With my gear what do you suggest? I have the following gear awaiting my druid... 2x sojs -archads -maras magefists/bloods/or frosties gore/any other helm spirit keeper +2 Enigma flamebelow balrog sword razors edge runes to make spirit you get the point i have alot of dream druid gear shelved. now i know i have been making alot of posts lately but no one has really shared thier views on Druid PvM HELLMODE . ive read all the guides but i want the forum players to post thier opinions on fav specs, why they like it ect. its been like 3 days and i cant decide if i want to make a shifter or elementalist.... leaning towards ele's since i recently found that shifters cant use enigma to teleport in werewolf forms. so post ur specs pls! shifter or ele
I don't really find any of the gear suitable for a shifter except Gores, Bloods, and maybe a Razor's Edge. For an elementalist... Enigma and Arachnids. Spirit sword and Maras are ok too. Sojs for fire druid only probably.
Welcome to the wild, wild World of Druids!! I'm extremely biased toward shifters, but your equipment seems to scream at me: Windy Druid with a side order of summons. However you still could make a shifter and do very well with a rabid fury wolf. In spite of the fur limitations of tele, you still can teleport around then shapeshift. I actually prefer the PvM Hell the "Party Wolf" (ta-dah!). He's basically a melee werewolf with summons on the side. I maxxed Lycanthropy, Fury, Oak Sage, then put 10 points into werewolf / feral rage. One point wonders are ravens, spirit wolves, dire wolves, carrion vine, then over 15 points into grizzly. He's pretty unstoppable against the monsters and you can always keep a glimmershred on switch for the PIs. I maxxed block (or got pretty close to max block) and put the rest into vitality. I didn't max my werewolf since my dex is pretty good since I wanted max block. The main problem with this build is you're really weapon dependent. Take away my equipment and the only thing I have left is the grizzly to protect me. On the other hand, I typically party with other members (barb, summoner necro, smiter, sorc) so really all I need to do is blunt a monster rush enough to prevent the necro & sorc from getting hit. So the barb, smiter and I form up a shield wall and the necro / sorc blast away under our protection. The Oak really is for the other party members since both the necro and sorc are pretty fragile. The BO from the barb helps a lot, but the extra life from the Oak is really useful. I found DR really helpful as us melee dudes often take a pounding in the front lines. good luck and good hunting! Kirah
Unless you want to do alot of trading, i aggree that it looks like you might be best setting up an elemental druid. Try to trade the following; magefists/bloods/or frosties gore/any other flamebelow balrog sword razors edge maybehelm spirit keeper +2 {cause its dead sexy looking...} For the follwing; hoto if you make a spirit shield stormshield if you make a spirit weapon jalas main if you choose to use spirit & not use the spirit keeper {it is actually a better helm} elemental skill grand charms / druid torch / anni If you plan on using spirit, and you use your arachnids & mage fist, you can have up to 75% cast rate, which iirc is a good breakpoint. But another breakpoint is right near 100%, so if you happen to make two 33%ish spirits {a weapon & shield}, then you can spam just that much faster, while also adding skills / mana {which for pvm will help alot!}. Also with 2 spirits you wont have to worry about your fhr at all, but if you choose to only use one {55% fhr}, try to find some other gear to reach 86% fhr, which is very nice to have. Honestly if you really want to make a shifting druid, the only gear that I see that will be ok are gore riders & blood fist {like Clay said}. Enigma is ok, but for pvm, chains of honor is better due to its leach & resistance. This is for pvm right?
I think im going to try the fury/rabies build... how good is it in PvM? im believing its strictly pvp? or can it be somewhat viable to do hell meph/andy runs too? i have a cold sorc so im not to excited about going elemental... shifters are tight. what im thinking is i will need 2 sets of gear though... 1 for pvm, one for pvp... i heard from this guy on bnet that fury/hunger is really good but i dont know much about the hunger skillls performence. i might trade off some of my sorc stuff, since i have talrasha set and alot of extra stuff like shako/occy/ ect ect. druid stuff is usually cheap. im wondering what a 714 max damage Earthshifter is worth, and if it is a viable 2h weapon to use, i dont understand why it has +ele 7 but damage is highest i have atm anyways i dont care if i dont dominate PVM in hell i just want to be able to survive and actually be able to do some boss runs, other then that i like casual dueling i could probably get all the gear i need just by trading my perfect Herald of Zak
If you're on ladder then the build is alot easier to make viable with mid-end gear. If it's for PvM and Boss runs I suggest: Helm: Jalal's Mane - FHR,Resists,Skills and much more on a helm tat can be bought for very little. or Guillames Face - FHR,CB%,DS% great for melee chars and taking down bosses quickly. Armor: Duress - A bundle of great mods that make PvM a breeze. or Chains of Honor - If you can afford it then by all means, Resists are a godsend along with Leech and Skills. Weapon: Ethereal Oath Cryptic Sword - Never had the chance to use it myself but the runes aren't too costly and the damage is good. or Grief PB - Speed + Damage + -% poison res makes this a very good weapon for a F/R. Shield: 1 Choice Stormshield - Shael this thing and go for max block, and it covers most of your DR% needs too! Gloves: Bloodfists - The ruler of the GM melee gloves. or Draculs' Grasp - IMO not as good as BFists and they cost more but lifetap will keep you alive. Boots: Gore Riders - Melee mods galore. or Goblin Toes: Cost less then Gores and have more CB, No FRW is a downer but CB is good for Ubers and Bosses. Belt: String of Ears - For PvM this belt is amazing, Leech and DR%... or Verdungo's HCord - The SoE big brother, more life and the same DR%. or TGod's: Strength, Vitality and lightning absorb, Gloams are no problem. Ring1: Ravenfrost - Get it, Cherish it. Ring2: Ravenfrost - " ", " " or Rare Dual Leech Ring with stats - Good for PvM but won't help you if you PvP. Amulet: Highlord's Wrath - DS% and a skill. or Mara's Kaleidoscope - A little pricy but with low resistances you can get one easy and cheap... Res, Skills, Stats good all-round for PvM. Charms: Torch: a low - mid Dtorch is very inexpensive. My 20/18 cost me 4 Sojs, hope a lucky druid gets that as a gift from Puma one of these days. :grin: Annihilius: Pricy and not too necessary but always a bonus to have, try getting one but if you can't don't worry, for a low one I'd estimate at 4-5 SOJs depending on the seller. Try and get AR/Life GCs if you go PURE fury, Get Shapeshift GCs with life if you can afford them, if not go with plain SS GCs and Upgrade when you can. If these charms are out of your price range, use charms that fill in whatever you're missing, Resists, Life, AR, FHR... etc. If this is PvM teleport is not a big issue, In PvP you'll have to use your brain and use strategy to reel your opponents to you. Hope I helped a bit. And this shouldn't be over your budget depending on the stats on the gear you get. Best of Luck! ~LesC
