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Druid Leveling Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 3)

Our top recommended choices to level as a Druid.

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Leveling as a Druid with Landslide, Companions, or Shred

Please note that our Landslide, Companions, and Shred Druid leveling guides are now on separate pages, so if you are looking for them, you can access them using the buttons below.

Leveling a new Druid character can be done with either Storm StrikeStorm Strike and Companions, LandslideLandslide or ShredShred. We currently believe these starter builds to be the best options available. Check the guides for all the details specific to each build, including Skill Trees, Gear and Paragon.

The Landslide Druid has the most potential to be the fastest leveling build for a new Druid character without any Aspects or stashed gear. LandslideLandslide has the highest DPS out of all starting Core Skills, but it can be difficult to utilize due to its small AoE. Results will vary depending on how efficient you are at grouping up enemies and aiming Landslide.

Alternatively, the Companion Druid has a more relaxed playstyle. Simply allow your WolvesWolves and Poison CreeperPoison Creeper to passively deal damage for you. Activating these Skills can improve single target damage and AoE clearing ability, but their long cooldowns can slow down leveling.

General Leveling Tips

The recommended World Tier to level in is 1 (Adventurer). This will provide you with the smoothest and fastest leveling experience. If you like the added challenge, you can of course play in World Tier 2 (Veteran), but the 20% extra experience from monsters does not make up for the added time it takes to kill them, and this will generally result in a slower and clunkier leveling process.

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 on how to tackle Season 3 of Diablo 4. Don’t miss this chance to make the most out of your leveling journey!

Before you can engage in endgame activities like the Capstone Dungeon (which unlocks World Tier 3), Nightmare Dungeons, or the Tree of Whispers, you must complete the main storyline.

Getting a mount is an important step in your leveling journey, and we recommend generally saving your explorations of the world (such as for obtaining Altars of Lilith) for until after you get it. For more details, read our mount guide.

Spirit, Druid’s Resource

Spirit makes a return in Diablo 4 as the Druid class resource. Monk players coming from Diablo 3 should be very familiar with the way this resource works as it is functionally the same.

Spirit has a natural cap of 100 and does not replenish nor decrease over time. It is instead generated by casting the spammable Basic Skills and expended by the more powerful Spirit Skills.

Several Druid passives also improve Spirit generation in various ways.

Spirit Boons, Unique Druid Class Mechanic

The primary unique class mechanic of the Druid are the Spirit Boons, which provide you with a selection of special bonuses tied to different animal Spirits. You can equip one of four Boon per Spirit, and one additional Boon for the animal Spirit with which you bond, for a total of 5. The following table lists these Spirit Boons.

SpiritBoon 1Boon 2Boon 3Boon 4
DeerPrickleskin
Gain 6 Thorns.
Gift of the Stag
Gain 10 Maximum Spirit.
Wariness
Take 10% reduced damage from Elites.

Advantageous Beast
Reduce the duration of Control Impairing Effects by 15%.
EagleScythe Talons
Gain 5% increased Critical Strike Chance.
Iron Feather
Gain 14% Maximum Life.
Swooping Attacks
Gain 10% Attack Speed.
Avian Wrath
Gain 30% Critical Strike Damage.
WolfPackleader
Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a 20% chance to reset the Cooldowns of your Companion Skills.
Energize
Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit.
Bolster
Fortify for 15% of your Maximum Life when you use a Defensive Skill.
Calamity
Extend the duration of Ultimate Skills by 25%.
SnakeObsidian Slam
Every 20th kill will cause your next Earth Skill to Overpower.
Overload
Lucky Hit: Dealing Lightning damage has up to a 40% chance to cause the target to emit a static discharge, dealing 25% Lightning damage to surrounding enemies.
Masochistic
Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills have up to a 75% chance to Heal you for 3% of your Maximum Life
Calm Before the Storm
Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills have up to a 10% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.

The ability to use Spirit Boons requires the completion of the Spirit of the Lost Grove questline in Scosglen obtained after reaching Level 15.

Druid Weapons and Restrictions

The Druid may equip a Two-Handed Weapons or a One-Handed Weapon plus a Totem, the Druid-specific Offhand Weapon.

Druid Skills and Passive Skills

This section provides an overview of the main skill categories for the Druid. For a detailed list of all Druid skills and passive skills, refer to the pages below.

Basic Skills

Basic Skills are spammable skills whose primary purpose is to generate Spirit for skills of the Spirit category. By virtue of being free and having no cooldown, they are also used to fill dead time while waiting for other, more powerful skills to be available.

The Basic Skills for the Druid are Earth SpikeEarth SpikeClawClawStorm StrikeStorm StrikeMaulMaul, and Wind ShearWind Shear.

Spirit Skills

Spirit Skills are the main sources of damage of the Druid. Although they have no cooldown, the main limiting factor of Spirit Skills is their Spirit cost.

The Spirit Skills for the Druid are PulverizePulverizeLandslideLandslideTornadoTornadoLightning StormLightning Storm, and ShredShred.

Defensive Skills

Defensive Skills revolve around protecting the Druid by reducing or healing damage taken or otherwise debilitating enemies. Although Defensive Skills generally have a fairly long cooldown.

The Defensive Skills for the Druid are Cyclone ArmorCyclone ArmorEarthen BulwarkEarthen BulwarkDebilitating RoarDebilitating Roar, and Blood HowlBlood Howl.

Companion Skills

Companion Skills passively summon permanent creatures that automatically attack the enemies of the Druid. These skills also have an active component, which “orders” the summoned creatures to perform a special offensive action.

The Companion Skills for the Druid are Poison CreeperPoison CreeperWolvesWolves, and RavensRavens.

Wrath Skills

Wrath Skills are supplementary skills that provide various useful effects, usually crowd control. Although they do not cost Spirit to cast, they generally have a fairly long cooldown.

The Wrath Skills for the Druid are HurricaneHurricaneTrampleTrampleBoulderBoulder, and RabiesRabies.

Ultimate Skills

Ultimate Skills are extremely powerful skills with a cooldown to match. Their use is typically reserved for dispatching powerful enemies or clawing your way out of desperate situations. Sometimes literally.

The Ultimate Skills for the Druid are CataclysmCataclysmPetrifyPetrifyGrizzly RageGrizzly Rage, and LacerateLacerate.

Druid Dismount Skill

While mounted, the Druid has access to a unique Dismount Skill which causes the Druid to jump off their mount, shapeshift into a Werebear while in mid-air, and slam into the ground, dealing damage to nearby enemies.

Druid Attributes

The four core attributes benefit each of the five classes in slightly different ways. Here are their effects for the Druid.

AttributeEffect 1Effect 2Effect 3
Strength1 Armor per point
Intelligence2.5% All Resistances per 100 points10% Resource Generation per 100 points
Willpower*10% Skill Damage per 100 points10% Healing Received per 100 points25% Overpower Damage per 100 points
Dexterity5% Critical Strike Chance per 100 points2.5% Dodge Chance per 100 points
*Willpower is considered the primary attribute of the Druid as it multiplies all your damage.

Endgame Druid Builds

The leveling builds listed at the top of this page are designed to take your Druid to Level 50. Afterwards, you should use an endgame build guide to allocate Paragon points and equip gear with the best stats and Aspects. The following endgame builds will help you optimize your character from Level 50-100.

Endgame Activities

Finish the storyline to unlock the various endgame activities in Diablo 4. Follow the yellow-marked quests, and you should have no trouble finding your way.

After finishing the main storyline, the game becomes quite open-ended. The following sections provide a quick list of the activities you should do, in approximate order.

Complete the Level 50 Capstone Dungeon

Switch the difficulty to World Tier 2 and complete the Level 50 Capstone Dungeon located in Kyovashad, Fractured Peaks. Once unlocked from completing the main storyline, the dungeon can be attempted even while below character Level 50. Clearing the dungeon can be difficult before you are level 45, as the enemies are fixed at Level 50. You must switch difficulty to World Tier 2 in order to see the dungeon and be able to enter it.

Once you have completed the Capstone dungeon, you can switch the difficulty to World Tier 3 to enable Sacred items and Nightmare Dungeons.

Tree of Whispers

The Tree of Whispers, located in Hawezar, rewards you for completing bounties found all over the game world. These are generally profitable activities that reward you with experience and items. They can be completed while doing other events and activities in a zone.

The Tree of Whispers is also your first source of Nightmare Sigils, used to activate Nightmare Dungeons. They are not guaranteed to drop, so keep turning in Whispers of the Dead until it appears.

Nightmare Dungeons

Nightmare Dungeons are arguably the main endgame activity in Diablo 4. Once you receive your first Nightmare Sigil from the Tree of Whispers, you can start clearing these dungeons. Nightmare Sigils continue to drop in Nightmare Dungeons, so you should never run out. Nightmare dungeons can only be performed in World Tier 3 or higher.

Nightmare dungeons are an essential part of the endgame (since their difficulty has a lot of potential for increase), providing you with a challenge in return for which you can receive great item rewards. Nightmare dungeons are also the only way to level up the Glyphs that are inserted into your Paragon board, which is crucial for increasing character power.

Helltides

Helltides appear on the map for players who are in World Tier 3 or higher, taking over large swathes of land for one hour. During this time, monsters killed in the affected area drop a special temporary currency that can be used to unlock chests found in the Helltide area.

Participating in Helltides is highly recommended. They are the only activity where you can reliably obtain Forgotten SoulForgotten Soul, a crafting material required to Enchant Sacred and Ancestral items at the Occultist. Enchanting items to replace an undesirable property is key to optimizing your gear.

Complete Renown in All Zones

Complete the remaining Renown stages in all of the zones. Since stages 4 and 5 are locked behind World Tier 3, doing the Capstone dungeon first is necessary.

Although Renown bonuses provide some Skill and Paragon Points, character power grows faster from leveling and finding gear upgrades. Completing Renown can be quite time consuming, so you should delay it until you are well geared with Sacred Items in World Tier 3 or Ancestral Items in World Tier 4.

Complete the Level 70 Capstone Dungeon

Completing level 70 Capstone dungeon (marked on your map with an orange dungeon entrance) unlocks World Tier 4, and with it the highest possible item type, Ancestral items.

The enemies in this Dungeon are fixed at Level 70, and the final boss is very punishing. We do not recommend attempting it before level 65.

Legion Events and World Bosses

Legion events and World Bosses are marked on the map. They are worthwhile activities to engage in, since they reward potentially good items.

Legion events are also good experience. Simply go to the marked area on the map and join other players in killing the enemies.

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