PoE 2 The Last of the Druids - Best New Skills

Ben Author

Created - 18.12.2025 Updated - 18.12.2025

19391 0

The introduction of the Druid Class in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids brought a slew of new skills, some of which you can incorporate into other ascendancies, wherever they make sense.

Part of the Druid’s identity is to shapeshift into different animal forms, including the Bear, Werewolf, and Wyvern. All of them have their strengths and weaknesses, so it is up to you which one you’re going to prioritize based on your playstyle.

With an entire page worth of new skills, you might find it challenging to choose which one is the best for you. This article aims to solve just that! Today, I am going to talk about the best new skills in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids!

Are you struggling to find high-level Uncut Skill Gems? How about the new currencies inside the Vaal Ruins? If you need these things and more, head to our PoE 2 Store. We sell exclusive bundles and the rarest items available in the game. We also offer discounts to truly celebrate the Holidays with joy (while playing PoE 2)!

Overview of the New Skills in PoE 2: The Last of the Druids

All of the new skills that have been added in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids are specifically meant for the Druid, though you can certainly use them on other ascendancy classes, provided that you equip them with the Talisman.

For those who don’t know, the Talisman is a new martial weapon in PoE 2, which is the default weapon for the Druid. What’s interesting about this particular weapon is that it allows the wielder to shapeshift into various forms—may that be a formidable bear, a fearsome Werewolf, or the fire-breathing Wyvern!

That said, there are a total of 28 new skills in Patch 0.4.0, but I am only going over the best of the bunch. By “best,” I mean those skills that are quite popular in the current meta, as well as those that have some interesting properties that would turn a mediocre PoE 2 build into an awesome one.

Let’s explore these new skills, shall we?

Best New Skills in Patch 0.4.0

Before we begin, it is important to note that the skills I am about to highlight in this article are not arranged in order. All of them are great in their own way, so it is up to you which one you’d like to include in your next build. Let’s get started!

Pounce

We’re almost a week into the Fate of the Vaal League, and it is safe to say that a large portion of the community is really loving the Druid so far. No matter what animal form you want to speak of, each of them has been enjoyed by the vast majority of the population.

That said, the first skill on this list is Pounce. When used, you shapeshift immediately into Werewolf Form and then leap towards a targeted location. Upon landing, it will apply a Mark that allows you to deal more damage (45% increased) to it.

Keep in mind that if you are going to use Pounce on a group of enemies, the one that is deemed the strongest among all of them will receive the mark.

Speaking of which, marked enemies will spawn a Wolf Companion that fights alongside you. Pounce can only summon up to six wolves this way, but that is more than enough to finish the campaign and well into the early red maps.

Pounce works best when you pair it with the new “Opening Move” support gem. You can read about Opening Move in our best new support gems article for Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids.

Lunar Assault

If you prefer playing the Druid in Werewolf Form, then you definitely need to incorporate Lunar Assault. This skill is quite good because of its significantly higher chance to freeze enemies.

What’s more, the claw swipes that are initiated when using Lunar Assault have considerably good AoE coverage, so you’re actually hitting more than one enemy if they are in front of you. It is no wonder that Lunar Assault is used by most, if not all, Werewolf Druids in Patch 0.4.0.

Walking Calamity

Walking Calamity is a Bear-only skill that should definitely be included on this list. This skill can only be activated when you have 50 Glory, which you could generate once you are hitting enemies while at maximum Rage.

Having said that, what’s noteworthy about Walking Calamity is that it continuously rains down small and large meteors on the screen for 10 seconds. During this time, you passively regenerate Rage (so there is no decay), and you gain extra fire damage as well.

When you’re going to include the Walking Calamity in your skill bar, make sure to put “Concentrated Area” and “Fire Mastery” into it as support gems to further boost the damage of the falling meteors.

The Walking Calamity is best paired with the Headhunter, especially if you are going to use it liberally when mapping in endgame maps.

Furious Slam

The Druid’s Bear Form is the slowest animal form in his kit. The good news is that this is compensated for by its massively overpowered skills. This philosophy is best exemplified by this next skill—Furious Slam.

Furious Slam prompts you to slam the ground, dealing damage twice. Since you can easily put enemies into a heavy stun with this skill, you should allocate the “Bashing Beast” notable passive to also make them intimidated by you. “Intimidated,” in this context, is a debuff that makes affected enemies take 10% increased damage from all sources.

When you use Furious Slam with at least 10 Rage, you will perform the “enraged” version of the slam instead. The Enraged Slam has a slightly larger AoE and creates Jagged Ground, which slows enemies down by 20%, making sure that they cannot escape your grasp while you’re in their presence.

Shred

Every time you shapeshift into a Werewolf in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids, the “Shred” skill will become instantly available for you to use. Despite it being a default Werewolf skill, do not be fooled! This skill hits fast and hard, especially when you put the right support gems into it!

Shred prompts you to literally shred enemies to pieces with quick claw swipes. You can enhance its damage by socketing Cold Attunement, Elemental Armament II, Rapid Attacks II, and Rage III (for that increased attack speed).

If you have the budget, I highly recommend that you invest in Rakiata’s Flow so that the elemental resistance of your enemies is inverted. For example, if the monster has 50% cold resistance, hitting them with Shred that is empowered by Rakiata’s Flow will turn that into -50% cold resistance instead.

Lunar Blessing

Lunar Blessing is a temporary buff that turns your ordinary Werewolf into a majestic white Werewolf that is able to rain down damaging moonbeams at the enemy with every strike. The default duration of this skill is five seconds and can last up to 11 seconds when activated with 30 Rage. You also gain considerable amounts of extra cold damage when this buff is active.

If I were to describe Lunar Blessing in one word, it would be “cool.” Why? Not only will this affect you, but the buff also affects the Wolves that are summoned by the Predator’s Mark from Pounce.

There are a couple of support gems that you should insert into the Lunar Blessing skill gem. The first is Prolonged Duration II to extend the buff’s longevity for a few seconds. The second is Cooldown Recovery II, which is helpful since Lunar Blessing won’t go on cooldown until after the buff’s duration expires. Giving it a 30% increase in cooldown recovery rate, thanks to the said support gem, should make Lunar Blessing usable with almost negligible downtime.

If you care about improving the damage of the moonbeams, you could slot in the Concentrated Area support gem as well.

Ferocious Roar

A lot of Bear Skills use Rage in some capacity to unleash more devastating attacks. If you need a quick supply, you should use Ferocious Roar.

Ferocious Roar, when used by itself, provides you with two points of Rage per enemy power. So, if you see a group of enemies and there is at least one rare monster, you will gain 10 points of Rage immediately just by using this skill.

The value of Ferocious Roar cannot be overstated, especially when you are going to use the Bear Form a lot. Hence, you must allocate “Primal Rage” to gain 12 additional Rage when shapeshifted. You can also take things a step further by going down the passive tree and taking “Battle Trance,” though this is optional.

Although Ferocious Roar already grants heaps of Rage when used, it becomes even better when you put the Raging Cry support gem as well. Raging Cry adds four points of Rage for every 5 enemy power within range.

It is also worth noting that Ferocious Roar is a meta skill, so you can socket a warcry skill if you like. If you go this route, I highly recommend you put Ancestral Cry so that your physical damage is fully converted into fire damage for the duration of the said warcry.

Now, the reason why you put Ancestral Cry into Ferocious Roar and not other warcry skills is that Ancestral Cry naturally requires 100 Glory to use. When socketed into Ferocious Roar, that particular requirement is bypassed as a result!

Rampage

Rampage has been showcased many times prior to the release of Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids. I mean, why not? If this skill can decimate any monster you come across, then it should definitely be highlighted, no?

In case you’re not aware of what this skill can do, Rampage prompts you to move forward, slamming the ground with each step. This skill can be used in conjunction with Volcano and Fury of the Mountain, causing them to do more damage and gain a much higher AoE.

If you are going to use Rampage primarily as a damaging ability, you must insert the following support gems:

• Burgeon II: 20% more damage for every second that you run around while in Rampage.
• Stomping Ground: Triggers shockwaves with each step, dealing damage equal to 50% of your total attack damage.
• Momentum: Grants a 40% “more” damage boost after running for at least two meters (which occurs 1.5 seconds into Rampage).
• Aftershock II: Allows Rampage to create aftershocks, which deal additional damage to nearby monsters.

Oil Barrage

The Druid playstyle is all about combining a set of different skills. This next one is another good example of that.

Oil Barrage is one of the best new skills in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids because of its various effects depending on how you use it. By default, Oil Barrage prompts you to unleash a few projectiles that coat enemies in oil, making them easier to ignite with fire-based abilities, such as Rolling Magma and Flame Breath.

However, the skill’s properties change when Power Charges are involved. Generate a few Power Charges, and then hold down the button for Oil Barrage to spew lightning-infused projectiles at the enemy. With this version of Oil Barrage, you have a relatively good chance of inflicting Shock, which allows you to deal increased damage to affected enemies. Shock works with the exposure debuff that Oil Barrage applies to monsters as well, giving you that one-two punch to kill them quite easily.

If you are going to utilize the “empowered” version of Oil Barrage, you can actually insert the “Concentrated Area” support gem to make it better. You don’t have to worry about the reduced AoE because you’re only after the projectile damage boost from Concentrated Area.

Flame Breath

When the Wyvern Form was revealed, GGG did not miss the opportunity to introduce Flame Breath to fulfill the fantasy of playing as a dragon in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids. Unsurprisingly, this is one of the best skill gems in Patch 0.4.0, though there needs to be a bit of a setup first to truly maximize its potential.

For one, you should be able to generate Rage somehow. Rend, the basic attack for the Wyvern Form, does not do that by default. Hence, you will put the Rage Support gems into it (I, II, and III) so that you generate the said resource whenever you hit enemies with Rend. You only need one Rage Support for this to work, so slot in the one that you have in your possession.

On top of that, put Ignite III once you have it because it significantly increases the Flammability magnitude while Flame Breath is being channeled. It should also go without saying that Burgeon II is a must-have, particularly because Flame Breath is a channeling skill, thus it can benefit from Burgeon’s “more” damage multiplier.

Lastly, you want to use Devour beforehand to get some Power Charges. A single Power Charge is more than enough to empower the Flame Breath, infusing it with lightning damage, while draining Rage at a much slower rate.

When all of those things are applied, you will have Flame Breath that will surely make quick work of the enemy!

Best New Skills—A Quick Overview

PoE 2: The Last of the Druids Best New Skills—Conclusion

The Druid Class and its ascendancies have proven to be quite popular in Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids. Prior to the launch of the Fate of the Vaal League, many players had speculated that the Bear and Wyvern Forms would be the most popular ones, but it’s quite surprising to see that the Werewolf Form is not lagging behind at all.

I mean, who doesn’t want to control a character that can shred enemies, pounce on monsters, and call forth devastating moonbeams on a whim?

The Bear Form, despite its slower movement speed, has some pretty good skills at its disposal. Cast Walking Calamity to rain down meteors upon your foes, then run towards the battlefield with ferocious fury via Rampage.

Let’s not forget the Wyvern Form, especially that iconic Flame Breath! The Flame Breath has the power to delete even the pinnacle bosses in The Last of the Druids expansion, so definitely use it whenever you shapeshift into the Wyvern.

So, what can you say about the best new skills in Patch 0.4.0? Let us know in the comments. For more updated PoE 2 guides, visit our RPGStash Blog!