fire druid build

[Cruciarius]

fire druid build

i'm trying to make my first druid (3rd actually, but first since 1.09).

all my previous druids bored me (wind and shape shifter), so i want to try a fire druid.

i'm mainly a pvm player, so what should i put my stats at? what skills should i get? i want to deal massive amounts of dmg, but i don't think i could max every fire skill and have an extra point for oak sage.

i've looked over the fire druid guide, but i'm still not sure what to do for stats/skills.

also, is this gear good for pvm:

Focus on Fire Damage (not recommended)

Crystal sword with 6 5/5 fire facets
Stormshield with –15% reqs, 10% resist all, stat
+6 BO Call to Arms flail
Lidless Wall
Engima Breast Plate
Ravenlore with 5/5 facet
Maras Amulet
2 BK rings
Archanids Mesh
Magefists
Waterwalk boots (still better than any other 1.10 caster boots)
10 elemental skills with life, anni, 9 5% resist all 20 life scs

thats all listed in the guide. by the way, it should be updated to include the hellfire charm.

i'm guessing enough str to use the gear and enough dex for max block. now do i put any into energy? vitality, i assume, would get the remaining points.

i need a ruff idea as to where i should stop putting points in str/dex.

 

[Cruciarius]

ok so, i've gotten to lvl 43 without any replies here.

so for now, i'm doing this...

1 point into oak sage.
max the rest of the fire skills, leaving fissure last to max.

how much dex will i need for stormshield? or should i use a different shield? i've stopped putting points into str, for now. stopped at 50. vit has about 100 points. i still have a good amount of points saved up.

i was also told to not tele as a fire druid, but instead get lots of f/r charms and just run, casting armageddon.

 

[Forcefeedback]

So you are getting armageddon and maxing fissure last? It will be quite tedious to cast armageddon every ten seconds, including the 2 second cast delay. I'd say to leave either moulten boulder or firestorm to max last. If you can't afford infinity for your merc you might be better off leaving firestorm last since moulten boulder boosts the physical damage of volcano.

If you are going for max block stormshield is the way to go. You can find the blocking formula from the windy guide for example. You will need around 200 points, including gear, in dexterity for max block at lvl 80.

Armageddon works better if you don't teleport. If you can get monsters to follow you as you walk away from them armageddon will almost surely hit them. When you are standing still(teleporting) the mini meteors fall randomly in the entire radius.

 

[Jek]

ok so, i've gotten to lvl 43 without any replies here.

so for now, i'm doing this...

1 point into oak sage.
max the rest of the fire skills, leaving fissure last to max.

Dude, Fissure rocks for PvM - nice damage and the synergy with Armageddon prevents you from getting grey hair.

 

[XBic]

Dude, Fissure rocks for PvM - nice damage and the synergy with Armageddon prevents you from getting grey hair.

I second that. Fissure is main spell I use for monster packs and volcano for bosses. IMO Armageddon is just a gravy spell for if they get a little too close to you. I'm going to max it last, basically just for the extra synergy to volcano.

Also IMO volcano and molten boulder are very important for a fire druid to max (after fissure, of course) for the physical damage that they do. I'm only through act 3 of NM (clvl 55) and a not even half synergized volcano just destroys most anything you put it under. Fire immunes at this point aren't even an issue (I am still worried about getting to hell and finding the FI/PI's, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there).

I'm also really starting to like molten boulder as well. I had never really given it much of a look, but when aimed and used correctly, it can own as well (but terrible against bosses). The most fun I have had in this game would probably be around clvl 15 or so when I took a lvl 6 boulder (w/ lvl 6 firestorm synergy) into the maggot lair. Just keep bowling down those corridors and watch the sparks fly! (death beetles). I had a barb in my party right behind me who was in complete awe (and rofl too) :thumbsup:

 

[Cruciarius]

ok, so get around 200 dex? i'll need to look over the gear i plan on using and see if any of it has dex bonuses.

so far, i've only put 1 point into fissure and only 1 point into firestorm, putting the rest of my points into armageddon, volcano and molten boulder. once i max those, i'll work on fissure.

 

[-Ferro-]

First of all: NEVER EVER put a single point in energy. I know mana is an issue in the earlier stages, but drink, use mana regen items/gems...etc.

For the skills, put one point in oak at the begining. Then max, volcano, fissure moulten and armaggedon, in this order. If you get higher level, invest all the remaining points in firestorm.

For the dex, well, at lvl 90 you need to get like around 200dex to block 75% with stormshield. My advice is, dont get block maxed. For pvm 60% is enough. Many people would say no block at all, but will have troubles vs rangers (those skeltons with bow are a pain). Also try to use as many dex items as you can (one raven, ammy with dex, WW or Shadow dancers....)

Invest as many points as you can in vitality.

Hope this helps a bit.

Fer

 

[HardyZ]

Crystal sword with 6 5/5 fire facets

I wonder if a Heart of the Oak flail wouldn't be superior to that dmg-wise, boosting your Oak Sage and upping your resists quit e a bit in the process?
Now, that's a real question, i'm unsure on this.

And i'd have to second the previous replies on this: fissure rocks, that's by far my favourite fire spell, and it's really usefull.

 

[Cruciarius]

well i just noticed that the fire druid guide is being redone for 1.11.

i've looked thru it and i agree that head hunter's glory, might be better than stormshield.

right now, i have 50 str, about 100 dex, 115 vit and default energy with about 50 stat points saved up.

i'll go with a HoTa, because it does seem to be better, but also cheaper than 6 5/5 fire facets.

the rest of my gear is staying about the same.

ravenlore with 5/5 facet
maras amulet
+6 BO call to arms flail
2x BK rings
archanids mesh
magefists
waterwalk boots
enigma - though the guide says breast plate, i don't see why i couldn't go with something that has more def, since i'll have 100 something str (needed for head hunter's glory).

 

[-Ferro-]

i've looked thru it and i agree that head hunter's glory, might be better than stormshield.

Woot! omg!!

hunters instead of storm whhhyyyyy?

I simply cant understand this. U use storm when need blocking and damage reduction. Cant see how that shield can be better in any way. You wanna put 3 pdia for stacking resists in pvp vs sorcs? Use 4 socks shield with topaz or zaphire, thats it. For all around shield I prefer storm or phoenix or spirit hands down.

 

[Cruciarius]

well i'm still not sure which i'd use, between stormshield and head hunter's glory. as i said in my first post, i'm mainly a pvm player, so i do need my resists. i don't care for having to switch out some gear, just to pvp, if/when i pvp.

so...

stormshield - max blocking, more dex and less vit
head hunter's glory - max resists, less dex and more vit

i'm not sure which to go with.