How the engine works
You are always a werewolf. Shred is a three-hit combo and every hit dashes you to a target, so it is your damage and your movement at once. The Storm Shred variation adds lightning damage to every hit and turns Shred into a Storm skill, which is what the rest of the build hangs off. Ifeh's Dire Totem turns Grizzly Rage into a Dire Werewolf ultimate so you can keep Shredding during it, and Dark Howl does the same for Debilitating Roar while adding a large damage buff. The Storm Shepherd's Call talisman set makes Storm skills free but burns all your Spirit for bonus damage, so you stack Spirit income to keep that bonus fed. A toggled Lightning Storm follows you around for extra hits and Lucky Hit procs, and Blood Howl keeps you Unstoppable on a short cycle so Tibault's Will stays online. Those hits are what bring Grizzly Rage back sooner.
Who it's for
Players who want speed: Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, Infernal Hordes and general farming, with enough damage to push the Pit once the gear is in. Several bugs that flattered it last season were fixed, so it is an above-average farmer rather than a top build, and its ratings sit in S to A-Tier. If you want the strongest Druid rather than the fastest, play Landslide.
- Rating
- S to A-Tier
- Difficulty
- Easy, but non-stop
- Key stat
- Critical Strike Chance, then Spirit income
- Must have
- Ifeh's Dire Totem, Dark Howl and two Storm Shepherd's Call charms
The bar
One toggle, three buffs, one companion slot and one button you hold. Blood Howl stays on the published bar. When Malefic Crescent is casting Blood Howl for you, that slot is free: put Hurricane on with the Derecho variation (toggle, no cooldown, Spirit drain, counts as a Core skill — take Weaken and Movement Speed) if you want a second storm following you, or Cyclone Armor if you want a passive defence instead. You can also keep pressing Blood Howl yourself.
Rank 15. All three hits dash, but each needs a target. Storm Shred adds 80% bonus damage as Lightning and makes Shred a Storm skill. Take the Cast Speed and Healing upgrades and the free Werewolf form node.
Hold — constantlyWith Ifeh's Dire Totem it makes you a Dire Werewolf. Take Cornered Beast (5% more damage per damage event, up to 200%) and the 20-second cooldown cut. Its cooldown keeps ticking while it is active.
Press — on cooldownWith Dark Howl this is a Werewolf skill and a 60–80% damage buff for as long as it lasts. Take Booming Roar, Increased Duration and the 8-second cooldown cut.
Keep it upTake Hero of the Storm so it follows you as a toggle, plus Additional Strikes and the Werewolf form node. It is here for extra hits: they trigger your Snake boons and feed the talisman bonus.
ToggleOne point, with Spirit Howl if you still need Spirit before the set is complete, otherwise take the Unstoppable and Healing upgrades. Press it whenever it is ready: it keeps Tibault's Will fed and keeps poison applications rolling for your Lucky Hit package. Malefic Crescent can cast this for you later — until then, this button stays on the bar.
Press — on cooldownOne point. The only time you press it is at the start of a fight: let the pack attack and build Ferocity before you toggle Lightning Storm. The Attack Speed upgrade plus Thrill of the Hunt gives you 40% attack speed whenever a wolf lands a critical strike. Companion skills are Versatile, so they never knock you out of Werewolf form.
Press — to openPassives
The Druid tree has no passive nodes and no Key Passive this season. Names you may remember, such as Lust for Carnage, Heightened Malice, Thunderstruck and Constricting Tendrils, are now Paragon legendary nodes. Three skills work for you without a bar slot, and all three want points. Earthen Bulwark is cast by the Que rune: take Unstoppable, Fortify and Healing, and Travertine Bulwark. Cyclone Armor comes free from three Storm Shepherd's Call charms: take Reversal, Resistance and Increased Radius. Blood Howl is cast by Malefic Crescent: one point with Spirit Howl, Unstoppable and Healing.
Spirit Boons
Bond the Snake. Overload and Calm Before the Storm together are the engine: Storm hits hand you Ferocity and cast speed, and Nature Magic hits shave two seconds at a time off Grizzly Rage's cooldown. The Deer slot is a choice. Gift of the Stag gives you more Spirit to burn, Prickleskin gives the most damage and Wariness the most defence. Take Gift of the Stag, because Spirit is what feeds the talisman bonus. Early on, before you have much Critical Strike Chance, bond the Eagle instead and run Scythe Talons with Avian Wrath, keeping Calm Before the Storm as your one Snake boon.
| Pick | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Deer: Gift of the Stag | +30 maximum Spirit and 5 Spirit every second. |
| Eagle: Avian Wrath | +20% Critical Strike Damage. Swap to Scythe Talons if you are short of crit, or Iron Feather if you keep dying. |
| Wolf: Calamity | Ultimates last 35% longer, which means more Grizzly Rage. |
| Snake: Overload | Lucky Hit: Storm skills have up to a 20% chance to grant Ferocity, and Storm skills cast 15% faster while you have Ferocity. |
| Snake (bonded): Calm Before the Storm | Lucky Hit: Nature Magic skills have up to a 10% chance to cut your Ultimate's cooldown by 2 seconds. |
What to wear
This build needs its gear: two uniques switch it on and a talisman set fixes its Spirit. The chest is the one free slot. Wear a legendary with Debilitating Toxins, or build the Enigma runeword chest (a Common chest plus Jah, Ith and Ber in the Cube), which turns Evade into Teleport for 33 Spirit.
Uniques
| Item | What it does | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Ifeh's Dire Totem | Off-hand. Grizzly Rage becomes a Werewolf skill and makes you a Dire Werewolf: 100–125% more Critical Strike Damage and Poisoning damage, Resource Cost Reduction (your Spirit) instead of Armour, and kills heal 5% of your life. The biggest single damage jump in the build. Drops from the Harbinger of Hatred. | Mandatory |
| Dark Howl | Gloves. Debilitating Roar becomes a Werewolf skill and gives 60–80% more damage in Werewolf form for its duration. Drops from Urivar. | Mandatory |
| Tibault's Will | Pants. 15–20% more damage and 25 Resource Regeneration (your Spirit) while Unstoppable and for 5 seconds after. Earthen Bulwark and Blood Howl both make you Unstoppable, so it is nearly always on. No boss drops it: upgrade Common pants to Unique in the Cube. | Core |
| Dirge of Airidah | Ring. Every Storm skill you cast grants 1 Spirit and deals 25–35% more damage, doubled against Vulnerable, Immobilized or Slowed enemies. Drops from Astaroth in Escalating Nightmare Dungeons. | Core |
| Leoric's Crown | Helm. It counts as jewellery, and gems socketed in it are 35–50% stronger, so it holds your two best Soul Splinters. The top pick for both defence and damage, and the seasonal questline guarantees you one. | Core |
| Malefic Crescent | Amulet. Casts Blood Howl for you when you shift to Werewolf and every 4 seconds, with 27–40% more damage for 4 seconds each time. Frees a bar slot and drives Spirit through Spirit Howl. Drops from the Beast in the Ice. | Recommended |
| Waxing Gibbous | One-handed axe. Shred deals 45–60% more damage and has a 33% chance to land an additional strike, up to 4 times. Strong, but the build starts fine without it. Drops from Lord Zir. | Recommended |
| Thundergod's Blessing | Ring. Lightning damage against Close enemies has a 25% chance to grant Resolve and deal 250–300% damage. It replaces your Orange Herald ring once Grizzly Rage stays up without help. Cube only. | Recommended |
Before they drop
Until Ifeh's Dire Totem drops, Cataclysm is your ultimate. Until you own two Storm Shepherd's Call charms, Shred still costs Spirit, so keep a builder: Claw with Cast Speed, Ferocity, the Werewolf node and Dash in Blood Howl's slot until Spirit is solved, or run Blood Howl with Spirit Howl on the bar as written. A ring with Balanced Aspect or Vulpine's Aspect covers the rest. Berú of the Red Wolf Moon is a good talisman charm while you wait.
Legendary aspects
| Aspect | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| Overcharged Aspect | Boots first, later moved to the amulet. Storm skill damage makes enemies Vulnerable for 4 seconds, and you deal 20% more to Vulnerable enemies. This is where all your Vulnerable comes from. |
| Great Storm Aspect | Boots, once Overcharged has moved. Lucky Hit: Lightning damage has up to a 15% chance to grant Ferocity, and you take 10–15% less damage while you have Ferocity. |
| Aspect of Debilitating Toxins | Chest. 30% damage reduction, and Poisoned enemies deal 15% less damage. The backbone of your defence; it pairs with the Constricting Tendrils board. |
| Archdruid's Aspect | Ring. An extra bonus for each form; as a Werewolf that is 45–60% more Critical Strike Damage against Close enemies. |
| Crushing Aspect | Amulet, if you wear a legendary one instead of Malefic Crescent. 65% more damage while Fortified, and Earthen Bulwark keeps you Fortified. |
| Aspect of the Orange Herald | Ring. Core skill damage cuts a skill's cooldown by 1 second. Wear it until cooldown reduction alone keeps Grizzly Rage up, then swap the ring for Thundergod's Blessing. |
| Balanced or Vulpine's Aspect | Ring, early only. Balanced gives +50 maximum Spirit and a burst of Spirit generation after a cooldown skill; Vulpine's gives 25 Spirit a second while you have a Barrier. Drop it when the talisman 2-set arrives. |
Free skills still need Spirit
Two Storm Shepherd's Call charms make Storm skills free, but each cast burns all your Spirit and turns it into damage: 0.25% per Spirit, up to 80%, for 4 seconds. If your Spirit income is poor the bonus simply isn't there. Keep Tibault's Will, Gift of the Stag, Spirit Howl and Dirge of Airidah feeding the bar.
Stats, gems and paragon
Roll and masterwork toward these, in this order.
| # | Stat | Where you roll it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willpower | Both weapons, both rings and most armour slots. Sapphires in armour add more. |
| 2 | Critical Strike Damage | Gloves, rings, amulet and both weapons. Temper it on the gloves. Your main Greater Affix on weapons and jewellery. |
| 3 | Critical Strike Chance | Totem, gloves, amulet and rings, plus a temper on both weapons. Crits also restore Spirit through the Lust for Carnage board. |
| 4 | Vulnerable Damage | Gloves and amulet. |
| 5 | Maximum Life | Helm, chest and pants, and as the temper on all three. |
| 6 | Cooldown Reduction | Temper on the amulet and a ring, until Grizzly Rage never drops. |
| 7 | Ranks to Shred | Axe and gloves. Storm or Nature Magic ranks on the amulet and rings. |
| 8 | Movement Speed | Boots, as a Greater Affix and as the temper, with Attacks Reduce Evade's Cooldown beside it. |
Hard targets
There is no hard breakpoint for this build — follow the order above. Two soft goals are worth knowing: enough cooldown reduction that Grizzly Rage is permanent with Calm Before the Storm, and enough Earthen Bulwark ranks that its Barrier covers nearly all of your life.
Tempering & masterworking
Weapons: Critical Strike Chance. Gloves: Critical Strike Damage. Helm, chest and pants: Maximum Life. Boots: Movement Speed. Amulet and one ring: Cooldown Reduction. Other ring: Lucky Hit chance to restore Resource (your Spirit). If you run the Azurewrath charm, one Lucky Hit: Freeze temper on the axe is enough. Tempers can be rerolled until they land as a Greater Affix. Masterwork into Weapon Damage on both weapons, Critical Strike Damage and Chance on gloves and jewellery, Willpower on Tibault's Will and Movement Speed on boots.
Gems, runewords & Splinters
- Gems: Flawless Horadric Topaz in both weapons for the Lightning damage multiplier, Flawless Horadric Sapphire in armour for Willpower.
- Moni + Que: Shred has the Mobility tag, so Moni fills almost instantly, and Que casts Earthen Bulwark for you: a Barrier, Fortify, and the Unstoppable that switches on Tibault's Will.
- Second runeword: there are two ways to run this. Poc + Kry pulls enemies together for Shred's small splash; Moni + Gar gives up to 10% Critical Strike Chance instead. Take Kry for farming, Gar if your crit is low. Cir + Qua for movement speed is fine while you gear.
- Soul Splinters: Abyssal Splinter of the Black Soulstone plus Pain or Anguish in Leoric's Crown, where they are 35–50% stronger. Sin, the Mother or Lies in the rings and amulet; swap Lies for a Flawless Horadric Ruby when pushing. Lower tiers combine upward in the Cube.
- Talisman: five Storm Shepherd's Call charms on a seal with an extra charm slot. Two make Storm skills free, three give you Cyclone Armor for free with automatic casts when hit, and five add a chance to double or triple cast plus a 100% multiplier. In game the charms are named Berú, Fer, Linta, Phoba and Mlor of the Storm Shepherd. Ranks to Nature Magic are the best charm affix, because they cover Shred, Cyclone Armor and Earthen Bulwark.
- Unique charm: two ways to fill the sixth slot. The Furnace gives 75–100% more damage to Elites and asks nothing of you. Azurewrath makes enemies take 120–150% of the damage dealt while they were Frozen, but you need Chance to Freeze from a weapon temper and charm affixes. Take The Furnace unless you are building for the Pit. Rustbitten Dirk is slightly better for Lair Bosses.
Paragon
Starter, then Lust for Carnage, Thunderstruck, Constricting Tendrils and Heightened Malice. Five boards is the limit. Rush each board's legendary node first, then the glyph socket nearest to it. Level glyphs to 25, where the radius grows, then to 51 for maximum radius and the extra multiplier, then evenly. For bosses you can swap Heightened Malice for Ancestral Guidance, which is a steady 40% damage.
| Glyph | Where and why |
|---|---|
| Fang and Claw | Starter board. |
| Keeper | Lust for Carnage. This board is also where crits start restoring Spirit. |
| Earth and Sky | Thunderstruck. Swap it for the Werewolf glyph if you want a more defensive setup. |
| Fulminate | Constricting Tendrils. |
| Spirit | Heightened Malice. |
Mercenary
Hire Raheir. He adds armour and taunts, and Valiance blocks big hits, which works as a cheat-death when it is off cooldown. Take Aldkin as reinforcement with Field of Languish, triggered by Shred. Subo is the alternative hire if you would rather have map reveal and Cover Fire than safety.
From fresh 70 to finished
Storm Shred is ordinary until its set and two uniques arrive, then it takes off. Play a simpler Shred bar until they do.
Run Shred at rank 15 with Lightning Storm, Cataclysm, Wolves, Blood Howl and Cyclone Armor. Cataclysm covers Shred's small area, Orange Herald on a ring keeps it coming back, and Overcharged on the boots gives you Vulnerable. This carries you through Torment 1 to 4.
Start with Writhe and Rot and hunt Hellwyrms in Helltides for experience and Lair Keys. Follow it with Grigoire's Gambit for early aspects. On Hardcore, avoid Cult of Annihilation and the Meat Brothers.
Two Storm Shepherd's Call charms make Storm skills free. Drop Claw and any Spirit aspect. Make Tibault's Will in the Cube now, since Earthen Bulwark from the Que rune already keeps you Unstoppable.
Swap when you have Ifeh's Dire Totem (Grizzly Rage replaces Cataclysm), Dark Howl, and at least two set charms. Debilitating Roar and Blood Howl both stay on this bar. Take Hero of the Storm on Lightning Storm. Malefic Crescent can come later — when it starts casting Blood Howl for you, free that slot for Hurricane (Derecho) or Cyclone Armor (see the bar note).
Finish the talisman set, add Dirge of Airidah and Leoric's Crown, and stack cooldown reduction until Grizzly Rage never drops. At that point swap the Orange Herald ring for Thundergod's Blessing.
Leoric's Crown, Ifeh's Dire Totem, Dark Howl, Thundergod's Blessing, Dirge of Airidah, Waxing Gibbous, then Tibault's Will. Only one Cube-crafted Mythic can be worn at a time.
The rotation
Debilitating Roar goes up before anything else and stays up. With Dark Howl it is your biggest buff.
Press it whenever it is ready. It is your Unstoppable button and the timer that keeps Tibault's Will paying out.
Hero of the Storm remembers your attack speed at the moment you toggle it. Let your Wolves attack and build 4 stacks of Ferocity first, then switch Lightning Storm on.
Press it whenever it is ready. When farming, you can hold it for Elite packs or danger instead.
Aim at enemies and hold the button; it carries you from target to target. On a controller it picks the nearest enemy for you. On mouse you choose the dash target, or turn on Toggle All in Options for the same auto-aim.
Re-press Debilitating Roar every time it comes back, and Blood Howl too if you are pressing it by hand.
On bosses
Use Grizzly Rage on cooldown rather than saving it. Every hit of Shred needs a target to dash to, so stay on top of the boss and re-toggle Lightning Storm once your buffs are up. For a dedicated boss setup, swap Heightened Malice for the Ancestral Guidance board and The Furnace for Rustbitten Dirk.
Strengths, weaknesses, mistakes
What it's good at
- The fastest and most mobile Druid build. Your attack is your movement.
- Simple to play: one held button, two toggles and two buffs.
- Always a werewolf, so nothing ever drops you out of form.
- Works on a controller without compromise.
Where it struggles
- Not the strongest Druid this season. Its ratings sit in S to A-Tier, and Landslide is rated above it more consistently.
- Gear-dependent: two mandatory uniques and a talisman set before it plays properly.
- Melee range with a small splash, so spread-out packs are slow.
- Relentless, high-action play that gets tiring over long sessions.
Mistakes that ruin it
- Letting Spirit run dry. The talisman bonus is paid for in Spirit. No Spirit means no bonus, however free your skills are.
- Switching to the endgame bar too early. Without Malefic Crescent, Ifeh's Dire Totem and two set charms, the starter bar plays better.
- Toggling Lightning Storm before your buffs. It locks in your attack speed when you switch it on. Buff first, then toggle.
- Skimping on cooldown reduction. The build is built around Grizzly Rage never ending.
- Wearing Gathlen's Birthright. Its damage reduction only works in Human form, and you are never in Human form.
Not for you? The other Druid builds: Landslide · Wolf Companion.