Maul Druid Guide
Last Updated:February 12, 2025|Changelog
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!
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.
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
Maul* is your Primary Damage Skill. It swipes at enemies, increasing your Physical Damage and Attack Speed with each successful hit. A successful hit from Maul triggers a "Green Ball" that spins around your Character, indicating its power level. The bigger the ball, the greater the Damage and Attack Speed bonuses.
* Increased Attack Speed Skills (IAS)
Werebear* grants you the ability to transform into a Werebear! The Werebear form grants Damage, Defense, and a massive amount of Life. It also makes your attacks uninterruptible (once started your attacks always complete).
Lycanthropy* is a passive skill which provides you with Life and Duration for Werebear.
Heart of Wolverine* provides additional Physical Damage and Attack Rating for you and your Mercenary, Summons, and Party Members.
Oak Sage* provides a Maximum Life boost for you and your Mercenary, Summons, and Party Members.
Hunger* rapidly bites monsters for massive Life and Mana Leech. Leech amount is based on its Skill Level. It also deals some Physical Damage.
Shock Wave* stuns mobs in a cone in front of the Werebear. Stun length is based on its Skill Level. It also deals an insignificant amount of Physical Damage.
Summon Grizzly* summons a ferocious grizzly bear to fight by your side, acting as a front-line tank.
Werewolf* grants you the ability to transform into a Werewolf! This Skill enables you to trigger "Mark of the Wolf" with Metamorphosis equipped.
Feral Rage* is used on the Maul Druid to reliably trigger the "Mark of the Wolf" Attack Rating and Maximum Life bonuses from Metamorphosis.
* Increased Attack Speed Skills (IAS)
* Faster Cast Rate Skills (FCR)
* Skills that do NOT utilize either FCR or IAS
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
While every Stat in the Desirable Stats column is useful for this build, we highlighted the Priority Stats in Teal so you can easily identify the Most Important Stats on them.
Hover over any Item to see a pop-out with the full Item description.
Gear/Base Notes: Any Items with specialized or niche uses have a superscript that refers here.
1) Breath of the Dying made in an Archon Staff provides the Maul Druid with close to the highest overall DPS along with the most consistent damage. This maximizes his one-shot potential and Life Leech in most scenarios.
2) Treachery and Demon Limb are used for pre-buffing prior to taking down the Ubers. Treachery pre-buffs Fade for All Resistances, Curse Length Reduction, and Damage Reduction, while Demon Limb pre-buffs Enchant for increased Attack Rating.
3) A Life Tap Charge Wand on Weapon-Swap can be used to apply Life Tap to Uber Bosses.
| Slot | Item Options | Desirable Stats |
| Weapons | Ethereal Breath of the Dying Archon Staff1 Ethereal Breath of the Dying Thunder Maul Ethereal Breath of the Dying Great Poleaxe Grief Phase Blade Ethereal Ribcracker Stalagmite (Upgraded) Ribcracker Stalagmite (Upgraded) Ethereal Tomb Reaver (Zod Rune + 2x Ruby Jewels of Fervor) Ethereal Oath Feral Axe Unbending Will Colossus Blade Hustle Feral Axe | 5% Chance to cast Level 1 Burst of Speed on striking 18% Chance to cast Level 18 Taunt on striking Level 1 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped Indestructible +x% Increased Attack Speed +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Enhanced Damage Damage +x Ignore Target's Defense -x% Target Defense +x% Damage to Demons +x% Damage to Undead +x% Mana stolen per hit +x% Life stolen per hit x% Chance of Crushing Blow x% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +x to Attribute All Resistances +x +x to Life after each Kill x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Ethereal, Socketed [x] |
| Off-Hand | None Phoenix Monarch Stormshield | None Level x Redemption Aura When Equipped +x% Faster Block Rate x% Increased Chance of Blocking +x% Enhanced Damage +x to Attribute +x Life +x% to Maximum X Resist X Resist +x% +x Fire Absorb Damage Reduced by x% |
| Weapon-Swap | Call to Arms Brand Harmony Demon Limb2 Life Tap Charge Wand3 | 35% Chance to cast Level 14 Amplify Damage when struck Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped +x to All Skills +x to Battle Orders +x to Battle Command Level 23 Enchant [x/x Charges] Level x Life Tap [x/x Charges] |
| Off-Hand-Swap | Spirit Monarch | +x to All Skills |
| Helmets | Metamorphosis Jalal's Mane Guillaume's Face Crown of Ages Rare Antlers Cerebus' Bite Spirit Keeper Vampire Gaze Rockstopper Kira's Guardian Hearth Wisdom Temper Bulwark | Mark of the Wolf Mark of the Bear +x to All Skills +x to Shape Shifting Skills [Druid Only] +x to Druid Skills +x% Increased Attack Speed +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Enhanced Damage x% Bonus to Attack Rating +x to Attack Rating +x% Mana stolen per hit +x% Life stolen per hit x% Chance of Crushing Blow x% Deadly Strike x% Chance of Open Wounds +x to Maul [Druid Only] +x to Werebear [Druid Only] +x to Heart of Wolverine [Druid Only] +x to Attribute +x Life Increase Maximum Life x% +x Mana +x% to Maximum Poison Resist X Resist +x% Cold Absorb x% Fire Absorb x% +x Lightning Absorb Damage Reduced by x% Damage Reduced by x Cannot Be Frozen x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Socketed [x] |
| Body Armors | Fortitude Chains of Honor Jeweler's Archon Plate of the Whale (4x Ruby Jewels of Fervor) Duress Treachery2 Enigma Shaftstop Leviathan Duriel's Shell Hustle Lionheart Skullder's Ire | 5% Chance to cast Level 15 Fade When Struck 20% Chance to cast Level 15 Chilling Armor When Struck +x to All Skills +x% Faster Run/Walk +x% Increased Attack Speed +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Enhanced Damage +x% Damage to Demons +x% Damage to Undead +x% Life stolen per hit +x% Chance of Crushing Blow +x% Chance of Open Wounds +x to Teleport +x to Evade +x to Attribute +x Life Increased Maximum Life x% +x% to Maximum Lightning Resist All Resistances +x Damage Reduced by x% Cannot Be Frozen +x to Life after each Kill x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Gloves | Laying of Hands Blood Crafted Gloves Dracul's Grasp Steelrend Lava Gout Death's Hand (2-Piece Death's Set) Immortal King's Forge (3-Piece Immortal King's Set) Sigon's Gage (3-Piece Sigon's Set) Magnus' Skin Sander's Taboo Bloodfist | 5% Chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on striking 2% Chance to cast level 10 Enchant on striking +x% Increased Attack Speed +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Enhanced Damage +x to Attack Rating +x% Damage to Demons +x% Mana stolen per hit +x% Life stolen per hit x% Chance of Crushing Blow x% Chance of Open Wounds +x to Attribute +x Life X Resist +x% Poison Length Reduced by x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Belts | Nosferatu's Coil String of Ears Verdungo's Hearty Cord Goldwrap Battle Belt Thundergod's Vigor Blood Crafted Belt Death's Guard Demonhide Sash (2-Piece Death's Set) Immortal King's Detail (3-Piece Immortal King's Set) Sigon's Wrap (3-Piece Sigon's Set) | +x% Increased Attack Speed +x% Faster Hit Recovery x% Chance of Open Wounds +x% Life stolen per hit Slows Target by x% +x to Attribute +x Life +x% to Maximum Lightning Resist X Resist +x% +x Lightning Absorb Damage Reduced by x% Magic Damage Reduced by x Cannot Be Frozen x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Boots | Gore Rider War Traveler Goblin Toe Aldur's Advance Immortal King's Pillar (3-Piece Immortal King's Set) Sigon's Sabot (3-Piece Sigon's Set) Sander's Riprap | +x% Faster Run/Walk +x to Attack Rating Adds x Damage x% Chance of Crushing Blow x% Deadly Strike x% Chance of Open Wounds +x to Attribute +x Life X Resist +x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Amulets | Highlord's Wrath The Cat's Eye Amulet Blood Crafted Amulet Metalgrid Angelic Wings (2-Piece Angelic's Set) | +x to All Skills +x to Druid Skills +x% Increased Attack Speed +x% Faster Run/Walk +x to Attack Rating +x% Life stolen per hit x% Deadly Strike +x to Attribute +x Life X Resist +x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Rings | Rare Ring Rare Ring Blood Crafted Ring Raven Frost Angelic Halo (2-Piece Angelic's Set) Dwarf Star Wisp Projector Nagelring Ring Manald Heal | +x to Attack Rating +x% Mana stolen per hit +x% Life stolen per hit +x to Attribute +x Life X Resist +x% Cold Absorb x% Fire Absorb x% Lightning Absorb x% Magic Damage Reduced by x Cannot Be Frozen x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Charms | Spiritual Grand Charm of Vita Spiritual Grand Charm of Balance Spiritual Grand Charm of Inertia Spiritual Grand Charm Sharp Grand Charm of Vita Sharp Grand Charm of Balance Sharp Grand Charm of Inertia Steel Grand Charm of Vita Shimmering Grand Charm of Vita Shimmering Grand Charm Resistance Grand Charm Sharp Large Charm of Vita Fine Small Charm of Good Luck Shimmering Small Charm of Good Luck Shimmering Small Charm of Vita Fine Small Charm of Vita Fine Small Charm of Balance Fine Small Charm of Inertia Shimmering Small Charm of Inertia Shimmering Small Charm Resistance Small Charm | +x to Shape Shifting Skills [Druid Only] +x % Faster Run/Walk +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x to Maximum Damage +x to Attack Rating +x to Attribute + Life X Resist +x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| Unique Charms | Bone Break Gheed's Fortune Druid Hellfire Torch Annihilus | Monster Physical Immunity is Sundered +x to All Skills +x to Druid Skills +x to All Attributes All Resistances +x +x% to Experience Gained x% Extra Gold from Monsters x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Reduces all Vendor Prices x% +x to Light Radius |
The areas below are efficient farming locations that make use of the build’s strengths. Other farming spots might not be as effective due to Immunities or bad layouts.
Anything that has a ✔ in the "Starter" column can be farmed with the Starter or Budget Build Variant.
Act 1
| Area | Starter | Rewards | ||
| The Countess | ✔ | Runes Key of Terror | ||
| The Pit | ✔ | All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling | ||
| Andariel | ✔ | Uniques Sets Jewelry | ||
Act 2
| Area | Starter | Rewards | ||
| Stony Tomb | ✔ | All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling | ||
| Ancient Tunnels | - | All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling | ||
Act 3
| Area | Starter | Rewards | ||
| Arachnid Lair | ✔ | All Item Types Max Area Level | ||
| Travincal | - | Gearing Runes Charms / Gems / Jewels Gold | ||
| Mephisto | - | Uniques Sets | ||
Act 4
| Area | Starter | Rewards | ||
| City of the Damned | - | All Item Types | ||
| River of Flame | - | All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling | ||
| Chaos Sanctuary | - | All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling | ||
| Diablo | - | Uniques Sets Leveling | ||
Act 5
| Area | Starter | Rewards | ||
| Eldritch the Rectifier | ✔ | Gearing Gold Leveling | ||
| Shenk the Overseer | ✔ | Gearing Gold Leveling | ||
| Pindleskin | - | Gearing Gold Leveling | ||
| Worldstone Keep / Throne of Destruction | - | All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling | ||
| Baal / Waves | - | Uniques Sets Max Area Level Leveling | ||
Ubers
This build is capable of farming Uber Tristram and the Mini Ubers before (See the "Ubers" Build Variant):
| Area | Rewards | ||
| Lilith | Diablo's Horn | ||
| Duriel | Baal's Eye | ||
| Izual | Mephisto's Brain | ||
| Mephisto, Diablo, Baal | Hellfire Torch |
Your Mercenary serves an incredibly important role to the overall success of your build. They can be a front line tank, provide a pivotal Aura, and/or deal Physical Damage to kill enemies with Immunity to your Skill set.
Act 1 Rogue Mercenary
Her Arrow Skill options are Fire (using Exploding Arrow and Fire Arrow) and Cold (using Freezing Arrow and Cold Arrow). Both options alternate between their 2 Skills, dealing AoE damage with Exploding Arrow and Freezing Arrow respectively. Freezing Arrow additionally Freezes enemies, providing a great deal of Crowd Control. An Act 1 Mercenary also casts Inner Sight, which lowers the Defense of affected enemies. She can be equipped with a Bow, a Body Armor and a Helmet.
Faith, Freezing Arrow
Equip the Rogue with Faith to benefit from Fanaticism. This Aura grants Increased Attack Speed and Enhanced Damage depending on its Level. A Cold Act 1 Mercenary is used to provide additional Crowd Control for this build.
You can also use an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Pride for slightly higher Damage, but lower Attack Speed. Additionally, The Reaper's Toll is a solid option for its Decrepify proc; however, because the Mercenary often lags behind on the Maul Druid, it is not always helpful. Since you cannot use Teleport while in Werebear form, you cannot quickly reposition the Mercenary for reliable Decrepify procs.
Mercenary Gear Options
Your Mercenary needs maximum Resistances, Life Leech, a high damage Weapon, and high Defense and/or Damage Reduction to stay alive reliably. Cannot Be Frozen is also a great stat for maintaining Mercenary DPS and leech. Ethereal gear is preferred since it doesn't lose durability. Mercenary Types and Gear Options at each Gear Level perform equally well in different situations; choose based on Farming Spots and/or personal preference.
| Gear Level | Early-Game | Mid-Game | End-Game |
| Mercenary Type | Act 5 Frenzy or Act 2 Might | Act 2 Might | Act 1 Cold or Act 2 Might |
| Weapon | Lawbringers Hustle Insight | The Reaper's Toll | Faith Matriarchal Bow Pride The Reaper's Toll |
| Body Armor | Smoke Hustle Lionheart Goldskin Rockfleece Gemmed Dusk Shroud Venom Ward | Treachery Duress Shaftstop The Gladiator's Bane Duriel's Shell Guardian Angel | Shaftstop Treachery Duress |
| Helmet | Gemmed Crown Bulwark Undead Crown The Face of Horror Gemmed Mask Temper Cure | Guillaume's Face Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest Vampire Gaze Crown of Thieves Stealskull Kira's Guardian Rockstopper Cure | Vampire Gaze Guillaume's Face |
The Mercenary is hard to keep alive until you have the minimum gear recommended in this guide. Remember you can drag Healing Potions onto the portrait, or shift + 1/2/3/4 to directly feed them a Healing Potion from your Belt. The Mercenary also gains bonus Resistances from Thawing Potions and Antidote Potions.
If your Mercenary dies in battle, you can revive them from any of the Mercenary NPCs in each Act. This does come with an increasing cost, capping at 50,000 Gold. Keep that in mind and decide if the Mercenary is currently worth the cost.
General
- Before each Magic Find/Experience run, cast Werebear on your Weapon-Swap with more + to Skills to transform into a Werebear. Then cast Summon Grizzly and Heart of Wolverine or Oak Sage. Swap back to your main Weapon. Recast them when they die.
- If you have Harmony on Weapon-Swap, use it to lumber to your Farming Spot faster.
- With Metamorphosis equipped, transform into a Werewolf and attack the first monster you see with Feral Rage to gain the "Mark of the Wolf" bonuses. Once its stat bonus Aura is confirmed, transform back into a Werebear. Refresh "Mark of the Wolf" every 3 minutes.
- Maul serves as your main source of damage. Continuously attack monsters with Maul to build up stacks and maintain them.
- Briefly use Hunger in-between bouts of Maul to regain your Life and/or Mana when they get low.
- Use Shock Wave to Stun dangerous monster packs and to make it easier to deal with high monster density.
- You can also cast Summon Grizzly in front of dangerous enemies to tank and distract.
- You can choose to summon Oak Sage instead of Heart of Wolverine in dangerous situations, or to provide a massive Life bonus to other Players during group play.
Immunities
- Bone Break sets all Immune to Physical monsters to 95% Physical Resistance, allowing any sources of -x% to Enemy Physical Resistance (Amplify Damage or Decrepify) to take full effect.
- If you are not using a combination of Bone Break and a source of either Amplify Damage or Decrepify, you should skip all monsters that are Physical Immune.
Late-Game
- Before starting your Magic Find/Experience run, first cast Battle Command 2 times and then Battle Orders once using Call to Arms. Refresh these buffs as soon as they expire (approx. every 2-3 minutes).
Breakpoints in Diablo 2 are the minimum values required to reduce the frames of an action. Below are the important breakpoints considered for this build. For more information on the mechanics involved, check out our in-depth Resource: Breakpoints.
Increased Attack Speed (IAS)
Increased Attack Speed speeds up your attack animations. Weapon bases have different IAS breakpoints. Values for recommended weapon options are provided below. Breath of the Dying Archon Staff takes into account "Mark of the Bear" from Metamorphosis. Consult the d2planner for other bases.
Breath of the Dying Archon Staff
| Frames | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Maul IAS (23 Stacks) | 0 | 34 | 44 |
Grief Phase Blade
| Frames | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Maul IAS (23 Stacks) | 0 | 15 | 30 | 58 |
Ribcracker
| Frames | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Maul IAS (18 Stacks) | 0 | 14 | 27 | 35 | 75 | 102 | 163 |
Oath Feral Axe
| Frames | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Maul IAS (16 Stacks) | 0 | 4 | 9 | 35 | 52 | 86 |
Unbending Will Colossus Blade
| Frames | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Maul IAS (13 Stacks) | 0 | 5 | 19 | 42 | 68 | 80 |
Faster Hit Recovery (FHR)
Faster Hit Recovery increases survivability. Aim for at least the 54% FHR Breakpoint on the Standard Build.
| Frames | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| FHR | 0 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 24 | 37 | 54 | 86 | 152 | 360 |
Faster Block Rate (FBR)
Faster Block Rate increases survivability and ease of mobility on the Hardcore Build Variant. Aim for the 40% FBR Breakpoint on that setup.
| Frames | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| FHR | 0 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 27 | 40 | 65 | 109 |
For all Hardcore gameplay, your primary focus is increasing your Resistances, Damage Reduction, Chance to Block and Maximum Life. This can mean sacrificing overall power level for a more secure playstyle.
The Maul Druid can become Hardcore viable with key changes to Gear and Stat Point allocation. Review the changes below before building this character in Hardcore, as some of these changes differ significantly from the Standard Build.
Gear Changes
- Damage Reduction: There are several gear options/setups for achieving a high amount of % Damage Reduction on a Hardcore Maul Druid. A setup using Stormshield, Grief Phase Blade, and Metamorphosis can together reach 55% Damage Reduction (5% overcapped) with "Mark of the Bear" active, while also enabling maximum Chance to Block. Metamorphosis can also provide you with an insane Life bonus with its "Mark of the Wolf". If you want to instead maintain the higher 2-Handed Damage from Breath of the Dying, you can use a combination of String of Ears and Metamorphosis (or even Crown of Ages) to maintain high Damage Reduction.
- Stacking Resistances: Stack your Fire/Lightning/Cold Resistances beyond the default maximum values of 75 each (175 total in Hell). Stacking 85 additional Resistances in Hell completely negates the Conviction Aura of any Elite Boss or the Oblivion Knight's Lower Resist Curse. Beware of encountering both at the same time! Consider the primary damage type(s) of the monsters in the area you want to farm. Crown of Ages is the best Helmet option to achieve this. Chains of Honor is a possible Body Armor option. Um Runes socketed into gear, Jewelry, and Charms are also ideal sources of Resistances.
- Lightning Absorb: Equip Thundergod's Vigor when farming an area where Burning Souls are able to spawn such as Worldstone Keep/Throne of Destruction.
Stat Point Changes
- Only allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear.
- Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve to maximum Chance to Block (75%) with Stormshield.
- Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality
See the "Hardcore" Build Variant below for additional suggestions and visuals.
Build Variants
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
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
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
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
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
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
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