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| DIABLO 2:LOD THE FLAMING DRUID GUIDE |
| For PC |
| Written by Akai Akuma (joanroda@eresmas.com) |
| Version 1.7 (92.6KB) |
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---Table of Contents---
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1. Version History
2. Game Information
3. Introduction
4. Stats
5. Skills
I. Elemental Skills
II. Summoning Skills
6. Controversies
I. Spirit Wolves vs. Dire Wolves vs. Grizzly
II. Oak Sage vs. Heart of Wolverine vs. Spirit of Barbs
III. Poison Creeper vs. Carrion Vine vs. Solar Creeper
IV. Pure Flaming Druid vs. Mixed Flaming Druid
V. The effectivity or not of Armaggedon
7. Synergies
I. Synergies Bonus
II. Possible Build-Ups
III. My Druid
8. Strategies
I. Hirelings
II. Basic Strategies
III. General Gameplay Comments
9. Equipment
10. Bosses Guide !!!!!!!POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!
I. Tyipical Monsters
II. Über Diablo
11. Legal Stuff
12. Special Thanks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 1. Version History
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ver. 1.0 (05/28/04) - First version of the FAQ. Completed from section
1 to 7.
Ver. 1.1 (06/11/04) - Sections 3, 5, 6 and 7 have been completed.
Section 8 is now available, wow it takes me ages
to complete it.
Ver. 1.2 (07/01/04) - Gomen,gomen!! Sorry for the delay.
Sections 6 and 8 has been revised, specially the
strategies and section 10 is finally available.
Ver. 1.3 (07/04/04) - General corrections, mainly spelling mistakes.
I extended section 7 with my druid build up and
equipment.
Section 8 has been splited and completed with
General Gameplay Comments.
Ver. 1.4 (09/31/04) - Many corrections in nearly all sections: stats,
equipment, controversies, gameplay and more.
Ver. 1.5 (10/21/04) - Yes, it's me again. Some comments on sections 3
and 7.
Ver. 1.6 (10/29/04) - My first fight against Über Diablo deserves an
special mention in section 10.
Ver. 1.7 (12/20/04) - Big mistake in stats section corrected.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 2. Game Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Genre: Role
Platforms: PC
Players: 1-8 players
Designed By: Blizzard North
Published By: Blizzard Entertainment(NA), Sierra Entertainment(Europe)
This is my 3rd FAQ, 3 in 1 year. :) I hope you'll enjoy it.
Q: What is a Flaming Druid?
A: As you can imagine a druid who uses basicaly fire skills.
Q: Why should I create a Flaming Druid?
A: Aesthetically, the werewolf and the werebear might be more
attractive, but... who were the druids? The druids were religious
leaders, philosophers, judges and many other things in the Celtic
society. The common point between all of them is that they were in
a perfect communion with the nature. As a result of this, it was
said that they could communicate with animals and plants, but not
convert into werewolves or werebears. According to these, the most
pure druid would be a summoner druid, but it was said that they
could control the weather also, so an elemental druid is also a
sensible and suitable choice.
Q: Which are the benefits of being a Flaming Druid?
A: The main benefit is that we can defeat physical immune enemies
easily, who are the nemesis of shape shifters and summoner druids.
I've never run away from a combat, I could defeat anybody, maybe I
need my time against some immunes but I can kill anybody. Who else
can say the same? Some classes can't.
Q: What about fire inmunes?
A: Skills like Volcano, Molten Boulder and our hireling will deal them
with an acceptable effectivity.
Q: Why fire and not wind?
A: Windy druids appear to be more desirable due to their Cyclone Armor
which could add to you an extra defence of 1200 or more elemental
damage, when it is fully sinergied(does this verb really exist?).
But his main elemental attack Hurrricane(similar to Holy Freeze,
the paladin skill but 3 times shorter in range terms than the maxed
Holy freeze), this lack of range obliges you to approach
dangerously to your enemies and the nearer you are to your enemies,
the nearer you're to the death. They have another main atack
Tornado, but surprisingly it's not elemental, it's physical, I know
it cause I trained a windy druid too. Tornado is nice ranged attack,
with a nice ammount of damage(around 3000). Tornado has no caster
delay, so you can cast them constantly and it stuns your enemies
and passes through them, so one tornado can hit many enemies. There
is a con, it's precission is a crap, and you need time to aim
correctly to your enemies, so you should need a tank hireling or
strong summonings.
Q: Sorry, but this built sounds really attractive to me...
A: Maybe or maybe not, he's not an elemental caster that's why I prefer
the Flaming Druid. Attacks like Fissure or Volcano give you the
chance of attacking the enemies without being affected by the
offensive auras and curses that some uniques use and not being
affected by their novas while killing them.
Q: Is a fire Druid comparable to a fire Sorceress?
A: No. A pure fire Sorceress could do a fire damage of 7000-8000,
while a pure fire druid could take only 2000-2500. Well,
theoretically you can inflict more damage(8000) with Armageddon,
when fully sinergied and without using spirits, anyway the
precission is pityful, reducing the damage drastically.
Q: How does the patch 1.10 affected on the Druid skills?
A: Most of them have been improved which made the elemental Druid more
attracting than the one on the previous version.
Q: Is it possible to play in Act 5 in level Hell?
A: Yes, but it's not easy. Choosing to be a Flaming Druid is a
challenging option, but it's absolutely possible.
The best thing about being an Elemental Druid is that you don't need to
spent many points into mana,because mana cost is nearly always constant.
You should spent points this way:
Two times this: One time this:
Strength 1 Strength 1
Dexterity 1 Dexterity 2
Vitality 3 Vitality 1
Energy 0 Energy 1
In three levels the overall balance should be:
Strength 3
Dexterity 4
Vitality 7
Energy 1
Strength is important due to our strategy(see section 8) and in order
to use several nice armors and helms, and to use some weapons(Earth
Shifter with +7 elemental skills, which needs 253 strength), if you
are considering to wear Aldur, then 85 is enough, cause the +30
strength bonus from Aldur's mace.
Dexterity is interesting also, and remember that if you use Heart of
Wolverine our decent attack rating will be improved drastically. If
you prefer using a shield, and want to have a decent block rate invest
some points here to have 75% block rating.
Vitality is crucial for not dying easily and to fight in melee without
risking your life more than necessary, Novas, Corpse Explosions,...
Energy, 50 is more than enough. Potions will do the rest, remember that
your spells consume a little bit mana, most mana will be spent on
re-summoning your wolves against bosses because they're not fully
up-graded.
Due to my previous comments I will omit the Shape-shifting skills tree,
to focus on the other two. All the values that appear here are from
patch 1.10 and assuming that you only have one point in the
pre-requisite skills.
I. Elemental Skills
===================
*Firestorm*
Requirements : None, available from level 1
Description : Similar to the Firewall that Diablo uses, but a lot
weaker and with a little range.
Advantages : Ridiculous cost of mana, quite powerful at high levels
due to the synergies.
Disadvantages: Short range.
Comments : Takes a considerable amount of energy, the problem is
the range, anyway put some points(10) due to the
synergies if you're planning to be a pure flaming
druid, if not 1 point would be enough.
This skill has been improved in 1.10 patch.
Grade : B
*Molten Boulder*
Requirements : Level 6, Firestorm
Description : A ball of fire which knocks your opponents and explodes
when hits one of them
Advantages : Low mana cost
Disadvantages: Low damage
Comments : Absolutely useless by itself, but it's nice to invest in
it to improve the damage inflicted by Volcano. If it's
not your case one point to access to better spells. If
you like Firestorm, you can also invest some more points
here due to the synergies.
This skill has weakened in 1.10 patch.
Grade : B-
*Artic Blast*
Requirements : Level 6
Description : Ice version of Inferno.
Advantages : We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Disadvantages: We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Comments : One point only to access to Armageddon.
Grade : C
*Fissure*
Requirements : Level 12, Firestorm, Molten Boulder
Description : Cast a fissure on the ground.
Advantages : Low mana cost, really nice range.
Disadvantages: Only 3.2 seconds, the casting delay is a bit long.
Comments : My favourite attack, especially while attacking a
group of enemies. Maximize it.
This skill has been improved in 1.10 patch.
Grade : A
*Cyclone Armor*
Requirements : Level 12, Artic Blast
Description : Armor that absorbs elemental damage.
Advantages : You will attack from the distance, so you will receive
mostly elemental damage. Really nice to absorb some
of it.
Disadvantages: It doesn't absorb physical damage.
Comments : The only wind skill we are going to use, you can spend
more than one point here(not more than 5, due to the
synergies it will get a nice final result absorption.
Grade : A-
*Twister*
Requirements : Level 18, Artic Blast, Cyclone Armor
Description : Creates a pitiful tornado.
Advantages : We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Disadvantages: We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Comments : One point only to access to Armageddon and to improve
the Cyclone Armor.
Grade : D-
*Volcano*
Requirements : Level 24, Firestorm, Molten Boulder, Fissure
Description : A volcano emerges from the earth to burn your enemies
throwing fire balls.
Advantages : If the enemy is still and you cast it over him then
it takes a lot of damage. 50% of the damage is physical
and the other 50% is fire damage.
Disadvantages: Useless against several monsters.
Comments : Maximize it due to the synergies with Fissure.
This skill has been improved in 1.10 patch.
Grade : B+
*Tornado*
Requirements : Level 24, Artic Blast, Cyclone Armor, Twister
Description : Similar to Twister, but more powerful.
Advantages : We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Disadvantages: We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Comments : One point only to access to Armageddon and to improve
the Cyclone Armor.
Grade : D
*Hurricane*
Requirements : Level 30, Artic Blast, Cyclone Armor, Twister, Tornado
Description : A hurricane surrounds you and damages the monsters
inside it with cold damage.
Advantages : We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Disadvantages: We are Flaming Druids forget about it.
Comments : One point only to access to Armageddon and to improve
the Cyclone Armor.
Grade : B-
*Armageddon*
Requirements : Level 30, Firestorm,Molten Boulder,Artic Blast,Fissure,
Cyclone Armor, Twister, Tornado, Volcano, Hurricane
Description : After an endless casting delay a rain of meteors will
fall damaging the enemies around you.
Advantages : High damage,sinergies on other fire skills.
Espectacular
Disadvantages: The accuracy is crappy, the problem is the same that
with Hurricane you have to approach dangerously to your
enemies without obtaining a big result.
Comments : Put one point just for the synergies, if you put 20
points on Fissure, then Armageddon will last 50 seconds
which is a lot for only 35 mana. As I explained in the
Q&A section, it's possible to do nearly 8k damage with
armaggedon due to sinergies and if you're a pure Fire
druid(100 points spend in the fire tree). But this is
theory, the harsh reality shows that the real damage is
very low due to the deficient precission.
This skill has been weakened drastically in 1.10 patch.
Grade : C
II. Summoning Skills
====================
This is an important tree for Mixed Flaming Druids, remember to spent
some points here.
*Raven*
Requirements : None, available from level 1
Description : Summon ravens which blind your enemies.
Advantages : Ravens don't die and low mana cost.
Disadvantages: Pitiful damage on enemies
Comments : One point is more than enough for the pre-requisites,
the +skills objects will do the rest. 5 ravens are
nice to distract your enemies.
Grade : C+
*Poison Creeper*
Requirements : None, available from level 1
Description : Summons a vine that poisons enemies.
Advantages : It can distract enemies and useful in Hell mode
against enemies who are not resistant to poison.
Disadvantages: Low HP, they last only a few seconds.
Comments : One point is enough, but the + skills objects will
make it an useful ally on Hell mode.
The life of the vine has been improved in 1.10 patch.
Grade : B-
*Oak Sage*
Requirements : Level 6
Description : Summons a spirit which increases your and your allies HP
Advantages : More HP :), what else can I say?
Disadvantages: High mana cost at high levels.
Comments : Really nice for you and your allies, but you should
chose between this skill and the Heart of the Wolverine.
I will discuss about it later(see point 6).
The life and the radius of the spirit has been improved
in the 1.10 patch.
Grade : A
*Summon Spirit Wolf*
Requirements : Level 6, Raven
Description : You can summon 1 to 5 wolves to kill enemies.
Advantages : 5 wolves are more than 3 wolves or 1 bear, so they can
distract more enemies.
Disadvantages: Low damage and crappy HP.
Comments : This crappy wolves might be useful at low levels, what
you really need are Dire Spirit Wolves. One point will
be enough.
The life and the attack rating of these wolves has been
improved in the 1.10 patch, but the damage has been
reduced a little bit.
Grade : C+
*Carrion Vine*
Requirements : Level 12, Poison Creeper
Description : Summons a vine which eats corpses in order to
replenish you life.
Advantages : Recovering energy is always positive. And devoured
corpses can't be resurrected.
Disadvantages: Low life, it's a pity that your hireling, allies
and summonings aren't healed also. :(
Comments : Really interesting, but one point is enough.
The life of this vine has been improved in the
1.10 patch.
Grade : A
*Heart Of Wolverine*
Requirements : Level 18, Oak Sage
Description : Summons a spirit that increases your and your allies
attack rating and damage.
Advantages : You can attack more accurately, and do more damage.
Disadvantages: High mana cost at high levels.
Comments : This spirit is quite useful, but I will discuss it
later(see point 6).
The life and the radius of the spirit has been improved
in the 1.10 patch.
Grade : A
*Summon Dire Wolf*
Requirements : Level 18, Raven, Oak Sage, Summon Spirit Wolf
Description : Summons 1 to 3 wolves to kill enemies.
Advantages : 3 Wolves distract many enemies, acceptable damage and
adds a bonus on %life on wolves and bears. They eat
corpses also in order to recover their own HP, and
remember a devoured corpse can be resurrected.
Disadvantages: 3 wolves are less distraction than 5 wolves. They could
be quite mana consuming if they die constantly at
level Hell.
Comments : I prefer my Dire wolves over any other summoning, but
against uniques and bosses it's better to use the
grizzly. I will discuss it later(see strategies in
section 7).
The life and the %added life of these wolves has been
improved in the 1.10 patch, but the damage has been
reduced a little bit.
Grade : A
*Solar Creeper*
Requirements : Level 24, Poison Creeper, Carrion Vine
Description : Summons a vine that devours corpses to regenerate
your mana.
Advantages : Mana regeneration.A devoured corpse couldn't resurrect.
Disadvantages: Mana regenerates alone and several objects increase it.
Comments : Carrion is more crucial, even Poison Creeper is more
useful. Obviously a elemental druid spends lots of mana,
but potions could solve it.
Grade : C+
*Spirit Of Barbs*
Requirements : Level 30, Oak Sage, Heart Of Wolverine
Description : Similar to Thorns(Paladin aura), you summon a spirit
that returns a percentage of the damage taken back to the
enemy who attacks you, your allies or your summonings.
Advantages : Returns a percentage of the damage taken.
Disadvantages: High mana cost and a risky spirit for you.
Comments : Only useful at very highs levels and only if you're
using the grizzly, who can receive lots of damage.
Don't waste any point here.
The life, % Damage Returned and the radius of the spirit
has been improved in the 1.10 patch.
Grade : C-
*Summon Grizzly*
Requirements : Level 30, Raven, oak Sage, Summon Spirit Wolf,
Summon Dire Wolf
Description : Summons a Grizzly that helps you.
Advantages : High HP, high damage and adds damage to wolves.
Disadvantages: 5 Spirit Wolves or 3 Dire Wolves distract more enemies
than 1 bear. Against a group of enemies the grizzly
will be massacred.
Comments : As I explain in section 7, a Grizzly is a worth ally
against uniques and bosses. But not against groups. I
recommend to spent only one point here.
Grade : B+
I. Spirit Wolves vs. Dire Wolves vs. Grizzly
============================================
As I said while commenting the skills, I prefer Dire Wolves over the
other two because they are an acceptable number of wolves(3) with a
high HP and damage. Use 1 Spirit Wolf in the beginning of the game just
as a pre-requisite. Grizzly is OK when fighting against uniques and
bosses or in parties, due to the number of players playing, but not
playing solo against a groups of 20 enemies. Dire wolves are the choice,
and they could recover energy from devouring the corpses of your
enemies. The only but comes if you use the Carrion Vine or the Solar
Creeper, because there won't be enough corpses for everybody.
II. Oak Sage vs. Heart of Wolverine vs. Spirit of Barbs
=======================================================
Spirit of Barbs is useful only for your summonings, because with the
Dire Wolves maximized they will have a lot of life, so the enemies will
receive more damage. If your summonings die you can summon more, but
Great spirit in Normal and Nightmare, the problems come at Hell,
considering that all monsters has 50% resistance to physical damage,
its effectivtiy is drastically reduced and it's useless against
physical immune enemies. Furthermore, I don't like this spirit because
I don't get any bonus directly. The other 2 spirits give bonus for me
and my allies.
Oak Sage is a safer and conservative choice, your life increases
drastically and the same for yours summonings, the more life they have,
the more they last and the least you have to re-summon them, so more
mana for spells. For 1-Player games I recommend this spirit, you will
thank your extra life at Hell mode. The main con is its low HP.
Heart of Wolverine increases your and your summonings attack rating and
damage. This is the one I chose. There is no doubt that it's much more
risky than the Oak Sage, your summonings has less life so they die
easily which a considerable cost of mana, but on the contrary they do
more damage, so their enemies die quicker. Your attack and damage is
increased, so your close-range weapon attacks are much better.
Remember, we're not a sorceress, neither a necromancer, we can fight
as I explain it in the strategies(section 8).
III. Poison Creeper vs. Carrion Vine vs. Solar Creeper
======================================================
There is a common problem with all the vines, their HP sucks. So they
die constantly, it's up to you to re-summon them, but in the middle of
a combat is better to re-summon your wolves and casting spells than
the vine.
If you run out of mana you can escape, if you run out of life you die.
Is it clear? I hate the Solar Creeper, you can always use potions
instead of summoning this vines and you don't spent too much mana.
If you don't spend a point with it you can use it anywhere, which
would be more useful.
If you run out of HP potions and you are trying to create a town
portal to exit from a combat, the Carrion Vine could be your saviour
or at least enlarge your life. As I said before, it's a pity that it
only recovers your HP and not the energy of your summonings. But
that's all, don't rely too much on it.
Poison Creeper is the right choice, at least my choice. The poison
damage it inflicts is ridiculous, but it attacks your enemies so it's
a distraction and could poison several enemies with one attack. The
main con is that if it attacks the enemies they hit the vine and with
one hit the vine dies. Don't re-summon it until the poison damage
disappear on your enemies(they are green while poisoned).
IV. Pure Flaming Druid vs. Mixed Flaming Druid
==============================================
Variety is the spice of life! Like the idiom says I found much
interesting to use multiple skills than only one. Why? Until you play
in Hell level any choice of the druid skills tree you have done, would
seem useful, but in Hell mode with lots of uniques immunes to nearly
everything or plain creatures immunes to Fire oblige you to fight with
your weapon against a group of enemies, which is quite dangerous.
I chose the Mixed Flaming Druid playing in solo and I had problems
due to this previous problem, so a Pure Flaming Druid might be really
more proving. I preferred to take 1300 instead of 2500 damage in order
to summon powerful Dire wolves. It's up to you, but I really recommend
the Mixed Flaming Druid, unless you're planning to play in Hell mode
only in a party.
Ver.1.5 Comment: In the new ladder, I returned to my origins building
many druids, Sumoners, Windy druids and I tried the Pure Flaming Druid,
I really enjoyed him, he's not that bad. Give him a try.
V. The effectivity or not of Armaggedon
=======================================
For Armaggedon lovers: Theoretically, Armagedon could take 8k or more
with a pure fire druid, but the problem is, as I said before, the
precission.
There is a way to take advantage of it, to be a melee caster: To cast
Armaggedon and fight in close range but I find that, independently from
the equipment you use, this is a suicide unless you spend a few points
into shapeshifting to use skills like Fire Claws. Then we would
be talking about another built, the Fire Claws druid, which is a
extremely powerful druid, but I'm not going to talk about it here.
A fire druid caster can use Armaggedon for the coolness factor, but you
can't rely on it as you can on the rest of fire skills.
The first decision is to maximize Firestorm or Fissure, but as I said
before I preferred Fissure because it allowed me to cast it into another
platform, for example in The Arcane Sanctuary it's quite useful. There
is no choice for the Mixed Flaming Druid, maximize Fissure, because it
will benefit Volcano, our second most used spell. Especially against
bosses and unique while they are still and distracted by our summonings.
I. Synergies Bonus
==================
Firestorm Receives Bonuses From:
Molten Boulder: +23% Fire Damage per Level
Fissure: +23% Fire Damage per Level
Molten Boulder Receives Bonuses From:
Volcano: +10% Damage per Level
Firestorm: +8% Fire Damage per Level
Fissure Receives Bonuses From:
Firestorm: +12% Fire Damage per Level
Volcano: +12% Fire Damage per Level
Volcano Receives Bonuses From:
Molten Boulder: +12% Damage per Level
Fissure: +12% Fire Damage per Level
Armageddon: +12% Fire Damage per Level
Armageddon Receives Bonuses From:
Fissure: +2 Seconds per Level
Firestorm: +14% Fire Damage per Level
Molten Boulder: +14% Fire Damage per Level
Volcano: +14% Fire Damage per Level
Arctic Blast Receives Bonuses From:
Hurricane: +15% Cold Damage per Level
Cyclone Armor: +15% Cold Damage per Level
Cyclone Armor Receives Bonuses From:
Twister: +7% Damage per Level
Tornado: +7% Damage per Level
Hurricane: +7% Damage per Level
Twister Receives Bonuses From:
Tornado: +10% Damage per Level
Hurricane: +10% Damage per Level
Tornado Receives Bonuses From:
Cyclone Armor: +9% Damage per Level
Twister: +9% Damage per Level
Hurricane: +9% Damage per Level
Hurricane Receives Bonuses From:
Cyclone Armor: +2 Seconds per Level
Twister: +9% Damage per Level
Tornado: +9% Damage per Level
II. Possible Build-Ups(Possible SPOLIERS)
======================
To get the real level you need to finish each build-up to subtract 11
to the total of skill points used. Why 11? 1 skill point is given by
Akara, another by Radament, 2 by Tyrael. Now multiply it by 3(levels
of difficulty) and then add one level gain skills from level 2.
Remember that when you kill ancients in each level you raise 1 level
automatically.
Comments: In this case, the spirit you must choose is the Oak Sage.
Firstly, spend points in Firestorm until you can invest in Fissure,
when both maxed then go for Volcano and finally Moulten Boulder. It's
up to you to max Oak Sage or Molten Boulder. Even though, Oak Sage is
one of the last skills to max remember to activate it as soon as
you can. A Grizzly with a nice merc should be enough for tanking, but
your hireling will REALLY nice stuff.
B) Mixed Flaming Druid(94 skills=level 83)
Firestorm 1-20
Molten Boulder 1
Artic Blast 1
Fissure 20
Cyclone Armor 1
Twister 1
Volcano 20
Tornado 1
Hurricane 1
Armageddon 1
Raven 1
Poison Creeper 1
Oak Sage (20)
Summon Spirit Wolf 1
Carrion Vine 1
Heart Of Wolverine (20)
Summon Dire Wolf 20
Summon Grizzly 1
This is my choice, and it's quite viable in solo or multiplayer. The
only doubt is to choose Oak Sage or Heart of Wolverine, I took the
second. Your Fissure takes 763-799 which could be upgraded to 1100 with
+skills objects. When completed, improve the Firestorm due to the
sinergies with Fissure. I you found that using Armaggedon is a waste of
points, you can avoid the wind tree and save 6 points to invest in them
Moulten Boulder, to boost the phisycal damage of Volcano.
III. My Druid
=============
I play in the European Realm, my druids name is Druid_Gaiseric, he has
level 90 right now and my skills are these:
(In brackets important information)
Firestorm 8 (580-676 fire dmg per second)
Molten Boulder 1 (153-159 fire dmg per second)
Artic Blast 1 (104-115 cold dmg per second)
Fissure 20 (1844-1927 fire dmg)
Cyclone Armor 1 (208 dmg)
Twister 1 (40-43 cold dmg)
Volcano 20 (188-190 physical dmg/601-630 fire dmg)
Tornado 1 (173-191 cold dmg)
Hurricane 1 (134-164 cold dmg)
Armageddon 1 (283-297 fire dmg per second)
Raven 1 (5 ravens/11 hits/9-11 dmg)
Poison Creeper 1 (115-159 life/23-25 pison dmg)
Oak Sage 1 (173-198 life/+65% life)
Summon Spirit Wolf 1 (17-25 physical dmg/+225%Attack/+120%Defense)
Carrion Vine 1 (220-302 life/heals 8% life)
Heart Of Wolverine 20 (960-1080 life/+202% Damage/+207% Attack )
Summon Dire Wolf 20 (784-1040 life/235-255 physical dmg/+700%life)
Summon Grizzly 1 (4400-6000 life/195-253 physical dmg/+95%Damage)
I use Aldur's set, Seraph's Hymn amulet, Arachnid Mesh belt, Lidless
Wall shield, 2 rare rings with high resistances and 3 elemental
skiller charms.
My current stats are:
Strength 225
Dexterity 100
Vitality 165
Energy 50
As you can see, I didn't follow my suggestions with the stats.
I. Hirelings
=============
To have mercenary under your orders is a must. Think it over carefully,
this decision will affect you in the future. A little comment
affecting all hirelings, their resistances increase 1.5 each level, so
at level 80 at Hell mode they will have more or less 50 resistance to
all which is pretty high. Consequently, from level 50 and don't use
objects which add resistances to your hirelings.
A) Rogues Scouts
Only useful during Act I(Normal), in Act 2 I strongly recommend to
change your hireling. Rogue Scouts are ranged mercs armed with a bow
which is cool, but most of their damage is physical and sometimes it
adds Fire or Cold damage. Their speed throwing arrows is acceptable,
but the damage they do is ridiculous unless you equip them properly.
So, they take their time to kill an enemy so your minions or yourself
will kill them, in consequence this hireling levels-up REALLY SLOWLY.
I really encourage to use an act 1 hireling at least once in your
life, it's really cool and fun, but equipt her properly Windforce
(with a Hel rune)or a Widowmaker bows with a nice armor will be needed.
I any case, this hireling doesn't fit to a Elemental druid, better for
a summoner druid.
A.I: Like Iron wolves, probably the smartest hireling. When she is
hit she runs away so she dies a few times and consequently you
don't need to revive her saving up money.
(armor,helm,bow)
Basic Equipment: Artic Furs and Arctic Horn from the Artic gear is a
nice choice. An ethereal helm will do the rest.
Advanced Equipment: Upgraded Shaftstop(with an Um rune), Vampire's
Gaze helm and Widowmaker bow.
Rating: 3/10
B) Desert Mercenaries
You can hire them in act 2. These guys armed with a spear, are really
good, but only the ones found in level Nightmare are really worth.
Desert Mercenaries use Paladin auras, in Normal and Hell mode you can
use these:
Combat -> Prayer (Regenerates Life)
Offensive -> Defiance (Increases Defence)
Defensive -> Blessed Aim (Increases Attack Rating)
In level Normal I will pick the offensive one, if you have the spirit
Heart of Wolverine or will pick Defensive if you have the spirit Oak
Sage. Forget about Combat, the % regenerated life is ridiculous.
In Nightmare you could pick these ones:
Combat -> Thorns (Similar to Spirit Of Barbs, it reflects damage taken)
Offensive -> Might (Similar to Heart of Wolverine, increases damage)
Defensive -> Holy Freeze(Adds cold damage to the enemy, and slows them)
Holy Freeze is amazing, considering that a killed frozen enemy can't
resurrect, it's his more attractive aura. Thorns is nice too, but I'll
go for Holy Freeze.
A.I: Like act V merc they're too brave, they attack without retreating
and the result is obvious he dies a lot unless you give him potions
constantly. Anyway, he's not the focus of all the attacks if you
use summonings, which is an advantage respect other characters.
(armor,helm,spear/polearm)
Basic Equipment: Boneflesh to begin with, a nice helm and a rare spear
which adds lots of elemental damage would be enough
at this level.
Advanced Equipment: Ethereal Reaper's Toll or ethereal Tomb Reaver
A +800 defence armor(ethereal uniques if possible)
Vampire's Gaze(nice leeching bonus)
Rating: 5/10 (Normal&Hell)
10/10 (Nightmare)
You casting fire spells, your summonings and your hireling with
physical damage, his freezing aura and his poisoning weapon is
something unmatchable.
C) Ironwolves
Available in act 3, until you hire an act 2 mercenary(Nightmare) the
Ice Ironwolves will be your man, forget the Fire and the Lighting ones.
He throws one ball of ice after another like machine gun, freezing
COMPLETELY your enemies, not slowing them like the Holy Freezing merc.
A.I: Like Rogues Scouts they know when to retreat and don't die easily.
(armor,helm,sword&shield)
Basic Equipment: Boneflesh to begin with, a nice helm and any sword
because he's not going to use it, he only throw spells
Wall of the Eyeless(increases cast rate)
Advanced Equipment: Any sword or a sword that increases casting speed
An armor which increases casting speed, like Skin
of Vipermagi, Ormus Robes or Que-Hegan
Andariel's Visage(poison damage also)
Lidless Wall(increases cast rate) or a high
defence shield
Rating: 9/10
If the Desert Mercenaries are unmatchable, then... why do I use a Cold
Ironwolf? Because I own a Treasure Hunter Ironwolf.
Helm: Crown of the Thieves --> 100% Extra Gold
Armor: Goldskin --> 100% Extra Gold
or Wealth(Runeword)---> 300% Extra Gold and 100 % Better Chance
of Getting Magic Items
Sword: Blade of Ali Baba --> 2-247 % Extra Gold and 1-99 % Better Chance
of Getting Magic Items socketed with two Ist runes
Shield: Wall of the Eyeless
I own Gheed's Fortune unique charm(110 % Extra Gold and 32 % Better
Chance of Getting Magic Items) which bonuses are added to my Ironwolf.
The results are: 100+100+212+110= 522% Extra Gold
85+32= 117% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
So every time he kills anybody, the chances of getting a unique/set
item are higher and I earn lots and lots of money.
This hireling is not a melee fighter so to use a pitiful armor(400 def)
is something affordable. To build a Treasure Hunter with another
hireling is at least a suicide considering that the damage inflicted by
an Iron Wolf is independent from his equipment because he cast spells.
Another hireling like act II and act V are melee fighters who barely
survive at Hell mode using a really good armor.
D) Barbarians
Available in act 5, they are melee fighters like act 2 mercs but
without their cool auras. Do I really need to say anything else?
A.I: Err...the same that act II mercs.
(armor,helm,one-handed sword/two-handed sword)
Basic Equipment: Duriel Shell, a nice helm and Swordguard
Advanced Equipment: The Grandfather
A +800 defence armor(unique or set if possible)
Andariel's Visage(poison damage also)
Rating: 7/10
Barbarians are not bad, they endure better than any other hireling, they
could inflect more damage than anyone else, but their extra-features
(Bash and Stun), aren't as good as Desert Mercenaries auras or
Ironwolves cold spells. As plain and simple as that.
II. Basic Strategies
====================
*The strategy is simple: your minions distract and kill enemies while
you cast Fissure over them. Hire a Desert Mercenarie or an Ironwolf,
they will freeze your enemies or at least slow them, making much
easier for your summonings to kill the enemies. When a group of
enemies is reduced, you could collaborate killing frozen enemies.
*The AI of your summonings is...a crap. They don't follow you
constantly, so some times you will have to re-summon them if they are in
the previous room. For example, in Catacombs. To avoid this, you can
teleport. Teleport? How? You will need Naj's stave or Enigma. This is
just optional, but teleport is quite useful, because when you teleport
your summonings and merc are teleported with you and don't need to
re-summon them.
*Against uniques, who can't be frozen instead of using Fissure, use
Volcano on them. Volcano is especially useful against Vampires, Zakarum
Priests and Oblivion Knights who are immunes to cold at Hell level.
*When fighting against bosses let the right button of the mouse pressed
constantly over the boss, then you only have to press one shortkey or
another in order to cast or summon or press a number to take a potion.
*Until you get Aldur's set, I recommend having 2 columns of mana, 1 of
full rejuvenation potions and 1 of HP. When you own Aldur, then 1
column of mana, 1 of full rejuvenation potions and 2 of HP.
*As you will be re-summoning quite often in Hell mode, I recommend
these shortkeys:
F1 Summon Dire Wolf
F2 Heart Of Wolverine
F3 Fissure
F4 Volcano
F5 Carrion Vine
F6 Poison Creeper
F7 Raven
F8 Armageddon
This configuration is totally personal, but it worked great with me.
*Druids were created to be shape-shifters and shape-shifting gives them
more life, defence, attack and damage; the elemental spells and
summonings were just a complement. But we aren't shape-sifters, we're
original, it implies that elemental druids are more vulnerable to physic
attacks. Be aware of that! You could and you must hit your enemies, but
be cautious while attacking because your life will be reduced quickly in
melee combats and if you're surrounded you're almost dead. The hit and
run tactic is needed in your play.
*To use some +175 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds charms is a good idea,
they occupy ridiculous space(1 or 2 slots) but the benefits are crucial
against physic immunes.
III. General Gameplay Comments
==============================
*Playing solo is really challenging and fun, but in parties were enemies
HP is increased you'll find that your spells and summons are useless at
Hell mode.
*Dueling is not a possibility for flaming druids, elemental druids can't
win a duel. Duels are for melee characters or extremely powerful
casters(sorceress) which is not our case.
*My recommendation is to start Nightmare mode at level 50-55 and Hell
mode at 70-75, this values are totally orientative depending on the
equipment you use. You will reckon:"How can I get this level?" If you
play online, then I recommend Baal runs, which is to say, to kill the
uniques who dwell at the Throne of Destruction one time after another.
This way you can earn lots and lots of EXP. If you play solo, it will
take a loooong time.
*Where to train: Level 1-15 Act1 and Andariel runs
Level 15-20 Tomb Runs(Act 2)
Level 20-25 Travincal Runs and Diablo runs
Level 25-30 Cow runs
*If you play a rush, a game where a high level character boosts you
through 1 or more acts, or if you want to boost somebody I have some
tips:
1) Give all wp's to your friend creating a tp near the wp.
2) Only complete necessary and really good bonus missions.
Glossary: Ax-y --> Act x Mission y
(X) --> In brackets the bonus obtained
[X] --> Only necessary at a this level
wp --> World portal
tp --> Town portal
Necessary Missions: A1-3, A1-6, A2-2, A2-4, A2-6, A3-6, A4-3,
A5-5(+1 level up), A5-6
Bonus Missions: A1-1(+1 skill), A1-2(1 free Rogue Scout)[Normal],
A1-4(random runes&money),A1-5(imbue one item)
A2-1(+1 skill),A3-1(+20 life),A3-3(rare magical ring),
A3-4(+5 attributes), A4-1(+2 skills),A4-2(runes and
gems), A5-1(socket one item), A5-2(Tal,Ral&Ort runes),
A5-3(+10 to all Resistances), A5-4(rename one item)
Unnecessary Missions: A2-3, A2-5, A3-5
In unnecessary missions I would include: A1-2,A1-4,A3-3,A5-1,A5-2&A5-4
3) For mission A2-2, you only need the Horadric Cube in Normal, so in
Hell and Nightmare you will only need the staff and the amulet.
In mission A3-6, you only need Kalim's flail which is obtained by
killing the Council. When you have it talk with Cain, and now your
friend can give the wp8(the last one) without destroying the orbe,
automaticaly the orbe will be destroyed without needing the rest of
relics.
4) There are some wp than can't be used until you complete some missions
Act I: all available
Act II: wp7 only available when the staff is completed(A2-2)
wp8 only available when completing A2-4
Act III: see point 3
Act IV: all available
Act V: wp8 only available when completing A5-5
*Don't dare to ask me about any kind of bot or maphack, anyone who uses
them will lose their soul, their honor and last but not least their
account if Blizzard caught them. If you see anyone using them jot down
their names and report them to Blizzard as I've done, I do and I will
continue doing. Let's make the net a safer place!!!
I divided the equipment in 3 categories: Basic(1-30), Advanced(30-75)
and God's(75 or above) equipment.
After reading this equipment guide you will notice that the stuff don't
boost the Faser Cast Rate, this is due to the unnecessity of it,
because all fire spells hava a big delay.
This section contains the ideal stuff you should use, I'm not saying it
would be easy to find them, indeed it's really difficult. So use this
guide as an orientation.
PLEASE, DON'T ASK ME HOW TO FIND THIS ITEMS
If you play on 1 player mode, lots and lots of luck and time. If you
play in battle.net you can trade making more easy to get the Basic and
the Advanced equipment, but not the God's equipment. To get the God's
equipment is a question of time(months, years,centuries, milleniums).
I) Basic Equipment(1 to 30 level)
=================================
A1) Helm: Tarnhelm
Defence: 8-11 (varies)
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 15
Durability: 18
+1 To All Skill Levels
25-50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Item (varies)
75% Extra Gold From Monsters
A2) Helm: Peasant Crown War Hat
Defense:108
Durability:20
Required Strength:20
Required Level:28
15% Faster walk/run
+1 To all skill levels
+100% Enhanced defence
Replenish life +12
+20 To energy
+20 To vitality
Comments: Both helms are fantastic, Tarnhelm is a nice option until you
can wear the Peasant Crown War Hat or a Shaman druid pelt
(adds +1 skills to all druid skills, required level 30)
B) Armor: Skin of the Vipermagi
Defence: 279 (Base Defence: 111-126)
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 43
Durability: 24
+120% Enhanced Defence
+1 To All Skills
30% Faster Cast Rate
Magic Damage Reduced By 9-13 (varies)
All Resistances +20-35 (varies)
Comments: Resistances to all, +1 to all skills. The only con is the
defence, but the faster cast rate is unmatchable, considering
the delay all our spells have.
C) Weapon: Hellplague
One-Hand Damage: 5 To (32-34) (18.5-19.5 Avg)
Required Level: 22
Required Strength: 55
Required Dexterity: 39
Durability: 44
Base Weapon Speed: [-10]
+70-80% Enhanced Damage(varies)
+2 To Fire Skills
Adds 25-75 Fire Damage
Adds 28-56 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds
5% Life Stolen Per Hit
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Comments: +2 To Fire Skills, Wow!!! What else can I say? It adds fire
damage and poison also, getting a total of 58-163 damage
D) Shield: Sigon's Guard
Defense:24
Chance To Block:64%
Durability:120
Required Strength:75
Required Level:18
Increase chance of blocking
+1 to all skill levels
Comments: +1 to all skills is fantastic. But apart from that you get a
high percentage of blocking. If the defence sucks, then...
why should I use it? The bonus you get from using it and the
Sigon's Wrap are really good: 10% Life Stolen Per Hit
This leeching bonus is quite useful for shape-shifters, but
it's well worth for us too
E) Belt: Sigon's Wrap
Defense:8
Durability:24
Required Strength:60
Required Level:6
Fire resist +20%
+20 To life
Comments: Its defence sucks, but as before the bonus you get from using
it with Sigon's Guard are amazing: + (2 Per Character Level)
2-198 To Defence (Based On Character Level)
F1) Boots: Tearhaunch
Defense:62
Durability:120
Required Strength:70
Required Level:29
+75% Enhanced Defence
20% Faster run/walk
All resistance +10
+35 Defence
+5 To dexterity
+5 To strength
+2 To Vigor (Paladin Only)
Comments: Really nice for low level druids, the +10 to all resistances
bonus rocks. Sigon's Sabot is a nice choice also:
F2) Sigon's Sabot
Defence: 12-15 (varies)
Required Level: 6
Required Strength: 70
Durability: 24
Assassin Kick Damage: 10-20
20% Faster Run/Walk
Cold Resist +40%
Comments: +50 To Attack Rating (2 Items), +50% Better Chance To Find
Magic Items (3 Items) and +100 to defence. Very useful, also.
G) Gloves: Frostburn Gauntlets
Defense:63
Durability:120
Required Strength:60
Required Level:29
+30 Defence
+20% Enhanced defence
5% Enhanced damage
Increase maximum mana 40%
Add 1-6 to cold damage
+30 Defence
Comments: Average defence and lots of mana, quite useful for us who are
casters
H) Rings: The Stone Of Jordan Ring
Required Level:29
+1 To all skill levels
Increase maximum mana 25%
Add 1-12 lightning damage
+20 To mana
Comments: Lots of mana and +1 to all skills, but there is a problem
it's really difficult to find one. So use any rare ring that
gives you resistances to many things.
I) Amulet: The Eye of Etlich
Required Level: 15
+1-5 To Light Radius (varies)
+1 To All Skill Levels
3-7% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
Adds (1-2) to (3-5) Cold Damage (varies)
Cold Duration: 2-10 Seconds (varies)*
+10-40 Defence vs. Missile (varies)*
Comments: Again, at low levels The Eye of Etlich is the ideal choice,
adding the leeching bonus to the one you get on from Sigon's
Guard, you would get a final result of 13-17% Life Stolen Per
Hit, but it's difficult to find it. So A Shaman's amulet(adds
+1 to all skills, required level: 30) it's not a bad choice.
II) Advanced Equipment(31 to 76 level)
======================================
At Hell level you're going to need high resistances, because -100 to
all resistances are big handicap. So I recommend using high level sets.
A) Aldur's Watchover(Helm,armor,boots and one handed mace)
Maximum required level:76
+3 To Druid Skills
+1 To Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+1 To Shape Shifting Skills (Druid Only)
Total defence: 1092-1225
Cold Resist +90-100%
Fire Resist +90-100%
Lightning Resist +90-100%
Poison Resist +50%
+45 to ALL ATTRIBUTES!!!!!
+150 to Life
+150 to Mana
+20 to Strength
+15 to Dexterity
10% Life Stolen Per Hit
15% Mana Stolen Per Hit
50% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
And many other bonus
Comments: This set was designed for druids, it's the one I'm using right
now. It's difficult to find something better and it's
relatively easy to complete this set, there are only 4 items.
The mace has 2-3 sockets and the helm 2, you could socket
them with really nice runes, making this set unbeatable.
To complete this set use these:
i) Shield: Lidless Wall
Defence: 271-347 (varies)(Base Defence: 50-150)
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 58
Chance to Block: 40%
Durability: 40
Paladin Smite Damage: 14 To 20
+80-130% Enhanced Defence (varies)
+1 To All Skills
Increase Maximum Mana 10%
20% Faster Cast Rate
+3-5 To Mana After Each Kill (varies)
+10 To Energy
+1 To Light Radius
Comments: Increases your cast rate and your mana, it suits elemental
druids fantastically. Furthermore, it adds +1 To All Skills.
The only con is the chance of block(40%) but the benefits
are really something. Socket it with a perfect diamond at
act 5 to get +19 to all resistances.
ii) Belt: Thundergod's Vigor
Defence: 137-159 (varies)(Base Defence: 41-52)
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 110
Durability: 24
16 Boxes
+160-200% Enhanced Defence (varies)
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage
5% Chance To Cast Level 7 Fist Of The Heavens When Struck
+20 Lightning Absorb
10% To Maximum Lightning Resist
+20 To Strength
+20 To Vitality
+3 To Lightning Fury (Amazon Only)
+3 To Lightning Strike (Amazon Only)
Comments: Thundergod's Vigor is the right choice which requires a low
level. Probably, the best is that it also increases your
Maximum Lightning Resist, which is the most damaging
elemental damage.
iii) Gloves: Magefist
Defense: 24-25 (varies)(Base Defense: 9-11)
Required Level: 23
Required Strength: 45
Durability: 18
+20-30% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+10 Defense
+1 To Fire Skills
20% Faster Cast Rate
Regenerate Mana 25%
Adds 1-6 Fire Damage
Comments: At this rate you will have enough mana, so lest's increase
our fire damage.
iv) Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
Required Level: 67
+2 To All Skill Levels
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
+5 To All Attributes
Comments: Well, obviously this is the best amulet of the whole game by
far. If you don't find it, Seraph's Hymn(+2 To All Skills) is
a nice choice also. Don't get depressed if you can't find any
of them, a Gaea's amulet(+3 Druid Elemental, required level:
60) is a more than acceptable possibility.
v) Rings: The Stone of Jordan(described before)
At this level you could aim for:
Bul-Kathos' Wedding Ban
Required Level: 58
+1 To All Skill Levels
+ (0.5 Per Character Level) 0-49 To Life (Based On Character Level)
3-5% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
+50 Maximum Stamina
Comments: The leeching bonus makes it quite attractive, gives life and
+1 To All Skill Levels.
B) The Disciple(amulet,gloves,armor,belt and boots)
Maximum required level:65
+3 To All Skills
Total defence: 1056-1294
Cold Resist +83%
Fire Resist +139%
Lightning Resist +65%
Poison Resist +100-115%
+100 to Mana
+20 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
Half Freeze Duration
And many other bonus
Comments: It's not as astounding as Aldur's Watchtower, but it's is
really good because it allows you to use a druid hat, which
implies +2 to all skills and allows you to use 2-hands weapon
i) Helm: Jalal's Mane
Defence: 247-297 (varies)(Base Defence: 73-98)
Defence: 73-98
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 65
Durability: 20
(Druid Only)
+150-200% Enhanced Defence (varies)
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+2 To Druid Skill Levels
All Resistances +30
+5 To Mana After Each Kill
+20 To Strength
+20 To Energy
+2 To Shape Shifting Skills (Druid Only)
Comments: All Resistances +30!!!, +2 To Druid Skill Levels and a high
defence. This helm is a lovely choice.
ii-1 hand ) Weapon: Dark Clan Crusher
One-Hand Damage: 17 To 61 (39 Avg)
Required Level: 34
Required Strength: 25
Durability: 24
Base Weapon Speed: [-10]
+195% Enhanced Damage
+200% Damage To Demons
+50% Damage To Undead
+200 To Attack Rating Against Demons
+20-25% Bonus To Attack Rating(varies)
+15 Life After Each Demon Kill
+2 To Druid Skill Levels
Comments: The damage is pitiful, but +2 To Druid Skill Levels makes
this weapon a sensible choice. And you can continue using
the Lidless Wall shield.
ii-2 hands) Weapon: Athena's Wrath
Two-Hand Damage: (45-50) To (113-224) (79-137 Avg)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 82
Required Dexterity: 82
Durability: 65
Base Weapon Speed: [-10]
+150-180% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+ (1 Per Character Level) 1-99 To Maximum Damage (Based On Character
Level)
+ (1 Per Character Level) 1-99 To Life (Based On Character Level)
30% Increased Attack Speed
+1-3 To Druid Skill Levels (varies)
+15 To Dexterity
Comments: My former weapon. A scythe with +3 to Druid Skills is a bit
risky, considering than you can't use a shield which is a
must at Hell level. But I survived until I can use the
complete Aldur's set. And a druid using a Hunter's Guise
and a scythe looks really cool!!! You seem to be the devil
who has been described like this way many times.
iii) Rings: the same used in Aldur's set.
C) If you can't find any of this sets, then I recommend using this
armor: Skullder's Ire
Defence: 634-732 (varies)(Base Defence: 225-243)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 97
Durability: 90
+160-200% Enhanced Defence (varies)
Repairs 1 Durability In 5 Seconds
+ (1.25 Per Character Level) 1-123 % Better Chance Of Getting Magic
Items (Based On Character Level)
+1 To All Skill Levels
Magic Damage Reduced By 10
Comments: More than acceptable defence, +1 To All Skill Levels and
extra vitality.
Boots: Natalya's Soul
Defence: 112-169 (varies)(Base Defence: 37-44)
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 65
Durability: 66
Assassin Kick Damage: 23-52
+75-125 Defence (varies)
+40% Faster Run/Walk
Heal Stamina Plus (0.25 Per Character Level) 0-24% (Based On
Character Level)
Cold Resist +15-25% (varies)
Lightning Resist +15-25% (varies)
Comments: Tearhaunch are one of the best boots due to their
resistances, if you want to change them do it by Natalya's
Soul which defence is high and their resistances also.
The rest of items has been described in the previous sets.
III) God's Equipment(75 to 99 level)
====================================
If you are really addicted to this game, these are the items you should
aim for. Some of them are rune words and consequently it could take
several months, years or centuries to complete this ideal equipment.
A1) Helms: Ravenlore
Defence: 343-390 (Base Defence: 103-155)
Required Level: 74
Required Strength: 113
Durability: 20
(Druid Only)
+120-150% Enhanced Defence (varies)
+7 To Raven (Druid Only)
+3 To Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+20-30 To Energy (varies)
-10-20% To Enemy Fire Resistance (varies)
All Resistances +15-25 (varies)
Comments: A Gaea's pelt has also +3 To Elemental Skills, but the
defence won't be that high. A real elemental druid must own it.
A2) Helms: Delirium(runeword)
1% Chance To Cast Level 50 Delirium* (morph) When Struck
6% Chance To Cast Level 14 Mind Blast When Struck
14% Chance To Cast Level 13 Terror When Struck
11% Chance To Cast Level 18 Confuse On Striking
+2 To All Skills
+261 Defence
+10 To Vitality
50% Extra Gold From Monsters
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Level 17 Attract (60 Charges)
Comments: If you only get +2 To All Skills, why should I own this?
Delirium morphs you into a Bone Fetish for a period of
about 1 minute, it makes you look really cool!!
B) Armor: Enigma(runeword)
+2 To All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 To Teleport
+750-775 Defence (varies)
+ (0.75 Per Character Level) +0-74 To Strength (Based On Character
Level)
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Damage Reduced By 8%
+14 Life After Each Kill
15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+ (1 Per Character Level) +1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic
Items (Based On Character Level)
Comments: Err,... the only pity is that it hasn't any resistances, but
you could solve it socketing any of your items with Um runes.
Consider that the overall defence of your armor could be 1300-
1500, due to the 750-775 Defence bonus.
C1) Weapon: Heart of the Oak(runeword)
+3 To All Skills
+40% Faster Cast Rate
+75% Damage To Demons
+100 To Attack Rating Against Demons
Adds 3-14 Cold Damage, 3 sec. Duration (Normal)
7% Mana Stolen Per Hit
+10 To Dexterity
Replenish Life +20
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +30-40 (varies)
Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges)
Level 14 Raven (60 Charges)
+50% Damage To Undead
Comments: +3 To All Skills and +30-40 to all resistances is something
to consider, it could be socketed in a on-handed weapon
allowing you to use a shield. Apart from that the name suits
perfectly to a druid.
C2) Weapon: Earth Shifter
Two-Hand Damage: (115-132) To (630-720) (372.5-426 Avg)
Required Level: 69
Required Strength: 253
Durability: 60
Base Weapon Speed: [20]
+250-300% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+50% Damage To Undead
+7 To Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
25% Chance To Cast Level 14 Fissure On Striking
10% Increased Attack Speed
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
10% Faster Cast Rate
Level 14 Volcano (30 charges)
Comments: 7? Yes, you have read well. It adds +7 to elemental skills.
It only has a con, you need 253 strength to use it.
D) Shield: I continue recommending Lidless Wall if you are using a
one-handed weapon.
E) Belt: Arachnid Mesh
Defence: 119-138 (varies)(Base Defence: 55-62)
Required Level: 80
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 12
16 Boxes
+90-120% Enhanced Defence (varies)
Slows Target By 10%
+1 To All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
Increases Maximum Mana 5%
Level 3 Venom (11 Charges)
Comments: Like the Lidless Wall shield, this item is ideal for casters.
F) Boots: Natalya's Soul
Defense: 112-169 (varies)(Base Defense: 37-44)
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 65
Durability: 66
Assassin Kick Damage: 23-52
+75-125 Defense (varies)
+40% Faster Run/Walk
Heal Stamina Plus (0.25 Per Character Level) 0-24% (Based On Character
Level)
Cold Resist +15-25% (varies)
Lightning Resist +15-25% (varies)
Comments: Fast Run/Walk and high resistances.
G) Gloves: Gloves: Magefist
Defense: 24-25 (varies)(Base Defense: 9-11)
Required Level: 23
Required Strength: 45
Durability: 18
+20-30% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+10 Defense
+1 To Fire Skills
20% Faster Cast Rate
Regenerate Mana 25%
Adds 1-6 Fire Damage
Comments: At this rate you will have enough mana, so lest's increase
our fire damage.
H) Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope is still the best choice.
I) Rings: The ones described on the Advanced Equipment section.
IV. Charms
==========
I recommend to own as more elemental skillers as possible, they're a
must for us, the elemental druids. Some resistances charms is a good
idea also.
Unique charms:
**************
Annihilus
Required Level: 70
+1 To All Skills
+10-20 To All Attributes (varies)
All Resistances +10-20 (varies)
+5-10% To Experience Gained (varies)
Comments: Yes, it exists. But I've never saw it. It's only dropped from
Über Diablo, a super Diablo that appears out of the blue on
battle.net realms.
Gheed's Fortune
Required Level: 62
80-160% Extra Gold From Monsters (varies)
Reduces All Vendor Prices 10-15% (varies)
20-40% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (varies)
(Ladder Only)
Comments: I own it. It only appears at battle.net, it gives you more
chances of getting more money and magic items, and remember
that the nearer you're to magic items the nearer you are to
uniques, sets or rare runes.
ACT I
=====
BLOOD RAVEN
-----------
Firstly, kill all the monster that are outside the cementary, then go
through the doors. This boss is annoying because she is always moving so
it's difficult to hit her. The graveyard were she lays it's plenty of
zombies also, but they're not a match for you; don't lose time killing
them cause she revive them. Try to surround her in a corner with your
wolves(in Normal you will only have one wolf) and finish her with
Volcano or Fissure(Firestorm in Normal).
Difficulty: 3/10
GRISWOLD
--------
He is extremely slow but resistant also. Firstly, kill all the monsters
around him, after that your summonings will distract him while you fry
him with your spells.
Difficulty: 2/10
THE COUNTESS
------------
Kill her army first, attract them then kill them one by one. Finally,
face the countess, the same as always send you summonings to distract
her and cast Fissure or Volcano over her. Try to avoid her pitiful
Firewall. An easy one also. =)
Difficulty: 3/10
THE SMITH
---------
Let me introduce you Griswold’s older brother. Slower and tougher than
him, as always the same tactic summonings and spells.
Difficulty: 3.5/10
ANDARIEL
---------
Wow, this one is hard. Her poison attack is deathly. Firstly, clear the
zone, once you open the door of her sanctuary kill the monsters which
dwell before the columns to not request Andariel's attention. When the
battle is clear go for her. Remember, summon and re-summon because her
poisonous attacks will kill your wolves really quickly. Be prepared to
run if run out of mana, because she is deadly but if you cast spells
from the distance you could kill her without problems, considering that
she is vulnerable to Fire spells, so let's start the barbeque.
Difficulty: 6.5/10
ACT II
======
RADAMENT
--------
His breath stinks!! :P He's as poisonous as Andariel was and can
resurrect his army of skeletons so summon your wolves near him and fry
him to kill him quickly, because when he dies his army dies.
Difficulty: 5.5/10
COLD WORM THE BURROWER
----------------------
His minions are all over the room throwing poison everywhere, summon
your wolves and cast Fissure, really useful in this case. Once his
minions are dead he will be an easy pray he can't attack.
Difficulty: 3.5/10
THE SUMMONER
------------
His cold spells are really something, try to avoid them and destroy him,
his low HP will be his doom. Summon your wolves in his platform and then
cast Volcano over him.
Difficulty: 3.5/10
DURIEL
------
He has Holy Freeze and lots and lots of HP. In Normal, he will be a
challenge(no in Hell and Nightmare) because your spells aren't strong
enough and your summons will die quickly. So then? Re-summon eternally
and cast Fissure when possible, it's probably the longest combat for
the Flaming Druid but absolutely possible to kill him. Be fully
provided of mana potions, you'll need them.
Difficulty: 8/10
ACT III
=======
COUNCIL MEMBERS
---------------
Fight them one by one, they will be an easy prey for your summons,
hireling and spells. If you fight against more than one at a time it
will be hard.
Difficulty: 6.5/10
MEPHISTO
--------
Firstly, clear the zone. Then summon your wolves over him and fry him
with Fissure. Without doubt the weakest of the 3 Great Devils, but be
cautious because if all of your summonings are killed he could cast
Blizzard or even better Lightning over you, I can assure that he can
kill you with one of these.
Difficulty: 4.5/10
ACT IV
======
IZUAL
-----
Clear the area and the face him, don't get to close he can cast a
freezing Nova like Mephisto, so as always the same strategy. Summon
and fry. This one is an easy one.
Difficulty: 4/10
HEPHASTO THE ARMORER
--------------------
He looks like a tough enemy, but he's a piece of cake. Lower HP than
Izual, burn him into ashes.
Difficulty: 2.5/10
LORD DE SEIS/GRAND VIZIER OF CHAOS/INFECTOR OF SOULS
----------------------------------------------------
This ones are uniques, not bosses but I find necessary to talk about
them due to their difficulty. The guardians of the temple of Diablo.
They're tough and are always helped by a considerable army. Firstly try
to kill their army and then go for the boss. The Vizier is probably the
easiest, then come Lord de Seis with his fucking curses, he's really
dangerous his spells weaken your summonings. Take care with the Infector
he and all his army are really strong, I'll try living them for the
final when the whole area is clear to be able escape easily. Try to
attract a few of them and kill them like the Council.
Difficulty: 7/10 6/10 7.5/10
DIABLO
------
Big D is in my opinion one of the toughest bosses at the same level that
Baal. With him the hireling is useless, Diablo's Lightning Inferno is
deathly(50% physical damage, 50% Lightning damage) try to avoid it. His
Flame Circle is vicious because your spirit will die with 1 or 2 of
them which implies a considering amount of mana when maxed. His Cold
Touch damages critically your summonings. The main strategy is the same
as always: summon and re-summon your wolves when they die, cast Fissure
over Diablo one time after another and be careful with his Lightning
Inferno. Remember to open a safe Town Portal before beginning the
combat. In Nightmare and Hell, it will be a extremely long combat which
requires many potions but it's a relatively easy combat. In Normal,
when your summonings and spells aren't enough powerful you could suffer
to beat him but it's absolutely possible to kill Big D.
Difficulty: 9/10
ACT V
=====
SHENK THE OVERSEER
------------------
A strong enemy who mainly bases its strength on his suicide army, get
rid of them attracting them and when the whole army is defeated finish
him with the usual strategy. Summonings and Fissure.
Difficulty: 5/10
NIHLATHAK
---------
I really hate this boy. We could be considered ranged players when
casting spells but his teletransport makes his Arctic Blast a dangerous
menace for us. But this is not the worst, he can summon monsters and
when they are dead, he casts Corpse Explosion, but not the usual one.
He casts the one which appeared in DIABLO II(not the expansion) were
this skill was extremely overpowered depending on your equipment one
touch could imply your dead, so don't get near any dead corpse. The
strategy as always is summonings and Fissure.
Difficulty: 8/10
TALIC, MADAWC & KORLIC
----------------------
The famous Ancients, their fame is not a fake. They use respectively
Whirlwind, Shout, Double Throw and Leap Attack. In Nightmare and Hell
mode, they receive immunities and extra abilities like most uniques,
this could make them a tough burden. If their immunities are too much
for you then open a Town Portal and recast the ancients again, their
abilities will change. What makes this combat really tough is without
doubt that you can not run away, when you open a Town Portal the
Ancients disappear and you have to fight against them with full HP.
So try to fight one-by-one them, I'm not saying this is going to be
easy, because they move all the time, but remember summon and cast
Fissure, if you can surround any of the Ancients cast Volcano over him.
Difficulty: 9.5/10
BAAL UNIQUES: COLENZO, ACHMEL, BARTUC, VENTAR & LISTER
------------------------------------------------------
They are uniques(not bosses), but I find that a piece of advice will be
appreciated. Colenzo is a shaman, he and his minions are pitiful you
will crush them so badly. Achmel and his poison skeleton mages are not
bad, but they will be an easy prey for you. Bartuc and his army are
tough, try to fight them one-by-one like you already did with the
Council. Let Bartuc for the final he's a tough guy, but alone he's not
that dangerous. The same strategy with Ventar and his army. Lister and
his friends are a nightmare, to kill one of them alone is difficult
cause their hits makes you dizzy, so don't let them surround you
because it will hurt too much.
Difficulty: 4/10 5.5/10 7/10 8/10 9/10
BAAL
----
Finally, the Lord of Destruction. His melee attacks aren't dangerous
but we are not melee fighters and this disadvantage makes this combat
the hardest one. He can cast Mana Rift, a beam which consume lots of
mana, but the worst is the Hoarfrost, an ice arrow than freezes and
pushes you and your summonings. Try to surround him with your
summonings, then cast Fissure over him, when this happens he tends to
teletransport anywhere and create a clone of himself. Apparently,
they're the equal, but the clone has lower defence and his HP decreases
faster, so leave him a go for the real Baal. This combat is hard not
only because of the tons of mana potions you're going to use, his clone
and his spells specially the Hoarfrost will kill your summonings
faster than you can imagine, be especially cautious with getting
surrounded by Baal and the clone, a double Hoarfrost will drain your HP
dramatically.
Difficulty: 10/10
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ Über Diablo @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Intro
+++++
Well guys, this boy is tough, really tough. But not for my Blizzard
sorceress who crushed him so badly. :P
When he appears in a game a message appears in your screen: "Diablo
is walking on the Earth". He can appear in 2 different points:
Act 1, Stony Field, in the are where it's a portal to Tristan
Act 5, Frigid Highlands, near the Waypoint, where Eldricht stays
Description:
++++++++++++
He's like the usual Diablo, but with higher HP, higher resistances to
all, more damaging attacks and using constantly Armaggedon(It's really
cool).
Strategy:
+++++++++
A Flaming Druid, it's not a Hammerdin,a Sorceress or a Trapassin, builds
absoultely broken. So we can't defeat him easily, the strategy is the
same we used against the original Diablo. But the combat can be really
proving cause his autohealing is insanely high.
The Dilema:
+++++++++++
So then, is it really possible to defeat him with a Flaming Druid?
To be honest, I don't know because I didn't have the chance, but I
guess, well I'm almost sure, that it won't be possible. But an Annilus
is a really attracting candy for anybody, so if you want to defeat
Über Diablo by any means, then read the next point.
The Dirty Trick:
++++++++++++++++
There is a trick to defeat Über Diablo with any build in the game. How?
Act 1: Firstly, clear the way between Burial Grounds and Stony Field,
to not get many interruptions, but don't kill Blood Raven yet.
Secondly, attract him to Burial Grounds, now kill Blood Raven and
voila, the thunderstorm will kill the apparently invencible Über Diablo.
Act 5: The trick is similar here. Attract Über Diablo to the area where
Shenk dwells, now kill Shenk and in this case a deathly rain of
explosion from the catapults will erase him from the Earth.
This document is Copyright 2004 Joan Roda. All trademarks and copyrights
contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and
copyright holders. Feel free to distribute or post as long as you don't
change my name or try to make any money off of it, okay? Letting me know
about it would be appreciated too. (joanroda@eresmas.com)
This FAQ is exclusive to the following websites:
GameFAQS http://www.gamefaqs.com/
DLH.net http://dlh.net/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 12. Special Thanks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Konstantin Inozemtsev, Levent Tekbas and Christopher Yao among others
for their comments, critics, suggestions or just questions which have
helped this FAQ to grow in contents and quality.
To Blizzard for creating this fantastic game.
To Battle.net for all the useful information posted at The Arreat Summit
To CJayC for posting it in his marvellous website.
To me for writing this FAQ.
To you for reading it.
