Druid Guid
Content
V. Skill placement ***************** Now that you’ve seen a detailed list of the skills and choices available, it’s time to see where your skills should go. Levels 1-12: Place your first couple points into Werewolf and Lycanthropy, dropping one into Raven if you want a grizzly later. At level six, put one point into Oak Sage and Spirit Wolf (if you want a grizzly) and continue to pump Lycanthropy, Werewolf, and Oak Sage (if you’re using Oak Sage). At level twelve put one point into Feral Rage. Levels 13-29: Continue putting points into Werewolf, Lycanthropy, and Oak Sage. At level 17 save your points ‘til 18. At 18, get, Rabies, and Dire Wolf (if you want a grizzly). If you don’t want a grizzly, keep working on Werewolf and Lycanthropy. There’s nothing special to get at 24 so keep plowing through with your Werewolf/Lycanthropy combination. At 29 save a point so that once you reach 30 you’ll be able to get Fury and a grizzly (if you want a tank). Levels 30+: Finish maxing Werewolf, but first pump a few points into Fury to get up to the maximum of five hits. Fury doesn’t cost any more mana as you increase its skill so go right ahead and pump it up. Once you’re done with Werewolf alternate points between Fury and Oak Sage, while occasionally putting a point into Lycanthropy. You should be done maxing all your basic skills (Werewolf, Lycanthropy, Fury, Oak Sage) by the mid-70s, and from there you can play with the remaining points, putting points into Grizzly or Rabies. I’d recommend putting those points to good use by putting them into Grizzly, and if you’re having trouble surviving try putting a point into Cyclone Armor.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ VI. Stat placement ***************** It is important to note that the Druid is a balanced character, and every time he levels, he gains 1.5 life and 2 mana. This isn’t much, and it’s important to realize that while he’s balanced, he can’t hope to achieve the same physical prowess as the Barbarian. One point into either Vitality or Energy will give two points into the respective stat. For the Werewolf Druid, strength is not a huge factor in deciding gear. Though it does play a minor role, most of the required/recommended amounts are easy to reach. When starting out, it is not important to worry too much about requirements so long as you don’t go over them. Relax, but make sure you have the required amounts by the time you reach the levels you can use them.
Strength: Tank it! Alternate between this and Vitality once you reach high levels. More Strength means more damage. I’d suggest that once you reach your Vitality quota of X life you pump Strength. Oak Sage gives you a 100+% bonus to life and if you’re partied with a Barbarian, odds are he’ll use Battle Orders making you quite the tank. Even without a Barbarian, grab a Call to Arms and you’re set. Dexterity: You’ll want max block, hands down, and if you’re using Stormshield you shouldn’t have to worry as much, but Phoenix could pose a couple problems in terms of reaching block. If you’re struggling to hit monsters (which shouldn’t happen, but could) you can toss more points into Dexterity, although, you could always switch out a ring and Amulet for Angelics. Vitality: ~165, you won’t go wrong putting more points into it, but don’t put any less into it…you’ll regret it. This should bring your life to around 450 without gear, and you’ll have more with gear. Energy: Fury uses four mana. Why would you need more energy when you’re already gaining mana per level? Not to mention that there is an abundance of mana potions if you really need them. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ VII. Equipment ***************** Diablo II holds many goodies that remain to be found and used in different situations; so as a result, I’ll show the optimal choices for gear. Some of it is rather expensive, but most of it isn’t too difficult to get one’s hands on. *~*~*~*~* ~*Helm*~ *~*~*~*~* The best choice for a Werewolf Druid is Jalal’s Mane. Though Harlequin Crest seems a likely choice, it should be seen that while the Crest has many good attributes, it lacks the + skills that make Jalal’s a much better choice. You can also socket that bad boy with a 40/15 if you can get your hands on one. Or if you want more AR you can socket a Cham in here, ditch Ravenfrost and Highlord’s and use the ever popular Angelic ring/amulet combination. <>Jalal’s Mane (Unique Totemic Mask) - Druid only * Defense: 247-297 * Requires Strength: 65 * 30% Faster Hit Recovery * 20% Bonus to Attack Rating * +2 to Druid skills *+30 All Resistances * +5 to mana after each kill * +20 to Strength * +20 to Energy * +2 to Shapeshifting skills
*~*~*~*~* ~*Armor*~ *~*~*~*~* Chains of Honor (Runeword) and Fortitude (also a runeword) are both excellent choices for a Werewolf Druid so I’ll include stats for both items. <>Chains of Honor (Dol+Um+Ber+Ist) *four socket body armor * +2 to all skills * +200% Damage to Demons * +100% Damage to Undead * 8% life stolen per hit * +70% Enhanced Defense * +20 to Strength * Replenish life +7 * +65 All Resistances * Damage Reduced by 8% * 25% better chance of getting magic items <>Fortitude (El+Sol+Dol+Lo) *four socket body armor * 20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck * +25% Faster cast rate * +300% Enhanced Damage * +200% Enhanced Defense * +15 Defense * +1-1.5 to life (per character level) * Replenish life +7 * +5% to max lightning resist * +20-30 All resist * + Damage reduced by 7 * +12% Damage taken goes to Mana * +1 to light radius *~*~*~*~*~* ~*Weapon*~ *~*~*~*~*~* No need to play around with mid-end gear, top notch is the only thing worth getting. That said, there’s really only one armor worth working for, and that’s Ethereal Breath of the dying, or EBotD. <>Breath of the Dying (Vex+Hel+El+Eld+Zod+Eth) *ethereal Berserker axe *50% chance to cast level 20 Poison Nova when you kill an enemy * Indestructible * +60% Increased attack speed * +350-400% Enhances Damage * -25% Target defense * +50 to Attack rating * +50 to attack rating vs undead * 7% mana stolen per hit * 12-15% life stolen per hit * Prevent monster heal * +30 to all attributes *+1 to light radius *Requirements -20% *~*~*~*~* ~*Shield*~ *~*~*~*~*
There are a couple different choices for a Werewolf Druid as far as shields go, but for me, I say Phoenix and nothing else. Stormshield is another good choice, so I’ll provide stats for both. You can socket Stormshield with a 40/15 for even more kill power, or toss an Um in if you’re lacking resists. <>Phoenix (Vex+Vex+Lo+Jah) *Monarch Shield *100% Chance to cast level 40 blaze when you level up *40% Chance to cast level 22 Firestorm on Striking *Level 10-15 Redemption aura when equipped (varies) *+350-400 Defense vs Missile (varies) *+350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) *-28% to enemy fire resistance *+50 to life *+5% to max lightning resist *+10% to max fire resist *+15-21 fire absorb (varies) <>Stormshield (Unique Monarch Shield) Defense: (136-504)-(151-519) Required level: 73 Required Strength: 156 *+ (3.75 per level) 3-371 defense (based on character level) *+25% Increased chance of blocking *35% faster block rate *Damage reduced by 35% *+60% to cold resist *+25% to lightning resist *+30 to Strength *Attacker takes lightning damage of 10 *Indestructible *~*~*~*~* ~*Gloves*~ *~*~*~*~* Too many choices! There are far too many choices for the Werewolf Druid in terms of gloves. Soul Drainer, Dracul’s Grasp, Venom Grip, or even some nice crafted Blood gloves would work. You shouldn’t need too much life leech because you’ll likely already have enough so although any gloves would work, Soul Drainer’s would work quite nicely because of the – to enemy defense. <>Soul Drainer (Exceptional unique Vambraces) * Defense: 129-149 * Required Strength: 106 * +90-120% Enhanced Defense * 4-7% mana stolen per hit * 4-7% life stolen per hit * -50 to Monster defense per hit * 8% chance to cast level 3 Weaken on striking *~*~*~* ~*Belt*~ *~*~*~* Choosing a belt is an easy choice. Nosferatu’s coil vs. String of Ears…go with String of Ears, life leech and damage reduction, you can’t go wrong.
<>String of Ears (Exceptional unique demonhide sash) * 150-180% Enhanced defense * +15 defense * 6-8% life stolen per hit * Damaged reduced by 10-15% * Magic damage reduced by 10-15 *~*~*~*~* ~*Boots*~ *~*~*~*~* Gore Riders are great choice for the Werewolf. Deadly Strike, Crushing Blow, and Open Wounds. The only substitute would be Sandstorm Treks, but Gore Riders are a much better choice. <>Gore Riders (Exceptional unique War Boots) * +160-200% Enhanced defense * 30% Faster Run/Walk * 10% Chance of Open Wounds * 15% Chance of Crushing Blow * 15% Chance of Deadly Strike * Requirements -25% * +20 Maximum Stamina *~*~*~*~*~* ~*Amulet*~ *~*~*~*~*~* The best choice for a Werewolf is Highlord’s Wrath. More Deadly Strike, added skills, and Increased Attack Speed, excellent! Otherwise, go with the popular AR boosting combo of Angelic Halo and Angelic Wings. <>Highlord’s Wrath. * +1 to all skills * 20% Increased Attack Speed * + (0.375 per character level) 0-37% Chance of Deadly Strike (Based on character level) * Lightning Resistance +35% * Adds 1-30 Lightning damage * Attacker takes damage of 15 *~*~*~*~* ~*Rings*~ *~*~*~*~* Typical choices, Ravenfrost, Bul Kathos’ Wedding Band (BK), Stone of Jordan. Rare rings that have both mana and life leech are also good choices. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ VIII. Mercenary ***************** The obvious choice is the Act II Holy Freeze Mercenary. Slap some good gear on him and he’ll be a great help. Slowing monsters, and when he’s got the right equipment the additional auras are excellent. ~+~+~ ~Helm~
~+~+~ Andariel’s Visage is a good choice, mainly because it has life leech. <>Andariel’s Visage (Elite unique demonhead) * Defense: 310-387 * +100-150% Enhanced defense * +2 to all skills * 20% Increased Attack Speed * 8-10% Life stolen per hit * +25-30 to strength * +10% to maximum poison resist * Fire resist -30% * Poison resist +70% * 15% chance to cast level 15 Poison Nova when struck * Level 3 venom (20 charges) ~+~+~ ~Armor~ ~+~+~ Shaftstop works well, as does Guardian Angel, but the easiest way to ensure high defense is a Gladiator’s Bane. Shaftstop is a good alternative if The Gladiator’s Bane (TGB) is too expensive, but the mods on TGB are better. <>The Gladiator’s Bane (Elite unique Wire Fleece) * Defense: 1255-1496 * Required Strength: 111 * +150-200% Enhanced Defense * +50 defense * Cannot be frozen * 30% Faster Hit Recovery * Poison length reduced by 50% * Attacker takes damage of 20 * Damage reduced by 15-20 * Magic damage reduced by 15-20 ~+~+~ ~Weapon~ ~+~+~ Ah, the best part of the Mercenary, the weapon. There is one choice and it’s a clear one…Pride! This runeword grants Concentration which will further boost your damage by great amounts. It’s only useable in a four socket polearm so be sure to choose one that your mercenary will be able to use, while still having excellent damage. A Cryptic Axe is a good choice. <>Pride (Cham+Sur+Io+Lo) four socket polearms * 25% chance to cast level 17 Fire Wall when struck * Level 16-20 Concentration aura when equipped * 260-300% bonus to Attack Rating * +1-99% Damage to demons (based on character level) * Adds 50-280 lightning damage * 20% Deadly Strike * Hit blinds target * Freezes Target +3 * +10 to Vitality * Replenish Life +8
* 1.875-185.625% extra gold from monsters (based on character level) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ IX. Contact me ***************** I know that this guide is far from perfect, and that it likely has some flaws in it that are obvious to everyone but me. Unfortunately, I can only do my best to catch these flaws. If you have a suggestion, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. If you do make a suggestion that I feel should be included, I will add it, and I will credit you. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ X Credits ***************** KIRBIX- for inadvertently motivating me to try to write a guide. Zack Sears- for bringing to my attention that most players don’t want to have to settle for mid-level gear and providing suggestions on the top end equipment for a Werewolf. Arreat Summit (http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp) – for providing all the information I needed, and for opening my eyes to the true helpfulness of the Horadric Cube. GameFaqs for providing a place to bounce my ideas off other players and for hosting what is, in my opinion, the most conclusive gaming site on the net.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ VI. Stat placement ***************** It is important to note that the Druid is a balanced character, and every time he levels, he gains 1.5 life and 2 mana. This isn’t much, and it’s important to realize that while he’s balanced, he can’t hope to achieve the same physical prowess as the Barbarian. One point into either Vitality or Energy will give two points into the respective stat. For the Werewolf Druid, strength is not a huge factor in deciding gear. Though it does play a minor role, most of the required/recommended amounts are easy to reach. When starting out, it is not important to worry too much about requirements so long as you don’t go over them. Relax, but make sure you have the required amounts by the time you reach the levels you can use them.
Strength: Tank it! Alternate between this and Vitality once you reach high levels. More Strength means more damage. I’d suggest that once you reach your Vitality quota of X life you pump Strength. Oak Sage gives you a 100+% bonus to life and if you’re partied with a Barbarian, odds are he’ll use Battle Orders making you quite the tank. Even without a Barbarian, grab a Call to Arms and you’re set. Dexterity: You’ll want max block, hands down, and if you’re using Stormshield you shouldn’t have to worry as much, but Phoenix could pose a couple problems in terms of reaching block. If you’re struggling to hit monsters (which shouldn’t happen, but could) you can toss more points into Dexterity, although, you could always switch out a ring and Amulet for Angelics. Vitality: ~165, you won’t go wrong putting more points into it, but don’t put any less into it…you’ll regret it. This should bring your life to around 450 without gear, and you’ll have more with gear. Energy: Fury uses four mana. Why would you need more energy when you’re already gaining mana per level? Not to mention that there is an abundance of mana potions if you really need them. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ VII. Equipment ***************** Diablo II holds many goodies that remain to be found and used in different situations; so as a result, I’ll show the optimal choices for gear. Some of it is rather expensive, but most of it isn’t too difficult to get one’s hands on. *~*~*~*~* ~*Helm*~ *~*~*~*~* The best choice for a Werewolf Druid is Jalal’s Mane. Though Harlequin Crest seems a likely choice, it should be seen that while the Crest has many good attributes, it lacks the + skills that make Jalal’s a much better choice. You can also socket that bad boy with a 40/15 if you can get your hands on one. Or if you want more AR you can socket a Cham in here, ditch Ravenfrost and Highlord’s and use the ever popular Angelic ring/amulet combination. <>Jalal’s Mane (Unique Totemic Mask) - Druid only * Defense: 247-297 * Requires Strength: 65 * 30% Faster Hit Recovery * 20% Bonus to Attack Rating * +2 to Druid skills *+30 All Resistances * +5 to mana after each kill * +20 to Strength * +20 to Energy * +2 to Shapeshifting skills
*~*~*~*~* ~*Armor*~ *~*~*~*~* Chains of Honor (Runeword) and Fortitude (also a runeword) are both excellent choices for a Werewolf Druid so I’ll include stats for both items. <>Chains of Honor (Dol+Um+Ber+Ist) *four socket body armor * +2 to all skills * +200% Damage to Demons * +100% Damage to Undead * 8% life stolen per hit * +70% Enhanced Defense * +20 to Strength * Replenish life +7 * +65 All Resistances * Damage Reduced by 8% * 25% better chance of getting magic items <>Fortitude (El+Sol+Dol+Lo) *four socket body armor * 20% Chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck * +25% Faster cast rate * +300% Enhanced Damage * +200% Enhanced Defense * +15 Defense * +1-1.5 to life (per character level) * Replenish life +7 * +5% to max lightning resist * +20-30 All resist * + Damage reduced by 7 * +12% Damage taken goes to Mana * +1 to light radius *~*~*~*~*~* ~*Weapon*~ *~*~*~*~*~* No need to play around with mid-end gear, top notch is the only thing worth getting. That said, there’s really only one armor worth working for, and that’s Ethereal Breath of the dying, or EBotD. <>Breath of the Dying (Vex+Hel+El+Eld+Zod+Eth) *ethereal Berserker axe *50% chance to cast level 20 Poison Nova when you kill an enemy * Indestructible * +60% Increased attack speed * +350-400% Enhances Damage * -25% Target defense * +50 to Attack rating * +50 to attack rating vs undead * 7% mana stolen per hit * 12-15% life stolen per hit * Prevent monster heal * +30 to all attributes *+1 to light radius *Requirements -20% *~*~*~*~* ~*Shield*~ *~*~*~*~*
There are a couple different choices for a Werewolf Druid as far as shields go, but for me, I say Phoenix and nothing else. Stormshield is another good choice, so I’ll provide stats for both. You can socket Stormshield with a 40/15 for even more kill power, or toss an Um in if you’re lacking resists. <>Phoenix (Vex+Vex+Lo+Jah) *Monarch Shield *100% Chance to cast level 40 blaze when you level up *40% Chance to cast level 22 Firestorm on Striking *Level 10-15 Redemption aura when equipped (varies) *+350-400 Defense vs Missile (varies) *+350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) *-28% to enemy fire resistance *+50 to life *+5% to max lightning resist *+10% to max fire resist *+15-21 fire absorb (varies) <>Stormshield (Unique Monarch Shield) Defense: (136-504)-(151-519) Required level: 73 Required Strength: 156 *+ (3.75 per level) 3-371 defense (based on character level) *+25% Increased chance of blocking *35% faster block rate *Damage reduced by 35% *+60% to cold resist *+25% to lightning resist *+30 to Strength *Attacker takes lightning damage of 10 *Indestructible *~*~*~*~* ~*Gloves*~ *~*~*~*~* Too many choices! There are far too many choices for the Werewolf Druid in terms of gloves. Soul Drainer, Dracul’s Grasp, Venom Grip, or even some nice crafted Blood gloves would work. You shouldn’t need too much life leech because you’ll likely already have enough so although any gloves would work, Soul Drainer’s would work quite nicely because of the – to enemy defense. <>Soul Drainer (Exceptional unique Vambraces) * Defense: 129-149 * Required Strength: 106 * +90-120% Enhanced Defense * 4-7% mana stolen per hit * 4-7% life stolen per hit * -50 to Monster defense per hit * 8% chance to cast level 3 Weaken on striking *~*~*~* ~*Belt*~ *~*~*~* Choosing a belt is an easy choice. Nosferatu’s coil vs. String of Ears…go with String of Ears, life leech and damage reduction, you can’t go wrong.
<>String of Ears (Exceptional unique demonhide sash) * 150-180% Enhanced defense * +15 defense * 6-8% life stolen per hit * Damaged reduced by 10-15% * Magic damage reduced by 10-15 *~*~*~*~* ~*Boots*~ *~*~*~*~* Gore Riders are great choice for the Werewolf. Deadly Strike, Crushing Blow, and Open Wounds. The only substitute would be Sandstorm Treks, but Gore Riders are a much better choice. <>Gore Riders (Exceptional unique War Boots) * +160-200% Enhanced defense * 30% Faster Run/Walk * 10% Chance of Open Wounds * 15% Chance of Crushing Blow * 15% Chance of Deadly Strike * Requirements -25% * +20 Maximum Stamina *~*~*~*~*~* ~*Amulet*~ *~*~*~*~*~* The best choice for a Werewolf is Highlord’s Wrath. More Deadly Strike, added skills, and Increased Attack Speed, excellent! Otherwise, go with the popular AR boosting combo of Angelic Halo and Angelic Wings. <>Highlord’s Wrath. * +1 to all skills * 20% Increased Attack Speed * + (0.375 per character level) 0-37% Chance of Deadly Strike (Based on character level) * Lightning Resistance +35% * Adds 1-30 Lightning damage * Attacker takes damage of 15 *~*~*~*~* ~*Rings*~ *~*~*~*~* Typical choices, Ravenfrost, Bul Kathos’ Wedding Band (BK), Stone of Jordan. Rare rings that have both mana and life leech are also good choices. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ VIII. Mercenary ***************** The obvious choice is the Act II Holy Freeze Mercenary. Slap some good gear on him and he’ll be a great help. Slowing monsters, and when he’s got the right equipment the additional auras are excellent. ~+~+~ ~Helm~
~+~+~ Andariel’s Visage is a good choice, mainly because it has life leech. <>Andariel’s Visage (Elite unique demonhead) * Defense: 310-387 * +100-150% Enhanced defense * +2 to all skills * 20% Increased Attack Speed * 8-10% Life stolen per hit * +25-30 to strength * +10% to maximum poison resist * Fire resist -30% * Poison resist +70% * 15% chance to cast level 15 Poison Nova when struck * Level 3 venom (20 charges) ~+~+~ ~Armor~ ~+~+~ Shaftstop works well, as does Guardian Angel, but the easiest way to ensure high defense is a Gladiator’s Bane. Shaftstop is a good alternative if The Gladiator’s Bane (TGB) is too expensive, but the mods on TGB are better. <>The Gladiator’s Bane (Elite unique Wire Fleece) * Defense: 1255-1496 * Required Strength: 111 * +150-200% Enhanced Defense * +50 defense * Cannot be frozen * 30% Faster Hit Recovery * Poison length reduced by 50% * Attacker takes damage of 20 * Damage reduced by 15-20 * Magic damage reduced by 15-20 ~+~+~ ~Weapon~ ~+~+~ Ah, the best part of the Mercenary, the weapon. There is one choice and it’s a clear one…Pride! This runeword grants Concentration which will further boost your damage by great amounts. It’s only useable in a four socket polearm so be sure to choose one that your mercenary will be able to use, while still having excellent damage. A Cryptic Axe is a good choice. <>Pride (Cham+Sur+Io+Lo) four socket polearms * 25% chance to cast level 17 Fire Wall when struck * Level 16-20 Concentration aura when equipped * 260-300% bonus to Attack Rating * +1-99% Damage to demons (based on character level) * Adds 50-280 lightning damage * 20% Deadly Strike * Hit blinds target * Freezes Target +3 * +10 to Vitality * Replenish Life +8
* 1.875-185.625% extra gold from monsters (based on character level) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ IX. Contact me ***************** I know that this guide is far from perfect, and that it likely has some flaws in it that are obvious to everyone but me. Unfortunately, I can only do my best to catch these flaws. If you have a suggestion, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. If you do make a suggestion that I feel should be included, I will add it, and I will credit you. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ X Credits ***************** KIRBIX- for inadvertently motivating me to try to write a guide. Zack Sears- for bringing to my attention that most players don’t want to have to settle for mid-level gear and providing suggestions on the top end equipment for a Werewolf. Arreat Summit (http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp) – for providing all the information I needed, and for opening my eyes to the true helpfulness of the Horadric Cube. GameFaqs for providing a place to bounce my ideas off other players and for hosting what is, in my opinion, the most conclusive gaming site on the net.
