Druids might be the best Endgame class in Diablo 4. Druids are also almost certainly the worst class to level in Diablo 4. Learning to love the former means learning to deal with the latter. That’s why we’re here.
While these builds will help you get through the painful process of leveling a Druid, please note that these are pure leveling builds. They’re builds that you can realistically aspire to achieve between levels 1-50 (the Diablo 4 “leveling” range). They will not last you into the endgame, and you will need to replace them with a proper Endgame build as soon as you are able. That said, they help make the painful leveling process just a little easier.
Diablo 4: Best Druid Leveling Build – Lightning Storm Companions
Skills: Storm Strike, Lightning Storm, Blood Howl, Poison Creeper, Wolves, Hurricane
Key Legendary Aspects: Overcharged Aspect, Nighthowler’s Aspect, Aspect of the Tempest, Aspect of Disobedience
Lightning Druids are surprisingly powerful in the early parts of Diablo 4. They deal impressive AoE damage and are not nearly as dependent on Legendary aspects as other Druid builds are.
Honestly, that last attribute is reason enough to run this build when you’re trying to level a Druid. You can greatly enhance this build by getting the right Legendary Aspects, but you don’t strictly need them. Most of this build’s power comes through its abilities, which isn’t something you can say about a lot of other Druids.
So far as that goes, Lightning Storm is the heart of this build. It’s a powerful AoE ability that will often Immobilize an enemy and leave them helpless. It can easily clear large packs of lesser enemies, and everything we take in this build is designed to support it.
Your average fight will see you gather as many enemies as possible, use Poison Creeper to trap them, trigger Hurricane, and spam Lightning Storm. The combination of Passives we’re taking with this build will greatly enhance the Critical Strike damage you do when that rotation is followed. It’s incredibly effective for clearing out dungeons and farming XP.
This build has two main problems: single-target damage and Spirit management. You can improve your Spirit management by picking up the Perfect Storm Key Passive and grabbing a few Legendary Aspects, but it can get rough. Thankfully, Blood Howl can get you out of some tough spots.
Single-target damage is a little more complicated. Your best bet is going to be to expect long boss/Elite battles and just play things safe. Your Wolves will actually tank quite a bit of single-target damage (and dish some out), but they’re not miracle workers. Still, they’re an easy way to get out of tough situations.
You can pick up a few Legendary Aspects that will help out a bit but don’t expect to entirely solve your single-target woes during the leveling process. At best, you might be able to grab Stormchaser’s Aspect and choose Tornado rather than Lightning Storm. This build can support that swap, but Lightning Storm is generally better in most situations.
One other potential piece of this puzzle that’s worth mentioning is Mighty Storm’s Aspect. That Aspect allows your Storm abilities to trigger the Earthen Might Key Passive. While that combo does enable some powerful late-game abilities, I recommend sticking with Perfect Storm unless you happen to roll a lot of great gear to go with Earthen Might. It’s just the much more consistent Key Passive for leveling purposes.
Diablo 4: Best Druid Leveling Build – Landslide Druid
Skills: Earth Spike, Pulverize, Landslide, Earthen Bulwark, Poison Creeper, Trample
Key Legendary Aspects: Aspect of the Trampled Earth, Aspect of The Aftershock, Aspect of the Ursine Horror, Shockwave Aspect
The first thing you need to know about this build is that it doesn’t really work unless you get the key Legendary Aspects noted above. You can run a version of it up until that point, but you need Aspect of the Trampled Earth and Aspect of the Ursine Horror at the very least before this build will become viable. Even then, you need a little more support to make this work.
However, if you’re able to assemble those pieces while leveling, then you should absolutely swap to this build as soon as possible.
Unlike late-game versions of this build that emphasize Pulverize, Landslide and Trample are actually the heart of this set-up. See, Landslide is an incredibly powerful ability against single-targets, but it’s not that great as an AoE ability. However, Aspect of the Trampled Earth adds Landslide attacks to your Trample ability, which basically turns Trample into a powerful AoE attack. If you find Aspect of The Aftershock, you can actually double the Landslides you summon with Trample, and double your already impressive damage.
At that point, this build becomes a ton of fun. A well-timed Trample will clear most packs of enemies. Meanwhile, simply casting Landslide will allow you to melt the solo targets Druids can otherwise struggle with. You’ll still use Pulverize when enemies start to surround you, but you won’t need to rely on it nearly as much. Instead, it’s there to help you clean house as needed. All the while, you’ll be proccing Earthen Might, refilling your Spirit, and Critically Striking everything. It’s a ton of fun.
Earthen Bulwark is an essential defensive skill for this build, while Poison Creeper is a bit of a flex spot. It’s incredibly useful when you’re trying to assemble your Legendary Gear pieces, but it starts to fall off after that. You might want to swap it out for Debilitating Roar or Blood Howl. Grizzly Rage is also an option, but it’s not a great one.
Raw stats are also pretty important for this build. You’ll be putting yourself in danger slightly more often, so you’ll want to make sure that you keep an eye on your Max Health and other defenses. Overpower Damage and Critical Strike damage are also incredibly important, especially as you’re trying to get the most out of your limited Spirit reserves. Every non-Basic strike with this build should be as devastating as possible.
Just know that you’ll probably want to use a version of the Lightning Storm build described above while you start assembling the gear for this build. You can go from 1-50 with a version of this build, but it’s a rough process. By the time you try to clear your first Capstone Dungeon, though, you’ll likely want to be ready to swap to this build in order to make it to World Tier 3.