D2R Solo Druid Leveling Guide

This guide is going to be able to give you valuable information and strategies so that you will be able to efficiently level a Druid whether it be in Ladder or Non-Ladder. This guide is going to go into specifics but should remain as a guideline to help you determine what you think the best way for you to level in D2R is. D2R is a constantly evolving game so make sure to always be open to learning.

Mainly, this guide is going to teach you how to be able to optimize your skills. Some skills are only good when they scale and some skills don’t scale so well, although they can assist you in leveling. We are also going to be tackling the stats so that you will be able to transition through your gear efficiently. Hopefully, by the end of this guide you are going to be able to breeze through the game as a Druid, overcome an area where you were stuck, or improve your leveling strategy.

Skill & Stats

Skills distribution:

Stats distribution:

Respec

This is going to be done by level 38

Max out in Order

Important note:

For your attributes you just need to allocate enough Strength so that you will be able to wear all of your gear. Then dump the remaining Stat Points into Vitality. From Levels 39-75 you are going to want to put all your attribute points into Vitality. With the exception of adding Strength to be able to equip certain items of your preference.

Progression & Leveling:

ACT I

In the early stages of leveling we are going to be using Firestorm as our main damage dealing skill, this is going to have strong AoE and won’t have problems dealing with single target monsters.

When we are around level 6 we will be able to have access to Molten Boulder which we are going to shift to and use as our main damage dealing skill. It has strong AoE and has an explosion at the end. Some monsters cause Molten Boulder to explode prematurely so if that happens then simply switch back to Firestorm.

While you are leveling around you are going to be able to find Druid Helms make sure to pick them up and check them for + to Fissure or + to Tornado. If you find a (2) socketed helm with + to Tornado then this is going to be the perfect base for a Lore rune word.

When you reach the Black Marsh make sure that you find the Waypoint, then you are going to want to farm The Countess over and over for specific runes that you are going to be utilizing in this run. The runes that you are going to want to farm are Tal, Eth, Tir, Ral. 

While you are farming you can check Charsie for (2) socketed helms and armor for bases and you should also check Akara for a (20 socketed staff, which is also going to be used as a base for a rune word.

Around level 12 you are going to have access to Fissure, this is going to be your new main damaging skill, if you find a + toFissure helm early on it’s going to make using this skill more powerful. Although if you run into fire immunes you can use Molten Boulder since a portion of this damage is physical.

ACT II

When you enter ACT II you are going to want to immediately buy a belt so that you will be able to hold more potions. You are still going to be using Fissure as your main damaging skill but there are certain areas like The Arcane Sanctum & The Maggot Lair that have small passageways reducing the effectiveness of this skill. In those situations you can use Firestorm in combination with Molten Boulder to deal with the monsters.

When you are level 17 you are going to want to create the Stealth rune word inside the (2) socketed armor that you bought from Charsie. You can do this by inserting Tal and Eth in that order. This is going to give you FCR, FRW, Mana Regeneration and more that you will be able to benefit from until Hell.

Next rune word is at level 19 this is going to be the Leaf runeword. To make this rune word you are going to insert a Tir and Ral into the (2) socketed staff that you bought from Akara. This rune word is going to +3 to Fire Skills which is going to improve your Firestorm, Molten Boulder, and Fissure.

ACT III

If you have entered ACT III by level 20 then make sure to start shopping for a Staff of Teleportation from Ormus. You won’t be able to equip this until level 24 although you are going to want to purchase it now since it still has a red background. Which means you will only need to check the staves with red background for Teleportation to save time.

This is going to go into your weapon swap at level 24 and is going to make your leveling experience easier by teleporting through barriers and getting out of hectic situations.

ACT IV

You are going to encounter 2 Fire immune monsters in ACT IV and ACTV so you are going to want to go back to ACT II and hire a mercenary. To increase his effectiveness you can give him a pike that you can purchase from Halbu.

Aside from hiring a mercenary in ACT II you are going to want to check Farah for a (3) socketed shield that you are going to want to secure as a base for the Ancients’ Pledge rune word that you are going to be obtaining in ACT V

ACT V

When you get to ACT V you are going to want to save the Larzuk quest reward for later. When you get the runes Ral, Ort, Tal make sure to insert them in that order into your (3) socketed shield so that you will be able to create the Ancients’ Pledge runeword. This is going to give you a lot of resistance.You don’t want to equip this until you have your Spirit runeword since you are still using your Leaf runeword which is inside a two-handed staff.

When you already have access to The Secret Cow Level you are going to want to farm this palace for a Crystal Sword. This is going to be a base for your Spirit runeword that you are going to be pairing with your Ancients’ Pledge runeword. While you are farming for your Crystal Sword you will gain tons of EXP which is still a good use of your time.

Then when you already have your Crystal Sword you can bring it to Larzuk in ACT I and you will be able to add sockets to it. Make sure that this Crystal Sword is from The Secret Cow Level to ensure that this is going to yield (4) sockets.

Nightmare

When you enter Nightmare you are going to want to shop for resistance gear like gloves, belt, and boots. Additional options like Life or FRW are always welcome. When you reach The Countess in Nightmare you are again going to want to farm her for runes which are Tal, Thul, 2 Ort, Amn, Sol.

You are going to be inserting the Tal, Thul, Ort, Amn runes words in that order inside your Crystal Sword to make your Spirit runeword. This is going to give you +2 to skills, FCR, and a lot of Mana. This is another item you can take all the way to Hell. At this point you can pair it with your Ancients’ Pledge.

You are now going to want to create your Lore runeword with Ort and Sol. If you found the Druid Helm with + to Tornado you are going to want to place it there. If you don’t then simply buy a (2) socketed helm from Charsie. This runeword is going to give you + to skills, Lightning resistance, and mana on kill.

You are going to want to be level 38-39 for respec but make sure to do this before Mephisto in ACT III Nightmare. You can follow this chart below for respec:

After respec you are going to want to make sure that you keep your Cyclone Armor up this is going to give you an extra layer of defense, so make sure to recast it when it drops.

Before every fight that you can prepare for make sure to cast Hurricane which is going to cause a hurricane to form around your character then you can run at enemies and hit them with Tornado. 

The reason why we had summons is so that you will have summons to distract monsters. So make sure to recast your Grizzly since it is the most tanky.

This build is going to be Physical and Cold so you won’t need to worry about full immunities against you, although if you find a physical immune monster that you can skip, then skip it.

Hell

The only problem that you might face when running in Hell difficulty are The Ancients who are going to be jumping and moving around fast which is going to make your Tornados hard to aim. Make sure to run around and kite them to ensure you don’t die while hitting them with your Tornados. You can also reset them by casting a Town Portal in case the roll with strong gear.

Gear Alternative & Options:

Spectral Shard for early resistance and FCR

Suicide Branch for + to skills, FCR, and some resistance

Skin of the Vipermagi is the best in slot so if you find this you can replace your Stealth

Magefist gauntlets for +to fire skills and FCR

Eye of Etlich & Mara's Kaleidoscope are good amulets for + to skills and resistances. Although preferably you use Mara’s Kaleidoscope.

Hsarus’ Iron Heel for FRW and fire resistance & Sander’s Riprap for more FRW if you don’t need fire resistance

Stone of Jordan & Raven Frost are good for Cannot be frozen and +1 to skills.

Lidless wall if you feel like your resistance are overflowing and you want + to skills and FCR

Splendor is also an optional alternative to Ancients’ Pledge for its + to skills and FCR

Spirit slotted inside a shield is another good option giving + to skills, FCR, and resistances.

Jalal’s Mane is another good option for the + 2 to Druid Skills and all resist.

Conclusion:

During the early stages of leveling the Druid is going to have an easy time killing monsters with Firestorm & Molten Boulder. Since he is a spell caster he might have problems encountering immunities and resistances later on. At the time you respec you are going to be a Wind Druid which can be considered one of the end game builds. Tornado and Hurricane are going to be your main skills at this point and there won’t be many monsters that are totally immune to you. All in all the Druid is going to be a fun character to play and this character can scale based on the gear that he has, but all in all a good and fun character to play if you like slinging Tornadoes and Hurricanes.