Storm Wolf Druid Endgame Build for Diablo 4 (Season 3)

Build Introduction

The Storm Wolf build is based around a few Unique Items specific to the Druid class.Greatstaff of the Crone is a unique staff that converts Claw into a Storm Skill and makes it so that when you use it, you also cast a Storm Strike dealing anywhere from 120 to 150% damage. Tempest Roar is a Unique helmet that makes it so all of our Storm skills double as Werewolf skills now, which works with our next Unique, Mad Wolf’s Glee. This is a Unique chest that makes it so we are always in Werewolf form and gives us +3 to Ranks of all Werewolf skills.

Finally, we have what is going to be one of the most sought after Uniques in the game, the Melted Heart of Selig. This makes it so that when we take damage, it drains our Spirit first, at a rate of 3-6 Spirit per 1% of Life that would have been lost.

These Uniques, combined with the Skill Tree, Paragon Boards and Legendary Aspects, as shown below, will make you an un-killable damage machine capable of face-tanking anything the game can throw at you, taking you into the endgame all the way to Level 100 and beyond.

Strengths and Weaknesses

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

Build Requirements

Required Uniques

Tempest Roar

Greatstaff of the Crone

Mad Wolf’s Glee

Required Aspects (Non-codex)

Mighty Storm’s Aspect

This endgame build guide assumes your character is at least Level 50 and that you have access to all the aforementioned Unique items. Check the Druid Leveling Guide for a smooth path to level 50.

To clarify further, this build cannot be played and will not work properly before acquiring the Unique Items listed below that have been marked as mandatory. Acquire them all before you transition to this build.

The two mandatory Uniques to start this build are Tempest Roar and Greatstaff of the Crone. The goal is to stack as much Lucky Hit Chance and Damage Reduction as possible before you get the Melted Heart of Selig, after which you want to also incorporate Maximum Life into your build wherever you can.

Season of the Construct

Season 3 Patch Notes

The following list details the changes in the Season 3 Patch Update that are specific to this build. Check the Changelog for all the other guide updates.

• Melted Heart of Selig
  • All Stats increased to 2x normal value.
  • Core Skill Damage changed to Movement Speed.
  • Damage While Healthy increased to 3x normal value.
  • Unique Power Changed
    • Previous: Gain 30 Maximum Resource. In addition, when you take damage, drain 3 Resource for every 1% of life you would have lost instead.
    • New: Gain 60 maximum Resource. 75% of incoming damage drains 2 Resource for every 1% of Life you would have lost instead.
• Cataclysm
  • Twister damage increased from 23% to 46%.
  • Lightning damage increased from 77% to 95%.
• Supreme Cataclysm
  • Vulnerable duration increased from 3 to 6 seconds.
• Gift of the Stag
  • Maximum Spirit increased from 10 to 20.

Or check out our Season 3 guide here:

Seneschal Construct Companion Powers

The Season 3 theme introduces a Seneschal Construct Companion that can deal damage or provide support to complement your character. Equip the Seneschal with two Governing Stones to activate their abilities, and then link them to three Tuning Stones each to augment the abilities. There are 12 different Governing Stones and 27 different Tuning Stones that can be found in Vaults scattered across Sanctuary. Fuse together duplicate stones to level them up, increasing the potency of Governing Stones or adding augments to Tuning Stones.

Listed below are the recommended Governing Stones and their linked Tuning Stones for Companion Druid Leveling , ranked by importance. The actual damage and stat values of these stones were not provided in the season preview, so the rankings will be updated as the season is playtested.

Note: The Tempest Governing stone currently interacts with DoT damage in interesting and overpowered ways accumulating stacks of the DoT at a Very fast rate and ramping in damage. We do not know if this mechanic is intended or not but until then it is the best damage you can get on a pet.

1. Flash of Adrenaline: Administers a quick flash of adrenaline into the player, granting bonus damage for a duration.
   • Genesis: Increase the effectiveness of the supported Skill.
   • Tactical Support: Decrease the cooldown of the supported Skill.
   • Duration Support: Supported Skills have their durations increased.
2. 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 for additional time and bonus damage. These bonuses are also applied if Tempest is reapplied onto the same enemy.
   1. Burning Support – A portion of the supported Skill’s damage is applied as Burning damage over time. Burning enemies take bonus Critical Strike Damage from the Seneschal Construct.
   2. Bleeding Support – A portion of the supported skill’s damage dealt is applied as Bleeding damage over time. Enemies take bonus Bleeding damage from all sources while moving.
   3. Poison Support – A portion of the supported skill’s damage dealt is applied as Poison damage over time. This poison has a chance each second to spread all Poison damage to an additional enemy.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Recommended

Suggested Skill Bar

Debilitating Roar Cataclysm Hurricane Blood Howl Claw Earthen Bulwark

The following tables show the full allocation of Skill Points for the Storm Wolf Druid build. The first table has the most important 48 points to start the build. The second table has the remaining 10 points that are allocated once you obtain all Skill Points from Renown.

Priority Skills	Cluster
Storm Strike , Enhanced Storm Strike, Wild Storm Strike, Claw Level 5, Enhanced Claw, Wild Claw	Basic Skill
Heart of the Wild, Abundance Level 3, Predatory Instinct Level 3, Digitigrade Gait	Core Skill
Earthen Bulwark Level 1, Enhanced Earthen Bulwark, Preserving Earthen Bulwark, Ancestral Fortitude Level 1, Blood Howl Level 1, Enhanced Blood Howl, Preserving Blood Howl, Debilitating Roar, Enhanced Debilitating Roar, Preserving Debilitating Roar, Vigilance Level 2	Defensive Skill
Elemental Exposure Level 1, Endless Tempest Level 3, Hurricane, Enhanced Hurricane, Savage Hurricane, Neurotoxin, Toxic Claws, Envenom Level 3	Wrath Skill
Defiance Level 3, Cataclysm, Prime Cataclysm, Supreme Cataclysm	Ultimate Skill
Earthen Might	Key Passives

Remaining Renown Points	Cluster
Elemental Exposure Level 3, Bad Omen Level 3, Electric Shock Level 3	Wrath Skill
Vigilance Level 3	Defensive Skill

Spirit Boons – The Druid Specialization

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.

Paragon

The Paragon progression system unlocks at Level 50 and provides a vast amount of character power. On the Paragon Board, bonuses range from minor stats on Magic Nodes to more powerful Rare Glyphs and Legendary Nodes.

As you path towards Glyph Sockets and Legendary Nodes, you should prioritize Damage, Willpower, Resistance, and Life for Normal and Magic Nodes. Glyph radius increases as you level them up. Therefore, if you cannot fulfill Additional Bonus requirements early on, skip allocating extra nodes for now.

Listed below are images of the pathing you should take along with the locations of the glyphs and order you should choose your Paragon Boards past the initial Starter Board.

Starting Board

For the Starting Board, we path along the right side and cross through the middle to place the Keeper Rare Glyph making sure to allocate enough Intelligence within its radiance as soon as we can. From there we up the left side towards the top and the exit, attaching Thunderstruck.

Thunderstruck

For Thunderstruck, start by pathing along the bottom over to the Rare Node on the left and then up through the Thunderstruck Legendary Node heading all the way up to the top right to place the Werewolf Rare Glyph in the glyph slot and grab the Rare and Magic Nodes along with every Willpower node within the radius of the glyph. We then path back to the left towards the top and attach Constricting Tendrils.

Constricting Tendrils

With the next Paragon Board, Constricting Tendrils, path to the left and place the Fulminate Rare Glyph into the socket. Grab all the Dexterity within the radius and all of the Rare and Magic nodes as well. After that, head back to the start of this board and go up the middle and along the right, grabbing the Rare and Magic Nodes on the way towards the Constricting Tendrils Legendary Node. Sneak along the top right to grab the Rare and Magic Nodes on our way out the right side, attaching Lust for Carnage.

Lust for Carnage

The last Paragon Board used for the build is Lust for Carnage. Start by going directly right and then up to place the Guzzler Rare Glyph then grab all of the Intelligence, Rare, and Magic nodes within its radius. Finally, we head back to the start of the board and take the path down to pick up the Lust for Carnage Legendary Node, followed by the Rare and Magic Nodes on the bottom left then the Rare and Magic Nodes on the far right.

Paragon board images courtesy of d4builds.gg.

Mechanics and Playstyle

The Storm Wolf build is one of the easiest builds you will play when it comes to utilizing the items and skills we have chosen. Due to our choice of Uniques, we are permanently in Werewolf form. This build is played with a singular attack, Claw, as using it will also cast our Storm Strike which also has a chance to immobilize targets due to Enhanced Storm Strike. We take Earthen Bulwark with Enhanced Earthen Bulwark as an extra defensive layer and an emergency Unstoppable just in case we start to get overrun by enemies. Blood Howl is not just a defensive cooldown, but also an offensive one due to Preserving Blood Howl. While we are bolting through our enemies it will constantly be available due to the effect from Enhanced Blood Howl reducing the cooldown with each kill.

To truly optimize the damage with this build, the goal is to have Hurricane active at all times. Due to the Legendary Aspect on our boots, we have +2 to all Shapeshifter Skills while it is active. The way this is accomplished is through Cooldown Reduction, as well as talents like Endless Tempest.

Claw has one of the highest base Lucky Hit chances of any Basic skill in the game at 50%. Since Claw is converted into a Storm Skill, it can be used to proc numerous Lucky Hit talents on our tree and in our Spirit Boons, such as Elemental Exposure, Bad Omen, Electric Shock, and, due to the Legendary Mighty Storm’s Aspect, the Earthen Might Keystone Passive.

To round the build out, the Ultimate ability Cataclysm is used to provide a huge boost to damage and lasts for over 15 seconds due to our Calamity Spirit Boon and the two talents Endless Tempest and Prime Cataclysm.

Damage Rotation

Our damage rotation is actually a priority system and it is the same for AoE and Single Target situations:

1. Hurricane if it is not active and off cooldown;
2. Blood Howl if the buff is not active and it is off cooldown;
3. Earthen Bulwark if you are overwhelmed and surrounded by too many enemies;
4. Cataclysm if fighting an elite pack and it is off cooldown;
5. Claw to trigger Storm Strike and keep our Spirit as high as possible at all times.

Gear Choice and Stat Priority

Make sure to pick up all Rare Item drops that may be upgrades while you are farming with Storm Wolf Druid. Save Legendary Items with useful aspects in your stash to be used later for extraction and imprinting onto well rolled Rare Items.

When it comes to weapons once we start using Legendary Aspects until you get your Unique, you want to make sure to use a 2-hander as you get 200% of the Legendary aspect bonus on it.

Stat Priority List

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Storm Wolf Druid. Affixes for each gear slot are listed in order of importance. Bolded stats are the most important and sometimes vital for the build to function properly.

Season 2 Update (Patch 1.2.0): Critical Strike Damage and Vulnerable damage affixes are changed to be additive with other damage increases. All Additive damage increases of the same amount are equal in value, as long as their conditions are active.

Gear Slot	Important Affixes
Helm	Unique (Tempest Roar)
Chest	Unique (Mad Wolf’s Glee)
Weapon	Unique (Greatstaff of the Crone)
Amulet	Unique (Melted Heart of Selig) If you don’t have the Amulet Damage Reduction Damage Reduction from Close Enemies Damage while Shapeshifted Storm Skill Damage Werewolf Skill Damage Cooldown Reduction
Gloves	Lucky Hit Chance Attack Speed Critical Strike Chance Critical Strike Damage Willpower
Pants	Life Damage Reduction Damage Reduction from Close Enemies Damage to Elites Willpower
Boots	Damage Reduction while Injured Fortify Generation Movement Speed Willpower All Stats
Rings	Lucky Hit Chance Resource Generation Lightning Damage Vulnerable Damage Critical Strike Chance Critical Strike Damage

Best in Slot Aspects, Powers & Uniques

Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects found on Unique and Legendary Items that are important for the Storm Wolf Druid build. Aspects from the Codex of Power can be used if you cannot find the proper Legendary drops, but they have weaker effects. Extract Aspects from lower level Legendary Items and imprint them onto better Rare Items with preferred stats.

Slot	Item/Aspect Name	Legendary/Unique Power	Rarity
Helm	Tempest Roar	Lucky Hit: Storm Skills have up to a [15 – 25]% chance to grant 4 Spirit. Your base Storm Skills are now also Werewolf Skills	Unique
Amulet	Melted Heart of Selig If no Unique then Runeworker’s Conduit Aspect	Gain 60 Maximum Resource. When taking damage, 75% is drained as 2 Resource for every 1% of Maximum Life you would have lost. If no unique then Critical Strikes with Storm Skills that you cast charge the air around you for [1.0 – 2.0] seconds causing a Lightning Bolt to periodically hit an enemy in the area for [X] Lightning damage. This duration can be extended by additional Critical Strikes.	Unique (Mandatory)
Ring 1	Rapid Aspect	Basic Skills gain +[15 – 30]% Attack Speed.	Legendary
Ring 2	Aspect of the Moonrise	Damaging an enemy with a Basic skill grants you 4% Attack Speed for 10 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Upon reaching maximum stacks, you enter a Vampiric Bloodrage, gaining 40-80% Basic Skill damage and 15% Movement Speed for 10 seconds.	Legendary
Chest	Mad Wolf’s Glee	Werewolf form is now your true form, and you gain +3 Ranks to all Werewolf Skills.	Unique
Gloves	Mighty Storm’s Aspect	The Earthen Might Key Passive also applies to your Storm Skills.	Legendary
Pants	Vigorous Aspect	Gain [10 – 15]% Damage Reduction while Shapeshifted into a Werewolf.	Legendary
Boots	Hectic	For every 5 Basic Skills you cast, one of your active Cooldowns is reduced by 2-4 seconds.	Legendary
2 Handed Weapon	Greatstaff of the Crone	Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at [120 – 150]% normal damage.	Unique (Mandatory)

Gems

Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each slot type.

• Weapon: Royal Topaz for +#% Basic Skill Damage
• Armor: Royal Ruby for +#% Maximum Life if you have Amulet, Royal Sapphire for Damage reduction while Fortified if you don’t
• Jewelry: Royal Diamond for all Resistance or any gem that provides you with the resistance type you lack the most up to the cap of 70%.

Elixirs and Health Potions

To gain an edge in your adventures, head to the Alchemist in any major town, and craft Elixirs that enhance your stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Remember to gather the necessary crafting materials by foraging plants. Select an Elixir that provides the resistance you need most, or try the Assault Elixir to boost your Attack Speed.

Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.

Changelog

• March 5th, 2024: Updated for Midseason patch Season 3 (Patch 1.3.3) Changed Legendary Aspects to include two of the new vampiric aspects added in 1.3.3
• 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 added Malignant Hearts, updated item affixes, Changed Skill Tree and Skill Bar.