fuxor
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This Guide is an advanced players build of the 1.10 Wind Druid. I normally wouldn't reveal the information that I’m going to here. The reason why I'm doing this is because my parents stole my D2 from me, and I’ll probably never play the game again. So, enjoy kicking major butt with my build. The build is capable of MF and PvP with the same gear, and is proficient at both jobs. The ONLY difficulty the character has is with Godly TrapaSins, Blizzard Sorcs (see strategy for more information on Druid vs. Sorc,) and Godly WW Barbs. The instructions for the build are listed first. There is a PvP Strategy after the build instructions. The summery explains why the Wind Druid is so Godly, and the power he possesses which is often over looked by most players.
Build Instructions
Skill Tree:
20 Hurricane
20 Tornado
20 Twister
20 Cyclone Armor
20 Oak Sage
1 Summon Grizzly*(see notation)
*Summon Grizzly is a must have. He will keep Monsters from swarming you. More importantly, he will keep Bone Spirits, Traps, and Guided Arrows from hitting you.
Stats:
Strength: Enough for your gear. My Wind Druid has 77 Str naked.
Dexterity: Enough for Max Block. This amount of Dex will also improve your ability to defend against physical damage.
Vitality: ALL remaining stats will go in here
Energy: This is a WASTE of stats don’t put a point in it!
Two item lists are included. One is a Godly Setup for more fortune players, and the other a Beginner Setup, which has proven to be very successful. Any items that I thought that you might question I have included a notation at the bottom of the list with their purpose. Both items lists have been tested thoroughly.
Godly Items (list 1):
Head Gear: Harlequin Crest Shako Socketed*(see notation)
Amulet: Perfect Metal Grid or Perfect Mara's
Weapon: Wizard Spike Bone Knife Socketed Cold facet jewel*(see notation)
Armor: Archon Plate Enigma
Shield: Storm Shield Monarch Socketed Eld Rune**(see notation)
Gloves: Magefists Light Gauntlets
Belt: Arachnid Spider Web Sash
Boots: War Traveler Battle Boots***(see notation)
Rings: Stone of Jordan ring and Bul-Kathos Wedding Band***(see notation)
Charms: Elemental Grand Charms, Annilus Charm, and Small Life Charms
*Wiz is better then Hoto on this build. If you don't belive me then why read the guide? I have tried both. I have a untested theory that more negative resistances to enemies will improve the stunning effect of hurricane; enemies with a good FHR tend to be unaffected by its stun. If my theory were true then a Doom (rune word) for the 2 Skills, Holy Freeze and Negative 60 resist would own all. In addition, Cold Facet in Shako, but my build is using a P Topaz for MF right now.
**You want to Eld your SS. I know its Rune number 2, but its the best thing for a Wind Druids' SS. SS on a Druid does 67% Block Naturally and Eld will increase it to 74% Nat Block saving you tons of Dex points and giving you more Vita. Ideally the most Godly Shield would be a Jewelers Monarch of Deflecting 15-15 Cold Facets Eld*(see above notation) Keep in mind that changing shields would require you to change belts to maintain a good DR. In such a case, I recommend Verdungos Mithril Coil.
***Both of these items are used for the additional life and other good mods. Remember that the Wind druid is a TANK; no one can take as much punishment as this guy.
Beginner Items (list 2):
Head Gear: Lore, or Peasant Crown War Hat, or Jalals Totemic Mask
Amulet: Saracens Chance or + Druid Skills ammy
Weapon: Wizard Spike Bone Knife*(see notation)
Armor: Viper Magi Serpent Skin Armor
Shield: Whistands Guard Round Shield, or Rhyme Superior Grim Shield
Gloves: Magefists Light Gauntlets
Belt: String of Ears Demon Hide Sash or Verdungos Mithril Coil**(see notation)
Boots: Water Walks Sharkskin Boots
Rings: FCR rings or Nagel Ring Rings
*Wizard Spike Bone Knife is necessary for this build. If you don't have Wizard Spike, and can't get one, I strongly suggest trying a different build.
**These belts are imperative to your success. Both belts can have up to 15% Physical Damage Reduction. Without one of these, your DR is at 0%, and that is a very bad thing.
PvP Strategy:
General:
Be prepared to cast your Cyclone Armor, Spirit Wolves (or Bear,)
Oak Sage, and Hurricane repeatedly in one Duel.
Bone/Psn Necro, Trap Sin, GA Zon, Foh Pally:
Summon 5 Spirit Wolves, 5 Ravens, and your Oak Sage. Cast Hurricane, and Cyclone Armor. Tele or run on top of the enemy, and left click Tornados on them. The Spirit Wolves will confuse the Bone Spirits, Guided Arrows, and Traps. The Hurricane, and Ravens should lock the enemy up if they are a poor build. Tornados will do the killing. Cyclone Armor, and Oak Sage will keep you alive. Bone Necros like to use bone spear when you start doing this. In this case Tele behind their casting.
Melee Builds and WW Barbs:
Do not summon anything other then Oak Sage. Cast Hurricane, and Cyclone Armor. Dodge the melee attacks at all cost. When a Barb WWs Tele out of the way and cast Tornado while he’s still WW. Tele towards Charge Pally and past him before casting Tornado. With Charged Strike Zons, it is likely that you will be casting Cyclone Armor more often then Tornados. 1-2 Charged Strikes will kill you if you don't have Cyclone Armor casted.
Hammer Pally:
Play this one passive. Name lock the Pally with Tornado after you have casted Hurricane and Oak Sage. The Hurricane will usually make them keep their distance from you. Eventually they will be hit by to many Tornados and get owned. Hammer Pally tries to Tele on top of you and cast Blessed Hammer when you start doing this. DO NOT move if he does. If you are going to survive don’t move and cast Tornados on him. Even after he dies don't move until the Hammers stop.
Sorc (all mage builds other then blizzard):
Summon your Bear, 5 Ravens, and Oak Sage. Cast your hurricane and Cyclone Armor. If you have Enigma or an Ammy with Tele charges remember that the Sorc invented Tele. Run towards the Sorc and cast Cyclone Armor every time the Sorc hits you. When you get close enough Tele on top of her and cast some Tornados. She will Tele away so you have to do this a few times. The hardest part is catching her. Your Cyclone Armor is strong but beware of Lighting, if it reaches Max Dmg, it can kill you in one hit even with full Resistance, and Cyclone Armor.
*You can be healed by FO Sorcs with 2 Raven Frost Rings, Spirit Keeper Earth Keeper, Snowclash Battle Belt, and Blackoak Luna.
Blizzard Sorc:
These are the hardest and most dreaded to duel against. If you can't Tele, and don't have a GODLY Hurricane don't even bother. Nothing can stop Blizzard. The items in the notation above were used with 85 cold Resistance, base level 17 Cyclone Armor with the skill adds from Items (list 1,) and over 2000 life against a level 30 blizzard. The blizzard still killed in one hit. The only hope for survival is to cast Hurricane, Cyclone Armor, and Oak Sage. Tele in circles around the Sorc while she is casting Blizzard until she dies. Pray not to be hit and that she dies fast.
Summery:
Essentially the Wind Druid is a TANK. At Lvl 99 a Wind Druid could have nearly 350 in Vita with over a 400% increase in life, Max Block, and over 2000 Natural Absorb Elemental Damage. However, the skill tree is completed at around Lvl 90.
With items from Item (list 2) and a belt full of Full Rejuvenation Potions at Lvl 80, my Druid has been able to stand in front of the D-Clone for up to 1/2 hour at a time without rest! In Meph runs, he sustains no Dmg most of the time. He can do Pit runs alone in a full game. He is nearly capable if doing a solo Baal run in Hell mode. Many times, he has DOMINATED PvP games.
I haven't perfected the build, however, this is close.
Build Instructions
Skill Tree:
20 Hurricane
20 Tornado
20 Twister
20 Cyclone Armor
20 Oak Sage
1 Summon Grizzly*(see notation)
*Summon Grizzly is a must have. He will keep Monsters from swarming you. More importantly, he will keep Bone Spirits, Traps, and Guided Arrows from hitting you.
Stats:
Strength: Enough for your gear. My Wind Druid has 77 Str naked.
Dexterity: Enough for Max Block. This amount of Dex will also improve your ability to defend against physical damage.
Vitality: ALL remaining stats will go in here
Energy: This is a WASTE of stats don’t put a point in it!
Two item lists are included. One is a Godly Setup for more fortune players, and the other a Beginner Setup, which has proven to be very successful. Any items that I thought that you might question I have included a notation at the bottom of the list with their purpose. Both items lists have been tested thoroughly.
Godly Items (list 1):
Head Gear: Harlequin Crest Shako Socketed*(see notation)
Amulet: Perfect Metal Grid or Perfect Mara's
Weapon: Wizard Spike Bone Knife Socketed Cold facet jewel*(see notation)
Armor: Archon Plate Enigma
Shield: Storm Shield Monarch Socketed Eld Rune**(see notation)
Gloves: Magefists Light Gauntlets
Belt: Arachnid Spider Web Sash
Boots: War Traveler Battle Boots***(see notation)
Rings: Stone of Jordan ring and Bul-Kathos Wedding Band***(see notation)
Charms: Elemental Grand Charms, Annilus Charm, and Small Life Charms
*Wiz is better then Hoto on this build. If you don't belive me then why read the guide? I have tried both. I have a untested theory that more negative resistances to enemies will improve the stunning effect of hurricane; enemies with a good FHR tend to be unaffected by its stun. If my theory were true then a Doom (rune word) for the 2 Skills, Holy Freeze and Negative 60 resist would own all. In addition, Cold Facet in Shako, but my build is using a P Topaz for MF right now.
**You want to Eld your SS. I know its Rune number 2, but its the best thing for a Wind Druids' SS. SS on a Druid does 67% Block Naturally and Eld will increase it to 74% Nat Block saving you tons of Dex points and giving you more Vita. Ideally the most Godly Shield would be a Jewelers Monarch of Deflecting 15-15 Cold Facets Eld*(see above notation) Keep in mind that changing shields would require you to change belts to maintain a good DR. In such a case, I recommend Verdungos Mithril Coil.
***Both of these items are used for the additional life and other good mods. Remember that the Wind druid is a TANK; no one can take as much punishment as this guy.
Beginner Items (list 2):
Head Gear: Lore, or Peasant Crown War Hat, or Jalals Totemic Mask
Amulet: Saracens Chance or + Druid Skills ammy
Weapon: Wizard Spike Bone Knife*(see notation)
Armor: Viper Magi Serpent Skin Armor
Shield: Whistands Guard Round Shield, or Rhyme Superior Grim Shield
Gloves: Magefists Light Gauntlets
Belt: String of Ears Demon Hide Sash or Verdungos Mithril Coil**(see notation)
Boots: Water Walks Sharkskin Boots
Rings: FCR rings or Nagel Ring Rings
*Wizard Spike Bone Knife is necessary for this build. If you don't have Wizard Spike, and can't get one, I strongly suggest trying a different build.
**These belts are imperative to your success. Both belts can have up to 15% Physical Damage Reduction. Without one of these, your DR is at 0%, and that is a very bad thing.
PvP Strategy:
General:
Be prepared to cast your Cyclone Armor, Spirit Wolves (or Bear,)
Oak Sage, and Hurricane repeatedly in one Duel.
Bone/Psn Necro, Trap Sin, GA Zon, Foh Pally:
Summon 5 Spirit Wolves, 5 Ravens, and your Oak Sage. Cast Hurricane, and Cyclone Armor. Tele or run on top of the enemy, and left click Tornados on them. The Spirit Wolves will confuse the Bone Spirits, Guided Arrows, and Traps. The Hurricane, and Ravens should lock the enemy up if they are a poor build. Tornados will do the killing. Cyclone Armor, and Oak Sage will keep you alive. Bone Necros like to use bone spear when you start doing this. In this case Tele behind their casting.
Melee Builds and WW Barbs:
Do not summon anything other then Oak Sage. Cast Hurricane, and Cyclone Armor. Dodge the melee attacks at all cost. When a Barb WWs Tele out of the way and cast Tornado while he’s still WW. Tele towards Charge Pally and past him before casting Tornado. With Charged Strike Zons, it is likely that you will be casting Cyclone Armor more often then Tornados. 1-2 Charged Strikes will kill you if you don't have Cyclone Armor casted.
Hammer Pally:
Play this one passive. Name lock the Pally with Tornado after you have casted Hurricane and Oak Sage. The Hurricane will usually make them keep their distance from you. Eventually they will be hit by to many Tornados and get owned. Hammer Pally tries to Tele on top of you and cast Blessed Hammer when you start doing this. DO NOT move if he does. If you are going to survive don’t move and cast Tornados on him. Even after he dies don't move until the Hammers stop.
Sorc (all mage builds other then blizzard):
Summon your Bear, 5 Ravens, and Oak Sage. Cast your hurricane and Cyclone Armor. If you have Enigma or an Ammy with Tele charges remember that the Sorc invented Tele. Run towards the Sorc and cast Cyclone Armor every time the Sorc hits you. When you get close enough Tele on top of her and cast some Tornados. She will Tele away so you have to do this a few times. The hardest part is catching her. Your Cyclone Armor is strong but beware of Lighting, if it reaches Max Dmg, it can kill you in one hit even with full Resistance, and Cyclone Armor.
*You can be healed by FO Sorcs with 2 Raven Frost Rings, Spirit Keeper Earth Keeper, Snowclash Battle Belt, and Blackoak Luna.
Blizzard Sorc:
These are the hardest and most dreaded to duel against. If you can't Tele, and don't have a GODLY Hurricane don't even bother. Nothing can stop Blizzard. The items in the notation above were used with 85 cold Resistance, base level 17 Cyclone Armor with the skill adds from Items (list 1,) and over 2000 life against a level 30 blizzard. The blizzard still killed in one hit. The only hope for survival is to cast Hurricane, Cyclone Armor, and Oak Sage. Tele in circles around the Sorc while she is casting Blizzard until she dies. Pray not to be hit and that she dies fast.
Summery:
Essentially the Wind Druid is a TANK. At Lvl 99 a Wind Druid could have nearly 350 in Vita with over a 400% increase in life, Max Block, and over 2000 Natural Absorb Elemental Damage. However, the skill tree is completed at around Lvl 90.
With items from Item (list 2) and a belt full of Full Rejuvenation Potions at Lvl 80, my Druid has been able to stand in front of the D-Clone for up to 1/2 hour at a time without rest! In Meph runs, he sustains no Dmg most of the time. He can do Pit runs alone in a full game. He is nearly capable if doing a solo Baal run in Hell mode. Many times, he has DOMINATED PvP games.
I haven't perfected the build, however, this is close.
