I havent played this game in years, and just bought it at the store to give it another run with some friends.
I want to make a druid, and I was wondering what people believe is the best PvM build to go with as a druid, one that I could easily advance through all the content and into hell mode and hold my own or help decimate mobs with others.
Im not really worried about the PvP aspect of the build, as I really dont plan on doing much of that. PvP is something ill probably roll another character at some point after ive gathered enough money and items to twink them out. I just want a straight up Own Everything build as a Druid. If some other class is much better suited for destroying everything in PvM, what might that be?
Bear builds are much nicer for PvM then Werewolves. You do more damage and have more life.
Some nice pvm bear builds are a maul bear, a hungry bear(using hunger and crushing blow) and a aldurs fireclaw bear.
Gear to effectively pvm in these builds is reletively cheap and easy to get, and you can tank till kingdom come.
What makes Bears hands down the best at PvM for a druid is the skill Shockwave. Know it, love it, use it. It will stun any monster that isn't a Boss or Champion up to 10 seconds. 1 pt is an absolute nessisary, but more pts into it may not be needed with plus skills.
People will argue back and forth, but generally speaking, the best PvM build is one of the three following:
Fireclaws Werebear
Massive, massive damage... and Shockwave, of course. Get Shockwave to slvl 15 after +skills and PvM becomes a joke. Fire Immunes will slow you down, but not give you any troubles- just Shockwave them and let the merc take them out.
Fury Werewolf
Great damage and speed. It kills about as quickly as Fireclaws, but costs far fewer skill points (leaving room for great secondary skills like maxed Oak Sage, some Feral Rage, and some solid summons, if you want). It has fewer immunity issues than Fireclaws, too, since Physical Immunes are rarer than Fire Immunes. The big problem? No shockwave.
Windy Druid
Again, great damage, and Cyclone Armor is awesome (lets you get by with cruddy resists), and Tornado can chew through crowds in a hurry. Another big advantage is that, as a caster, you don't need to mess around with melee any if you don't want to.
All three are doable no-twink (although Fury Werewolf is the worst of the three if you're no-twink), and all three become GODLY if you're rich. There are other very good builds (Summoning Shockwave Werebear, for instance), but for the most part, these three are the best of the best when it comes to PvM druids.
I'm making my first ever Bear build, and have been putting points in Maul as I thought Fireclaws required too many synergy points to be worth it. Does Fireclaws really outshine Maul that much?
Haven't found any good werebear build guides other than one older one on this forum. Any good Maul guides out there?
Also, I'm finding that a very fast weapon is a necessity (am using Khalim's will right now, and it's darn funny watching that huge bear freak out at the high frame rate you get with that weapon). Khalim's will won't cut it much more though (am closing in on end of Act III). What good weapons are suggested for NM/Hell - would ethereal Oath Phase Blade be a good choice?
I do think fireclaws outshines maul in a big way.
fireclaw simply needs a 6 shealed pb to be godly which is pretty cheap! (or a gris caddy, or Azurewrath) Maul is going to need your standard top end weps to really shine and the pi's will be a pain (something FC handles nicely)
the 4frame attack is rediculous!
and using a phaseblade with shaels, you can still kill with IM on you and not die from it.
Fireclaw can kill fire immunes easier then Maul can kill Phy immunes. Its easier to have a big beat stick on switch with high phy damage then to try to get enough elemental damage for the pi's on your maul ( I used to use a up'd steeldriver martel shealed)
Ditto on some points in shockwave , best skill ever!
something like
20 fireclaw
20 molten bolder
20 volcano
5 ish in shockwave
rest of the points season to taste.
Fully charged in good gear, I've gotten up to 18K damage on my old maul bear
If you on East Hardcore Ladder I may have a few things I can donate to the cause.
Their isnt such thing as "best" druid, all are fun and quirky in their own way.
If you pick a windy druid, dont be suprised if people are mis-trusting of you in HC play since these are often tppks.
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