Build Introduction
The Shred Druid is a fast and mobile build, ambushing foes and overwhelming them with ferocious attacks! Dash and cleave enemies down with 
Shred and use your 
Poison Creeper for lethal Area of Effect Poisons. Supporting abilities help keep up Spirit, heal and apply debuffs to enemies.
After clearing the Capstone Dungeon Cathedral of Light to unlock World Tier 3, or upon reaching level 50, continue your Shred adventure with the Shred Druid Endgame Guide, or choose any of our Endgame Builds!
For general tips and information about leveling a Druid in Diablo 4, check out our Druid Leveling Page!
Season of the Construct
Season 3 Patch Updates
The following list details the changes in the Season 3 Patch Updates that are notable to the Shred Leveling Druid. For general Season 3 information, check out our Season 3 Hub.
Aspect of Retaliation – Bonus damage reduced from 20–40% to 20–30%.
Quickshift – Damage bonus increased from 5/10/15% to 7/14/21%.
Ursine Strength – Damage and Overpower damage bonuses increased from 25% to 30%.
Seneschal Construct
The seasonal theme adds a Seneschal Construct companion to aid your character throughout their adventures in Sanctuary. The Construct’s playstyle and support is modified by Governing Stones that grant the construct abilities, with up to three Tuning Stones per Governing Stone to supplement that ability. Stones can be obtained through Vaults, Arcane Tremors, Journey rewards, or crafting.
Not all Stones are available at once, and some bad luck might happen where some Stones are not looted for a while. However, Lots of setups will work while still leveling and looting stones. Here’s the recommended setup for personal damage, buffs, and resource:
Flash of Adrenaline – Administers a quick flash of adrenaline into the player, granting bonus damage for a duration.
- Duration Support – Supported Skills have their durations increased.
- Tactical Support – Decrease the cooldown of the supported Skill.
- Fortify Support – When the Seneschal Construct uses the supported Skill, you gain Fortify.
Tempest – Electrically charge an enemy causing it to deal damage to themselves and additional each second over time. If the enemy is killed, Tempest spreads to another enemy gaining additional time and bonus damage. These bonuses are also applied if Tempest is reapplied onto the same enemy.
- Safeguard Support – When used, the supported Skill grants Damage Reduction to you.
- Resource Support – Player gains an amount of Primary Resource when the supporting Skill first deals damage.
- Swift Support – The supported Skill gains an Attack Speed bonus.
Of these listed, Resource Support will be the handiest Tuning Stone, providing a great source of Spirit Generation.
Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar
Petrify 
Blood Howl 
Trample 
Poison Creeper 
Storm Strike 
Shred The table below outlines the recommended order for allocating Skill Points. 48 Points are gained from leveling, and the remaining 10 are from completing Renown events in each zone, for a total of 58 Skill Points.
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. To access Spirit Boons:
- Reach Level 15, accepting the quest chain beginning with Druid: Spirits of the Lost Grove.
- Clear the Túr Dúlra Stronghold scenario in Scosglen.
- Complete the quest chain to gain access to the Animal Spirits.
| Boon Name | Animal | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Wariness | Deer | Take 10% reduced damage from Elites. |
| Scythe Talons | Eagle | Gain +5% increased Critical Strike Chance. |
| Packleader | Wolf | Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a 20% chance to reset the Cooldowns of your Companion Skills. |
| Energize | Wolf | Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit. |
| Masochistic | Snake | Lucky Hit chance of 75%. Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills Heal you for 3% Maximum Life (#). |
Prioritize your first 25 Spirit Offerings to unlock the Wolf’s Packleader; Poison Creeper is a significant source of our damage so cooldown resets go a long way!
Legendary Aspects and Codex of Power
Check our Legendary Aspect and Codex of Power Guide for general Codex information and to see which slots can have which legendary powers. For example, Helm can have either Defensive or Utility powers, so they are largely interchangeable between certain slots. An 
Aspect of Disobedience could go on helm, chest, or pants and there is still room for all the rest of the Legendary Aspects you need.
To unlock Aspects in the Codex of Power, you must complete the Dungeon where the specific Aspect drops! For example, to access Stormclaw’s Aspect, you must clear Anica’s Claim in Fractured Peaks.
Aspects gained from the Codex of Power will have minimum rolls. Legendary Items with Aspect powers can be found across all content in Diablo 4. Random dropped Legendary Aspects can have a specific range of power on them. For example, Stormclaw’s Aspect can roll between 20%-30% for the effect. Aspects can be extracted from Legendary Items and imprinted onto other well-rolled Rare Items.
The highest priority Legendary Aspects for the Shred Leveling Druid build are available from the Codex:
| Legendary Aspect | Aspect Power | Dungeon Location | Recommended Slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stormclaw’s Aspect | Critical Strikes with Shred deal [20 – 30]% of the damage dealt as Lightning damage to the target and surrounding enemies. | Anica’s Claim, Fractured Peaks | Amulet |
 Aspect of the Umbral | Restore [1 – 4] of your Primary Resource when you Crowd Control an enemy. | Champion’s Demise, Dry Steppes | Ring |
- Stormclaw’s Aspect makes Shred Critical Strikes splash for extra Lightning damage in a small area. An Amulet is recommended for the higher multiplier. It can be placed on a 2 handed weapon as well, but while leveling, weapons are replaced often so it can get expensive in Gold and Crafting Materials.
- Aspect of the Umbral is useful for Spirit Generation.
Other useful Aspects from the Codex are the following, sorted by type:
| Legendary Aspect | Aspect Type | Aspect Power | Dungeon Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspect of Disobedience | Defensive | You gain [0.6 – 1.1]%[+] increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to [36.0 – 66.0]%[+]. | Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan |
| Aspect of Might | Defensive | Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2.0 – 6.0] seconds. | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
| Skinwalker’s Aspect | Defensive | When you use a Shapeshifting Skill that changes your form, gain [184 – 315] Life. If you are at full Life, gain the same amount as Fortify. | Fading Echo, Kehjistan |
| Aspect of the Protector | Defensive | Damaging an Elite enemy grants you a Barrier absorbing up to [1,967 – 3,933] damage for 10 seconds. This effect can only happen once every 30 seconds. | Lost Archives, Fractured Peaks |
| Aspect of Retaliation | Offensive | Your Core Skills deal up to [20 – 30]%[x] increased damage based on your amount of Fortify. | Seaside descent, Dry Steppes |
| Edgemaster’s Aspect | Offensive | Skills deal up to [10 – 20]%[x] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
| Aspect of the Expectant | Offensive | After attacking enemies with a Basic Skill, increase the damage of your next Core Skill cast within 5 seconds by [5 – 10]%[x], up to 30%[x]. | Underroot, Scosglen |
 Ghostwalker Aspect | Mobility | While Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after, you gain [10 – 25]%[+] increased Movement Speed and can move freely through enemies. | Broken Bulwark, Scosglen |
 Eluding Aspect | Utility | Becoming Injured while Crowd Controlled grants you Unstoppable for 4 seconds. This effect has a [40 – 20] second Cooldown. | Oblivion, Hawezar |
Non-codex Legendary Aspects to look out for as you level, that are used by the Shred Endgame Guide, include the following:
Gear Affix and Stat Priority while Leveling
Below are the recommended Gear Affixes for each slot for the Shred Leveling Build. Gear Affixes are listed by importance. Affixes in Bold are the most important for the build, and alternatives are added as well.
| Slot | Stats |
|---|---|
| 2 Handed Axe | Willpower All Stats Damage to Close Enemies Critical Strike Damage Core Skill Damage |
| Helm | Ranks in Poison Creeper Willpower Max Life Total Armor Cooldown Reduction |
| Chest | Max Life Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies Damage Reduction from Close Enemies Damage Reduction Damage Reduction while Fortified |
| Gloves | Ranks in Shred Critical Strike Chance Attack Speed Willpower Critical Strike Damage |
| Pants | Total Armor Max Life Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies Damage Reduction from Close enemies Damage Reduction while Injured |
| Boots | Movement Speed Total Armor while in Werewolf Form All Stats Willpower Dodge Chance |
| Amulet | Movement Speed Ranks to  EnvenomTotal Armor while in Werewolf Form Cooldown Reduction Willpower Ranks in Companion Skills |
| Ring 1 | Critical Strike Chance Max Life Damage to Close Enemies Critical Strike Damage Resource Generation |
| Ring 2 | Critical Strike Chance Max Life Damage to Close Enemies Critical Strike Damage Resource Generation |
Critical Strike is important for several parts of the build, including:
- Packleader Spirit Boon to reset Poison Creeper
Toxic Claws to help apply Slow with 
Neurotoxin for more Spirit from Aspect of the Umbral. - Critical Strike Damage Multipliers from Primal Shred,
Petrify and Envenom.
Remember to pick up and check all those Rare items! There are many combinations of gear affix rolls possible. Amulets in particular have more than 45 Gear Affixes for the Druid! Going from two favorable gear affixes to three, then eventually four at higher Item Power on each slot will help focus and optimize the build.
Mechanics and Playstyle
The primary sources of damage for the Shred Leveling Druid are Shred and Poison Creeper.
Shred dashes to enemies, dealing a three-hit combo in a cleave, with the third cast doing more damage in a wider arc. Stormclaw’s Aspect allows Shred Critical Strikes to explode in a small area to the target and nearby enemies.
- Enhanced Shred makes Shred cast faster and heal on attack.
- Primal Shred increases Shred’s Critical Strike Damage, and you will now dash towards enemies if they are not already in range for the second and third hit of Shred’s 3-hit combo.
Poison Creeper is a Companion that passively attacks to apply a small Poison. The Active Skill deals significant Poison damage over time in a wide area around the player and Immobilizes enemies.
- Enhanced Poison Creeper increases the Immobilize duration.
- Ferocious Poison Creeper extends the Poison duration, giving higher total Poison damage per cast.
The active cast of Poison Creeper, especially in early levels, is lethal damage to all but the toughest enemies, making it very efficient to use on most leveling builds. We take Packleader boon to reset the Companion Active Skill, and Shred‘s improved attack speed helps reset this faster.
Supporting abilities for the build include 
Storm Strike, 
Blood Howl, 
Trample and Petrify.
- Storm Strike is our Basic Skill to generate spirit, apply Vulnerable status, gain Damage Reduction, and since it is a Human ability, trigger Quickshift for our Shreds.
- Blood Howl is a handy heal and with Innate Blood Howl, a Spirit Generator.
- Trample is a damage and mobility tool, knockback, and source of Unstoppable for Crowd Control prevention or removal. With Savage Trample it is another Spirit Generator.
- Petrify is an Ultimate ability in a wide area. This is used as a Stun, significant Critical Strike Damage multiplier to all affected enemies, and with Aspect of the Umbral helps generate Spirit when the Stun is applied.
Our Key Passive is Ursine Strength. The Damage and Overpower multipliers are active in any form as long as the player is in the Healthy Status, which is 80% Life or higher. The additional Max Life can be triggered from Trample.
Spirit Generation
This build has a few sources of Spirit Generation to keep Shredding. These include:
- Our Basic Skill Storm Strike generates Spirit when hitting enemies.
- Innate Blood Howl and Trample generate Spirit on Active Skill use.
Clarity gives Spirit on Shapeshifting into Human Form.- Aspect of the Umbral restores Spirit when enemies are Crowd Controlled. This includes:
- Stuns from Petrify.
- Immobilizes from Poison Creeper and Storm Strike.
- Knockbacks from Trample.
- Slows applied from Werewolf skills and Poison sources from the combination of Toxic Claws and Neurotoxin.
- Stuns from
Damage Rotation
With all these Skills put together, this is the general offensive priority of Active Skills.
- Use Shred to close distance or to help gather enemies.
- Use Poison Creeper on gathered enemies for lethal Poison damage.
- Petrify to apply Stun and Critical Strike Damage multipliers to significant enemies like Bosses and Elites.
- Shred your enemies, fishing for resets of Poison Creeper from Spirit Boon Packleader.
- Blood Howl and Trample for Spirit generation.
- Storm Strike as filler to generate Spirit and to apply Vulnerable status.
Druids Have Options!
Any of the supporting skills Blood Howl, Trample, or Petrify can be substituted for another desirable supporting Skill depending on looted Legendary Aspects, playstyle, leveling content, or preference. Some examples to try can include:
- Want another Single Target option and Fortify Generation? Take
Wolves up to Ferocious Wolf Pack. - Want the whole Companion Zoo? Sure! Take Wolves and
Ravens. Use them with Shepherd’s Aspect from Bloodsoaked Crag in Dry Steppes. - This build recommends the Spirit Generation on Blood Howl and Trample for smoothness of play, but the other passives, such as Enhanced Blood Howl for Attack Speed and Natural Trample for Fortify Generation, work too!
- Want an additional Defensive?
Earthen Bulwark can provide Barrier, Unstoppable, and Fortify.
Looking at the other Basic Attacks? Storm Strike gives great Damage Reduction and can apply Vulnerable status. The other Basic Attacks are usable as well! 
Fierce Wind Shear gives some nice movement speed, or 
Claw can attack faster, helping to reset your Poison Creeper.
The Key Passive Ursine Strength is used for the reliable passive damage multiplier and Max Life when casting Trample. 
Bestial Rampage can be more total damage but is disruptive, requiring 2 seconds in Werebear form each cast of Trample to maintain the damage multiplier. 
Lupine Ferocity is less reliable damage than either but can burst damage higher, and the guaranteed Critical Strike chance is useful for things like Spirit Boon Packleader or Stormclaw’s Aspect.
Gems
See below for the best Gems to socket into your gear for each category:
- Weapon:
Emeralds for Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable enemies - Armor:
Ruby for Maximum Life - Jewelry:
Diamonds for All Resistances
Elixirs, Incense and Health Potions
The Alchemist offers helpful consumables at the cost of foraged materials found throughout Sanctuary.
- Craft the highest
Assault Elixir available for Attack Speed bonuses and for that bonus experience! Or 
Iron Skin Elixir can help push the Capstone Dungeons earlier and easier. - Remember to upgrade your potion as you level, increasing the instant healing of the potion. Upgrades are available when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90.
Roadmap at Level 50
Once level 50 has been reached, it’s time to start those Endgame Activities, including clearing the Cathedral of Light and unlocking World Tier 3.
After Level 50, you gain no more Skill Points, and instead start progressing in the Paragon Board. Allocate Paragon Points into nodes along the path to gain further power. CLICK HERE for a simple 100 point early board setup to get you started. It prioritizes the Spirit Generation nodes from the 
Lust for Carnage and Ancestral Guidance boards (rotate the boards as necessary!) and will get you ready for that transition to the Shred Endgame Guide or other Endgame Druid Builds.
Thanks so much for reading and good luck on leveling!
Changelog
21 March, 2024: Guide Created, fully replacing previous guide.
- Ownership of page transferred
- Page restructured for improved readability, explanations and options.
