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Ever since we saw the reveal of this year’s roadmap, we all knew there would be a class coming. With nothing else but an icon to make players speculate, they did exactly that: think about which class would join the fray this time. After a lot of waiting, Diablo Immortal has unveiled the Druid, and I was one of the fortunate people to experience it first and talk to the developers about it. As someone who’s been used to a more balanced and peaceful side of nature magic, I must say that I was greatly impressed by Diablo Immortal‘s representation of the Druid and amazed by its destructive and chaotic abilities.
Harnessing the Chaos of Nature
Right off the bat, I noticed how different the Druid of Diablo Immortal felt from any other we’ve seen in the Diablo franchise. Yes, there is shapeshifting and many nature-oriented abilities. However, this class embraces its most destructive and chaotic nature.
In terms of lore, and without spoiling many things, these Druids come from a splinter faction that embraces the rampant power of nature. So, instead of having the usual rock and defensive Earth abilities, they can summon fire tornadoes and destructive earthquakes. Those who’ve been following the roots (no pun intended) of the series’ lore will have a blast getting to know this unique take on the class. But lore isn’t everything.
When it comes to gameplay, the Druid is one of the best-designed classes in all of Diablo Immortal, which I initially thought would be a daunting task for the team as the number of classes continues to ramp up. As you know, Druids have existed in the series for a long time. So, making a legacy class feel unique was quite the challenge, but the team has succeeded at it. As I mentioned, Druids are all about the chaos of nature, and you can see that when you play as one.
You start with your normal melee attack that swings your staff to hit enemies. However, as you progress, you unlock abilities like Landslide, which sends jagged rocks forward to damage foes. A Fire Tornado that draws enemies in and burns them. And even the ability to quickly shapeshift into a stag or a flock of ravens for mobility and crowd control.
In terms of shapeshifting, there are two types of skills. Ones that let you morph into an animal quickly to cause damage instantly or stun enemies, and others that allow you to adopt a werewolf or werebear form and fight as that for a set amount of time. Overall, the Druid’s kit is one of the best I’ve seen in the game and one that surpasses my former favorite class: Blood Knight. Yes, the Druid is just that good.
Speaking of abilities, I had the opportunity to ask Ryan Quinn, Senior Narrative Designer, and John Yoo, Lead Systems Designer, about the Druid skills.
Julio La Pine (Senior Staff Writer at The Nerd Stash): With the Druid embracing the chaotic side of nature, what were your favorite abilities to bring to life for this class?
Ryan Quinn (Senior Narrative Designer of Diablo Immortal): I love this question. There is an ability called Surging Stone that uses the Druid’s Primal Power resource. It just sends these huge pillars of earth bursting out from the ground all around you, dealing knockback to enemies. It’s more on the “caster” fantasy side of the Druid’s gameplay than the werebear or werewolf or the summons side of gameplay. It feels a little bit less iconically classic Druid. But it looks really, really powerful. And it lets you do a sort of zone control.
To me, it feels really unique and special. To get that visual right, we looked at old artists’ mock-ups of structures like Woodhenge. We looked at a lot of classic megaliths from all over the world before we settled on that design. And trying to make it feel like it comes from Sharval. You know, this nettle-wrapped-brambly kind of pointy side for the Druid. Trying to emphasize that side of nature was a really key piece creatively for us in finding this class’s special visual identity.
John Yoo (Lead Systems Designer of Diablo Immortal): I think we did an incredible job with the Druid. The Druid is so unique, different, and dynamic. My favorite part about the Druid is just how dynamic he is. He plays in so many different ways, which I think is very unique compared to most of the classes in our game. So, I’d say that players are going to really enjoy what a new experience this class is and all the things it can do. His summons, transformations, and nature magic. They all combine to form this deadly combo to basically be able to do whatever you want, depending on how you want to play your Druid. I think all these abilities give him such diversity that it is really hard for me to pinpoint any one ability. They’re just all so different and unique.
Also, they are all unique spins on things. For instance, the Oak Sage, which you haven’t seen since Diablo 2, is so radically different than Diablo 2‘s Oak Sage. Not just in terms of how it functions, but how it looks. Just to show you that our Druid is definetely unique and set apart from the regular Druids you’ve seen in D4 and D2.
A Class For Everyone
A key aspect of creating a class is making it accessible to everyone, and the Druid of Diablo Immortal excels in all situations. For this preview build, I got to play as a fully-geared max-leveled Druid, but also had the opportunity to create a new one and start from level one.
First, I was quite surprised to see how all the abilities adapted perfectly to every type of content. I primarily played PvE and did overworld content as well as some of the new Helliquiary bosses (I won’t spoil those, though), and the Druid felt great in every situation. First, I attempted a run with full shapeshifted skills, and I was obliterating things left and right, which made this build my favorite. However, the more “caster” archetype, so to speak, felt equally great, with me spamming earquakes or the aforementioned Surging Stone skill. Everything felt amazing and really shows how this class is the most dynamic in the game so far.
Yet, I also felt the Druid was fantastic for new players as it features many destructive and useful skills that also ease newcomers into the game’s mechanics. At first, you begin with a normal melee attack, your Fire Tornado to crowd-control foes, and then get your werewolf transformation. These skills give you a glimpse at some of the build options you’ll get once you reach max level, and that is the best way to sell a class to new players. Previously, my heart belonged to the Blood Knight, but not anymore.
Diablo Immortal’s Class Design at Its Finest
You can say what you want about Diablo Immortal, but the reality is that it has the best class design of recent Diablo games. While the previous classes have been original to the series, I never expected a legacy class to feel so refreshing, and even surpass new ones that have debuted in Immortal.
To wrap up the interview sessions, I asked the developers about legacy classes they’d like to bring to the game.
Julio: If you could pick one legacy class that we have seen in the franchise to bring to Diablo Immortal, which one would you pick?
John: There’s not a lot that we haven’t done. The Druid was kind of the last one; if you don’t count the Spiritborn because that’s brand-new. But most of the other classes overlap now that we have released the Druid. Obviously, Diablo 4 has the Sorceress, and we have a Wizard. That’s, you know, splitting hairs. But for the most part, other than the Spiritborn, I don’t know if there are any other options that are actually uniquely distinct anymore because we’ve released the Druid.
Ryan: I think there’s a difference between creating a class and taking inspiration from class fantasies. Creating a class is saying, “one of the nine people standing around the campfire is going to be this identity, this fantasy, have this suit of abilities, and wield these weapons.” As John said, we’ve covered pretty good ground. But, when it comes to taking inspiration, frankly, there’s some DNA of the Assassin in the Tempest and the Demon Hunter. That was true even in Diablo 3. There is some DNA of the Amazon in the Blood Knight.
For us, it’s not just that we want to pull whole-cloth class fantasies from our legacy games, from the past, from the things that inspire us, and put them in Immortal. It’s also that we want to always build on the legacy of the games in the Diablo universe. And incorporate those bits, even piecemeal. If you look at the Blood Knight’s Skewer ability, it may look a bit familiar—that’s not an accident. We think about the games that we’ve been playing and loving here at Blizzard for decades all the time, and that’s the language we use to talk about new stuff, too.
As you can see, the Druid, while familiar to Diablo veterans, will also be quite unique. While it has all the power of nature magic, it uses it differently to provide a fresh take on a beloved class. And, as someone who has already tried it, I can say that the developers did a terrific job at doing that and more. So, if you want to add another character to your roster who transforms into a werebear that pulverizes everything, you’ll be able to do so soon.
