Welcome to the Pulverize Druid Endgame Guide! This build combines massive, ranged AoE damage with a simple playstyle that crushes at-level and pinnacle content alike!
The combination of Pulverize and the Shockwave Aspect deals damage in a cone shaped area in front of you. To improve single target damage, find the sweet spot between its own radius and the created shockwave to hit enemies twice with each cast. This build takes advantage of as many as 5 guaranteed Overpower sources and multiplies their damage with the Ursine Strength Key Passive.
Between Trample and Metamorphosis , you are all but immune to Crowd Control! In addition, you are fully Fortified in almost all situations with Debilitating Roar, Bolster, Safeguard, and Sanguine Brace.
Except for Shockwave, all Legendary Aspects for the Starter version of this build can be found in the Codex of Power, meaning it only takes one item drop to get going! The Pulverize Druid also scales to the very end through impactful Paragon progression and Unique item acquisition.
In this guide we teach you all you need to know to be successful with the Pulverize Druid in Diablo 4. Let's dive into it!
This build guide assumes you have a Level 50 Character and finished the Campaign. Level up with our Pulverize Druid Leveling Guide. If you are looking for a different Druid playstyle, check out all of our Druid Guides.
Season 2 - Season of Blood
Completing the seasonal questline, partaking in the seasonal Blood Harvest event and collecting Potent Blood are the main ways of obtaining and empowering these abilities. Check out the full Season 2 Guide from Chewingnom to learn more! Helms & Boots can have up to 3 Pacts, Pants can have up to 4, and Chests & Gloves can have up to 5, giving you 20 total Pacts.
Best-in-Slot Vampiric Powers
- Blood Boil - As this variant leans heavily into Overpower, Blood Boil is a natural fit.
- Prey on the Weak - The damage bonus is solid, but when used in conjunction with other Vampiric Powers that can inflict a Curse, this Power provides a steady and reliable source of Vulnerable, something that is otherwise lacking in this archetype.
- Metamorphosis - This Power provides a consistent source of Unstoppable and is the build's main source of applying Vampiric Curses.
- Sanguine Brace - Pulverize Druids Fortify and stay Fortified with a wide variety of Skills and Passives already, but the Critical Strike Chance bonus this power provides is still very attractive.
- Undying - This build lacks sources of healing and this Power helps bridge the gap.
Alternative Vampiric Powers
- Hemomancy - We scale a TON of HP on this build, making this Power highly effective in Speedfarming.
- Ravenous - This build would rather rely on fewer, larger hits to deal damage, but 30% or more Attack Speed from a single Vampiric Power is hard to overlook.
- Resilience - An all-around solid defensive option.
- Domination - This build boast several ways to stun enemies, granting a nice damage boost and execute with this Power. However, since this only works on Bosses who are Staggered, we have better options.
Skill Tree & Gameplay
Active Skills
- Wind Shear serves as a ranged Spirit generator that provides Movement Speed for each enemy hit. It additionally procs Natural Balance, Shapeshifter, and Inner Beast when cast.
- Pulverize is your damage Skill. When using the combination of Umbral, Ursine Horror, and Quicksand, it also generates Spirit. Try to hit as many targets with it as possible!
- Petrify Stuns affected enemies and grants a massive Critical Strike Damage multiplier for its duration with a high Cooldown. Use it against Bosses and tough Elites!
- Blood Howl provides a reliable Heal that is frequently available in density thanks to Enhanced Blood Howl. It also recovers a modest amount of Spirit and generates Fortify through Bolster. On top of that, it's faster than Wind Shear at activating Shapeshifter and Inner Beast.
- Debilitating Roar greatly reduces enemy damage in a screen-wide range, Fortifies by itself and through Bolster, and can also proc Umbral with its Slow. Use it as an opener or in moments of high danger.
- Trample is your primary mobility Skill and can be used to break Crowd Controls. When used alongside Tibault's Will, one cast can completely refill your Spirit and its short duration Unstoppable leaves Tibault's regeneration available for another quick use.
Passives
- Ursine Strength is the Key Passive of choice, both for the added toughness and to synergize with the build's many guaranteed Overpowers.
- Two of these sources come from our Skill Tree in the forms of Provocation and Enhanced Pulverize.
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: Wariness
Eagle Spirit: Scythe Talons
Wolf Spirit: Bolster
Snake Spirit: Obsidian Slam
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.
Resource Management
Managing your Resources is crucial to the success of this build.
-Early endgame versions of the build use Umbral to generate tons of Spirit. Any freshly applied Crowd Control activates it, but this build primarily does this with:
- Pulverize through the combination of Ursine Horror and Quicksand.
- Innate Debilitating Roar with its screen-wide Slow effect.
- Trample knocks back enemies in its path to generate Spirit.
-We take advantage of the Reclamation Node on the Ancestral Guidance board to generate up to 4 Spirit on kill. While we prioritize this Node early into the Paragon Board progression, it is moved to a later board on the level 100 respec to improve efficiency.
-Inner Beast provides massive Spirit Cost reduction to those versions of the build that shift out of Werebear form. It stacks and refreshes each time you Shapeshift, including shifts to Human form.
-Blood Howl provides a modest amount of Spirit regen with a cooldown that can be recovered quickly through kills thanks to Enhanced Blood Howl. The shift into Werewolf also helps stack Inner Beast.
-Tibault's Will is your main source of Spirit regeneration in the best-in-slot version of the build. It generates a huge amount of Spirit anytime you NEWLY acquire the Unstoppable status (meaning gaining Unstoppable while you still have it does not grant Spirit). Casting Trample and simultaneously proc'ing Tibault's Will can fully restore your Spirit!
Paragon Board
Carefully check your Paragon Boards to ensure correct board rotation. Glyphs go from a radius of 3 to 4 when they reach level 15!
Level the Paragon Board by scrolling. Each step optimizes progression.
Glyphs
We need to level up our Glyphs to increase their power and activate their Additional Bonus with surrounding nodes. Glyphs have a radius of 3 by default; this increases to 4 at Glyph level 15. Complete Nightmare Dungeons to obtain Glyph experience.
Note: There are some Glyph position swaps and a few adjustments to surrounding Paragon nodes once they reach level 15. See the last steps in the Paragon progression above. The setup displayed by default is the final version of the build.
Undaunted is a placeholder glyph in our leveling board and will be replaced. Don't waste your XP on it!
Level 15
- Exploit
- Outmatch
- Dominate
- Earth and Sky
- Shapeshifter
- Werebear
Level 21
- Outmatch
- Shapeshifter
- Dominate
- Earth and Sky
- Exploit
- Werebear
For the Grizzly Rage and Shapeshifter variants, additionally level Spirit.
Also check out our dedicated in-depth guides to learn more about Paragon Boards and Glyphs.
Endgame Gear & Skill Progression
When you start diving into the Endgame, you don't have all the tools available to achieve the final build versions. Let us guide you through different progression points to give you a smooth transition from our Leveling Guides to the final build version.
Progression Goals
Some of your Skill Tree choices depend on what Legendary Aspects and Unique items are available to you. These are listed in priority order:
- Unlock the following Aspects from Dungeons:
- Retaliation in Seaside Descent (Dry Steppes)
- Ursine Horror in Belfry Zakara (Hawezar)
- Quicksand in Ferals' Den (Scosglen)
- Umbral in Champion's Demise (Dry Steppes)
- Rapid in Buried Halls (Dry Steppes)
- Disobedience in Halls of the Damned (Kehjistan)
- Might in Dark Ravine (Dry Steppes)
- Natural Balance from Chapter 3 of the Seasonal Journey.
- Ghostwalker in Broken Bulwark (Scosglen)
- Rampaging Werebeast in Endless Gates (Hawezar)
- Find the following Legendary Aspects either as a random drop or by gambling with Obols:
- Shockwave: Gamble Totems.
- Until you reach World Tier 4, put this Aspect on your Amulet.
- If you find a second version, put it in your stash.
- If you find a third version before you unlock World Tier 4, put the weaker version on a Sacred Staff. Keep the strongest version in your stash for an 880+ Item Power Staff!
- Shockwave: Gamble Totems.
- Acquire the following Unique items either as a random drop or by farming specific Boss drops:
- Insatiable Fury
- Tibault's Will
- Banished Lord's Talisman
- Godslayer Crown (used for Bossing)
- Vasily's Prayer (used in the Grizzly Rage variant)
- If you're lucky enough to obtain the following Uber Uniques, they're useful for the build.
- Harlequin Crest - used in the Abattoir of Zir variant.
Learn more details and how to farm Legendary Aspects and Uniques in our General Farming Guide.
Progression Setups
Once you have completed the leveling guide, only the Codex of Power Aspects are guaranteed. With this setup, you can farm the Legendary Aspects and Unique items you need for the next progression point.
In this section, we are still attempting to acquire the all-important, drop-only Shockwave Aspect, as it massively improves our AoE and damage. As soon as you acquire this aspect (or if you already have it), proceed to the "Early Endgame" tab.
Gear
- Put your Defensive Aspects on your Pants (Might) and Helmet (Disobedience).
- Place Quicksand on your Chest. This massively improves our Spirit generation when paired with Umbral and Ursine Horror.
- Umbral can only be placed on a Ring.
- Put Ursine Horror and Natural Balance interchangeably on your second Ring and Gloves.
- Place Ghostwalker on your Boots.
- Retaliation goes on your Weapon for maximum damage increase.
- Use Rapid on your Amulet to increase your Spirit generation.
Skills
For now, we'll make some small adjustments from the best-in-slot skill setup to bolster our potentially lacking resistances and Spirit generation.
Remove
- Natural Disaster (3 Points)
- Resonance (2 Points)
Add
- Clarity (3 Points)
- Ancestral Fortitude (2 Points)
Optional changes:
- If you don't have access to Metamorphosis , replace Blood Howl with Earthen Bulwark to improve your Unstoppable uptime and maintain Ghostwalker.
Vampiric Powers
For leveling up and speedfarming, swap Undying for Hemomancy.
Gameplay
- For now, Pulverize is a melee ability with a small AoE, so make sure to group up and hit as many enemies as you can with each use!
- Use Wind Shear frequently to proc Might and Natural Balance.
- Cast Debilitating Roar when facing numerous enemies to quickly generate Spirit with Umbral and decrease incoming damage.
Build Scaling & Stat Priorities
Learn about the important build scaling mechanics and stat weights.
- Overpower: This build boasts 5 different ways to guarantee an Overpower: Enhanced Pulverize, Provocation, Obsidian Slam, Banished Lord's Talisman, and Blood Boil. When we do, the damage dealt is bolstered by Vasily's Prayer, Insatiable Fury, Dominate and Ursine Strength. The build revolves largely around these procs so, when possible, try to avoid consuming them with your generator or Trample.
- Critical Strikes: Our Critical Strikes provide a multiplier by themselves, which is further amplified by the Earthen Devastation Legendary node. This node prompts us to optimize our damage bonus to Crowd Control enemies to 150% or more on gear, which is covered by Oppress and its adjacent Magic Nodes, the implicit on our Staff, and a single affix roll on ring. We add additional Critical Strike Multipliers in Natural Balance and Petrify.
- Vulnerable: You have a 3-second damage window with Vulnerable thanks to Exploit, which should be more than enough time to clear non-boss enemies. For longer fights, we rely on the combination of either Accursed Touch or Metamorphosis and Prey on the Weak to sustain this damage increase.
- Crowd Controls: Every hit of yours slows enemies with Quicksand. Damage Affixes that deal extra damage against Crowd Controlled enemies are a great way to make use of this, both on your gear and on your Paragon Boards.
- Positioning / Monster stacking: Being in the "sweet spot" where Pulverize and Shockwave Aspect overlap is the goal when facing a single target.
Our Damage Explained article explains how to scale your Offense.
Learn all you need to know to scale Defense with our Defense Explained Article.
Stat Priorities
Choosing the right stats for your gear can make or break your build. You won't always find perfect stats (also known as affixes or modifiers) though, and you may need to make a tough choice between two good pieces of equipment. Use the following list of priorities to compare your gear and pick the best.
- Helm: Disobedience
- Maximum Life
- % Total Armor
- Cooldown Reduction
- Willpower
- All Stats
- Basic Skill Attack Speed
- Chest Armor: Insatiable Fury
- Total Armor while in Werebear Form
- Damage Reduction while Fortified
- Overpower Damage
- Physical Damage
- Otherwise Look For: Quicksand
- Damage Reduction while Fortified
- Damage Reduction against Distant Enemies
- Damage Reduction against Close Enemies
- Damage Reduction
- % Total Armor
- Maximum Life
- Willpower
- Gloves: Ursine Horror
- Ranks to Pulverize
- Critical Strike Chance
- Attack Speed
- Willpower
- All Stats
- Lucky Hit Chance*
- Critical Strike Damage with Earth Skills
- Pants: Tibault's Will
- Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
- %Damage
- Maximum Resource
- Potion Capacity
- Otherwise Look For: Might
- Damage Reduction while Fortified
- Damage Reduction against Distant Enemies
- Damage Reduction against Close Enemies
- Damage Reduction
- % Total Armor
- Maximum Life
- Willpower
- Boots: Ghostwalker
- Movement Speed
- Spirit Cost Reduction
- Movement Speed after killing an Elite
- Willpower
- All Stats
- Resists (as needed)
- Amulet: Banished Lord's Talisman
- Critical Strike Chance
- Resource Generation
- Overpower Damage
- Ranks of All Core Skills
- Otherwise Look For: Aspect of Retaliation (put Umbral on a ring)
- Spirit Cost Reduction
- Movement Speed
- Cooldown Reduction
- Ranks to Crushing Earth
- Ranks to Nature's Reach
- Damage Reduction while Fortified
- Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
- Damage Reduction from Distant Enemies
- Rings: Natural Balance and Retaliation
- Critical Strike Chance
- Lucky Hit Chance*
- Maximum Life
- Resource Generation
- Physical Damage
- Critical Strike Damage
- Critical Strike Damage with Earth Skills
- Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies**
- 2H Weapon (Staff): Shockwave
- High Damage per Second
- Willpower
- All Stats
- Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
- Overpower Damage
- Overpower Damage with Werebear Skills
- Core Skill Damage
- Damage to Close Enemies
- Vulnerable Damage
* Lucky Hit Chance is preferred only on the Grizzly Rage and Shapeshifter versions of the build.
**You need a total of 150% Damage vs. Crowd Controlled enemies to cap the bonus of Earthen Devastation. Besides your ring and weapon, the remainder should be made up by your staff implicit and the Oppress rare node. This stat is otherwise undesirable on gear.
This build benefits a lot from the following Consumables:
- Elixirs: Elixir of Fortitude, Elixir of Cruelty, Elixir of Combatant Fortune, Elixir of Magic Resist, Heady Precision Elixir, Crushing Elixir
- Incense: Song of the Mountain or Reddamine Buzz, Soothing Spices
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 not Insatiable Fury in X setup?
Why is a Staff recommended?
Mechanics
Learn all you need to know about how to scale this build in the endgame.
Shockwave Aspect
Grizzly Rage & Rampaging Werebeast
Earthen Might
Hungry for more Guides?
Druid Guides
General Guides
Summary
The Pulverize Druid is a ranged powerhouse pairing incredible AoE-damage at range with massive defenses. With this ranged playstyle, you can dive deep into Nightmare Dungeons. However, the single target can feel underwhelming unless you specialize in Overpower and multiple rare Uniques.
- Shockwave is THE build-enabling Aspect.
- Stay at range and position yourself to hit as many enemies as possible with each cast of Pulverize.
- Use Evade and Trample to reposition yourself in combat.
Credits
Written by IBoilerUp
Reviewed by Jymnaisum, Binashole
