Druid Build Guide for Diablo 2 ResurrectedElemental Druid. This is a Beginner Build that will comfortably get you throughNormal, which is the first difficulty of Diablo 2 Resurrected. If you are looking for aBeginner Druid Build, and aren’t sure where to begin, then thisDiablo 2 Guideis for you. Check out ourDiablo 2 Best Buildsfor more builds for all classes.
Druid Build Guide Diablo 2 Resurrected | Elemental Druid (Fissure)
The Elemental Druid focuses on the Fire Spells of theElemental Tree. You’ll be usingFissureas your main way to deal damage to enemies, andMolten Boulderas a utility spell.
Fissurecreates volcanic vents around an area, dealing very high damage per second to any enemy standing on top of them. As a Elemental Druid, you’ll invoke these fire patches, and then lure enemies into them. If an enemy manages to survive, you can use theMolten Boulderspell to knock them back and stun them. This will retain them on the vents, while keeping you safe at the same time. This Build deals very high damage during the early and mid stages of the game, making it one of the easiest Builds to use to complete your first playthrough.
It’s important to note that, while very powerful during the beginning of the game, this Build will only remain viable through the first difficulty (Normal) and up to around Lvl 40. You can still run throughNightmaredifficulty if you insist, but I wouldn’t recommend it as you’ll find much better options at that point in the game.
If you are a new player I strongly recommend you save the respec that you get from completing the first questDen of Evil. If you do, you’ll be able to talk toAkaraand respect your character into a different build once you reachNightmaredifficulty.
Druid Build Guide Stats | Diablo 2 Resurrected Build
Most Builds in Diablo 2 Resurrected have aStatdistribution that focuses on assigning enough points intoStrengthto meet equipment requirements, enoughDexterityto reach max Block Chance, and then assigning everything else intoVitalityto gain as muchLifeas possible. And while this is true for mostBuilds, it can be confusing to decide when you should assign theseAttribute Points.
LEVEL 40 DRUID STATS
Strength: Strength is a requirement for most equipment pieces of the game. During your first play through, you’ll want to have enough points to slot the best equipment for each act.
From here you should only assign points into Strength if you find an Item that is worth the investment. If not, just assign the points into Vitality.
Dexterity: For most Builds Dexterity is important to increase Block Chance when using a Shield. Since Block Chance is not that important at the beginning of the game, we won’t be assigning any points here.
Vitality: All remaining points should be spent here. Increasing Vitality will greatly increase your health pool, which is essential to stay alive against large groups of enemies. Vitality also increases your Stamina, allowing you to run much further without needing to rest.
Energy: No points required. Fissure Mana cost remains the same across all levels, so you won’t have any issues here.
Druid Build Guide Skills | Elemental Druid
The Elemental Druid mainly focuses on the Fire Spells of the Elemental Tree, but you can also distribute some points into Summons to increase your survival chances if you wish.
When cast, thisElemental Spellcreates volcanic vents on the ground that will periodically deal damage to all enemies standing on top of them. The vents last for 3.2 seconds, while the spell has a 2 second cooldown, meaning that you’ll only be able to keep 2 spells active at the same time.
While facing melee enemies, you’ll want to cast the spell right between you and them. This will force them to walk on top of the vents, ensuring they take full damage. Alternatively, while facing ranged enemies you’ll want to cast it right on top of them and move around to avoid projectiles until they are dead.
Molten Boulder
This spell creates a giant flaming boulder that travels in a straight line and explodes when it comes in contact with enemies, dealing damage and knocking them back which also briefly stuns them. The knockback and stun effect is dealt in an AoE, allowing us to push enemies away from us or keep them on top of the vents.
This spell creates three fire streams that move forward from your character. You’ll be using this spell up to level 12, when you unlock Fissure. Firestorm synergizes with Fissure, increasing its damage by 12% for each level, so these points are not wasted while you wait to unlock Fissure.
Summon Grizzly
If you are having trouble surviving enemies, then sparing some points to unlock the Grizzly Bear might be a great option. The grizzly bear will move forward to engage enemies, luring their attention and forcing them to stay on top of the vents. ThisSummonhas no cooldown and can be freely cast while in combat, making it a perfect meat shield.
This summon greatly increase your life by providing a massive 30% increase. While this is great on paper, the spirit has very low health, meaning that you’ll have to constantly cast it while in combat. For this reason, I only recommend you go for it if you also go for the Grizzly Bear since it will buff both of you.
Skill Distribution
For the Skill distribution you’ll want to max the Fissure skill first. Once you’ve maxed out Fissure, you’ll want to assign the remaining points into Firestorm and Volcano to further increase Fissure’s damage through synergies. Alternatively you can place some points in Summoning to unlock Grizzly once Fissure is maxed out, before you start pumping Firestorm if you wish. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to assign your Skills, noting the alternate path for Summoning:
LEVEL 40 DRUID SKILLS
Points Spent
2-5 + Den of Evil Point
12-30 + Radament’s Lair Point
31+ Pure Damage Route
31-38 + The Fallen Angel 2 Points
31+ Summon Support Route
The Fallen Angel 1 Points
Summon Spirit Wolf
Summon Dire Wolf
The idea here is that you use Firestorm until you’re able to unlock Fissure and then swap to that. You’ll also assign 1 point into Molten Boulder in the process as a pre-requisite, and you should start using it together with fissure at Level 12.
Druid Build Guide Runewords | Diablo 2 Resurrected Build
Runesare a special type of socketed item that will not only provide unique properties, but that can also be combined with other Runes to create what’s called aRuneword. Runewords can be formed by inserting Runes in a specific order inside certain types of equipment. The Item must be Normal Rarity, able to support the Runeword, and it needs to have the same amount of sockets as Runes are required. Note that some magical items have sockets on them, but even if you put the Runes in the right order the Runeword will not be created and you’ll essentially lose your Runes, so be sure to use Normal Rarity items only.
While Runewords are often referred to as End Game equipment, some of them can be crafted very early into Diablo 2 Resurrected, and should not be so hard to come by. If you are lacking a base, you may check with the merchants as they often sell socketed items, but ensure that they are Normal in rarity.
Runewords are the most reliable way to gear up your character while you advance through the game, so I strongly suggest that you take a look at the complete list on our Wiki and periodically check the runes that you have and the Runewords that you can craft.
Runes can be farmed by doing Countess Runs.The Countessis a Super Unique Monster that can be found inside theForgotten Towerin Act I. Each time you kill her she will always drop between 1 and 3 Runes and their level will depend on the difficulty setting.
What Equipment To Use
Elemental Resistances are key when trying to survive in Diablo 2 Resurrected. Most enemies deal elemental damage and having high resistances will mitigate a great percentage of this damage. For this reason, I strongly recommend that you focus on equipment pieces that provide +Resistances during theNormaldifficulty of the game.
You can check your current resistances by opening the Stat menu and looking at the bottom of the menu. Resistances cap at +75%, and ideally you’ll want to max all of them when you are reaching the end ofNormaldifficulty. Make sure to periodically check your equipment to balance them out and get them as high as possible.
Since loot is random, you won’t have control over the equipment that you get during early and even mid-stage gameplay other than creating Runewords. Having said that, there are some general guidelines on the Stats that you should be looking for on your items to ensure that your character scales up with the increasing difficulty.
Note that FCR (Faster Cast Rate) is not that important for this build, since Fissure is tied to a fixed cooldown which we cannot reduce.
Druid Pelts (Magic and Rare): These helmets often come equipped with +Skills greatly boosting your damage. You are going to be looking for +Fissure or +Elemental Tree. An important thing to note here, is that you can craft Runewords on Druid Pelts as long as they are normal rarity and have the required sockets. If they happen to have +Skills, they’ll retain those skills in addition to the Runeword Effects, making them particularly good.
Nadir (Runeword):Nef-TirRunes – Lvl 13. This Helmet provides a good amount of defense as well as +5 Strength, allowing us to save some Stats during early stages. The +2 Mana per kill is also a great way to keep up our Mana reserves between fights.
Lore (Runeword):Ort-SolRunes – Lvl 27. If you happen to come across a Sol rune then you can use it to craft this helmet which provides +1 to all Skills as well as +30% lightning resistance.
Leaf (Runeword):Tir-RalRunes – Lvl 19. This is the best weapon for this build, as it provides +3 to Fire Skills (which includes all Fire Skills on the Elemental Tree), greatly increasing your damage output. It also provides a good amount of defense, as well as +33% cold resistance.
The runes required can be farmed from the Normal Difficulty Countess, so you should make a couple of runs until you get a Tir and Ral rune. Once you do, make sure to talk to Akara to buy a 2 socketed Staff to create the Runeword.
Spirit (Runeword):Tal-Thul-Ort-AmnRunes - Lvl 25. This Runeword can be crafted on both Weapons and Shields. It increases both your damage, thanks to its +2 To All Skills, as well as increasing your defense, thanks to Faster Hit Recovery, Vitality and Life Stolen Per hit.
Finding a 4 socketed weapon can be a little tricky, but stay on the lookout for Crystal Swords, Longswords and Broadswords. If you happen to play the Secret Cow Level, if you find any un-socketed of these types of Weapons, you’re able to get a guaranteed 4 sockets fromLarzukby completing theSiege on Harrogathquest.
Ancient’s Pledge (Runeword):Ral-Ort-TalRunes – Lvl 21. This shield provides a huge boost to resistances. If you can’t find an Ort Rune you can make one by combining 3 Ral Runes inside the Horadric Cube.
Spirit (Runeword):Tal-Thul-Ort-AmnRunes - Lvl 25. If you find the Runes and a four slot Shield then Spirit is a great option as well. This shield provides +2 to all skills, greatly increasing your damage, and provides many defensive stats such as Elemental Resistances, Faster Hit Recovery and Vitality.
Stealth (Runeword):Tal-EthRunes – Lvl 17. This is by far the best armor that you can get early on. The 25% Faster Cast Rate is nice, while the poison resistance andFaster Hit Recovery(FHR), which allows you to recover control of your character sooner after each hit, provides you with more survivability. The FHR is very important, as it usually helps you avoid stun locks when surrounded by enemies.
When it comes to gloves you’ll want to focus on defensive stats such as Life and Resistances.
Make sure to swap your belt as soon as you reach Act 2 for the maximum amount of potions. Regarding stats, you’ll want to focus on Life and Resistances. Some merchants might offer magical belts with a lot of life on them, which are a great option.
You’ll want to search for Faster Run/Walk speed on your boots as well as Resistances and Life. Run/Walk speed is important to quickly navigate through the map so make sure to get it.
You’ll want to search for rings that life and resistances.
Similar to rings, you’ll want to find an amulet that provides Life and resistances. An amulet that provides +Elemental Skills can also be great for this build.
You’ll find many Charms as you advance through the game. While having these in your inventory is great, they can easily occupy a lot of space limiting the amount of loot you pick up. Try to focus on +Life, +Resistances and +Magic Find as these are the more important ones for your build.
What Mercenary to Select & Gear to Use
Act 2Mercenariesare the best choice for all Builds due to their Paladin Auras and the ability to equipPolearm Weapons. Being able to use Polearms is very important, because many powerful Runewords can be created on them providing various buffs or debuffing enemies. you may recruit this Mercenary fromGreizinLut Gholein.
When it comes to selecting an Aura, you’ll want to select the Prayer Mercenary found on Normal difficulty. The Prayer Aura provides heal regeneration allowing you to survive longer without using Potions. Once you reachNightmaredifficulty, you may hire a Holy Freeze Aura Mercenary, which slows enemies around you providing great crowd control.
You won’t have a lot of spare equipment during the beginning of Diablo 2 Resurrected, but you’re able to equip him with any extra equipment you have or buy him a Polearm from a merchant. If you happen to spare some Runes, make sure to craft anInsight (Runeword)on a Polearm, as this Weapon provides you with the Meditation Aura, greatly increasing your mana regeneration, as well as increasing your Mercenaries’ combat capabilities.
Final Tips
Doing a couple of Countess Runs will give you a lot of Runes that will not only be useful for this Build, but for any other character that you might make. Make sure to save all Runes that you find inside your Stash.
If you are having trouble finding a base for your Runewords, make sure to periodically check on merchants as they usually have good bases.
you’re able to assign your Molten Boulder attack to the normal attack slot, allowing you to only swap between your Fissure and Summon Skills. You can attack from your current position by holding shift on PC. If you’re using controller, this will not be an issue for you, however.
The Molten Boulder skill knockback affects a small AoE, so you’re able to aim for walls or columns and still hit your enemies. This can be useful at choke points such as doors or small rooms.
While Firestorm is not that great for map exploration, you may use it for Boss fights in combination with Fissure to maximize your damage output.
If you happen to find a good Unique or Set item that you like don’t hesitate to swap it with your current gear. I excluded all unique and Set items from this guide because there’s no reliable way of acquiring them early on.
This build is somewhat mana hungry, so I personally like to run my belt with 1x Healing Potions columns and 3x Mana Potion columns, but you can also add Antidote Potions or Thawing Potions. Using these potions will not only cure their respective status effect, but also provide a +50 resistance to their corresponding elemental resistance.
Once you equip an Insight Runeword on your Mercenary he will be your main way to recover Mana, so make sure to keep him alive by using potions on him. To do this, press and hold shift and then right click on the potion you wish to use. If you’re playing on controller, hold down the left trigger and press the appropriate button on the D-Pad.
Stay tuned for moreDiablo 2 Build Guides, and be sure to check out ourDiablo 2 Resurrected Wikifor more information about the game!
