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Maul Druid Guide

Season 8D

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

Never mess with a Bear! The Maul Druid is anything but cute and cuddly. Crushing mobs with unstoppable attacks and being incredibly hard to kill, this ferocious beast is both fun and effective! A Werebear Druid has the highest possible Life pool in the game. This monster excels at crushing single targets such as Uber Bosses, while also being able to farm practically any area in the game (especially with Bone Break).

Maul deals a high amount of Physical Damage, stacking additional Damage and Attack Speed with each blow (up to a maximum). As hard as the Werebear hits, his next hits are even harder...and faster! Heart of Wolverine grants more Attack Rating and Physical Damage for Maul. Hunger provides this build with crazy Life and Mana sustain. Shock Wave is effective Crowd Control for the Werebear. In Patch 2.6, Metamorphosis provides separate, powerful bonuses for striking a monster in Werebear and Werewolf form. Nothing can stop the Maul Druid from pancaking enemies with his huge mangy paws!

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup

Maul

Werebear

Lycanthropy

Heart of Wolverine

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Druid Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.

Ultra Tanky Build ✔
Crushes Uber Bosses ✔

Can Farm Most Areas ✔
Massive Single Target Damage ✔

❌ Severely Lacks Mobility
Lacks Area Of Effect Damage
Limited Actions In Shapeshift Form
Requires GG Gear For Full Potential

Sunder Charm Setup

Patch 2.5 introduced a new way of breaking Immunities: Sunder Charms. Any enemy that would be Immune to your damage type is instead reduced to 95% Resistance, before any other Resistance reductions apply. (e.g. Lower Resist, Conviction) The Charm also reduces YOUR Resistance against the sundered damage type! Check out our post on Sunder Charms to learn more about these new Charms. The following setup uses Bone Break, allowing you to farm anywhere you want.

Sunder Charm Setup
Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

To optimize this Sunder Charm, make use of Amplify Damage or Decrepify procs for a large amount of -% Enemy Physical Resistance. Great sources of these are Brand on Weapon-Swap, and The Reaper's Toll on your Mercenary.

Counteract the negative effect of Bone Break with gear that grants Damage Reduction such as Metamorphosis, Crown of Ages, Vampire Gaze, String of Ears, and Verdungo's Hearty Cord.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic combined with Sunder Charms open up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build. With the Sunder Charm Setup, more Terror Zones become accessible. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

Travincal - Quick Access, Few Immunities, Council Members
Frigid Highlands (Eldritch ONLY) - No Immunities, Quick Access
Pit - No Immunities, Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility
Rocky Waste + Stony Tomb - No Immunities, Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility, Quick Access
Stony Field - No Immunities, Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility, Quick Access

Worst

The Tower Cellar - Trash Mobility, Slow Access, Immunities
Arcane Sanctuary - Trash Mobility, Immunities
Ancients' Way + Icy Cellar - High Physical Damage, Immunities
Burial Grounds + Crypt + Mausoleum - Low Density, Few Elite Groups, Trash Mobility, Slow Access
Arreat Plateau + Pit of Acheron - Low Density, High Physical Damage, Immunities

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)
5. Werewolf
6. Feral Rage

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants may require different allocations!

Strength

Allocate 200-300 Stat Points into Strength to gain additional Physical Damage on melee attacks.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Dexterity your gear provides when equipped.

Vitality

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Do not allocate any Stat Points into Energy. Mana costs are covered by “x% Mana stolen per hit” on gear and Hunger.

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Starter
Budget
Standard
Sustain
Damage
Ubers
Hardcore

Setup

The Starter variant of the Maul Druid meets the minimum gear requirements for farming the Starter tagged areas in the "Farming Spots" section above. These areas can be Solo-farmed by this setup (/Players1 on Single Player) in both Nightmare and Hell difficulty. Unbending Will and Hustle are strong, relatively easy to acquire weapons that can provide this build with sufficient power. Beyond a decently strong weapon, make sure to prioritize Attack Speed, Attack Rating, Damage, Resistances, Cannot Be Frozen, and Life/Attributes on your gear. A Harmony on Weapon-Swap greatly boosts your travel speed in-between monster packs. Follow the Druid Leveling Guide to get your Druid to Level 75.

Mercenary

The Starter Maul Druid uses an Act 5 Frenzy Mercenary with 2x Lawbringers for their ability to proc Decrepify. Decrepify increases your Damage, provides a Slow, and breaks most Physical Immunes. Sanctuary Aura also provides additional Crowd Control. Mercenaries require Resistances, Life Leech, and/or Damage Reduction to stay alive. Smoke provides Resistances on this setup.
Note: You can also use an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Hustle on the Starter build.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Budget Maul Druid achieves solid results with gear that is much easier to acquire than the gear on the Standard Build. This variant can farm almost every Farming Spot the Standard Build can, and almost just as well, albeit on a lower Player Count. With 1-3 Players in the game or /Players1-3 on Single Player, the Budget setup dominates The Pit and Act Bosses. Swapping in a Dwarf Star allows this build to smash Travincal as well. The Budget Maul Druid makes use of several lower-end gear options that still provide solid Damage, Attack Rating, Resistances, Life, and the Cannot Be Frozen stat. Oath Feral Axe is a relatively cheap, fast weapon that does the job. If you can acquire Bone Break you can smash Immune to Physical mobs on this setup.

Mercenary

The Budget Maul Druid uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll for its Decrepify proc. Decrepify increases your Damage, provides a Slow, and breaks most Physical Immunes. Treachery and Guillaume's Face add to his damage and allow him to reach the 75% Increased Attack Speed Breakpoint for maximum Decrepify procs.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This is the Standard Best in Slot (BiS) Maul Druid featured in the beginning of the guide. It is the balanced "jack-of-all-trades" version, capable of performing the most tasks well. This variant is the point of comparison for all other variants. It carefully balances Damage, Magic Find, and Defensive Stats. Breath of the Dying in an Archon Staff provides extremely high, consistent damage. Other Breath of the Dying Bases can be used depending on preference. Metamorphosis provides incredible "Mark of the Bear" and "Mark of the Wolf" stat bonuses.

Mercenary

The Standard Maul Druid uses an Act 1 Mercenary with Faith to reach maximum Attack Speed. Fanaticism Aura also boosts your damage. Shaftstop and Vampire Gaze provide her with much needed Damage Reduction.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)
5. Werewolf
6. Feral Rage

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate 200-300 Stat Points into Strength to increase Maul's Physical Damage and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Sustain variant uses a combination of Grief Phase Blade and Phoenix Monarch for a solid amount of Damage and Life/Mana Sustain. String of Ears is also used for additional Damage Reduction. This setup is tankier than the Standard Build, but deals less damage. This makes it more effective in Low Player Count games (/Players1-3 in Single Player). Metamorphosis provides incredible "Mark of the Bear" and "Mark of the Wolf" stat bonuses.

Mercenary

The Sustain Maul Druid uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Pride to boost your damage as much as possible. Shaftstop and Vampire Gaze provide him with much needed Damage Reduction, as Pride does not do much damage.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)
5. Werewolf
6. Feral Rage

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate 200-300 Stat Points into Strength to increase Maul's Physical Damage and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Damage Maul Druid uses Brand on Weapon-Swap for a reliable Amplify Damage proc. It also sacrifices survivability for the extra damage provided by Guillaume's Face. This variant performs the best in High Player Count games or /Players7-8 in Single Player. Amplify Damage allows this setup to one-shot most monsters with any number of Players in the game. It absolutely massacres. Most of the time, Amplify Damage procs quickly after running into a monster pack with Brand equipped. However, certain monsters with abilities that do not trigger it (such as Hydra and Inferno) can prove quite troublesome. Purposely not putting enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your armor gear while on your Bone Break-swap makes it more likely that you are struck, increasing the likelihood of procing Amplify Damage. Bone Break makes it possible for the Damage Maul Druid to smash Immune to Physical mobs. Briefly swapping Guillaume's Face for Metamorphosis can provide you with its incredible "Mark of the Wolf" and "Mark of the Bear" stat bonuses.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Damage Maul Druid uses an Act 1 Mercenary with Faith to reach maximum Attack Speed. Fanaticism Aura also boosts your damage. Shaftstop and Vampire Gaze provide her with much needed Damage Reduction.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)
5. Werewolf
6. Feral Rage

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear all your gear on your main weapon loadout, but not enough to wear Fortitude while on Brand-swap. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Ubers variant specializes in defeating the Uber Bosses, including mini-Ubers such as Lilith. Crushing Blow, Open Wounds, Deadly Strike, Enhanced Damage, Damage Reduction, Resistances, and Life are priority stats on this setup. Ribcracker is one of the best Weapons on an Uber-killing Maul Druid. Dracul's Grasp or a Life Tap Charges Wand on Weapon-Swap provides Life Tap for additional Life Sustain. Dracul's Grasp also increases your Open Wounds stat. Pre-buffing Enchant with Demon Limb provides additional Attack Rating and pre-buffing Fade with Treachery provides Damage Reduction, Resistances, and Curse Duration Reduction. Briefly swapping Guillaume's Face for Metamorphosis can provide your with its incredible "Mark of the Wolf" and "Mark of the Bear" stat bonuses. Thundergod's Vigor and stacked Lightning Resistance allows this build to tank Uber Mephisto.

Mercenary

The Ubers Maul Druid uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll for its Decrepify proc. Decrepify massively increases your Damage against Uber Bosses while Slowing them down. Treachery and Guillaume's Face add to his damage and allow him to reach the 75% Increased Attack Speed Breakpoint for maximum Decrepify procs.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)
5. Werewolf
6. Feral Rage

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality. Allocate additional Stat Points into Dexterity to increase your Attack Rating if it is below 10K (after buffs).

Setup

For the Hardcore mode variant, aim for 50% Damage Reduction and maximum Chance to Block (75%) to guard against taking extreme amounts of Physical Damage. Additionally, overcap Resistances beyond the natural cap of 75% if possible to counteract hostile Conviction or Lower Resist. Metamorphosis provides you with insane Life and Damage Reduction stats with its "Mark of the Wolf" and "Mark of the Bear". You can also use Breath of the Dying for a less tanky 2-Handed setup that deals more damage. Consult the "Hardcore" section for more detailed information.

Mercenary

The Hardcore Maul Druid uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Pride to boost your damage as much as possible. Shaftstop and Vampire Gaze provide him with much needed Damage Reduction, as Pride does not do much damage.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Hunger
2. Shock Wave
3. Summon Grizzly
4. Heart of Wolverine (Max Later)
5. Werewolf
6. Feral Rage

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werebear
2. Lycanthropy
3. Maul
4. Heart of Wolverine
5. Oak Sage

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Summary

  • Keep Maul stacks up and hit monsters as often as possible for maximum Damage and Attack Speed.
  • Sporadically use Hunger as needed to replenish your Life and Mana.
  • Summon Heart of Wolverine and Oak Sage in different situations. Heart of Wolverine helps you one-shot more monsters in High Player Count and makes it easier to reach solid Attack Rating; Oak Sage can make the Maul Druid the tankiest build in the game (good against dangerous mobs) and is usually more useful in a Party.
  • With Metamorphosis equipped, transform into a Werewolf and attack the first monster you encounter with Feral Rage to gain the "Mark of the Wolf" bonuses. Once its stat bonus Aura is confirmed, transform into a Werebear.
  • The Damage Maul Druid Build Variant uses Brand on Weapon-Swap to easily decimate monsters in High Player Count (/Players7-8 in Single Player) with its fairly reliable Amplify Damage proc.
  • Crush Uber Bosses to make full use of this dangerous animal!

We hope you enjoy this build! Become a monster to defeat the monsters. Strike fear into the hearts of demons!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by DarkHumility
Reviewed by MacroBioBoi

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