The Druid has rapidly become one of the most popular and flexible classes in the game. Thanks to Grinding Gear Games' design philosophy, Druids can seamlessly shift between multiple archetypes: summoners, shapeshifters, spellcasters, or Rage-fueled melee bruisers. New Skill Gems, Support Gems, and Ascendancy interactions introduced in the Fate of the Vaal League have only expanded those possibilities further.

If you're unsure which Druid build to start with in PoE2, here's a detailed breakdown of the top five Druid builds you should absolutely try in patch 0.4.

1) Minion Army Druid

The Minion Army Druid leverages the class's ability to reach up to 120 Spirit, making it one of the strongest summoner options currently available. This build allows you to command a massive army of undead and spectral allies, trivializing both mapping and boss encounters.

Key Skills

·Bind Spectre (Powered Zealot): Feeding Frenzy - Wildshards - Pierce - Tecrod's Revenge - Rakiata's Flow

·Skeletal Warrior: Sacrificial Lamb - Infernal Legion - Minion Instability - Amanamu's Tithe

·Pain Offering: Sacrificial Offering - Prolonged Duration - Danse Macabre - Brutus' Brain

·Skeletal Frost Mage: Last Gasp - Rapid Casting - Freeze

·Skeletal Cleric: Last Gasp - Meat Shield - Minion Mastery

·Elemental Weakness: Heightened Curse - Magnified Area

Defensive Setup

The Reactive Growth Ascendancy passive is essential, reducing elemental damage taken by 10% and granting Adaptation to the most dangerous element. This build is extremely beginner-friendly, excels in group play, and offers excellent survivability with minimal mechanical complexity.

2) Walking Calamity Druid

The Walking Calamity Druid is one of the most visually spectacular builds in Path of Exile 2. It revolves around the new Walking Calamity Skill Gem, which triggers massive meteor showers once you reach maximum Glory.

Core Skills

·Walking Calamity: Concentrated Area - Elemental Armament - Prolonged Duration - Hourglass

·Furious Slam: Fist of War - Aftershock - Close Combat - Magnified Area - Rapid Attacks

·Ferocious Roar: Raging Cry - Tireless - Magnified Area - Cooldown Recovery

·Maul: Rapid Attacks - Close Combat - Rage

·Overwhelming Presence: Vitality - Cannibalism - Clarity

With Furious Wellspring, Rage generation becomes constant, enabling frequent meteor storms. Each point of Rage also adds 1% additional damage, making this build exceptional for both boss damage and screen-wide clearing.

3) Lunar Werewolf Druid

The Lunar Werewolf Druid focuses on shapeshifting and Cold damage. By using Lunar Blessing, this build consumes Rage to empower attacks, summon beams of lunar energy, and enhance Cold scaling. It also synergizes with Wolf minions created via Pounce.

Popular Skills

·Shred: Crescendo - Rapid Attacks - Elemental Armament - Close Combat

·Herald of Ice: Frozen Spite - Magnified Area - Elemental Armament - Cold Attunement

·Lunar Assault: Rapid Attacks - Elemental Armament - Bhatair's Vengeance - Rakiata's Flow

·Pounce: Cooldown Recovery - Mark of Siphoning - Freezing Mark - Holy Descent

·Lunar Blessing: Second Wind - Concentrated Area - Elemental Armament - Cold Attunement

·Cross Slash: Close Combat - Execute - Biting Frost - Heavy Swing

Players who buy POE2 Items that boost Cold damage or shapeshift bonuses can push this build to extreme efficiency early in the league.

4) Nature's Fury Druid

The Nature's Fury Druid is a spellcaster-focused build centered on plant-based magic, battlefield control, and critical damage. Instead of raw melee power, this build overwhelms enemies with vines, roots, and spell-triggered effects.

Core Skills

·Entangle: Accelerated Growth - Branching Fissures - Physical Mastery - Considered Casting

·Cast on Critical: Thunderstorm - Magnified Area - Efficiency

·Thrashing Vines: Rageforged - Prolonged Duration - Heft - Concentrated Area

·Sigil of Power: Prolonged Duration - Magnified Area

·Barkskin: Vitality - Clarity

This build excels in controlling space and applying debuffs. Investing in Path of Exile 2 Items that improve spell damage, cast speed, or plant-based effects significantly increases overall damage and consistency.

5) Flame Breath Druid

The Flame Breath Druid showcases the Wyvern transformation, allowing the Druid to take flight and unleash devastating fire-based attacks. This build uses Devour to generate Power Charges, which are then consumed to amplify elemental damage.

Key Skills

·Rend: Rapid Attacks - Magnified Area - Elemental Armament - Heft - Armour Break

·Oil Barrage: Rapid Attacks - Elemental Armament - Burgeon - Concentrated Area

·Flame Breath: Elemental Armament - Burgeon - Magnified Area

·Devour: Charge Profusion - Empowered Sparks - Thrill of the Kill

·Lingering Illusion: Prolonged Duration - Charge Profusion - Remnant Potency

·Herald of Ash: Magnified Area - Cannibalism

Managing Rage and Mana is critical to maintaining flight time, but when played correctly, this build offers incredible mobility and consistent AoE damage.

Conclusion

The Druid in Path of Exile 2 patch 0.4 delivers unmatched versatility. Whether you want to command a massive minion army, rain meteors with Walking Calamity, dominate in Cold-based shapeshift form, control the battlefield with nature magic, or soar through the skies as a Flame Breath Wyvern, there's a Druid build perfectly suited to your playstyle.

In the Fate of the Vaal League, few classes offer as much freedom and experimentation potential as the Druid, making it one of the best choices for both new and veteran players in Path of Exile 2.