Pulverize Druid Diablo 4 Endgame Guide - D4 Maxroll.gg (2024)

The Heightened Malice trades about 150% additive damage and approximately 7% All Resistance (which you will need to make up on Gear or Ancestral Fortitude) to gain its namesake Legendary Node.

Once you have completed the leveling guide, only the Codex of Power Aspects are guaranteed. With this setup, you can farm the Legendary Aspects and Unique items you need for the next progression point.

In this section, we are still attempting to acquire the all-important, drop-only Shockwave Aspect, as it massively improves our AoE and damage. As soon as you acquire this aspect (or if you already have it), proceed to the next tab.

Gear

Skills

Gameplay

• For now, Pulverize is a melee ability with a small AoE, so make sure to group up and hit as many enemies as you can with each use!
• Use Wind Shear frequently to generate Spirit, bolster your Movement Speed and activate Shapeshifting bonuses as your return to Werebear form.

In this setup, you have access to all Legendary Aspects, allowing you to pilot a much stronger version of this build. Additional Legendary Aspects are used to fill slots that may be replaced with Unique items later on.

Gear

Tempering

• Weapon: Elemental Surge (preferably Physical). As you move to the Best-in-Slot version, put Petrify Duration instead. Unfortunately, the Pulverize Size Tempering doesn't apply to Shockwave's range and only increases the area where Pulverize and Shockwave overlap.
• Offensive (Weapon, Gloves, Rings, Amulet): For now, we need 2 rolls of Damage to Crowd Controlled enemies, along with our Staff and Oppress, to cap Earthen Devastation. Take Earth Critical Strike Chance in the remaining slots.
• Movement (Boots, Amulet): Movement Speed. Note that this is easier to roll using the Druid Motion Tempering Manual.
• Resource (Rings): Resource Generation is ideal, but Resource Cost Reduction on the same Manual works, too.
• Defensive (Helmet, Chest, Pants): Maximum Life (Dodge Chance is OK)
• Utility (Helmet, Chest, Pants, Boots): Preferably Chance to Stun, but any Lucky Hit CC is fine.

Gameplay

• Shockwave allows you to use Pulverize at range, drastically improving damage and clear speed.
• The Shockwave effect and Pulverize have a small area in which their damage overlaps. Use this sweet spot when you are facing single targets!

In this setup, you have access to all Unique items and Legendary Aspects. This allows you to pilot this build at its peak efficiency. Let's take a look at the changes you need to make to implement them.

Gear

Tempering & Masterworking Min-max

• Critical Strikes: Fully masterworked Critical Strike Chance affixes and Earth Critical Strike Chance tempers net you between 73%-103% Crit Chance depending on rolls. You may need to obtain a Greater Affix or Masterwork Crit to achieve perfect Critical Strike Chance, but it's possible! This also means that, at a point, you can replace Shapeshifter with Spirit on your Starter Board.
• Damage vs. Crowd Controlled: You can reduce the tempers necessary to cap Earthen Devastation to a single roll if it is 82.5% or higher, as you get 30% from your Staff and 37.5% from the Oppress Rare Node and adjacent magic nodes.

Skills

The Speedfarming setup compiles a series of adjustments to reach Movement Speed cap and drastically improves Spirit generation at the cost of Damage and Defense. This setup is best suited for all Open World content, Nightmare Dungeons, and low-level Pits.

Skills

This variant is the Pulverize Druid's best bet for Tormented Bossing and high Pit pushes, but at the cost of a considerable amount of Utility and Defense from Skills.

Gear

Skills

• Overpower: This build boasts 3 different ways to guarantee an Overpower: Enhanced Pulverize, Provocation, and Obsidian Slam. When we do, the damage dealt is bolstered by Dominate and Ursine Strength. The build revolves largely around these procs so, when possible, try to avoid consuming them with your generator or Trample.
• Critical Strikes: Our Critical Strikes provide a multiplier by themselves, which is further amplified by the Earthen Devastation Legendary node. This node prompts us to optimize our damage bonus to Crowd Control enemies to 150% or more on gear, which is covered by Oppress and its adjacent Magic Nodes, the implicit on our Staff, and 1-2 tempers on our Rings. We add additional Critical Strike Multipliers in Natural Balance, Avian Wrath, Envenom, and Petrify.
• Vulnerable: You have a 3-second damage window with Vulnerable thanks to Exploit, which should be more than enough time to clear non-boss enemies. By late game, we'll be relying on a small chance from Enhanced Wind Shear and an Affix on our Ring.
• Crowd Controls: Every hit of yours slows enemies with Quicksand. Once you have access to Tempering, you'll have a slew of Lucky Hit Crowd controls available on your Armor pieces. Damage Affixes that deal extra damage against Crowd Controlled enemies are a great way to make use of this, both on your gear and on your Paragon Boards.
• Positioning / Monster stacking: Being in the "sweet spot" where Pulverize and Shockwave Aspect overlap is the goal when facing a single target.

• Don't Get Hit: Make use of your range advantage and hit enemies from afar. By stutter stepping on the edge of your range, you can avoid most projectiles that come your way.
• Fortify: This build has a multitude of ways to generate Fortify, getting you to the Fortified status in a short time. Increase this status' effectiveness by adding Damage Reduction while Fortified to your gear and Paragon Boards.
• Armor: Armor has become somewhat trivial to cap with the new, lower limit and Juggernaut's. Still, we can ensure that we'll be reducing incoming Physical damage by the maximum 85%.
• Unstoppable: This build has limited ways to become Unstoppable, relying on the relatively long cooldown of Trample. Use wisely!
• Resistances: Capping these will prove to be a balancing act through the leveling process between your gear and jewelry sockets and everyone's situation will be different. This problem is eventually solved by the Late Game Paragon Board. With a high level Outmatch Glyph and high item power Jewelry, you will be able to cap your resistances using Royal Diamonds, Ancestral Fortitude, and passive bonuses from Intelligence.