Diablo 4 Druid Build – Howlstorm
Jun. 12, 2023Diablo 4 Druid Build – Howlstorm
Diablo 4 Druid Build – Howlstorm: In this Diablo 4 EndgameDruidBuild Guide, I’m going to show you my Howlstorm Build which is the evolved version of the Stormwolf Build. If you’re looking for a Diablo 4 Endgame Druid Build that is aimed at World Tier 3, and one that effectively combines Werewolf and Lightning Skills, then this Diablo 4 Build Guide is for you!
The general strategy for thisDiablo IV Buildis similar to the previous Stormwolf Druid Build, which means that you’re still going to useLightning Stormas your primary means of attack. So first off, you’re going to hit enemies withRabiesto put Poison all over everything and then you’re going to Immobilize them in place withPoison Creeper. Next, you’re going to town with Lightning Storm to get that extra damage against Immobilized enemies that Storm Druids gain.
Moreover, you still have theNeurotoxinpassive, which makes it so that Slow enemies that are poisoned take extra damage. So it’s great to have Damage versus Slowed Enemies, especially since yourPerfect Storm Key Passiveperforms extremely well against them. AnotherStaffbonus you’ll want is theDamage to Crowd Controlled Enemiesto amplify the damage against Slowed targets further, making it very helpful for this D4 Druid Build. Even if they come out of being Immobilized, they’re still Poisoned, and therefore subject to crowd control so they still take bonus damage.
In World Tier 3, this Howlstorm Druid Build will still have an issue with Spirit regeneration. Like any Druid, you’re going to struggle with resource management for a bit, especially if you don’t have theAspect of the Umbralyet. This makes it so that you gain Spirit every time you CC an enemy. Once you have this on a Ring, you’ll no longer have any resource problems. You can get the base version of the Aspect of the Umbral by completing theChampion’s Demise DungeoninDry Steppes.
Each Diablo 4 Druid Build comprises the 6 Active Skills they have equipped and changing theseSkillscan drastically alter the way the Druid Class in Diablo IV plays. In this section, we’ll take a look at what Skills you should slot for the Howlstorm Druid Diablo 4 Endgame Build. By the time you reach Level 50, you’ll approximately have 58 points, assuming that you’ve accumulated enough Renown from different regions to gain 10 extra points. So your Skill distribution should look something like this:
The above list gives you the general order to invest in Skills, but keep in mind that you should prioritize picking up new Active Skills over investing in passives, so pick up passives later if you can get new Active Skills when you level up.
In this section, I’ll discuss how the Skills work for the current Howlstorm Endgame Build of the Druid Class. The strategies will change depending on the type of foe you’re facing whether they’re comprised of a large group of enemies orElitesandBosses.
Unless you’ve got a better roll for the Aspect of the Umbral, there are a couple of other ways to improve Spirit regeneration. First is by gaining access to the EnergizedSpirit Boon. This makes it so that on aLucky Hit, dealing damage has a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit. And Lightning Storm hits a lot of enemies so this should get you back some resources to be able to keep you channeling.
Next, you’re still going to use theInnate Blood Howlupgrade so that every time you activateBlood Howl, you’ll generate 20 Spirit, making it invaluable at this part of the game. Remember that as you kill enemies, the cooldown of this Skill is reduced by 1 second so it’s important to pop this quite regularly.
Additionally, I’m using theAssimilation Aspecton one of my Rings, and what this does is it increases your Dodge Chance against enemies that are affected by your damage over time (DoT). So when they’re Poisoned and you perform a dodge, you’ll gain up to 10 Spirit back, making it a good way to restore some resources while receiving a little bit of defense.
At World Tier 3, you’ll gain access to many items together with their bonuses. It can be challenging to determine the right ones to keep for your Diablo IV Druid Endgame Build without the proper direction. So in this section, I’ll discuss the best gear bonuses you should chase after together with theGemsand aspects to place in them. Remember that you can replace unwanted affixes atThe Occultistand upgrade your gear atThe Blacksmithfor the best results.
For theWeapon, the bonuses you’ll want include the following:
You’ll also need theOvercharged Aspecthere. This makes it so that with Lucky Hit, you have up to a 40% chance (if imprinted on a Two-Handed Weapon) when dealing Lightning Damage to overload the target for 3 seconds causing any direct damage you deal to pulse for additional damage against surrounding enemies. This is how you’ll really get a lot of damage into a group of enemies once you overcharge them. Multiple lightning bolts will come raining down and electricity just goes out everywhere to wipe them out really quickly so I highly recommend putting it on a Two-Handed Weapon. A Staff is best here to deal extra damage against CCed targets.
ForArmor, you have theHelm,Chest Armor,Gloves,Pants, andBoots. The major bonuses you’ll want here include the following:
Using Lightning Storm is dangerous at times since you’re standing in place. To stay alive, you’ll first need theAspect of the Protector, which is going to give you aBarrierwhen you’re damaging Elites and Bosses.
Next is theMad Wolf’s Glee Sacred Unique Chest Armor. So by default, this Howlstorm Diablo IV Druid Build will be in Werewolf form. Note, however, that it isn’t necessary for this Build but it probably will be in World Tier 4. But the great thing about itsStatsis the increased Poison Damage and Damage Reduction, which is huge since you can get about 20% Damage Reduction. There’s also the raised Movement Speed as well as the +2 Ranks to Werewolf Skills, making it beneficial for both Rabies and Blood Howl. If you don’t acquire this Chest Armor, you can go for Defensive Passives that reduce the damage you take from crowd-controlled enemies.
AnotherLegendary Aspectworth taking is theProtecting Aspect. This makes it so that when you’re hit while notHealthy, which is below 80% Health, a magic bubble is summoned around you for up to a maximum of 5 seconds. While standing in it, you gain Immunity so you can’t be CCed. If you have the Protecting Aspect imprinted on an Amulet, the duration is raised to 7.5 seconds. This is absolutely staggering because you can literally stand there in the middle of 100 enemies and they won’t be able to touch you, allowing you to drop your AoEs and just rain Lightning Storm. It has saved me so many times even when I’m outnumbered 100 to 0.
And then on my Boots, you have theEluding Aspect, which makes it so that if you becomeInjuredwhile CCed, you gainUnstoppablefor 4 seconds, letting you get out of this CC effect to save your life. As such, it’s fine not to take theEarthen Bulwark Skillbut later on, we might need to switch to this. We’ll see how it goes.
When it comes to boosting damage for this Howlstorm D4 Druid Build, you’ll need theSmiting Aspect, which I have on my Gauntlets. This makes it so that you have an increased Critical Strike Chance of up to 20% against Injured enemies whose health is below 35%. And while you’re Healthy, you gain up to 40% crowd control duration. This is great because they’re going to stay Slowed longer from your Poison even after Poison wears off. And you’ll be able to critically strike them more often since they’re already weakened as a result. Doing so will let you finish them off quickly.
For Jewelry, you have theAmuletand 2Rings. The gear bonuses you’ll need include the following:
For Jewelry, this Howlstorm Druid IV Build needs theLightning Dancer’s Aspectand theAccelerating Aspect. The Lightning Dancer’s Aspect makes it so that Lightning StormCritical Strikesspawn 3 Dancing Bolts that seek out enemies in the area dealing Lightning Damage. So this is another reason that Critical Strikes are very essential for this D4 Druid Build because you want to trigger it as much as possible to absolutely nuke them.
And then you also have the Accelerating Aspect, which makes it so that when you critically strike with Lightning Storm, you’re going to enhance your Attack Speed to reduce the time it takes for your animations to complete. For instance, Lightning Storm is going to cast and build faster. So when you start a fight, you’re starting at 1 Lightning Bolt and you want to get up to 5 Lightning Bolts as fast as you can.
For the other Spirit Boon, you’ll want Overload. Any Lucky Hit dealing Lightning Damage has up to a 20% chance to cause the target to emit static discharges. So you’ll end up distributing Lightning Damage effectively, which you really can’t have enough of for this Druid Diablo IV Build.
At Level 50, you unlock the basic Paragon board to further enhance your Diablo 4 Howlstorm Endgame Druid Build. I’m using the Tracker Glyph to increase my Poisoning damage effect by 33% so when I use Rabies, it’s going to roughly last for 8 seconds instead of 6. And when I use Poison Creeper, the effect will last longer to deal increased damage to Poisoned targets once again.
Remember to alternate between these 2 Skills if possible or to double stack them to attack Poisoned enemies no matter if it’s a Boss, an Elite, or a pack of enemies. Not only will you extend the duration of Poison and Slowed but you’ll also make it so that they’re always CCed to deal extra damage. As such, when you cast Rabies on targets and then drag them into the others, the time that Rabies lasts on them will be longer, resulting in a very good clear speed.
To gain extra Spirit until you get a good roll of the Aspect of the Umbral, you’re going to select the Ancestral GuidanceDruid Paragon Board. There are even a few nodes that not only give increased Spirit but also Spirit back on kill, helping you keep this resource up. Additionally, your damage is boosted by 30% after spending 75 Spirit for 5 seconds, which is great. And then you can swap over to the Thunderstruck Board.
The bonuses you’ll want to look out for on this Howlstorm Diablo 4 Druid Build is Core Skill Damage, Damage to Crowd Controlled or Slowed Enemies, and Damage Reduction from Poisoned or Distant Enemies. Core Skill Damage lets your Lightning Storm hit as much as you can to damage Poisoned enemies. Meanwhile, Damage to Crowd Controlled or Slowed enemies is self-explanatory whereas Damage Reduction to Poisoned or Distant Enemies helps with survivability. Note that you’re not going to get usually hit by Melee targets since you’re rooting and Slowing them down to keep your distance from them.
And lastly, I highly recommend getting Boots with at least 1 extra Evade Charge on it with some Movement Speed to be able to outrun enemies when you Slow them down with Poison. This allows you to stay out of harm’s way, and if you have an extra hop or two with dodge, then that’s even easier to do.
So this wraps up my Howlstorm D4 Druid Build. I hope you guys see that this can still be played well on World Tier 3 and I think it’s going to continue to be viable at Tier 4 with some modifications.
Stay tuned for more Diablo 4 Builds as we wrap up our World Tier 3 Guides here this week and move on to World Tier 4 for our final Builds. Be sure to check out ourDiablo 4 Wikifor any other questions you have about the game and theBuildspage if you are looking for more Diablo IV Builds, as well as ourUltimate Beginner GuideandAll Classes Overviewif you are looking for more Diablo 4 content!
Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
Awesome guide, thank you!Looking forward for your perfected version!
