Possible Druid Build

[Slash]

Hey,

Any advise on a Druid using a bow? Apart from HoW he seems pretty stuck <_<

Thanks in advance

[adeyke]

Hey,

Any advise on a Druid using a bow? Apart from HoW he seems pretty stuck&nbsp; <_<

Thanks in advance
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If you want to use the bow as your main offensive, you're going to have a hard time. However, it's not uncommon to use a bow as a support weapon on a summoner druid. It gives them something to do while their minions are engaging the enemy.

[Slash]

Your right, I think I should stick to my old summoner plans and just add the bow for fun. My skill points so far will look something along the lines of:

Oak Sage - 1
Raven - 20
Spirit Wolf - 20
Dire Wolf - 20
Grizzly - 20
Heart of Wolverine - 20

I want my Druid to be doing a considerable amount of damage using a bow, but apart from HoW there doesn't seem to be anything useful. Another problem that I see straight away is PI's :unsure: . Any suggestions will be helpful here.

[ShadowHM]

Your right, I think I should stick to my old summoner plans and just add the bow for fun. My skill points so far will look something along the lines of:

Oak Sage - 1
Raven - 20
Spirit Wolf - 20
Dire Wolf - 20
Grizzly - 20
Heart of Wolverine - 20

I want my Druid to be doing a considerable amount of damage using a bow, but apart from HoW there doesn't seem to be anything useful. Another problem that I see straight away is PI's&nbsp; :unsure: . Any suggestions will be helpful here.
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There are two things you can do about it.

One: wield the bow yourself and make it a bow of Amplify Damage. Charsi sells them in Normal. If you go this route, I would suggest a Blessed Aim mercenary, as you won't be hitting anything in Hell otherwise.

Two: Hire a Fire Arrow rogue mercenary. She will stay safely behind the minions with you and plink away at the PI's. For the occasional PI/FI Boss, keep one of those bows of Amplify Damage in your stash and pull it out when you don't want to park the Boss. It is also useful when you encounter those annoying Champion Packs of Heirophants in Act 3.

[whathuh]

I've seen a druid with only HoW, maxed bear, and a 4 socket blade bow with 4 pemeralds make it to the ancients in 1.09, but couldn't actually kill them.

[vmxa]

Just for my better understanding, why would you want to put 20 into ravens?

Is that something you would do much later?

I have seen my 14 grizz (not counting + stuff) get killed in nothing flat many times and not be able to take down some of the tough guy in Hell.

I have to come in and do it, in fact I do most of the killing. I can't see summoned units killing level Bosses. The only time I have them do the bulk of it is if they are FE.

The only exception was the ancients in NM mode. I let the grizz do all the work as they were al ES/FE.

[Slash]

Just for my better understanding, why would you want to put 20 into ravens?
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Well I'm not a huge fan of the vines, and would expect putting a few points in Shape Shifting or Elemental a waste, so I was down to the choice of an Oak Sage or Ravens. I've never really played a Druid before so it's all quite new to me. Are they totally useless? The Ravens that is, I heard they where useful for breaking up packs in Hell... oh and a newb question, how does blind work?

[Zingydex]

Well I'm not a huge fan of the vines, and would expect putting a few points in Shape Shifting or Elemental a waste, so I was down to the choice of an Oak Sage or Ravens. I've never really played a Druid before so it's all quite new to me. Are they totally useless? The Ravens that is, I heard they where useful for breaking up packs in Hell... oh and a newb question, how does blind work?
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Yeah, the only elemental skill that would be of much use to this build is Cyclone Armor, and that requires a lot of skill points to be of any use at all in Hell. Shapeshifting is even more point-intensive, and it eliminates any prospect of a ranged attack. Neither option is really beneficial.

More points in Raven means less recasting, which in turn means a less mana-dependant build. There's no point in pumping more than one spirit, since you can only have one active anyway. And more than one point in any given vine is also a waste. If you're going for a pure summoning build, there's no reason NOT to max Raven, although it'll be one of the last things you max.

Blind works much like the Necromancer's Dim Vision curse, only on a single monster. That is, whatever critter the ravens are harassing has a chance to get its range of vision reduced to about the length of its nose, often causing it to wander around aimlessly. The glowing yellow ball is your cue that a monster's been blinded. Keep in mind that most curses override each other, so an Amp Damage bow will take off the blinding effect and vice versa.

Unless you're planning on leeching a lot of health and mana with your bow (probably not), try looking for a bow with big elemental damage, preferably multi-element. While it might not get as much benefit from HoW, it won't lose as much wallop versus immunes either.

[vmxa]

Ok, I can see why in that case, but the birds are not going to take down monsters on their own. They will blind some, but that is not all that helpful as someone has to close on them to kill them anyway.

Often you are in close quarters, so they will find you. A werewolf in fury mode is a killing machine, with lots of life. I use my summons to aid me and in a few cases as a buffer. That is if it is an FE monster, I will let them do the killing and just recast over and over.


The probelm is a level boss or a super unique in hell is not easy for them to kill. I am not convinced that more point in grizz is the cause. I say that as when I add a point, I run into stronger monsters. So it stays in equalibrium. The better the grizz is the harder the foe becomes.

Most of the time it is able to do the job, it is just those few monsters it cannot handle (at all). I have watched as I recast the gizz and it is killed in nothing flat. I recast and recast. In the end I have to jump in and do some damage. If it is a very damgerous situation, I jump in and out and keep recasting.

I have 14 in grizz, but I have at least 5 in skill points from items so it is effectively a 19 or better. The other prblem is that it will get lost often and never lead you.

So you must go through doors first at all times. You often discover the bear is stuck just behind you and not coming to your aid. I have this occur outdoors with walls as well. I just recast it, rather than try to lead it to the proper location.

BTW recasting the birds is not a concern as it pertains to mana. The only time mana is an issue is when I am fighting mana burners.

Anyway good luck and let us hear how things are going. I am not convinced that what I am doing is all that good either.

[Chaerophon]

but that is not all that helpful as someone has to close on them to kill them anyway.

He's using a bow...

[Guest]

Good question.
Well, the druid using a bow usually depends on your build. If you are an elementalist, it is not a BAD idea but it is not exactly the smartest choice <_<
If you are a shapeshifter, forget it. :P
However, if you have lots of minions, it IS advisable because a summoner is not exactly strong, so he can't exactly do much in terms of defending himself,
so a bow for a summoner is probably a good idea.