Welcome to our Druid Poison Shred Build. In this article we will give you the info needed to re-create this build! Covering the Skill Tree, Aspects, Paragon Board, Glyphs and much more! This build features one of the fastest builds in the game.
Pros
- Very fast paced, one of the quickest builds in the game.
- Deals great damage in almost every situation.
- A lot of life steal which makes it very comfortable to play.
Cons
- Hard to follow at times, beware of mechanics.
- Requires knowledge and effort to run efficiently.
- Not the best at high tier pushing.
Skill Tree and Paragon Board
Glyph Leveling Priority
For our Druid Poison Shred Build we are using 5 Rare Glyphs to complement our damage and survivability. Getting Glyphs to level 15 can be a big deal, unlocking a bigger radius airound the Glyph. Below we will put them in order of which one to level to 15 first to last.
- 1 – Undaunted: We will need the extra radius to reach the required stats. Granting us Damage and Damage Reduction while we are fortified.
- 2 – Spirit: We will need the extra radius to reach the required stats. Giving us a damage on our Core Critical Hits, spiking our damage. (Can be switched out for the Werewolf Glyph for more damage reduction)
- 3 – Fang and Claw: We will need the extra radius to reach the required stats. Granting us extra damage to close enemies and also increasing Magic nodes within range.
- 4 – Territorial: We will need the extra radius to reach the required stats. Granting us Damage and Damage Reduction from Close enemies.
- 5 – Exploit: We already hit the required stats without upgrading and will take this last for the increased damage it provides.
Class Mechanic (Spirit Boons)
- Deer – Wariness, giving us 10% reduced damage from Elites.
- Eagle – Avian Wrath, giving us 30% increased Critical Strike Damage.
- Wolf (Mastery) – Energize, giving us Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 10 Spirit and Calamity, Extending the duration of our Ultimate by 25%
- Snake – Masochistic, Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting skills heal you for 3% Max Life.
Legendary Aspects
Legendary Aspects are one of the most powerful parts of any build. Below we list the ones used for this Druid Poison Shred Build. Each build has a limited amount of Offensive, Defensive, and Utility Aspects that it can use. Here is a reminder of the slot limitations for Legendary Aspects:
- Offensive – Amulets, Gloves, Ring, Weapons
- Defensive – Amulets, Chest, Helm, Legs, Shield
- Mobility – Amulets, Boots
- Resource – Rings
- Utility – Amulets, Boots, Chest, Gloves, Helm, Shield
Aspect Priority
Here you will find a small list containing the Aspects we want in the build. We will go from most important at the top and least at the bottom. For more info on the Aspects you can reference the build planner above.
- Aspect of the Dark Howl (Utility)
- Vigorous Aspect (Defensive)
- Accelerating Aspect (Offensive) – Only when we run the build without the Unique (Mad Wolf’s Glee)
- Aspect of Disobedience (Defensive)
- Ghostwalker Aspect (Mobility)
- Aspect of Retaliation (Offensive)
- Stormclaw’s Aspect (Offensive)
- Aspect of the Rampaging Werebeast (Offensive)
- Aspect of the Blurred Beast (Offensive)
- Dire Wolf’s Aspect (Offensive)
Unique Items
For this build we use the following Unique Items, this version of the build can also be played without these Unique Items, they are a nice addition however. We run Accelerating Aspect with the build if we are not using this Unique.
- Mad Wolf’s Glee: Making Werewolf our main form, adding +2 to all Werewolf Skills.
Malignant Hearts
Malignant Hearts, a new addition to Diablo 4 through the first Seasonal experience act as a huge boost to your build capabilities. As a result, we recommend using the following Malignant Hearts for this build:
Recommended
- The Barber (Wrathful, Super-World Tier IV): Critical Strikes and all subsequent damage within 2.0 – 4.0 seconds is absorbed by your target. Then, the absorbed damage erupts onto surrounding enemies. Stored damage is increased by 10% per second.
- The Dark Dance (Vicious, Offensive-World Tier III): Every 5 seconds while above 60% Life, Core Skills cost 68-51 Life instead of your Primary Resource. Skills that consume Life deal 10-20% increased damage.
- Tempting Fate (Vicious, Offensive-World Tier III): You gain 40-60% Critical Strike Damage but your Non-Critical Strikes deal 20-15% less damage.
Alternative Choices
- Prudent Heart (Brutal, Defensive-World Tier III): You become Immune for 2.0-4.0 seconds after you lose more than 20% Life in a single hit. This effect can only occur once every 110 seconds.
- The Calculated (Devious, Utility-World Tier III): After spending 150-200 of your Primary Resource, your next attack Stuns enemies hit for 2 seconds.
Item Affix Priority
Our Affixes are a big deal in completing this Druid Poison Shred Build. Stacking the right % Affixes, taking enough Damage Reduction and or Skill Ranks, it can all make a big difference. Below we will go over what Affixes to prioritize while creating this build.
| Item | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Helm | % Cooldown Reduction | % Spirit Cost Reduction | % Max Spirit | + Max Life | % Total Armor |
| Gloves | + Ranks to Shred | % Critical Strike Chance | % Attack Speed | + All Stats | + Willpower |
| Pants | % Damage Reduction | % Damage Reduction from Close enemies | % Damage Reduction while Fortified | % Damage Reduction from Poisoned enemies | + Strength |
| Boots | Movement Speed | % Armor in Werewolf form | All Stats | % Spirit Cost Reduction | |
| Amulet | % Cooldown Reduction | % Damage Reduction | + to Envenom Passive | + Max Life | % Damage Reduction from Close |
| Ring x 2 | % Vulnerable Damage | % Critical Strike Chance | + Max Life | % Lucky Hit | % Damage |
| Weapon 1H | % Vulnerable Damage | % Damage to Close enemies | % Core Skill Damage | + All Stats | % Critical Damage |
| Offhand | % Cooldown Reduction | % Critical Strike Chance | % Damage Reduction while Fortified | % Damage Reduction from Poisoned enemies | + All Stats |
How To Play Shred Druid
- Enter Grizzly Rage and jump in with Shred, use Blood Howl and Debilitating Roar when you are at the enemy, then keep dashing to enemies until there are none left.
- Keep an eye on your Spirit, without Grizzly Rage active you might get low and it can get you in bad situations.
- Beware of mechanics that are ground targeted, the build is very fast paced and you can find yourself in places you might want to avoid.
How to Play vs Mob Packs, Elites and Bosses
- This version of the Shred Druid requires us to keep a close eye on the distance we have to our enemies especially vs single targets, Dashing to our enemies with Shred results in poison explosions dealing massive damage.
- At the start of a fight with any Elite or Boss, stack poison by just attacking and using Rabies, after stacking your poison take some distance and start Dashing to your enemies.
Conclusion
This concludes our Diablo 4 Druid Poison Shred Build! For more information on Diablo 4, including Class Builds and Guides, be sure to check out our Diablo 4 home page!