I'm looking for a min-max dps druid for POTD

[StormOwnz]

Any suggestions?

[Boeroer]

Min-maxed in what terms? Spell damage? Melee damage? Good dps but also good survivability via min-maxing?

 

For a druid focused solely on melee dps it's either cat (higher attack speed) or boar (wounding damage). The cat is better against low to mid DR foes while the boar excels against high DR.

 

A good balance between melee dps, spell damage, CC duration and survivability is a boar druid with maxed MIG and INT (using healing bonuses and regeneration effects like Vet. Recovery and the boar's innate regeneration, his healing spells and so on. Also boar's wounding damage scales with MIG.

 

For spelldamage/CC there may be special builds, but I know none of them. It would be a pretty straightforward thing though.

 

For melee dps with he druid you want to make sure you have the following talents/abilities:

 

- Weapon Focus Peasant

- Two Weapon Style

- Wildstrike and Greater Wildstrike (preferably shock because of Storm spells)

- Heart of the Storm (or another talent that matches your Wildstrike and most used spells

- Merciless Hand & Dungeon Delver

- Avenging Storm

 

Of course stuff like Savage Attack and Apprentice's Sneak Attack are also fine. Eve Outlander's Frenzy works well. Gallant's Focus can be good if you don't have other universal ACC buffs like Zealous Focus, Blessing etc. in your party.

 

Returning and Relentless Storm make sure you land a lot of crits because everybody is stunned. Nature's Terror is also very good in combo with melee combat.

 

And most importantly: the Wildstrike Belt. This one adds a flat 10% to your two Wildstrike lashes. So Wildstrike gets +10 and Greater Wildstrike gets +10 as well. In combination with Heart of the Storm (increases both lashes by 25% and all your Storm spells as well) this is very powerful. It's a must-have for every shifter. There are two of those belts in the game: one can be bought from Cartugo in front of the Vailian trading post in Ondra's Gift and the other one from the ogre merchant in Russetwood who appears at the entrance of the cave when you don't kill Ogres inside the cave (being a Sneaky Pete).

Edited April 26, 2018 by Boeroer

[StormOwnz]

Sorry for not specifying but I meant for spell damage. I'm looking for a glass cannon nuker

[Boeroer]

Then for a min-maxing approach simply go max MIG, INT, DEX and dump CON and RES, rest into PER. Going melee will result in knockout then.

 

Take Heart of the Storm or any other elemental talent that fits your spell choice and use an overseeing item.

 

You might want to use Rot Skulls later on. It is very strong but comes quite late. In this case skill for implement use (Marksman, Dangerous Implement, Weapon Focus Noble or Adventurer).

 

If you want to focus on the very strong DoTs like Plague of Insects, Infestation of Maggots and such then you don't need an elemental talent but have to focus on high MIG and especially INT. Rot Skulls also have a DoT component.

 

If you want to use direct dmasge with elemental spells (Storms for example) then you want the elemental talents. Even hater talents work. For example you can go Boreal dwarf, take three other hater talents and an elemental talent and have either very high ACC or increased damage for your direct damage spells.

 

Depends a bit on what spells you like.

Edited April 26, 2018 by Boeroer

[StormOwnz]

Then for a min-maxing approach simply go max MIG, INT, DEX and dump CON and RES, rest into PER. Going melee will result in knockout then.

 

 

 

 

Hmm what is the non min-maxing approach for a spell caster and melee druid one that wouldnt get knocked out so easily but could carry my team in dps

[Boeroer]

Boar druid with emphasis on self healing I'd say. It's very solid in survivability, melee damage and also spell damage. Also fun to play because you don't have to scratch it from the floor all the time.

[StormOwnz]

Is there a good guide for this?

[Boeroer]

Nope.

 

I wrote a few descriptions here and there but not a complete build list.

 

Shock Hog:

 

Take max MIG and high INT, CON and DEX, pick Veteran's Recovery and skill survival to 12. Pick up an item that has +2 to survival, like Jack of Wide Waters or the Rugged Wilderness Hat. Choose healing bonus when camping.

 

Talents/Abilities:

Veteran's Recovery, Weapon Focus Peasant, Two Weapon Style, Wildstrike and Greater Wildstrike Shock, Heart of the Storm, Outlander's Frenzy, Savage Attack or Apprentices Sneak Attack. Also Merciless Hand and Dungeon Delver as story talents.

 

Items: any item with a +2 bonus to survival, Wildstrike Belt. Rest doesn't matter that much because while shifted it all disappears anyway.

 

Cast Returning or Relentless Storm (and also Avenging Storm once you get it) run near to your enemies, then cast Outlander's Frenzy and then shift and go to town.

 

A nice trick is to skip Outlander's Frenzy but instead wear Sanguine Plate: it has +2 Survival and Frenzy on a received crit. While you run towards your enemy you often get a crit. After Frenzy gets triggered quickly shift and you will keep Frenzy but the sluggish plate is gone.

If you think you need extra healing just cast a healing spell like Moonwell or whatever. Those work exceptionally well with the healing bonus from camping. When enemies are weak you can instead pick accuracy bonus in order to crit more often.

[StormOwnz]

does the race matter at all? what would you pick for the race? from what you have said so far it sounds like a moon godlike is the best choice

Edited April 27, 2018 by StormOwnz

[StormOwnz]

What do the attributes look like for the shockhog

[Boeroer]

Moon Godlike is a good choice for even more "passive" healing. I like Boreal Dwarf as well because of the ACC bonus - and dwarf + boar somewhat fits.

 

As always a slight shift in stats doesn't matter much in PoE. As I said I would max out MIG and go with high INT, CON and DEX.

MIG because the wounding tusks profit from it, melee damage anyway, spell damage and also healing. CON because you might want to prevent too many tests because of low health. DEX because it sucks when your shifting and other buffs are limited in time but you are so slow that you can only hit a few times. RES can be low (boar after all and rest in PER.

[Boeroer]

So maybe something like

 

MIG 18

CON 15

DEX 15

PER 12

INT 15

RES 03

 

Or so...

[StormOwnz]

Sorry for all the questions but what weapons is this character using?

[Boeroer]

Boar tusks.

 

When not shifted dual hatchets will do. I actually gave him Novice's Suffering despite it not stacking with Spiritshift. I just didn't want to spend enchantment resources like dragon eyes or durgan steel on him. And Novice's Suffering works pretty well with high MIG, lowish ACC and zero to few dmg mods. I even gave him the Sandals of the Forgotten Friar. He did respectable melee damage even when not shifted.

 

Dual hatchets will provide +10 deflection though which might prevent getting rushed all the time while casting.

[Phenomenum]

May i add some my "5 cents", becose my last playtrough was exactly MC Druid? Maybe you pick some ideas from this build.

My stats was:

MIG 15 (18 with gear)
CON 6 (9 with gear)
DEX 15 (18 with gear)
PER 14 (17 with gear + 1 Llengrath gift)
INT 18 (20 with gear + 1 Llengrath gift)
RES 9 (15 with gear + 1 Llengrath gift)

 

Race: Wood Elf (for +5 Accuracy race talent)

 

Important gear/Weapons:

1. Belt of Royal Deadfire Cannoneer (+3 MIG, +3 DEX, +2 INT)

2. Ring of Searing Heart (+3 RES)

3. Gauntlets of Accuracy (+ 5 Acc for all spells and weapons)

4. Weapon 1 - Gyrd Haewanws Stenes (scepter, superior Accuracy, +3 RES and Other bonuses)

5. Weapon 2 - As Boeroer already said, 2 Hatchets (+10 Deflection)

 

Primary focus on spells (Becose high INT + ACC+MIG). Spiritshift when enemies go to close combat or when enemies mostly disabled by spells.
 

About abilities:

I choose Wildstrike corrode, becose it sinergises with Rotten Sculls summoned weapon and my favourite druid spell Autumn's Desay.

If you want more focus on Spiritshift your "must have" is Outlander's Frenzy talent - with high MIG and INT it gives overwhelming DPS bonus especially for druid's Spirithift form.
Ah, and the Spirithift form is Cat, becose of high attack speed and highest DPS.

 

Yep...this is it. All another useful info was already provided by Boeroer

Edited April 27, 2018 by Phenomenum

[StormOwnz]

I will take all the information I can get. I love to see different opinions

[Wolken3156]

This what I'm running at the moment.

 

Race: Hearth Orlan

 

Attributes:

Mig 18

Con 9

Dex 18

Per 9

Int 18

Res 5

 

Skills:

Athletics 5

Lore 4

Survival 9

 

Abilities:

Spiritshift Cat (Bear form during early game)

 

Talents:

Weapon Focus: Peasant

Wildstrike Shock

Heart of the Storm

Greater Wildstrike Shock

Savage Attack

Two Weapon Style

Outlander's Frenzy

 

Noteworthy Gear:

Tempered Helm (+3 Mig per kill, +5 Corrode, Burn, Freeze Shock DR on kill, +10 Defence against Dominated, +25 Defence against Hobbled, Stuck, Paralysed, Charmed and Confused)

Ruphec's Watchful Cloak (+2 enemies needed to Flank, +2 Perception)

Wildstrike Belt (Grants Wildstrike Burn)

Shod-in-Faith (Casts Consecrated Ground when hit by a crit)

 

Spell Mastery:

Tanglefoot

Autumn's Decay

Returning Storm

Form of the Delemgan

 

This is a little biased towards Spiritshift, but its also potent spell caster regardless. Wildstrike Shock is chosen mostly because of their best spells are also Shock; and thus will have good synergy with Heart of the Storm. Corrode or Burn are pretty good alternatives later on since Rot Skulls is an excellent ranged attack and they have a lot of really great burn spells during late game such as Firebug and Boiling Spray.

 

Early game, its best to stick to being ranged with a Hunting Bow until the better gear is available. Hatchet and Shield are ideal when you're not shapeshifted or if you're casting constantly and don't need to use your bow. This build is very vulnerable to Interrupts, so Spirit Shield potions are very important; in-case you get swarmed.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Wolken3156

[Archaven]

i just notice that wildstrike belt doest work on spiritshifted anymore? i check the log i only saw slash+shock. there's no burn.

[Boeroer]

It improves your chosen Wildstrike and also Greater Wildstrike by 10% each (so for example Greater Wildstrike turns from a 15% lash into a 25% lash). It doesn't add an additional seperate burning lash.

 

It's very powerful because of that.

 

I explained that in my first answer.

Edited April 30, 2018 by Boeroer

[MasterCipher]

If you want an unusual, narrow build - you can increase your melee DPS by going 3 INT due to the weird way wounding works. 2 of the best weapons in the game both inflict wounding and the tusks have higher base damage than both of them. You'll gimp your spell duration and AoE of course but it's viable.

[Archaven]

It improves your chosen Wildstrike and also Greater Wildstrike by 10% each (so for example Greater Wildstrike turns from a 15% lash into a 25% lash). It doesn't add an additional seperate burning lash.

 

It's very powerful because of that.

 

I explained that in my first answer.

 

Sorry missed that. But it didnt mention about no burning lash right? At this point in time with 10 PER and 4 RES, i'm kinda thinking.. is DEX overrated? Would a tanky Druid be much better? I'm following the thundercat build though. Thoughts?

[Boeroer]

If you want an unusual, narrow build - you can increase your melee DPS by going 3 INT due to the weird way wounding works. 2 of the best weapons in the game both inflict wounding and the tusks have higher base damage than both of them. You'll gimp your spell duration and AoE of course but it's viable.

In my opinion it's not worth it to trade a bit of wounding dps for a lot shorter shifting time. What is good dps if you can only maintain it for 13 seconds (3 INT) instead of 26 (16 INT)? And the wounding damage is not even lost, it just gets applied more slowly (6.5 sec instead of 3.25 sec). And as you said you'll lose AoE, durations of Storms including Avenging Storm, healing power and so on.

 

I'm all for dumping INT to 1 with Tidefall or Drawn in Spring and the Ultimate Hat of Alluring Perfection - but here I think it's gimping your overall usefulness too much.

[Boeroer]

At this point in time with 10 PER and 4 RES, i'm kinda thinking.. is DEX overrated? Would a tanky Druid be much better? I'm following the thundercat build though. Thoughts?

I think that RES is totally overrated as a tank stat. It's good at the beginning or when you really want to build a pure tank, but not important if you defection is mediocre anyway. Interrupts are easy to come by with a priest - if you even have problems with them in the first place.

 

DEX and also move speed are nice for a shifter because you want to squeeze as many attacks into your shifting time as possible. Druids have no Full Attacks and also no gear like Gauntlets or Durgan Steel in weapons to speed them up. Only things that work are potions, Outlander's Frenzy or DEX. And since DEX not only speeds up your recovery but also the attack animation it's never completely wasted (albeit the higher the DEX the more diminishing the returns). It's always a multiplicative dmg boost.

 

PER is nice to have in the beginning, but as soon as buffs and hefty CC is available it's no problem to crit a lot even with 10 PER. A priest wit Inspiring Radiance + Devotions will make sure that your Storms hit which will stun, leading to an equivalent of +60 ACC. What are aw points of PER then?

Of course if you want to focus on interrupts you'd have to max PER.

[Archaven]

 

If you want an unusual, narrow build - you can increase your melee DPS by going 3 INT due to the weird way wounding works. 2 of the best weapons in the game both inflict wounding and the tusks have higher base damage than both of them. You'll gimp your spell duration and AoE of course but it's viable.

In my opinion it's not worth it to trade a bit of wounding dps for a lot shorter shifting time. What is good dps if you can only maintain it for 13 seconds (3 INT) instead of 26 (16 INT)? And the wounding damage is not even lost, it just gets applied more slowly (6.5 sec instead of 3.25 sec). And as you said you'll lose AoE, durations of Storms including Avenging Storm, healing power and so on.

 

I'm all for dumping INT to 1 with Tidefall or Drawn in Spring and the Ultimate Hat of Alluring Perfection - but here I think it's gimping your overall usefulness too much.

 

 

I have INT of 20 with stats boosting items and my shapeshifting is only 22.5sec. How you get 26secs with 16INT?

 

Edit

Also do you have any thoughts on Royal Deadfire Cannoneer vs Wildstrike belt? Seems like RDC a much better belt as it's going to provide full great stats.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Archaven

[Boeroer]

Haha - because I remembered incorrectly and calculated with 20sec base duration instead of 15. Sorry.

 

So with 3 INT you'd have a duration of 9.75 secs while with 16 you'd have 19.5.

With 20 INT you should have 22.5 - that's correct.

 

The Royal Deadfire Cannoneer Belt is much better on any other party member. Its stat bonuses are gone as soon as you shift and so are its Flame Shield and also Firebrand.

On a barb, chanter, rogue, fighter, monk, paladin,cipher or even priest on the other hand...

Edited May 1, 2018 by Boeroer