Summoner Druid Guide for Diablo 2 Resurrected

If you’re looking for a fresh Summoning class to play in Diablo 2 Resurrected, the Druid is an excellent choice! With powerful summons such as immortal Ravens, strong Wolves, a Life-boosting Oak Sage, and a tanky Bear, the Summon Druid offers plenty of options to safely progress through the game. While not the strongest build available, it can be a fun experience with the right gear and skill bonuses.

Evaluating the Viability of the Summon Druid Build

Before diving into the details of this build, it’s important to assess its viability in PvM. You can consult our PvM Tier List to determine the Summon Druid’s effectiveness in player versus monster gameplay.

Core Skills for the Summon Druid

To excel as a Summon Druid, there are certain core skills that are essential. The following skills should be prioritized and allocated in a specific order:

1. Allocate 1 point to all prerequisites.
2. Invest 20 points in Summon Grizzly – This skill provides damage synergy for your summons and is mandatory.
3. Allocate 20 points to Summon Dire Wolf – This will be your main skill, so invest in it early on.
4. Allocate 20 points to Summon Spirit Wolf – This skill enhances the Attack Rating and Defense of your summons.
5. Allocate 20 points to a Sage of your choosing – This skill is required for optimal performance.

For a more detailed breakdown of both core and optional skills, as well as the recommended order for allocating skill points, refer to the Skills page of this guide.

Stat Allocation and Gear Requirements

To make the most of the Summon Druid build, it’s essential to understand the necessary stats and gear requirements. Here’s an overview:

• Strength: Allocate enough points to meet the gear requirements.
• Dexterity: Allocate enough points to meet the gear requirements.
• Vitality: Invest in vitality for increased survivability.
• Energy: Allocate points based on gear requirements. Otherwise, prioritize vitality.
• Enough for Gear: Allocate points accordingly to meet the necessary gear requirements.
• Everything Else: No allocation required in this category.

For more detailed information about the specific stats and attribute requirements for this build, visit our Skills page.

Important Items for the Summon Druid

Having the right gear is crucial for the Summon Druid’s success. Here are some of the most important items you should consider:

• Weapon: Beast
• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms and Spirit
• Shield: Spirit Monarch Shield
• Body Armor: Enigma
• Helm: Jalal’s Mane, Harlequin Crest
• Gloves: Trang-Oul’s Claws
• Boots: Ethereal Sandstorm Treks
• Belt: Arachnid Mesh
• Ring 1: The Stone of Jordan or Bul-Kathos’ Wedding Band
• Ring 2: The Stone of Jordan or Bul-Kathos’ Wedding Band
• Amulet: Mara’s Kaleidoscope
• Charm 1: Druid Hellfire Torch
• Charm 2: Annihilus
• Charm 3: 9x Skiller Grand Charms with Life
• Charm 4: 10 Small Charms with Life, Resistances, Mana, or Faster Hit Recovery depending on your needs

For a more comprehensive breakdown of Summon Druid items and alternative builds for each equipment slot, refer to the Gear page of this guide.

Additional Resources

If you prefer visual guidance, we have a video guide available that covers the Summon Druid build. You can watch it as a supplement or alternative to our written guide.

Understanding Action Speed and Breakpoints

In Diablo 2, certain statistics affecting action speed, known as frames, can be misleading. For instance, gaining 10% Increased Attack Speed from an item does not necessarily translate to 10% faster attacks. Each class has specific breakpoints that must be reached to achieve faster actions. The tables below outline the stat requirements to improve action speed for different classes.

Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoints

Frames to perform action:
14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Faster Hit Recovery required to reach frame (Human, Two-Handed Weapon):

• 0% 5% 10% 16% 26% 39% 56% 86% 152% 377% – –

Faster Hit Recovery required to reach frame (Human, One-Handed Weapon):
0% 3% 7% 13% 19% 29% 42% 63% 99% 174% 456% – –

Faster Hit Recovery required to reach frame (Wolf):

• • • • • • • 0% 9% 20% 42% 86% 280%

Faster Hit Recovery required to reach frame (Bear):

• 0% 5% 10% 16% 24% 37% 54% 86% 152% 360% – –

Faster Cast Rate Breakpoints

Frames to perform action:
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

Faster Cast Rate required to reach frame (Human):
0% 4% 10% 19% 30% 46% 68% 99% 163% –

Faster Cast Rate required to reach frame (Wolf):

• • 0% 6% 14% 26% 40% 60% 95% 157%

Faster Cast Rate required to reach frame (Bear):

• • 0% 7% 15% 26% 40% 63% 99% 163%

Faster Block Rate Breakpoints

Frames to perform action:
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Faster Block Rate required to reach frame (Human):

• 0% 6% 13% 20% 32% 52% 86% 174% –

Faster Block Rate required to reach frame (Wolf):

• • • 0% 7% 15% 27% 48% 86% 200%

Faster Block Rate required to reach frame (Bear):
0% 5% 10% 16% 27% 40% 65% 109% 223% –

Mercenary Choice

When it comes to choosing a Mercenary, you have the option of either a Defensive (Holy Freeze) or Offensive (Might) Act 2 Nightmare Mercenary. For the Summon Druid, the Might Mercenary is recommended as it increases the damage of all your summons.

Here are the recommended gear choices for the Mercenary:

• Weapon: Pride
• Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude
• Helm: Ethereal Andariel’s Visage socketed with a Ral Rune

Leveling the Summon Druid

There are different approaches to leveling the Summon Druid. If you prefer summoning from the beginning, we recommend the following leveling path:

1. Allocate 4 points to Poison Creeper.
2. Invest 1 point in Raven.
3. Allocate 10 points to Summon Spirit Wolf between levels 6 and 11.
4. Invest 1 point in Oak Sage at level 17.
5. Allocate all remaining points to Summon Dire Wolf.
6. Max out Summon Grizzly and Oak Sage afterwards.
7. You can respec out of Poison Creeper whenever desired.

For more comprehensive leveling advice, please refer to our Druid Fastest Leveling Build.

By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to create a formidable Summon Druid capable of taking on the challenges of Diablo 2 Resurrected. Enjoy your summoning journey!