Looking for heroic content druid build

[Ivan_Milic]

Legend build, +4 tomes, thf, traps and evasion.

[Khatzhas]

If you want THF, traps and evasion, you're probably looking at Thief-acrobat and fighting in normal (then later elemental) form with a quarterstaff.
How much casting do you want to mix in? 5 levels of Rogue will get you access to all the best qstaff goodies but lock you out of spells like Heal and Earthquake.

Best bet might be to leave Wisdom relatively low, stick to heals, the Freedom of Movement/Sleet Storm/Sneak Attack combo and no-save offensive spells like Creeping Cold. Leaves more points for Int, Con, Str.

Nature's Warrior has some useful enhancements up to tier 3, but after that most will require animal form. Season's Herald's SLAs are effective if you can fit Max and Empower in. Only one of them allows a save so they are useful even with dumped Wis. Spring Resurgence is also very useful if you can adjust to not panicking when you drop towards half health. Crown of Summer looks nice, but interferes with Shillelagh, so may not be the best bet.
Even though most of your levels will be in Druid, you may want to have most of your enhancements in Rogue.

Do you have access to Monk? One option would be to add some levels there, but that will further reduce your access to Druid spells.

[Ivan_Milic]

Split doesnt matter, as long as I get druid pl, was thinking of using sos because it is just that great.
But could try qstaffs.
Have all classes and races.
Was thinking of going max str and dex.
Casting doesnt matter, have no caster gear on this char, strictly melee.

[Ivan_Milic]

If I go in wolf form does the weapon keep its crit range?
If not I could also go twf with wraps, splash 6 monk, 2 arti, rest druid.

[Khatzhas]

I suggested Qstaff due to Shillelagh spell (+1[W]) and synergy with Thief-acrobat which would also give you traps and evasion.

If the SoS is good enough you could use that instead, but you'd lose out on the combination.

Animal Form replaces all the base stats: Damage, crit range and crit multiplier. The only thing that you'd get from SoS would be Adamantine DR breaking. Its also (currently) a TWF style more than THF, and the animations mean it isn't for everyone. Handwraps and most Monk capabilities work fine with it.

Using elemental form gives you immunities, 100% fort and access to some nice buffs and offensive spells while still fighting and using feats and weapons in normal form. I'd recommend going with Fire elemental as a melee combatant.

Before you take 2 levels of Arti, bear (heh) in mind that Rune arms break Druidic Oath.

Druids are casters. If nothing else you'll have access to healing and some buffs, even if not using offensive spells. Creeping Cold, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire etc spells don't have a DC, so as long as you have enough Wis to cast, you can get use out of them, even with no spellpower items.

[Maelodic]

I wrote up this build the other day, you may be interested in it. Can go fire or cold form. Shadar-Kai is just for an abundant-step-like ability and this can definitely be adapted to other races. Human is fine.

13 Druid / 6 Monk / 1 Rogue - Shadar-Kai
Lawful Netural
RMMMMMMDDDDDDDDDDDD

STR 16+Levels
DEX 10
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 16
CHA 6

Skills: Search, Disable Device, Concentration, Heal

1 Dodge
3 Cleave
6 Great Cleave
9 Maximize
12 Improved Critical: Bludgeon
15 Master of Forms
18 Grandmaster of Forms
21 Overwhelming Critical
24 Quicken
27 Blinding Speed
Epic - Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
Epic - Elusive Target
Monk - Power Attack
Monk - Two Handed Fighting
Monk - Mobility
Monk - Path of Light

PROBABLY water form for creeping of the cold things- freezing spray and the DoTs absolutely murder bosses, though Fire Form synergizes a lot more with Henshin.

Spell List (Cold):
1st (5):
Jump
Shillelagh
Ram's Might
Pass Without Trace
Merfolk's Blessing

2nd (5):
Resist Energy
Lesser Restoration
Barkskin
Creeping Cold
Flame Blade

3rd (5):
Sleet Storm
Water Breathing
Vigor

4th (5):
Freedom of Movement
Enveloping Swarm
Cure Serious Wounds
Ice Storm

5th (4):
Reincarnate
Stoneskin
DeathWard
Cure Critical

6th (3):
Greater Creeping Cold
FireShield
Word of Balance

7th (2):
Regenerate
Freezing Spray

Enhancements [Core and (Optional) - Obviously cannot fit EVERYTHING in, but this is how I'd use tress if they were something I wanted to add]:

Henshin Mystic (Cold) - 34 Points Total
Riddle of Fire
Ki Bolt
Sounding Staff
Henshin Staff Training x4
Winter's Touch
Clever Monkey
Fists of Iron
Lighting the Candle 3/3
Contemplation 3/3
Quick Strike 3/3
Staff Specialization
Every Light Casts a Shadow

Ninja Spy - 11 Points Total
Basic Ninja Training
Advanced Ninja Training
Shadow Veil
Sneak Attack Training x2
Acrobatic 3/3
Agily 1/3

Season's Herald (Cold) - 13 (23) Points Total
Seasoned
Time 
Negotiator 3/3
Beguile 2/3
Wax and Wane x3
Season's Greetings: Summer 1/3
Produce Flame 3/3
Creeping Cold 3/3
(Spring's Resurgance 3/3)

Theif Acrobat - 4 (6) Points Total
Staff Control
Thief Acrobatics 3/3
Acrobat Staff Training (2)

Shintao - (13) Points Total
Bastion of Purity
Reed in the Wind 3/3
Exemplar 1/3
Iron Skin 3/3
Conditioning 3/3

Nature's Warrior - (14) Points Total
Nature's Warrior
Instinctive Fighting x2
Extra Wild Empathy 3/3
Athletic 1/3
Flight 3/3
Action Boost: Double Strike 3/3
Fatal Harrier

Shadar-Kai - (7) Points Total
Shadar-kai Grit
Shadar-kai Dex/Int/Wis
Shadow Phase
Shadow Jaunt
Empowered Jaunt

62 points core (69 if Empowered Jaunt is something I cannot give up) and a lot more than that otherwise. Some breathing room!

[Ivan_Milic]

I suggested Qstaff due to Shillelagh spell (+1[W]) and synergy with Thief-acrobat which would also give you traps and evasion.

If the SoS is good enough you could use that instead, but you'd lose out on the combination.

Animal Form replaces all the base stats: Damage, crit range and crit multiplier. The only thing that you'd get from SoS would be Adamantine DR breaking. Its also (currently) a TWF style more than THF, and the animations mean it isn't for everyone. Handwraps and most Monk capabilities work fine with it.

Using elemental form gives you immunities, 100% fort and access to some nice buffs and offensive spells while still fighting and using feats and weapons in normal form. I'd recommend going with Fire elemental as a melee combatant.

Before you take 2 levels of Arti, bear (heh) in mind that Rune arms break Druidic Oath.

Druids are casters. If nothing else you'll have access to healing and some buffs, even if not using offensive spells. Creeping Cold, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire etc spells don't have a DC, so as long as you have enough Wis to cast, you can get use out of them, even with no spellpower items.

Wasnt thinking of using rune arm, just for traps and elem buff on weapon.
Would those stonedust handwraps have its effects in animal form?
No dc on fw, how so?

[Ivan_Milic]

I wrote up this build the other day, you may be interested in it. Can go fire or cold form. Shadar-Kai is just for an abundant-step-like ability and this can definitely be adapted to other races. Human is fine.

13 Druid / 6 Monk / 1 Rogue - Shadar-Kai
Lawful Netural
RMMMMMMDDDDDDDDDDDD

STR 16+Levels
DEX 10
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 16
CHA 6

Looks good.
What staff are you using at what lvl?

[Maelodic]

Looks good.
What staff are you using at what lvl?

I have a Flaming of Lacerating I use for earily levels- I will also use one of these suckers until Sireth.

If you have stuff around, you could also pick up a Drow Quarterstaff or Epic Souleater.

I have a Sireth ready so I don't really bother in farming others.

[Khatzhas]

Wasnt thinking of using rune arm, just for traps and elem buff on weapon.
Would those stonedust handwraps have its effects in animal form?
No dc on fw, how so?

You'll need 3 levels of Artificer for the elemental weapon buff (2nd level spell). It won't stack with Magic Fang (if you are animal form), Shillelagh (if you are using a staff, or Crown of Summer (SH enhancement).

Stonedust wraps should work fine in animal forms. You get most of the "special effects", just not the base stuff. (For instance Flame blade loses Wis-to-hit-and-dam, but your animal attacks apply the flaming, firey burst, incineration etc.)

Wall of Fire only has a save the first time a mob in it is "hit". As long as the mob stays in the area (standing still, attacking you in melee for example), it takes damage with no save. That is why its best to stay still in a single one rather than run mobs through firewalls: if they just pass through them, they get saves.

Regarding Quarterstaves, Theurgic stave from Threnal is pretty good: ML 8, BtA, increased crit chance and two potential damage augment slots.

[Cardtrick]

I have a Flaming of Lacerating I use for earily levels- I will also use one of these suckers until Sireth.

If you have stuff around, you could also pick up a Drow Quarterstaff or Epic Souleater.

I have a Sireth ready so I don't really bother in farming others.

I've been running a few different staff builds. I mostly use:

L 1-3: Cannith-crafted staffs (acid of bleed, holy of undead bane)
L 4-7: Carnifex, Cannith-crafted staffs
L 8-11: Theurgic Stave (note increased base damage, increased crit profile, adamantine for durability, dual slots for Devotion and a DR breaking or damage augment), Cannith-crafted undead beater
L 12-13: Theurgic Stave, Triple-Positive Greensteel
L 14-17: Theurgic Stave, Triple-Positive Greensteel, Unsuppressed and Upgrade Dreamspitter (Holy/Force Burst/Level Drain/GEOB)
L 18-19: Rahl's Might, Theurgic Stave, Triple-Positive Greensteel, Dreamspitter
L 20-22: Stout Oak Walking Stick, Rahl's Might, Triple-Positive Greensteel
L23+: Sireth, Triple-Positive Greensteel, Stout Oak Walking Stick

My staff builds are typically very high strength and benefit greatly from improved critical profiles, so I prioritize the named staffs. Theurgic Stave is the bulk of my heroic levels -- I actually have 4 of them now with different combinations of augments. I run the Threnal chain once per life and take the Stave every time it's in the list. The increased hardness and durability of the Theurgic Stave seems minor, but it's actually one of my favorite things about it -- it's one of the few staves that will actually survive several quests in a row without repairing.

However -- I have yet to run a druid staff build. It's on the list of builds I want to play, but I haven't done it yet. The problem with my staffs for a druid build is that very few of them are made of wood, so they won't benefit from Shillelagh. I tend to think the enhanced critical profiles still outweigh the +1W from Shillelagh, but I might be wrong.

[Maelodic]

I've been running a few different staff builds. I mostly use:

L 1-3: Cannith-crafted staffs (acid of bleed, holy of undead bane)
L 4-7: Carnifex, Cannith-crafted staffs
L 8-11: Theurgic Stave (note increased base damage, increased crit profile, adamantine for durability, dual slots for Devotion and a DR breaking or damage augment), Cannith-crafted undead beater
L 12-13: Theurgic Stave, Triple-Positive Greensteel
L 14-17: Theurgic Stave, Triple-Positive Greensteel, Unsuppressed and Upgrade Dreamspitter (Holy/Force Burst/Level Drain/GEOB)
L 18-19: Rahl's Might, Theurgic Stave, Triple-Positive Greensteel, Dreamspitter
L 20-22: Stout Oak Walking Stick, Rahl's Might, Triple-Positive Greensteel
L23+: Sireth, Triple-Positive Greensteel, Stout Oak Walking Stick

My staff builds are typically very high strength and benefit greatly from improved critical profiles, so I prioritize the named staffs. Theurgic Stave is the bulk of my heroic levels -- I actually have 4 of them now with different combinations of augments. I run the Threnal chain once per life and take the Stave every time it's in the list. The increased hardness and durability of the Theurgic Stave seems minor, but it's actually one of my favorite things about it -- it's one of the few staves that will actually survive several quests in a row without repairing.

However -- I have yet to run a druid staff build. It's on the list of builds I want to play, but I haven't done it yet. The problem with my staffs for a druid build is that very few of them are made of wood, so they won't benefit from Shillelagh. I tend to think the enhanced critical profiles still outweigh the +1W from Shillelagh, but I might be wrong.

I forget that Shallaelgehg only benefits wood staves- I wonder if the DPS math has been run before- Stout Oak+Shalleagahgaldg vs Sireth without it. Sireth probably still comes out on top- but Stout Oak's increase multiplier plus a constant 1[W] makes an interesting argument.

[Cardtrick]

I forget that Shallaelgehg only benefits wood staves- I wonder if the DPS math has been run before- Stout Oak+Shalleagahgaldg vs Sireth without it. Sireth probably still comes out on top- but Stout Oak's increase multiplier plus a constant 1[W] makes an interesting argument.

Oh, I'm sure Sireth is way ahead. Sireth with Staff Specialization is just insane, it's basically an eSOS you can attack 15% faster with. And even if the base damage of the Stout Oak Walking Stick + Shillelagh was a bit higher, the cloudburst and lightning strike on Sireth proc a lot, plus you can pair it with a Prowess trinket for even more benefit. And it has a slot, unlike the Stout Oak.

I do like the no-save crowd control of the Stout Oak and I definitely use it situationally even once I have a Sireth. It's less damage against undead than a Triple-Positive, but I still use it more than my trip-pos against skeletons (especially giant skeletons, like in Madstone).

My question about Shillelagh vs crit profile was really more about Theurgic Stave. In the mid heroic levels, when strength bonus is lower, the expanded crit profile really might not be worth as much as the +W modifier and higher damage procs of a good lootgen staff (especially something "special" like your flaming of lacerating staff).

[Ivan_Milic]

Im just doing it for past life, not gonna do anything past char lvl 18, gonna instantly tr.
Talked with friend in game and he did 9 monk 9 druid, so Im thinking of doing 8 monk 9 druid, 3 arti.

[Ivan_Milic]

I forget that Shallaelgehg only benefits wood staves- I wonder if the DPS math has been run before- Stout Oak+Shalleagahgaldg vs Sireth without it. Sireth probably still comes out on top- but Stout Oak's increase multiplier plus a constant 1[W] makes an interesting argument.

Theurgic stave is made of wood, shouldnt it benefit from shallaelgegh?

[Cardtrick]

Theurgic stave is made of wood, shouldnt it benefit from shallaelgegh?

I don't believe it does. If you look at the material in the blue bar in your screenshot, it is listed as "adamantine." I'm pretty sure that this is the material used to determine whether or not Shillelagh applies. On most staffs, that will be listed as "wood" (unfortunately, not for some of the most relevant ones -- Theurgic Stave, Dreamspitter, Triple Positive, Sireth).

I realize that the flavor text describes it as wood, but unfortunately I don't think that is relevant.

[Ivan_Milic]

That is stupid then.
Did anyone do traps with only 1 lvl of arti up to lvl 20?

[unbongwah]

I would recommend Chieftain's Spear for lvl 4: note the higher base dmg, extra crit range (19-20), and it'll apply DEX-to-dmg if you go that route. Hope you have better luck farming one than I have, though.

[Ivan_Milic]

Dont want to waste my time farming anything right now.

[Cardtrick]

That is stupid then.
Did anyone do traps with only 1 lvl of arti up to lvl 20?

If you're still thinking about the staff build Maelodic posted, you are much better off going with rogue than arti, since 4 APs in Thief Acrobat gets you +15% stacking attack speed with quarterstaffs. If you're not willing to take the rogue level, I really can't recommend that build -- 15% is a huge reduction in damage.

Also, I haven't done it with arti, but I have done traps on heroic elite up to lvl 20 with just 1 rogue level multiple times. There should be no difference between doing it with rogue or with arti. It usually requires dumping Spot and Open Lock. You can still get nearly every lock with just the 4 initial points and a bunch of gear and buffs. As for Spot . . . you either find traps with your face or you already know where they are. The existence of Skill Tomes these days makes it a lot easier.

If possible, go human and take the Skill Boost for the early-mid levels. The extra skill point is a really big deal, and the Skill Boost is too. Once you hit the mid-upper heroics, I find it's a lot easier to get by with gear, but if running elite below level for bravery bonus, the +4 points from Skill Boost can be really important early on.

When I'm doing it with just 1 level in a trapping class, I usually can't quite keep Search and Disable maxed. If that's the case, I find that it's better to have Search a couple points higher. Disable gets additional bonuses from the +5 tools you'll be using and you have the opportunity to try multiple times if necessary.

But anyway, if you're diligent about buffing, you can get all the traps in the heroic game with a single rogue/arti level and no major sacrifices. That even includes elite Cabal, especially now that we have skill tomes.