Diablo 4's Toxic Shredder Werewolf Build Explained

The Toxic Shredder Werewolf build makes great use of one of Diablo 4's underutilized classes through focusing on one particular damage type.

The utilization of a variety of class types along with branching skill trees ensures that Diablo 4 will offer players a chance to flex their creativity when it comes to their character builds. One of the more underwhelming classes that players got their hands on during Diablo 4's closed and open beta periods is the Druid, with Blizzard themselves acknowledging that the class is intended to be better in the late-game and requires significant player investment. For those that are looking to be OP in the endgame with the Druid class, the Toxic Shredder Werewolf build may be a perfect choice.

The Toxic Shredder Werewolf build is ideal for those that are looking to make a melee-focused Druid that has the added bonus of using the Werewolf ability. The general strategy for the build involves placing emphasis on skills that apply Poison DoT against enemies while also providing crowd control. The end result is a build that allows players to live out their lycanthropic dreams while also melting mobs of enemies. Anyone looking to be a damage dealer in Diablo 4 with an interest in the Druid class needs to give this build a look.

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The primary skills that players will need to spec for the Toxic Shredder Werewolf build are Shred and Vine Creeper, as well as Rabies and Claw. These skills will help players accomplish the general strategy of the build, which is to stack poison damage over time against enemies to melt them quickly. The stacking of these skills has a cumulative effect of quickly draining enemy health while allowing players to keep a safe distance and avoid close contact with Diablo 4's many threats.

Shred - Shred is a core skill for any of the Werewolf-based Druid builds in Diablo 4, as it will become a player's primary means of melee attacking after initially slotting points into the Claw skill. Where the Shred skill outshines Claw (and becomes essential for the Toxic Shredder build) is in its stacking of increased damage percentages for each hit in its 3-hit combo sequence. Once Shred has been fully leveled-up to rank 5, it becomes indispensable in a melee-focused Werewolf build for Druids.

Vine Creeper - Vine Creeper is where the "toxic" in Toxic Shredder Werewolf comes into play, with the skill applying both passive and active poison damage to enemies by summoning vines that immobilize and poison enemies. As the second most important skill to the build, Vine Creeper allows for the Druid class to be effective long before the time requirement of Diablo 4 to hit max level. After investing some points into the core Vine Creeper skills, players will want to spec at least one skill point into Enhanced Vine Creeper and Ferocious Vine Creeper to buff the poison DoT effect.

Claw - Claw is the fundamental skill in the Druid's basic core skill cluster that allows for the class to transform into a werewolf. As the foundational Werewolf build skill for Diablo 4's Druid class, it is essential for the Toxic Shredder build and precludes the unlocking of the Shred skill that will become players' primary melee attack later on.

Rabies - The Rabies skill is the initial poison damage skill that players will need to unlock before investing points into Vine Creeper, allowing players to transform their Druid into a werewolf and then deliver an infectious bite to enemies, applying poison damage. Where Rabies becomes essential for the Toxic Shredder Werewolf build is in its ability to crowd control and have the poison damage applied to one enemy spread to others. After unlocking Rabies and investing points into it, players can upgrade the skill for faster spreading of poison damage and a greater range of infection, transforming the Druid into a great class for dealing with large enemies in Diablo 4.

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The primary strategy for the Toxic Shredder Werewolf build has players using Vine Creeper and then Shred/Claw to attack immobilized enemies and stack damage on top of an already depleting health pool thanks to the DoT poison effect. Once the Vine Creeper skill has been activated, enemies are both immobilized and poisoned in a large AoE, giving players the opportunity to close in with melee strikes. If the Vine Creeper skill is on cooldown, Rabies can act as a poison-delivering substitute that also helps spread the effect to nearby enemies. The primary goal of the build is to both crowd-control mobs and move through Diablo 4's dungeons quickly.

Outside the necessary primary skills for the build, the secondary strategy for the Toxic Shredder Werewolf involves equipping a piece of gear with the Aspect of the Dark Howl, which transforms Debilitating Roar into a Werewolf skill and further immobilizes enemies. Using Debilitating Roar to immobilize enemies that are already poisoned separates the player's party from enemy mobs, having them "bleed out" at a safe distance due to poison damage while dealing with other threats. Given the difficulty faced by players against the Ashava world boss during the Diablo 4 beta, having a Druid handy for crowd control might be the key to overcoming some of the greater challenges the game has in store.

Diablo 4 will be available June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Matt Karoglou is a freelance writer and musician who has been playing video games for 36 years and writing about them for almost as long. When he's not editorializing about the intricacies and brilliance of the Shmup genre or playing Resident Evil for the thousandth time, he can be found most days listening to metal and hardcore records while enjoying indie titles on his Steam Deck.