Lacerate Druid Endgame Build Guide
Welcome to the Lacerate Druid Endgame Guide! Lacerate is the new Druid build on the block, having been buffed with the most recent updates in Season of Witchcraft. Usually reserved as an utility skill in other builds, the Lacerate Druid breaks the mold and solidifies itself as a fun, efficient farming build that also performs well in the Pit.
The Lacerate Druid exclusively uses Lacerate as its main damage ability. It accomplishes such a feat by stacking Ultimate Cooldown Reduction, as well as using the Lacerate Duration temper to increase the amount of attacks it does, thereby the damage of the skill. Similar to another Ultimate build, Cataclysm, the Lacerate Druid snapshots various buffs, most importantly Xan, to deal devastating guaranteed Critical Strikes that also Overpower. We comfortably Overflow Xan for even more damage with the Rune Nagu, which requires all Companion Skills (a total of 6) to be equipped for maximum Offering. The rest of the kit is rounded out by Defensive Skills, granting various utilities and damage bonuses without consuming the Overpower buff granted by Xan. Furthermore, the Lacerate Druid is as strong defensively as it is offensively since Lacerate grants Immune while active, allowing you to bypass dangers that would be otherwise fatal.
For the build to operate smoothly it's imperative to first acquire its core Unique, Flickerstep. Upon Evading through enemies, this Unique reduces your Lacerate's Cooldown immediately, ensuring you are able to cast it frequently. Equally important, the Lacerate Druid scales its damage with two stats, Critical Strike Damage and Maximum Resource. The former increases Lacerate's Rank 5 multiplier, while the latter scales Ancestral Guidance's secondary multiplier. Additionally, the build features two new Ultimate Aspects in Apogeic Furor and Vehement Brawler's, which grant Lacerate fantastic offensive capabilities.
This guide will teach you all you need to know about the Lacerate Druid. Let's begin!
Requirements for this build to function:
- Xan
- Nagu
- Flickerstep
- A minimum Lacerate Cooldown of 8 seconds is recommended to allow for instant Ultimate resets upon Evading through two enemies.
- The following reduce Lacerate's Cooldown:
- Harlequin Crest
- Lacerate Skill Ranks
- Airidah's Inexorable Will
- Lacerate Cooldown Reduction tempers (Ultimate Efficiency).
- The following reduce Lacerate's Cooldown:
This build guide assumes you have a Level 60 Character and unlocked Torment 1. To get there, level up with one of our Druid Leveling Guides. See how this Build compares against others with our various Build Tier Lists.
Witchcraft Powers
Season 7 is the Season of Witchcraft. It features two separate borrowed power mechanics in the forms of Witchcraft Powers and Occult Gems. Both Seasonal mechanics are unlocked and improved by new NPCs found at the Tree of Whispers after collecting resources from Headhunt Zones, Seasonal areas similar to Helltide that appear across Sanctuary.
There are 25 Witchcraft Powers, 6 of which can be equipped at a time. Each Power belongs to one of three Schools (Eldritch, Growth & Decay and Psyche), tags that promote synergies within themselves and with Occult Gems. Each School has a single Unique Witchcraft Power, only one of which can be equipped at a time. These Unique Powers max out and gain an additional effect at rank 5, while the other Powers max at rank 20 and gain their bonus effects at various levels. To unlock and improve Witchcraft Powers, defeat Headrotten or complete Whispers within the Headhunt Zones to collect Restless Rot. Lost Powers are an exception, requiring you to randomly encounter a Forgotten Altar in Dungeons to unlock them.
Best-in-Slot Witchcraft Powers
- Soul Harvest - This Power dramatically increases Core Stats based on monster density and is a reliably strong choice, especially for the Lacerate Druid which can group mobs together with Airidah's Inexorable Will or Hungering Void.
- Force of Will - This Power is truly formidable, granting you a stacking Overpower damage buff for each enemy killed. Ensure you unlock its Rank upgrade to double its uses.
- Purging Touch - Lacerate becomes an Eldritch effect thanks to Voice of the Stars. Early on this Power is only effective against Headrotten, then becomes a multiplier against all enemies once leveled.
- Aura of Siphoning - You must equip one of the three available Witchcraft Auras to enable Voice of the Stars. Aura of Siphoning is preferred for its healing effect and Growth & Decay tag.
- Aura Specialization - Increases the size of your Aura of Siphoning for potentially more healing, and also grants you a powerful Critical Strike Damage multiplier.
- The Cycle - This two-part Unique Witchcraft Power heals allies and Poisons nearby foes. Additional Poison utility is always welcome, and having extra healing options available ensures your Overpower damage is often maximized.
Alternate Witchcraft Powers
- Aura of Misfortune - A viable alternative to Aura of Siphoning, this Power mitigates some incoming damage while boosting your Movement Speed. Unfortunately, it's ineffective against Bosses and lacks the Growth & Decay tag.
- Shaken Soul - Guarantees Vulnerable uptime against enemies, something which is otherwise inconsistent.
- This Power replaces Force of Will when Pit Pushing, as enemies become harder to kill, resulting in fewer stacks and overall less value gained from Force of Will.
Occult Gems
Rarely, Headrotten Bosses appear with a still-attached Fugitive Head stolen from the Tree of Whispers. Slay these enemies and return the Heads to Gelena to unlock and upgrade Occult Gems. These Gems are socketable in Jewelry and each provide +160 Armor and +8% Resistance to All Elements. More importantly, each Occult Gem grants a unique effect that synergizes with your equipped Witchcraft Powers to provide a variety of Offensive, Defensive, and Utility-based bonuses.
Best-in-Slot Occult Gems
- Voice of the Stars - This Gem enables multiple powerful synergies from our Witchcraft Powers by granting Lacerate all applicable Witchcraft tags.
- Friend of the Bog - Grants Willpower, Maximum Life, and most important, Unhindered. This permits you to move through enemies and makes your Lacerate immune to Movement Speed reductions. Prioritize unlocking this Gem if you satisfy its conditions.
- Hungering Void - Offers a consistent way to pull mobs together, which allows Lacerate to hit multiple monsters simultaneously. Its pull effect is less effective than Airidah's, so it is replaced with Wicked Pact temporarily while using Airidah's.
Alternate Occult Gems
- Phantom String - A straightforward damage multiplier for this build. Note that you need a Hex Effect to activate this Gem.
- Wicked Pact - Is always active and pairs with Purging Touch to provide a modest boost to your Lacerate's damage.
Learn more details about the season theme in our full Season Guide.
Skills & Gameplay
- Maul is our Basic Skill. We don't use Maul, and it only serves as a backup Werebear form if absolutely necessary, as Lust for Carnage is our main Spirit generator.
- Blood Howl activates Backlash and Vigilance and was recently buffed to grant you a sizeable damage bonus while you remain in Werewolf form. Use Blood Howl right before casting Lacerate.
- Debilitating Roar provides some sizeable Fortify and Damage Reduction, but more importantly grants a damage boost with its upgrade Innate Debilitating Roar. Cast it before Blood Howl as to have both damage bonuses stacked for Lacerate.
- Lacerate is your main damage skill. In Season 7 this skill got a major update. You are now able to cancel it during its attacks, and at Rank 5 it unlocks the ability to scale with Critical Strike Damage. Equip your Paragon with as much of this stat as possible and Masterwork Critical Strike Damage on your gear (note that Werewolf Critical Strike Damage does not work). Additionally, ensure you have enough Lacerate Ranks and Ultimate Cooldown Reduction for an 8 second Lacerate Cooldown. This allows you to refresh its Cooldown instantly when you Evade through two enemies using Flickerstep. Similarly, ensure your Lacerate Duration temper is as high as possible to maximize Lacerate's damage. Moreover, Lacerate grants you Immune and Unstoppable, which activates Tibault's Will and can be used to break Crowd Control.
- Lastly, your Companion Skills, Ravens, Poison Creeper and Wolves are equipped to generate Offering via Nagu. Make sure to pick up Brutal Ravens and Ferocious Wolf Pack to reach the 6 Summon threshold and generate extra Fortify respectively. Be careful not to cast them as they can consume Xan's Overpower buff and also break your Werewolf form.
Skill Passives
- Ursine Strength pairs nicely thanks to its fantastic Overpower multiplier and Max Life benefits. Likewise, the Healthy damage bonus is a nice addition to this build, as it is often at full health thanks to Immune.
- Envenom boosts Critical Strike Damage as long as enemies are Poisoned. This damage bonus is achieved rather easily with Toxic Claws, and additionally your Witchcraft Powers can also apply Poison.
Skill Rotation
- Wait for Nagu to Overflow Xan. Once you have Xan ready, ensure you do not unintentionally consume your Overpower by casting Companion Skills.
- Cast Lacerate to deal damage.
- Depending on your Lacerate Duration temper, you may have to shorten your Lacerate cast in order to line it up with Xan.
- If you're about to trigger Xan while Lacerate is active, it is recommended to cancel your Lacerate early, as to not consume two Xans on the same Lacerate (Xan can trigger multiple times on the same cast, resulting in no additional effects). It is much easier to reset your Ultimate than your Xan.
- Against tougher enemies such as Elites or Bosses, cast Debilitating Roar and Blood Howl (in that order) to boost your Lacerate's damage.
- These Defensive Skills will not consume your Xan's Overpower, so use them often before Lacerate to also trigger Backlash, Vigilance, Qax and Ancestral Guidance.
Spirit Boons
Druids can choose 5 out of 16 Passive bonuses (Boons) from 4 different spirits. You have to bond with one of the Spirits in Túr Dúlra to activate two of its Boons. The remaining Spirits can only have one Boon each. Use the following Boons:
Deer Spirit: Gift of the Stag
Eagle Spirit: Avian Wrath
Wolf Spirit: Calamity
Snake Spirit: Masochistic
Bond with the Eagle Spirit and activate Iron Feather.
Learn more details and how to unlock this class specification in our full Druid Spirit Boons Guide.
Paragon & Glyphs
Carefully check your Paragon Boards to ensure correct board rotation. Glyphs go from a radius of 3 to 4 at level 15 and from 4 to 5 at level 46. Some of them cannot be activated before reaching these thresholds! Progress through The Pit to rank up your Glyphs.
Use the slider to see the progression steps. At around Paragon 200, leveling slows down significantly and all important Rare clusters, Legendary nodes and Glyph sockets should be unlocked. Afterwards, you can min/max your build with minor tweaks and by picking up additional smaller nodes.
Lacerate Druid Endgame Paragon
Glyph Leveling Priorities
To Level 15
- Spirit
- Dominate
- Outmatch
- Fang and Claw
- Exploit
To Level 46
- Spirit
- Outmatch
- Dominate
- Fang and Claw
- Exploit
There are a total of 328 Paragon Points. After reaching level 60, you gain up to 300 Paragon Levels, 24 from Renown and 4 from Altars of Lilith. Check out our dedicated in-depth guides to learn more about Paragon Boards and Glyphs.
Runes
You can have up to two Runewords in your setup, each consisting of one Ritual and one Invocation Rune. Socket them in Two-Handed Weapons if your build calls for them, otherwise place them into your Armor pieces to replace normal gems. The Lacerate Druid focuses on the following combos:
Best in Slot
- Nagu + Xan - This combination is essential to this build as Xan guarantees your Lacerate to Overpower and Critically Strike. Nagu (when combined with 6 pets) generates 600 Offering every 5 seconds, Overflowing Xan for additional damage. With a high enough Lacerate Duration temper you are able to dependably have a new Overpower close to ready by the time you finish attacking with your previous Lacerate.
- Igni + Qax - Offers a substantial damage multiplier that is activated reliably by casting your Defensive Skills before casting Lacerate. In addition to this, Qax's downside of consuming your Spirit is used to trigger Ancestral Guidance's primary 40[x] multiplier. Lust for Carnage keeps our Spirit topped off to take advantage of this interaction frequently.
Alternative choices
If you haven't unlocked the final setup or found the top runes, you can also benefit from these options:
- Neo - A sizeable Offering generator that activates while you deal damage with Lacerate.
- Feo + Qax - This rune combination provides a gargantuan 2.5x multiplier to your damage. While not needed for general play, it is by far the best offensive Rune combination that requires some setup to pull off.
- Vex - Grants additional Ranks to all your skills, further reducing their Cooldown and increasing their potency. While inferior to Qax in terms of damage, this Rune is better oriented if you need more Cooldown Reduction.
- Kry - Grouping enemies together substantially improves the effectiveness of Lacerate, so this is a reasonable addition, even alongside Airidah's or Hungering Void.
- Ohm - War Cry - Grants you a moderate damage increase — a simple yet solid option.
- Mot - Enables the Rogue's Dark Shroud, which is a strong and affordable defensive option.
Learn more about Runes and how they work in our dedicated Runewords Overview and Runewords Tier List.
Mercenaries
Mercenaries are unlocked during the Vessel of Hatred campaign and assist you in battle. There are 4 separate Mercenaries to choose from, each with their own skill trees and abilities. You can have one Hired (permanent) mercenary during solo play and a Reinforcement who assists you from time to time in certain situations.
Hired: Varyana
Varyana applies Vulnerable with her attacks when Recklessness is unlocked. No Escape acts as another means of ensuring monsters are grouped up before we strike them with Lacerate.
Reinforcement: Raheir
Raheir generates an on-demand pull with Crater. On Lacerate cast, Raheir will consistently condense the enemies pulled from Hungering Void or Airidah's Inexorable Will.
Learn more about Mercenaries and how they work in our dedicated Mercenaries Overview.
Stat Priorities & Item Progression
To enable the Lacerate Druid to perform optimally, hunt for these stats on your gear with good rolls and aim to Temper ⚒️ & Masterwork Crit ↑ them accordingly. Keep in mind that certain stats, such as Armor, Resistances, Extra Size Tempers, Attack Speed and more, have caps that may affect your priorities according to the items and Paragon points available at that moment.
Recommended Endgame Stat Thresholds
- 70%+ Ultimate Cooldown Reduction
- 100+% Lacerate Duration temper
- 7+ Envenom Ranks
- 200+ Maximum Spirit
- 1500%+ Critical Strike Damage
- Armor Capped 1,000
- Resistance Capped 70%+
- 15,000+ Life
- 160%+ Movement Speed
- 2200+ Willpower
Item Progression Goals
Before you dive into the endgame with the Lacerate Druid, take a look at this overview of the items used in the build. See below for further details about the different progression steps and variants. Some of your Skill Tree choices depend on what Legendary Aspects and Unique items are available to you. Keep in mind that while we can guarantee that everyone has access to the same Codex of Power Aspects, the exact progression is different for everyone.
Learn more details and how to farm Legendary Aspects and Uniques in our General Farming Guide.
Build Variants
This section is designed to guide your Lacerate Druid into the very late endgame using two variants, Ancestral and Mythic. At the final step, you should be fully decked out with a great all-rounder build. From there, follow the other min/max variants if you want to optimize around certain activities such as Pit Pushing, Speedfarming and more.
The goal here is to progress through the Torment difficulties as you unlock Ancestrals, Paragon points, all Legendary Aspects, Temper mods and the most important Uniques to pilot this build. Some Legendary Aspects are used temporarily to fill slots that may be replaced with more Unique items later on.
Gear & Skills
- The Ancestral variant presents a more accessible approach to gearing the Lacerate Druid.
- Airidah's Inexorable Will is great for its roll of Ultimate Cooldown Reduction, but it's also crucial for pulling together groups of tough enemies and concentrating monsters in a smaller area, allowing Lacerate to multi-hit for a more efficient clear. Farm this item from Echo of Varshan.
- Tibault's Will comes with a strong offensive power and Maximum Resource, a scarce affix that scales our Ancestral Guidance's bonus. Moreover, Lacerate triggers its Unstoppable requirement unconditionally, as you are Unstoppable while Immune. Both Duriel, King of Maggots, and Andariel drop Tibault's Will.
- In lieu of Shroud of False Death, Mad Wolf's Glee is a solid alternative for its high Maximum Life roll and Ranks to Lacerate. The latter provides both damage and additional Cooldown to work with. Grab this Unique from Echo of Varshan.
- Malefic Crescent is a newly introduced Unique in Season 7 that increases your Lupine Ferocity's Critical Strike multiplier significantly. It pairs nicely with Mad Wolf's Glee and all things considered is a well rounded and powerful Amulet. You can farm this amulet from Lord Zir.
- Flickerstep is great for accelerating Apogeic Furor to its later stages and is essential for closing the Cooldown gap between Lacerates. Acquire it from Duriel, King of Maggots, or Andariel.
- As you upgrade your gear to Ancestrals with more Masterworking levels and reach higher Paragon, you can focus more and more on replacing Armor & Resistance rolls with better stats, but ensure to stay capped at 1000 Armor and 70%+ Resistances for the difficulty you're currently in.
- Utilize Incense such as Song of the Mountain and Soothing Spices as a temporary solution to help you reach the Armor and Resistance caps while you look for gear.
This is the final version of the build's progression, including all regular Unique items, Mythic Uniques, Legendary Aspects, Temper mods and Masterworking, leaving you with a great all-rounder build for all content in the game. Additional variants use this as a baseline to optimize around certain activities.
Gear & Skills
- The Mythic setup is mainly a simple gear swap that features Harlequin Crest, Shroud of False Death, a Legendary Amulet, and the replacement of Airidah's Inexorable Will for another Legendary Ring.
- One major standout change, however, is replacing Lupine Ferocity with Ursine Strength's bonuses.
- To accommodate these changes, Masterworks change slightly. For more information inspect the gear above.
- The additional Ranks to Passive Skills from Shroud of False Death translates to tremendous damage. It boasts high Maximum Life and the All Stats roll is helpful for capping Armor and Resistances, as well as activating Rare Node Bonuses in Paragon.
- What's more, the chest is currently bugged and adds a second instance of Calamity for a total of 70% Ultimate duration. This bonus functions as a multiplier to your Lacerate Duration temper.
- However it's not all good, another bug affecting Shroud of False Death is reducing all your Companion Skills by 1, requiring a dead aspect in Stampede to be used to satisfy Nagu. Once this bug gets fixed, replace Stampede with Edgemaster's.
- Similarly, the Harlequin Crest is a fantastic, well-rounded helmet that offers countless benefits in the form of Ranks to All Skills, Cooldown Reduction, Maximum Life and more!
- In addition, it also features Maximum Resource which increase Ancestral Guidance's secondary damage multiplier.
FAQ & Mechanics
Once a guide is released, many players have questions on why and how we are approaching certain choices. In this section you can find the answers to the questions that have been asked the most.
Why are we using Stampede?
What can I do to improve survivability?
How can I trigger Unstoppable?
Which adjustments should I make on Hardcore?
Mechanics
Snapshotting
Lacerate Duration and Cooldown
Stagger
Summary
Newly buffed in Season 7, the Lacerate Druid claws its way to the top and claims a spot as one of the best Druid builds this Season. It boasts great offensive capabilities and is practically immune for majority of the gameplay, but takes some practice when it comes to lining up Lacerate with Xan. Master its timing and rotation, and you will become an unstoppable force.
Credits
Written by Danger
Reviewed by lBoilerUp
Changelog
- February 20, 2025
Reworked functionality of build. - Neo replaced by Nagu (Companions added as a result). - Skills and Paragon remain largely the same (apart from replacing some Defensive Skills with Companions). - Legendary Ring added to Mythic version to allow Shroud to use Nagu. - Additional small updates to Witchcraft Powers, Occult Gems and Runes sections.
- January 29, 2025
- Slight grammatical/phrasing fixes. - Updated Witchcraft Powers and Occult Gems.
- January 20, 2025
Guide created for Season 7 / Patch 2.1.0 (Season of Witchcraft).
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