Wind Shear Druid Leveling Guide
Last Updated:October 6, 2024|Changelog
Welcome to the Wind Shear Druid Leveling Guide for Diablo 4! What this build lacks in area of effect it more than makes up for in damage.
It revolves around the Aspect of the Calm Breeze, which inflicts Poison Damage over Time to all mobs it passes through. As such, your highest priority starting out with this build is to clear Grinning Labyrinth in Dry Steppes to unlock this Aspect in your Codex of Power. Most Druid leveling builds these days start with this step, but this build will continue to focus on Aspects and multipliers to enhance its damage.
Perhaps unintuitively, the Damage over Time effect from Calm Breeze inherits the Storm and Basic Skill tags from the initial cast of Wind Shear, which allows for some incredible scalars in the mid and late game. To that point, if you happen to find any of Moonrise, Adaptability, or Shard of Verathiel, they're no-brainer additions for this build. One important distinction to make is that Ranks of Wind Shear only improves the damage of its hit and not the damage of Calm Breeze, so it's not necessary to rank up your Basic Skill.
To compensate for this build's distinct lack of area of effect, we'll be employing the Druid's newest Core skill, Stone Burst, a channeled skill which grows exponentially in size and damage to a maximum. Also recommended is the tried and true Poison Creeper and Cataclysm, both of which have very high damage in the early game but come with relatively long Cooldowns.
This guide teaches you all about how to reach the endgame in Diablo 4 with the Wind Shear Druid. Let's get started!
This build guide takes you up to level 60 and gets you started for the early Endgame on Torment 1 difficulty. If you're looking for Endgame guides, check out our Druid Guides section!
- Speedy
- Easy to Play
- Smooth Progression
- Low AoE Coverage
- Mandatory Dungeon Aspect
- Scaling Gated by Drop-Only Aspects
Check out our Leveling Builds Tier List to see how this build compares to others.
Season Theme
Season 6 is the Season of Hatred Rising. It features the Zakarum Remnants faction which hunts Realmwalkers, massive behemoths that roam outdoor zones and beckon Mephisto's hellspawn. Participate in these zone events and take down the Realmwalkers to spawn a portal to a Seething Realm. There you can acquire Seething Opals, new consumables that stack with Elixirs for a XP buff and the chance to gather extra rewards when defeating enemies. The types of Opals are:
- Seething Opal of Equipment
- Seething Opal of Gold
- Seething Opal of Materials
- Seething Opal of Torment
- Seething Opal of Socketables
Use these Opals at all times to earn reputation with the Zakarum Remnants faction and unlock further rewards.
Learn more details about the season theme in our full Season Guide.
Skills & Gameplay
Getting Started
To start off, put 2 points into Basic Skills to unlock the Core Skill section. Wind Shear is the focal point of this build. It deals decent single target damage with Poison thanks to Calm Breeze. Take Fierce Wind Shear to increase your Movement speed. Next, take Stone Burst to supplement your AoE clear. This ranged, channeling skill deals significantly more damage in a wider area as it reaches max size, but this can take a couple seconds. Try to aim at the heart of the pack or lead oncoming enemies if necessary to hit more targets.
Howl, Trample, and Poison Creeper
Next, go for Blood Howl, which provides a burst of Healing and Attack Speed and be recovered quickly by kills. Then skill Earthen Bulwark for an on-command Barrier and the ability to prevent or break free from Crowd Controls with Unstoppable. Spending these points will unlock Poison Creeper, a very strong ability in the early game. Use it wisely in high density, though, as it comes with a long Cooldown. Choose Ferocious Poison Creeper to extend its effects and increase its damage.
Spirit Boons
At this stage, you gain access to Spirit Boons - the Druid's unique class mechanic. Check out the Spirit Boon Progression below!
Ultimate & Key Passive
To unlock the Ultimate skill wheel, focus on getting some high-priority damage passives in Feral Aptitude and Nature's Reach, the latter of which can be fully activated against most mobs with a single point in Neurotoxin. From here, grab Cataclysm. This Ultimate deals very high damage in the early game and inflicts Vulnerable to any nearby monsters for its duration. Max out both Backlash and Humanity to further increase your damage and unlock Key passives. For this, we'll opt for Perfect Storm, a solid and straightforward multiplier to our Storm skills with good uptime.
Tanking Up
This leg focuses on making the Wind Shear Druid incredibly sturdy. First, max out both Ancestral Fortitude and Vigilance for a healthy amount of Resistances and Damage Reduction. Grab full points in Defensive Posture for its high-uptime bonus (thanks to Bolster). Finally, pick up Circle of Life to recover some additional health when clearing with Stone Burst.
Final Journey to Level 60
At this point, most of the key synergies are unlocked and the gameplay loop is almost complete. As you level up, you unlock a lot of extra points that go into various offensive and defensive passives or max out certain skills. Check out the skills progression above to see where to put your points as you go, but feel free to deviate from the order displayed as necessary.
Check out our Renown Guide to unlock all your additional Skill Points efficiently.
Druid 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: Advantageous Beast
Eagle Spirit: Swooping Attacks
Wolf Spirit: Bolster
Snake Spirit: Calm Before the Storm
Bond with the Eagle Spirit and activate Iron Feather.
Unlocking Specializations
Once you reach level 15, you have to complete a short questline starting in Túr Dúlra, Scosglen. To gain access to the Priority Quest, you first have to defeat the Stronghold of evil forces that has overrun Túr Dúlra. You receive 25 Druidic Spirit Offerings to unlock your first Boon when you complete the questline.
Each Spirit has 4 Boons that are unlocked with 25 Druidic Spirit Offerings each. On 3 of the Spirits, they unlock in a specific order (from left to right as displayed above). The outlier is the Snake Spirit - You have to unlock all his Boons simultaneously, meaning you need to collect 100 Druidic Spirit Offerings to gain access to its Boons. Once all Spirits have been completely unlocked, you can choose one to Bond with and select an additional Boon from that Spirit.
Learn more details in our full Druid Specialization Guide.
Gear & Stat Priorities
To get started as an Wind Shear Druid, always use your highest DPS Weapon, prioritizing Staffs, then Axes, when possible for their implicit Damage Over Time. Otherwise, follow the priority list below. While you don't have all of the desired temper manuals available, simply try to get anything useful on your gear until you get the right ones. For example, % Damage, Damage to Close, Vulnerable Damage, etc. all work as long as you activate their conditions. Likewise, you can temper multiple defensive options such as Resistances, Life, Armor to fill gaps in your survivability. Tempering low level gear is relatively cheap and the results can be very impactful.
Tip: For the early game, Elemental Surge Weapon Tempers are very powerful due to their high base damage, especially if you are twinking. If you find these, you may want to keep imprinting them on your weapons for an easy time.
Legendaries & Uniques
The Codex of Power is a collection of Legendary Aspects you can imprint onto Rare or Legendary items at the Occultist. They unlock after completing specific Dungeons located around Sanctuary or salvaging items with these powers. Check out our Map Tool to locate these Dungeons.
For leveling, there are a few powers that can significantly help us if we have the funds to imprint them. In addition, keep an eye out for powerful Unique items you may find for this or other builds.
Must-have Dungeon unlocks
- Calm Breeze (Grinning Labyrinth - Dry Steppes)
- Rapid (Buried Halls - Dry Steppes)
Nice-to-have Dungeon unlocks
- Disobedience (Halls of the Damned - Kehjistan)
- Inner Calm (Raethwind Wilds - Scosglen)
- Might (Dark Ravine - Dry Steppes)
- Expectant (Underroot - Scosglen)
Other useful Aspects (drop/gamble)
- Moonrise
- Adaptability
- Shattered Defenses
- Juggernaut's
- Creeping Death
- Hectic
- Craven
What to Gamble
Offensive | 1h Weapon, Offhand |
Defensive | Helm, Chest, Pants |
Utility, Mobility | Boots |
Resource | Rings |
Great Uniques for this build
- Shard of Verathiel
- Tempest Roar
- Wildheart Hunger (needs Tempest Roar to be effective)
Jackpot Drops
As you level up, you may get lucky and find some great random drops. Some of these can massively amplify your power and speed up the leveling by switching to another build. Keep in mind that there are many more Aspects and Uniques that can be useful to multiple builds; this just lists some of the most impactful ones. While we usually recommend starting with Endgame Builds at level 60, you often can make them work earlier with these drops:
Build-defining Aspects
- Shockwave (enables the Pulverize Druid)
- Aftershock / Subterranean (enables the Landslide Druid)
- Stampede / Alpha (enables the Companion Druid)
- Anticline Burst (enhances the Stone Burst Druid)
Build-defining Uniques
- Dolmen Stone (enables the Boulder Druid)
- Tempest Roar (enables the Tornado, Hurricane, and Lighting Storm Druids)
- Unsung Ascetic's Wraps (enables the Lightning Storm Druid)
- Earthbreaker (enables the Landslide Druid)
- Storm's Companion (enables the Companion Druid)
- Stone of Vehemen (enhances the Stone Burst Druid)
Learn more details in our articles covering the Codex of Power and Unique Items.
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 Wind Shear Druid focuses on the following combos:
Best in Slot
- Lith + Wat - Decrepify helps with stagger, defense and allows execute at 10% HP. When combined with Xol in your other Runeword it also generates large amounts of offering
- Xol + Ohm - War Cry's damage bonus, though nerfed from PTR, is still useful.
Alternative choices
As long as you haven't unlocked the final setup or found the top Runes, you can also benefit from these options:
- Mot - Dark Shroud is a strong and affordable defensive option.
- Que - Another awesome defensive option, especially for Druids that are already skilling Enhanced Earthen Bulwark.
- Cem - As a Magic Rune, it's a reasonable choice that you're more likely to find.
- Yax - Though it's not ideal to be chugging potions for the purpose of activating Invocation Runes, the offering generated is very high.
- Cir - A reasonable Ritual Rune if the plan is to stand in and spam Wind Shear
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
Attack speed, Attack Speed, and more Attack Speed. We'll take it! Varyana's Massacre bonus is another nice boon in the early game.
- Reinforcement: Raheir
Crater is very effective at packing mobs together, which is great to compensate for our lack of AoE.
Learn more about Mercenaries and how they work in our dedicated Mercenaries Overview.
How To Level
In Diablo 4, you can level by completing the Campaign, collecting Grim Favors for the Tree of Whispers, completing Helltide activities, grinding Dungeons, clearing Strongholds, fighting in the Undercity of Kurast or interacting with the Seasonal Mechanics. While there are many ways to level up in Diablo 4, not all of them are equal.
Campaign Leveling
- For your first character in Diablo 4, completing the Campaign provides all the background lore information but is not necessary.
- The Campaign is the slowest way to level, but it's worth experiencing the Campaign and Diablo 4's storyline at least once.
- To play Seasonal Content you need to have completed or skipped the Campaign.
- If your account is below Rank 4 Renown in each zone, focus on completing your Renown.
- This only needs to be done once per realm (Softcore / Hardcore).
- After finishing the campaign, you should focus on earning experience in Helltides by combining Helltide activities with Grim Favors for the Tree of Whispers or completing Gathering Legion Events.
- Strongholds provide a big boost of experience for little time investment. Make sure to clear all of them after around level 40.
Seasonal / Alt Leveling
- Complete the Seasonal Questline in order to progress your Seasonal Journey to unlock additional Legendary Aspects and work on your Seasonal Powers.
- If your account is below Rank 4 Renown in each zone, focus on completing your Renown.
- This only needs to be done once per realm (Softcore / Hardcore).
- Complete the Dungeons needed for any Legendary Aspects from your Codex of Power.
- From level 1-60 you should focus on earning experience in Helltides by combining Helltide activities with Grim Favors for the Tree of Whispers or completing Gathering Legion Events.
- Strongholds provide a big boost of experience for little time investment. Make sure to clear all of them after around level 40.
- If you're playing an Alt, make sure to use Tempers and Leveling Caches crafted from the Alchemist to speed up your progression.
- Find the most efficient way of leveling your character in detail with our Speed Leveling Guide.
Tips and Tricks
- Don't Imprint Your Weapon
- It is a better idea to put your best Offensive Aspect on your Amulet, which will usually not be replaced as often as your Weapon.
- Compare Your Items
- Press Shift to activate item comparison. Use this build guide's Stat Priorities section to identify potential upgrades.
- Choose an Easy Difficulty
- Ideally, start on Hard difficulty for the extra XP modifier, then try to go higher when it's way too easy. If that slows you down noticeably, it's better to stay on a lower difficulty.
- Use Your Materials
- There's no point in holding on to your gold or materials for later. Use everything to speed up your journey to 60. If you're twinking, make sure to craft the Allowance Caches from the Alchemist at level 20 and if available, equip your Mythic Uniques at level 35 to make the leveling a breeze.
Speedrun Route
- If you're looking to min/max your time spent on the way to 60 instead of following a generic guideline, you need to use a specific strategy.
- This usually includes farming certain activities up to a specified level and then switching to other tasks while gathering XP in high density areas and pushing the difficulty as high as you can.
- We update this strategy seasonally in our Speed Leveling Guide.
Endgame Transition
As you approach level 60 with the Wind Shear Druid, you unlock higher item power gear that represents a massive jump in character power. This is a good time to refresh your setup with new tempers and imprints.
At level 60, Paragon Levels and The Pit unlock. Work towards Tier 20 to enter Torment 1, where the Endgame begins. Focus on overcapping your Armor (1000+) and Resistances (70%+) as you receive some penalties to your character's stats:
- -250 Armor per Torment difficulty
- -25% All Resistances per Torment difficulty
At this point, your setup should look roughly like this before you dive into min/maxing with Uniques, Mythics & Masterworking. With better gear, more levels and Glyphs, you can push further and eventually unlock higher difficulties for increased rewards.
This step marks the end of the leveling guide. Below is the Paragon setup to get you started in Torment difficulty, but ideally, you should now transition towards the endgame version of this build or choose another of your liking.
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 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.
Some Glyph position swaps, board changes and other pathing adjustments may occur as you unlock your full potential. The setup displayed by default is the final version of the build before spending additional points that do not significantly impact your character's power.
Glyph Leveling Priorities
To Level 15
- Tracker
- Bane
- Earth and Sky
- Keeper
- Headhunter
To Level 46
- Earth and Sky
- Tracker
- Bane
- Keeper
- Headhunter
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.
Video Guide
Coming soon.
Summary
The Wind Shear Druid is an easy-to-play, fast and effective early game leveler that scales well with drop-only Aspect and Unique item acquisition. The one major downside is its lack of AoE, which this guide supplements with Stone Burst, Poison Creeper, and Cataclysm, a host of early game powerhouses.
Credits
Written by IBoilerUp
Reviewed by Danger