigrate Gait
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
    Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Maximum Life as Fortify.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Debilitating Roar Shapeshift into a Werebear and bellow a mighty roar, reducing Nearby enemies’ damage dealt by 70% for 4 seconds.
    Cooldown: 22 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Debilitating Roar Debilitating Roar also Fortifies you for 22% Maximum Life.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also heals you for 4% of your maximum Life each second for its duration.
  • (passive) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
    • (upgrade) Vigilance You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds after using a Defensive Skill.

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Vine Creeper
    Passive: A vine creeper periodically emerges from the ground every 7 seconds and applies 36% (X) Poisoning damage over 6 seconds to an enemy in the area.
    Active: Vines strangle all surrounding enemies, Immobilizing them for 2 seconds and Poisoning them for 30% damage over 2 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 40% | Cooldown: 20 seconds
    Type: Companion ; Damage: Poison
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Vine Creeper Vine Creeper’s Immobilize duration is increased by 1 second.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Brutal Vine Creeper Your chance to Critically Strike Chance is increased by +20% against enemies strangled by Vine Creeper.
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Cooldown: 20 seconds
    Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade)Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Savage Hurricane Enemies affected by Hurricane deal 20% less damage.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Elemental Exposure – Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
    • (upgrade) Endless Tempest – Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative). This node is ONLY required to unlock Bad Omen
    • (upgrade) Bad Omen – Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance when dealing damage to a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Stunned enemy that a Lightning Strike also hits dealing 55% (X-?) damage.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Charged Atmosphere – Charged Atmosphere Every 18/15/12 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 45% (X-?) damage. This node is required to unlock BOTH Bad Omen & Electric Shock
    • (upgrade – did NOT take) Electric Shock
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Neurotoxin – Poisoned enemies are slowed by 8%/16%/24%.
    • (upgrade) Envenom – Poisoned enemies take 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) additional Critical Strike Damage.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Toxic Claws – Critical Strikes with Werewolf skills deal 8%/15%/23% of their base damage as Poison damage over 4 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)

  • (active) Petrify Petrify all Nearby enemies in stone, Stunning them for 3.75 seconds. You deal 25% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage to enemies affected by Petrify. Against Bosses,the Critical Strike Damage bonus is increased to 50% (multiplicative) and its duration is increased to 7.5 seconds.
    Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
    Cooldown: 60 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Petrify Petrify’s duration is increased by 1 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – did NOT pick as it’s not needed) Supreme Petrify Killing an enemy affected by Petrify grants 25 Spirit.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Natural Disaster
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Heightened Senses Upon shapeshifting into a Werewolf or Werebear, gain 4%/8%/12% damage reduction against Elites for 5 seconds.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take) Natural Fortitude
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Nature’s Fury Casting an Earth Skill has a 30% chance to trigger a free Storm Skill of the same category. In addition, casting a Storm Skill has a 30% chance to trigger a free Earth Skill of the same category.

Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):

In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.

VAMPIRIC POWERS:
Vampiric Powers Total Pacts Required: ferocity 4, divinity 3, eternity 6

Powers Used:

  • Metamorphosis = ferocity 2, divinity 2, eternity 2
    Evading making us unstoppable is great! This helps triggering Tibault’s Will‘s unique special/effect. Also causes Vampiric Curse (read below why it’s needed)
  • Prey on the Weak = ferocity 2
    it’s good bit of extra dps but also good synergy with Flickerstep builds so we don’t require Accursed Touch as evading through enemies will keep the curse on them (due to Metamorphosis).
  • Moonrise = eternity 1
    TOP synergy for this build. Why? Well each basic attack is actually two, BUT it can also end up being 3 due to our Key Passive so the bonus DMG to basic attacks really adds up.
  • Anticipation = divinity 1
    -20% cooldown time for our Petrify is great!
  • Sanguine Brace = divinity 1 + eternity 1
    a very good fit for classes that can keep the fortify up (like a Druid) for that extra +8% crit chance is great here.
  • Alternative: Hemomancy = eternity 3
    this one helps with trash mobs clear and also heals us a bit every 4 seconds. Very good on Overworld content like Helltide or Blood Harvest.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.

  • Eagle Category: take those two
    • Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
    • Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage.
  • Deer Category: take this one
    • Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category: take this one
    Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
    • Alternative Option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills heal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
    • Alternative Option 2) Overload: Lucky Hit: Lightning Damage has up to a 20% chance to cause the target to emit a static discharge, dealing 63.53% damage to surrounding enemies.
  • Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. I personally think Energize is the best fit since Calamity‘s duration increase only counts Petrify/Cataclysm‘s base duration when counting those 25%. Pick based on whether you need more Poison Creeper Active Skill spamming or longer Ultimates.
    • option 1) Packleader: Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a 20% chance to reset the Cooldown of your Companion Skills.
    • option 2) Calamity: Extend the duration of Ultimate Skills by 25%.

Unique Items

In Diablo IV we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following:

Top Pick Uniques for the Build

Flickerstep (Boots) [bread and butter of this build]

Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown by 0.8 Seconds

Each enemy you Evade through reduces your active Ultimate Cooldown by 2-4 seconds, up to 10 seconds.

+[10.5 – 17.5]% Movement Speed
+[10 – 18] All Stats
+ [7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
+[31.5 – 52.5]% Ultimate Skill Damage


“Considered a failure by their creator, it wasn’t until the assassination of an “untouchable” Caldeum noble that these boots’ true power was understood.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements

Greatstaff of the Crone (Staff)

+[17.5%] Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies

Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at [120 – 150]% normal damage.

+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage to Close Enemies
+[9.5 – 16.5]% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
+[7 – 14]% Non-Physical Damage
+[X – 9] Ranks of Claw

“She has existed in Scosglen since before Fiacla-Géar walked the land. Her purpose is a mystery to us all. However, approach her with deference; she may grant you her counsel.” – Airidah, to Donan

Godslayer Crown (Helm)

When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]% increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.

+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction
+[X – Y] Maximum Life
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage
+[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration


“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast

Alternative Helm Choice 1: Right now this seems like a very good option for any build and if you’re lucky enough to get I Strongly advise trying it. I personally felt that my DPS fell too much while wearing it so I went back to a Godslayer Crown.
Harlequin Crest (Helm)

Gain [20%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.

+[N] Maximum Life
+X% Cooldown Reduction
+12% Resource Generation
+[28] All Stats


“This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king’s entire lineage.” – The Fall of House Aston

Alternative Helm Choice 2: This seems like a very good poison + X’Fal’s Corroded Signet Syenrgy for this build and if you’re lucky enough to get I advise trying it and deciding if you like it or not. The lifesteal also seems like an amazing basic attack build syenrgy too.
Andariel’s Visage (Helm)

Lucky Hit: Up to a [15 – 20]% chance to trigger a poison nova that applies X Poisoning damage over 5 seconds to enemies in the area.

+18 All Stats
+10% Attack Speed
+2% Life Steal (fully upgraded goes to +3%)
+60% Poison Resistance (fully upgraded goes to +90%)

The horrific whispers of the Maiden of Anguish flicker through your mind, pushing you ever closer to madness…

X’Fal’s Corroded Signet (Ring)

+X% Resistance to All Elements
+Y% Fire Resistance

Lucky Hit: Your damage over time effects have up to a 50% chance to erupt, dealing [X-Y] damage of the same type to Nearby enemies.

+[20 – 28] All Stats
+[14 – 28]% Damage Over Time
+[3.2 – 6]% Lucky Hit Chance
+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction


Skulking in the shadows of the Realm of Destruction, the Scarred Baron plots the downfall of the mortal who banished him there.

Tibault’s Will (Pants) (this one’s very good to use if you don’t feel like your survivability sucks or for overworld and other easier content as well as to swap to for boss fights)

While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]% increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.

+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity
+[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage
+[5 – 13] Maximum Resource


“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald. (if you don’t have any use Topaz for a bit)
Armor: Ruby or Saphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you If needed in higher tier NM dungeons).
Jewelry: Skull (ideally) OR Diamond if not capped on resists. Unless you need specific resistance more.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+15%/+5%/+5% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+12%/+250/30% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N
Health on Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+24/+5%/+250 for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+24%/+4.0%/30% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance

+20%/10%/30% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+12%/3%/30% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of The Protector OR Exploiter’s Aspect / Godslayer Crown OR an Alternative Helm Pick (see notes in the Unique Items section)
  • Amulet: Rapid Aspect
  • Chest: Aspect of Disobedience
  • Pants: Aspect of Might or Vigorous Aspect / Tibault’s Will (see notes in the Unique Items section)
  • Gloves: Symbiotic Aspect
  • Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect / Flickerstep
  • Ring 1: Runeworker’s Conduit Aspect
  • Ring 2: Overcharged Aspect / X’Fal’s Corroded Signet
  • Main Hand Weapon: Aspect of Control
  • Off-hand Weapon: Aspect of Three Curses
  • 2-H Weapon: Conceited Aspect or Edgemaster’s Aspect
    (I actually Don’t recommend playing this build before getting at least the unique staff in the first place. However, if you insist on using this build before the staff drops then I recommend ideally using a 1h + Off-hand combo before you get Greatstaff of the Crone. Why? Because it means a LOT of potential Cooldown reduction lost (up to 2x 10.3% at max item power) and this build is heavily dependent on CDR even with Flickerstep equipped. However, if you want to use a Legendary Staff or Hammer for a bit, then make sure you use a very high rolled Conceited Aspect or Edgemaster’s Aspect on the the 2h weapon)

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. I’ve made two version: 1 for before the Abattoire of Lord Zir (December 5th) Patch and 1 for after the Abattoire patch. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (INT, DEX, WIL) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.

  • MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent Before Abattoire Patch : Click THIS LINK
  • MAX LEVEL & MAX Paragon points spent After Abattoire Patch: Click THIS LINK

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted various different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority. NOTE: I’ve added a new “Top Priority per Slot” list but left the old unsorted list below it.

This is the Sorted by Slot list of Top Priority Affixes/Rolls:

    • Helm:
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Total Armor
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Basic Skill Attack Speed
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)
      • Priority 4: +N% X Resistance(es)
    • Chest:
      • Priority 1: Total Armor, Damage Reduction while Fortified,
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), + X% Damage, Damage Reduction
      • Priority 4: +x Ranks to Earthen Bulwark, Damage while Shapeshifted, Werewolf Skill Damage, Storm Skill Damage, Nature Damage, Physical Damage, +N% X Resistance(es)
    • Gloves:
      • Priority 1: Critical Strike Chance, Lucky Hit Chance
      • Priority 2: Attack Speed, Damage to Injured Enemies, Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)
      • Priority 3: Storm Skill Cooldown Reduction, Lightning Critical Strike Damage, Critical Strike Damage with Werewolf Skills
      • Priority 4: Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies. +N% X Resistance(es)
    • Pants:
      • Priority 1: Total Armor, Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction while Injured
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)
      • Priority 4: +N% X Resistance(es), Damage Reduction
    • Boots:
      • Priority 1: Movement Speed, Damage Reduction while Injured
      • Priority 2: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)
      • Priority 3: Total Armor while in Werewolf Form
      • Priority 4: +N% X Resistance(es), Fortify Generation
    • Amulet:
      • Priority 1: Total Armor, Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed
      • Priority 2: Storm Skill Cooldown Reduction
      • Priority 3: +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured/While Fortified
      • Priority 4: Damage while Shapeshifted, Werewolf /Earth Skill Damage, +X% Damage,
    • Rings:
      • Priority 1: Critical Strike Damage, Critical Strike Chance, Damage to Close Enemies
      • Priority 2: Lucky Hit Chance, Maximum Life
      • Priority 3: Damage to Distant/Injured Enemies, Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Poisoned
      • Priority 4: Fortify Generation
    • Main Hand Weapon:
      • Priority 1: Critical Strike Damage, Damage to Close Enemies
      • Priority 2: (All Stats or Willpower), Damage to Distant Enemies
      • Priority 3: Basic Skill Damage, Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Injured Enemies, Critical Strike Damage with Werewolf Skills, Lightning Critical Strike Damage, Damage to Poisoned Enemies, Damage to CCed
      • Priority 4: Other Core Stats (Dex, Int)
    • Off-hand Focus:
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Critical Strike Chance, Lucky Hit Chance
      • Priority 2: Basic Skill Attack Speed, Basic Skill Damage
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 4: Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned, Critical Chance Against Injured
    • 2-H Weapon (1H+off-hand setup is preferred until the unique Staff Drops): Same priorities as 1H Main Hand Weapon (scroll up a bit and read)

This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:

Higher Priority
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (Post-Launch, RDY-4-Launch) Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Storm Lord 4.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net, Steam)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

BIG GRIZZ 4.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV [Top Werebear Synegy]

BIG GRIZZ 4.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV S2 [Top Werebear Synegy]

(BIG GRIZZ IS BACK and it’s still got that BIG GRIZZ energy, it’s angrier than ever before, yet still feels beary tanky)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV Season 2 (Season of the Blood) started on October 17th, 2023 for Players on PC (Battle.Net & Steam), XBOX, & PlayStation). After extensive testing, I bring you a Werebear Druid with the TOP Synergy for the archetype. The build’s easy to gear up & get things going but requires 1 non-codex aspect. 2 out of 4 Uniques are relatively easy to get from Uber Bosses too. As usual, I’ll evolve & keep my builds updated. This is one such build for the Druid Class called BIG Grizz 4.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for my builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added a link to a new build calculator/planner that I’ll be using from now on as well which seems amazing.

This build will be updated when needed.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my Latest & older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG Grizz 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Maul – Shapeshift into a Werebear and maul enemies in front of you, dealing 21% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 30%
    Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Generates: 11 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Maul If an enemy is hit by Maul, then Fortify for 2% of your Maximum Life.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Maul Increases the range and radius of Maul by 25%.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Pulverize Shapeshift into a Werebear and slam the ground, dealing 50% (X-?) damage to nearby enemies.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical
    Spirit Cost: 35
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Pulverize – Your next Pulverize will Overpower every 12 seconds while you remain Healthy.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primal Pulverize – Enemies hit with Pulverize deal 20% reduced damage for 4 seconds.
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade) Iron FurYou gain 3%/6%/9% Damage Reduction while in Werebear form. This bonus persists for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz it’s a Werewolf synergy) Digitigrate Gait
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
    Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Maximum Life as Fortify.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Debilitating Roar Shapeshift into a Werebear and bellow a mighty roar, reducing Nearby enemies’ damage dealt by 70% for 4 seconds.
    Cooldown: 22 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Debilitating Roar Debilitating Roar also Fortifies you for 22% Maximum Life.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also heals you for 4% of your maximum Life each second for its duration.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion

  • (active) DID NOT TAKE a Companion active due to using already full skillbar
  • (1st upgrade)
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Trample – Shapeshift into a Werebear , become Unstoppable, and charge forward, dealing 25% (X-?) damage and Knocking Back enemies. Enemies who are Knocked Back into terrain take an additional 45% (X-?) damage and are Stunned for 3 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 20%
    Cooldown: 14 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Trample Trample deals 150% bonus damage. This bonus is reduced by 50% (multiplicative) for each enemy hit after the first.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Savage Trample Casting Trample grants 40 Spirit.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Crushing Earth – Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
    • (upgrade) Stone Guard – While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Safeguard – Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortify you for 2%/4%/7% Maximum Life.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Mending – While in Werebear form, you receive +5%/+10%/+15% additional healing from all sources.
    • (upgrade) Provocation – When you remain in Werebear form for at least 24/20/16 seconds, your next Skill will Overpower.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)

  • (active) Grizzly Rage – Shapeshift into a Dire Werebear for 10 seconds gaining 20% (multiplicative) bonus damage and 20% damage reduction. Damage bonus is increased by 3% each second while in this form. Kills extend the duration by 1 second up to 10 additional seconds.
    Cooldown: 60 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Grizzly Rage Grizzly Rage grants you Unstoppable for 6 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Grizzly Rage Gain 8% Maximum Life as Fortify per second while Grizzly Rage is active.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Natural Disaster Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
      Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance
  • (passive) Defensive Posture Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide
    • (upgrade) Nature’s Resolve 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Maximum Life.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Unrestrained
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Heightened Senses Upon shapeshifting into a Werewolf or Werebear, gain 4%/8%/12% damage reduction against Elites for 5 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Natural Fortitude Shapeshifting Fortifies you for 1%/3%/4% Maximum Life.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Ursine Strength – Gain 20% (multiplicative) additional maximum Life while in Werebear form and for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form. While Healthy, deal 25% (multiplicative) increased damage, and 25% (multiplicative) increased Overpower damage.

Seasonal Mechanic (Vampiric Powers):

In Season 2 (Season of Blood), the seasonal Mechanics involves slotting in up to 5 (out of 22) Vampiric Powers at once. Each power requires a certain number of pacts to be applied to your armor. There are 3 types of Pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, Eternity. Pacts can be applied to Armor as follows: Helmet & Boots up can have to 3, Pants up to 4, while Chest Armor and Gloves can have up to 5 pacts applied to them. That Makes a Total of 20 and is enough for any possible combination of 5 powers. Below you can find Information of the total pacts this build needs + the 5 powers we’ve used.

VAMPIRIC POWERS:
Vampiric Powers Total Pacts Required: ferocity 2, divinity 8, eternity 7

Powers Used:
Blood Boil = eternity 6
Accursed Touch = divinity 6
Prey on the Weak = ferocity 2
Sanguine Brace = divinity 1 + eternity 1
Anticipation = divinity 1

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.

  • Eagle Category: take those two
    • Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
    • Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage.
  • Deer Category: take this one
    • Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category: IMPORTANT TO NOTE that the best pick for mobbing is terrible for single target here!
    That best pick is Obsidian Slam: Every 20th kill will case your next Earth Skill to Overpower.
    As it’s obvious, while it’s a 1on1 fight it’s practically useless. Thus, you may temporarily swap it out for 99% of the boss fights that won’t have constant minions/summons, especially for uber bosses. As replacement, there are two decent picks here so choose whichever you like based on whether you need more survivability or ultimate CDR
    • option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills heal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
    • option 2) Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
  • Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. I personally think Energize is the best fit since Bolster‘s Survivability is no longer needed and Calamity‘s duration increase only counts Grizzly Rage‘s base duration and not the bonus from the aspect when counting those 25%. Pick based on whether you need more spirit regen or longer Ultimates.
    • option 1) Energize: Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit.
    • option 2) Calamity: Extend the duration of Ultimate Skills by 25%.

Unique Items

In Diablo IV we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check below it & the notes under the Aspects list for more info:

Top Pick Uniques for the Build

Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor)

Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +3 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.

+[10.5 – 17.5]% Physical Damage
+[84 – 126%] Overpower Damage
+[4.9 – 10.5]% Damage Reduction while Fortified
+[25.5 – 46.5]% Total Armor while in Werebear Form


When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth’s flames.


Vasily’s Prayer (Helm) This one’s currently broken and the Fortify it gives does not scale with level/item power so it’s only half good/half worth it.

Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear Skills and Fortify you for N.

+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage while Shapeshifted
+[42 – 63%] Overpower Damage
+[X – Y] Maximum Life
+[19 – 40]% Lightning Resistance


“Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements

Alternative Choice 1: Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option considering how broken Vasily’s Prayer is. It’s acceptable to loose the ability to cast Earthen Bulwark during grizzly rage if it means using a helmet with stats and bonuses that the Shako/Harlequin Crest provides.

Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[4] Ranks to All Skills.

[N] Maximum Life
X% Cooldown Reduction
+12% Resource Generation
+[28] All Stats


“This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king’s entire lineage.” – The Fall of House Aston

Alternative Choice 2: Godslayer Crown (Helm) Right now this also seems like a very good option considering how broken Vasily’s Prayer is. It’s acceptable to loose the ability to cast Earthen Bulwark during grizzly rage if it means using a helmet with stats, CC and massive DPS boost that the Godslayer Crown provides.

When you Stun, Freeze, or Immobilize an Elite enemy, or damage a Boss, it pulls in nearby enemies. You deal x[30-60]% increased damage to them for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 12 seconds.

+[4.2 – 7]% Cooldown Reduction
+[X – Y] Maximum Life
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage
+[5 – 12]% Crowd Control Duration


“The Sahptev faithful believe in a thousand and one gods. If it takes me as many lifetimes, I will find and kill them all.” – Gaspar Stilbian, Veradani Outcast

Banished Lord’s Talisman (Amulet)

+[X]% Resistance to All Elements

After you spend 300 of your Primary Resource, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower. Your Critical Strikes that Overpower deal x[80-120]% increased damage.

+[5 – 12]% Resource Generation
+[21 – 42] Overpower Damage
+[1.8 – 5]% Critical Strike Chance
+1 Ranks of All Core Skills (note: this goes to +2 when fully upgrade to 5/5)


Tibault’s Will (Pants)

While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores 20% Resource You deal x[20-40]% increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource.

+[2 – 3] Potion Capacity
+[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
+[10.5 – 17.5]% Damage
+[5 – 13] Maximum Resource


“The younger apprentices think wearing heavy plate in the swamps is foolish. They fail to understand that our armor is our legacy, and without it we are nothing.” – Crusader Pembroke

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Ruby. (if you don’t have any use Emerald for a bit)
Armor: Ruby or Saphire/Topaz (dmg reduction can help you needed in higher tier NM dungeons).
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+15%/+5%/+8% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+12%/+250/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+24%/+4.0%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance

+20%/10%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+12%/3%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my Latest & Older Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG Grizz 4.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of Disobedience / Vasily’s Prayer OR 1 of the Alternative Helm Picks (see notes in the Unique Items section)
  • Amulet: Aspect of Retaliation / Banished Lord’s Talisman
  • Chest: Aspect of Might / Insatiable Fury
  • Pants: Aspect of Mending Stone / Tibault’s Will goes here
  • Gloves: Aspect of the Rampaging Werebeast
  • Boots: Ballistic Aspect
  • Ring 1: Aspect of The Ursine Horror
  • Ring 2: Raw Might Aspect
  • Main Hand Weapon: I recommend using a 2h Hammer
  • Off-hand Totem: I recommend using a 2h Hammer
  • 2-H Weapon: Shockwave Aspect
    (I recommend using a 2H Hammer as a weapon. With a 1h weapon + off-hand totem you can get quite a bit less dps but more utility (cooldown reduction, spirit cost reduction, etc.) so if you decide to do that a 1h Mace/Hammer will be the best choice)

Paragon Boards:

Use the link below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. On the link you’ll see what the boards will look like at lvl 100 with ALL paragon points spent and fully min-maxed to get the most out of every board BUT it’s base on my gear’s attributes bonuses (WIL, DEX, INT) so you may need to reorder some of the floating nodes to make sure you get the double bonus requirements of all rare nodes. Leveling in Season 2 is fast so I no longer will provide a version with less points spent.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted various different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority. NOTE: I’ve added a new “Top Priority per Slot” list but left the old unsorted list below it.

This is the Sorted by Slot list of Top Priority Affixes/Rolls:

    • Helm:
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Basic Skill Attack Speed
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Total Armor
      • Priority 4: Maximum Spirit
    • Chest:
      • Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified, Overpower Damage with Werebear Skills
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, + X% Damage, Damage Reduction
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), +x Ranks to Debilitating Roar/Earthen Bulwark, Total Armor
      • Priority 4: Damage while Shapeshifted, Werebear Skill Damage, Earth Skill Damage, Earth Damage, Physical Damage
    • Gloves:
      • Priority 1: + X ranks of Pulverize, Overpower Damage, Critical Strike Chance
      • Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Attack Speed
      • Priority 3: Earth Skill Cooldown Reduction, Lucky Hit Chance, Earth Critical Strike Damage, Critical Strike Damage with Werebear Skills
      • Priority 4: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
    • Pants:
      • Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction while Injured
      • Priority 3: + X ranks of Trample, Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Total Armor while in Werebear Form
      • Priority 4: Total Armor, Damage Reduction
    • Boots:
      • Priority 1: Movement Speed, Damage Reduction while Injured
      • Priority 2: Spirit Cost Reduction
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats), Total Armor while in Werebear Form
      • Priority 4: Total Armor while in Werewolf Form
    • Amulet:
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, +X Ranks of Wrath Skills, Movement Speed
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Storm Skill Cooldown Reduction
      • Priority 3:Damage while Shapeshifted, Werewolf/Storm Skill Damage, +X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured/While Fortified, Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
      • Priority 4: Spirit Cost Reduction
    • Rings:
      • Priority 1: Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Critical Strike Chance, Damage to Injured/Close/Poisoned Enemies
      • Priority 3: Physical/Lightning Damage, Lucky Hit Chance
      • Priority 4: Resource Generation, Fortify Generation
    • Main Hand Weapon: See the 2H Weapon Rolls List
    • Off-hand Totem: if you decide to use 1H + Totem
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Critical Strike Chance
      • Priority 2: Spirit Cost Reduction
      • Priority 3: Lucky Hit Chance, Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 4: Fortify Generation, Up to a 5% Chance to Restore X% Primary Resource, Critical Chance Against Injured
    • 2-H Weapon: See the 1H Weapon Rolls List
      • Priority 1: Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage
      • Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Damage to Close Enemies
      • Priority 3: Critical Strike Damage with Werewolf Skills, Lightning Critical Strike Damage, Damage to Poisoned Enemies
      • Priority 4: Core Stats (Wil, Dex, Int, All Stats)

This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:

Overpower / Overpower with Werebear Skills
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Earth/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werebear Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Basic Skills
Damage with Core/Basic/Nature/Earth/Shapeshifting/Werebear Skills
Damage Against Close Enemies
+ X Ranks to Core/Defensive/Wrath Skills
+ X Ranks to Pulverizee/Debilitating Roar/Earthen Bulwark/Trample
Cooldown Reduction
+ Maximum Life
+ All Stats
+ Willpower, + Dexterity, + Intelligence
Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Resource/Spirit Cost Reduction
Attack Speed
Damage Reduction while from Close Enemies
Damage Reduction while Fortified
Damage Reduction while Injured
Movement Speed
Resistance to All Elements
Total Armor / Total Armor in Werebear Form
+ X% Damage
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Physical/Earth Skill Damage Bonus
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Lucky Hit Chance
Higher Priority
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Earth/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werebear Skill Damage
Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Fortify Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Barrier Generation
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Latest Season 2 & Older (Post-Launch, RDY-4-Launch) Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the BIG Grizz 4.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net, Steam)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Storm Lord 3.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV [S- Tier Potential]

Storm Lord 3.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [S- Tier Potential]

(call upon the forces of Nature, embrace your Inner Wolf, & Claw your foes to Smite them with wrathful Storm Strikes)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launched on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation) and I’ve had my fair share of playing and testing done. I’m already making full Builds/Theorycrafts that work for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I’ll evolve & keep them updated when we get major rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Storm Lord 3.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for my builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated when needed.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 3.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active) Claw Shapeshift into a Werewolf and shred an enemy, dealing 20% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
    Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Generates: 9 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Claw Claw’s Attack Speed is increased by +10%.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Claw – Claw applies 10% (X) poisoning damage over 3 seconds.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2)

  • (active) Tornado Conjure a swirling tornado that deals 35% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33%
    Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical | Spirit Cost: 40
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Tornado Each time you cast Tornado, you have a 20% chance to spawn an additional Tornado.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Raging Tornado Enemies hit with Tornado have a 10% chance to become Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Heart of the Wild Maximum Spirit is increased by 3/6/9.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Wild Impulses
    • (upgrade) Abundance Basic Skills generate 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) more Spirit.
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take as its’ Werebear synergy) Iron Fur
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Digitigrate Gait / Lycanthropic Speed
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
    Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Base Life as Fortify.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Debilitating Roar Shapeshift into a Werebear and bellow a mighty roar, reducing Nearby enemies’ damage dealt by 50% for 4 seconds.
    Cooldown: 22 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Debilitating Roar Debilitating Roar also Fortifies you for 22% Base Life.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Debilitating Roar – Debilitating Roar also heals you for 4% of your maximum Life each second for its duration.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion

  • (active) DID NOT TAKE a Companion active due to using already full skillbar
  • (1st upgrade)
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33%
    Cooldown: 20 seconds | Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)Savage Hurricane Enemies affected by Hurricane deal 20% less damage.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Elemental Exposure Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
    • (upgrade) Endless Tempest Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative). This node is ONLY required to unlock Bad Omen BUT you’ll also need a point in Atmosphere for Bad Omen
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Charged Atmosphere
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Bad Omen
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Electric Shock
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)

  • (active) Cataclysm A massive storm follows you for 8 seconds. Tornadoes Knock Back enemies, and lightning strikes wildly dealing 52% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 82%
    Cooldown: 80 seconds | Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Cataclysm Cataclysm’s duration is increased by 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Cataclysm Lightning strikes from Cataclysm make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Natural Disaster
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance
  • (passive) Defensive Posture Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide
    • (upgrade) Nature’s Resolve 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Unrestrained
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Heightened Senses Upon shapeshifting into a Werewolf or Werebear, gain 4%/8%/12% damage reduction against Elites for 5 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Natural Fortitude Shapeshifting Fortifies you for 1%/3%/4% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Key Passive / Capstone (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Lupine Ferocity – Every 6th Werewolf skill hit Critically Strikes and deals 60% (multiplicative) increased damage.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.

  • Eagle Category: take those two
    • Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
    • Avian Wrath +30% Critical Strike Damage.
  • Deer Category: take this one
    • Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category: two decent picks here so choose whichever you like based on whether you need more survivability or ultimate CDR
    • option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills heal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
    • option 2) Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
  • Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. Pick based on whether you need longer Ultimates or more survivability.
    • option 1) Calamity: Extend the duration of Ultimate Skills by 25%.
    • option 2) Bolster: Fortify for 10% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill

Note: Obsidian Slam on the Snake Category is also a very interesting synergy with this build worth considering for mobbing but won’t be great on Boss figh

Unique Items

In Diablo IV we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check below it & the notes under the Aspects list for more info:

Top Pick Uniques for the Build

Greatstaff of the Crone (Staff)

+[17.5%] Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies

Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at [120 – 150]% normal damage.

+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage to Close Enemies
+[9.5 – 16.5]% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
+[7 – 14]% Non-Physical Damage
+[X – 9] Ranks of Claw

“She has existed in Scosglen since before Fiacla-Géar walked the land. Her purpose is a mystery to us all. However, approach her with deference; she may grant you her counsel.” – Airidah, to Donan

Tempest Roar (Helm)

Lucky Hit: Storm Skills have up to a [15 – 25]% chance to grant 10 Spirit. Your base Storm Skills are now also Werewolf Skills

+[7 – 14]% Damage while Shapeshifted
[24.5 – 45.5]% Poison Resistance
+[16 – 24] Maximum Spirit
[0.031 – 0.073] Life On Kill

“Listen, child, to the music of the storm. It has its own rhythm. Its own melody. Hear how beautifully it sings, and perhaps one day you will be able to join in its harmony.” – Airidah

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald is what this build needs most BUT worth trying Topaz too
Armor: Ruby or Saphire/Topaz (dmg reduction is very needed in high tier NM dungeons).
Jewelry: Skull for Armor until they rework resistances. After the rework: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+15%/+5%/+8% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+24/+5%/+250 for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+12%/+250/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+24%/+4.0%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance

+20%/10%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+12%/3%/22.1% for Royal (the 5th grade at lvl 60)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 3.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of Disobedience / Tempest Roar (see notes below)
  • Amulet: Eluding Aspect
  • Chest: Aspect of Might
  • Pants: Vigorous Aspect
  • Gloves: Aspect of the Dark Howl
  • Boots: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Ring 1: Accelerating Aspect / Rapid Aspect (see notes below)
  • Ring 2: Stormchaser’s Aspect
  • Main Hand Weapon: I recommend using a 2h axe before you get the unique Staff
  • Off-hand Totem: I recommend using a 2h axe before you get the unique Staff
  • 2-H Weapon: Rapid Aspect / Greatstaff of the Crone (see notes below)
    (I recommend using a 2H Axe as a weapon until Greatstaff of the Crone drops. With a 1h weapon + off-hand totem you can get a bit less dps but more utility (cooldown reduction, spirit cost reduction, etc.) so if you decide to do that a 1h Axe will be the best choice)
NOTES: How to re-arrange if using any of the Uniques:

- For Tempest Roar (Helm): Aspect of Disobedience gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Greatstaff of the Crone (2h Staff): Accelerating Aspect gets removed from the Ring 1 slot. Then, Rapid Aspect goes into the, now empty, Ring 1 slot to make room for the 2H Staff.

Additional Note: Since on higher Nightmare dungeon Tiers damage reduction is too important, the unique werewolf chest armor (Mad Wolf's Glee) is not recommended. BUT you can use if it drops for you up until around NMD Tiers 50-60, especially if you're maxed out and speed-running those tiers.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 91 with 186 paragon points (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100). The other link is what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 36 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority. NOTE: I’ve added a new “Top Priority per Slot” list but left the old unsorted list below it.

This is the Sorted by Slot list of Top Priority Affixes/Rolls:

    • Helm:
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Basic Skill Attack Speed
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Maximum Spirit
      • Priority 4: Total Armor
    • Chest:
      • Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, + X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), +x Ranks to Debilitating Roar/Earthen Bulwark, Total Armor
      • Priority 4: Damage while Shapeshifted, Werewolf Skill Damage, Storm Skill Damage, Lightning Damage, Physical Damage
    • Gloves:
      • Priority 1: + X ranks of Tornado
      • Priority 2: Critical Strike Chance, Damage to Injured Enemies, Attack Speed
      • Priority 3: Storm Skill Cooldown Reduction, Lucky Hit Chance, Lightning Critical Strike Damage, Critical Strike Damage with Werewolf Skills
      • Priority 4: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
    • Pants:
      • Priority 1: Damage Reduction from Close/Distant Enemies, Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Damage Reduction while Injured
      • Priority 3: + X ranks of Hurricane, Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats)
      • Priority 4: Total Armor, Damage Reduction
    • Boots:
      • Priority 1: Movement Speed, Damage Reduction while Injured
      • Priority 2: Energy Cost Reduction
      • Priority 3: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Fortify Generation
      • Priority 4: Total Armor while in Werewolf Form
    • Amulet:
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, +X Ranks of Wrath Skills, Movement Speed
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, +X Ranks of a Passive you like, Storm Skill Cooldown Reduction
      • Priority 3:Damage while Shapeshifted, Werewolf/Storm Skill Damage, +X% Damage, Damage Reduction from Close or Distant Enemies/While Injured/While Fortified, Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
      • Priority 4: Spirit Cost Reduction
    • Rings:
      • Priority 1: Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage
      • Priority 2: Maximum Life, Critical Strike Chance, Damage to Injured/Close/Poisoned Enemies
      • Priority 3: Physical/Lightning Damage, Lucky Hit Chance
      • Priority 4: Resource Generation, Fortify Generation
    • Main Hand Weapon: See the 2H Weapon Rolls List
    • Off-hand Totem: if you decide to use 1H + Totem
      • Priority 1: Cooldown Reduction, Critical Strike Chance
      • Priority 2: Spirit Cost Reduction
      • Priority 3: Lucky Hit Chance, Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats), Damage Reduction while Fortified
      • Priority 4: Fortify Generation, Up to a 5% Chance to Restore X% Primary Resource, Critical Chance Against Injured
    • 2-H Weapon: See the 1H Weapon Rolls List
      • Priority 1: Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Core Skill Damage
      • Priority 2: Damage to Injured Enemies, Damage to Close Enemies
      • Priority 3: Critical Strike Damage with Werewolf Skills, Lightning Critical Strike Damage, Damage to Poisoned Enemies
      • Priority 4: Core Stats (Int, Dex, Wil, All Stats)

This is the UNsorted by list of useful Affixes/Rolls:

+ X% Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Storm/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werewolf Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Basic Skills
Damage with Core/Basic/Nature/Storm/Shapeshifting/Werewolf Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Defensive/Wrath Skills
+ X Ranks to Tornado/Debilitating Roar/Earthen Bulwark/Hurricane
Damage vs Injured Enemies
+ Intelligence, + Dexterity, + Willpower
+ All Stats
+ Maximum Life
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Resource/Spirit Cost Reduction
Cooldown Reduction
Attack Speed
Physical/Lightning Skill Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Storm/Nature/Shapeshifting/Werewolf Skill Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Damage Against Close/Distant Enemies
+ % Physical/Lightning Damage to Elites
Vulnerable Damage / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Damage Reduction from Enemies That Are Poisoned
Damage Reduction while Fortified
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Restore +X% Primary Resource
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% chance to Heal +X Life
Damage while Healthy
Barrier Generation
Movement Speed
Fortify Generation
Higher Priority
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Post-Launch & RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Storm Lord 3.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

BIG GRIZZ 3.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV [A Tier Grade]

BIG GRIZZ 3.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [A Tier Grade]

(this build’s got that BIG GRIZZ energy & uses two defensive skills, making it beary tanky)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launched on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation) and I’ve had my fair share of playing and testing done. I’m now ready to start making full Builds/Theorycrafts that work for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I’ll evolve & keep them updated when we get major rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called BIG GRIZZ 3.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for my builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated when needed.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG GRIZZ 3.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Storm Strike – Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing 20% (X-?) damage to your target and chaining to up to 3 surrounding enemies, dealing 20% less damage each time it chains. You gain 25% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds after dealing damage with Storm Strike.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 25% | Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning
    Generates: 15 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 15% chance to Immobilize all enemies hit for 2.5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Pulverize Shapeshift into a Werebear and slam the ground, dealing 50% (X-?) damage to nearby enemies.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33% | Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical
    Spirit Cost: 35
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Pulverize – Your next Pulverize will Overpower every 12 seconds while you remain Healthy.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primal Pulverize – Enemies hit with Pulverize deal 20% reduced damage for 4 seconds.
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Iron Fur
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz it’s a Werewolf synergy) Digitigrate Gait
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50%
    Cooldown: 16 seconds | Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Base Life as Fortify.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Blood Howl – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life.
    Cooldown: 15 seconds | Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl – Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
  • (passive) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here due to not enough points left) Vigilance – You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds after using a Defensive Skill.
  • (passive) did not pick other Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion

  • (active) DID NOT TAKE a Companion active due to using already full skillbar
  • (1st upgrade)
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33%
    Cooldown: 20 seconds | Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)Savage Hurricane Enemies affected by Hurricane deal 20% less damage.
  • (passive) Crushing Earth Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
    • (upgrade) Stone Guard While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Safeguard Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortifiy you for 2%/4%/7% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Petrify Petrify all Nearby enemies in stone, Stunning them for 3 seconds. You deal 25% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage to enemies affected by Petrify.
    Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
    Cooldown: 60 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Petrify Petrify’s duration is increased by 1 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Petrify Killing an enemy affected by Petrify grants 25 Spirit.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Natural Disaster Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1%/2%/3% of your maximum Life.
    • (upgrade) Resonance Nature Magic Skills deal 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth Skill is the next Skill cast after a Storm Skill, or a Storm Skill is the next Skill cast after an Earth Skill.
  • (passive) Defensive Posture – Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide
    • (upgrade) Nature’s Resolve – 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Unrestrained
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Earthen Might – Lucky Hit: Damaging enemies with Earth Skills has up to a 5% chance to grant Earthen Might, which does:
    Restore all of your Spirit
    Cause your attacks to be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds

    This chance is increased by: 10% for Critical Strikes 10% if the target is Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

The Spirit Boons system lets you pick 1 spirit Boon per bond out of 4 categories. Eventually you unlock the option to specialize into a certain bond which will let you get 2 Boons from that category. I advise using the following 2 + 1 +1 +1 for now.

  • Eagle Category: take those two
    • Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
    • Avian Wrath +30% Critical Strike Damage.
  • Deer Category: take this one
    • Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category: two decent picks here so choose whichever you like based on whether you need more survivability or ultimate CDR
    • option 1) Masochistic: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills heal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
    • option 2) Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills (Earth & Storm) have up to a 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
  • Wolf Category: There are also two decent picks here. Pick based on whether you need more spirit generation or more survivability.
    • option 1) Energize: Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit.
    • option 2) Bolster: Fortify for 10% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill

Note: Obsidian Slam on the Snake Category is also a very interesting synergy with this build worth considering for mobbing but won’t be great on Boss fights.

Unique Items

In Diablo IV we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Uniques inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top picks will be the following two but check the notes under the Aspects list for more picks:

Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor)

Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.

+[0.07 – 0.14] Physical Damage
+[21 – 42]% Overpower Damage
[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction while Fortified
+[0.07 – 0.14] Armor

When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth’s flames.


Vasily’s Prayer (Helm) This one’s currently broken and the Fortify it gives does not scale with level/item power so it’s only half good/half worth it.

Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear Skills and Fortify you for N.

+[7 – 14]% Damage while Shapeshifted
[24.5 – 45.5]% Lightning Resistance
[0.12 – 0.26] Maximum Life
[12 – 20] Spirit On Kill

“Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements

Harlequin Crest (Helm) Right now this seems like a very good option considering how broken Vasily’s Prayer is.

Gain [5-8%] Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +[2-4] Ranks to All Skills.

[0.245 – 0.455] Maximum Life
X% Cooldown Reduction
+[42 – 70]% Crafting Material Drop Rate
[14 – 28] All Stats

“This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king’s entire lineage.” – The Fall of House Aston

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Ruby, Emerald, Saphire, or Skull.
Armor: Ruby.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all. Alternatively, Skull.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/+5% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/+39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance

+16.7%/8.2%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG GRIZZ 3.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of Mending Stone / Harlequin Crest OR Vasily’s Prayer (see notes below)
  • Amulet: Ballistic Aspect
  • Chest: Exploiter’s Aspect / Insatiable Fury (see notes below)
  • Pants: Skinwalker’s Aspect
  • Gloves: Aspect of The Ursine Horror
  • Boots: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Ring 1: Shockwave Aspect
  • Ring 2: Aspect of Natural Balance
  • 1H Weapon: Nighthowler’s Aspect
  • Off-hand: Aspect of Retaliation
  • 2-H Weapon: Nighthowler’s Aspect OR Aspect of Retaliation OR Aspect of Natural Balance BUT I do NOT recommend using a 2-hander
NOTES: How to re-arrange if using any of the Uniques:

- Exploiter’s Aspect stays in the Chest slot ONLY until you get the Insatiable Fury Unique Chest Armor.  For after that just discard it from the build. 
- For Vasily's Prayer (Helm): Aspect of Mending Stone gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Mending Stone get removed from the Helm to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Eyes in the Dark (Pants): Aspect of Control gets removed from the Ring 1 slot to make room for the Unique Ring. 

ALTERNATIVE: ALTERNATIVE: If you decide to use Mother's Embrace (Ring) in the build, you will need to sacrifice one more aspect and it may be hurting the build to loose any of the remaining aspects once you have the Helmet and Chest slots filled up with Uniques. Up to you to decide which on is okay to sacrifice for that Unique ring.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 88 with 175 paragon points (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100). The other link is what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points but i did leave the last 1 up to you to spend.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 45 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for
(NOT in order of priority)
+ X% Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Earth Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Damage with Core/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Nature Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Defensive/Nature/Storm Skills
+ X Ranks to Pulverize
Overpower Damage
+ Intelligence, + Dexterity, + Willpower
+ All Stats
+ Maximum Life
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Resource/Spirit Cost Reduction
Cooldown Reduction
Earth/Storm Skills Cooldown Reduction
Physical/Earth Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Earth Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Earth Damage
+ % Physical/Earth Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Earth Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage / Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Damage / Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage / Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Damage while Shapeshifted
Damage while in Werebear Form
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Movement Speed
Higher Priority
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Attack Speed
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the BIG GRIZZ 3.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Lycan Lacerator 2.0 Diablo IV Druid Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Lycan Lacerator 2.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Shapeshift into a Werewolf to Claw & Shred trough your enemies, tearing them apart)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV‘s Launch is almost upon us and it’s time for some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Lycan Lacerator 2.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Lycan Lacerator 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Claw – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and shred an enemy, dealing 20% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Generates: 9 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Claw Claw’s Attack Speed is increased by +10%.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Wild Claw Claw has a 10% chance to attack twice.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2)

  • (active) Shred Shapeshift into a Werewolf and and perform a trio of combo attacks:
    1st Attack: Deal 25% damage.
    2nd Attack: Deal 35% damage.
    3rd Attack: Perform a larger finishing move dealing 60% damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 34
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Shred Shred gains +30% Attack Speed and Heals for 2% of your Maximum Life if an enemy is struck.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primal Shred Shred’s second and third attacks also perform a dash. In addition, Shred’s Critical Strike Damage is increased by 20% (multiplicative).
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take as its’ Werebear synergy) Iron Fur
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz no points) Digitigrate Gait / Lycanthropic Speed
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Debilitating Roar Shapeshift into a Werebear and bellow a mighty roar, reducing Nearby enemies’ damage dealt by 50% for 4 seconds.
    Cooldown: 22 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Debilitating Roar Debilitating Roar also Fortifies you for 22% Base Life.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Debilitating Roar Debilitating Roar also heals you for 4% of your maximum Life each second for its duration.
  • (active) Blood Howl – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life.
    Cooldown: 15 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl – Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
    • (upgrade) Vigilance – You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds after using a Defensive Skill.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11) I did NOT take a companion Active Skill

  • (active)
    • (1st upgrade)
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Natural Hurricane Hurricane has a 15% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) Elemental Exposure Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
    • (upgrade) Endless Tempest Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative). This node is ONLY required to unlock Bad Omen BUT you’ll also need a point in Atmosphere for Bad Omen
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Charged Atmosphere Every 18/15/12 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 45% (X-?) damage. This node is required to unlock BOTH Bad Omen & Electric Shock
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here ) Bad Omen Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance when dealing damage to a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Stunned enemy that a Lightning Strike also hits dealing 55% (X-?) damage.
    • (upgrade) Electric Shock Lucky Hit: Dealing Lightning damage to enemies has a 5%/10%/15% chance to Immobilize them for 3 seconds. If the target is already Immobilized, the Lightning damage dealt to them is increased by 5%/10%/15%% (multiplicative) instead.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Crushing Earth Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
    • (upgrade) Stone Guard While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade)Safeguard Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortifiy you for 2%/4%/7% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)

  • (active) Lacerate Shapeshift into a Werewolf, become Immune and quickly dash 10 times between nearby enemies dealing up to 400% (X-?) damage.
    Lucky Hit Chance: 15% Cooldown: 50 seconds Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Lacerate Each time Lacerate deals a Critical Strike, heal for 3% of your maximum Life.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Lacerate Lacerate’s final strike deals 150% (multiplicative) increased damage.
  • (passive) Defensive Posture Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade) Thick Hide Whenever you are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Down, Fortify for 6%/13%/19% Base Life.
    • (upgrade) Nature’s Resolve 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
    • (upgrade) Unrestrained did NOT take this
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Heightened Senses did NOT take this
    • (upgrade) Natural Fortitude Shapeshifting Fortifies you for 1%/3%/4% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Lupine Ferocity Every 6th Werewolf skill hit Critically Strikes and deals 60% (multiplicative) increased damage.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

I don’t have much info regarding the Spirit Boons but I think you can pick at least 2 from the same category (when you specialize into it) + maybe 1 more from every other category . I’d advise getting the following 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 for now.

  • Eagle Category (specialize into this):
    Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance
    Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage
  • Deer Category:
    Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category: (two decent picks here so choose whichever ONE you like)
    option 1) Masochistic: Critical Stikes with Shapeshifting Skills heal you for 3% of your maximum Life.
    option 2) Overload: Lucky Hit: Lightning Damage has up to a 20% chance to cause the target to emit a static discharge, dealing 63.53% damage to surrounding enemies.
  • Wolf Category:
    Bolster: Fortify for 10% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Mad Wolf’s Glee (Chest Armor)

Werewolf form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werewolf Skills.

+[0.07 – 0.14] Physical Damage
+[0.07 – 0.14] Poison Damage
[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies
+[16.5 – 23.5]% Movement Speed

“He was not a victim of the curse – he sought it out. As his skin split and his bones cracked, his laughter never ceased.” – Tale of the Mad Nobleman

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald, Saphire, Ruby, Diamond, or Skull.
Armor: Saphire, Ruby, Diamond, or Skull.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/+39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Lycan Lacerator 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of the Dark Howl / Tempest Roar OR Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
  • Amulet: Accelerating Aspect / Exploiter’s Aspect (see notes below)
  • Chest: Exploiter’s Aspect / Mad Wolf’s Glee (see notes below)
  • Pants: Vigorous Aspect
  • Gloves: Overcharged Aspect / Accelerating Aspect (see notes below)
  • Boots: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Ring 1: Nighthowler’s Aspect
  • Ring 2: Aspect of The Unsatiated / Aspect of Retaliation (see notes below)
  • 1H Weapon: Aspect of Retaliation / Waxing Gibbous (see notes below)
  • Off-hand: Stormclaw’s Aspect
  • 2-H Weapon: Aspect of Retaliation (is you use one before Waxing Gibbous drop, which I don’t recommend)
NOTE 1: Overcharged Aspect goes in the Gloves slot ONLY until you get the Mad Wolf's Glee Unique Chest Armor. After that, scrap it and put Accelerating Aspect in the, now empty, Gloves slot. Then place Exploiter’s Aspect in the, now empty, Amulet Slot to make room for the Unique Chest Armor.

There are three other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Tempest Roar (Helm), Harlequin Crest (Helm) & Waxing Gibbous (Axe)

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange the aspects for any of the alternative Unique drops: (I tried to make is as painless as possible):
- For Tempest Roar (Helm): Aspect of the Dark Howl gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of the Dark Howl gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Waxing Gibbous (Axe): Aspect of The Unsatiated gets removed from the Ring 2 slot & Aspect of Retaliation goes in the, now empty, Ring 2 slot to make room for the Unique Axe.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 87 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 42 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Nature/Storm Skills
Damage with Core/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Nature/Storm Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Wrath/Defensive/Nature/Storm Skills
+ X Ranks to Shred/Hurricane/Claw/Blood Howl/Debilitating Roar
Overpower Damage
Physical/Lightning Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Lightning Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning Damage
+ % Physical/Lightning Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Lightning Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Shapeshifted
Damage while in Werewolf Form
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Higher Priority
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Willpower
Resource Cost Reduction
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Lycan Lacerator 2.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game, below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Rocky 2.0 Diablo IV Druid Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Rocky 2.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Rock their world by causing the Earth beneath their feet to slide, crushing their hopes)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV‘s Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Rocky 2.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

https://youtu.be/a88BAzgeUgQ

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Rocky 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthspike – Sunder the earth, impaling the first enemy hit for 16% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Requires s Bludgeoning weapon. Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical Generates: 8 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthspike – Earthspike has a 10% chance to Stun for 2.5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Earthspike – Fortify for 2% of your Base Life whenever Earthspike damages enemies who are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2)

  • (active) Landslide – Crush enemies between 2 pillars of earth, dealing up to 113% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 30
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Landslide – After Landslide damages enemies 4 times, the next hit will Immobilize enemies for 3 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Primal Landslide – When you Immobilize or Stun an enemy, you gain a Terramote. Each enemy hit by Landslide consumes a Terramote causing a guaranteed Critical Strike with 40% (multiplicative) Critical Strike Damage. Bosses always have up to a 10% chance to grant a Terramote when hit.
  • (passive) did not pick any Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 16 seconds Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Base Life as Fortify.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Blood Howl – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life. Cooldown: 15 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl – Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
    • (upgrade) Vigilance – You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds after using a Defensive Skill.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11) I did NOT take a companion Active Skill

  • (active)
    • (1st upgrade)
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) Nature’s Reach – Deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Distant enemies Double this bonus if they are also Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Natural Hurricane Hurricane has a 15% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Elemental Exposure Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
    • (upgrade) Endless Tempest did NOT take this
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Charged Atmosphere Every 18/15/12 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 45% (X-?) damage. This node is required to unlock BOTH Bad Omen & Electric Shock
    • (upgrade ) Bad Omen did NOT take this
    • (upgrade) Electric Shockdid NOT take this
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Crushing Earth Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
    • (upgrade) Stone Guard While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade)Safeguard Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortifiy you for 2%/4%/7% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)

  • (active) Petrify Petrify all Nearby enemies in stone, Stunning them for 3 seconds. You deal 25% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage to enemies affected by Petrify. Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical Cooldown: 60 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Petrify Petrify’s duration is increased by 1 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Petrify Killing an enemy affected by Petrify grants 25 Spirit.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Natural Disaster Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
    • (upgrade) Circle of Life Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1%/2%/3% of your maximum Life.
    • (upgrade) Resonance Nature Magic Skills deal 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth Skill is the next Skill cast after a Storm Skill, or a Storm Skill is the next Skill cast after an Earth Skill.
  • (passive) Defensive Posture Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade) Thick Hide Whenever you are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Down, Fortify for 6%/13%/19% Base Life.
    • (upgrade) Nature’s Resolve 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
    • (upgrade) Unrestrained did NOT take this
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Earthen Might – Lucky Hit: Damaging enemies with Earth Skills has up to a 5% chance to grant Earthen Might, which does:
    Restore all of your Spirit Cause your attacks to be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds

    This chance is increased by:
    10% for Critical Strikes 10% if the target is Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

I don’t have much info regarding the Spirit Boons but I think you can pick at least 2 from the same category (when you specialize into it) + maybe 1 more from every other category . I’d advise getting the following 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 for now.

  • Eagle Category:
    Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance
    Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage
  • Deer Category:
    Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category:
    Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills have up to 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds
  • Wolf Category:
    Bolster: Fortify for 10% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Vasily’s Prayer (Helm)

Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear Skills and Fortify you for N.

+[7 – 14]% Damage while Shapeshifted
[24.5 – 45.5]% Lightning Resistance
[0.12 – 0.26] Maximum Life
[12 – 20] Spirit On Kill

“Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic.” – Barrett’s Book of Implements

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Emerald, Saphire, Ruby, Diamond, or Skull.
Armor: Saphire, Ruby, Diamond, or Skull.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received
• Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/+39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Rocky 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: *Stormshifter’s Aspect / Vasily’s Prayer OR Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
  • Amulet: Ballistic Aspect
  • Chest: Earthguard Aspect / Insatiable Fury (see notes below)
  • Pants: Aspect of Mending Stone
  • Gloves: Seismic-shift Aspect
  • Boots: Exploiter’s Aspect
  • Ring 1: Nighthowler’s Aspect
  • Ring 2: Aspect of The Aftershock / Mother’s Embrace (see notes below)
  • 1H Weapon: Crashstone Aspect
  • Off-hand: Mighty Storm’s Aspect
  • 2-H Weapon: Crashstone Aspect
NOTE 1: Seismic-shift Aspect goes in the Gloves slot ONLY until you get the Vasily's Prayer Unique Helm. After that, scrap it and put Stormshifter's Aspect in the Gloves to make room for the Unique Helm.

There are three other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor), Harlequin Crest (Helm) & Mother's Embrace (Ring)

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange the aspects for any of the alternative Unique drops: (I tried to make is as painless as possible):
- For Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor): Earthguard Aspect gets removed from the Chest slot to make room for the Unique Chest Armor.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Seismic-shift Aspect gets removed from the Helm slot and Stormshifter's Aspect goes in the now empty Gloves slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Mother's Embrace (Ring): Aspect of The Aftershock gets removed from the Ring 2 slot to make room for the Unique Ring.

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 88 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 43 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Earth/Wrath/Defensive/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Damage with Core/Earth/Wrath/Defensive/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Earth/Wrath/Defensive/Werebear/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
+ X Ranks to Landslide/Hurricane/Earthen Bulwark/Earth Spike/Blood Howl
Overpower Damage
Physical/Lightning Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Lightning Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning Damage
+ % Physical/Lightning Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Lightning Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Close Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Shapeshifted
Damage while in Werebear Form
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Higher Priority
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Willpower
Resource Cost Reduction
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Rocky 2.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game, below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Storm Lord 2.0 Diablo IV Druid Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Storm Lord 2.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(call upon the forces of Nature to smite your foes with the power of wrathful storm strikes)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV‘s Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Storm Lord 2.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active) Claw Shapeshift into a Werewolf and shred an enemy, dealing 20% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Generates: 9 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Claw Claw’s Attack Speed is increased by +10%.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Wild Claw Claw has a 10% chance to attack twice.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2)

  • (active) Tornado Conjure a swirling tornado that deals 35% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 40
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Tornado Each time you cast Tornado, you have a 20% chance to spawn an additional Tornado.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Raging Tornado Enemies hit with Tornado have a 10% chance to become Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Heart of the Wild Maximum Spirit is increased by 3/6/9.
    • (upgrade) Wild Impulses Your Core Skills cost 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) more Spirit but deal 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) increased damage
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz no points) Abundance
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take as its’ Werebear synergy) Iron Fur
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz no points) Digitigrate Gait / Lycanthropic Speed
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Blood Howl – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life. Cooldown: 15 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl – Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Cyclone Armor Passive: Powerful winds surround you, granting 20% Non-Physical Damage Reduction. Active: The winds rapidly expand, Knocking Back enemies and dealing 15% (X) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Cyclone Armor Enemies who are Knocked Back by Cyclone Armor are also Slowed by 70% for 1.5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Cyclone Armor Enemies Knocked Back by Cyclone Armor become Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11) I did NOT take a companion Active Skill

  • (active)
    • (1st upgrade)
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Natural Hurricane Hurricane has a 15% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Elemental Exposure Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
    • (upgrade) Endless Tempest Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative). This node is ONLY required to unlock Bad Omen BUT you’ll also need a point in Atmosphere for Bad Omen
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Charged Atmosphere Every 18/15/12 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 45% (X-?) damage. This node is required to unlock BOTH Bad Omen & Electric Shock
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Bad Omen Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance when dealing damage to a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Stunned enemy that a Lightning Strike also hits dealing 55% (X-?) damage.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Electric Shock Lucky Hit: Dealing Lightning damage to enemies has a 5%/10%/15% chance to Immobilize them for 3 seconds. If the target is already Immobilized, the Lightning damage dealt to them is increased by 5%/10%/15%% (multiplicative) instead.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23)

  • (active) Cataclysm A massive storm follows you for 8 seconds. Tornadoes Knock Back enemies, and lightning strikes wildly dealing 52% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 82% Cooldown: 80 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Cataclysm Cataclysm’s duration is increased by 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Cataclysm Lightning strikes from Cataclysm make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Natural Disaster
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance
  • (passive) Defensive Posture Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide
    • (upgrade) Nature’s Resolve 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Unrestrained
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Quickshift After Shapeshifting into a different form, your next skill deals 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Heightened Senses Upon shapeshifting into a Werewolf or Werebear, gain 4%/8%/12% damage reduction against Elites for 5 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Natural Fortitude Shapeshifting Fortifies you for 1%/3%/4% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Perfect Storm Your Storm Skills grant 2 Spirit and deal 20% (multiplicative) increased damage when damaging a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Slowed enemy.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

I don’t have much info regarding the Spirit Boons but I think you can pick at least 2 from the same category (when you specialize into it) + maybe 1 more from every other category . I’d advise getting the following 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 for now.

  • Eagle Category:
    Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance
    Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage
  • Deer Category:
    Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category:
    Calm Before the Storm: Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills have up to 15% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds
  • Wolf Category:
    Energize: Fortify for 10% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Greatstaff of the Crone (Staff)

+[17.5%] Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies

Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at [120 – 150]% normal damage.

+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage to Close Enemies
+[9.5 – 16.5]% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
+[7 – 14]% Non-Physical Damage
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Claw

“She has existed in Scosglen since before Fiacla-Géar walked the land. Her purpose is a mystery to us all. However, approach her with deference; she may grant you her counsel.” – Airidah, to Donan

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Topaz, Ruby, Saphire, Skull, Diamond, or Emerald.
Armor: Skull, Ruby, or Saphire.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received • Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Topaz (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Control Impaired
• Jewelry: N% Lightning Resistance


+16.7%/+8.2%/+14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Amulet: Nighthowler’s Aspect
  • Chest: Aspect of Might
  • Pants: Aspect of Cyclonic Force
  • Gloves: Stormchaser’s Aspect
  • Boots: Exploiter’s Aspect
  • Ring 1: Runeworker’s Conduit Aspect (temporary, see notes below)
  • Ring 2: Storm Beast’s Aspect
  • 1H Weapon (see note below): Rapid Aspect Until The Unique goes in the 2-handed slot
  • Off-hand (see note below): Overcharged Aspect Until The Unique goes in the 2-handed slot
  • 2-H Weapon (see note below): Rapid Aspect Until The Unique goes in the 2-handed slot
NOTE 1: Rapid Aspect goes in the 1h weapon & Overcharged Aspect goes in the Off-hand slot ONLY until you get the Greatstaff of the Crone Unique Staff.

There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Tempest Roar (Helm) & Harlequin Crest (Helm). See the other note below for how to re-arrange the aspects for any Unique drop:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Tempest Roar (Helm): Overcharged Aspect gets removed from the Off-hand slot and Stormchaser’s Aspect goes in the now empty Off-hand slot. Then Stormshifter's Aspect goes in the now empty Gloves slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Overcharged Aspect gets removed from the Off-hand slot and Stormchaser’s Aspect goes in the now empty Off-hand slot. Then Stormshifter's Aspect goes in the now empty Gloves slot to make room for the Unique Helm

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 94 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 43 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Basic/Core/Wrath/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Damage with Basic/Core/Wrath/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Basic/Core/Wrath/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Overpower Damage
Physical/Lightning Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Lightning Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning Damage
+ % Physical/Lightning Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Lightning Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Close Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Shapeshifted
Damage while in Werewolf Form
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Higher Priority
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Willpower
Resource Cost Reduction
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Storm Lord 2.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game, below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

MAD DOG Diablo IV Druid Build [RDY-4-Launch]

MAD DOG Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(a Rabid Dog let loose & its companions are on the prowl, looking for prey to infest & Shred to pieces)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV‘s Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called MAD DOG.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (MAD DOG) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0)

  • (active) Storm Strike – Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing 20% (X-?) damage to your target and chaining to up to 3 surrounding enemies, dealing 20% less damage each time it chains. You gain 25% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds after dealing damage with Storm Strike. Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning Generates: 15 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 15% chance to Immobilize all enemies hit for 2.5 seconds.
      • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2)

  • (active) Shred Shapeshift into a Werewolf and and perform a trio of combo attacks: 1st Attack: Deal 25% damage. 2nd Attack: Deal 35% damage. 3rd Attack: Perform a larger finishing move dealing 60% damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 34
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Shred Shred gains +30% Attack Speed and Heals for 2% of your Maximum Life if an enemy is struck.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Raging Shred Shred’s third combo attack is larger and applies an additional 51% Poisoning Damage over 5 seconds.
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take as its’ Werebear synergy) Iron Fur
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz no points) Digitigrate Gait / Lycanthropic Speed
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6)

  • (active) Blood Howl – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life. Cooldown: 15 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl – Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11)

  • (active) Wolves
    Passive: Summon 2 wolf companions that bite enemies for 8% (X-?) damage.
    Active: Direct the wolves to focus an enemy, leaping to them and striking for 35% (X-?) damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 14.0 seconds Type: Companion ; Damage: Physical
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Wolves Wolves deal 20% (multiplicative) increased damage to Immobilized, Stunned, Slowed, or poisoned enemies.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Brutal Wolves When you Critically Strike, your Wolves gain +20% Attack Speed for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) Call of the Wild Your Companions deal 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) bonus damage.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16)

  • (active) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Natural Hurricane Hurricane has a 15% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (active) Rabies Shapeshift into a Werewolf and perform an infectious bite on the target dealing 28% (X-?) damage, and an additional 53% (X) Poisoning damage over 6 seconds. Infected enemies spread Rabies to other nearby targets. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 12 seconds Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Poison
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rabies Rabies’ Poisoning Damage also increases over the lifetime of the disease, dealing 30% (multiplicative) bonus damage at maximum duration.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Savage Rabies Rabies deals its total Poisoning Damage in 4 seconds instead of 6.
  • (passive – ONLY put 2 points here) Elemental Exposure Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Endless Tempest Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative). This node is ONLY required to unlock Bad Omen BUT you’ll also need a point in Atmosphere for Bad Omen
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Charged Atmosphere Every 18/15/12 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 45% (X-?) damage. This node is required to unlock BOTH Bad Omen & Electric Shock
    • (upgrade) Bad Omen Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance when dealing damage to a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Stunned enemy that a Lightning Strike also hits dealing 55% (X-?) damage.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Electric Shock Lucky Hit: Dealing Lightning damage to enemies has a 5%/10%/15% chance to Immobilize them for 3 seconds. If the target is already Immobilized, the Lightning damage dealt to them is increased by 5%/10%/15%% (multiplicative) instead.
  • (passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Neurotoxin Poisoned enemies are slowed by 8%/16%/24%.
    • (upgrade ) Envenom Poisoned enemies take 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) additional Critical Strike Damage.
    • (upgrade) Toxic Claws Critical Strikes with Werewolf skills deal 8%/15%/23% of their base damage as Poison damage over 4 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23) Not taking an Active Ultimate

  • (active)
    • (1st upgrade)
    • (2nd upgrade)
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Natural Disaster Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1%/2%/3% of your maximum Life.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance Nature Magic Skills deal 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth Skill is the next Skill cast after a Storm Skill, or a Storm Skill is the next Skill cast after an Earth Skill.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Bestial Rampage After being a Werewolf for 2.5 seconds, gain +20% Attack Speed for 15 seconds. After being a Werebear for 2.5 seconds, deal 20% (multiplicative) increased damage for 15 seconds.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

I don’t have much info regarding the Spirit Boons but I think you can pick at least 2 from the same category (when you specialize into it) + maybe 1 more from every other category . I’d advise getting the following 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 for now.

  • Eagle Category:
    Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance
    Avian Wrath: +30% Critical Strike Damage
  • Deer Category:
    Wariness: Take 10% reduced damage from Elites
  • Snake Category:
    Masochist: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills heal you for 3% Maximum Life
  • Wolf Category:
    Energize: Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% Chance to restore 10 Spirit

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Mad Wolf’s Glee (Chest Armor)

Werewolf form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werewolf Skills.

+[0.07 – 0.14] Physical Damage
+[0.07 – 0.14] Poison Damage [7 – 14]% Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies
+[16.5 – 23.5]% Movement Speed

“He was not a victim of the curse – he sought it out. As his skin split and his bones cracked, his laughter never ceased.” – Tale of the Mad Nobleman

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Ruby, Saphire, Skull, Amethyst, or Emerald.
Armor: Skull, Ruby, or Saphire.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received • Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Amethyst (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Damage Over Time

• Armor: N% Damage Taken Over Time Reduction
• Jewelry: N% Shadow Resistance

+5%/+8.2%/+14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (MAD DOG) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Amulet: Nighthowler’s Aspect
  • Chest: Aspect of Might Until The Unique goes here (see note below)
  • Pants: Vigorous Aspect
  • Gloves: Aspect of the Wildrage
  • Boots: Exploiter’s Aspect
  • Ring 1: Aspect of The Tempest
  • Ring 2: Storm Beast’s Aspect
  • 1H Weapon (see note below): Aspect of the Alpha
  • Off-hand (see note below): Stormclaw’s Aspect
  • 2-H Weapon (see note below): Aspect of the Alpha
NOTE 1: Aspect of Might goes in the Chest slot ONLY until you get the Mad Wolf's Glee Unique Chest. There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Andariel's Visage (Helm) & Storm's Companion (Pants)

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Andariel's Visage (Helm): Aspect of Might gets removed from the Chest and Stormshifter's Aspect goes in the Chest to make room for the Unique
- For Storm's Companion (Pants): Aspect of Might gets removed from the Chest and Vigorous Aspect goes in the Chest to make room for the Unique

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 95 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 44 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning/Poison Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Wrath/Companion/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Damage with Core/Wrath/Companion/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Wrath/Companion/Werewolf/Shapeshifting/Nature/Storm Skills
Overpower Damage
Physical/Lightning/Poison Damage Bonus
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Lightning/Poison Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Lightning/Poison Damage
+ % Physical/Lightning/Poison Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Lightning/Poison Damage Against Elites
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Close Enemies
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Shapeshifted
Damage while in Werewolf Form
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Higher Priority
+ All Stats
Companion Movement Speed
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Lucky Hit: Up to a +X% Chance to Execute Injured Non-Elites
Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Willpower
Resource Cost Reduction
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the MAD DOG Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game, below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

BIG GRIZZ 2.0 Diablo IV Druid Build [RDY-4-Launch]

BIG GRIZZ 2.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(this build’s got that BIG GRIZZ energy & uses two defensive skills, making it beary tanky)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV‘s Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I’ also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called BIG GRIZZ 2.0.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, i’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG GRIZZ 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active) Storm Strike – Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing 20% (X-?) damage to your target and chaining to up to 3 surrounding enemies, dealing 20% less damage each time it chains. You gain 25% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds after dealing damage with Storm Strike. Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Lightning Generates: 15 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 15% chance to Immobilize all enemies hit for 2.5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike – Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Pulverize Shapeshift into a Werebear and slam the ground, dealing 50% (X-?) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Type: Shapeshifting ; Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 35
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Pulverize – Your next Pulverize will Overpower every 10 seconds while you remain Healthy.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Raging Pulverize – Enemies are Stunned for 2 seconds when they are Overpowered with Pulverize.
  • (passive) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by +3%/+6%/+9%.
    • (upgrade) Iron Fur – You gain 3%/6%/9% Damage Reduction while in Werebear form. This bonus persists for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take cuz it’s a Werewolf synergy) Digitigrate Gait / Lycanthropic Speed
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active) Earthen Bulwark – Rocks surround you for 3 seconds, granting a Barrier that absorbs 45% of your Base Life in damage. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 16 seconds Type: Earth Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark makes you Unstoppable while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Earthen Bulwark – Casting Earthen Bulwark grants 18% Base Life as Fortify.
  • (active) Blood Howl – Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, Healing you for 20% of your Maximum Life. Cooldown: 15 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl – Kills reduce the Cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.
  • (passive) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your Non-Physical Resistances by 5%/10%/15%.
    • (upgrade) Vigilance did not take to save points
  • (passive) did not pick other Defensive passives to save points

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion BUT if you want to sacrifice one of the Defensive skills, I recommend the skills & upgrades below

  • (active) DID NOT TAKE a Companion active due to using already full skillbar
  • (1st upgrade)
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 97% (X-?) damage to surrounding enemies over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Cooldown: 20 seconds Type: Storm Magic ; Damage: Physical
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)Savage Hurricane Enemies affected by Hurricane deal 20% less damage.
  • (passive) Crushing Earth Earth Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized or Knocked Back enemies.
    • (upgrade) Stone Guard While Fortified for over 50% of your maximum Life, your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    • (upgrade) Safeguard Critical Strikes with Earth Skills Fortifiy you for 2%/4%/7% Base Life.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives to save points but there are some worth considering

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Grizzly Rage Shapeshift into a Dire Werebear for 10 seconds gaining 20% (multiplicative) bonus damage and 20% damage reduction. Damage bonus is increased by 3% each second while in this form. Kills extend the duration by 1 second up to 10 additional seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds Type: Shapeshifting
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Grizzly Rage – You are Unstoppable when Grizzly Rage is active.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Grizzly Rage Gain 8% Base Life as Fortify per second while Grizzly Rage is active.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Natural Disaster Your Earth Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1%/2%/3% of your maximum Life.
    • (upgrade) Resonance Nature Magic Skills deal 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth Skill is the next Skill cast after a Storm Skill, or a Storm Skill is the next Skill cast after an Earth Skill.
  • (passive) Defensive Posture – Increases the amount of Fortify you gain from all sources by +5%/+10%/+15%.
    • (upgrade) Thick Hide Whenever you are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Down, Fortify for 6%/13%/19% Base Life.
    • (upgrade – only invested 1 point due to lack of points) Nature’s Resolve – 5%/10%/15% chance when struck to Fortify you for 4% Base Life.
    • (upgrade) Unrestrained – Reduce the duration of control impairing effects by 3%/6%/9%. Triple this effect while you have Fortify for over 50% of your maximum Life.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Ursine Strength – Gain 20% (multiplicative) additional maximum Life while in Werebear form and for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form. While Healthy, deal 30% (multiplicative) increased damage.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

I don’t have much info regarding the Spirit Boons but I think you can pick at least 2 from the same category + maybe 1 more from another. I’d advise getting the following 2 for now.

  • Eagle Category, Scythe Talons: +5% Critical Strike Chance.
  • Eagle Category, Avian Wrath +30% Critical Strike Damage.

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Insatiable Fury (Chest Armor)

Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.

+[0.07 – 0.14] Physical Damage
+[21 – 42]% Overpower Damage
[7 – 14]% Damage Reduction while Fortified
+[0.07 – 0.14] Armor

When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth’s flames.

Sockets & Gems

Full Diamonds is a good fit for many builds, including this one. I’ve shortlisted 5 total gems that work well with the build so pick based on your preference. I’d recommend doing for Weps: Diamond, Skull, Saphire, Ruby or Emerald. For Armor: Diamond, Skull, Saphire, or Ruby. For Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received • Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (BIG GRIZZ 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Amulet: Ballistic Aspect
  • Chest: *Earthguard Aspect OR Exploiter’s Aspect OR Symbiotic Aspect (see note below)
  • Pants: Mending Stone
  • Gloves: Aspect of The Ursine Horror
  • Boots: *Symbiotic Aspect OR Exploiter’s Aspect (see note below)
  • Ring 1: Aspect of Retaliation
  • Ring 2: Mangled Aspect
  • 1H Weapon (see note below): Aspect of Natural Balance
  • Off-hand (see note below): *Shockwave Aspect (see note below)
  • 2-H Weapon (see note below): Aspect of Natural Balance
NOTE 1: Get rid of 1, keep 1 in the boots, and use temporarily the other between: Earthguard Aspect OR Symbiotic Aspect OR Exploiter’s Aspect. This is a tough choice to make and it's up to you which one you like most to keep in the Boots and which one you want to use until the Unique. We'll need to empty this slot for the awesome unique eventually. You can have 1 here & the other in the Boots before you get the Unique Chest. I'd go Earthguard in the Chest as temp and Exploiter's in the Boots

NOTE 2: You may wanna consider putting Crashstone Aspect in the Off-hand slot or maybe put Aspect of The Rampaging Werebeast there

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 92 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 37 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Damage Bonus
Critical Strike Chance
Critical Strike Damage with Core Skills
Damage with Core Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
Earth/Lightning Damage Bonus
Earth/Lightning Critical Strike Damage Bonus
Resistance to All Elements
Cooldown Reduction
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Earth/Lightning Damage
+ % Damage to Elites
+ % Earth/Lightning Damage to Elites
Damage Upon Killing an Elite
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Earth/Lightning Damage Against Elites
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Vulnerable Damage
Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Damage with Nature/Earth/Shapeshifting/Storm Skills
Damage while Healthy
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Damage to Close Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage while Fortified
High Priority
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Spirit Generation / Regeneration / On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Willpower
Resource Cost Reduction
Low Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the BIG GRIZZ 2.0 Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game, below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Storm Lord Diablo IV Druid Build

Storm Lord Druid BUILD for Diablo IV

(call upon the forces of Nature to smite your foes with the power of wrathful storms)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV’s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Druid Class called Storm Lord.

The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the builds instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Some of the skill icon images you see could be outdated & different from what is seen in the Full release version. I plan to replace them once the Beta ends or after the full launch

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active) Storm Strike Electricity gathers around your weapon, dealing +27.34% (X-?) damage split between your target and up to 3 nearby enemies. Type: Storm Magic Damage: Lightning Generates: 15 Spirit
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Storm Strike Dealing damage with Storm Strike reduces your damage taken by +25% for 3 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fierce Storm Strike Storm Strike has a 50% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

Spirit / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Tornado Conjure a vortex that moves outwards and curves in a random direction, dealing 105.00% (X-?) damage every second. Talents: Natural Balance, Eye of the Storm, Elemental Exposure, Natural Resonance, Fury of Nature, Perfect Storm. Type: Storm Magic Damage: Physical Spirit Cost: 38
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Tornado Each time you cast Tornado, you have a 20% chance to spawn an additional Tornado.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Raging Tornado Each time an enemy is damaged by a Tornado, they take 5% (multiplicative) increased damage from Tornado for 3 seconds, stacking up to 15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
  • (passive) Heart of the Wild Maximum Spirit is increased by 3.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take to save points) Wild Impulses Your Core Skills cost 5% (multiplicative) more Spirit but deal 10% (multiplicative) increased damage
    • (upgrade) Abundance Basic Skills generate 5% more Spirit.
  • (passive – did NOT take to save points) Predatory Instinct Critical Strike Chance against nearby enemies is increased by 3%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take as it’s not needed) Iron Fur – While in Werebear form, damage reduction is increased by 3%. This bonus persists for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form.
    • (upgrade – did NOT take as it’s not needed) Digitigrate Gait / Lycanthropic Speed
  • (passive) did not pick other Spirit/Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I took both of the Defensive skills listed below

  • (active) Cyclone Armor Powerful winds protect you, granting 20.0% ranged damage reduction. When an enemy in melee range hits you, there is up to a 15.75% (X- ?) chance for the winds to knock it back. Type: Storm Magic
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Cyclone Armor Enemies who are Knocked Back by Cyclone Armor are also Slowed by 40% for 3 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Preserving Cyclone Armor Every 10 seconds, Cyclone Armor intensifies, reducing the next instance of non-Physical damage by an additional 40%.
  • (passive) Ancestral Fortitude Increase your non-physical resistances by 5%.
    • (upgrade) Vigilance You Take X% reduced damage for X seconds after using a Defensive Skill.
  • (active) Blood Howl Shapeshift into a Werewolf and howl furiously, restoring X% Life. Cooldown: 15 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blood Howl Kills reduce the cooldown of Blood Howl by 1 second.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Innate Blood Howl Blood Howl also generates 20 Spirit.

Companion Skills (Required Points: 11 ) I did NOT take a companion BUT if you want to sacrifice one of the Defensive skills, I recommend the skills & upgrades below

  • (active) Ravens Active: The target area is swarmed with ravens. dealing 89.25 (X-?) damage over 6 seconds. Type: Companion Damage: Physical Cooldown: 25 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ravens Passive: Ravens fly above you and periodically attack your enemies for 13.85% (X-?) damage every 5 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Ferocious Ravens Enemies inside the swarm of Ravens when it is activated become Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any Companion passives to save points BUT even if you take a companion I still won’t recommend the Companion passives for this build

Wrath Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active) Hurricane Form a hurricane around you that deals 102.37 (X-?) damage to nearby enemies over 8 seconds. Talents: Storm and Claw, Eye of the Storm, Natural Resonance, Endless Tempest, Fury of Nature, Perfect Storm, Type: Storm Magic Damage: Physical Cooldown: 20 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hurricane Enemies who are damaged by Hurricane are Slowed by 25% for 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Savage Hurricane Enemies who are in Hurricane’s radius have their damage reduced by 20%.
  • (passive) Elemental Exposure Lucky Hit: Your Storm Skills have up to 20% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 1.0 seconds.
    • (upgrade 1) Endless Tempest Increase the duration of Hurricane and Cataclysm by 5%.
    • (upgrade 2 – did NOT pick this one) Charged Atmosphere Every 18 seconds, a Lightning Strike hits a nearby enemy dealing 47.25% (X-?) damage.
    • (upgrade 3 – did NOT pick this one) Bad Omen Lucky Hit: Up to a 10% chance when dealing damage to a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Stunned enemy that a Lightning Strike also hits dealing 57.75% (X-?} damage.
    • (upgrade 4 – did NOT pick this one) Electric Shock Lucky Hit: Dealing Lightning damage to enemies has a 5% chance to Immobilize them for 3 seconds. If the target is already Immobilized, the Lightning damage dealt to them is increased by X% instead.
  • (active) Ravens Active: The target area is swarmed with ravens. dealing 89.25 (X-?) damage over 6 seconds. Type: Companion Damage: Physical Cooldown: 25 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ravens Passive: Ravens fly above you and periodically attack your enemies for 13.85% (X-?) damage every 5 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Ferocious Ravens Enemies inside the swarm of Ravens when it is activated become Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Wrath passives

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Cataclysm A massive storm follows you for 8 seconds Tornadoes knock back enemies, and lightning strikes wildly dealing 54.60% (X-?) damage. Cooldown: 80 seconds
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Cataclysm Cataclysm’s duration is increased by 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Cataclysm Lightning strikes from Cataclysm make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
  • (passive) Defiance Nature Magic skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (passive) Natural Disaster Your Earth Skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Your Storm Skills deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.
    • (passive – did NOT pick to save points) Circle of Life Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1% of your maximum Life.
    • (passive – did NOT pick to save points) Resonance Nature Magic skills deal 2% (multiplicative) increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth Skill is the next skill cast after a Storm Skill, or a Storm Skill is the next skill cast after an Earth Skill.
  • (passive – did NOT pick to save points) Defensive Posture Increase the Damage Reduction gained while you are Fortified by an additional +3%.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Thick Hide Whenever you are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Down, Fortify for X.
    • (upgrade – did NOT pick to save points) Nature’s Resolve 5% chance when struck to Fortify you for X
  • (passive) did not pick any other Ultimate passives

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Perfect Storm Your Storm Skills grant 2 Spirit and deal 20% (multiplicative) increased damage when damaging a Vulnerable, Immobilized or Slowed enemy.

Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons):

I don’t have much info regarding the Spirit Boons but I think you can pick at least 2 from the same category + maybe 1 more from another. I’ll leave this empty for now.

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Storm Lord) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Storm Beast’s Aspect
  • Amulet: Aspect of Shared Misery
  • Chest: Skinwalker’s Aspect
  • Pants: Cyclonic Force
  • Gloves: Stormshifter’s Aspect
  • Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect
  • Ring 1: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Ring 2: Overcharged Aspect
  • 1H Weapon (see note below): Nighthowler’s Aspect
  • Off-hand (see note below): Aspect of The Tempest
  • 2-H Weapon (see note below): Nighthowler’s Aspect
NOTE: I recommend using 1H + offhand so that you can get an extra aspect. 

If you go for 2-Handed and put Aspect of The Ursine Horror in the Gloves Slot you could move Aspect of Quicksand to the Chest Slot, while removing Skinwalker's Aspect from the setup or replacing Mending Stone in the Pants slot with it (skinwalker).

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

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This concludes the Storm Lord Druid Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game, below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website