Of the five classes available in Diablo 4 at launch, the Druid has been the most maligned. The complaints that arose out of the game's open beta that described the class as having slow progression in the early game have only been mildly addressed. While late-game Druids are a force to be reckoned with and are well worth the time investment players will put in, it's still a slog to get there when compared to, say, the Rogue, who is deadly right out of the gate.
As such, Diablo 4 players who wish to become masters of the forces of nature will need to plan their Druid builds more thoroughly and thoughtfully when they're starting out. There are two main focuses for any class in the game - single-target and AOE (Area of Effect) - and Druids can be built as effective characters for either option. While single-target builds are excellent for co-op play, AOE builds should be more enticing to solo players. These builds can be devastating, as long as players know which skills to invest their valuable points into.
10 Storm Strike
A Druid's basic attacks are almost all single-target abilities prior to being upgraded. The one exception to this is Storm Strike. While this ability only targets one enemy initially, it will chain its lightning damage through up to four enemies behind that first target, allowing players to deal damage to several targets at once.
Storm Strike can then be upgraded, and players' main priority should be to grant it the effect of inflicting vulnerable on enemies. A few hits from Storm Strike can cause an entire group of enemies to become vulnerable, and players can then follow up with a more powerful ability to wipe them all out at once.
9 Lightning Storm
Now we're getting into the Druid's core skills, and right out of the gate, Lightning Storm can be used as both a single-target ability and an AOE ability, depending on how players employ it and how much Spirit they have available at the time.
A single activation of Lightning Storm calls down a lightning bolt to strike a single target. However, if players hold down the button they've assigned to Lightning Storm, that single strike will spread to two strikes, then three, then four. Each strike deals significant damage, and the spread of those multiple strikes can frequently take out several enemies at once.
8 Pulverize
As the conversation around Druids has evolved, one thing has remained constant: one of the class' best abilities is Pulverize. This core skill transforms the Druid into a Werebear and then has them slam the ground, creating a shockwave around them that damages any nearby enemies.
Even when unupgraded, Pulverize is a fantastic AOE ability. However, Enhanced Pulverize will cause the attack to overpower enemies when the player is healthy (above 80% health) and Raging Pulverize will stun any enemies that the attack overpowers, making it not just a great AOE, but a great crowd control ability as well.
7 Tornado
This next Druid skill does exactly what it sounds like it does. The Druid conjures a swirling tornado and sets it loose upon the battlefield. While the player can't take direct control of the storm once it's unleashed, all that's really required is to aim it at a group of enemies and let the winds do the work.
Once players enhance this ability, they gain a 20% chance to cast a second tornado with every use, essentially doubling the skill's AOE capabilities. A further upgrade to Raging Tornado will cause the storm to make any enemies it hits vulnerable, making it easy to pick off any stragglers after the storm dies down.
6 Landslide
This core skill doesn't get enough credit, in part because it is so reliant on RNG. Druids who use Landslide will summon a pair of rock walls from the ground that slam together, crushing any enemies caught in between them.
Once it's upgraded, or synergized with a Legendary Aspect, that reliance on RNG becomes less of an issue. When Raging Landslide strikes an immobilized or stunned enemy, it summons another set of rock walls. If players can synergize this ability with another skill that stuns large groups (like Pulverize) one cast of Landslide can summon a half-dozen separate rock walls, which can make quick work of even the toughest defensive mobs.
5 Hurricane
A skill that is akin to Tornado in a lot of ways, but with more player control. Hurricane summons a swirling wind around the Druid. This skill is excellent when the player is surrounded by enemies and needs to dish out damage quickly in all directions.
The beauty of Hurricane is that it can be upgraded to apply status effects to every enemy it hits. Enhanced Hurricane slows enemies by 25%, Natural Hurricane has a 15% chance to make enemies vulnerable, and Savage Hurricane makes enemies deal less damage. No matter which upgrades players choose, this skill can be a difference-maker when facing Diablo 4's biggest mobs.
4 Trample
The other Druid skill that has gotten a ton of attention is Trample. The Druid transforms into a werebear and charges forward in a straight line, dealing damage to any enemies they collide with along the way.
While that may not sound like an AOE, what really elevates this skill is that any enemies Trample connects with are thrown backward. This makes it a great crowd-clearing skill if the player is facing a large group of enemies. Any enemy that is thrown back into an environmental object or a wall will take extra damage, just to add insult to injury.
3 Petrify
Getting into ultimate abilities, many of the Druid's most powerful skills are AOE skills. The first example is Petrify. When activated, any enemies nearby are encased in stone and stunned for 3 seconds. While they're stunned, they take increased critical hit damage. The damage increase and duration of the stun are doubled when used on boss enemies.
Players can then upgrade Petrify to increase the duration of its effects, and to restore Spirit when they kill a Petrified enemy. While this skill doesn't deal much damage on its own, when combined with a skill like Landslide that becomes stronger when it hits stunned enemies, Petrify can be a devastating AOE ability.
2 Cataclysm
Imagine if Tornado and Lightning Storm had a baby, and that baby went on an uncontrolled rampage. That baby would be the Druid skill Cataclysm. The Druid summons a massive storm, featuring a handful of tornados and dozens of lightning strikes, that follows them around for 8 seconds.
The thing with Cataclysm is that it's chaotic (much like the forces of nature). Other than where the player is positioned, there's very little they can do to direct the storm. They can just summon it and hope it hits the targets they need it to. Thankfully, with all the various natural forces at play, it usually does.
1 Lacerate
There aren't many werewolf skills on this list, primarily because werewolf skills typically work best as single-target attacks. The one exception to that rule is Lacerate, which transforms the Druid into a werewolf and sends them dashing 10 times around the battlefield, striking an enemy after every dash.
The beauty of Lacerate is it can swing both ways. When trying to take down a lone target, all 10 hits will strike that target. When surrounded by a mob, those 10 hits will be spread among the surrounding enemies. It can be upgraded to both heal the player when it lands a critical strike and to guarantee a critical strike on its first hit, making this skill an easy recommendation even if players aren't investing in other werewolf abilities.
Diablo 4 was released on June 5th, 2023, and is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.