![Lycan Lacerator 2.0 Diablo IV Druid Build [RDY-4-Launch]](https://wasted666.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LL2-1200x675.jpg)
Lycan Lacerator 2.0 Druid BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]
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.
- LVL 87 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
- MAXed out points (left the last 3 unspent): Click THIS LINK
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 |
| + 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 |
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)
