DruidEndgameGuideEarthseason 7

Stone Burst – Druid Build for Diablo 4 (Season 7)

Leave enemies shattered with the Stone Burst Druid!

TheSteveAvatar

TheSteve

WRITER


Updated: Posted:

PetrifyBlood HowlCyclone ArmorEarthen BulwarkClawStone Burst


Season

Build Introduction

Stone BurstStone Burst is a satisfyingly impactful Core Earth Skill that can be channeled and grown in size, or held to pulse minor damage within its area. With Aspect of Anticline BurstAspect of Anticline Burst, Stone Bursts cast above 75 Spirit will be cast at full size without having to channel to grow the blast, and will be the preferred playstyle.

This guide will cover everything necessary to get started on your Stone Burst adventure, including Skill Tree points, Paragon, Gearing, and Seasonal updates. The guide will primarily cover Endgame pushing, but will also cover alternative playstyles, options during leveling and gearing, Spirit management, and offer in-depth explanations for gameplay.


Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
  • Wide screenclearing clickcasts
  • Focused damage for low target/bossing
  • Simple gameplay
Weaknesses
  • Spirit-hungry build
  • Cannot Overpower

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

Build Requirements

The following Legendary Aspect is required for build functionality to get started on the Stone Burst Druid:

Required Aspects

Aspect of Anticline BurstAspect of Anticline Burst is a significant damage multiplier and quality of life addition, allowing Stone Burst to be cast at full radius while above 75 Spirit, without having to channel and grow the cast. This lets the build send a significantly higher volume of attacks. While leveling-friendly, Stone Burst should not be started without this aspect.


Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Suggested Skill Bar
Earthen BulwarkEarthen BulwarkBlood HowlBlood HowlCyclone ArmorCyclone ArmorClawClawPetrifyPetrifyStone BurstStone Burst

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
Gift of the StagDeerGain 40 Maximum Spirit. Gain 5 Spirit Per Second.
Swooping AttacksEagleGain 20% Attack Speed.
Avian WrathEagleGain 40% Critical Strike Damage.
EnergizeWolf Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has up to a 15% chance to restore all Spirit.
MasochisticSnakeLucky Hit: Critical Strikes with Shapeshifting Skills have up to a 75% chance to Heal you for 10% Maximum Life.

Once Spirit management is sufficient, take Calamity Boon over Energize.


Gear, Stats, Gems and Elixirs

The following are the recommended Legendary Aspects, Gear Affixes, Gems, Runewords and Consumables for the Stone Burst Druid.

Legendary Aspects

Gear Slots with multiple options are listed in recommended priority. Any slot with an Optional Mythic Unique or Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power to use while still leveling and gearing.

SlotGem/RunewordsUnique/Legendary AspectUnique/Legendary Power
DaggerGrand EmeraldGrand EmeraldAspect of Anticline BurstAspect of Anticline BurstStone Burst deals 15-35%x increased damage and when Cast at or above 75 Spirit, it is immediately at its maximum size.
Unique TotemGrand EmeraldGrand Emerald (Recommended Unique) Stone of VehemenStone of Vehemen
Accelerating AspectAccelerating Aspect
While Channeling Stone Burst, and for 2 seconds afterwards, gain 15% Damage Reduction.
Stone Burst’s final explosion deals 15-20% increased damage, further increased by 15-20% for each size increase.
HelmGrand SapphireGrand Sapphire(Recommended Unique) Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer
Juggernaut's AspectJuggernaut’s Aspect
Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear skills and Fortify you for 2-5% of your Maximum Health.
ChestGrand SapphireGrand Sapphire (Recommended Mythic) Shroud of False DeathShroud of False Death
(Recommended Unique) Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury
If you haven’t attacked in the last 2 seconds, gain Stealth and 40% Movement Speed.
GlovesAspect of the Changeling's DebtAspect of the Changeling’s DebtYou deal 25-65% increased damage while hitting a Poisoned enemy as a Werebear or a Crowd Controlled enemy as a Werewolf.
PantsGrand SapphireGrand SapphireTibault's WillTibault’s Will OR Skinwalker's AspectSkinwalker’s AspectYou deal 10-20%x increased damage while Unstoppable and for 5 seconds after. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource
Boots(Recommended Unique) Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger
Aspect of MetamorphosisAspect of Metamorphosis
Shapeshifting into a new animal form increases the value of your Bestial Rampage bonuses by +2-5%, up to +20-50%. This bonus decays by 2% per second.
AmuletGrand SkullGrand SkullAspect of RetaliationAspect of RetaliationYour Core Skills deal up to 35-75% increased damage based on your amount of Fortify.
Ring 1Grand DiamondGrand Diamond
Crashstone AspectCrashstone Aspect
(Optional playstyle) Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng
Earth Skills deal 35-75% increased damage to Crowd Controlled enemies.
Ring 2Grand DiamondGrand Diamond(Recommended Mythic) Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless Skies
Starlight AspectStarlight 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%.

Armor cap is 1000 for up to 85% Physical Damage Reduction. This is generally reached with either one Armor Gear Affix and one Total Armor% Temper, the armor from Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer, or using a Juggernaut's AspectJuggernaut’s Aspect.


Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Each line of affixes is listed in order of importance. The bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. Unique Items cannot be Tempered, but can be Masterworked.  Check the Tempering guide and Masterworking guide for more details about these topics.

Any slot with an Optional Mythic Unique or Unique Item will include a valid alternative legendary power to use while still leveling and gearing.

SlotGearing AffixesTempering Affixes
Dagger – Legendary PowerWillpower
Max Life
Chance on Hit to Restore Spirit
Life on Hit
Earth AugmentsEarth Augments – Chance for Stone Burst to Cast Twice
Natural FinesseNatural Finesse – Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
(Recommended) Totem – Stone of VehemenStone of VehemenWillpower
Critical Strike Damage
Chance for Stone Burst to Cast Twice
Ranks to Stone BurstStone Burst
Totem – Legendary AspectCritical Strike Chance
Cooldown Reduction
Lucky Hit Chance
Chance on Hit to Restore Spirit
Earth AugmentsEarth Augments – Chance for Stone Burst to Cast Twice
Earth FinesseEarth Finesse – Earth Critical Strike Chance
Helm – Vasily's PrayerVasily’s PrayerWillpower
Maximum Life
Armor
Ranks to Defensive PostureDefensive Posture
Helm – Legendary AspectCooldown Reduction
Spirit Per Second
Armor
Willpower
Worldly EnduranceWorldly Endurance – Total Armor%
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Petrify Duration
Chest – Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury Maximum Life
Werebear Overpower
Ursine Strength’s Bonuses
Ranks to Iron FurIron Fur
Mythic Unique Chest – Shroud of False DeathShroud of False DeathAll Stats
Maximum Life
Damage on Next Attack After Entering Stealth
Resource Generation
Gloves – Legendary PowerAttack Speed
Critical Strike Chance
Ranks to Stone BurstStone Burst
Chance on Hit to Restore Spirit
Chance to make Enemies Vulnerable
Earth FinesseEarth Finesse – Earth Critical Strike Chance
Worldly FortuneWorldly Fortune -Chance on Hit to Slow/Stun/Freeze
Pants – Tibault's WillTibault’s WillAll Stats
Max Life
Maximum Resource
Damage Reduction While Unstoppable
Pants – Legendary AspectWillpower
Max Life
Armor
Resistance to All Elements
Worldly EnduranceWorldly Endurance – Total Armor%
Nature Magic InnovationNature Magic Innovation – Petrify Duration
Boots –Wildheart HungerWildheart HungerMovement Speed
Shapeshifting Attack Speed
Cold Resistance
Ranks to Heightened SensesHeightened Senses
Boots – Legendary AspectImplicit – Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown by 1.5 seconds
Movement Speed
Spirit Per Second
Willpower
All Resistances
Druid MotionDruid Motion – Movement Speed
Worldly FortuneWorldly Fortune – Chance to Stun/Freeze
Amulet – Legendary AspectWillpower%
Ranks to EnvenomEnvenom
Ranks to Nature's ReachNature’s Reach
Ranks to QuickshiftQuickshift
Movement Speed
Critical Strike Chance
Earth FinesseEarth Finesse – Earth Critical Strike Chance
Ultimate Efficiency —  DruidUltimate Efficiency —  DruidPetrifyPetrify Cooldown Reduction OR
Manual: Worldly StabilityManual: Worldly Stability – Resource Generation
Ring – Legendary AspectAttack Speed
Critical Strike Chance
Chance to Make Enemies Vulnerable
Lucky Hit Chance
Earth FinesseEarth Finesse – Earth Critical Strike Chance
Ultimate Efficiency —  DruidUltimate Efficiency —  DruidPetrifyPetrify Cooldown Reduction OR
Manual: Worldly StabilityManual: Worldly Stability – Resource Generation
Ring – Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless SkiesAttack Speed
Critical Strike Chance
Lucky Hit Chance
Ranks in Core Skills
Ring – Mjölnic RyngMjölnic RyngWillpower
Critical Strike Chance
Movement Speed While Cataclysm is Active
Ranks to Endless TempestEndless Tempest

At least one Temper for Chance to Slow or other Controls will help maintain the Crashstone AspectCrashstone Aspect multiplier against non-bosses.


Gems and Runewords

Listed below are the recommended Gem and Runeword setups for the Stone Burst Druid.

Gems

Weapon GemsArmor GemsJewelry Gems
Grand EmeraldGrand Emerald for Critical Strike DamageGrand SapphireGrand Sapphire for WillpowerGrand SkullGrand Skull until Armor Cap at 1000 Armor, then
Grand DiamondGrand Diamond for All Resistance

Seasonal: Use the recommended Occult Gem Setup for Jewelry.

  • Moonlight WardMoonlight Ward – For each rank in your slotted Unique Witchcraft Power, you gain 3% Damage Reduction and .5% Maximum Resistance to All Elements.
  • Voice of the StarsVoice of the Stars – While you have an Aura active, your Ultimate Skills gain each Witchcraft tag and deal 10% increased damage.
  • Friend of the BogFriend of the Bog – While you have three or more Growth & Decay Witch Powers slotted, you gain 10% primary stat, 10% Maximum Life and you are always Unhindered.

Runewords

Use these Runeword combinations for the Stone Burst Druid, placed in Armor slots.

Runeword CombinationRuneword Effects
Poc WatPocPoc – Gain: 5 Offering. Spend 5% of your Maximum Resource.
WatWat – Requires: 100 Offering Cooldown: 1 Second. Overflow: Increased Duration. Evoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify, Slowing enemies, reducing their damage, and letting you Execute them.
Xol YomXolXol – Gain: 150 Offering. Evoke power from another Class.
YomYom – 500 Offering Cooldown: 5 Seconds. Overflow: Increased Duration. Evoke the Druid’s PetrifyPetrify, Stunning enemies and restoring Spirit.

Runewords use a conditional Rune of Ritual to generate Offering. The Offering is consumed by the Rune of Invocation to trigger its effect. Runes replace Gems in gear with two sockets. Up to two sets of Runeword Pairs can be placed at a time.

Stone BurstStone Burst is a Spirit-hungry Skill, and will trigger high volumes of Horrid DecrepifyHorrid Decrepify, which is an efficient trigger for Xol. Periodic casts of PetrifyPetrify will be a strong Stun, Critical Strike Damage multiplier and Spirit Generator. Tempering for PetrifyPetrify Duration will mean significant uptime on Petrify.

Other combinations can also situationally work well; adjust to the content you are running. These can include:

  • Offering Efficiency: Other Ritual options such as LithLith for Stand Still, BacBac for Move, or FeoFeo for get Crowd Controlled may trigger more often.
  • Spirit Management: PocPoc LumLum in combination can give strong Spirit Refund. QueQue Invocation for Earthen BulwarkEarthen Bulwark can also give spirit back with Tibault's WillTibault’s Will.
  • Early Gearing: While leveling and gearing before legendary Runes become accessible, many Magic and Rare runewords such as GarGar for Critical Strike Chance will be viable.

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 IIElixir of Advantage II 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.

Paragon Board

The following are the preferred Glyphs, Boards, and pathing recommended for making the most of the Stone Burst Druid.

The road to max Paragon is long. The above Paragon tabs show the following:

  • The BASE SETUP tab spends 50 fewer points than the max 328 points, taking stricter pathing to take all most all Legendary, Rare and Magic Nodes, and activates all Glyph Nodes with their secondary effects.
  • The FULL SETUP tab completes the paragon board in its final form, filling in the rest of the board to give additional additive bonuses especially within the Glyph areas.

Glyphs have two significant breakpoint increases. At level 15, the glyph grows in radius and gains a special effect. At level 46, the glyph grows to its max radius and gains a strong conditional damage multiplier.

Glyphs are placed as if they are at least level 15+ in radius. Total Boards placed are now limited to a max of 5; the Starter Board and four Class Boards. Rotate boards as necessary.

For more Damage Reduction in hard-hitting content, swap SpiritSpirit for TerritorialTerritorial.

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


Powers of Witchcraft and Occult Gems

Seasonal players can choose from a selection of Witchcraft powers and Occult gems to enhance their gameplay. 1 Unique and 5 Normal Witchcraft Powers can be equipped using the Witchcraft tab on the character sheet. Witchcraft Powers gain additional effects at higher ranks. Occult gems are placed into the jewelry sockets, and can be crafted at the Tree of Whispers. Use the following setup for the Stone Burst Druid:

Witchcraft Powers

Unique Power

The CycleThe CycleGrowth and Decay

  • Dealing any damage with your skills has a 15% chance to grow a flower from the ground. When an enemy is near, the flower deals X Poison damage to that enemy over 5 seconds. If an ally is near, the flower heals for 6% maximum Life. The flower withers away after use. A flower may grow once every 2 seconds per enemy. Frequency limited to a maximum of 3 per second.
  • Rank 5: The damage and healing affects all enemies or allies near the flower.

Normal Powers

Aura SpecializationAura SpecializationLost Power

  • The size of your Aura Effects is increased.
  • Rank 10: Increase the Critical Strike Damage by 50% against enemies inside your Aura Effects.

Hex of ShatteringHex of ShatteringPsyche

  • Damage done by your Witchcraft Effects afflicts enemies with Hex of Shattering causing them to deal reduced damage for 5 seconds.
  • Rank 8: When any Hex Effect is applied to Headrotten, all damage will be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds.

Aura of SiphoningAura of SiphoningGrowth and Decay

  • Conjure an aura of decay that deals Poison damage to enemies every second.
  • Rank 10: Each time Aura of Siphoning deals damage, you are healed for 1% of Maximum Life.

Soul HarvestSoul HarvestGrowth and Decay

  • Feed upon the life force of nearby enemies whenever you use a skill with a cooldown, increasing your primary stat by 3% per monster for X seconds.
  • Rank 9: Soul Harvest does not lose duration so long as enemies are nearby.

Breath of the CovenBreath of the CovenLost Power

  • Dealing damage or applying a Crowd Control effect with any of your Witchcraft Effects increases your Attack Speed by X for 10 Seconds, stacking once per unique Witchcraft Effect (Eldritch, Psyche, and Growth & Decay).
  • Rank 8: Gain 40% Lucky Hit chance while bonuses from Eldritch, Psyche, Growth & Decay are active at once.

This is a Friends of the Bog – Breath of the Coven setup that will give strong Damage, Willpower, Max Life, Attack Speed and Lucky Hit bonuses.

Occult Gems

  • Moonlight WardMoonlight Ward – For each rank in your slotted Unique Witchcraft Power, you gain 3% Damage Reduction and .5% Maximum Resistance to All Elements.
  • Voice of the StarsVoice of the Stars – While you have an Aura active, your Ultimate Skills gain each Witchcraft tag and deal 10% increased damage.
  • Friend of the BogFriend of the Bog – While you have three or more Growth & Decay Witch Powers slotted, you gain 10% primary stat, 10% Maximum Life and you are always Unhindered.

Optionally, for farm or quality of life, swap Friend of the Bog for Hungering Void.

  • Hungering VoidHungering Void – While you have an Aura active, pull Nearby enemies toward you every 8 seconds.

Unique Items

  • Stone of VehemenStone of Vehemen is a simple Damage Reduction and Damage Multiplier buff to the final explosion of Stone Burst. The Damage To Crowd Controlled Enemies instead of Lucky Hit is good for Earthen DevastationEarthen Devastation but less Lucky Hit can mean fewer Energize Spirit Boon or other Lucky Hit triggers. Use this over a Legendary Totem if your Spirit Management is good.
  • Insatiable FuryInsatiable Fury is a strong defensive Unique Item, and grants skill ranks to Werebear skills, including Stone Burst because Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer makes Stone Burst a Werebear Skill. This chest also helps to maintain shapeshifting bonuses like Heightened SensesHeightened Senses or QuickshiftQuickshift by keeping the Werebear Form active between combat.
  • Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger is a stacking additive buff to Bestial RampageBestial Rampage, requiring shifting between or to Werebear and Werewolf forms. This bonus stacks high but decays every second, requiring near-constant upkeep. This can be a disruptive item that pays off well, with a strong buff to Damage and Attack Speed well worth maintaining. In more trivial content, this Unique item can be skipped for convenience.

Optional Playstyle Unique Items

  • Airidah's Inexorable WillAiridah’s Inexorable Will is a usable Unique Item that shines in farm content at the cost of some top-end damage. It will give periodic grips from casts of PetrifyPetrify, which happen often thanks to our Runeword setup. Masterwork the Willpower%.
  • Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng is a viable optional playstyle variant item that can make Spirit Management less of a concern for most druid builds. For the Stone Burst Druid, this allows constant clickcast of max radius Stone Bursts while CataclysmCataclysm is active, as well as a strong damage multiplier. To play into this Unique, make the following changes:

Mythic Unique Items

  • (Recommended) Shroud of False DeathShroud of False Death – This Chest can be a strong option, offering +1 to all Skill Passives. That includes several offensive multipliers, utility choices, and defensive gains. Masterwork the All Stats.
  • (Recommended) Ring of Starless SkiesRing of Starless Skies is a high value Mythic with strong Gear Affixes, high damage multiplier and Resource Cost Reduction for the Spirit-hungry Stone BurstStone Burst. Masterwork the Attack Speed or Critical Strike Chance.

Mercenaries

Once unlocked, Mercenaries are followers that aid the Player in combat. A main mercenary is chosen to fight alongside you, granting strong buffs or perks, and a secondary Mercenary is chosen to periodically Reinforce you under a chosen Opportunity condition.

The following Mercenary options are recommended for the Stone Burst Druid:

Main Mercenary – Varyana, the Berserker

Reinforcement – Raheir, the Shieldbearer

Hysteria and Bloodlust will both give strong Attack Speed bonuses.

For a Spirit Management setup, try Raheir’s Iron Wolf's CallIron Wolf’s Call for periodic free casts of Stone BurstStone Burst, or Aldkin’s Ember's GiftEmber’s Gift for Spirit Per Second while in Storm of Fire.


Rotation

Before Combat:

  1. ClawClaw in place or Blood HowlBlood Howl to activate Werewolf Shapeshifting buffs Bestial RampageBestial Rampage, QuickshiftQuickshift and Heightened SensesHeightened Senses.

When Engaging enemies:

  1. Maintain Shapeshifting buffs Bestial RampageBestial Rampage, QuickshiftQuickshift and Heightened SensesHeightened Senses. Try not to be in Human form for longer than 3 seconds at a time.
  2. If using Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger, cycle abilities like Blood HowlBlood Howl or Cyclone ArmorCyclone Armor that allow shifting between or to Werebear and Werewolf Forms to ramp and maintain Wildheart Stacks.
  3. PetrifyPetrify dangerous enemies for a large Critical Strike Damage multiplier, Spirit generation and Stun.
  4. While Above 75 Spirit, clickcast to Stone BurstStone Burst enemies at full Radius. Target important enemies within the 1st radius Enhanced Stone BurstEnhanced Stone Burst multiplier.
  5. While Below 75 Spirit, build Spirit from abilities such as:
    • Build Spirit 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 of how the build works, what synergies exist, and what to look out for.


Season 7 Updates: Season of Witchcraft

The Stone Burst druid’s gameplay will not change much with season 7, though there are a few buffs to damage and easier Spirit Management with changes to Spirit boons. Stone Burst still remains a solid farming build especially in Infernal Hordes, but not the highest pit push build. This is largely because Stone Burst cannot Overpower so loses several Earth-Bear Synergies for topend output.

These Season Updates are for important changes in the Season 7 Patch Updates that are specific to the Pulverize Druid. For general Season 7 information, check out our Season 7 Hub.

Itemization

  • Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng – New Effect- While Cataclysm is active, you gain unlimited Spirit and deal 40-100% increased damage. Cataclysm receives your Lightning Bolt benefits.

Skills and Stats

  • PetrifyPetrify – New effect at Rank 5: Casting Petrify resets all your non-Ultimate Skill Cooldowns.
  • CataclysmCataclysm New Effect at Rank 5: Casting Cataclysm Slows surrounding enemies by 70% for 8 seconds.
  • Heightened SensesHeightened Senses – New Effect – When Shapeshifting, Werebear grants 3% Damage Reduction and Werewolf grants 3% Movement Speed. Both bonuses persist as long as you are in either animal form. They are lost after 3 seconds in Human form.
    • Note: This is a significant nerf, effectively killing the 17 ranks immortality cheese.
  • Spirit Boon Gift of the Stag new effect – Gain 40 Maximum Spirit. You gain 5 Spirit every second.
  • Spirit Boon Energize new effect – Lucky Hit: Dealing damage has a 15% chance to fully restore your Spirit.
  • Ancestral GuidanceAncestral Guidance – New Effect – After spending 75 Spirit, you deal 40% increased damage for 5 seconds. Your Ultimate Skills deal 1% increased damage per Spirit when cast.
  • Survival InstinctsSurvival Instincts – New Effect – Now: While in Werebear form, you deal 30% increased damage or 45% when you are at full Life. You have 1% increased Overpower damage, up to 25%, for every 1% difference in current Life percent and Fortified Life percent between you and the enemy.
  • TerritorialTerritorial – Increased Damage Reduction against Close enemies from 10% to 15%.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where Stone of Vehemen incorrectly required Vessel of Hatred to equip.
  • Fixed an issue where Stone of Vehemen was not tradeable.

Advanced Information

It is time to start your Stone Burst Journey!

Or see below for further information on how the build works, as well as explanations of Build Mechanics, Paragon, Spirit Management, and Gameplay.

Build Mechanics

The Stone BurstStone Burst Druid is a simple gameplay cycle:

  • Maintain all your buffs.
  • Stay above 75 Spirit.
  • Click-cast spam your Stone Bursts to kill your enemies.

Stone BurstStone Burst is our high-damage Core Skill, and the build is centered around it. The base form of Stone Burst is held and channeled to grow up to two times, then released to deal high-impact damage.

  • Aspect of Anticline BurstAspect of Anticline Burst allows Stone Burst to already be max radius when cast above 75 Spirit.
  • As a channeled Skill, Stone Burst cannot Overpower. This means we do not get to capitalize on the usual Overpower-Earth-Bear Synergizes like ProvocationProvocation or Spirit Boon Obsidian Slam.
  • Stone Burst deals Physical Damage, but as an Earth Skill, will be able to take advantage of Nature and Earth damage modifiers.
  • Enhanced Stone BurstEnhanced Stone Burst gives Stone Burst a skill shot for a higher multiplier where the first radius of the Stone Burst would be. This can unfortunately get shifted when the Earth AugmentsEarth Augments double-cast triggers, placing two Stone Bursts side by side.
  • With Vasily's PrayerVasily’s Prayer, Stone Burst will also be a Werebear Skill and receive Werebear and Shapeshifting modifiers as well as helping to maintain Shapeshifting buffs and bonuses such as Survival InstinctsSurvival Instincts, QuickshiftQuickshift, Heightened SensesHeightened Senses, and Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger.

Supporting Skills

Earthen BulwarkEarthen Bulwark gives Unstoppable, and if used with Tibault's WillTibault’s Will is a means for Spirit and a damage multiplier.

ClawClaw is a filler Basic Attack that can help maintain Werewolf buffs like Heightened SensesHeightened Senses or Bestial RampageBestial Rampage. While leveling and still using a Basic for Spirit Generation, Earth SpikeEarth Spike or Wind ShearWind Shear may be preferred to accommodate Stone BurstStone Burst‘s ranged playstyle. Once Spirit Management is solved and you do not need a builder, this can be swapped for options like Innate Debilitating RoarInnate Debilitating Roar or Poison CreeperPoison Creeper.

Blood HowlBlood Howl gives an Attack Speeed bonus, a heal for Starlight AspectStarlight Aspect also helps maintain shapeshifting bonuses.

Cyclone ArmorCyclone Armor is a passive, low investment defensive gain. The active part of the Skill can be a supplementary method of changing Form to help maintain shapeshifting bonuses like Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger. Changing to Human will not give bonuses, but the subsequent change back into Form will.

PetrifyPetrify is our Ultimate Skill. This is a strong Spirit gain, a multiplicative layer of Critical Strike Damage and Crowd Control Stun application. If you do not need the healing from Masochistic Spirit Boon, Calm before the Storm can be a strong choice for more total casts of PetrifyPetrify.

The Key Passive is Bestial RampageBestial Rampage for a high Damage Multiplier and Attack Speed buff. The buffs are maintained so long as you do not stay in Human Form for longer than three seconds. Wildheart HungerWildheart Hunger can ramp these bonuses much higher, requiring near-constant shifting to beat the stack decay.

Poison for EnvenomEnvenom is maintained by Lucky Hits from Constricting TendrilsConstricting Tendrils.

Managing Spirit

Stone BurstStone Burst is a Spirit-hungry build, especially when using the skill passive multipliers Raging Stone Burst and Wild ImpulsesWild Impulses. The goal while playing is to stay above 75 Spirit when casting Stone Burst so that Aspect of Anticline Burst automatically casts Stone Burst at max radius without having to hold and channel. Spirit is managed through several means:

  • Energize Spirit Boon grants a lucky hit to give Spirit.
  • Gift of the Stag Energize Boon gives higher Maximum Spirit and Spirit Per Second.
  • Tibault's WillTibault’s Will with Enhanced Earthen BulwarkEnhanced Earthen Bulwark and if used, Aspect of MetamorphosisAspect of Metamorphosis to grant Spirit on Unstoppable.
  • Prime PetrifyPrime Petrify gives Spirit on cast.
  • Starlight AspectStarlight Aspect can give Spirit after healing 20% or overhealing 200% of Max life. Masochistic Boon, potions, and if used, Skinwalker's AspectSkinwalker’s Aspect all provide sources of healing. Willpower improves healing received.
  • The Ancestral GuidanceAncestral Guidance paragon board gives Spirit on Kill, Resource Generation and Maximum Spirit increases.
  • Gear Affixes like Spirit per second and Chance on Hit to grant Spirit.
  • If used, Mjölnic RyngMjölnic Ryng maxes Spirit and makes Stone Burst free while CataclysmCataclysm is active.

In an Endgame state, these sources are sufficient for Spirit management. If these are not sufficient while leveling and gearing, consider one or more of the following supplementary options:

Paragon

The Paragon Board is a progression system unlocked at Level 60, 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. Paragon Points are earned from leveling, Renown and Altars of Lilith.

The recommended Paragon Boards for the Stone Burst druid are listed above. The following section goes over some explanations and descriptions for the pathing process for the Stone Burst 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 WerebearWerebear secondary effects, as well as individual nodes providing bonuses like Damage Reduction from Poisoned Enemies.
    • Resistances are improved from Magic and Rare Resistance nodes.
    • Armor goals are reached with the help of Armor nodes.
  • Build Functionality – The Paragon Boards improve Spirit Generation for the build from a few sources, including:
    • Access to Resource options like Spirit on Kill or Maximum Spirit.
    • Poison application from Constricting TendrilsConstricting Tendrils.

Changelog

  • 12 Jan, 2025: Started on Season 7 and Patch 2.1 updates. Two tab paragon board introduced.
  • 17 November, 2024: Minor updates for Patch 2.0.5.
  • 15 October, 2024: Updated for new onsite Paragon Tool.
  • 23 September, 2024: Cleaned up page and added appropriate links.
  • 4 September, 2024: Speculative Stone Burst Druid guide made based on PTR information for the upcoming Season 6: Season of Hatred.
ARPG Vault Logo

Have feedback or questions about our guides? Join our ARPG Discord community and let us know!