In November 2019, Blizzard Entertainment announced Diablo 4. Long time fans of the dungeon crawler series likely know that the Druid is finally returning in Diablo 4 after a one-game hiatus. The Druid will be one of 5 different playable classes and 2 of which have yet to be unveiled.
The Druid made its first appearance in Diablo 2 and will make its second in Diablo 4. Druids were not initially part of the Diablo 2 roster and was included as part of the Diablo 2: Lords of Destruction DLC, and many may recall that Druids are somewhat like a dual class in that they can cast damaging spells like a mage but can also use shapeshifting to fill a tank role. Druids will still have fun tearing it up in Diablo 4 with their werewolf and werebear forms, but they only transform when the appropriate ability is cast. Crushing blows also make a return from Diablo 2, which are attack buffs that deal damage equal to a percentage of the target's maximum health.
Druid Fund-elementals
The Druid's kit in Diablo 4 is almost completely different from the original Druid in Diablo 2, as mana is no longer the energy source the Druid draws from. Instead, there is a Spirit pool that functions similarly to the Barbarian's fury meter. Certain attacks will fill the Spirit pool, and the Druid expends these points to use more powerful abilities. Earthspike, Shred, Storm Strike, Maul, and Wind Shear are the basic abilities of the Druid that generate Spirit.
Earthspike uproots the earth and impales enemies while also increasing the chance that it will deal a crushing blow until one occurs, and it shifts the Druid into human form. Shred transforms the Druid into a werewolf and has a 30% chance to attack twice, Storm Strike causes attacks from the Druid's weapon to arc lightning dealing damage to up to 4 targets while also shifting back to human form, and Maul transforms the Druid into a werebear granting the Druid 30% resistance to incoming damage for a short time on each attack. Wind Shear is a human form attack that is ranged and increases the Druids movement speed on each attack up to a 30% bonus. These basic attacks may not rival the power of the basic attacks of other classes in Diablo 4, but the Druid has plenty of other abilities that make up for this.
Diablo 4 Druid Skill Trees
Druids in Diablo 4 have access to 5 non-basic ability trees: Spirit, Defensive, Wrath, Companion, and Ultimate. These various ability trees create opportunities for customization in Diablo 4 towards the way the Druid fights, such as The Spirit ability tree which has all the abilities that consume spirit points generated from basic attacks. Defensive abilities are a mainly active abilities that provide a buff for a short time while also going on a considerable cooldown timer, and Wrath abilities are elemental spells cast by the Druid that do not require spirit but are subject to a cooldown. Companion abilities summon animals to fight for the Druid, but are not directly controlled by the player barring the first cast. The Druid's ultimate abilities are all great crowd control abilities that go on a massive cooldown after being used.
The breakdown of the Druid class spirit skills starts with Pulverize. It creates an area of effect damage centered on the druid and transforms the druid into the werebear form. Landslide is another of the Druid's earth abilities that crushes 3 pillars together dealing damage and possibly a crushing blow to enemies caught inside. Like other earth abilities, the chance for a crushing blow is increased every time an earth attack connects with an enemy. Tornado is a storm spell that sends a small vortex in a random arcing direction in front of the Druid that deals damage and passes through enemies, and it is likely going to be the most used of the spirit abilities because it costs the least and it can be spammed to deal a ton of damage quickly to multiple enemies.
The Druid Hates Crowds
The Defensive ability tree has the most non-basic abilities. The Druid can utilize these skills to crowd control enemies or buff themselves letting them take on characters as strong as Lilith. Trample and Debilitating Roar both transform the Druid into a werebear, and Trample causes the Druid to charge forward and stun enemies hit while Debilitating Roar increases attack speed for 5 seconds. Ravenous Bite turns the Druid into a werewolf which bites an enemy and heals the Druid, and Earthen Bulwark stops all incoming crowd control effects and absorbs damage for a short time and then explodes dealing damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage absorbed. Cyclone Armor is the only defensive ability that is passive. It reduces all ranged damage by 15% and also has a 15% chance to knock back enemies who melee attack the Druid.
The Druid's Wrath ability tree in Diablo 4 is currently extremely sparse. There are only two abilities revealed thus far in this tree: Hurricane and Boulder. Hurricane surrounds the Druid with a storm that deals damage over time to enemies in its radius. This ability transforms the Druid back into a human, but if they transform again, the storm will continue. Boulder is a simple ability where the Druid throws a boulder in a line that knocks away and has a 15% chance to deal a crushing blow to each enemy hit. Diablo game devs claim that Boulder will be the bread and butter of every Druid build due to its high damage potential from crushing blows.
Lions and Tigers and Ultimates
Companion abilities are a unique ability set to the Druid which calls upon the woodland creatures to fight for them. Each companion type has both active and passive components, and the passive component of wolves, ravens, and vine creeper are their presence. The ravens and vine creeper will periodically attack enemies around the Druid and cannot be retaliated against. The wolves, on the other hand, will be constantly fighting by the Druid's side and may die. The wolves will respawn in a few of seconds after dying and only two can be present at a time.
All active components of these summons involve a targeted strike on an enemy directed by the Druid. Wolves pounce on their target, ravens swarm, and the vine creeper poisons an area of enemies. Unlike the companions from Fallout 4, these summons only provide a source of damage and do not buff or interact at all with the Druid.
Finally, the ultimate ability tree functions similarly across each class in Diablo 4. While the abilities may be different, the quantity is the same and they all have the longest ability cooldowns. Petrify is the best crowd control ability for the Druid as it stuns all enemies around them for 5 seconds. Any attacks will break the stun, deal bonus damage, and have a 25% chance to deal a crushing blow. Grizzly rage transforms the Druid into a werebear, gives a 28% bonus to spirit generation, grants a different set of werebear skills, and makes the Druid immune to crowd control for 5 seconds. Cataclysm creates a massive storm around the Druid that summons tornadoes and lightning to strike randomly dealing tons of damage and knocking back enemies.
While each class in Diablo 4 has its role, the flexibility of the Druid allows for them to fill any role as long as it is within melee range. Any fan of the Diablo 2 Druid is going to enjoy playing the one in Diablo 4. 2 more classes have yet to reveal themselves and players are still chomping at the bit to find out what they can do.
Diablo 4 is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.