Badclaw
29-06-2009, 21:36
Dual element Earth shifter Druid guide
Contents
I. Introduction
II. Equipment
III. Stats
IV. Skills
V. Mercenary
VI. Strategy
VII. Advantages & disadvantages
Introduction
Hi all, this is my first guide I’ve chosen to post online so as much feedback and constructive criticism as you can give me regarding this will be much appreciated.
I have tried to keep this guide as simple as possible so as to appeal to newcomers and experienced players also.
A few months back, after some years of building Whirlwind and frenzy barb’s plus numerous shape shifting druids I started to feel in need of a change, so decided to look at a good ranged/caster build I could get my teeth into. After trying out a few of the popular builds out there, it came down to two character types the bowazon and the elemental druid. The druid was the one that really caught my eye as an interesting build to develop, so I got started building a few pure windy and pure fire druids just to find the weak points in each side of the tree, with the intention of building a druid that could draw upon the best parts of each. You see, I’m the kind of player that likes builds that can solo any part of the game in hell and be capable of standing up for himself even in a game with the full 8 players.
So with this in mind I got to work with two main aims that the build had to achieve,
1.The build had to be able to produce large amounts of area effect (AE) elemental damage as well as very large amounts of physical damage, so as not to be slowed too much by immunes.
2.To improve the survivability and durability of the druid in all situations.
After some testing the spells I found that filled the requirements for the build were,
1.Fissure, for accurate long range casting and providing AE fire damage.
2.Firestorm, for close range casting against physical immunes.
3.Armageddon, for AE fire damage.
4.Hurricane, for AE cold damage and slowing the enemy’s advance.
5.Tornado, for close range casting and providing physical damage.
6.Cyclone armour, to improve survivability.
The only problem is that to get the best out of these skills most would need to be maxed out and heavily synergised, and to do so would mean investing only the bare minimum in the summoning tree, so utilising equipment that would give me a huge amount of +skills to compensate for this shortfall was a necessity.
Equipment
Listed below are the core pieces of equipment that I feel this build needs to work effectively, also bear in mind that although the Earth Shifter has an excessive strength requirement, with this core equipment in place it costs only 10 more stat points than using a HOTO/Spirit Monarch combo.
Earth Shifter
Thunder Maul
Req Strength: 253 (203 socketed with Hel rune)
Damage: 115-720
Durability: 60
Req Level: 69
1-Handed
+250-300% Enhanced Damage
+50% Damage to Undead
+7 to Elemental Skills (Druid only)
25% Chance to cast Level 14 Fissure on striking
10% Increased Attack Speed
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
30 Charges Level 14 Volcano
10% Faster Cast Rate
This in my opinion is the end game weapon of choice for a dual elemental build, adding more +skills than HOTO and spirit/Storm shield combo’s, which also require a substantial dexterity investment to achieve a good chance to block against most enemy’s. The only down side is a much lower FCR, however this could be remedied if deemed necessary.
Harlequin Crest
Defence: 98-141
Req Strength: 50
Durability: 12
Req Level: 62
+2 to all Skills
+1.5 per character level to Life
+1.5 per character level to Mana
Damage reduced by 10%
+2 to Strength
+2 to Dexterity
+2 to Vitality
+2 to Energy
50% better chance to get Magic Items
I personally prefer this helm compared to using a rare pelt with the relevant +skills, however if your preference is to use a suitable pelt I would recommend that you socket it with as many perfect sapphires as you can (the extra mana is really needed in this build).
Chains of Honour
(Dol + Um + Ber + Ist)
+2 To All Skills
+200% Damage To Demons
+100% Damage To Undead
8% Life Stolen Per Hit
+70% Enhanced Defence
+20 To Strength
+7 to Replenish Life
+65 to all Resistances
Damage Reduced By 8%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
I personally prefer Chains of Honor on this build due to the extra resistance; it makes a big difference when Cyclone armour fails you; however Enigma is equally as good.
War Traveller
Defence: 120-139
Durability: 48
Req Strength: 95
Req Level: 42
+150-190% Enhanced Defence
25% Faster Run/Walk
+10 to Vitality and Strength
Adds 15-25 Damage
40% Slower Stamina Drain
Attacker takes Damage of 5-10
30-50% better chance of getting Magic Items
Mara's Kaleidoscope
+2 to all Skill Levels
+20-30 to all Resistances
+5 to Energy
+5 to Vitality
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Strength
Again if you find another amulet more suitable feel free to use it, I just found that Mara’s ticked all the right boxes.
The rest is up to you equipment wise, but the above items are required to be able to equip the Earth shifter maul (without over investing in strength to be able to equip it).
Below is the equipment setup I personally use. This setup will maximise your damage and give additional survivability through the use of +skills, + resist and +life.
Primary weapon – Earth shifter Thunder maul (Socketed with Hel rune)
Secondary weapon – Call to arms Flail and a Spirit Monarch
Helm – Harlequin Crest Shako (socketed with Um rune)
Armour – Chains of honour Archon plate
Belt – Arachnid mesh
Boots – up'd War travellers
Gloves – 2 x up'd Magefists
Rings – 2 x Bul-kathos’s wedding band
Amulet – Mara’s Kaleidoscope
Charms – Torch, Anni, 9 x Elemental skillers
Stats
Strength – Enough to equip Earth shifter (166 with above equipment)
Dexterity – None
Vitality – Everything else
Energy - None
Skills
With the equipment listed above you will achieve +12 pts to summoning skills and +19 pts to elemental skills (+20 to fire skills with magefist). I currently only have a torch so more can obviously be achieved with an anni and skillers.
The following skill list is displayed as follows –
Skill name – points invested – (total w/+skills)
Skill info - with all +skills and synergies added to listed damage (note. only on relevant skills).
Elemental Tree
Firestorm – 8 pts – (38 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 4
Cast Delay: 0.6 Seconds
Fire damage: 2732 - 3026
[Synergy] Molten Boulder: +23% Fire damage
[Synergy] Fissure: +460% Fire damage
A good point blank spell that produces three snakes of flame emanating from the casters feet and criss-crossing as they move forward, it is more damaging than it appears to be since each snake that strikes a monster produces the listed damage. Point blank is where Firestorm shines as all three snakes will hit the target tripling the listed damage. Use at close range against physical immunes. Rating 4/5
Molten Boulder – 1 pts – (31 pts w/+skills)
Arctic Blast – 1 pts – (30 pts w/+skills)
Fissure – 20 pts – (50 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 15
Cast Delay: 2 Seconds
Fire damage: 1749 - 1828
Radius: 4.6 Yards
[Synergy] Firestorm: +96% Fire damage
[Synergy] Volcano: +12% Fire damage
A cast and forget long, mid or close range spell that randomly opens up fissures beneath the feet of your enemy’s. Each fissure produces the listed damage, so monsters that are hit by multiple fissures really feel the heat. Best used on large packs of fast moving enemy’s as they close on you or cast right on top of yourself for additional close range damage if you become swamped. Rating 5/5
Cyclone Armour – 20 pts – (49 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 40
Damage Shield: 2858
[Synergy] Twister: +84% Damage Absorbed
[Synergy] Tornado: +140% Damage Absorbed
[Synergy] Hurricane: +140% Damage Absorbed
Cyclone armour absorbs Fire, Cold and Lightning damage. Be sure to re-cast this one if it is destroyed enemy casters are a real danger to elemental Druids this safety measure will protect you somewhat. Rating 5/5
Twister – 12 pts – (41 pts w/+skills)
Volcano – 1 pts – (31 pts w/+skills)
Tornado – 20 pts – (49 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 10
Range: 2 Yards
Damage: 5935 - 6225
[Synergy] Cyclone Armour: +180% Damage
[Synergy] Twister: +108% Damage
[Synergy] Hurricane: +180% Damage
Tornado is your source of physical damage, reasonably useful at medium range against large monsters or large packs of monsters and absolutely brutal when you find yourself toe to toe with the enemy. This is the spell of choice at close range. Rating 5/5
Hurricane – 20 pts – (49 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 30
Cast Delay: 6 Seconds
Duration: 50 Seconds
Cold Duration: 2 Seconds
Range: 6 Yards
Cold Damage: 2506 - 2603
[Synergy] Cyclone Armour: +40 Seconds
[Synergy] Twister: +108% Cold Damage
[Synergy] Tornado: +180% Cold Damage
Another cast and forget spell, Hurricane is a good source of area effect damage that hits at listed damage every 20 frames (D2 runs at 25 frames per second) and also chills monsters slowing them dramatically. Rating 5/5
Armageddon – 2 pts – (32 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 35
Cast Delay: 6 Seconds
Duration: 50 Seconds
Range: 5.3 Yards
Damage: 236 - 282
Fire damage: 1867 - 2133
[Synergy] Fissure: +40 Seconds
[Synergy] Firestorm: +112% Fire damage
[Synergy] Molten Boulder: +14% Fire damage
[Synergy] Volcano: +14% Fire damage
Summoning Tree
Raven – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 6
Damage: 14 - 16
Number of ravens: 5
Number of attacks: 24
A very useful and sometimes overlooked summon, though Ravens produce pitiful damage they can and often do blind monsters that they hit making them an invaluable tool against ranged attackers. Rating 4/5
Oak Sage – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Summon Spirit Wolf – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Summon Dire Wolf – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Summon Grizzly – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 40
Attack Rating: 2970
Damage: 428 - 502
Resist lightning/cold/fire: 60%
Defence: 539
Hit Points: 2475 - 3375
Passive damage bonus: +145%
The best summon the Druid has by far; Grizzly is a great distraction and takes a lot of pressure off your Druid. Use to hold monsters at bay so that you can use Fissure, Hurricane and Armageddon to grind them down. Be sure to recast grizzly to reposition him if you find that he’s not in the right place at the right time. Rating 5/5
Mercenary
Normal difficulty act 2 defensive mercenary.
Merc equipment
Infinity polearm
Vampire gaze or Tal Rasha’s helm
Duress Amour
This merc is a must for this Build giving you and all your summons a Defiance aura which increases your defence (therefore reducing your enemy’s chance of hitting you), and also bestowing your Druid with a Conviction aura when equipped with Infinity (substantially increases your Druids elemental damage by lowering enemy resistance and can break some monster immunities). Make sure you are never without your trusty merc as he greatly increases your survivability.
Strategy
General
Always keep Hurricane, Armageddon, Cyclone armour, Grizzly and oak sage constantly active/summoned.
This build is all about creating lots of damage over a large area, wearing large groups of monsters down simultaneously so by the time the monster is in striking distance 2-3 Tornado’s will finish them off.
As the enemy begins to close on you keep casting Fissure just in front of them until they hit the perimeter of your Hurricane then cast Fissure one last time right on top of yourself, switch to Tornado and keep casting Tornado’s (or Firestorm if they are physical immunes) until the Fissure you just cast stops, at which point recast Fissure and repeat the process until said monster dies.
You will find that quite a few packs of monsters in hell difficulty won’t even last the first batch of Tornado’s if they even manage to get that close.
When dealing with multiple packs of monsters recast Grizzly in front of one pack and then cast Fissure on that pack every so often in between dealing with other packs of monsters. Remember that Grizzly is not strong enough to kill for himself in this build but can survive for a long time against most monsters.
Cast Fissure on packs of monsters that your Merc is dealing with to aid his survivability. Remember that your Merc provides you with a Defiance aura, his survival is your survival.
When dealing with lots of ranged attackers use Grizzly to distract them, ravens to blind them and just keep moving letting Hurricane and Armageddon do the work for you, stop in between volleys of fire if you can to cast the occasional Fissure on closely grouped packs.
If Grizzly is not in the right place when you need him put him in the right place by recasting.
Double immunes
Physical/fire immunes – Block with Grizzly and simply keep Hurricane active. If Grizzly or your Merc are not available to block or are blocking elsewhere just keep moving making sure you’re close enough that Hurricane is hitting.
Physical/cold immunes – Block with Grizzly, Cast Fissure, move up behind Grizzly and keep casting Firestorms. Recast Fissure if necessary and repeat. Again if Grizzly or your Merc are unavailable just hit and run with Fissure and Firestorm.
Cold/fire immunes – Again block with Grizzly, move up behind Grizzly and keep casting Tornado till they drop.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
1.Good range and AE damage, by the time a pack of monsters get toe to toe with you generally a few Tornados will finish them off.
2.Ability to deal with immunes, having 2 forms of elemental damage and a form of physical damage, immunes will never be a problem.
3.Rock solid crowd control.
Disadvantages
1.Oak sage is very weak in the early stages of the build and needs recasting often.
2.No Shield.
3.Lower FCR compared to other elemental builds.
I hope you all find this guide inspiring enough to give this build a try, as I’ve had hours of endless fun with this build and have found it to be a real breath of fresh air compared to the usual windy builds out there.
Enjoy.
Storm_force lvl 90 Druid (Euscl)
Contents
I. Introduction
II. Equipment
III. Stats
IV. Skills
V. Mercenary
VI. Strategy
VII. Advantages & disadvantages
Introduction
Hi all, this is my first guide I’ve chosen to post online so as much feedback and constructive criticism as you can give me regarding this will be much appreciated.
I have tried to keep this guide as simple as possible so as to appeal to newcomers and experienced players also.
A few months back, after some years of building Whirlwind and frenzy barb’s plus numerous shape shifting druids I started to feel in need of a change, so decided to look at a good ranged/caster build I could get my teeth into. After trying out a few of the popular builds out there, it came down to two character types the bowazon and the elemental druid. The druid was the one that really caught my eye as an interesting build to develop, so I got started building a few pure windy and pure fire druids just to find the weak points in each side of the tree, with the intention of building a druid that could draw upon the best parts of each. You see, I’m the kind of player that likes builds that can solo any part of the game in hell and be capable of standing up for himself even in a game with the full 8 players.
So with this in mind I got to work with two main aims that the build had to achieve,
1.The build had to be able to produce large amounts of area effect (AE) elemental damage as well as very large amounts of physical damage, so as not to be slowed too much by immunes.
2.To improve the survivability and durability of the druid in all situations.
After some testing the spells I found that filled the requirements for the build were,
1.Fissure, for accurate long range casting and providing AE fire damage.
2.Firestorm, for close range casting against physical immunes.
3.Armageddon, for AE fire damage.
4.Hurricane, for AE cold damage and slowing the enemy’s advance.
5.Tornado, for close range casting and providing physical damage.
6.Cyclone armour, to improve survivability.
The only problem is that to get the best out of these skills most would need to be maxed out and heavily synergised, and to do so would mean investing only the bare minimum in the summoning tree, so utilising equipment that would give me a huge amount of +skills to compensate for this shortfall was a necessity.
Equipment
Listed below are the core pieces of equipment that I feel this build needs to work effectively, also bear in mind that although the Earth Shifter has an excessive strength requirement, with this core equipment in place it costs only 10 more stat points than using a HOTO/Spirit Monarch combo.
Earth Shifter
Thunder Maul
Req Strength: 253 (203 socketed with Hel rune)
Damage: 115-720
Durability: 60
Req Level: 69
1-Handed
+250-300% Enhanced Damage
+50% Damage to Undead
+7 to Elemental Skills (Druid only)
25% Chance to cast Level 14 Fissure on striking
10% Increased Attack Speed
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
30 Charges Level 14 Volcano
10% Faster Cast Rate
This in my opinion is the end game weapon of choice for a dual elemental build, adding more +skills than HOTO and spirit/Storm shield combo’s, which also require a substantial dexterity investment to achieve a good chance to block against most enemy’s. The only down side is a much lower FCR, however this could be remedied if deemed necessary.
Harlequin Crest
Defence: 98-141
Req Strength: 50
Durability: 12
Req Level: 62
+2 to all Skills
+1.5 per character level to Life
+1.5 per character level to Mana
Damage reduced by 10%
+2 to Strength
+2 to Dexterity
+2 to Vitality
+2 to Energy
50% better chance to get Magic Items
I personally prefer this helm compared to using a rare pelt with the relevant +skills, however if your preference is to use a suitable pelt I would recommend that you socket it with as many perfect sapphires as you can (the extra mana is really needed in this build).
Chains of Honour
(Dol + Um + Ber + Ist)
+2 To All Skills
+200% Damage To Demons
+100% Damage To Undead
8% Life Stolen Per Hit
+70% Enhanced Defence
+20 To Strength
+7 to Replenish Life
+65 to all Resistances
Damage Reduced By 8%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
I personally prefer Chains of Honor on this build due to the extra resistance; it makes a big difference when Cyclone armour fails you; however Enigma is equally as good.
War Traveller
Defence: 120-139
Durability: 48
Req Strength: 95
Req Level: 42
+150-190% Enhanced Defence
25% Faster Run/Walk
+10 to Vitality and Strength
Adds 15-25 Damage
40% Slower Stamina Drain
Attacker takes Damage of 5-10
30-50% better chance of getting Magic Items
Mara's Kaleidoscope
+2 to all Skill Levels
+20-30 to all Resistances
+5 to Energy
+5 to Vitality
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Strength
Again if you find another amulet more suitable feel free to use it, I just found that Mara’s ticked all the right boxes.
The rest is up to you equipment wise, but the above items are required to be able to equip the Earth shifter maul (without over investing in strength to be able to equip it).
Below is the equipment setup I personally use. This setup will maximise your damage and give additional survivability through the use of +skills, + resist and +life.
Primary weapon – Earth shifter Thunder maul (Socketed with Hel rune)
Secondary weapon – Call to arms Flail and a Spirit Monarch
Helm – Harlequin Crest Shako (socketed with Um rune)
Armour – Chains of honour Archon plate
Belt – Arachnid mesh
Boots – up'd War travellers
Gloves – 2 x up'd Magefists
Rings – 2 x Bul-kathos’s wedding band
Amulet – Mara’s Kaleidoscope
Charms – Torch, Anni, 9 x Elemental skillers
Stats
Strength – Enough to equip Earth shifter (166 with above equipment)
Dexterity – None
Vitality – Everything else
Energy - None
Skills
With the equipment listed above you will achieve +12 pts to summoning skills and +19 pts to elemental skills (+20 to fire skills with magefist). I currently only have a torch so more can obviously be achieved with an anni and skillers.
The following skill list is displayed as follows –
Skill name – points invested – (total w/+skills)
Skill info - with all +skills and synergies added to listed damage (note. only on relevant skills).
Elemental Tree
Firestorm – 8 pts – (38 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 4
Cast Delay: 0.6 Seconds
Fire damage: 2732 - 3026
[Synergy] Molten Boulder: +23% Fire damage
[Synergy] Fissure: +460% Fire damage
A good point blank spell that produces three snakes of flame emanating from the casters feet and criss-crossing as they move forward, it is more damaging than it appears to be since each snake that strikes a monster produces the listed damage. Point blank is where Firestorm shines as all three snakes will hit the target tripling the listed damage. Use at close range against physical immunes. Rating 4/5
Molten Boulder – 1 pts – (31 pts w/+skills)
Arctic Blast – 1 pts – (30 pts w/+skills)
Fissure – 20 pts – (50 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 15
Cast Delay: 2 Seconds
Fire damage: 1749 - 1828
Radius: 4.6 Yards
[Synergy] Firestorm: +96% Fire damage
[Synergy] Volcano: +12% Fire damage
A cast and forget long, mid or close range spell that randomly opens up fissures beneath the feet of your enemy’s. Each fissure produces the listed damage, so monsters that are hit by multiple fissures really feel the heat. Best used on large packs of fast moving enemy’s as they close on you or cast right on top of yourself for additional close range damage if you become swamped. Rating 5/5
Cyclone Armour – 20 pts – (49 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 40
Damage Shield: 2858
[Synergy] Twister: +84% Damage Absorbed
[Synergy] Tornado: +140% Damage Absorbed
[Synergy] Hurricane: +140% Damage Absorbed
Cyclone armour absorbs Fire, Cold and Lightning damage. Be sure to re-cast this one if it is destroyed enemy casters are a real danger to elemental Druids this safety measure will protect you somewhat. Rating 5/5
Twister – 12 pts – (41 pts w/+skills)
Volcano – 1 pts – (31 pts w/+skills)
Tornado – 20 pts – (49 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 10
Range: 2 Yards
Damage: 5935 - 6225
[Synergy] Cyclone Armour: +180% Damage
[Synergy] Twister: +108% Damage
[Synergy] Hurricane: +180% Damage
Tornado is your source of physical damage, reasonably useful at medium range against large monsters or large packs of monsters and absolutely brutal when you find yourself toe to toe with the enemy. This is the spell of choice at close range. Rating 5/5
Hurricane – 20 pts – (49 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 30
Cast Delay: 6 Seconds
Duration: 50 Seconds
Cold Duration: 2 Seconds
Range: 6 Yards
Cold Damage: 2506 - 2603
[Synergy] Cyclone Armour: +40 Seconds
[Synergy] Twister: +108% Cold Damage
[Synergy] Tornado: +180% Cold Damage
Another cast and forget spell, Hurricane is a good source of area effect damage that hits at listed damage every 20 frames (D2 runs at 25 frames per second) and also chills monsters slowing them dramatically. Rating 5/5
Armageddon – 2 pts – (32 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 35
Cast Delay: 6 Seconds
Duration: 50 Seconds
Range: 5.3 Yards
Damage: 236 - 282
Fire damage: 1867 - 2133
[Synergy] Fissure: +40 Seconds
[Synergy] Firestorm: +112% Fire damage
[Synergy] Molten Boulder: +14% Fire damage
[Synergy] Volcano: +14% Fire damage
Summoning Tree
Raven – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 6
Damage: 14 - 16
Number of ravens: 5
Number of attacks: 24
A very useful and sometimes overlooked summon, though Ravens produce pitiful damage they can and often do blind monsters that they hit making them an invaluable tool against ranged attackers. Rating 4/5
Oak Sage – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Summon Spirit Wolf – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Summon Dire Wolf – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Summon Grizzly – 1 pts – (13 pts w/+skills)
Mana cost: 40
Attack Rating: 2970
Damage: 428 - 502
Resist lightning/cold/fire: 60%
Defence: 539
Hit Points: 2475 - 3375
Passive damage bonus: +145%
The best summon the Druid has by far; Grizzly is a great distraction and takes a lot of pressure off your Druid. Use to hold monsters at bay so that you can use Fissure, Hurricane and Armageddon to grind them down. Be sure to recast grizzly to reposition him if you find that he’s not in the right place at the right time. Rating 5/5
Mercenary
Normal difficulty act 2 defensive mercenary.
Merc equipment
Infinity polearm
Vampire gaze or Tal Rasha’s helm
Duress Amour
This merc is a must for this Build giving you and all your summons a Defiance aura which increases your defence (therefore reducing your enemy’s chance of hitting you), and also bestowing your Druid with a Conviction aura when equipped with Infinity (substantially increases your Druids elemental damage by lowering enemy resistance and can break some monster immunities). Make sure you are never without your trusty merc as he greatly increases your survivability.
Strategy
General
Always keep Hurricane, Armageddon, Cyclone armour, Grizzly and oak sage constantly active/summoned.
This build is all about creating lots of damage over a large area, wearing large groups of monsters down simultaneously so by the time the monster is in striking distance 2-3 Tornado’s will finish them off.
As the enemy begins to close on you keep casting Fissure just in front of them until they hit the perimeter of your Hurricane then cast Fissure one last time right on top of yourself, switch to Tornado and keep casting Tornado’s (or Firestorm if they are physical immunes) until the Fissure you just cast stops, at which point recast Fissure and repeat the process until said monster dies.
You will find that quite a few packs of monsters in hell difficulty won’t even last the first batch of Tornado’s if they even manage to get that close.
When dealing with multiple packs of monsters recast Grizzly in front of one pack and then cast Fissure on that pack every so often in between dealing with other packs of monsters. Remember that Grizzly is not strong enough to kill for himself in this build but can survive for a long time against most monsters.
Cast Fissure on packs of monsters that your Merc is dealing with to aid his survivability. Remember that your Merc provides you with a Defiance aura, his survival is your survival.
When dealing with lots of ranged attackers use Grizzly to distract them, ravens to blind them and just keep moving letting Hurricane and Armageddon do the work for you, stop in between volleys of fire if you can to cast the occasional Fissure on closely grouped packs.
If Grizzly is not in the right place when you need him put him in the right place by recasting.
Double immunes
Physical/fire immunes – Block with Grizzly and simply keep Hurricane active. If Grizzly or your Merc are not available to block or are blocking elsewhere just keep moving making sure you’re close enough that Hurricane is hitting.
Physical/cold immunes – Block with Grizzly, Cast Fissure, move up behind Grizzly and keep casting Firestorms. Recast Fissure if necessary and repeat. Again if Grizzly or your Merc are unavailable just hit and run with Fissure and Firestorm.
Cold/fire immunes – Again block with Grizzly, move up behind Grizzly and keep casting Tornado till they drop.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
1.Good range and AE damage, by the time a pack of monsters get toe to toe with you generally a few Tornados will finish them off.
2.Ability to deal with immunes, having 2 forms of elemental damage and a form of physical damage, immunes will never be a problem.
3.Rock solid crowd control.
Disadvantages
1.Oak sage is very weak in the early stages of the build and needs recasting often.
2.No Shield.
3.Lower FCR compared to other elemental builds.
I hope you all find this guide inspiring enough to give this build a try, as I’ve had hours of endless fun with this build and have found it to be a real breath of fresh air compared to the usual windy builds out there.
Enjoy.
Storm_force lvl 90 Druid (Euscl)