Wind Druid Build

[Dopple Ganger]

Can anyone tell me the best wind druid build along with equipment and merc to. Thanx in advance


Oh yeah This is going to only be a Person vs monster druid

[Freedom-Fighta]

% Speed Break points -
When Wielding Swinging Weapons (Flails or hammers like HoTO, Earthshaker, axes like Islestrike)

14 frame = 0%

13 frame = 3%

12 frame = 7%

11 frame = 13%

10 frame = 19%

9 frame = 29%

8 frame = 42%

7 frame = 63%

6 frame = 99%

5 frame = 174%

4 frame = 456%




When Wielding Stabbing Weapons (Daggers such as Wizardspike, spears, pikes)

13 frame = 0%

12 frame = 5%

11 frame = 10%

10 frame = 16%

9 frame = 26%

8 frame = 39%

7 frame = 56%

6 frame = 86%

5 frame = 152%

4 frame = 377%




Your block rates are.

11 frame = 0%

10 frame = 6%

9 frame = 13%

8 frame = 20%

7 frame = 32%

6 frame = 52%

5 frame = 86%

4 frame = 174%

3 frame = 600%




I highly recommend maxing block, the formula for blocking is.

Total Blocking = (Blocking * (Dexterity - 15)) / (Character Level * 2)

As a character who focuses on spells, faster cast rate is very important.

18 frames = base

17 frames = 4%

16 frames = 10%

15 frames = 19%

14 frames = 30%

13 frames = 46%

12 frames = 68%

11 frames = 99%

10 frames = 163%

(note: With this build you will achieve 100%, if you feel the need to get an 10 frame cast rate then you need 63 more, but I don't recommend it.)

Items, Stats and SKill placement -
Weapon

Heart of the Oak rune word Flail*. Ko+Vex+Pul+Thul

+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

*Flail-type weapons are the only one handed ones this rune word will work with, and flail is the lowest requirement, since this is for a caster there is no point in making it in a knout or scourge, or even a superior flail. (if you can't afford this weapon, Wizardspike Bone Knife is your best alternative, and before that Suicide Branch Burnt Wand, and The Spectral Shard Blade)




Shield

Stormshield Monarch, socketed with a -15% requirements, 15 resist all jewel.

Chance to block on Druid - 67%

+ (3.75 Per Character Level) 3-371 Defense (Based On Character Level)

+25% Increased Chance Of Blocking

35% Faster Block Rate

Damage Reduced By 35%

Cold Resist +60%

Lightning Resist +25%

+30 To Strength

Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10

Indestructible

At level 94, when this build is done, you will need 225 dexterity for max blocking with Stormshield, I know this seems like a lot, but it means 3/4 of melee attacks miss you. I recommend Stormshield because of the good resist, high defense, good blocking, and awesome 35% damage reduced, the strength bonus is good but not as important since it is the most strength intensive item in your gear.

(Alternative shields include 'Rhyme' Grim Shield Shael+Eth, Moser's Blessed Circle Round Shield, socketed with two perfect Diamonds or 'Um' runes, or Whitstan's Guard Round Shield from the Orphan's Call set, for very high and fast blocking)




Armor

'Enigma' rune word in a Light armor, with low Strength Requirements. Jah+Ith+Ber.

+2 To All Skills

+45% Faster Run/Walk

+1 To Teleport

+750-775 Defense (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)

We use Enigma for the Teleport skill it grants, +2 skills, damage reduce, life increase, and other nice mods. Your dueling league or group may not allow teleport from Enigma, so just don't teleport; it's a great armor even without the teleport.

If you can't afford a three socket elite, then use Breast Plate or Light Plate. I recommend Mage Plate, you start at 15 base strength, and Mage Plate has a requirement of 55. That means you need Forty strength from somewhere (Annihilus, Mara’s, and Shako is a possible 27 Strength, the rest can be points you distribute or charms/rings), and the rest can all go to blocking or life, as opposed to strength which only benefits you with higher defense from a heavier armor. In short, vitality is better than defense for a caster with no skills directly modifying your defense like Holy Shield or Shout, or even Shiver Armor.

Good Armors would be: Mage Plate, Light Plate, Breast Plate, Archon Plate, Wire Fleece, Dusk Shroud, Scarab Husk, or any other low strength light type.

(Alternate armors include, from best to worst, Skin of The Vipermagi, Que-Hegan's Wisdom, and 'Stealth' (Tal+Eth) rune word light armor)




Helm

Harlequin Crest Shako, socketed with an 'Um' rune, or a rare jewel with resistance and faster hit recovery, damage to mana, or other mods you need.

+2 To All Skills

+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1-148 To Life (Based On Character Level)

+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1-148 To Mana (Based On Character Level)

Damage Reduced By 10%

50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

+2 To All Attributes

In mine and many people's opinions this is the hands down best helm for casters and some melee, commonly referred to as Shako, this is your best bet for a wind druid. Again, many people prefer Jalal's Mane Totemic Mask, for the resistance and faster hit recovery mainly, but Shako provides much more life and mana, and even more if you use Call to Arms (discussed later) since it's +2 effects battle orders, and Jalal's +2 druid doesn't.

(Alternate helms include, Jalal's Mane, Peasant Crown, or Ravenlore, a rare druid pelt with +2 druid or +3 elemental and decent second mods is acceptable)




Belt

Arachnid Mesh Spiderweb Sash (16 slots)

+90-120% Enhanced Defense (varies)

Slows Target By 10%

+1 To All Skills

+20% Faster Cast Rate

Increases Maximum Mana 5%

Level 3 Venom (11 Charges)

As of 1.10 this is the belt of choice for most casters, there is really nothing to discuss, just look at the stats on it.

(Alternatives include, Trang-Oul's Girth Troll Belt, Gloom's Trap Mesh Belt, or Nightsmoke Light Belt)




Gloves

Trang-Oul's Claws Heavy Bracers

+20% Faster Cast Rate

Cold Resist +30%

+30 Defense

+25% Poison Skill Damage

+2 To Curses (Necromancer Only)

I choose these gloves for the resistance and 20% faster cast rate, I use them instead of Magefist because cold resist never hurts against sorceresses.

(Alternatives include, Magefist Light Guantlets or Frostburn Guantlets)




Boots

Sandstorm Trek

Scarabshell Boots

Defense: 158-178 (varies)(Base Defense 56-65)

Required Level: 64

Required Strength: 91

Durability: 14

+140-170% Enhanced Defense (varies)

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

+20% Faster Run/Walk

+ (1 Per Character Level) +1-99 Maximum Stamina (Based On Character Level)

+10-15 To Strength (varies)

+10-15 To Vitality (varies)

50% Slower Stamina Drain

Poison Resist +40-70% (varies)

Repairs 1 Durability In 20 Seconds

Sandstorm Trek are my boots of choice, because of the faster hit recovery, high defense, bonuses to strength and vita, and poison resist. Get these Ethereal if possible.

Some of you may have noticed my change from Aldurs to these, its simply for hit recovery, and poison resist, I didn't need the extra fire resist, but I may need to stack a lot of poison against rabies druids or necromancers who use facets.

(Alternatives include, Waterwalk Sharkskin Boots, Silkweave Mesh Boots, Aldur's Advance, or Shadow Dancer Myrmidon Greaves)




Jewelry

Mara's Kaleidoscope, and two Rare rings with Faster Cast Rate

+2 To All Skill Levels

All Resistances +20-30 (varies)

+5 To All Attributes

&

10% Faster Cast Rate

The rest of the mods on the rings are optional. For example, I have a ring with 10fcr, +11 strength, + 80 mana, and +14 resist all. These are great and help you reach the 99% FCR breakpoint, which is important for catching those casters who tele faster.

I choose these for the big +skill, resistance, and big boost to your mana pool.

(Alternatives include, rare/crafted Amulet with +2 druid, faster cast, or resist, Bul-Katho's Wedding Bands, and Stones of Jordan)




Switch

'Call to Arms' in an elite 1 handed weapon (Amn+Ral+Mal+Ist+Ohm) and Lidless Wall Grim Shield

+1 To All Skills

+40% Increased Attack Speed

+250-290+% Enhanced Damage (varies)

Adds 5-30 Fire Damage

7% Life Stolen Per Hit

+2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*

+1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*

+1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*

Prevent Monster Heal

Replenish Life +12

30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

We use Call to Arms for the Battle Command and Battle Orders it provides, I recommend making it in an elite weapon like phase blade, berserker axe, ettin axe, or scourge. We already have the dexterity to use an elite, and our strength gets plenty high with Enigma and Stormshield. It's also good to use on Dclone, smack him with it for prevent monster heal. And believe it or not, but it's a cruel of quickness as well, so DON'T make it in a flail!




+80-130% Enhanced Defense (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

We use Lidless Wall for the +1 to all skills, so our battle orders is stronger and lasts longer.




Charms

As many Natural Grand Charms as you can get, hopefully with second mods like +life, faster hit recovery, +strength or +dexterity. This will be a huge boost to our damage.

Annihilus Small Charm, with the best stats you can get.

Your leftover slots should be filled with small charms with modifiers like +life, faster run walk, faster hit recovery, +mana, and resistances.




Stats at level 94




Strength - 55* (Here can be different for everyone. You need simply to get enough strength to use your gear after +strength from items and charms are added. This is most likely your Stormshield, which is probably your heaviest item.

For this build, you can get 55 with +20, 5, 2, and whatever is on your FCR rings and Charms, to reach 55, which would allow you to equip your Mage Plate, which would allow you to equip Stormshield [counting your 10-15 Strength bonus from Sandstorm Trek], the amount of base strength you need can vary quite a bit though, depending on your Annihilus and Jewelry. Try to calculate EXACTLY how much you will need before distributing points into Strength. That little bit of life could make all the difference.)

Dexterity - 225 (For max blocking at level 94)

Vitality - Everything Else (life is important)

Energy - Base



Skill Points and Allocation

· 20 Tornado (Our main skill, it deals physical damage in a random path, which is determined by where you're standing, it can sometimes hit twice or more)

· 20 Hurricane (Our secondary attack skill, it doesn't always do huge damage but it can help, chill the opponent, and make them mistakenly put on cold resist/absorb)

· 20 Cyclone Armor (VERY important defensive skill, this has saved my butt so many times, you are basically shredded against the huge damage spells now without this, it adds damage to Tornado and very important duration to Hurricane, oh and did I mention cyclone armor has Zero resistance, good against cold sorceresses, and if you have negative resistance, but slightly saddening if you have positive or even maxed)

· 20 Twister (Synergy to all our wind spells)

· 20 Oak Sage (Our Spirit, huge life boost, Max this last)

· 1 Summon Grizzly (Great decoy and sometimes damage dealer)

· 1 Raven (prerequisite)

· 1 Dire Wolves (prereqrequsite)

· 1 Spirit Wolves (prerequisite) Dueling



It’s my philosophy that you learn better from experience, but a lot of people have been asking for a dueling guide so here goes.

A few basics, Cyclone Armor takes damage before resists, good for facets and Cold Mastery, generally not so good elsewhere because your resistances are useless whenever cyclone is on.

When you teleport with a bear on top of you, melee opponents can’t click you, yes that’s right, your bear completely shields you after a teleport, this makes melee a fairly easy fight.



Amazons

There are a few builds that can give many players quite a lot of trouble, the most relevant to this build are Charged Strike and Guided Arrow/Multiple Shot.



Charged Strike: Basically amazons that jab you with their javelins and release a ton of charged bolts, which, when all hit you, can do a large, I mean large, amount of lightning damage. Think of it as a 09 Lightning Fury amazon but every bolt hitting you.



Your cyclone armor is a big help against these guys, and can take a few hits, but be careful not to let them hit you more then once without a recast.

Remember, they have to get into melee range to do damage, and this is where the wind druid shines, they will probably get dodge-locked from all the sources hitting them, so just finish them off with a few tornados as you hear their yips of death.



Guided Arrow: Generally these are fairly weak after the nerfing, but occasionally you will come across one with huge physical damage, open wounds, deadly strike, poison, the works. If you don’t have Enigma this can be a hard fight, because smart ones will play very defensively, and you will probably never get close enough to hit them as they chip your life away, load of on frw charms and hope you can chase them down, or simply teleport on top of them, but once you close the distance you should have an easy win due to dodge-lock, and you simply overpowering them.



Assassins

One of the ‘burrito’ amazons of 1.10, trappers are an annoyance to pretty much everyone, and the widely proclaimed ‘caster killer’, the Whirlwind sins using Chaos rune word to do a cute little barb impression. I will say that they stand a better chance of beating you than many other classes, but once you learn to play against them it is a fairly even match, still, this is a fairly hard match-up for the wind druid.



Lightning Sentry/Mind Blast: The ones that use mind blast well are the only challenge, and your main problem here is getting caught in a crossfire where several traps are hitting you and the assassin can Mind Blast. Generally, when an assassin is Mind Blasting you, they aren’t laying traps. A few lightning sentries are nothing to worry about, because you can easily recast cyclone. The ones I have seen generally like to sit in or around their traps and run around, hoping you will die, not even needing to aim. If you can’t beat these simply practice more, the ones that are a problem very strategically place their traps, and then follow through with a mind blast, allowing several of their traps to hit you. The key is to stay outside of their little trapped area. Run circles around their area as the computer-aimed lightning sentries blast away behind you, this may coax them to spread their traps out, but when it’s not once concentrated blast of multiple traps it’s not really a problem to our cyclone. Then, run/tele in and attack as they start to recast traps, if you start getting hit too much, retreat, they usually die fairly quickly to a good Tornado or two, if you want, simply do occasional ‘drive-bys with Hurricane and slowly kill them, expect a lot of town-running in pubbies though. If this happens simply slap on the Tgods and Wisp Projectors and laugh, see, we can do it too.

Lightning Sentry does not stun nearly as well as Wake of Fire, and yet it’s damage is so much better, a WoF trapper will basically stun you and just keep you there until you slowly die, slap on a rising sun for them.



Whirlwind: Ah yes, slight physical damage, fast attacks, and large open wounds/poison.

The worst of these will perhaps Dragon flight you once, run away, and then whirlwind you when you’re at low life. There’s also the Weapon Block problem to consider when fighting dual-claw Whirlwinders, this is the only character that can block Tornado, and you may notice the duels taking a longer time, you really have little chance vs. the cheap ones, (cheaper perhaps) simply leave if you find you can’t beat them, my advice would be to run constantly and tornado around you so they may run through them. Don’t try to tank them for sure.

The ones who will simply act like a barb and whirlwind you are not quite as annoying, but still hard to defeat. Whenever you see them teleport to you, or whirlwind, run. Yes, it’s a bit cowardly, but probably the only way to win against a good one. Run just out of their low range and Tornado them, you should slowly chip them down, if you get hit, good luck, their open wounds and poison will make you easy pickings in a few seconds.

Hybrid: In my humble (go ahead, laugh) opinion, these are one of the best builds in 1.10, and also one of the hardest to make work. Some of you may have dueled (I use dueled hesitantly, more like allowed him to slaughter you) Doppler-Reborn. I used to beat his assassin consistently, but now that he’s got the build down, almost nothing can beat him.

Without turning this into a hybrid assassin guide, I’ll try to explain. They work on the same logic as a v/t, (Foh/Smite pally) use traps to kill most people, and if they switch on Thundergods, Wisp Projectors, Blackhorns or the like, Whirlwind them. You basically use a powerful but negatable attack like traps (or in a VT’s case, FoH) to make them put on gear with Absorb or stack, but not mods vital to beating a melee character like Whirlwind (Or smite). I can’t tell you how to beat these because it’s just a matter of skill. If you can do it, you won’t learn how by me telling you. Try not to tank their WWs if at all possible.



Necromancers

One build stands out as one of the most powerful in 1.10, the Bone necromancer. Large damage, unresistable, and fast moving/seeking/wide spread, not exactly an easy opponent, poison necromancers can also lower your life incredibly quickly, yuck.



Bone: The minion stacking bug definitely helps us here. When you have just teleported, and have minions directly on top of you, bone spirit won't hit, unless the necromancer has 125% fcr you should be able to catch him, and if you can, he's probably dead. If they just want to run the whole match and spam teeth, it's not worth it in my opinion. Recast minions whenever possible. A hard fight.



Poison: Pretty lame in my opinion. These guys can lower your life in just a couple of seconds. Good items to use include Death’s Set Gloves, Iratha’s Cuff set Amulet, and Tal runed Venom Ward. Stacked poison resist, +max poison resist, and poison length reduction are your friends. If they have Enigma, you may want to keep yours on for the teleport, if not, or if you run, use Tal Venom Ward, once you manage to lower their poison down to manageable levels you should use basic tactics for hunting down a paraplegic old man.



Barbarians

Stupid, smelly, annoying, loud, oh did I mention huge damage and life? These guys are one of the best suited to taking damage, which is what a wind druids opponent spends most of the duel doing, coincidentally.



Melee: The only real concern are the ones who teleport on top of you and whirlwind, 90% of them you will be able to tank fairly easily, while they sit on their big ethereal swords and cry. The remaining ten have huge life and max damage reduction, and can take quite a few hits to bring down. Basic dueling tactics, sidestep their whirlwind and spam Tornado around you while they dance through it, Toro!



Throwing: I recently let a thrower with ethereal Warshrikes chuck a few at me, and believe me I was at how fast I died, of course, this shouldn’t be a problem, because you can dodge them and kill fairly quickly. Simply close the distance and kill them with Tornado.



Sorceress

Generally, these girls will be giggling their air-filled heads off as they townguard, I mean you can hear the fluff rattle inside. Their Energy Shield is actually our biggest friend here. Hurricane will decimate their mana, and they will sit helplessly because they can’t teleport away. Without Energy Shield their life is fairly low, and Hurricane can sometimes kill them. If you lose repeatedly to one of these maybe a wind druid isn’t for you, and if you’re running against their teleport I recommend stacking resist and absorb against them.



Orb: Not too great, a fairly easy rule to follow is if you see your bear die as you yourself get hit, it’s a good time to recast cyclone. If they cast considerably faster than you and just want to run, you just have to wait them out, if they use Energy Shield it’s an easy fight, but they should die in a few Hurricanes or Tornados. If they maxed out their damage with facets their resists and life are generally fairly low. Remember that our Cyclone ignores their cold mastery, so yours will be at 0 resistance to their cold, good because there is no need/purpose to stacking resists.



Blizzard: When you think about it, worse then a good fireball sorceress, because your resistances are at zero to both their attacks, so Blizzard loses it’s power, which comes from the –100 resist most of their opponents have. Your cyclone will probably only be able to take a single shard, and if you get hit again your dead, recast if you ever get hit, and chase them, they will probably resort to sitting in their own blizzard, so teleport in and kill them as fast as you can, otherwise their death facet blizzard may take you out, embarrassing. The key is their casting delay.



Fireball: Probably the hardest sorceress you can fight, the same damage as Blizzard, but a lot faster and a lot more. Hopefully they use Energy Shield so you can drain their mana, otherwise it’s basically a game of catch, they should die quickly as well though. Recast cyclone if you ever get hit. The key is that fireball is hard to aim.



Lightning: These get their own tab in my update, I realized the error in my ways after dueling a friend’s great Lightning sorc. They can potentially bust through cyclone AND kill you in one hit with a high damage lightning. Same strategy as a Fireball sorc, emphasis on recasting if you take a few hits from Thunderstorm. Also, using Hurricane to clip their Mana can be a viable tactic.



Druid

Here we go, our fellow druids, wind druids are obviously the best matched to take on another wind druid, but there are several other interesting builds that can provide competition.



Fury/Mauler: Don’t get close to them, run or teleport away and let them chase you, they can’t teleport in wereform, so let them run through Tornados to get to you. These guys can blocklock you if you aren’t careful.



Fireclaws: A lot like a fireball sorceress, treat them like a Mauler, except that you can absorb a lot of their damage, if they get you block-locked be careful.



Rabies: Ahh, the anti-teleporter, and also the anti-minion. If your minions are infected, do not teleport, they will infect you as well. Basically rabies is poison that can be spread through contact, and can kill. Yes, it can kill you, not one life, death. Treat them like Fury druids, but with an emphasis on keeping them farther away. You may be able to get away with a quick teleport in and kill. If you are infected, charge, you probably don’t have a lot of time left, so you need to finish the duel.



Fire Elemental: They are basically other casters, volcano is the biggest problem here since it is there only source of non-elemental damage, don’t follow them around through an Armageddon, it can really mess you up. Your best option is to just tank, recast Cyclone periodically and kill them. If you are hoofing it, they have an advantage, because your only option is to run through their geddon, try and get in front of them and spam tornado, because running through meteors is not a nice place to be.



Wind Elemental: I have to admit, I’m terrible at this. I find it almost as boring as chasing a teleport/teeth necromancer. Trying to tank each other is random, it’s basically who has more life/damage, and who’s Tornado gets the right angle. Otherwise it’s just a game of teleport around each other and spam Tornado, hope one of you runs through a few. It’s mostly luck. Kudos if you’re good at it though.



Paladin

Another class that can be hard to beat. Fist of the Heavens is a joke, but Hammerdins, and godly Smiters or zealots can give you a run for your money, probably one of the hardest match-ups besides WW sins and bone necromancers.



Fist of the Heavens: Easiest duel you can get, simply recast Cyclone, remember Conviction has no affect on our armor, so it’s not a problem, just recast, I think your biggest problem here is running out of mana. Since they can’t damage you chase them down and kill them.



Smiter/Zealot: Treat these guys the same, be wary, a good one will have high life and DR, so you may have trouble bringing them down, your instinct may be to tank them, but that can be a mistake, Lacerator or Doom runeword Smiters, and BoTD zealots are not a class you can hope to tank once they get a hit in. Keep on-screen unless they start to charge, and just spam Tornados at them.



Charger: I recently had fun dueling a BoTD Thunder Maul Chargeadin, and let me tell you, 2500 life in one hit, with 50% DR is a LOT of damage. For them to get this damage though they will probably be very weak otherwise, and die from Hurricane possibly.

Use the terrain to your advantage, try not to let them have a straight path to you, and fire tornados (which go over the terrain, a nice advantage for us). This is just basic melee strategy, they may go after your spirits so be ready to recast, but this is good, if they are leeching excessively off your bear you may not want to recast.



Hammerdin: The only hard ones are the ones who charge around to desynch you and set up a hammer field. They probably won’t be able to 1 hit kill you unless your oak is dead. If they stay stationary and spam hammers, then teleport directly under them (do not teleport on them, their hammers will hit you every time, so don’t click their name) if they charge/tele around spamming hammers then you simply need instinct to know where hammer fields are, and tele in front of them before they get a chance to cast. The safest spot is directly under them.

Note- Credit for this guide goes not to me, the poster, but to ƒenris, a member of forums.diabloii.net.
For the complete origional context of this gude, and changes brought around by patch 1.11, email him at : [email protected]


Sorry for post length.

-Freedom