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Boulder Druid Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 5)

Be the avalanche that buries your foes!

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TheSteve

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Updated: Posted:

HurricaneEarthen BulwarkPoison CreeperCataclysmClawBoulder


Build Introduction

Unleash an Avalanche to bury your enemies! Hurl Boulders at your foes, obliterating those that stand in your path! Boldly barrage and batter the battlefield to beat your foes! The BoulderBoulder Druid build uses the Unique Item Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone and Aspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic Stone in combination to let your Boulders do massive damage in a large area around you.

This guide covers everything necessary to get started on your BoulderBoulder adventure including Skill Tree points, Paragon, Gearing, and Seasonal updates. The guide will primarily cover Endgame pushing, but will also cover alternative playstyle variant Cataclysm Boulder, offer in-depth explanations, and give some Gauntlet considerations.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
  • Mobile gameplay
  • Excels at both AoE and Bossing
  • SPIN ROCK
Weaknesses
  • Resource hungry build
  • Gameplay can be complicated
  • Heavy gearing investment

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Build Requirements

The following Unique Items and Legendary Aspects are required for build functionality to get started on the Boulder Druid:

Required Uniques
Required Aspects

Season 5: There are some misbehaviors with Nature's FuryNature’s Fury and BoulderBoulder:

The Bestial RampageBestial Rampage version of Boulder will be presented. The requirements to upkeep HurricaneHurricane and maintain resources are higher in this version as we cannot leverage Symbiotic AspectSymbiotic Aspect. However, top-end potential for the build is greater, as some slots that enabled the Nature's FuryNature’s Fury gameplay are freed up. As well, we will be using the new Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng.

The build will be presented it’s final endgame form. Please make sure to check the sections on Cataclysm and Spirit Management, as well as Hurricane Management to fine tune making the build work for the gear level and progression of your character.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Skill Bar for Boulder Druid
Cataclysm Cataclysm Hurricane Hurricane Poison Creeper Poison Creeper Earthen Bulwark Earthen Bulwark Claw Claw Boulder Boulder

Poison CreeperPoison Creeper and Earthen BulwarkEarthen Bulwark are flexible skill options.

  • Poison CreeperPoison Creeper is a flex point for a strong immobilize and wide Poison debuff application.
  • Earthen BulwarkEarthen Bulwark is a strong defensive and source of Unstoppable.

Other options include:

Spirit Boons – The Druid Class Specialization

Druids unlock powerful Spirit Boon passives, giving offerings to the animal spirits to receive their Blessing. Once fully unlocked, activate the final Boon by Spirit Bonding with one of the four animal spirits to take two passives from that row.

Boon NameAnimalEffect
WarinessDeerTake 15% reduced damage from Elites.
Swooping AttacksEagleGain 15% Attack Speed
Avian WrathEagleGain 30%[x] Critical Strike Damage.
CalamityWolfLucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore 30 Spirit.
Calm Before the StormSnake Lucky Hit: Nature Magic Skills have up to a 10% chance to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds.
  • While leveling and gearing, use the Wolf’s Energize over Calamity.
  • In hard hitting push content, take Iron Feather over Swooping Attacks.

Paragon Board

The following are the preferred Glyphs, Boards, and pathing recommended for making the most of the Boulder Druid. All Glyphs are placed as if they are max radius (Level 15+).

Once CataclysmCataclysm uptime is covered, exchange ExploitExploit for SpiritSpirit.

Click this link to see the Paragon Board in its entirety! Paragon Board images are courtesy of d4builds.gg.

Starting Board

From the Starting Board, path up, placing the ShapeshifterShapeshifter Glyph into the Glyph Socket.

Constricting Tendrils

From the Starting Board, choose Constricting Tendrils, placed against the Starting Board. Socket the ExploitExploit Glyph. The Legendary Node is not taken.

Earthen Devastation

For the third board, choose Earthen Devastation, placed against the Constricting Tendril board’s right side, Socket the TerritorialTerritorial glyph. Take the Legendary Node Earthen DevastationEarthen Devastation.

Ancestral Guidance

For the fourth board, choose Ancestral Guidance, placed against the Earthen Devastation’s top side, rotated twice. Socket the OutmatchOutmatch Glyph.

Heightened Malice

For the fifth board, choose Heightened Malice, placed against the Ancestral Guidance board’s right side and the Constricting Tendrils’ top side, rotated three times. From the Heightened Malice board, take the Heightened MaliceHeightened Malice Legendary node. From the Constricting Tendrils board, socket theUndauntedUndaunted Glyph.

Thunderstruck

For the sixth board, choose Thunderstruck, placed against the right side of the Heightened Malice board. Socket the TectonicTectonic glyph.

Survival Instincts

For the final board, take Survival Instincts, rotated once. Take the Survival InstinctsSurvival Instincts Legendary Node and Socket the WerebearWerebear glyph.

For further info on Paragon choices, check the Paragon Information in the Additional Information Section.

Gear, Stats, Gems and Elixirs

The following are the recommended Legendary Aspects, Gear Affixes, Gems, and Elixirs for the Boulder Druid.

Legendary Aspects

Gear Slots with multiple options are listed in recommended priority. Any slot with a non-required Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power.

SlotAspectUnique/Legendary Power
2 Handed AxeAspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic StoneBoulder is now a Core Skill and costs 40 Spirit to cast dealing 90-120% of normal damage.
Head(Highly Recommended) Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer OR
Juggernaut's AspectJuggernaut’s Aspect
Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear skills and Fortify you for 2-5% of your Maximum Health.
Chest(Recommended)Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury OR
Aspect of MightAspect of Might
Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2-5 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.
GlovesAspect of the Changeling's DebtAspect of the Changeling’s DebtYou deal 25-55% increased damage while hitting a Poisoned enemy as a Werebear or a Crowd Controlled enemy as a Werewolf.
Pants(Offensive) Ballistic AspectBallistic Aspect OR
(Convenience) Wildbolt AspectWildbolt Aspect
When you have Fortify your Earth Skills gain +2 Ranks.
Boots(Recommended for Damage) Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger OR
(Recommended for Cataclysm Uptime) FlickerstepFlickerstep
When you Shapeshift into a Werewolf or a Werebear, you gain Wildheart for 5 seconds. Wildheart grants you 1-3% increased damage every 2 seconds, stacking up to 20-60%.
Amulet(Required) Dolmen StoneDolmen StoneCasting Boulder while Hurricane is active will cause your boulders to rotate around you, up to a maximum of 10 boulders. Each rotating boulder increases their damage by 10-30%
Ring 1(Recommended) Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng OR
Aspect of the Dark DanceAspect of the Dark Dance
While Cataclysm is active, you gain unlimited Spirit and deal [X] [40-100]% increased damage.
Ring 2(Recommended)Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless Skies OR
Accelerating AspectAccelerating Aspect
Spending your Primary Resource reduces the Resource cost of your Skills and increases your damage by 10%x for 3 seconds, up to 50%.

For more information on Legendary Aspects and the Codex of Power, check the guide here.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Each line of affixes is listed in order of importance. Tempering Manuals and their recommended affixes are provided in the final column, and the bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. To masterwork, you will need rare materials that only drop from The Pit. Be sure to check our Tempering guide, our Masterworking guide, as well as our guide about The Pit for more details about these topics.

Unique Items cannot be Tempered, but can be Mastercrafted. Any slot with an Optional Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power setup.

SlotGearing AffixesTempering Affixes
2 Handed AxeWillpower
Max Life
Critical Strike Damage
Resource Cost Reduction
Earth AugmentsEarth Augments – Chance for BoulderBoulder Projectiles To Cast Twice
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse – Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
Helm – (Recommended)Vasily's PrayerVasily’s PrayerWillpower
Maximum Life
Armor
Ranks to Defensive PostureDefensive Posture
Chest-(Recommended) Insatiable FuryInsatiable FuryMaximum Life
Werebear Overpower
Ursine Strength’s Bonuses
Ranks to Iron FurIron Fur
GlovesCritical Strike Chance
Attack Speed
Ranks to Core Skills
Willpower
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse – Damage to Close Enemies OR
Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
Worldly FortuneWorldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Pants – Legendary AspectMax Life
Willpower
Armor
Resistance to All Elements
Dodge Chance
Worldly EnduranceWorldly Endurance – Total Armor%
Worldly FortuneWorldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Boots- (Recommended)Wildheart HungerWildheart HungerMovement Speed
Shapeshifting Attack Speed
Cold Resistance
Ranks to Heightened SensesHeightened Senses
Boots – Legendary AspectMovement Speed
Ranks to BoulderBoulder
Max Life
Spirit Per Second
Willpower
Druid MotionDruid Motion – Movement Speed
Worldly FortuneWorldly Fortune – Lucky Hit: [Any of] Chance to Immobilize/Stun/Freeze for 2 Seconds
Amulet – (Required)Dolmen StoneDolmen StoneMovement Speed while HurricaneHurricane is active
Nature Magic Cooldown Reduction
Ranks to Wrath Skills
Ranks to Crushing EarthCrushing Earth
Ring – (Recommended)Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless SkiesAttack Speed
Critical Strike Chance
Lucky Hit Chance
Ranks in Core Skills
Ring – (Recommended) Mjölnic RyngMjölnic RyngWillpower
Critical Strike Chance
Movement Speed While Cataclysm is Active
Ranks to Endless TempestEndless Tempest
Ring – Legendary AspectAttack Speed
Critical Strike Chance
Max Life
Willpower
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse – Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
Ultimate Efficiency —  DruidUltimate Efficiency —  CataclysmCataclysm Cooldown Reduction

Nature Magic Cooldown Reduction is the most important affix to roll high and target for Greater Affix or Mastercraft. It will help the most in maintaining both HurricaneHurricane and CataclysmCataclysm. Ranks in Endless TempestEndless Tempest will also be significant.

Armor cap is 9230 against any enemies Level 100 and above, for up to 85% Damage Reduction. This is generally reached at 925 Item Power with either Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer or with a maxed Juggernaut's AspectJuggernaut’s Aspect.

For the dedicated page on Gear Systems and Itemization Overview, check the guide here.

Gems

Weapon GemsArmor GemsJewelry Gems
Royal EmeraldRoyal Emerald for Critical Strike DamageRoyal RubyRoyal Ruby For Max Life%Royal DiamondRoyal Diamond for resistance to all elements

Elixirs, Incense and Health Potions

The Alchemist offers helpful consumables at the cost of foraged materials found throughout Sanctuary.

  • Craft the highest available Elixir of Advantage for Attack Speed and Lucky Hit bonuses.
  • If mats are available, craft Chorus of WarChorus of War.
  • Remember to upgrade your potion as you level, increasing the instant healing of the potion!

Unique Items

  • Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone causes BoulderBoulder to rotate around the player while HurricaneHurricane is active. It is required for this playstyle.
  • Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer is a strong source of Fortify, and makes BoulderBoulder a Werebear skill. This enables maintenance of several strong multipliers like QuickshiftQuickshift and Heightened SensesHeightened Senses, and granting auras including Survival InstinctsSurvival Instincts while the Form is active.
  • Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury is a strong defensive Unique Item, and grants skill ranks to Werebear skills, including BoulderBoulder, because Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer makes Boulder a Werebear Skill.
  • (Recommended) Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger gives a 5 second buff that boosts a stacking damage buff every 2 second, up to 20 stacks of the damage buff. This means a shapeshift to Werebear or Werewolf needs to happen at least every 5 seconds, to maintain the damage stacks. This can be a disruptive Unique Item to gameplay, but the multiplier and ranks to Heightened SensesHeightened Senses are hard to ignore.
  • The Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng gives a strong damage multiplier and makes all spenders cost zero when CataclysmCataclysm is active. This is a strong addition to our damage, and worth playing around. See the Cataclysm and Spirit Management Section for more information.

Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone can be target-farmed from Duriel.

Mythic Unique Items

The Boulder Druid can benefit from several mythic Unique items:

  • (Recommended) Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless Skies is a powerful Resource Cost Reduction tool and damage multiplier. Replaces Starlight AspectStarlight Aspect.
  • (Optional Defensive) DoombringerDoombringer– Druids can now use 1 handed swords. The Mythic Unique DoombringerDoombringer brings the chonk, with two sources Damage Reductions and a Max Health% increase that is large, even before Greater Affixes or Mastercrafting. This comes at a loss of a major multiplier to moving Aspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic Stone to Totem, and loses a weapon temper for BoulderBoulder Chance for Extra Projectiles. BoulderBoulder damage is high when everything is stacked up, so this might be the right decision on a high push.

Rotation and Playstyle

Before Combat:

  1. ClawClaw in place for Bestial RampageBestial Rampage.
  2. Maintain HurricaneHurricane.
  3. Pre-build a few BoulderBoulders, and get the other half of Bestial RampageBestial Rampage.

When engaging enemies:

  1. Maintain HurricaneHurricane.
  2. Maintain CataclysmCataclysm.
  3. Maintain Shapeshifting bonuses like Heightened SensesHeightened Senses, Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger and QuickshiftQuickshift with ClawClaw.
  4. Cast a mountain of BoulderBoulders, pushing against your priority enemies as they are knocked back.
  5. As needed, filler attack with ClawClaw.

ClawClaw and other Skills that change your Form do not need to hit enemies to gain the Shapeshifting benefits. It can often be beneficial to keybind and tap Force Hold to be able to cast in place.

Check out the advanced Build Mechanics section for a more in-depth description on how the build works, what synergies exist, and what to look out for. See below for Cataclysm, Hurricane and Spirit Management.

Cataclysm and Spirit Management

With the new Unique Item Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng, many Druid builds will play around CataclysmCataclysm for the significant Damage Multiplier and full Spirit Cost Reduction while CataclysmCataclysm is active. We make several choices on Spirit Generation and Spirit Boons that enable or make this choice shine. This also means Downtime can be punishing, so we want to keep CataclysmCataclysm up to avoid Spirit problems.

Cataclysm Maintenance

To Maintain CataclysmCataclysm we use:

  • Calm Before the Storm for Ultimate Cooldown Reduction and Calamity Spirit Boon for Longer Ultimate duration.
  • Ranks in Endless TempestEndless Tempest extend the duration of Cataclysm.
  • Ultimate Efficiency —  DruidUltimate Efficiency  – Cataclysm Cooldown Reduction on the 2nd ring slot if using a Legendary Aspect.
  • Lucky Hit gains like TectonicTectonic and Attack Speed bonuses will help our damage events trigger more Calm Before the Storm.

If this is not sufficient for uptime, we can optionally use:

  • Target Lucky Hit Chance, Endless TempestEndless Tempest ranks, or Nature Magic Skill Cooldowns on Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone with Greater Affix or Mastercrafting.
  • FlickerstepFlickerstep for Ultimate Cooldown Reduction when evading through enemies. This competes with other strong options so is not a default choice.
  • Replace the Survival Instincts board with Inner StrengthInner Strength, placing it against the bottom of the Thunderstruck board, rotated once. Take the NimbleNimble Cluster for Attack Speed and the Inner BeastInner Beast Legendary Node. This should help create more total cast events and give periodic Cooldown Reduction on CataclysmCataclysm.

Spirit Management

In Early Gearing and Leveling, or before using the Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng with strong uptime, consider doing the one or several of following for Spirit Generation and Management:

Hurricane Maintenance

For the Boulder Druid to play smoothly, Hurricane should be a longer duration than its cooldown. If Hurricane Uptime is not complete, any spinning BoulderBoulder will shoot out from the relative direction and be lost, spilling all the meatballs from the plate, making a mess, and the Boulder count will restart back at zero next Hurricane. This is a significant issue for maintaining gameplay momentum. There’s a number of ways that we extend the duration, and reduce the cooldown. The default options are:

Unfortunately, unless the Nature Magic Cooldown Reduction is Greater Affixed and/or heavily Mastercrafted, We cannot reach total Hurricane uptime on this alone. To keep your meatballs on the plate, do one of the following:

  • Replace Earth AugmentsEarth Augments – Chance for Extra Boulder Projectiles with Storm AugmentsStorm Augments – Hurricane Duration. Hurricane Duration can roll very high, be targeted with mastercraft, and cover all your needs.
  • Alternatively, if you’re close but not quite full coverage, you can split to a 1h and totem setup for half and half:
SlotAspectTemperStats
1-Handed SwordAspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic StoneEarth AugmentsEarth Augments – Chance for Extra Boulder ProjectilesWillpower
Max Life
Critical Strike Chance
TotemAccelerating AspectAccelerating AspectStorm AugmentsStorm AugmentsHurricaneHurricane DurationCooldown Reduction
Critical Strike Chance
Lucky Hit Chance

Target the Affixes in Bold for mastercrafting.

Totem is a solid option in a few ways. While it cuts off the topend of Aspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic Stone, the Cooldown Reduction and Lucky Hit Chance also help to maintain CataclysmCataclysm too!

Season 5: Season of the Infernal Hordes

Season 5: There are some misbehaviors with Nature's FuryNature’s Fury and BoulderBoulder:

This has caused significant post-release of season rework of the page. Thank you for 🐻 bearing with us!

The following list details the important changes in the Season 5 Patch Updates that are specific to the Boulder Druid. For general Season 5 information, check out our Season 5 Hub.

Itemization:

  • Several updates to Unique Items, notably to Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone.
  • Shepherd's AspectShepherd’s Aspect:
    • Previous – Core and Wrath Skills deal an additional 5-10% damage per Companion you have.
    • Now – Companion Skills deal an additional 5-10% damage per Companion you have.
  • New Item – Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng – -While Cataclysm is active, you gain unlimited Spirit and deal 40-100%X increased damage.
  • New Temper – Ultimate Efficiency —  DruidUltimate Efficiency – for Ultimate Skill cooldown reduction.

Skills and Stats:

  • Gain 1% increased Skill Damage for every 8 primary Core Stat, reduced from 10 primary Core Stat.
  • BoulderBoulder Damage increased from 46% to 70% of weapon damage.
  • HurricaneHurricane Damage buffed from 187% to 346%.
  • CataclysmCataclysm Lightning Strike rate is doubled. Now more consistently hits enemies with its lightning strikes.
  • Iron FurIron Fur increased for each Skill Rank from 3% to 4%.
  • Heightened SensesHeightened Senses increased for each Skill Rank from 2% to 3%.
  • ThunderstruckThunderstruck and Earthen DevastationEarthen Devastation now have a maximum bonus capped at 60%.
  • Survival InstinctsSurvival Instincts now increases damage by up to 60%, from 50%.
  • WerebearWerebear Damage increased from 6.6% to 9.9%, Damage Reduction increased from 10% to 15%.
  • Earthen BulwarkEarthen Bulwark scales with Maximum Life instead of Base Life.

Bug Fixes:

  • Aspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic Stone no longer removes Wrath skill tag from Boulder.
  • Fixed an issue where a second Boulder Projectile granted by the Tempering Affix did not deal any damage when used with Dolmen Stone.

Advanced Information

It is time to get started on your Boulder journey!

Or see below for further information on how the build works, as well as further explanations for Paragon, Gearing, and Gameplay, and available playstyle options.

Build Mechanics

This build has lots of moving parts that come together to make a powerful storm of abilities.

BoulderBoulder is our high-damage main Skill. When HurricaneHurricane is active, Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone causes the Boulders will revolve around the player. Aspect of Metamorphic StoneAspect of Metamorphic Stone turns Boulder into a Core Skill, removes the cooldown, and adds a Spirit Cost to the skill. Keep several of these rotating around you at a time, and refresh them as they run out. BoulderBoulder does Physical damage, but is a Nature Magic Skill, The Earth Tags will be included in anything that asks for Nature, such as DefianceDefiance. Up to ten BoulderBoulder can be maintained at a time, with a damage multiplier from Dolmen StoneDolmen Stone for each active Boulder.

ClawClaw is a filler Basic Attack that can help maintain Werewolf buffs like Heightened SensesHeightened Senses or Bestial RampageBestial Rampage, and applies a single target Poison with Fierce ClawFierce Claw

Earthen BulwarkEarthen Bulwark is a defensive tool for Barrier and Unstoppable.

Poison CreeperPoison Creeper Applies wide Immobilize Crowd Control and Poison to enemies. It can be cast while moving so is not disruptive to play. It is a strong enabler for Heightened MaliceHeightened Malice.

CataclysmCataclysm casts TornadoTornado and Lightning StormLightning Storm and makes enemies struck Vulnerable. The Unique Item Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng gives a strong multiplier while CataclysmCataclysm is active, and makes all Spenders cost zero Spirit. Items like Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless Skies will still stack, but other effects like Ancestral GuidanceAncestral Guidance will not function. CataclysmCataclysm uptime is maintained by extending the buff with skill passives like Endless TempestEndless Tempest and cooldown reductions like Calm Before the Storm boon.

There’s several Shapeshifting buffs that are maintained throughout the fight. Bestial RampageBestial Rampage, QuickshiftQuickshift, Heightened SensesHeightened Senses, and Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger are all strong choices that are well worth maintaining.

Our Key passive is the strong Bestial RampageBestial Rampage. Each buff lasts 15 seconds, and the form must be held for 2 seconds to trigger. We use ClawClaw for Werewolf, and BoulderBoulder for Werebear. Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer makes BoulderBoulder a Werebear Skill.

For a less aggressive playstyle, Ursine StrengthUrsine Strength can be used. It receives bonuses from Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury so the damage is comparable, and the extra health can be beneficial, but this is at a large attack speed loss. Nature's FuryNature’s Fury could also be used at a large damage and attack speed loss. The extra damage events and access to Symbiotic AspectSymbiotic Aspect can help maintain HurricaneHurricane and CataclysmCataclysm and its effects if uptime is not covered.

Paragon

The Paragon Board is a progression system unlocked at Level 50, giving player power through Common stat Nodes, Magic affix Nodes, Rare leveled Glyphs, and Legendary board-exclusive Nodes. For general paragon board information, check the guide here.

The recommended Paragon boards with images for the Boulder Druid are listed above. The following section goes over some explanations and descriptions for the pathing process for the Boulder Druid.

Broadly speaking, decisions for pathing through the Druid paragon board are divided into three categories:

  • Damage – The paragon boards provide a significant amount of Damage Multipliers and Additives. This includes:
  • Defense – The paragon boards help reach goals on Damage Reduction, Armor, and Resistances. This includes:
    • Damage Reduction is improved from UndauntedUndaunted and TerritorialTerritorial secondary effects, as well as individual nodes providing bonuses like Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies
    • Resistances are improved from Magic and Rare Resistance nodes, with Earth and SkyEarth and Sky, and OutmatchOutmatch bonuses improving their nearby Resistance nodes.
    • Armor goals are reached with the help of Armor nodes in Inner BeastInner Beast.
  • Build Functionality – The paragon boards improve Spirit Generation for the build from a few sources, including:

Gauntlet Optimization

The Gauntlet is a Trial event dungeon that changes weekly. The format is a point score system over 8 minutes, and players will compete in weekly Leaderboards for fame and prizes.

BoulderBoulder excels at all the aspects of the Gauntlet. This build offers:

  • High damage against Bosses
  • Strong AoE attacks
  • Sources for grouping enemies
  • High mobility and gap closing

The enemies are level 124, which is the equivalent to Tier 70 nightmare dungeons. Compared to a Tier 100 Nightmare dungeon, the enemies will hurt less, but speed counts even more!

The Gearing and Paragon Setups for Gauntlet will take less Armor, Max Life, Damage Reductions, and top-end multipliers, and instead tune for speed, uptime and efficiency. The following recommendations are for generic Gauntlet play, and considerations may change week to week as new maps are shown.

Gearing and Skills Affixes for Gauntlet

Make the following changes for the Gauntlet:

Gauntlet Paragon

Replace TerritorialTerritorial and UndauntedUndaunted for SpiritSpirit and GuzzlerGuzzler.

Changelog

  • 7 August, 2024: Significant rework of the main build due to season 5 bugs. Cataclysm Boulder changed to main build and Nature’s Fury Shred Boulder retired for now.
  • 2 August, 2024: Updated Guide for changes with Patch 1.5.0 and Season of the Infernal Horde. Shepherd Boulder variant removed. Cataclysm Boulder variant added.
  • 17 June, 2024: Updated for mid-season patch 1.4.3. Updates to Spirit Boons, Gear Affixes and Paragon Board for better total damage.
  • 15 May, 2024: Small changes in gear affixes to adjust for season launch changes from PTR.
  • 5 May, 2024: Guide reworked for the significant 1.4.0 changes to gearing and for season 4 speculative changes. Format changed to frontload basic build information and offer extra information and options afterwards.
  • 10 March, 2024: Guide created, fully replacing previous guide.
    • Ownership transferred.
    • Adjusted Gear, Skills, and Paragon sections to hit defensive stats targets and improve overall damage output.
    • Improved readability, explanations, and options.
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