Fury Druid Guide
Last Updated:February 12, 2025|Changelog
The Fury Druid is an extremely powerful melee build that can achieve some of the highest possible Damage and Life values in Diablo 2. This Druid build centers around maximizing the Shape Shifting Skill Tree with some support from the Summoning Skill Tree. It 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).
Fury is your main source of Physical Damage, while Feral Rage provides additional Faster Run/Walk and Life Leech bonuses. Heart of Wolverine grants more Attack Rating and Physical Damage for Fury. In Patch 2.6, Metamorphosis provides separate, powerful bonuses for striking a monster in Werewolf and Werebear form. With his powerful melee attacks and trusty Summons, the Fury Druid is an absolute animal! (literally)
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.
Extremely Tanky ✔
Crushes Uber Bosses ✔
Farms Most Areas With Ease ✔
Massive Single Target Damage ✔
❌ 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 Atma's Scarab, 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
✔ Act 2 Sewers - 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. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
3. Werebear
4. Maul
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Heart of Wolverine
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
Fury* is your Primary Damage Skill. It deals 5 Physical Damage attacks on a single target or 5 hits on 5 separate targets.
Feral Rage* acts as a "Power Up" Skill that provides Faster Run/Walk and Life stolen per hit stat bonuses. A successful hit from Feral Rage triggers a "Red Ball" that spins around your Character, indicating its power level. The bigger the ball, the more powerful the stat bonuses.
* Increased Attack Speed Skills (IAS)
Werewolf* grants you the ability to transform into a Werewolf! The Werewolf form grants Increased Attack Speed, Attack Rating, and Life.
Lycanthropy* is a passive skill which provides you with Life and Duration for Werewolf.
Heart of Wolverine* provides additional Physical Damage and Attack Rating for you and your Mercenary, Summons, and Party Members.
Summon Grizzly* summons a ferocious grizzly bear to fight by your side, acting as a front-line tank.
Werebear* grants you the ability to transform into a Werebear! Werebear form is briefly used to proc the Attack Speed and Damage Reduction bonuses from Metamorphosis on the Fury Druid. Transform back into a Werewolf after confirming the Werebear stat bonus Aura. Since Patch 2.7 allows you to freely transform between Werewolf and Werebear forms (without entering human form), you can also use Werebear form to cast Shockwave before using Fury in Werewolf form (for extra Crowd Control).
Maul* is used on the Fury Druid to reliably trigger the Attack Speed and Damage Reduction 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.
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 Fury 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 Great Poleaxe Ethereal Breath of the Dying Thunder Maul Ethereal Breath of the Dying Giant Thresher Ethereal Tomb Reaver (2x Ruby Jewels of Fervor + Zod Rune) Ethereal Tomb Reaver (2x Ist Runes + Zod Rune) Ethereal Ribcracker Stalagmite (Upgraded) Ribcracker Stalagmite (Upgraded) Ethereal Oath Feral Axe Grief Phase Blade Hustle Feral Axe Unbending Will Colossus Blade Unbending Will Phase Blade | 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 Sanctuary Moser's Blessed Circle Rhyme | None Level x Redemption Aura When Equipped +x% Faster Hit Recovery +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% Cannot Be Frozen x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items |
| 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 (Ruby Jewel of Fervor) Guillaume's Face (Cham Rune) Crown of Ages (2x Ber Runes) Crown of Ages (2x Ruby Jewels of Fervor) Rare Antlers Harlequin Crest Cerebus' Bite Spirit Keeper Vampire Gaze Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest 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 Fury [Druid Only] +x to Heart of Wolverine [Druid Only] +x to Feral Rage [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 Soul Drainer 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 Chance Guards | 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 Atma's Scarab Blood Crafted Amulet Metalgrid Angelic Wings (2-Piece Angelic's Set) | 5% Chance to cast level 2 Amplify Damage on striking +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 Blood Crafted Ring Raven Frost Angelic Halo (2-Piece Angelic's Set) Nature's Peace Dwarf Star Wisp Projector Nagelring Ring Manald Heal | Slain Monsters Rest in Peace +x to Attack Rating +x Minimum Damage +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% Damage Reduced by 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 | ||
| Nihlathak | - | Key of Destruction 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 2 Desert Mercenary
The Act 2 Desert Mercenary is hired from Greiz.
He can be equipped with a Spear or a Polearm, a Body Armor and a Helmet.
Every Act 2 Mercenary has access to an Aura and uses Jab as his base Attack. The Aura activates once the Mercenary has engaged in combat and remains active between traveling to and from town. The Auras available are based on what difficulty you hire the Mercenary from.
Pride, Might
Use a Desert Mercenary with Might Aura to significantly boost your Physical Damage. Equip him with Pride to further boost your damage.
You can also equip him with The Reaper's Toll for its Decrepify proc; however, because the Mercenary often lags behind on the Fury Druid, it is not always helpful. Since you cannot use Teleport while in Werewolf 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 2 Might or Act 1 Cold |
| Weapon | Lawbringers Hustle Insight | The Reaper's Toll | Pride The Reaper's Toll Faith Matriarchal Bow |
| 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, use Werewolf on your Weapon-Swap with more + to Skills to transform into a Werewolf. Then cast Summon Grizzly and Heart of Wolverine. Swap back to your main Weapon. Recast them when they die.
- While running to your Farming Spot, periodically attack monsters with Feral Rage to get there faster.
- With Metamorphosis equipped, transform into a Werebear and attack the first monster you see with Maul to gain the "Mark of the Bear" bonuses. Once its stat bonus Aura is confirmed, transform back into a Werewolf. Refresh "Mark of the Bear" every 3 minutes.
- In combat make sure that your Feral Rage is charged at all times to give you high Faster Run/Walk and Life Steal stat bonuses. Each successful hit increases the size of the swirling "Red Ball", indicating its power level. Make sure to periodically attack with Feral Rage in-between bouts of Fury to maintain maximum Feral Rage stacks.
- Fury serves as your main source of damage. Once you are fully buffed from Feral Rage, use Fury to deal massive amounts of Physical Damage to your enemies.
- Keep the Mercenary and/or Summon Grizzly in-between you and the mob(s) you are targeting to better prioritize high-value single targets with Fury.
- Cast Summon Grizzly in front of dangerous enemies to tank and distract.
- Since Patch 2.7 allows you to freely transform between Werewolf and Werebear forms (without entering human form), you can also use Werebear form to cast Shockwave before using Fury in Werewolf form (for extra Crowd Control).
- You can choose to max and summon Oak Sage instead of Heart of Wolverine to instead 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 the "Mark of the Bear" IAS bonus from Metamorphosis. Consult the d2planner for other bases.
Breath of the Dying Archon Staff
| Frames | 24 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Fury IAS (Level 40 Werewolf) | 0 | 18 | 37 | 56 | 86 |
Tomb Reaver
| Frames | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Fury IAS (Level 32 Werewolf) | 0 | 20 | 24 | 65 | 102 | 142 | 215 |
Ribcracker
| Frames | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Fury IAS (Level 36 Werewolf) | 0 | 19 | 23 | 63 | 99 | 138 | 208 |
Grief Phase Blade
| Frames | 25 | 24 | 23 | 20 |
| Fury IAS (Level 32 Werewolf) | 0 | 3 | 35 | 63 |
Oath Feral Axe
| Frames | 24 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Fury IAS (Level 27 Werewolf) | 0 | 22 | 42 | 63 | 95 |
Hustle Feral Axe
| Frames | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Fury IAS (Level 20 Werewolf) | 0 | 2 | 13 | 29 |
Faster Hit Recovery (FHR)
Faster Hit Recovery increases survivability. Aim for the 42% or 86% FHR Breakpoint.
| Frames | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| FHR | 0 | 9 | 20 | 42 | 86 | 280 |
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 Fury Druid can become Hardcore viable with key changes to Gear, Stat Points, and Skill 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 Fury Druid. A setup using Metamorphosis and String of Ears can together reach 35% Damage Reduction with "Mark of the Bear" active; Metamorphosis also provides you with an insane Life bonus with its "Mark of the Wolf". This combination allows you to maintain the high 2-Handed Damage from Breath of the Dying. Crown of Ages and String of Ears together achieve 46% Damage Reduction while also enabling a 2-Handed approach. A setup using Grief Phase Blade and Stormshield reaches the 50% Damage Reduction and can achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%), but sacrifices a significant amount of damage.
- 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
- After allocating enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear, put all remaining Points into Vitality (no extra Stat Points into Strength for Damage).
- If you choose to equip the Grief Phase Blade, Stormshield combo, put enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%).
Skill Point Changes
- There are no required Skill Point changes for a Hardcore Fury Druid. It is advised to max Oak Sage instead of Heart of Wolverine for extra tankiness, however.
See the "Hardcore" Build Variant below for additional suggestions and visuals.
Build Variants
Setup
The Starter variant of the Fury 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. Hustle and Unbending Will 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 Fury 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 if you are using Unbending Will on your Character.
Skills
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
Put 10 Skill Points into the following Skills:
1. Feral Rage
2. Heart of Wolverine
Attributes
Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
Setup
The Budget Fury 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 Fury 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 Fury 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. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Heart of Wolverine
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
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) Fury 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 Wolf" and "Mark of the Bear" stat bonuses.
Mercenary
The Standard Fury 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. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
3. Werebear
4. Maul
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Heart of Wolverine
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
Attributes
Allocate 200-300 Stat Points into Strength to increase Fury's Physical Damage and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
Setup
The Magic Find variant achieves extremely high Magic Find on a Fury Druid by using Tomb Reaver, Harlequin Crest, War Traveler, and Magic Find Charms. This setup is also tankier than the Standard Build, achieving higher Resistances and Damage Reduction. Make sure to still prioritize Attack Speed and Damage on the rest of your gear. This variant sacrifices Damage for Magic Find, making it more efficient in Low Player Count (/Players1-3 on Single Player) games.
Mercenary
Just as with the Standard Build, the Magic Find Fury 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. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
3. Werebear
4. Maul
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Heart of Wolverine
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
Attributes
Allocate 200-300 Stat Points into Strength to increase Fury's Physical Damage and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
Setup
The Damage Fury 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 Brand-swap makes it more likely that you are struck, increasing the likelihood of procing Amplify Damage. Bone Break makes it possible for the Damage Fury 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 Fury 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. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
3. Werebear
4. Maul
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Heart of Wolverine
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
Attributes
Allocate 200-300 Stat Points into Strength to increase Fury's Physical Damage and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality. Alternatively, only put enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear, but not enough to wear all of your gear while on Brand-swap.
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 arguably the best Weapon on an Uber-killing Fury Druid. A Dracul's Grasp, or a Life Tap Charges Wand on Weapon-Swap can also be used to provide 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 Fury 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. Along with Bone Break, Decrepify also allows you destroy Uber Baal's Physical Immune Summons. 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. Summon Grizzly
2. Heart of Wolverine (Max Last)
3. Werebear
4. Maul
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Heart of Wolverine
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
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 high Damage Reduction 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 equip Grief Phase Blade and Stormshield to achieve an even more tanky setup with maximum Chance to Block (75%). Consult the "Hardcore" section for more detailed information.
Mercenary
Just as with the Standard Build, the Hardcore Fury 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
Max Oak Sage instead of Heart of Wolverine for as much Life as possible. The rest is the same as the Standard Build.
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Summon Grizzly
2. Oak Sage (Max Last)
3. Werebear
4. Maul
Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Werewolf
2. Lycanthropy
3. Fury
4. Feral Rage
5. Oak Sage
Allocate any remaining Skill Points past Level 97 into Summon Dire Wolf for increased Summon Grizzly Life.
Attributes
Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
Video Guide
Summary
- Keep Feral Rage stacks up for maximum bonuses. Hit monsters with it occasionally in-between bouts of Fury.
- Remember to consistently re-cast Summons such as Heart of Wolverine and Summon Grizzly as needed.
- Maintain your Battle Command and Battle Orders buffs on you and your Summons at all times.
- With Metamorphosis equipped, transform into a Werebear and attack the first monster you encounter with Maul to gain the "Mark of the Bear" bonuses. Once its stat bonus Aura is confirmed, transform into a Werewolf.
- The Damage Fury 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. Enjoy tearing your enemies to shreds with this absolute beast!
Good luck!
Credits
Written by DarkHumility
Original Post by BTNeandertha1
Reviewed by MacroBioBoi