General Leveling Tips
To find out more general information about leveling as a Druid in Diablo 4, you can check out our main Druid Leveling guide. You can also go to our Druid Builds page for a list of other leveling and endgame Druid builds for you to choose from.
In regard to leveling up on the seasonal realm, you might also want to check out our season checklist, as it will give you some useful tips and tricks for Season 4 of Diablo 4. Don’t miss this chance to make the most out of your leveling journey!
Build Introduction
The Companions leveling build strives to provide you with the damage and defensiveness to easily make it through the campaign and into World Tier 3 when you will be ready to jump into one of our endgame builds. We have all of the Druid Companions active, providing a good amount of passive minion damage which allows us to run two defensive skills. You have your choice of Spirit spender based on what Legendaries you pick up while leveling for a ton of flexibility, and once you obtain 
Shepherd’s Aspect any core skill you choose will carry you to Level 50 where you can swap to one of our Endgame Druid builds easily.
Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar
Blood Howl 
Wolves 
Poison Creeper 
Ravens 
Storm Strike 
Tornado We will use the following skill progression until we have the points available to respec at least 1 point into each of the minion skills, which is around Level 15.
If you have skill points from Renown, we suggest these talents to get you to Level 15 faster:
Upon reaching Level 15, your priority is to do the Druid Class quest to unlock Spirit Bonding and pick up the first bond as outlined below. Once you do that, you can do a respec into our main build as listed in the table below.
You should choose a Core skill for which you find a Legendary Item during your leveling process. For example, even though we recommend 
Landslide ability as a default choice, if you find a Legendary Item like Stormchaser’s Aspect, you should use Tornado instead, since you will see a much higher power gain this way.
At this point, you will have a few options based on what you feel you need more in your build whether it is single target, AoE clearing, or defensives.
All of the following points can be taken any time during the next levels. Poison Creeper for more AoE, Wolves or your chosen core skill for more single target, and Blood Howl for more defensiveness.
| Order | Skill | Cluster |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Poison Creeper Rank 2 |  Companion Skill |
| 29 | Poison Creeper Rank 3 | Companion Skill |
| 30 | Poison Creeper Rank 4 | Companion Skill |
| 31 | Poison Creeper Rank 5 | Companion Skill |
| 32 | Wolves Rank 2 | Companion Skill |
| 33 | Wolves Rank 3 | Companion Skill |
| 34 |  Ursine Strength |  Key Passives |
| 35 | Wolves Rank 4 | Companion Skill |
| 36 | Wolves Rank 5 | Companion Skill |
| 37 | Rank 2 of chosen core skill |  Core Skill |
| 38 | Rank 3 of chosen core skill | Core Skill |
| 39 | Rank 4 of chosen core skill | Core Skill |
| 40 | Rank 5 of chosen core skill | Core Skill |
| 41 | Blood Howl Rank 2 |  Defensive Skill |
| 42 | Blood Howl Rank 3 | Defensive Skill |
| 43 | Blood Howl Rank 4 | Defensive Skill |
| 44 | Blood Howl Rank 5 | Defensive Skill |
Lastly, we clean up the last point and pick up some more utility talents, keeping in mind that talents number 49-58 will be from renown rewards in each of the five zones.
| Order | Skill | Cluster |
|---|---|---|
| 45 |  Heart of the Wild | Core Skill |
| 46 |  Wild Impulses | Core Skill |
| 47 | Wild Impulses Rank 2 | Core Skill |
| 48 | Wild Impulses Rank 3 | Core Skill |
| 49 |  Ancestral Fortitude | Defensive Skill |
| 50 | Ancestral Fortitude Rank 2 | Defensive Skill |
| 51 | Ancestral Fortitude Rank 3 | Defensive Skill |
| 52 |  Vigilance | Defensive Skill |
| 53 | Vigilance Rank 2 | Defensive Skill |
| 54 | Vigilance Rank 3 | Defensive Skill |
| 55 |  Neurotoxin |  Wrath Skill |
| 56 |  Envenom | Wrath Skill |
| 57 | Envenom Rank 2 | Wrath Skill |
| 58 | Envenom Rank 3 | Wrath Skill |
Mechanics and Playstyle
This is one of the easiest builds you will play! We use Poison Creeper to clear out packs of mobs with the insane AoE damage that it provides, while our Wolves will be used as our main single target ability. We use Storm Strike as our Basic skill due to being able to apply Vulnerable up to three mobs at a time, as well as giving us damage reduction.
We use our chosen Core Skill as a bit of extra damage for both single target and AoE as a spirit dump. It will greatly help carry you until you can go full Companions with gear and proper affixes later on in the endgame. If you can get Shepherd’s Aspect from Bloodsoaked Crag in Dry Steppes then you will be able to boost the damage of your chosen core skill immensely.
We take Blood Howl as a self heal and damage increase. We use 
Predatory Instinct to increase our critical strike chance and the chance of activating our Packleader Spirit Bond and 
Call of the Wild to increase the damage of our Companions.
Vigilance, and Ancestral Fortitude all help us survive even more by increasing our damage reduction and resistances.
Spirit Boons
Below is the order in which you should unlock your Spirit Boons. Only offer enough Druidic Spirit Offerings to unlock the first 4 listed Boons and then fully unlock the rest to activate the final Boon with Spirit Bonding.
| Boon Name | Animal | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Packleader | Wolf | Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a 25% chance to reset the Cooldowns of your Companion Skills. |
| Scythe Talons | Eagle | Gain 10% increased Critical Strike Chance. |
| Wariness | Stag | Take 15% reduced damage from Elites. |
| Overload | Snake | Lucky Hit: Dealing Lightning damage has up to a 40% chance to cause the target to emit a static discharge, dealing 20% Lightning damage to surrounding enemies. |
| Swooping Attacks | Eagle | Gain 15% Attack Speed. |
Gear Choice and Stat Priority while Leveling
Make sure to pick up all Rare equipment drops that may be upgrades while you are leveling Storm Strike and Companions Druid. Save Legendary items with useful aspects in your stash to be used later for extraction and imprinting onto well rolled Rare items.
When looking at weapons keep in mind that a higher level 1-handed may be better when paired with an off-hand than the 2-handed that you are using.
Listed below are the stat affixes to prioritize on gear for leveling a Storm Strike and Companions Druid, ranked by their importance. Affixes on the same level have roughly the same importance.
| Importance | Affix |
|---|---|
| 1 | DPS value of weapons and off-hands |
| 2 | Critical Strike Chance Cooldown Reduction Lucky Hit Chance Rank to Wolves and Poison Creeper All Damage |
| 3 | Attack Speed and Basic Skill Attack Speed Willpower |
| 4 | Life Any Elemental Resistances Armor |
| 5 | Movement Speed |
Legendary Item Aspects
To unlock Aspects in the Codex of Power, you must complete the corresponding Dungeon where the specific Aspect drops. Visit the Occultist to imprint this Aspect onto an item. Aspects from the Codex of Power can be used often on weapons.
Aspects found on dropped Legendary Items have stronger effects than those applied from the Codex of Power. Additionally, it is important to know that certain Aspects can only be obtained by finding them on a legendary item, and are not accessible through the Codex of Power. Extract Aspects from unusable Legendary Items to imprint them onto well-rolled Rare Items. Avoid imprinting valuable extracted Aspects onto weapons, because weapons they get replaced often while leveling.
We have a dedicated in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide that you can check out for more information.
Listed below are the Aspects that are important for the Companion Druid leveling build.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shepherd’s Aspect | Core and Wrath Skills deal an additional [5 – 10%] damage for each active Companion. | Bloodsoaked Crag Dry Steppes |
| Aspect of the Stampede | Gain 1 additional Companion. In addition, your Companion Skills deal {X – X%} bonus damage. | Drop Only |
| Aspect of the Alpha | Your Wolf Companions are now Werewolf Companions. Werewolf Companions deal +[75 – 100]% additional damage and can spread Rabies. | Drop Only |
| Nighthowler’s Aspect | Blood Howl increases Critical Strike Chance by +[5 – 10]%. In addition, Blood Howl also affects Nearby Companions and Players for 3 seconds. | Forbidden City Fractured Peaks |
 Aspect of Cyclonic Force | Cyclone Armor also provides Physical Damage Reduction. In addition, Cyclone Armor will also be applied to all Nearby Allies. | Collapsed Vault Kejistan |
| Aspect of Might | Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 6] seconds. | Dark Ravine Dry Steppes |
| Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain +[15 – 30]% Attack Speed. | Buried Halls Dry Steppes |
| Edgemaster’s Aspect | Skills deal up to x[10 – 20]% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones Scosglen |
Gems
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each slot type.
- Weapon:
Topaz for Basic Attack Damage - Armor:
Ruby for Maximum Life. - Jewelry: Whatever Resistance you are missing or
Diamond for All Res.
Elixirs and Health Potions
Visit the Alchemist to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Use an Elixir providing any Resistance you need most, 
Iron Barb Elixir for Armor, or 
Assault Elixir for Attack Speed.
Keep in mind if you are having issues in a dungeon with a certain mob you will eventually unlock elixirs that will give you a 20% damage increase against a specific mob type.
Return to the Alchemist at Levels 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80, and 90 to upgrade your Health Potions.
Starting Paragon
Below we have a few starter boards to help you until you can transition into an endgame build. If you are following this guide and enjoying the playstyle we suggest you transition into the Wolf Companion Endgame build and as such the boards below are actually the same as the first 3 boards in that build.
1. Starting Board
For the Starting Board, head towards the right and grab the Rare and Magic Nodes on the way to the glyph slot where we socket the 
Keeper glyph, making sure to grab all of the Intelligence inside the radius. Finish off by pathing up the left side and grab the Rare and Magic Nodes.
2. Lust for Carnage
Attach Lust For Carnage next, as it has the best glyph slot and Rare/Magic Nodes even though we don’t want the Legendary Node itself. Path the right side of the board, grabbing the Rare and Magic Nodes as seen in the picture, then head over to the glyph slot and socket Wilds into it, making sure to grab all of the Intelligence nodes inside of the radius before heading back to the right side of the board. Upon finishing the nodes and leaving the board, you will attach Heightened Malice.
3. Heightened Malice
Attach Heightened Malice, heading left and then downward to pick up the Glyph slot and socket a 
Human Rare Glyph into it, making sure to pick up all of the Rare and Magic Nodes in the image above, along with all of the Willpower Nodes. After that, path upward, grabbing the Rare and Magic Nodes with the goal of picking up the Legendary Node, Heightened Malice.
Paragon board images courtesy of d4builds.gg.
Changelog
- June 17th, 2024: Updated for Season 4 Midseason (Patch 1.4.3)
- May 10th, 2024: Updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0)
- January 22nd, 2024: Updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0)
- October 17th, 2023: Updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0)
- August 7th, 2023: Updated for patch 1.1.1.
- July 23rd, 2023: Updated Gems section to reflect the presence of Malignant Hearts.
- July 18th, 2023: Updated for Season 1 and added Skill Bar.
