Basic Caster Druid

[Tilomere]

U53 Update:
Slot Memento somewhere.

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Basic Caster Druid

All purpose druid played as a druid. Not min-maxed anything. We build a lot of temp mana generation and cooldown reduction into this so you can do a fair amount of anything decently.

Use EA wings/sprint boost to dash into range, then hit the mobs with Color Spray + Burst of Glacial Wrath for AoE helpless Will+Fort saves.
This also strips cold immunity, then burst with Tsunami, Dragon's Breath, and spam Ice Flowers for sustained damage on anything left. Finger of Death an archer or caster if it gets too frisky.

First goal is AoE helpless damage burst, also fast movement through dungeons for zerg leveling.
Secondary focus on being able to continuously AoE dps mobs down or spam healing in groups without pulling aggro in groups.
Third, start as close to legendary where rewards are and with strong AoE spells so iconic to avoid leveling from 1, but you can level from 1 if you want. If you do, push the barb and wizard levels to last.
Fourth, always have spell absorb up at cap and protect charges with evasion. If the Ioun Stone and Magestar run out, swap gloves for more. If that runs out, swap in wisdom augmented bracers since you can only have one artifact equipped, then swap to Saltmarsh absorb artifact trinket with same augments/sentience as bracers.

Attributes: Max + levels wisdom, decent int, dex, con
Race: Deep Gnome (or Aasimar/Scourge if you want HAmp instead of illusion DC or to level from 1)(Any other race would also work.)
18 Druid 1 Barb 1 Wizard (Ranger for Scourge, dropping an illusion focus)

Level 1: Maximize spell Spell Focus: Illusion
Level 3: Empower spell
Level 6: Completionist
Level 9: Past Life: Arcane Initiate
Level 12: Quicken Spell
Level 15: Heavy Armor (for Hruit's Sharn Set, swap out at 27 to Empower Healing, swapping to https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Leathe...Celestial_Sage for evasion)
Level 18: Heighten spell (just for Color Spray SLA and Salt Ray)
Level 21: Wellspring of Power
Level 22: Epic Spell Power: Cold
Level 24: Burst of Glacial Wrath
Level 25: Crush Weakness
Level 27: Intensify Spell
Level 28: Epic Spell Power Force
Level 30: Embolden Spell (For Color Spray and Tsunami)
Level 30: Scion of the Plane of Water

Sample Gear (or just use what you have) This is a re-usable gear set, in that if you swap the stat focus around (filigree, boots, augments), maybe slaver's item if you need a different lore, spell power augments, spell DC augments, you can re-use it for any caster. Swap Staff to Summer Soltice and gloves to Deadringers for fire/light casters.

(Weapon) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Staff_...inter_Solstice (Impulse, Kinetic Lore, Profane SFM, Moon Stuffs) (Augs: Devotion and Glaciation)

(Helm) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legendary_Elder%27s_Cap Int, Spell Saves (Augs: Ins. Wis, Ins. Con)
(Neck) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legendary_Elder%27s_Focus Wiz, MRR (Augs: Hamp, Con)
Set: Artifact Crit, Legendary Crit Dmg

(Cloak) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...ight%27s_Cloak Wiz Charisma of Some type (Cha) (Augs: Prot, Illusion)
(Goggles) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...27s_Spectacles Int of some type (Ins. Int) (Augs: Nat Armor, False Life)
Set: Artifact Stats, Artifact SFM

(Armor) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:The_Legendary_Leaf_Mail Parry, PRR (Augs: Fortification)
Set with Gloves: Artifact USP

(Bracers, Artifact) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Band_of_Diani_ir%27Wynarn Wis, Q SFM (Augs: Dodge, Resistance, Deathblock)
(Gloves) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Gloryborne_Gloves Sacred SFM, Devotion, Light SP, Q Resists (Aug: Master's Gift)
Primary gloves and artifact.

(Trinket) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Pale_Lavender_Ioun_Stone
First spell absorb trinket.

(Trinket) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Magestar (Augs: Greater Transmutation)
Second spell absorb trinket.

(trinket, artifact) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:The_Tw...Platinum_Piece (Augs: Dodge, Resistance, Deathblock)
(Bracers) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...ed_Castigators +Lore, Ins. Sheltering (Augs: Wisdom)
Third spell absorb trinket, which as an artifact requires we also swap out our existing wisdom artifact bracers, which also improves our defense and healing.

(gloves) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Crystalline_Gauntlets (Aug: Master's Gift + Ultimatum)
(trinket) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...of_Many_Facets +Lore, Lightning Absorb, Ins. PRR (Augs: Festive Con)
Fourth spell absorb swap, but this time gloves, we can swap trinket out at same time to pick up petrification immunity, defensive stats, and lightning (or whatever crafted) absorb for raid survival, and +Lore for stronger raid healing. Can make a few trinkets if you need for different raids.

(Ring 1) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Clouded_Dreams Ins. SFM, Exc. Potency, Exc Lore (Augs: Litany, Luck)
(Ring 2) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Bound_...g_of_Lightning, Enhance SFM, Magnetism, Lightning Lore (Augs: Greater Heroism, Greater Evocation)
(Boots) https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legendary_Sunken_Slippers Qual Stat of Choice (Qual Wis), Ins. Potency, Q. Potency, Displacement (Augs: Festive Wisdom)
Place for augment set if you have one: If you get rid of prot, natural armor, and false life in Magewright set, you can move Litany, Festive Wisdom, and Greater Heroism from here to Magewright, and slot a 3 piece set augment such as Cruel Cut 15% helpless damage.

(Belt) Legendary Chains Dex, Ice Lore, Spellcraft, QCon (Augs: Globe)

Sentience: Dragonsoulx5: Cooldown Reduction, then DCs/Spell Power
Weapon
Celerity/Vigilance: +2 Wisdom
Dragonsoul: Wisdom
Dragonsoul: Universal Spellpower
Dragonsoul: Arcane Spell Failure
Dragonsoul: Electric Absorption +5% Electric Absorption
Lunar Magic: Wisdom
Lunar Magic: Universal Spellpower
Lunar Magic: Force Spellpower
Lunar: Any
HAmp

Artifact
Celerity/Vigilance: +2 Wisdom
Dragonsoul: Wisdom
Lunar Magic: Wisdom

Call Lightning Storm Gear: LGS Dust + LGS Ooze if you want to swap stuffs

AP
Racial AP if you have it: Wis/Illusion DC/Saves/Spellcraft
12-0-6 VFK Fan of Knives (Fan of Knives for leveling, drop with strong aoe spells, then bump back up to deflect arrows when needed by cap)
Rest Season's Herald (+caster levels, maximize reduction, crit) (put more in this in heroics to level with SLAs until you have a strong AOE spell then pull the AP out for helpless AoE gib combo)
11 Feydark Illusionist: Color Spray to enable Helpless, Magic Missile Immunity/Saves (wiz has shield/nightshield spells for prr/mrr)
12 Nature's Warrior (helpless damage get after you have helpless combo, saves, dodge clicky)
32 Falconry (helpless damage, %HP, sprint boost, get after you have helpless combo), if you play R10: % healing bypassing reaper penalty.
0-6 Nature's Protector (PRR/MRR when needed by cap)

ED
11 EA Threat Reduction + Wings (Use 8 Shiradi here 20-22 for mantle and procs to level)
16 SD Threat Reduction/Reflex/Evasion/Cooldown Reduction/Illusion DC
Rest AP Draconic Reflex/Double Energy Burst/Cooldown Reduction/Evo DC

Epic Arcane Stance: Cooldown Reduction

Complete-built Tsunami helpless burst hits for ~4.5k non-crit cold and another 4.5k non-crit bludgeoning in heroics if they live through cold, which is enough damage to instant kill R1-4+ leveling mobs through epic level 26 dungeons, at which point you can stack Dragon's Breath on top. This is on a DG 17 druid 1 wiz:



40% cooldown reduction eventually reduces Ice Flowers to 1.31 second cooldown, but it takes 1.1 second to push the button and cast, so it only has a .2 second wait before it is ready again. So your burst leveling builds into massive AoE dps sustained damage spam. Wellspring is for Draconic temp spell points, to fuel the burn, staff generates temp spell points as well, so go nuts with metas.

I went out of my way to make sure threat reduction/spell absorb/evasion was built into this since Burst of Glacial Wrath and Color Spray and Dragon Breath are shorter range and put you closer to harm's way. Level to cap, do some first time R10 or so, then reincarnate back to 15 to reset first time bonuses.

Draconic Mantle will boost boss/doom efficiency. You can use dots/WoB/salt ray and draconic mantle on evasion mobs if needed. Color Spray SLA will get some reapers, but the high will save despair reapers you will want to hit with Salt Ray or Gust of Wind. In heroics you can use racial Color Spray SLA if you have racial AP and some Int on gear while you build up AP.

The AP in Season's Herald is fluid, and is used to hold leftovers and to level to good AoE spells. Or you can just eliminate it entirely, and put it all into FI. SH is more mana efficient with metamagic reduction and SLAs, FI is more dps with more crit. Basically, as soon as you have ice flowers, you can strip SH to the bone for the other enhancement trees, and still have enough damage to do fine.

Example end game AP and ED point spread, and stats that slightly change depending on which spell absorb set you are currently using, ignore the 3 wizard levels I was testing something that didn't work. I was trying to use DG color spray, moving FI to AM to start up master of knowledge stacks, but they changed Tsunami to no longer stack it. This is the lower defense, lower healing but higher DC spell absorb set 2:





For level 9 spells you want Tsunami, Mantle for water elemental, and Mass Regen. I ended up swapping the paralyze on dragon's breath and 1 rank of maximize reduction to pick up a bit more spell power with Draconic Arcane Studies 3/3.

[LurkingVeteran]

Interesting build. Isn't Shiradi better than EA? If you really need a gap closer, you could use Dragonborn or maybe T5 DI.

Not sure if Shiradi might even get two proc chances on Ice Flowers since it has two damage types?

Such a focus on CD reduction might also work well for a Fire Sorc, cycling Meteor, Acid Well and DBF/Thunderbolt every 3-4 seconds.

[Tilomere]

Interesting build. Isn't Shiradi better than EA? If you really need a gap closer, you could use Dragonborn or maybe T5 DI.

Not sure if Shiradi might even get two proc chances on Ice Flowers since it has two damage types?

Such a focus on CD reduction might also work well for a Fire Sorc, cycling Meteor, Acid Well and DBF/Thunderbolt every 3-4 seconds.

Shiradi procs are tied to mantle, so you lose Draconic Mantles CDR which creates a larger gap in your Ice Flowers or heal spam. I think it's only one spell hit with two damages, but it is AoE so you have a good chance for each proc, and it is what I used 20-22 to level with.

Sorc doesn't have very strong innate healing but as you note it can rotate level 9 spells instead of 8, and grab some ED healing from reborn in fire or renewal, grab draconic wings, keep evasion, and off it goes. 40% CDR gives you a 4 spell rotation so you could cycle meteor, acid well, arcane tempest/dragon's breath/renewal, and delayed blast fireball after mass hold.

[mikarddo]

Thank you for sharing

Do the different cooldown reductions stack additively (10% and 10% makes 20%) or multiplicatively (10% and 10% makes 19%)?

How do you get a total of 40%?

[Tilomere]

Multiplicatively, 90%^4

10% Epic PL Stance
10% Dragonsoul Filigree
10% T3 Shadowdancer (since you are already getting evasion to preserve spell absorb charges)
10% T4 Draconic Mantle

[mikarddo]

Multiplicatively, 90%^4

10% Epic PL Stance
10% Dragonsoul Filigree
10% T3 Shadowdancer (since you are already getting evasion to preserve spell absorb charges)
10% T4 Draconic Mantle

Thanks, that was what I had expected. So roughly a 34% reduction which is very nice indeed.

[Oliphant]

Clever and interesting as usual. Maxing out CD sounds extra fun.