The Druid is often given tanking duties in Diablo 4 for a good reason; the class can combine Fortify, Thorns, and Overpower to create a strong tank build with some offensive power. But if players are looking for better damage against bosses and crowds, they'll have to get out of that comfort zone.
The Storm Druid is still at the center of the action. In fact, its most vital skills require the character to be as close to the middle of the action as possible. While still somewhat protected, the Storm Druid is the go-to mob-clearing powerhouse in Diablo 4 when it's built right and likely permanently debuff bosses, making them take extra damage from teammates and the Druid class itself.
Updated on June 30th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: This guide has been updated for the huge rebalance patch in 1.0.3. Many guides have remained untouched because most skills got a simple numerical buff or nerf to bring them in line with the rest of the skills in the game. Especially with Vulnerable builds becoming so powerful, this was an appropriate rebalance. However, not every skill received a small buff or nerf. Some of these were significant enough to change builds for and this build was one of those. Some of these buffs weren't to damage but to cooldown or resource reduction which alters the skill rotation entirely. The old build might still be better than it was before but this new guide gets the absolute most out of the class.
Skill Tree
Skill | Points |
Wind Shear | 5 |
Enhanced Wind Shear | 1 |
Wild Wind Shear | 1 |
Tornado | 5 |
Enhanced Tornado | 1 |
Raging Tornado | 1 |
Heart of the Wild | 1 |
Wild Impulses | 3 |
Cyclone Armor | 5 |
Enhanced Cyclone Armor | 1 |
Innate Cyclone Armor | 1 |
Ravens | 5 |
Enhanced Ravens | 1 |
Ferocious Ravens | 1 |
Call of the Wild | 3 |
Hurricane | 5 |
Enhanced Hurricane | 1 |
Natural Hurricane | 1 |
Elemental Exposure | 3 |
Charged Atmosphere | 3 |
Endless Tempest | 3 |
Bad Omen | 3 |
Cataclysm | 1 |
Prime Cataclysm | 1 |
Supreme Cataclysm | 1 |
Perfect Storm | 1 |
At the maximum level and with all the Renown gathered, players will have 58 skill points to invest. This build is all about raw damage to multiple targets set up by a ton of skills that either guarantee to place a Vulnerable debuff status or make it extremely likely.
With opponents persistently taking extra damage, take a look at how many of these are not only area-of-effect skills but skills that can be placed right on top of the Druid. Melee enemies have no choice but to rush to their doom and weaker ranged opponents will be easy to mop up after their frontline combatants have been breezed away.
If this feels like too much Vulnerable application, consider that not only do Vulnerable debuffs stack but stack in a multiplicative fashion. The Storm Druid will be landing heavy blows when these debuffs stack up. Players looking for more of a reliable damage-dealing experience may want to instead consider using a perfect Werewolf build.
Paragon Boards
Board | Paragon/Legendary Nodes | Glyph |
Start | Prime, Impel | Earth and Sky |
Thunderstruck | Stormcaller, Hubris, Deluge, Thunderstruck, Tempest | Fulminate |
Ancestral Guidance | Ancestral Guidance, Spiritual Power, Harmony | Keeper |
Constricting Tendrils | Devastation, Nature's Will, Constricting Tendrils | Spirit |
Heightened Malice | Heightened Malice, Toxic Bane, Overturn | Territorial |
The paragon boards and glyphs can be a bit tough to figure out. It's a matter of adjusting the boards so that they snake properly. Few players will get to the maximum 200 paragon points but those that do will find that their powers are enhanced by enormous magnitudes.
Listing all nodes would be tedious and impossible to read, but if gamers move between the major nodes listed, it shouldn't be an issue. Make sure to purchase all relevant stat bonus nodes inside the designated glyph areas.
Only two boards (Thunderstruck and Ancestral Guidance) appear to be useful but the legendary Constricting Tendrils node gives this build a high chance of poisoning enemies. Poison damage will always be secondary to Storm damage but the Heightened Malice board can make other non-poison attacks hit harder against these poisoned foes.
Getting Ancestral Guidance to be consistently active is critical when players spend enough Spirit, they'll get more damage for a few seconds. Spending Spirit is core so gamers should try to prioritize Resource generation when they're looking at stats on their gear. This may be tough to do early on so use an ideal leveling Druid build until getting the necessary equipment.
Gear
Slot | Aspect/Piece |
Helm | Harlequin Crest |
Chest | Aspect of Cyclonic Force |
Gloves | Runeworker's Conduit Aspect |
Pants | Aspect of Disobedience |
Boots | Wind Striker Aspect |
Amulet | Stormchaser's Aspect |
Ring | Aspect of the Tempest |
Ring | Overcharged Aspect |
Main Hand | Rapid Aspect |
Off-Hand | Aspect of the Expectant |
With the new aspect system, gamers have a ton of freedom to take the piece of gear they find with the best stats and then add their favorite effect to it. Increasing potion efficiency helps out a bit but these aspects are game-changing. Note that some of these aspects can be swapped in and out on other pieces of gear; which piece has which aspect is not important.
Note that in addition to the extra Storm damage comes a healthy portion of tankiness with the gear. To be effective with the best Storm skills, the player will want to be close to the action and that means taking a few blows. Cyclone Armor will mitigate some of the damage but it can't hurt to have some gear that makes the Storm Druid comfortable being in the middle of the action.
The Aspect of the Expectant incentivizes players to use their basic skill, Wind Shear. Many other classes want to try and not use their basic skill instead of other more powerful skills but the Storm Druid is different. Wind Shear has a chance to apply Vulnerable damage and is the fastest way to regain Spirit.
Spirit Boons
- Deer - Gift of Stag
- Eagle (Bonded) - Scythe Talons, Avian Wrath
- Snake - Calm Before the Storm
- Wolf - Calamity
World Tiers can get out of control when it comes to difficulty. Thankfully, Spirit Boons are a simple way to keep pace with the escalating challenge. Bonding with the Eagle is a wise choice for almost every damage-first Druid class as it gives the player an increase in critical hit chance and critical hit damage.
But the bigger boosts are Calm Before the Storm and Calamity which combine to make Cataclysm last longer and significantly reduces the cooldown. Having an ultimate ability in use that much more often puts the Storm Druid over the top against mobs of minions.
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.