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Blizzard revealed today that the new class coming to Diablo Immortal is one of the genre’s favorites: the druid. Although not a playable class in the original Diablo, druids still did exist in the original game’s lore. The first iteration of the playable version of druid occurred in the Diablo II: Lord of Destructoid expansion, and then of course, in the newest Diablo 4.
How does the Druid fit into Immortal?
Diablo druids aren’t your typical magic users. Druids are all about tapping into nature’s raw power, and they do it in Sanctuary via three main ways: shapeshifting into beasts, summoning animal companions, and throwing around elemental magic. Think of them as the Swiss Army knife of Diablo classes, really. They’ve got an answer for pretty much every situation you’ll face.
What really stands out is the lore behind these particular Druids coming to Immortal. They’re called the Talons of Ifeh, and they’re not your peaceful, tree-hugging druids. These folks literally surrender their bodies and souls to the wilds to gain power. Their founder, Ifeh, was actually banished from her original druid college for getting a bit too murder-happy. That’s some dark backstory that fits perfectly with Diablo’s vibe, and helps to show the creative direction behind a Diablo-style druid.
Still all about nature
The Druid’s skill system revolves around something called Primal Power. Think of it as their mana, but green and nature-themed. You build it up with your regular attacks and then spend it on the fun druidic skills.
The Shapeshifting Game
You can transform into two different forms, and both feel distinct. The Werewolf is all about speed and marking enemies for extra damage when they’re low on health. You get increased movement speed and a whole new set of skills focused on dashing around and tearing things apart.
The Werebear is the tank option. You get damage reduction that stacks up as enemies hit you, plus skills that let you grab enemies and slam them together. There’s something deeply satisfying about the idea of grabbing two demons and using them as weapons against each other.
Summoning Your Army
The great thing about being a Druid is you’re not fighting alone. The Druid can summon wolves, bears, ravens, and even an Oak Sage that fires projectiles. You can have multiple companions out at once, turning every fight into your own personal nature documentary where you’re the apex predator.
The Summon Grizzly skill particularly stands out. This bear companion doesn’t just fight, it also stuns enemies with its roar and can smash the ground to knock back groups. With some of the legendary items, you can even make it a flaming bear that burns everything around it.
Elemental Chaos
On the magic side, you’ve got skills like Fire Tornado that pulls enemies in while burning them, and Earthquake that literally launches enemies into the air before slamming them back down. The Surging Stone skill is particularly diabolical-sounding. It continuously erupts rock spires from the ground that make enemies bleed and sends them flying.
But how does it play?
I recently got some hands-on time with the Druid class, and while I’m playing a bit more to write a separate piece on it, my initial thoughts are: holy shit this is fun. I haven’t played Immortal since its release, but as a returning player, the Druid feels like a completely unique and reinvigorated style of play.
The class rewards players who like to adapt their strategy mid-fight. Fighting a single tough enemy? Transform into a Werewolf and go all-out on damage. Facing a crowd? Maybe stay in human form, drop some area-of-effect spells, and let your animal companions do the work while you support from range.
What’s really smart is how the transformations completely change your available skills. When you’re a Werewolf or Werebear, you get an entirely different moveset. This essentially gives you three different classes in one, depending on your current form.
Build Diversity Heaven
The Druid makes its appearance with 60 new legendary items specifically for the class. Just reading through some of the examples Blizzard has provided has me excited about some of the build possibilities including:
- The Craw turns your Werebear form into a gigantic bear with increased range and health
- Loamskull makes your Werewolf transformation explosive, literally wreathing you in fire
- The Great One replaces your wolf pack with a single dire wolf that can dash at enemies
In class Diablo fashion, these aren’t just stat boosts. They fundamentally change how you skills work.
Into the Plane
The Druid looks like exactly the kind of class to make me revisit Diablo: Immortal. A complex, versatile class that rewards mastery while offering multiple viable playstyles. Whether you want to be a shapeshifting melee fighter, a summoner commanding an army of beasts, or a nature mage controlling the battlefield, the Druid seems to have you covered.
The class also comes with its own three-week event called the Primal Plane, where everyone can try out the Druid. This is a smart move, allowing players to see the class in action before deciding if they want to really dive into the new class.
The July 3rd release can’t come soon enough. This might just be the excuse lapsed players like myself need to jump back in, and for current players, it’s going to add a whole new dimension to both PvE and PvP. Plus, who doesn’t want to turn into a giant flaming bear and wreck some demons?
