Pulverize Shred Druid Gauntlet Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4)

Gauntlet Build Introduction

This is the Gauntlet build for Pulverize Shred Druid. This guide features a late-game setup, focused on speeding through and obtaining the highest score on the Gauntlet Leaderboards. Check our dedicated Gauntlet Guide for more information on this activity. The Shred Pulverize Druid excels at all requirements for the Gauntlet:

• Wide, map-clearing AoEs with Pulverize and Shockwave Aspect.
• High boss damage from large multipliers and Overpowers.
• Strong mobility to navigate the encounter-space with Shred and Trample.

There are key changes from the standard endgame Pulverize setup Shifter Pulverize:

• Several sources of defensives and Damage Reductions are traded in favor of maximizing speed and damage.
• The playstyle does not use a Basic Skill, instead relying on alternative sources of Spirit Generation.
• This is a partial Companion setup for high damage multipliers from Shepherd’s Aspect.

This Gauntlet build guide assumes your character is Level 100, Paragon Glyphs are max radius from being Level 15+, and all Paragon and Skill points from Renown have been obtained. While the build recommends some Uber Unique Items, there are alternative options listed. The build also offers some alternative Gearing Affix recommendations as well as some Skill and Playstyle options that can be beneficial as the Gauntlet changes layout week to week.

Strengths and Weaknesses

To see how this build compares to other builds on Icy Veins, you can check out our Gauntlet build tier list.

Build Requirements

The following Legendary Aspects are required for build functionality to get started on the Pulverize Shred Druid:

Required Aspects

Shockwave Aspect

Several Druid builds have shown to be popular and strong in the Gauntlet, and Druid has a large build diversity represented in the leaderboards. Short Gauntlet Consideration sections are now included in several of our endgame builds!

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Recommended

Skill Bar the Pulverize Shred Gauntlet Druid

Ravens Wolves Petrify Trample Shred Pulverize

Spirit Boons – The Druid Class Specialization

Druids unlock powerful Spirit Boon passives, giving offerings to the animal spirits to receive their Blessing. Once fully unlocked, activate the final Boon by Spirit Bonding with one of the four animal spirits to take two passives from that row.

Paragon Board

The following are the preferred Glyphs, Boards, and pathing recommended for making the most of the Shred Pulverize Gauntlet Druid. All Glyphs are placed as if they are max radius (Level 15+).

Click this Link to see the paragon board in its entirety. Paragon Board images are courtesy of D4builds.gg.

Starting Board

From the Starting Board, path up, placing the Outmatch glyph into the Glyph Socket.

Ancestral Guidance

For the second board, choose Ancestral Guidance, placed against the Starting Board, rotated twice. Socket the Fang and Claw Glyph, and take the Ancestral Guidance Legendary Node.

Earthen Devastation

for the third board, choose Earthen Devastation, placed against the right side of the Ancestral Guidance board, rotated thrice. Socket Earth and Sky and take the Earthen Devastation Legendary Node.

Inner Beast

For the fourth board, take Inner Beast, placed against the right side of the Earthen Devastation board. Socket the Exploit Glyph. The Legendary Node is not taken.

Survival Instincts

for the fifth board, choose Survival Instincts, placed against the Inner Beast’s right side. Socket the Spirit and take the Survival Instincts Legendary Node.

Heightened Malice

For the final board, choose Heightened Malice, placed against the left side of the Ancestral Guidance board, rotated twice. Socket the Guzzler Glyph. The Legendary Node is not taken.

This build gives up the traditional Damage Reduction glyphs Undaunted, Territorial and Werebear in favor of offensive choices. If more Damage Reduction is necessary, trade Guzzler for Undaunted and Spirit for Territorial.

CLICK THIS LINK to see the paragon board in its entirety. Paragon Board images are courtesy of D4builds.gg.

Gear, Stats, Gems and Elixirs

Itemization has received significant changes with the Season 4 1.40 patch, and will affect the game going forward.

Legendary Aspects

Below are the recommended Aspects for each gear slot. Gear Slots with multiple options are listed in recommended priority. Any slot with an Optional Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power.

Gear Slot	Gem	Aspect	Unique/Legendary Power
2 Handed Staff	Royal Ruby	Shockwave Aspect	Pulverize creates a shockwave that travels forward, dealing [60 – 100]% of its damage to targets in the path.
Helm	Royal Ruby	Harlequin Crest OR Godslayer Crown	Gain 20% Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +4 Ranks to all Skills.
Chest	Royal Ruby	Insatiable Fury OR Juggernaut’s Aspect	Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +3 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.
Gloves	N/A	Aspect of the Ursine Horror	Pulverize is now also an Earth Skill. After casting Pulverize, tectonic spikes continue to deal [X] damage over 2 seconds.
Pants	Royal Ruby	Aspect of the Crowded Sage OR Tibault’s Will	You have 8% increased Dodge Chance. Successful Dodges restore 5-20% of your Maximum Life.
Boots	N/A	Aspect of Metamorphosis	When you Evade you turn into a cloud of bats, becoming Unstoppable for 2.5 seconds. Enemies along your path take 9,652 Physical damage and are inflicted with Vampiric Curse. Evade’s Cooldown is increased by 10-5 seconds.
Amulet	Royal Diamond	Shepherd’s Aspect	Core and Wrath Skills deal an additional 5-10[x] damage per Companion you have.
Ring 1	Royal Diamond	Accelerating Aspect OR Blood Boiling Aspect	Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [10 – 25]%[+] for 5 seconds.
Ring 2	Royal Diamond	Ring of Starless Skies OR Starlight Aspect	Spending your Primary Resource reduces the Resource cost of your Skills and increases your damage by 10%[x] for 3 seconds, up to 40%[x].

Use a Staff for the Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies, useful for Earthen Devastation.

Check our Legendary Aspect and Codex of Power Guide for general information on Legendary Powers.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Affixes and Tempers are listed in priority with the desired three Gearing Affixes at the top, but alternatives are also added. Affixes in Bold are the most important to target with the Masterworking quality upgrades. Tempering affixes have their associated Tempering Manuals listed. Unique Items cannot be Tempered, but can be Mastercrafted. Any slot with an Optional Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power setup.

Slot	Gearing Affixes	Tempering Affixes
2 Handed Staff	Resource Cost Reduction Willpower Max Life Overpower Damage	Werebear Augments – Pulverize Size Natural Finesse – Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
Helm – Harlequin Crest (Recommended)	Max Life Cooldown Reduction Resource Generation All Stats
Helm – Godslayer Crown (Recommended)	Cooldown Reduction Max Life Damage Crowd Control Duration
Chest – Insatiable Fury (recommended)	Physical Damage Overpower Damage Damage Reduction While Fortified Total Armor while in Werebear form
Chest – Legendary Aspect	Willpower Max Life Armor Spirit Per Second	Worldly Endurance – Total Armor OR Dodge Chance Worldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Gloves	Critical Strike Chance Ranks to Pulverize Attack Speed Willpower	Earth Finesse – [Any of] Earth Critical Strike Chance, Earth Overpower Damage or Earth Damage Worldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Pants	Willpower Max Life Armor Dodge Chance	Worldly Endurance – Total Armor% Worldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Boots – Legendary Aspect	Impicit: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown By 1.5 Seconds Movement Speed Max Life Resistance to All Elements Spirit Per Second	Natural Motion – Movement Speed Worldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Amulet	Ranks to Envenom Critical Strike Chance Movement Speed Ranks to Resonance	Natural Motion – Movement Speed Earth Finesse – [Any of] Earth Critical Strike Chance, Earth Overpower Damage or Earth Damage
Rings – Legendary Aspect	Critical Strike Chance Attack Speed Maximum Life Resource Cost Reduction	Earth Finesse – [Any of] Earth Critical Strike Chance, Earth Overpower Damage or Earth Damage Worldly Stability – Resource Generation

A single well-rolled Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies is for maxing out the Earthen Devastation Legendary Node.

Gems

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Royal Ruby for Overpower Damage	Royal Ruby For Max Life%	Royal Diamond for Resistance to all Elements

Elixirs, Incense and Health Potions

The Alchemist offers helpful consumables at the cost of foraged materials found throughout Sanctuary.

• Craft the highest available Elixir of Advantage for Attack Speed and Lucky Hit.
• If mats are available, craft Chorus of War.
• Remember to upgrade your potion as you level, increasing the instant healing of the potion!

Unique Items

The following Unique Items are recommended for the Pulverize Shred Gauntlet Druid:

• (Recommended) Godslayer Crown gives a large multiplier and grouping tool that can be triggered from Raging Pulverize.
• (Recommended) Insatiable Fury adds Skill Ranks to all Werebear skills, including Pulverize and Trample, along with offering good Gear Affixes.
• (Optional)Tibault’s Will is a strong damage multiplier and source of Spirit. The trigger for these effects is gaining Unstoppable from both Trample and Aspect of Metamorphosis when Evading.

Uber Unique Items

• (Recommended) Harlequin Crest offers strong defense, great Gear Affixes, and 4 ranks to all Skills.
• (Recommended) Ring of Starless Skies is a strong multiplier and Spirit Cost Reduction. Worry less about resource, and Gear for less Spirit Cost Reduction.
• (Situational) Ahavarion, Spear of Lycander can be a powerful but highly unpredictable Uber Unique for the Gauntlet. The Spear has great Gear Affixes with high Critical Strike Chance and Attack Speed. The Gauntlet is a format with a lot of shrines and the build gears for Shrine Buff Duration. This plays into the Spear’s effect; random Shrine Effects triggered every 30 seconds. Which shrine effect that is triggered is uncontrollable which makes it a situational gain and big gamble. Another tradeoff is it takes up the 2 Handed Weapon Slot, so several top-end multipliers from Shockwave Aspect and Shepherd’s Aspect are diminished. To use this item:
  • Move Shockwave Aspect to Amulet.
  • Move Shepherd’s Aspect to ring, replacing Accelerating Aspect.

Rotation and Playstyle

1. Shred to gap close, maintain the attack speed bonus of Bestial Rampage, Poison and Slow enemies.
2. For bosses and Elite packs, use Petrify for another layered Critical Strike Damage multiplier.
3. Send out waves of Pulverize to destroy your enemies and gain Score.
4. Use Shred and Trample to get to that next pack!

Season 4: Loot Reborn

Patch 1.4.0 and Season 4 bring significant changes. The following list details the important changes in the Season 4 Patch Updates that are specific to the Shifter Pulverize Druid. For general Season 4 information, check out our Season 4 Hub.

Itemization:

• The Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown affix has been increased from .8 to 1.5 seconds.
• Physical Damage against Damage Reduction now caps at Level 100. Note: this means Armor only needs to be 9230 to cap Armor against enemies Level 100 and above.
• Tibault’s Will damage reduced from 20-40% to 10-20%.
• Aspect of the Crowded Sage redesigned – You have 8% increased Dodge Chance. Successful Dodges restore 5-20% of your Maximum Life.
• Shepherd’s Aspect now includes Wrath Skills.

Skills and Stats:

• Druid Companions now receive 100% of Player Attributes.
• Damage Reduction from Fortify is now 15%, from 10%.
• Energize Spirit Boon Spirit Restoration increased from 10 to 20.
• Wariness Spirit Boon damage reduction from Elites increased to 15%.
• Masochistic Critical Strike Healing increased from 3% to 5%.
• Quickshift redesigned. When Shapeshifting into a new animal form, you deal 1% increased damage for 3 seconds, up to 6%.
• Heightened Senses redesigned – When Shapeshifting into an animal form, Werebear grants 2% Damage Reduction and Werewolf grants 2% Movement Speed, each for 6 seconds. Bonuses are doubled while both are active.
• Inner Beast redesigned – After Shapeshifting, your Spirit costs are reduced by 5% for 10 seconds, up to 45%. If you reach 10 stacks, this bonus resets and reduces the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 5 seconds.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where the bonus damage from the Wild Impulses passive was additive instead of multiplicative.
• Fixed an issue where the Fortify values generated by Safeguard was using Base Life instead of Maximum Life.

Advanced Information

It is time to hit the Gauntlet!

Or see below for further information on how the build works, as well as further explanations Gearing and Gameplay, Gauntlet tips, and available playstyle options.

Build Mechanics

The Pulverize Shred Gauntlet Druid is a zoomy and smashy bear, using map-clearing hits of Pulverize, high-mobility Skills Shred and Trample, and lots of stacked multipliers including Overpowers to destroy the enemies found within the Gauntlet.

Pulverize is our primary Skill, clearing enemies with strong, Earth-type Physical damage smashes. Shockwave Aspect creates a shockwave with a higher multiplier in a line from the Pulverize.

Key Note: There is an overlap between the Pulverize and its Shockwave, near the outer radius of the Pulverize. line your attacks on this overlap for a huge double hit!

Shred and Trample are our mobility tools. Use them to travel between and to packs. Shred also applies the Poison for Envenom and Slow for Crowd-Controlled multipliers, so is a useful opener.

Companion Active Skills are not used. They are there to morally support you and give multipliers from Shepherd’s Aspect.

Ultimate Skill Petrify Stuns and applies a heavy Critical Strike Damage multiplier to enemies. Stacked multipliers with Tibault’s Will, Overpower and if used, Godslayer Crown allow Bosses to be burst down quickly.

Key Passive Bestial Rampage gives both a high Attack Speed bonus and Damage Multiplier. These buffs are both easily maintained from frequent casts of Shred and Pulverize.

Overpower

Like many Werebear builds, the Pulverize Shred Gauntlet Druid has several sources of Overpower for Boss killing and map-clearing hits of Pulverize:

• Enhanced Pulverize will overpower Pulverize every 12 seconds while you remain Healthy. Healthy means being above 80% Life.
• if used, Aspect of Blood Boil guarantees a skill to Overpower every 20 seconds.
• A passive 3% chance for any non-channeled skill to Overpower.

Playing around having Overpower to kill that Boss can mean some small map route adjustments, and taking some time to gather or leash Bosses, but it can be worth it when the boss takes several fewer Pulverize to kill. These delays would be small adjustments; don’t make huge delays for this!

Spirit Generation

This build does not use a Basic Attack Spirit generator; instead, it relies on several alternative sources:

• Resource Cost Reduction on 2 Handed Weapon, and Resource Generation on Rings.
• The Wolf’s Energize Spirit Boon.
• If used, Tibault’s Will, with Unstoppable sources Trample and Aspect of Metamorphosis.
• Ring of Starless Skies for Spirt Cost Reduction.
• Paragon nodes for Spirit on Kill in the Ancestral Guidance board.

Once geared, these are sufficient sources of Spirit to keep smashing. While gearing or without access to some sources like Ring of Starless Skies or Aspect of Metamorphosis, do one or more of the following:

• Take Paragon points from Ancestral Guidance Legendary node, and place them in Inner Beast Legendary Node.
• Use Starlight Aspect. Enhanced Shred, Aspect of the Crowded Sage and other healing sources will keep your Spirit up.
• Exchange the Spirit Glyph for Tectonic. More Lucky Hit will be more triggers for Wolf Spirit Boon Energize.

Gauntlet Tips and Tricks

Here’s a couple tips, tricks, and observations for playing the Gauntlet:

• Overpower is a strong tool, and periodically up with trackable buffs from Enhanced Pulverize. Having these up when engaging a boss guarantees a faster kill.
• While the dungeon has fixed positioning and spawns for enemies, they can drift, be leashed or aggro’d into different positions as you do your circuits around the map.
• Variable access to Cooldown Reduction including shrines, total attack events and Lucky Hit triggers can mean mobility tool timings like Trample may not be consistent from pull to pull, or up as often. This is especially true if using Ahavarion, Spear of Lycander.
• Sometimes stopping to pick up that key for the chests isn’t worth the time! They stay on the ground after Pillar of Proving (respawn shrines) and in subsequent laps, and may be worth delaying the pickup to even near the end of the run when several are on the ground together.
• Bear🐻 in mind that the Pillar of Glory gives a high score multiplier for its duration. It can be worth planning around having this when routing to dense packs of Elites or Bosses.
• Proofs of Might from chests have to be walked over to be collected. However, drops from slain enemies are picked up automatically, which means you can kill and move on!
• Armor is capped for enemies 100 and above! You now only require 9230 for any enemy above level 100 to hit the 85% Damage Reduction cap.
• Heard about a cheat or exploit from your buddy? Don’t! That’s an easy way to have your run removed from the Leaderboard!
• Weekly Gauntlet Map updates can be found Here, with our friends at D4builds.gg.

Alternative Skill Options and Playstyles

Depending on weekly layout of the Gauntlet and personal playstyle, there’s a few alternative Skill Options and playstyles that are available, including one or more of the following in combination:

• Petrify is used as a high Critical Strike Damage multiplier. If bosses are not as prominent in the layout, change Poison Creeper for Petrify for a higher base multiplier to Shepherd’s Aspect and as a single target source to apply Poison.
• Depending on mob density, Shred may be all the mobility tool needed, making Trample overkill for movement needs. Swap Trample for Poison Creeper for a higher base multiplier to Shepherd’s Aspect and as a single target source to apply Poison.
• Depending on mob density and map layout, Airidah’s Inexorable Will may be desirable. Replace Accelerating Aspect, and use the Snake’s Calm Before the Storm for cooldown Reduction on Petrify.
• For a Pet-less version of the build that offers more Active Skill options:
  • Remove points in Wolves, Ravens, Enhanced Ravens and Brutal Ravens, and Nature’s Reach.
  • Swap in Blood Howl, Enhanced Blood Howl Preserving Blood Howl, Hurricane, and Resonance. Keep Blood howl up for an Attack Speed bonus and Hurricane up to trigger extra damage events for Resonance and Lucky Hits like Wolf Boon Energize.
  • Replace Shepherd’s Aspect, placing Aspect of Metamorphosis on Amulet and Ghostwalker Aspect on boots.

Changelog

May 15, 2024: Small changes in gear affixes to adjust for season launch changes from PTR.
6 May, 2024: Speculative Changes for 1.4.0 and Season 4. Page restructured to frontload relevant information.
12 March, 2024: Build Created.