d4DruidEndgameGuideStormCompanionSeason 6

Hurricane – Druid Build for Diablo 4

Hurricane Werebear is storming through Sanctuary!

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RavensPoison CreeperWolvesCataclysmMaulHurricane


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Build Introduction

HurricaneHurricane is a wide persistent spell surrounding the player for its duration, periodically ticking damage to enemies. Set up a giant storm of damage by playing around modifiers such as:

  • Guaranteed Overpower from ProvocationProvocation.
  • High Critical Strike Chance from ClarityClarity.
  • Aspect of the TempestAspect of the Tempest stacks ramps Hurricane to incredible damage.
  • Utility tempers for Hurricane Size and Duration, and a Weapon temper for Hurricane to deal double damage.

Season 6: The Temper for Hurricane Duration has moved to Utility Slot, meaning Aspect of the TempestAspect of the Tempest can be stacked to significant damage multipliers.

This guide covers everything necessary to get started on your HurricaneHurricane adventure, including Skill Tree points, Paragon, Gearing, and Seasonal updates.

Strengths
  • Large Area of Effect clearing
  • Thematic Gameplay
Weaknesses
  • Requires buff watching
  • Low APM gameplay

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Build Requirements

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

Required Aspects

You will also need access to the Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation Utility Manual for Tempering HurricaneHurricane Duration.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Skill Bar for Hurricane Druid
Ravens Ravens Wolves Wolves Poison Creeper Poison Creeper Cataclysm Cataclysm Maul Maul Hurricane Hurricane

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.

Boon NameAnimalEffect
WarinessDeerTake 15% reduced damage from Elites.
Iron FeatherEagleGain 20% Maximum Life.
Avian WrathEagleGain 30%[x] Critical Strike Damage.
Pack LeaderWolfLucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a 25% chance to reset the Cooldowns of your Companion Skills.
Calm before the StormSnakeLucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills have up to a 10% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.

Paragon

The following are the preferred Glyphs, Boards, and pathing recommended for making the most of the Hurricane Druid.

Glyphs have two significant breakpoint increases. At level 15, the glyph grows in radius and gains a special effect. At level 46, the glyph grows to its max radius and gains a strong conditional damage multiplier.

Glyphs are placed as if they are least level 15+ in radius. Pathing should prioritize placing your Glyphs and Legendary Nodes, then filling out the rest of the paths to take the Magic and Rare nodes. Total Boards placed are now limited to a max of 5; the Starter Board and four Class Boards.

Click this link to see the Paragon Board in its entirety! Paragon Board images are courtesy of d4builds.gg.

Starting Board

For the Starting Board, path up and place the HeadhunterHeadhunter Glyph into the Glyph Socket.

Survival Instincts

For the second board, choose Survival Instincts, placed against the Starting Board, rotated three times. Socket the DominateDominate Glyph, and take the Legendary Node Survival InstinctsSurvival Instincts.

Lust for Carnage

For the third board, choose Lust for Carnage, placed against the top side of the Survival Instincts board. Socket the OutmatchOutmatch glyph and take the Legendary Node Lust for CarnageLust for Carnage. HurricaneHurricane is a Storm spell that deals Physical damage, and Tempest RoarTempest Roar Makes HurricaneHurricane a Werewolf Spell.

Thunderstruck

For the fourth board, choose Thunderstruck, placed against the top side of the Constricting Tendrils board, rotated twice. Socket the Earth and SkyEarth and Sky Glyph and take the ThunderstruckThunderstruck Legendary Node.

Heightened Malice

For the final board, choose Heightened Malice, placed against the Thunderstruck board’s left side. Socket the SpiritSpirit Glyph, and take the Heightened MaliceHeightened Malice Legendary Node.

For a more defensive setup:

Gear, Stats, Gems and Elixirs

The following are the recommended Legendary Aspects, Gear Affixes, Gems, and Elixirs for the Hurricane Druid.

Legendary Aspects

Gear Slots with multiple options are listed in recommended priority. Any slot with an Optional Mythic Unique or Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power to use while still leveling and gearing.

SlotGemAspectUnique/Legendary Aspect Power
2 Handed MaceGrand RubyGrand RubyAspect of the TempestAspect of the TempestHurricane damage is increased by 10.5 – 20.5% each second while active.
HelmGrand SapphireGrand Sapphire(Recommended Unique) Tempest RoarTempest Roar
Aspect of Fevered MaulingAspect of Fevered Mauling
Lucky Hit: Storm Skills have up to a 10-35% chance to grant 4 Spirit.
Your base Storm Skills are now also Werewolf Skills
ChestGrand SapphireGrand SapphireAspect of the Crowded SageAspect of the Crowded Sage
(Optional Unique) Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury
Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2-5 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.
GlovesN/AEdgemaster's AspectEdgemaster’s Aspect OR
Aspect of Inner CalmAspect of Inner Calm
Skills deal up to 5-20% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource.
PantsGrand SapphireGrand SapphireAspect of MightAspect of MightBasic Skills grant 20.0% Damage Reduction for 2-10 seconds.
BootsN/A(Offensive) Aspect of Concussive StrikesAspect of Concussive Strikes
(Unstoppable) Aspect of MetamorphosisAspect of Metamorphosis
Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy has up to a 20% chance to Daze them for 2 seconds. You deal 5-25% increased damage to Dazed enemies.
AmuletGrand AmethystGrand AmethystAspect of the Changeling's DebtAspect of the Changeling’s DebtYou deal 25-65% increased damage while hitting a Poisoned enemy as a Werebear or a Crowd Controlled enemy as a Werewolf.
Ring 1Grand RubyGrand RubyAspect of ElementsAspect of ElementsGain 15-35%x increased damage to a set of damage types for 7 seconds. This effect alternates between 2 sets:
– Fire, Lightning, and Physical.
– Cold, Poison, and Shadow.
Ring 2Grand SapphireGrand Sapphire(Recommended) Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng
Aspect of Inner CalmAspect of Inner Calm
While Cataclysm is active, you gain unlimited Spirit and deal 40-100% increased damage.

Use a 2-Handed Mace for Overpower Damage.

For information on Legendary Aspects and the updated Codex of Power, see here.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Each line of affixes is listed in order of importance. Tempering Manuals and their recommended affixes are provided in the final column. The bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. Unique Items cannot be Tempered, but can be Masterworked.  Check the Tempering guide and Masterworking guide for more details about these topics.

Any slot with an Optional Mythic Unique or Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power to use while still leveling and gearing.

SlotGearing AffixesTempering Affixes
Two-Handed MaceMaximum Life
Willpower
Overpower Damage
Critical Strike Damage
Storm AugmentsStorm Augments – Chance for HurricaneHurricane to deal double damage
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse – Damage to Close Enemies
Helm – (Recommended Unique)Tempest RoarTempest Roar Willpower
Lightning Resistance
Maximum Spirit
Ranks to Wild ImpulsesWild Impulses
Helm – Legendary AspectWillpower
Cooldown Reduction
Max Life
Resistance to all Elements
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Duration
Worldly EnduranceWorldly Endurance – Max Life
Chest – (Optional Unique) Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury Maximum Life
Werebear Overpower Damage
Ursine Strength Bonuses
Ranks to Iron FurIron Fur
Chest – Legendary AspectMax Life
Willpower
Armor
All Resistances
Worldly EnduranceWorldly Endurance – Max Life
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Duration
GlovesMax Life
Willpower
Overpower Damage
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse– Damage to Close Enemies
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Duration
PantsArmor
Willpower
Max Life
Dodge Chance
Worldly EnduranceWorldly Endurance – Total Armor%
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Duration
BootsImplicit: Attacks reduce Evade Cooldown
Ranks to HurricaneHurricane
Movement Speed
Willpower
Dodge Chance
Natural MotionNatural Motion – Movement Speed
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Size
AmuletRanks to ClarityClarity
Ranks to EnvenomEnvenom
Movement Speed
Ranks to QuickshiftQuickshift
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse– Damage to Close Enemies
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Duration
Ring – (Recommended Unique) Mjölnic RyngMjölnic RyngWillpower
Critical Strike Chance
Movement Speed While Cataclysm is Active
Ranks to Endless TempestEndless Tempest
Rings – Legendary AspectMaximum Life
Lucky Hit Chance
Willpower
Critical Strike Damage
Overpower Damage

Natural FinesseNatural Finesse– Damage to Close Enemies
Ultimate Efficiency —  DruidUltimate Efficiency —  Druid – Cataclysm Cooldown Reduction
  • Hurricane Duration means higher stacks of Aspect of the TempestAspect of the Tempest. Mastercraft quality increases will push this build much further. Hurricane Duration can be placed on Helm, Chest, Gloves, Pants, Boots and Amulet.
  • Hurricane Size Temper is capped at 100%. Since the Utility slot competes with Hurricane Duration, use only one at most.
  • The Temper for Damage to Close Enemies is taken for ThunderstruckThunderstruck, up to its cap of 60%.
  • Max Life will help increase Overpower damage.
  • Armor cap is 1000 for up to 85% Physical Damage Reduction. This is generally reached with either one Armor Gear Affix and one Total Armor% Temper, or using a Juggernaut’s Aspect.
  • Attack Speed does not improve HurricaneHurricane tick rate.
  • Ranks to ClarityClarity means no other source for Critical Strike Chance will be necessary.

For the dedicated page for Gear Systems and Itemization Overview, check here.

Gems and Runewords

The following are the recommended Gem and Runeword setups for the Hurricane Druid:

Gems

Weapon GemsArmor GemsJewelry Gems
Grand RubyGrand Ruby for Overpower DamageGrand SapphireGrand Sapphire for Willpower1 Grand AmethystGrand Amethyst for Shadow Resistance
1 Grand RubyGrand Ruby for Fire Resistance
1 Grand SapphireGrand Sapphire for Cold Resistance

Paragon will give Poison and Lightning Resistance.

Runewords

Runewords are a flexible power to help strengthen a build or fill its weaknesses. Two Runes combine for the total Runeword effect:

  • A conditional trigger Rune of Ritual that supplies Offerings when the condition is met.
  • An effect Rune of Invocation that costs Offerings.

Once the Rune of Ritual has supplied enough Offerings, the Rune of Invocation will trigger its effect. Some Runes of Invocation will have overflow effects, where excess Offerings will spillover to empower the triggered effect.

Runewords replace Gems in gear. Up to two sets of Runeword pairs can be placed at a time. Runeword combinations are placed within two sockets of the same item e.g. Helm, Chest, Pants or 2-handed Weapon.

The following are Runeword combination options for the Hurricane Druid, placed in 2-Handed Weapon and Armor slots:

Runeword CombinationRuneword Effects
Bac WatBacBac – Gain: 50 Offering. Travel 5 meters.
WatWat Requires: 100 Offering Cooldown: 1 Second. Evoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify, Slowing enemies, reducing their damage, and letting you Execute them.
Xol KryXolXol – Gain: 150 Offering.
Evoke power from another Class.
KryKry – Requires: 300 Offering Cooldown: 3 Seconds.
Evoke the Spiritborn’s, dealing damage and Pulling In enemies.

Horrid DecrepifyHorrid Decrepify is an efficient way to gain offering for Xol. Casts of VortexVortex can help group and cluster enemies efficiently.

Other combinations can also situationally work well; adjust to the content you are running. These can include:

  • (Offering Efficiency) other Ritual options such as LithLith for Stand Still, MoniMoni for Skill after Moving, or FeoFeo for get Crowd Controlled may trigger more often.

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 FortitudeElixir of Fortitude for Maximum Life. Max Life% is significant for Overpower.
  • If mats are available, craft Chorus of WarChorus of War.
  • Remember to upgrade your potion as you level, increasing the instant healing of the potion!

Unique Items

The following Unique Items are required, recommended, or optional for the Hurricane Druid.

  • (Recommended Unique) Tempest RoarTempest Roar has weak Gear Affixes, but makes HurricaneHurricane a Werewolf Skill, which allows it to benefit from multipliers like Lust for CarnageLust for Carnage, easily Poison enemies with Toxic ClawsToxic Claws, and contribute to other Shapeshifting benefits like QuickshiftQuickshift and Heightened SensesHeightened Senses. The multiplier from Lust for Carnage will help offset losing a potential Legendary Aspect item with Hurricane Duration temper on it.
  • (Optional, Convenience) Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury is a quality-of-life improvement for the build, helping to keep you in Werebear form to keep ProvocationProvocation ticking. This is not only a convenient Unique, but gives strong defensive benefit with the ranks to Iron FurIron Fur and boost to Ursine StrengthUrsine Strength. However, this is another slot that will compete with Hurricane Duration temper on a Legendary Chest, so can be a damage loss. With the boost to Ursine StrengthUrsine Strength however, it is not as much of a loss to use.
  • (Recommended) Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng is an oppressively strong option with up to a 100% multiplier. The ranks in Endless TempestEndless Tempest are also welcome for a Hurricane-centric build.
  • (Optional) Hunter's ZenithHunter’s Zenith is a defensive option Unique Item while providing high ranks in QuickshiftQuickshift and Heightened SensesHeightened Senses and another way to guarantee Critical Overpowers.

Mythic Unique Items

No Mythic Unique Items are recommended for this build.

Mercenaries

Once unlocked, Mercenaries are followers that aid the Player in combat. A main mercenary is chosen to fight alongside you, granting strong buffs or perks, and a secondary Mercenary is chosen to periodically Reinforce you under a chosen Opportunity condition. As you build Rapport with your Mercenary, you gain more access to their Skills and Perks.

The following Mercenary options are recommended for the Hurricane Druid:

Main Mercenary – Varyana, the Berserker

Reinforcement – Raheir, the Shieldbearer

  • Reinforcement Ability – CraterCrater
  • Opportunity – MaulMaul

Both No Escape and Crater will be useful pull-ins.

Rotation and Playstyle

  1. Before max ProvocationProvocation stacks, cast WolvesWolves and RavensRavens for ClarityClarity stacks. Wolves and Ravens can consume your Overpower so they need to be cast before ProvocationProvocation is primed.
  2. Cast Poison CreeperPoison Creeper for the final ClarityClarity stack.
  3. Cast HurricaneHurricane with ProvocationProvocation and ClarityClarity stacks.
  4. Maintain CataclysmCataclysm while engaged with enemies.
  5. MaulMaul as filler and for Fortify. Be careful not to consume ProvocationProvocation with Maul.

Check out the advanced Build Mechanics section for a more in-depth description on how the build works, what synergies exist, and what to look out for.

Season 6: Season of Hatred

The following list details the important changes in the Season 6 Patch Updates that are specific to the Hurricane Druid. For general Season 6 information, check out our Season 6 Hub.

Itemization:

  • New Temper – Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Hurricane Duration is now a Utility Temper (yay)
  • New Temper – Storm AugmentsStorm Augments – Chance for Hurricane to deal double damage (also yay)
  • Hurricane Damage Temper has been removed from Storm FinesseStorm Finesse.
  • Hunter's ZenithHunter’s Zenith – New Effect – Every 30 seconds you spend in an animal form, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower and Critically Strike and deals 30-60% increased damage. Casting Shapeshifting Skills reduces this timer by 1 second, or 2 seconds if you change to a new animal form

Skills and Stats:

  • Paragon Boards are now limited to 5 boards; the Starter Board and up to four Class Boards.
  • Several Paragon Boards have shifted their nodes around.
  • New Skill Passives including Feral AptitudeFeral Aptitude.
  • Ursine StrengthUrsine Strength:
    • Damage bonus while Healthy reduced from 30% to 15%.
    • Maximum Health bonus increased from 20% to 30%.
    • Overpower damage bonus increased from 30% to 45%.
  • QuickshiftQuickshift – New Effect – Shapeshifting into a new animal form grants 1/2/3% increased damage, up to 6/12/18%. This bonus is lost after 3 seconds in Human form.
  • Heightened SensesHeightened Senses – New Effect – When Shapeshifting, Werebear grants 3/6/9% Damage Reduction and Werewolf grants 2/4/6% Movement Speed. Both bonuses persist as long as you are in either animal form and are doubled while both are active. They are lost after 3 seconds in Human form.
  • CataclysmCataclysm – Lightning Strike damage increased from 95% to 115% Weapon Damage. Lightning Strikes now cannot hit the same target more than once every 0.5 seconds.
  • Lust for CarnageLust for Carnage now also grants 50% damage on Werewolf Critical Strike.

Advanced Information

It is time to get started on your Hurricane journey!

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

Build Mechanics

The Hurricane Druid is an effective and tanky build with high damage that speeds through content. Our primary Skill is HurricaneHurricane, which benefits from several interactions from Skill Passives, Legendary Powers, Gearing, and supporting Skills. There is some important set-up to making this damage work.

ProvocationProvocation is how we guarantee HurricaneHurricane to Overpower. This Overpower works for the entire duration of the cast Hurricane. MaulMaul and if used, Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury help keep us in Werebear form to keep ProvocationProvocation stacks ticking.

(Important) How many ranks in ProvocationProvocation can matter! Since Aspect of the TempestAspect of the Tempest increases Hurricane Damage with every tick, this means the longer we can Temper and Mastercraft the HurricaneHurricane, the more ramping damage it will tick for. Tempest stacks are reset on Hurricane refresh. So for example, if our Hurricane’s duration is 16 seconds, we would only want 2 points in ProvocationProvocation instead of 3, so that we can still use skills in that downtime and so Tempest stacks can go higher and deal more damage. Likewise, only a single point in ProvocationProvocation if our Hurricane is longer than 20 seconds. However, with enough Hurricane Duration tempers we can hit extreme amounts of Hurricane duration such that we get multiples of duration of ProvocationProvocation, letting us skip entire Provocation triggers. For example, if Hurricane has reached more than 40s duration, we could recast Hurricane every other rank 1 of ProvocationProvocation. Since Aspect of the TempestAspect of the Tempest will just keep stacking up, this can mean extreme stacks of Hurricane damage multipliers.

Storm skills, including HurricaneHurricane, will benefit heavily from multipliers like ThunderstruckThunderstruck. This is why Damage to Close is tempered onto gear.

There are no native sources of Unstoppable for this build. Use Aspect of MetamorphosisAspect of Metamorphosis and Boot Impicit Affix for Attacks to reduce Evade Cooldown if desired.

Poison for EnvenomEnvenom is applied with:

Despite being a Storm spell, HurricaneHurricane deals Physical Damage.

Companions

The active skill use of Companions stack up ClarityClarity for more Critical Strike Chance and Damage multiplier to the entire HurricaneHurricane cast. This benefits HurricaneHurricane for its entire duration.

(Important) The active skill use of Ravens and Wolves can Overpower their attacks. Poison Creeper cannot. This means Ravens and Wolves need to be cast for ClarityClarity stacks before ProvocationProvocation reaches max stacks.

After enough ranks in ClarityClarity on Amulet, you can guarantee full Critical Strike Chance on the HurricaneHurricane with just two Companions. At a damage loss, RavensRavens can be replaced with a defensive benefit like Innate Debilitating RoarInnate Debilitating Roar or Preserving Earthen BulwarkPreserving Earthen Bulwark.

Ultimate and Key Passives

CataclysmCataclysm is our Ultimate ability. With the Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng, it will provide up to a 100% damage multiplier while active. We use ranks in Endless TempestEndless Tempest and Calm before the Storm to maintain CataclysmCataclysm. If Hurricane Duration reaches above the cooldown on your companions, Pack Leader Spirit Boon can also be exchanged for Calamity.

Ursine StrengthUrsine Strength is a steady Damage and Overpower multiplier that benefits from the damage increase in any Form, so long as you are Healthy. Healthy means to be above 80% Life. If used, These bonuses are increased by Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury.

Paragon

The Paragon Board is a progression system unlocked at Level 60, giving player power through Common stat Nodes, Magic affix Nodes, Rare leveled Glyphs, and Legendary board-exclusive Nodes. For general paragon board information, check the guide here.

The recommended Paragon boards with images for the Hurricane Druid are listed above. The following section goes over some explanation and descriptions for the pathing process for the Hurricane Druid.

Broadly speaking, decisions for pathing through the Druid paragon board are divided into three categories:

  • Damage – The paragon boards provide a significant amount of Damage Multipliers and Additives. This includes:
  • Defense – The paragon boards help reach goals on Damage Reduction, Armor and Resistances. This includes:
    • Damage Reduction is improved from individual Magic and Rare nodes providing bonuses like Damage Reduction against Vulnerable enemies.
    • Resistances are improved from Magic and Rare Resistance nodes.
    • Armor goals are reached with the help of Armor nodes in Inner BeastInner Beast.
  • Build Functionality – The paragon boards improve total build functionality including:
    • Max Life% nodes increase Effective Health but also boost capability for total Fortify as well. This increases overall output for Overpower damage.

Changelog

  • 28 September, 2024: Updated for Season 6. Changes to Paragon, Tempers, Skill Tree, and recommended Uniques.
  • 7 August, 2024: Updated for post-launch of season 5. No Changes to Skills, Gearing or Paragon.
  • 2 August 2024: Updated for patch 1.5.0 and Season of the Infernal Hordes.
  • 17 June, 2024: Updated for mid-season patch 1.4.3.
  • May 15, 2024: Small changes in gear affixes to adjust for season launch changes from PTR.
  • 10 May, 2024: Guide Created.
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