Diablo 4: Best Tank [Complete Plan]

My pick for the best tank class is none other than the Druid class. It stands out as a shapeshifter and wielder of the elements, capable of transforming into a bear or wolf and even summoning wolves.

While other classes may engage in strategic battles, attempting to avoid taking hits, the Druid sets itself apart by fearlessly charging into the frontline, mercilessly mauling enemies without concern for its own HP bar.

Druid Skills And Game Plan

The primary focus lies in maintaining the spirit gauge. A Druid with efficient spirit recovery becomes virtually unstoppable, effortlessly eliminating hordes of enemies. Even when not engaged in decimating swarms of foes, the Druid can withstand boss hits for extended periods while regaining HP.

Even tank builds, or self-heal builds focus on the damage dealt. One could say the player doesn’t need to worry about enemies dealing damage when the enemies in question are dead.

Let’s take a quick look at the skills I am using for the Druid build and their description and then discuss how they should be implemented in one’s playstyle.

An Interesting read: Diablo 4 Best Solo Classes.

Active Abilities

Skills	Type	Point Allocation	Upgrades
Earth Spike	Active	3	Enhanced Earth Spike
Pulverize	Active	5/5	Enhanced Pulverize, Primal Pulverize
Earthen Bulwark	Active	1/5	Enhanced Earthen Bulwark, Preserving Earthen Bulwark
Debilitating Roar	Active	3/5	Enhanced Debilitating Roar, Innate Debilitating Roar
Hurricane	Active	1/5	Enhanced Hurricane, Natural Hurricane
Grizzly Rage	Active	1/1	Prime Grizzly Rage, Supreme Grizzly Rage

Earth Spike

The basic skill Earth Spike isn’t too important in the grand scheme of the build and acts simply as a way to recover more spirit. However, it does benefit from further buffs and bonuses players receive later, like an increase in earth damage skills makes this stronger, and upgrading this skill makes it stun enemies, which for boss-type enemies is pretty useful in my experience.

Pulverize

Perhaps one of the single most overpowered skills in the game.

1. It allows the Druid to slam the ground, unleashing a devastating area-of-effect (AOE) attack with tremendous damage. Notably, this skill consumes spirit but has no cooldown, enabling players to use it and obliterate hordes of enemies repeatedly.

2. The thrill of yelling “Hulk smash” and rampaging in a confined area is unmatched.

3. To fully maximize this skill, utilizing items is essential. Items like the core ring “Mother’s Embrace,” which refunds 35% of resources when a core skill hits 5 or more targets, can greatly enhance Pulverize’s potential. Additionally, items that provide more spirit on kills complement the Pulverize spam strategy, allowing you to become an unstoppable force on the battlefield.

Earthen Bulwark

This is one of the skills that make this build work best tank. Firstly, the skill provides a barrier for the player, which absorbs 45% of the player’s base hp in damage.

Additionally, this skill, when paired with the upgrades, not only makes the player unstoppable but also applies fortify on the player, further reducing the incoming damage.

Debilitating Roar

This is another skill that aids in the tank aspect of the build. This ability shapeshifts you into a werebear, and, as the name suggests, Druid lets out a mighty roar, reducing incoming damage by 50% for 4 seconds. At an initial glance, 4 seconds don’t sound like much, but other than boss fights, fights won’t usually last that long.

Hurricane

Ever find yourself in sticky situations? Hurricane is the skill you need.

1. It summons a hurricane around the player, dealing damage to enemies. However, its true power lies in the upgrades.

2. The first upgrade, Enhanced Hurricane, slows enemies by 25% for 2 seconds every time they are hit. This is particularly useful if you’re equipping items that deal extra damage to slowed or impaired enemies.

3. The second upgrade offers two options. While reducing incoming damage can be valuable for a tank build, the alternative, Natural Hurricane, is incredibly powerful. It has a 15% chance to make enemies vulnerable for 3 seconds. When combined with other skills like Pulverize, it becomes exceptionally effective at clearing high-level dungeon mobs.

Grizzly Rage

Finally, Grizzly Rage is arguably the most essential skill for a werebear Druid build.

1. It lets the player transform into a werebear for 12 seconds, providing a 20% damage boost and 20% damage reduction. The damage bonus increases by 3% per second, potentially reaching a 56% bonus by the skill’s end.

2. Every kill during Grizzly Rage adds 1 second to its duration, with a maximum extension of 10 seconds. This can result in an impressive 22-second uptime and an 86% total damage bonus.

3. Upgrades enhance the skill further:

   • One upgrade makes the player unstoppable during Grizzly Rage, immune to movement-impairing effects.
   • The second upgrade grants the Druid 8% of their Base HP as fortify every second Grizzly Rage is active. With a 22-second uptime, this totals an impressive 176% of their base HP as fortify.

Non-Active Skill Tree Point Allocation

Core Passives

Skill	Effects	Points Allocated
Heart of the Wild	Maximum spirit is increased by 3.	1
Wild Impulses	Your Core skills cost 5% more Spirit but deal 10% increased damage.	3
Abundance	Basic skills generate 10% more Spirit.	1
Predatory Instinct	The critical strike chance against Close enemies is increased by 3%	3
Iron Fur	You gain a 3% Damage Reduction while in Werebear form. This bonus persists for 3 seconds after leaving Werebear form.	3

Wrath Passives

Skill	Effects	Point Allocation
Mending	While in Werebear form, you receive 5% additional Healing from all sources.	3
Provocation	When you remain in Werebear form for at least 25 seconds, your next Skill will Overpower you.	3
Crushing Earth	Earth skills deal 5% increased damage to Slowed, Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back enemies.	3
SafeGuard	Critical Strikes with Earth skills Fortify you for 2% Base Life.	3
Stone Guard	While you have Fortify for over 50% of your maximum HP, your Earth Skills deal 4% increased damage.	3

Ultimate Passives

Skill	Effects	Points Allocated
Defiance	Nature Magic skills deal 4% increased damage to Elites.	3
Circle Of Life	Nature Magic skills that consume Spirit restore 1% of your maximum HP.	3
Natural Disaster	Your Earth skills deal 4% increased damage to vulnerable enemies. Your Storm skills deal 4% increased damage to enemies that are Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back.	1
Resonance	Nature Magic skills deal 2% increased damage. Triple this bonus if an Earth skill is the next skill cast after a Storm skill or a Storm skill is the next skill cast after an Earth skill.	3

Key Passive

Earthen Might-Effects

• Lucky Hit: Damaging enemies with Earth Skills have up to a 5% chance to Restore all of your Spirit
• Cause your attacks to be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds
• This chance is increased by: 
• 10% for Critical Strikes
• 10% if the target is Stunned, Immobilized, or Knocked Back

Points Allocated: 1

Armor

When discussing the best tank, it is crucial to consider armor, as it significantly determines how well a Druid can handle high-level bosses and dungeons. To provide a comprehensive understanding, I will list the complete loadout of the gear below. 

An Interesting read: Diablo 4 Best Armor [All Classes]

Loadout

Item	Type	Effects
Vasily's Prayer	Helm	+Damage while Shapeshifted +Lightning Resistance +Maximum Life +Spirit On Kill Unique Effect: Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear Skills and fortify you for [x].
Insatiable Fury	Chest Armor	+Physical Damage +Overpower Damage +Damage Reduction while Fortified +Armor While in Werebear form Unique Effect: Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.
Aspect of the Ursine Horror	Gloves	Pulverize is now also an Earth Skill. After casting Pulverize, tectonic spikes continue to deal [X] damage over 2 seconds.
Temerity	Pants	+Potion Charges +Potion Drop Rate +Lucky Hit: Chance to Heal +Healing +Your potion also briefly grants movement speed
Aspect of Quicksand	Boots	Damage from earth skills slow enemies hit by 25-50% for 5 seconds.
Shockwave Aspect	Weapon	Pulverize Creates a shockwave that travels forward, dealing 60-100% of its damage to targets in the same path.
Crashstone Aspect	Amulet	Earth Skills deal 40-50% more critical strike damage to crowd-controlled enemies.
Aspect of the Rampaging Werebeast	Ring 1	The duration of Grizzly Rage is increased by 1-5 seconds. In addition, while Grizzly Rage is active, Critical strikes increase your Critical Strike Damage by 10% for the duration
Mother's Embrace	Ring 2	+Fire Resistance +Cold Resistance +Critical Strike Chance +Critical Strike Damage +Overpower Damage +Core Skill Damage If a Core Skill hits 5 or more enemies, 20 - 40% of the Resource cost is refunded.

My Recommendations For The Best Tank

I recommend opting for the werebear shapeshifter build for the Druid to maximize the experience. This particular build showcases an impressive health pool and a wide array of defensive skills that render the character virtually unstoppable. When dealing damage, the Pulverize spam ability is highly effective, effortlessly eliminating non-boss enemies. 

If you want more info on Diablo 4, check out some other articles like

• Diablo 4 Best DPS Class.
• Diablo 4 How to get the whispering key.
• Diablo 4 Best Rogue Build.
• Diablo 4 Best Necromancer Builds.