Help a Druid virgin select his gear plz

[Shanksie1337]

Hi folks

Been a long time lurker of the druid forum, and having recently started my first druid i thought i'd run things past you guys to make sure i wasn't comitting too many silly feckups.

He is mainly for fun, i'll be about 95% PvM, but i will have a go at PvM for a giraffe once in a while.

Ok the build = Fury Wolf:
20 WW
20 Lycan
20 Fury
20 Feral
20 Oak Sage
if i get higher i'll pop a few into random summons, but this is going to be a mule so i may stop ~80 - 85.

Stats:
Str - for gear
Dex - for gear
Vita - All
Energy - None

Gear:
Jalal's - socketed i think with 29ED +9max - i bought it this way
CoH Dusk
Upp'd Ribcracker - could i put an ED/IAS jewel in here, or do i need Shael for a bp? I checked the Calc thingy, i'd just like some clarification before i use my jewel.
Switch = Shael'd Bstar + Tiamats - will i be able to attack with this whilst IM'd ? If not how do i cope with IM? - if i get to lvl 85 i'll try an Azurewrath instead of the Bstar?
Ravenfrost
Manald - for Life + ML - i will hunt down a better ML rare at some point.
Boots: Waterwalks or Treks for the boots? - opinions plz
Belt: String - again are there better options? Nos Coil / Tgods / 'Dungo's spring to mind
Amulet: Mara's / Atma's (ctc amp) / Highlords (tho i don't need the IAS iirc) / Other?
Gloves: Draculs (ctc Life Tap) / LoH (dmg vs xxx) / Lava Gouts (ctc AR) / Bloodfists / Other?

I only really want one Chance to Cast item, so nothing gets overridden when i need it. Hopefully your comments will help me decide which Boots/Belt/Gloves/Ammy to use.

Merc:
Atm the merc is a Might merc, but i may swap for a HF merc once i am in my full gear, whatever that turns out to be :scratch:
Merc will wear:
Reapers - unless i go for Draculs/Lava, in which case i'll whack a Bonehew on him.
Gaze
Duriels

Lastly - what sort of damage/life figures are "good" - i know this is a vague question, so vague answers are expected :)

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any help you give :D

Shanks

[Forcefeedback]

Looks extreamly good, I see lurking has payed off. :clap:

Few minor points:
- if you are dead set on maxing feral rage at least max it last
- put a point in carrion vine when your life is slow to fill with healing potions
- see if you can survive with the +5 mana per kill from Jalal's
- I like string for the mdr although thundergods will serve you much better against gloams if your lightning resist is maxed
- mara's if you are lacking in resists, highlords if you have draculs and scarab if you don't need more resists and don't have dracul's
- don't know about boots, guess it depends on your fhr rate(check the calculator)
- draculs if you can get them, otherwise bloodfists(souldrainers if you need mana leach from gloves)

I don't know what kind of figures are good, although you might find some figures with the search forum option. To throw some kind of idea, my fireclaw bear with maxed lycantrophy and ~6 oak has 2.6K(IIRC) life with crappy charms.

Good luck with your wolf! :thumbsup:

[skygoneblue]

The Amazon master bows to the Druid forum! :lol:

Well, I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you need 110% IAS to reach the last Fury BP. For that reason, Griswold's Caduceus is really popular (as it already has 80% on it). 4 Shaels in that will hit the last BP easily.

I would probably use a SS too - just because it is the God of all shields. If you're really concerned, you could put a bow on your switch for when you're IMed, but I really don't think that Tiamet's will make much difference (or at least enough to kill). And yes, you will still die if you attack with BStar.

I was just about to say, get a good dual leech rare ring, then I reread your post about Manald. Angelics might not be a bad idea, but I'm sure your AR will be ok if it's only PvM.

The main thing you need to focus on is LL and speed. I had a wolf that didn't leech enough and was too slow. I couldn't make it past Act1 Hell. For that reason, ABUSE that ONE (and only one) point in Feral Rage to always be "raged up" and leeching a ton of life.

Once again, I'm no gear expert, but I think you might be a little better off with what I suggested. Good luck! :thumbsup: <---ForcedFeedback style :lol:

[Forcefeedback]

Forgot the ribcracker question...
Well, I'm not perfectly sure about this, so don't socket it without some checking, but any additional IAS in the weapon will only change your fury speed from 9/5/5/5/5 to 8/5/5/5/5 and feral from 7 to 6 so the overall speed gain isn't that much(although the first frame is arguably the most critical). Again try searching, I am not an expert on weapon socketing.

As to skygoneblues suggestion to go with a one hander and a shield, I'm afraid I have to disagree.
Having a shield makes you vulnerable to disruptions in attacking due to blocking. With maxed lycantrophy and oak your life pool will be immense so the chance of triggering hit recovery isn't very big. With a two-hander you can swing your way through most mobs taking scratches but leaching it all back due to feral rage and excellent physical damage. There have been debates on this subject and it has been agreed many times that constant interruptions to fury can result into bigger problems than dealing with the damage received because of the lack of block.

[skygoneblue]

Hmm, maybe I have read a lot of PvP wolf guides then. I have read in several places that Griswold's Caduceus is one of the best WW weapons out there. Ah well. :)

[Shanksie1337]

Thanks for the replies folks

I am afraid the Ribcracker is staying - i really built this char specifically to use it :)

Seeing as ppl aren't too hot on the feral being maxed i'll stop it where it is and turn instead to my Oak (WW, Lycan and Fury already maxxed - he is ~lvl 65 atm).

I think i may have to wait for Hell to see how res's go - tho i think i'll opt for the Draculs + Mara's/highlords and stick a Bonehew on the merc - i read somewhere that having a Buriza on switch was a viable option for IM, is this true or am i simply stuck on zons?

For FHR i seem to remember that a shael in the Jalal's is all the FHR i need, so i was planning on Shael'ing the helm, and maybe putting an ed/ias in the ribcracker - as i calculated that i did NOT need the 5 extra IAS. :confused:

The bstar/tiamats was for PI's, and i assume the buriza is for IM, god knows which option to use, i suppose i could find a widowmaker somewhere and use that for both situations.

Shanks

[Dimoak]

Skip feral and opt for rabies w/carrion for PI and small groups.

[Rauth]

Might aura, reapers toll merc would increase your damage a whole lot, AND remove most physical immunities, as well as being a great tank.

[Shanksie1337]

Might aura, reapers toll merc would increase your damage a whole lot, AND remove most physical immunities, as well as being a great tank.


Consider it done :D

god i love the Reapers Toll - it's the daddy of merc weapons for any physical damage build.