Tag: open world

Iceplosion 2.0 Diablo IV Sorcerer Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Iceplosion 2.0 Sorcerer BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Chill then Freeze your foes only to Shatter them & their hopes into an Icy Explosion)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Iceplosion 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active) Frost Bolt – Throw a bolt of frost at an enemy, dealing 35.00% (X- ?) damage and Chilling them for 15%. Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Damage: Cold ; Tags: Basic, Frost Enchantment Effect Direct damage from Skills applies up to 15% Chill.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Bolt – Frost Bolt has a 15% chance to explode on Chilled targets, hitting nearby enemies. Chance increased by 100% against Frozen targets.
- (2nd upgrade) Glinting Frost Bolt – Frost Bolt generates 4 Mana when hitting Chilled or Frozen.

Major Destruction / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 ) Use Frozen Orb ONLY until you get Blizzard

(active) Frozen Orb – Unleash an orb that Chills for 34% and expels piercing shards dealing a total of 32% (X- ?) damage. Upon expiration, Frozen Orb explodes, dealing 29% (X- ?) damage. and Chilling enemies for 9%. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Cold ; Tags: Core, Frost Enchantment Effect When you cast a Non-Basic Skill, you have a 20% chance to launch a Frozen Orb at a Nearby enemy.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frozen Orb – When cast above 50 Mana, Frozen Orb’s explosion damage is increased by 30% (multiplicative).
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Destructive Frozen Orb – Frozen Orb’s explosion restores 5 Mana when hitting a Frozen enemy.
(passive) did not pick any Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Teleport – Transform into lightning becoming Unstoppable and surging to the target location dealing 25% (X -?) damage around you upon arrival. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Cooldown: 11 Damage: Lightning ; Tags: Defensive, Shock
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Teleport – Teleport’s cooldown is decreased by 0.5 seconds per enemy hit, up to 3 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Shimmering Teleport – After Teleporting, you gain 30% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Frost Nova – Unleash a torrent of frost, Freezing enemies around you for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 15 Tags: Defensive, Frost Enchantment Effect Lucky Hit: Your Conjuration Skills have a 30% chance to unleash a Frost Nova when hitting enemies.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Nova – Killing enemies Frozen by Frost Nova reduces its Cooldown by 2 seconds, up to 6 seconds per cast.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mystical Frost Nova – Frost Nova makes enemies Vulnerable for 4 seconds, increased to 8 seconds against Bosses.

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Flame Shield – Engulf yourself in flames for 2 seconds, Burning nearby enemies for 23% (X) damage per second. While Flame Shield is active, you are Immune. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Cooldown: 20 Damage: Fire ; Tags: Defensive, Pyromancy Enchantment Effect Flame Shield automatically activates when you take fatal damage. Can only happen once every 120 seconds.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Flame Shield – Flame Shield grants 25% Movement Speed while active.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Shimmering Flame Shield – Flame Shield Heals you for 50% of your missing Life.
(passive) Elemental Attunement – Elemental Critical Strikes have a 5%/10%/15% chance to reset the Cooldown of one of your Defensive Skills. Can only happen once every 10 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Conjuration Skills (Required Points: 11 ) Not Taking any Active summons

(active)
- (1st upgrade)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive – ONLY 2 point here) Align the Elements – You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage reduction against Elites for each second you don’t take damage from any of these sources, up to 50%.
- (1st upgrade) Mana Shield – did NOT take this one
- (2nd upgrade – TOP TIER PASSIVE & MUST HAVE) Protection – Using a cooldown grants 10%/20%/30% of your maximum Life as a Barrier for 5 seconds.
(passive) Precision Magic – Your Lucky Hit Effect Chance is increased by up to 5%/10%/15%.
(passive) did not pick any more Conjuration passives to save points

Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 ) Not taking an Active Mastery skill

(active) Blizzard – Summon a frigid blizzard that deals 120% (X) damage and continually Chills enemies for 18% over 8 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 35% Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Cold ; Tags: Mastery, Frost Enchantment Effect Every 15 seconds, a Blizzard forms over you and follows you for 6 seconds.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blizzard – Blizzard deals 25% (multiplicative) increased damage to Frozen enemies.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mage’s Blizzard – When cast above 50 Mana, Blizzard’s duration is increased by 4 seconds.
(passive) Ice Veil – Your Barriers have a +5%/+10%/+15% increased duration. (Barriers absorb damage from all sources up to a specified amount.)
- (upgrade) Snap Freeze – Lucky Hit: Frost Skills have a 3%/6%/9% chance to instantly Freeze.
- (upgrade) Cold front – While you have a Barrier active, you apply 8%/16%/24% (multiplicative) more Chill.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Deep Freeze – Encase yourself in ice, becoming Immune for 4 seconds, continually dealing 13% damage, and Chilling enemies for 20%. When Deep Freeze expires, it deals an additional 100% damage. Casting Deep Freeze again ends the effect early. Lucky Hit Chance: 5% Cooldown: 60 Damage: Cold ; Tags: Ultimate, Frost
- (1st upgrade) Prime Deep Freeze – When Deep Freeze ends, gain 10% of your Base Life as a Barrier for 6 seconds for each enemy you Froze while it was active.
- (2nd upgrade) Supreme Deep Freeze – When Deep Freeze ends, your Non-Ultimate Cooldowns are reduced by 50%.
(passive) Permafrost – Frost Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
- (upgrade) Icy Touch – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
- (upgrade) Hoarfrost – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Chilled enemies, and 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Frozen enemies.
- (upgrade) Frigid Breeze – Lucky Hit: Cold Damage against Vulnerable enemies has a 20%/40%/60% chance to generate 5 Mana.

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Shatter – After Freeze expires, enemies explode for 25% of the damage you dealt to them while Frozen.

Enchantment (Class Mechanic):

I’d recommend mix-and matching two of the following Enchantments (you’ll need at least 1 point invested or from gear in the skills):

Obvious Synergies
- Blizzard – Every 15 seconds, a Blizzard forms over you and follows you for 6 seconds. (my 1st pick)
- Fireball – When you kill an enemy, they explode in a Fireball for 50% of its damage. (my ideal 2nd pick) NOTE that you’ll need to either remove a point from a passive or get +X Ranks to Fireball from an item.
- Frozen Orb – Whenever you cast a non-basic skill, you have a 20% chance to launch a Frozen Orb at a nearby enemy. (my alternative 2nd pick) NOTE that you’ll need to either remove a point from a passive or get +X Ranks to Fireball from an item.
- Ice Shards – Ice Shards automatically conjure and fly toward Frozen enemies.
- Ice Blades – For every 20 seconds in cooldowns you spend, you spawn an Ice Blades on a Random enemy.
- Frost Bolt – Direct Damage from Skills applies up to an additional 15% Chill.
Still good to try
- Flame Shield – Flame Shield automatically activates when you take fatal damage, Can only happen once every 120 Seconds.

Unique Item

Iceheart Brais (Pants)

While Injured, Your Potion Also Restores [30%] Resource Enemies that die while Frozen have a [11 – 20]% chance to unleash a Frost Nova.

[28 – 42] Intelligence
+[7 – 14]% Damage to Frozen Enemies
+[21 – 35]% Damage to Injured Enemies
+[7 – 14]% Freeze Duration

The mad artisan saw his fingers turn black from frostbite as he worked the cloth, but refused to stay the needle and thread for even a moment.

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: Diamond, Saphire, Skull, or Emerald.
Armor: 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)

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 (Iceplosion 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Encased Aspect / Harlequin Crest (see notes below)
Amulet: Exploiter’s Aspect
Chest: Frostblitz Aspect
Pants: Snowguard’s Aspect Until the Iceheart Brais Unique goes here (see notes below)
Gloves: Aspect of Biting Cold / Frostburn (see notes below)
Boots: Aspect of Fortune
Ring 1: Aspect of Control
Ring 2: Prodigy’s Aspect / Ring of Starless Skies (see notes below)
1H Weapon: Glacial Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of the Frozen Tundra
2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Glacial Aspect

NOTE 1: Snowguard's Aspect stays in the Pants slot ONLY until you get the Iceheart Brais Unique Pants. For after that see notes below:
There are three other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Frostburn (Gloves), Harlequin Crest (Helm), & Ring of Starless Skies (Ring)
See the other other notes below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Frostburn (Gloves): Aspect of Biting Cold gets removed from the Gloves slot to make room for the Unique Gloves
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Encased Aspect gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Ring of Starless Skies (Ring): Prodigy's Aspect gets removed from the Ring 2 slot to make room for the Unique Ring. (This one's only truly going to shine if you don't use Blizzard but rather pick Frozen Orb or Ice Shards which will make a lot of other things needing reworks and might cost you a lot of coins in terms of respecs and re-rolls)

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 84 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 84 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: 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 Frost/Cold Skills
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Mastery/Ultimate/Basic/Defensive Skills
Damage with Mastery/Ultimate/Basic/Defensive Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ Ranks to Mastery/Ultimate/Basic/Defensive Skills
+ Ranks to Blizzard/Frost Nova/Frost Bolt/Flame Shield/Teleport Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Frost/Cold Damage
Frost/Cold Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Frost/Cold Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Chill Application
+ % Frost/Cold Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Frost/Cold 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 / Damage Against Close Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Chance / Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Barrier Generation
Chance When Struck to Gain N Life as Barrier for X Seconds
Lucky Hit Chance while You Have a Barrier
Damage Reduction while You Have a Barrier
Life as Barrier On Kill
Critical Strike Chance Against Chilled/Frozen Enemies
Damage to Chilled/Frozen Enemies

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Mana Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Intelligence
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 Iceplosion 2.0 Sorcerer 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)

Bladestorm 2.0 Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Bladestorm 2.0 Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(SPIN your way to Victory while being a speedy & angry Bladestorm with this spin2win setup)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Bladestorm 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Frenzy – Unleash a rapid flurry of blows, dealing 20% (X – ?) damage with each pair of hits. If Frenzy hits an enemy, its Attack Speed is increased by +20% for 3 seconds, up to +60%. Requires dual-wielding weapons. Generate Fury: 4 Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frenzy – While Frenzy is granting +60% bonus Attack Speed, it also generates 2 additional Fury.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Battle Frenzy – While Berserking, your other Skills gain +5% Attack Speed for each stack of Frenzy you have.

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

(active) Whirlwind – Rapidly attack surrounding enemies for 12% (X – ?) damage. Fury Cost: 20 per seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Damage: Physical
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Whirlwind – Gain 1 Fury each time Whirlwind deals direct damage to an enemy, or 6 Fury if the enemy is Stunned.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Violent Whirlwind – After using Whirlwind for 2 seconds, Whirlwind deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage until it is cancelled.
(passive) Pressure Point – Lucky Hit: Your Core Skills have up to a 10%/20%/30% to make enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Rallying Cry – Bellow a rallying cry, increasing your Movement Speed by +30% and Resource Generation by 50% (multiplicative) for 6 seconds, and Nearby allies for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds Tags: Defensive, Shout6 seconds Damage: Physical ; Tags: Defensive,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry grants you Unstoppable while active.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Rallying Cry – Rallying Cry generates 25 Fury and grants you an additional 50% (multiplicatrive) Resource Generation.
(passive) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Leap – Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 33% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Leap – If Leap doesn’t damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Power Leap – If Leap damages at least one enemy, gain 40 Fury.
(passive) Booming Voice – Shout Skill effect durations are increased by 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative).
- (upgrade – did NOT put points here) Raid Leader
- (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Guttural Yell – Your Shout Skills cause enemies to deal 8%/16%/24% (multiplicative) less damage for 5 seconds.
(passive) Aggressive Resistance – Gain 4%/8%/12% Damage Reduction while Berserking.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Battle Fervor – When a Brawling Skill damages at least one enemy, gain Berserking for 1/2/3 second(s).
- (upgrade) Prolific Fury – While Berserking, Fury Generation is increased by 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick any other Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Steel Grasp – Throw out a trio of chains that deal 23% (X – ?) damage and Pull In enemies. Charges: 2 Charge Cooldown: 11 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Weapon Mastery,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp also makes enemies Vulnerable for 2.5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Warrior’s Steel Grasp – Steel Grasp gains 1 additional Charge.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – You have +3%/+6%/+9% increased Critical Strike Chance against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Expose Vulnerability – Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery Skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
(passive) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Base Life as Fortify.
- (upgrade) Counteroffensive – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Defensive Stance – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick any other Weapon Mastery passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Wrath of the Berserker – Gain Berserking and Unstoppable for 5 seconds. For the next 10 seconds, dealing direct damage with Basic Skills grants Berserking for 25 seconds Cooldown: 60 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Tags: Ultimate,
- (1st upgrade) Supreme Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain +20% increased Movement Speed and increase Fury Generation by 30% (multiplicative)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Prime Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every 50 Fury spend increases Berserk’s damage bonus by 25% (multiplicative)
(passive) Wallop – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Concussion – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – did NOT take this one
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Unbridled Rage – Core Skills deal 135% (multiplicative) increased damage, but cost 100% (multiplicative) more Fury.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

The Barbarian class can equip 4 weapons at the same time: a Dual-wielding set of 2x One-Handed weps + two separate Two-Handed weapons (not dual-wielding those). They switch in combat between those based on what weapon is assigned to specific skills via the class unique Arsenal System. So each skill can have its own weapon assigned to it as long as it’s one of the 4 weapons equipped. The weps you don’t actually use work as ‘stat sticks’, even any aspects slotted on them. Here are the types:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
The two slots of Two-Handed Weapons can be occupied by Slashing type weps like Swords, Axes, & Polearms and/or by Bludgeoning Maces
Ideally 1x 2h Slashing, 1x 2h Bludgeoning and a Dual-Wield 1h combo for the 4 weps if you go for a swap-centric build

Unique Item

“The brutish construction of these gloves belies the strength they bestow. Gohr was clearly no craftsman, but it would be foolish to ignore the triumph of his work.” – 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, Skull, Ruby, or Topaz.
Armor: Skull, Saphire, or Ruby.
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 (Bladestorm 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind Aspect
Amulet: Exploiter’s Aspect
Chest: Weapon Master’s Aspect
Pants: Steadfast Berserker’s Aspect
Gloves: Dust Devil’s Aspect Until The Unique goes here (see notes below)
Boots: Relentless Berserker’s Apect
Ring 1: Aspect of Giant Strides
Ring 2: Aspect of Berserk Fury
1H Weapon: Rapid Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of The Expectant
2-H Weapon 1: Aspect of The Dire Whirlwind
2-H Weapon 2: Accelerating Aspect

NOTE 1: Dust Devil’s Aspect goes in the Gloves slot ONLY until you get the Gohr's Devastating Grips Unique Gloves. After that discard it from the build. 
There are three other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Battle Trance (Chest Armor) & Harlequin Crest (Helm) & Ancients' Oath (Two-Handed Axe). See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Battle Trance (Amulet): Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind gets removed from the Helm and Exploiter’s Aspect replaces it to make room for the Unique Amulet.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind gets removed from the Helm slot to make room for the Unique Helm.
- For Ancients' Oath (2-Handed Axe): Aspect of Berserk Fury gets removed from the Ring 2 slot & discarded. Accelerating Aspect goes in the now empty Ring 2 slot to make room for the Unique 2-Handed 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 89 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 89 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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

I’ve shortlisted 41 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/Fire/Slashing Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Basic/Brawling Skills
Damage with Core/Basic/Brawling Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Basic/Brawling/Defensive Skills
+ X Ranks to Whirlwind/Frenzy/Leap/Steel Grasp/Rallying Cry
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage
Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Overpower Damage
+ % Physical/Fire/Slashing Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Fire/Slashing 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
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Whirlwind/Frenzy/Leap
Overpower Damage with Core/Basic/Brawling Skills
Overpower Damage with Slashing/2-handed/Swords/etc. Weapon

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
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 Bladestorm 2.0 Barbarian 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)

Icy Hunter Diablo IV Rogue Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Icy Hunter Rogue BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Shot Bursts Infused with Chilling Cold won’t give your foes breathing room until their hearts are pierced)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Icy Hunter) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Heart Seeker – Fire an arrow that seeks an enemy, dealing 22% (X – ?) damage and increasing your Critical Strike Chance against them by +3% for 4 seconds, up to +15%. Requires a Ranged Weapon Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic, Ranged, Marksman
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Heart Seeker – When Heartseeker Critically Strikes, gain +8% Attack Speed for 4 seconds. Double this amount if the enemy is Vulnerable.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fundamental Heart Seeker – Heartseeker also increases the Critical Strike Damage the enemy takes by +5% for 4 seconds, up to +25%.

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

(active) Rapid Fire – Rapidly fire 5 arrows each dealing 24% (X – ?) damage. Combo Points increase damage and Arrows Fired: 1: 26% damage & 6 arrows ; 2: 29% damage & 7 arrows ; 3: 34% damage & 8 arrows Requires a Ranged Weapon Energy Cost: 25 Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Ranged, Imbueable, Marksman
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rapid Fire – Each subsequent arrow from Rapid Fire has +5% increased Critical Strike Chance, up to +25% for the 5th arrow.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Improved Rapid Fire – 20% chance to gain 15 Energy when Rapid Fire damages a Vulnerable enemy.
(passive – did NOT put points here) Sturdy
- (upgrade – did NOT put points here) Siphoning Strikes
(passive – ONLY put my last 1 point here as a filler) Stutter Step – Critically Striking an enemy grants +5%/+10%/+15% Movement Speed for 4 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Agility Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Caltrops – Leap backwards and throw Caltrops on the ground, dealing 30% (X – ?) damage and Slowing enemies by 50%. Lasts 6 seconds. Energy Cost: 21 Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Trap
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Caltrops – Enemies take 3% (multiplicative) increased damage from you each second they’re in Caltrops.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Disciplined Caltrops – You have +5% Critical Strike Chance against enemies inside your Caltrops. Double this amount against Vulnerable enemies.
(passive) Weapon Mastery – Gain a bonus when attacking based on weapon type:
Daggers: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy enemies.
Swords: 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage.
Bows: 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Crossbows: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
(passive) did not pick other Agility passives to save points

Subterfuge Skills (Required Points: 11 ) Not taking an Active Subterfuge skill

(active) Dark Shroud – Surround yourself with up to 5 protective shadows. Gain 8% Damage Reduction per active shadow. Each time you take direct damage, that damage is reduced and a shadow is consumed Cooldown: 20 seconds. Tags: Subterfuge
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Dark Shroud – Dark Shroud’s shadows have a 10% chance to not be consumed
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Countering Dark Shroud – While you have at least 2 active shadow from Dark Shroud, gain +10% Critical Strike Chance.
(passive) Exploit – You deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy and Injured enemies.
- (upgrade) Malice – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
(passive) Agile – Using a Cooldown increases your Dodge Chance by 3%/6%/9% for 2 seconds.
- (upgrade – did NOT put points here) Mending Obscurity
(passive) did not pick other Subterfuge passives to save points

Imbuements Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Cold Imbuement – Imbue your weapons with frigid energies. Your next 2 Imbueable Skills deal Cold damage and Chill enemies for 25% per hit. Cooldown: 9 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Tags: Imbuements
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Cold Imbuement – Cold Imbued Skills have up to a 30% chance to make enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blended Cold Imbuement – Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes with Cold Imbued Skills have up to a 20% chance to instantly Freeze enemies for 3 seconds.
(passive) Precision Imbuement – Imbued Skills gain +5%/+10%/+15% increased Critical Strike Chance.
(passive) Frigid Finesse – You deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Chilled enemies. This bonus increases to 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) against Frozen enemies.
- (upgrade – did NOT put points here) Chilling Weight
(passive) did not pick other Imbuements passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Shadow Clone – Your shadow mimicks your actions for 15 seconds. The shadow deals 60% of your damage. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate
- (1st upgrade) Prime Shadow Clone – You are Unstoppable for 5 seconds after casting Shadow Clone.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Shadow Clone – Your Shadow Clone deals an additional 20% of your damage.
(passive) Innervation – Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to gain 8 Energy.
- (upgrade) Second Wind – Every 100 Energy you spend grants you +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance for 5 seconds.seconds.
- (upgrade) Alchemist’s Fortune – Non-Physical damage you deal has a +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Adrenaline Rush – While moving, you gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Energy Regeneration.
- (upgrade) Haste – While at or above 50% maximum Energy, gain +5%/+10%/+15% increased Movement Speed. While below 50% maximum Energy, gain +5%/+10%/+15% increased Attack Speed.
- (upgrade – did NOT put points here) Impetus
(passive) Aftermath – After using an Ultimate Skill, restore 25/50/75 Energy.
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Precision – Critical Strikes with Marksman Skills grant you Precision.
You gain 4% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage per stack of Precision, up to a maximum of 20% (multiplicative).
When you reach maximum Precision, your next Marksman Skill is a guaranteed Critical Strike that deals 40% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage, then consumes all stacks of Precision.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much information about the 3rd Specialization of the Rogue. The 3 Specializations are the Rogues’ Class Mechanics:

Combo Points – Your Basic Skills now generate Combo Points. Certain Skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
Inner Sight – Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
Preparation – This specialization was not available during the closed beta builds of the game.

I prefer and advise using Combo Points but I liked Inner Sight during the beta too so not a bad one either for some 0 cost Skill Spams every now and then. We’ll have to wait and see about the last one.

Unique Item

Skyhunter (Bow)

+[20%] Damage to Distant Enemies

The first direct damage you deal to an enemy is a guaranteed Critical Strike. If you had maximum stacks of the Precision Key Passive when you cast the Skill, gain [15 – 25] Energy, this can only happen once per cast.

[49 – 63] Dexterity
+[7 – 14]% Marksman Skill Damage
+[14 – 21]% Critical Strike Damage
+[0.5 – 1] Ranks of the Exploit Passive

“Genai took up her bow and aimed at the sun itself. The light burned her eyes, but her arrow flew true. Wounded, the sun hid, and brought forth the first night. – Fable of the Great Sky-Hunt

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 (Icy Hunter) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Enshrouding Aspect
Amulet: Vengeful Aspect
Chest: Aspect of Siphoned Protection
Pants: Umbrous Aspect
Gloves: Blast-Trapper’s Aspect
Boots: Exploiter’s Aspect
Ring 1: Aspect of Corruption
Ring 2: Ravenous Aspect
1H Weapon: Aspect of The Expectant
Off-hand: Aspect of Arrow Storms Until The Unique goes in the 2h slot (see notes below)
2-H Weapon: Aspect of Imitated Imbuement Until The Unique goes here (see notes below)

NOTE 1: Aspect of Arrow Storms goes in the Off-hand slot ONLY until you get the Skyhunter Unique Bow.
Aspect of Imitated Imbuement replaces Aspect of Arrow Storms on the Off-hand slot to make room for the Unique Bow.
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Frostburn (Gloves) & Harlequin Crest (Helm). See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Frostburn (Gloves): Aspect of Arrow Storms get removed from the Off-hand slot & Blast-Trapper's Aspect replaces it. This makes room for the Unique Gloves. 
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Aspect of Arrow Storms get removed from the Off-hand slot & Vengeful Aspect replaces it. Then Enshrouding Aspect goes in the now empty Amulet slot to make room for the Unique Helm.

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, Skull, or Diamond. Maybe even Topaz if no other available options.
Armor: Skull or Ruby.
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)

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 93 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 93 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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/Cold Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Marksman/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Damage with Core/Marksman/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Marksman/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Cold Damage
Physical/Cold Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Cold Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Damage to Enemies Affected by Trap Skills
+ % Physical/Cold Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Cold 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
+ % Chill Application
Critical Chance / Critical Strike Damage Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Critical Chance / Critical Damage Against Vulnerable Enemies
Damage while Healthy
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies with Imbued Skills
Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills
Cold Imbued Skill Damage
Imbued Skill Damage
Imbuement Potency

Higher Priority

Damage for X Seconds After Dodging an Attack
Attack Speed for X Seconds After Dodging an Attack
Dodge Chance (both +% and x% exist)
Dodge Chance Against Close Enemies
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Energy Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Dexterity
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 Icy Hunter Rogue 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)

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).

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

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.

LVL 94 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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)

Dark Lord 2.0 Diablo IV Necromancer Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Dark Lord 2.0 Necromancer BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(the Dark Lord emerge from the shadows to curse his foes & engulf the battlefield in darkness)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Dark Lord 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active) Reap – Sweep an ethereal scythe in front of you, dealing 12% (X-?) damage. Hitting an enemy with Reap increases your damage Reduction by 15% for 2 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 17% Generates: 4 Essence per enemy hit Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Basic, Darkness
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Reap – If an enemy hit by Reap dies within 2 seconds, you gain 30% attack speed for 3 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – don’t need any of the 2 but temporary you can use ) Acolyte’s Reap – Reap forms a Corpse under the first enemy hit. Can only occur every 5 seconds.

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

(active) Blight – Unleash concentrated blight that deals 30% (X-?) damage and leaves behind a defiled area, dealing 80% (X) damage over 6 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Essence Cost: 25 Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Core, Darkness
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blight – Blight Slows enemies by 25%
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Paranormal Blight – Blight has a 30% (multiplicative) chance to Immobilize for 1.5 seconds on impact.
(passive) Hewed Flesh – Lucky Hit: Your damage has up to a 4%/8%/12% chance to create a corpse at the target’s location.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Core passives to save points

Macabre Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active) Corpse Explosion – Detonate a Corpse, dealing 75% (X-XX) damage to nearby enemies. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse – Corpse Explosion’s radius is increased by 15%.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blighted Corpse Explosion – Corpse Explosion becomes a Darkness Skill and, instead of exploding, releases a vile miasma dealing 110% (X-?) Shadow Damage over 6 seconds.
(passive) Grim Harvest – Consuming a Corpse generates 3/6/9 Essence.
- (upgrade) Fueled by Death – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage for 4 seconds after consuming a Corpse.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Macabre passives to save points

Corruption Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active) Decrepify – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Decrepify are Slowed by 40% and deal 20% less damage for 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Curse, Corruption
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Decrepify – Lucky Hit: Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 10% chance to Stunned them for 2 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Abhorent Decrepify – Lucky Hit: Enemies hit while afflicted with Decrepify have up to a 15% chance to reduce your Active Cooldowns by 1.0 seconds.

(active – ONLY investing 1 point here and ONLY in the skill, NOT the upgrades) Iron Maiden – Curse the target area. Enemies afflicted by Iron Maiden take 10% (X-?) damage each time they deal direct damage. Lasts 10 seconds. Essence Cost: 10 Damage: Physical ; Tags: Curse, Corruption
- (1st upgrade) did not take
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) did not take
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in any Corruption passives to save points

Summoning Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active) Corpse Tendrils – Veins burst out of a Corpse, pulling in enemies, Stunning them for 3 seconds, and dealing 20% (X-?) damage to them. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Cooldown: 11.0 Seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Corpse, Corruption
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Corpse Tendrils – Enemies who are in range of Corpse Tendrils are Slowed by 50% before being pulled.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Plagued Corpse Tendrils – Enemies damaged by Corpse Tendrils are made Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point into this) Reaper’s Pursuit – Damaging enemies with Darkness Skills increases your Movement Speed by +5%/+10%/+15% for 3 seconds.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points into this) Crippling Darkness – Lucky Hit: Darkness Skills have up to a 15% chance to Stun for 1/2/3 seconds.
- (upgrade) Gloom – When you damage enemies with Darkness Skills, they take 2%/4%/6% (multiplicative) increased Shadow Damage from you and your Minions for 2 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
- (upgrade) Terror – Darkness Skills deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) bonus damage to enemies who are Slowed, and 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) bonus damage to enemies who are Stunned or Immobilized. These bonuses stack and apply to Shadow Damage dealt by your Minions.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point into this) Serration – Your Bone Skills have a +0.5%/+1%/+1.5% increased Critical Strike Chance for each 10 Essence you have upon cast
- (upgrade) Rapid Ossification – DID NOT Take this
- (upgrade) Compound – Fracture After Critically Striking 10 times with Bone Skills, your Bone Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage for 5 seconds.
- (upgrade) Evulsion – DID NOT Take this
(passive) Necrotic Carapace – When a Corpse is formed from your Skills or your Minions, Fortify for 2%/4%/6% Base Life.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in other Summoning passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Bone Storm – A swirling storm of bones surrounds you and your Golem, dealing 180% (X-?) to surrounding enemies over 10 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Cooldown: 60 Seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate, Bone
- (1st upgrade) Prime Bone Storm – Your Damage Reduction is increased by 15% while Bone Storm is active.
- (2nd upgrade) Supreme Bone Storm – Your Critical Strike Chance is increased by +20% while Bone Storm is active.
(passive) Stand Alone – Increases Damage Reduction by 6%/12%/18%,, reduced by 2% for each active Minion.
- (upgrade) Memento Mori – Sacrificing both Skeletal Warriors and Skeletal Mages increases their Sacrifice bonuses by 20%/40%/60%.
(passive) DID NOT INVEST in any other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Shadowblight – Darkness Skills infect enemies with Shadowblight for 2 seconds. You and your Minions deal 10% (multiplicative) bonus damage to enemies affected by Shadowblight.

Book of the Dead (Class Mechanic):

This build is all about creating as many corpses as possible and consuming them with Corpse Explosion directly or with the auto-cast via Blood Mist. For that we don’t need minions as much. However, there’s no room for a basics kill on the skillbar so we’ll use Cold Mages to generate essence in case there are no corpses nearby to consume for essence.

I’d advise taking Zero Minions for this build & Sacrifice the Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, & Golem. The types sacrifices are:

Skeletal Skirmishers: Sacrifice so that we get extra Crit Chance
- Description: Your critical strike chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
Cold Mages: Sacrifice is amazing to get extra DMG to Vulnerable enemies
- Description: You deal 15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages.
Iron Golem: Sacrifice so that we get extra Crit Damage
- Description: You deal 30% (multiplicative) increased critical strike damage, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.

Unique Item

Black River (Scythe)

[0.06] Life On Kill

Corpse Explosion consumes up to 4 additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x[N] increased damage and with a +[X%] larger radius per additional Corpse.

[49 – 63] Intelligence
+[21 – 35]% Damage to Healthy Enemies
+1 Ranks of the Fueled by Death Passive
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Corpse Explosion

“The scrolls describe a river of tar that separated the living from the land of the dead. Any unfortunate soul who tried to cross would be dragged down into oblivion.” – Notes of Scholar Kamien

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: Amethyst, Diamond, Saphire, Skull, Ruby, or Emerald.
Armor: Ruby, Skull, 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 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)

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 (Dark Lord 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
Amulet: Blighted Aspect or Aspect of Grasping Veins (whichever you want to get the 50% boost, the other one goes in the 2nd Ring Slot)
Chest: Aspect of the Embalmer
Pants: Aspect of Shielding Storm
Gloves: Aspect of Ultimate Shadow
Boots: Aspect of The Void
Ring 1: Aspect of Decay
Ring 2: Blighted Aspect or Aspect of Grasping Veins (whichever of the two you did not put in the Amulet goes here)
1H Weapon: *Smiting Aspect Until The Unique goes here (see notes below)
Off-hand: Aspect of The Damned
2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): *Smiting Aspect Until The Unique goes in he 1h slot (see notes below)

NOTE: Smiting Aspect goes in the 1H Weapon slot ONLY until you get the Black River Unique Scythe.
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet) & Harlequin Crest (Helm)

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 1H Weapon slot and Blighted Aspect or Aspect of Grasping Veins (whichever you put in the Amulet) goes in the now empty 1H Weapon slot to make room for the Unique to go in the Amulet slot
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 1H Weapon slot. Aspect of Ultimate Shadow goes in the now empty 1H Weapon slot. Then Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Gloves slot to make room for the Unique to go in the Helmet slot.

Paragon Boards:

LVL 93 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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

I’ve shortlisted 46 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 Darkness/Shadow/Corpse/Bone/Physical Skills
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Core/Macabre/Corpse/Ultimate Skills
Damage with Core/Macabre/Corpse/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
Damage with Core/Macabre/Corpse/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage
Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Darkness/Shadow/Bone/Physical 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
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Blight/Corpse Explosion/Bone Storm
Overpower Damage with Core/Macabre/Ultimate/Darkness/Corpse/Bone Skills
Damage to Slowed/Stunned/Immobilized Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Slowed/Stunned/Immobilized Enemies

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage while Healthy
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Close Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Essence Generation
Essence Regeneration
Essence On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Intelligence
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 Dark Lord 2.0 Necromancer 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)

Snowballer 2.0 Diablo IV Sorcerer Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Snowballer 2.0 Sorcerer BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Keep Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’ that big ol’ frozen ball o’ snow, & freeze your foes before dealin’ a final blow)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Snowballer 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active) Frost Bolt – Throw a bolt of frost at an enemy, dealing 35.00% (X- ?) damage and Chilling them for 15%. Lucky Hit Chance: 30% Damage: Cold ; Tags: Basic, Frost Enchantment Effect Direct damage from Skills applies up to 15% Chill.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Bolt – Frost Bolt has a 15% chance to explode on Chilled targets, hitting nearby enemies. Chance increased by 100% against Frozen targets.
- (2nd upgrade) Flickering Frost Bolt – Frost Bolt makes Frozen enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.

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

(active) Frozen Orb – Unleash an orb that Chills for 34% and expels piercing shards dealing a total of 32% (X- ?) damage. Upon expiration, Frozen Orb explodes, dealing 29% (X- ?) damage. and Chilling enemies for 9%. Lucky Hit Chance: 20% Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Cold ; Tags: Core, Frost Enchantment Effect When you cast a Non-Basic Skill, you have a 20% chance to launch a Frozen Orb at a Nearby enemy.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frozen Orb – When cast above 50 Mana, Frozen Orb’s explosion damage is increased by 30% (multiplicative).
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Greater Frozen Orb – Frozen Orb’s explosion has a 25% chance to make all enemies hit Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Frozen Orb always makes Frozen enemies Vulnerable.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Devastation – Your Maximum Mana is increased by 3/6/9.
- (upgrade) Elemental Dominance – Your Core Skills deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage when case above 50 Mana
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Teleport – Transform into lightning becoming Unstoppable and surging to the target location dealing 25% (X -?) damage around you upon arrival. Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Cooldown: 11 Damage: Lightning ; Tags: Defensive, Shock
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Teleport – Teleport’s cooldown is decreased by 0.5 seconds per enemy hit, up to 3 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Shimmering Teleport – After Teleporting, you gain 30% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Frost Nova – Unleash a torrent of frost, Freezing enemies around you for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 15 Tags: Defensive, Frost Enchantment Effect Lucky Hit: Your Conjuration Skills have a 30% chance to unleash a Frost Nova when hitting enemies.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Nova – Killing enemies Frozen by Frost Nova reduces its Cooldown by 2 seconds, up to 6 seconds per cast.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mystical Frost Nova – Frost Nova makes enemies Vulnerable for 4 seconds, increased to 8 seconds against Bosses.
(passive) Elemental Attunement – Elemental Critical Strikes have a 5%/10%/15% chance to reset the Cooldown of one of your Defensive Skills. Can only happen once every 10 seconds.
(passive) did not pick any other Defensive passives to save points

Conjuration Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active) Ice Blades – Conjure ice blades for 6.0 seconds that rapidly slashes enemies for 31% (X – ?) damage and has a 30% chance to make them Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 71% Cooldown: 12 Damage: Cold ; Tags: Conjuration, Frost Enchantment Effect For every 20 seconds in Cooldowns you spend, you spawn an Ice Blades on a random enemy.
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ice Blades – Ice Blades’s Cooldown is reduced by 1 second each time it hits a Vulnerable enemy.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Summoned Ice Blades – 50% of Enhanced Ice Blades’s Cooldown reduction is applied to your other Skills.
(passive – ONLY 2 point here) Align the Elements – You gain 5%/10%/15% Damage reduction against Elites for each second you don’t take damage from any of these sources, up to 50%.
- (1st upgrade) Mana Shield – did NOT take this one
- (2nd upgrade – TOP TIER PASSIVE & MUST HAVE) Protection – Using a cooldown grants 10%/20%/30% of your maximum Life as a Barrier for 5 seconds.
(passive) Precision Magic – Your Lucky Hit Effect Chance is increased by up to 5%/10%/15%.
(passive) did not pick any more Conjuration passives to save points

Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 ) Not taking an Active Mastery skill

(active)
- (1st upgrade)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) Ice Veil – Your Barriers have a +5%/+10%/+15% increased duration. (Barriers absorb damage from all sources up to a specified amount.)
- (upgrade) Snap Freeze – Lucky Hit: Frost Skills have a 3%/6%/9% chance to instantly Freeze.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Cold front – While you have a Barrier active, you apply 8%/16%/24% (multiplicative) more Chill.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Deep Freeze – Encase yourself in ice, becoming Immune for 4 seconds, continually dealing 13% damage, and Chilling enemies for 20%. When Deep Freeze expires, it deals an additional 100% damage. Casting Deep Freeze again ends the effect early. Lucky Hit Chance: 5% Cooldown: 60 Damage: Cold ; Tags: Ultimate, Frost
- (1st upgrade) Prime Deep Freeze – When Deep Freeze ends, gain 10% of your Base Life as a Barrier for 6 seconds for each enemy you Froze while it was active.
- (2nd upgrade) Supreme Deep Freeze – When Deep Freeze ends, your Non-Ultimate Cooldowns are reduced by 50%.
(passive) Permafrost – Frost Skills deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
- (upgrade) Icy Touch – You deal 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
- (upgrade) Hoarfrost – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Chilled enemies, and 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Frozen enemies.
- (upgrade) Frigid Breeze – Lucky Hit: Cold Damage against Vulnerable enemies has a 20%/40%/60% chance to generate 5 Mana.

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Avalanche – Lucky Hit: Your Frost Skills have up to a 10% chance to make your next Ice Shards, Frozen Orb, or Blizzard consume no Mana and deal 40% (multiplicative) increased damage. Chance is doubled against Vulnerable enemies.

Enchantment (Class Mechanic):

I’d recommend mix-and matching two of the following Enchantments (you’ll need at least 1 point invested or from gear in the skills):

Obvious Synergies
- Frost Nova – Lucky Hit: Your Conjuration Skills have a 30% chance to unleash a Frost Nova when hitting enemies. (my pick)
- Frozen Orb – Whenever you cast a non-basic skill, you have a 20% chance to launch a Frozen Orb at a nearby enemy. (my pick)
- Ice Shards – Ice Shards automatically conjure and fly toward Frozen enemies.
- Ice Blades – For every 20 seconds in cooldowns you spend, you spawn an Ice Blades on a Random enemy.
- Frost Bolt – Direct Damage from Skills applies up to an additional 15% Chill.
Still good to try
- Flame Shield – Flame Shield automatically activates when you take fatal damage, Can only happen once every 120 Seconds.
- Fireball – When you kill an enemy, they explode in a Fireball for 50% of its damage.
- Hydra – After spending 300 mana, a five-headed Hydra appears for 5 seconds.

Unique Item

In Diablo IV we can only equip one unique item at the same time. My pick will be the following one:

Melted Heart of Selig (Amulet)

[4 – 25]% Resistance to All Elements

Gain +100% Maximum Resource. In addition, when you take damage, drain [3 – 6] Resource for every 1% of Life you would have lost instead.

[10 – 18] All Stats
+[12.5 – 19.5]% Core Skill Damage
+[16.5 – 23.5]% Damage while Healthy
[7 – 14]% X Generation (Struck’s note: I’m 100% sure X here stands for each class’ Primary Recource: Mana, Essence, Spirit, Energy, Fury)

“Do not allow your passions to become obsessions. Fuel the fire that burns within you, but it is madness to allow yourself to become ash to please an uncaring universe.”
– Last words of Master Selig

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: Diamond, Saphire, Skull, or Emerald.
Armor: Diamond, Skull, or Ruby.
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 (Snowballer 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
Amulet: *Aspect of Control Until The Unique goes here (see notes below)
Chest: Frostblitz Aspect
Pants: Encased Aspect
Gloves: Aspect of Frozen Memories
Boots: Aspect of Fortune
Ring 1: Aspect of the Frozen Tundra
Ring 2: Prodigy’s Aspect
1H Weapon: Aspect of Frozen Orbit
Off-hand: Aspect of Biting Cold
2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Aspect of Frozen Orbit

NOTE 1: Prodigy's Aspect goes in the 2nd Ring slot ONLY until you get the Melted Heart of Selig Amulet. For after that see notes below:
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Frostburn (Gloves) & Harlequin Crest (Helm)
See the other other notes below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange the aspects when you get the Melted Heart of Selig Unique Amulet:
- Prodigy's Aspect gets discarded & removed from the 2nd Ring slot and Aspect of Control goes in the now empty 2nd Ring slot. This makes room for the Unique to go in the Amulet slot.

NOTE 3: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Frostburn (Gloves): Prodigy's Aspect gets removed from the 2nd Ring slot and Aspect of Frozen Memories goes in the now empty 2nd Ring slot to make room for the Unique to go in the Gloves slot
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Frostblitz Aspect gets removed from the Chest slot and Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Chest slot to make room for the Unique to go in the Helmet slot.

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 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 91 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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 Frost/Cold Skills
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Core/Defensive/Conjuration/Ultimate Skills
Damage with Core/Defensive/Conjuration/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
Damage with Core/Defensive/Conjuration/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Frost/Cold Damage
Frost/Cold Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Frost/Cold Damage
Resistance to All Elements
+ % Chill Application
+ % Frost/Cold Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Frost/Cold 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 Healthy
Barrier Generation
Chance When Struck to Gain N Life as Barrier for X Seconds
Lucky Hit Chance while You Have a Barrier
Damage Reduction while You Have a Barrier
Life as Barrier On Kill
Critical Strike Chance Against Chilled/Frozen Enemies
Damage to Chilled/Frozen Enemies

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Mana Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Intelligence
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 Snowballer 2.0 Sorcerer 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)

Butcher 2.0 Diablo IV Barbarian Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Butcher 2.0 Barbarian BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(Leap & Stomp on your foes, Bleed them dry & Rupture the Gushing Wounds)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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).

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 (Butcher 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Lunging Strike – Lunge forward and strike an enemy for 30% (X – ?) damage. Generate Fury: 9 Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Lunging Strike – Lunging Strike deals 30% (multiplicative) increased damage and Heals you for 2% Maximum Life when it damages a Healthy enemy.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Battle Lunging Strike – Lunging Strike also inflicts 20% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.

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

(active) Rend – Cleave enemies in front of you, dealing 12% (X – ?) damage and inflicting 96% (X) Bleeding damage over 5 seconds. Requires a slashing weapon. Fury Cost: 35 Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rend – Dealing direct damage with Rend extends the duration of Vulnerable on enemies by 2 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Furious Rend – Direct damage with Rend grants 4 Fury per enemy hit, up to a maximum of 20 Fury.
(passive) did not pick any Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Ground Stomp – Smash the ground, dealing 10% (X – ?) damage and Stunning surrounding enemies for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 16 seconds Damage: Physical ; Tags: Defensive,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ground Stomp – Increase Ground Stomp’s duration by 1 second.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Tactical Ground Stomp – Ground Stomp generates 25 Fury.
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Imposing Presence – Gain 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) additional Maximum Life.
- (upgrade) Martial Vigor – Damage Reduction against Elites, is increased by 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative).
(passive) did not pick other Defensive passives to save points

Brawling Skills (Required Points: 11 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Leap – Leap forward and then slam down, dealing 33% (X – ?) damage and Knocking Back surrounding enemies on impact. Cooldown: 17 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Brawling,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Leap – If Leap doesn’t damage any enemies, its Cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Power Leap – If Leap damages at least one enemy, gain 40 Fury.
(passive) did not pick any Brawling passives to save points

Weapon Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active) Rupture – Skewer enemies in front of you, dealing 13% (X – ?) damage, then rip your weapon out, damaging enemies for their total Bleeding amount removing all Bleeding damage from them. Requires a slashing weapon. Cooldown: 10 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Weapon Mastery,
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Rupture – Ripping your weapon out of enemies during Rupture causes an explosion that deals 30% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fighter’s Rupture – Hitting at least 1 enemy with Rupture Heals you for 15% of your Maximum Life.
(passive – ONLY put 2 points here) Pit Fighter – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Close enemies and gain 2%/4%/6% Distant Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade) No Mercy – You have +3%/+6%/+9% increased Critical Strike Chance against Immobilized, Stunned, or Slowed enemies.
- (upgrade) Slaying Strike – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Expose Vulnerability – Dealing direct damage with a Weapon Mastery Skill causes your next Core Skill to make enemies Vulnerable for 1/2/3 second(s).
(passive) Thick Skin – Each time you take direct damage gain 0.4%/0.7%/1.1% Base Life as Fortify.
- (upgrade) Counteroffensive – While you have Fortify for over 50% of your Maximum Life, you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage.
- (upgrade) Defensive Stance – did NOT take this one
(passive – ONLY put 1 point here) Hamstring – Your Bleeding effects Slow enemies by 10%/20%/30%.
- (upgrade) Cut to the Bone – Your Bleeding effects deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable Enemies.
(passive) did not pick other Weapon Mastery passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Wrath of the Berserker – Gain Berserking and Unstoppable for 5 seconds. For the next 10 seconds, dealing direct damage with Basic Skills grants Berserking for 25 seconds Cooldown: 60 seconds Lucky Hit Chance: 40% Tags: Ultimate,
- (1st upgrade) Supreme Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, gain +20% increased Movement Speed and increase Fury Generation by 30% (multiplicative)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Prime Wrath of the Berserker – While Wrath of the Berserker is active, every 50 Fury spend increases Berserk’s damage bonus by 25% (multiplicative)
(passive) Wallop – did NOT take this one
- (upgrade) Concussion – did NOT take this one
(passive ) Heavy Handed – While using Two-Handed weapons you deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.seconds.
- (upgrade) Brute Force – Your Overpower deals 15%/30%/45% (multiplicative) increased damage when using a Two-Handed weapon
  *NOTE: Unlocking this skill upgrade requires investing into either Wallop OR Heavy Handed (can still get both if you want)
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Gushing Wounds – When causing an enemy to Bleed, you have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to increase the Bleed amount by 100% of your Critical Strike Damage bonus. Overpowering a Bleeding enemy creates an explosion that inflicts 11% Bleeding damage over 5 seconds.

Class Mechanic:

The Barbarian class mechanics is called Arsenal and this is how I believe it works:

The Barbarian class can equip 4 weapons at the same time: a Dual-wielding set of 2x One-Handed weps + two separate Two-Handed weapons (not dual-wielding those). They switch in combat between those based on what weapon is assigned to specific skills via the class unique Arsenal System. So each skill can have its own weapon assigned to it as long as it’s one of the 4 weapons equipped. The weps you don’t actually use work as ‘stat sticks’, even any aspects slotted on them. Here are the types:

Dual Wielded 1-Handed Weapons on Barbarians can be either Slashing or Bludgeoning such as: Swords, Axes, or Maces. The game seems to clump all 1-Handed weapons together under the “Dual-Wielding” as far as Barbarians and their skill tags are concerned so regardless of Slashing or Bludgeoning type, a 1-Handed weapon will apparently not count as either.
The two slots of Two-Handed Weapons can be occupied by Slashing type weps like Swords, Axes, & Polearms and/or by Bludgeoning Maces
Ideally 1x 2h Slashing, 1x 2h Bludgeoning and a Dual-Wield 1h combo for the 4 weps if you go for a swap-centric build

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:

Fields of Crimson (Two-Handed Sword)

+[17.5%] Critical Strike Damage While using this weapon, damaging at least one enemy with Rupture creates a blood pool that inflicts N Bleeding damage over 6 seconds. Enemies standing in the pool take x[0.18 – 0.34]% increased Bleeding damage.

+[7 – 14]% Damage with Two-Handed Slashing Weapons
+[7 – 14]% Damage Over Time
CDR_Rupture (Struck’s note: I’m 100% sure this is cooldown reduction for Rupture)
+[2 – 4] Ranks of Rupture

“We’ve been fighting these flesh-eaters for so long, been soaked in so much blood, that after a while it’s difficult to tell what side you’re truly on.” – Daelyr, Crane Tribe warrior

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: Saphire, Skull, Ruby, Amethyst, or Emerald.
Armor: Skull, Saphire, or Ruby.
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 (Butcher 2.0) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
Amulet: Aspect of Veteran Brawler
Chest: Weapon Master’s Aspect
Pants: Iron Blood Aspect
Gloves: Aspect of Anemia
Boots: Aspect of Perpetual Stomping
Ring 1: Aspect of Quickening Pulse
Ring 2: Slaking Aspect
1H Weapon: Aspect of Berserk Ripping
Off-hand: Skullbreaker’s Aspect
2-H Weapon 1: Aspect of Encroaching Wrath
2-H Weapon 2 (see NOTE below): *Smiting Aspect Until The Unique goes here

NOTE 1: Smiting Aspect goes in the second 2-Handed slot ONLY until you get the Fields of Crimson Unique Two-Handed Sword. 
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Rage of Harrogath (Chest Armor) & Harlequin Crest (Helm). See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Rage of Harrogath (Chest Armor): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 2nd 2-handed slot & Aspect of Veteran Brawler replaces it. Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Amulet slot, emptying the Helm slot. Weapon Master’s Aspect goes in the now empty Helm slot to make room for the Unique Chest.
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Smiting Aspect gets removed from the 2nd 2-handed slot & Aspect of Veteran Brawler replaces it. Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the now empty Amulet slot & makes room for the Unique Helm.

Paragon Boards:

LVL 93 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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 DoT/Physical/Bleeding Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Damage with Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage
DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Overpower Damage
+ % DoT/Physical/Bleeding Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with DoT/Physical/Bleeding 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 Healthy
Fortify Generation
Damage while Fortified
Chance When Struck to Fortify for X Life
Overpower Chance
Overpower Damage with Rupture/Rend/Leap
Overpower Damage with Core/Weapon Mastery/Brawling Skills
Overpower Damage with Slashing/2-handed/Swords/etc. Weapon

Higher Priority

+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Fury Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Strength
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 Butcher 2.0 Barbarian 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)

Dark Ice Diablo IV Rogue Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Dark Ice Rogue BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(get up close & personal to cause the shadows to explode, chilling & freezing your foes)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

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 Rogue Class called Dark Ice.

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/OrJwt7jVYUc

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 (Dark Ice) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

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

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Puncture – Throw blades a short distance, dealing 21% (X – ?) damage. Every 3rd cast Slows enemies by 2 seconds. Critical Strikes will always Slow. Requires Dual Wielded Weapons. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic, Ranged, Marksman
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Puncture – Gain 2 Energy when Puncture damages a Crowd Controlled enemy.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fundamental Puncture – Puncture now throws 3 blades in a spread, each dealing 35% of its Base damage. Hitting an enemy with at least 2 blades at once makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.

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

(active) Flurry – Unleash a flurry of stabs and slashes, striking enemies in front of you 4 times and dealing a total of 60% (X – ?) damage to each. Combo Points increase damage and grant an Attack Speed bonus: 1: 75% damage, +15% Attack Speed ; 2: 90% damage, +30% Attack Speed ; 3: 105% damage, +45% Attack Speed Requires Dual Wielded weapons Energy Cost: 25 Lucky Hit Chance: 8% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Melee, Imbueable, Cutthroat
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Flurry – Each time Flurry damages a Crowd Controlled or Vulnerable enemy, you are Healed for 1% of your Maximum Life, up to 12% Maximum Life per cast.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Improved Flurry – If Flurry hits any Vulnerable enemy it will make all enemies hit by that cast Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
(passive) Sturdy – You gain 4%/8%/12% Close Damage Reduction.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Siphoning Strikes – Heal for 1%/2%/3% of your Maximum Life when you Critically Strike Close enemies.
(passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Agility Skills (Required Points: 6 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Dash – Dash forward and slash enemies for 37% (X – ?) damage. Requires Dual Wielded weapons Charges: 2 Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Melee, Imbueable, Cutthroat
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Dash – Enemies damaged by Dash take 20% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage for 5 seconds.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Methodical Dash – Dealing damage to Crowd Controlled enemies with Dash reduces its Charge Cooldown by 0.5 seconds, up to 3 seconds per cast.

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Caltrops – Leap backwards and throw Caltrops on the ground, dealing 30% (X – ?) damage and Slowing enemies by 50%. Lasts 6 seconds. Energy Cost: 21 Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Trap
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Caltrops – Enemies take 3% (multiplicative) increased damage from you each second they’re in Caltrops.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Disciplined Caltrops – You have +5% Critical Strike Chance against enemies inside your Caltrops. Double this amount against Vulnerable enemies.
(passive) Weapon Mastery – Gain a bonus when attacking based on weapon type:
Daggers: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy enemies.
Swords: 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage.
Bows: 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
Crossbows: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
(passive) did not pick other Agility passives to save points

Subterfuge Skills (Required Points: 11 ) Not taking an Active Subterfuge skill

(active)
- (1st upgrade)
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
(passive) Exploit – You deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy and Injured enemies.
- (upgrade) Malice – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
(passive) did not pick other Subterfuge passives to save points

Imbuements Skills (Required Points: 16 )

(active – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Imbuement – Imbue your weapons with festering shadows. Enemies struck by your next 2 Imbuable Skills deal damage and infect enemies for 6 seconds. Infected enemies explode on death, dealing 40% (X) damage to all surrounding enemies. If the infection expires before the enemy dies, it will deal 40% (X) damage to only that enemy. Cooldown: 9 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Imbuements
- (1st upgrade) Enhanced Shadow Imbuement – You have +25% increased Critical Strike Chance against Injured enemies infected by Shadow Imbuement.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blended Shadow Imbuement – Shadow Imbue’s primary explosion makes enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
(passive) Precision Imbuement – Imbued Skills gain +5%/+10%/+15% increased Critical Strike Chance.
(passive – Invested 2/3 ranks into it only to save points) Shadow Crash – Lucky Hit: Shadow damage has up to a 10% chance to Stun for 0.5/1/1.5 seconds.
- (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Consuming Shadows – Each time you kill an enemy with Shadow Damage, you generate 10/20/30 Energy.
(passive) Frigid Finesse – You deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Chilled enemies. This bonus increases to 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) against Frozen enemies.
(passive) did not pick other Imbuements passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

(active) Shadow Clone – Your shadow mimicks your actions for 15 seconds. The shadow deals 60% of your damage. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate
- (1st upgrade) Prime Shadow Clone – You are Unstoppable for 5 seconds after casting Shadow Clone.
- (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Shadow Clone – Your Shadow Clone deals an additional 20% of your damage.
(passive) Innervation – Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to gain 8 Energy.
- (upgrade) Second Wind – Every 100 Energy you spend grants you +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance for 5 seconds.seconds.
- (upgrade) Alchemist’s Fortune – Non-Physical damage you deal has a +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance.
(passive) Aftermath – After using an Ultimate Skill, restore 25/50/75 Energy.
(passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

(passive) Close Quarters Combat – Damaging a nearby enemy with Marksman or Cutthroat Skills grants a +10% Attack Speed bonus for 8 seconds. While both Attack Speed bonuses are active, you deal 20% (multiplicative) increased damage against Crowd Controlled enemies.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much information about the 3rd Specialization of the Rogue. The 3 Specializations are the Rogues’ Class Mechanics:

Combo Points – Your Basic Skills now generate Combo Points. Certain Skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
Inner Sight – Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
Preparation – This specialization was not available during the closed beta builds of the game.

Unique Item

Frostburn (Gloves)

Lucky Hit: Up to a [15 – 25]% chance to Freeze enemies for 2 seconds.

+[3 – 8]% Critical Strike Chance
+[0.07 – 0.14] Cold Damage
+[7 – 14]% Freeze Duration
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% Chance to Restore +[14 – 28]% Primary Resource

A touch so frigid it stops the heart and chills the very soul.

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 (Dark Ice) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
Amulet: Aspect of Encircling Blades
Chest: Aspect of Quickening Fog
Pants: Aspect of Elusive Menace
Gloves: Blast-Trapper’s Aspect Until The Unique goes here
Boots: Frostbitten Aspect
Ring 1: Icy Alchemist’s Aspect
Ring 2: Aspect of Corruption
1H Weapon: Shadowslicer Aspect
Off-hand: Aspect of Imitated Imbuement
2-H Weapon: Vengeful Aspect

NOTE 1: Blast-Trapper's Aspect goes in the Gloves slot ONLY until you get the Frostburn Unique Gloves. 
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Grasp of Shadow (Gloves) & Harlequin Crest (Helm)
See the note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Grasp of Shadow (Gloves): Blast-Trapper's Aspect gets removed from the Gloves to make room for the Unique (same item type as Frostburn so nothing special)
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Blast-Trapper's Aspect gets removed from the Gloves and Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the Gloves to make room for the Unique

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: Saphire, Skull, Diamond, or Emerald.
Armor: Skull or Ruby.
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)

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.

LVL 95 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Shadow/Cold Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Damage with Core/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage
Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Damage to Enemies Affected by Trap Skills
+ % Physical/Shadow/Ice Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Shadow/Cold 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 Healthy
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies with Imbued Skills
Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills
Shadow Imbued Skill Damage
Imbued Skill Damage
Imbuement Potency

Higher Priority

Damage for X Seconds After Dodging an Attack
Attack Speed for X Seconds After Dodging an Attack
Dodge Chance (both +% and x% exist)
Dodge Chance Against Close Enemies
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Energy Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Dexterity
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 Dark Ice Rogue 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)

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).

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):

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

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:

LVL 95 & no Points from renown: Click THIS LINK
MAXed out points: Click THIS LINK

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)