spiritshift druid question

[Zeraili]

Hello,

I would like to as how viable is spiritshift druid and how exacly should be build when playing with party that have tanks?

How he stands in terms of dmg/survivability  with like barb, melee mage, this lady of Pain build or rogue?

Second think is how early he will be able to shine in game?

 

[Mocker22]

Shapeshift is powerful throughout the game and can be built to do incredible damage. That said it is a very short duration and you need to be able to do other things.

 

I would personally take the cat form for max dps and then get Wildstrike shock, weapon focus peasant, two-weapon fighting, greater wildstrike shock, scion of the storm, apprentice sneak attack, outlanders fury. I choose shock because it pairs so well with all of the druids outstanding lightning spells. Get a companion with stormcaller for maximum shock dps.

 

The key here is to pick your timing for shapeshift. I would start off tougher battles by casting some debuffs(Spreading plague is amazing for combining with storm spells), cast your 3 different storm spells, and then make sure you know exactly which mobs you plan to do chunk in cat form, and hit outlanders fury right before you shift.

 

The new soulbound scepter also does offer the ability to gain 1 more shapeshift in an encounter but it is very inconsistent. You'll never be able to JUST shapeshift but it is great for trash mob fights and for doing some insane burst dps.

[nem0]

I did some testing with the various spiritshift forms and the cat actually does not have the highest dps unless the 1 per rest attack speed bonus is activated.  The description says his attack is naturally faster but his weapon speed in the inventory screen is "average" just like all the other ones; I have not timed the frames but it seems consistent with the other forms attacks.  The boar has a wounding property added to his attacks that does raw damage(though I can't remember if it is a DoT or not a the moment) on top of his healing property.  The stag is probably my favorite due his +7 defenses and his 1 per rest carnage.  Bear +2 DR is not much later on in the game and wolf prone is not needed since you have a bunch of spells that stun already.

 

Shock is good because you can utilize the lightning talent better with your storms however it might be more useful to mix it up with corrode so that certain lightning immune enemies wont completely block out your elemental damage(if it is all the same type).  

 

The druid in general can do more "consistent" damage that any class in the game but you will need to keep him alive as his natural deflection and health are low, especially in spirit form when no items apply.  Base damage at level 16 for melee attacks are 32-50 with 18 DR and 0% extra recover time on all forms. I don't think there is any weapon stronger than that in the game except maybe one wizard summoned weapon.  You can easily be hitting for 70 or 80 damage a hit with wildstrike talents and a little extra might.

 

If you spec him specifically to tank I would say middle of the road tank.  Still outclassed as a tank by paladin, fighter, barb, monk but he has very useful spells of which relentless storm is probably the best spell in the game.  As a spellcaster he gets better as the game goes on because of extra spells but I would say around mid game(level 9) when you get relentless storm he shoots up to incredible.

[Boeroer]

The single target melee damage of a spiritshifted druid is unmatched by any other class (rogues included) - but spiritshift is short and there's only one way to regain a spiritshift use during encounter (new soulbound sceptre, bound to the druid and unlocked). 

 

Basically you take Outlander's Frenzy or Sanguine Plate, Weapon Focus Peasant, Two Weapon Style, Vulnerable Attack,  Wildstrike Shock/Greater Wildstrike Shock/Heart of the Storm and wear the Wildstrike Belt. Then you want to master Nature's Mark (or later Dancing Bolts, when defenses tend to be very low in comparison to your high ACC) and Returning Storm. Don't take Taste of the Hunt - it doesn't work properly with spiritshift (can't remember why - just tested it one week ago or so and it was completely useless). 

 

Your move will be like : At the beginning of the encounter, start to cast Returning Storm while the tanks engage. Then cast Avenging Storm (if you already have it) - then Outlander's Frenzy, then shift and move in. By the time you cast all that spells you will be free to choose which enemy to pick. You will go there and kill him with one or two strikes (crits with 140 and above are normal, even normal hits do over 100 dmg if the roll is ok).

 

It's a good thing to have increased move speed. You want to move fast once you're shifted. You don't want to waste any time with running around. So Resting Bonus is good. So is Fast Runner (if you can fit it in).

 

But as I said: your shifting time is very limited. And it's a lot of fuzz and casting to get there every encounter. It's very powerful in terms of melee damage but also a pain in the <lower bodypart with cheeks> in terms of micro. 

 

I like it best nowadays when I don't use this setup as a flanking striker like a rogue, but as superawesome emergency button when the oh so smart AI rushes to my backline. At one moment he's just a druid with low deflection and low DR, casting stuff - and once the rushers come in *poof* I'm a man-stag out of hell that does *thud-thud* and the enemy's vaporized. 

Of course: you may not use the dhift every encounter - but you don't gimp you casting that way. You are still a great backline caster. And when the time comes that shifting is needed it's very satisfying.

 

An the other hand - I do like the tank approach even better. That is: skipping spiritshift altogether and only take the defensive talents, put on a shield, wear hide armor. Then you're a good sticky tank (enemies won't rush past you a lot - you're a dangerous caster with not too high DR - they tend to stick to that) with tons of CC capability.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Boeroer

[Zeraili]

Thanks for all that knowladge. Than it could be very flexible with ranged and melee dmg and it looks interesting with thst i already have monk and druid tank. And If i would like to have like one second line DPS with like 2h weapon than what buid would be best?

 

And second question is what would be optimal stats distribution for melee DPS druid with more offensive aproach? It would be played like rogue for quick burst and than spells IF it will be needed. When this specter for druid is obtainable?

Edited March 11, 2016 by Zeraili

[Boeroer]

The sceptre you get from a quest around the stronghold and it comes quite early in Act II.

 

A second row damage dealer with a two handed weapon sounds like a rogue or barbarian with the Tall Grass pike.

[Ymarsakar]

I've also gotten the scepter in one of those webs at the V endless path level. But that was with an old save at the time, immediately after updating to 3.0. It may also have been 1 level above that actually in the mushrooms.

 

For stats on this druid combo, 15+ per and 16+ int would probably be good. And 12+ might. A few points into dexterity might help as well, but that might be better put into per or int.

 

Because when I used hiravias in this role, he just did single target damage, he actually didn't get aggro a lot. Or rather, he probably killed who ever tried to melee him.

 

I use the druid shapeshift combos for fights that I don't want to spend spells on. Or when I run out of spells. Or when some enemy really needs to get primaried and die.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Ymarsakar