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PoE 2 Build

[0.4] Shaman BEAR Druid Build - League Starter to Endgame

0.4 TLotD

Druid

Shaman

Starter

End Game

Speed Leveling

Verified

By Ronarray

LIVE

Updated on Dec 12, 2025

Dec 12, 2025

Build Overview

This is Build Guide for my Shape Shifting BEAR Druid League Starter Build for 0.4

I will League Start it in 0.4 so check my Twitch for Leveling Progression - https://www.twitch.tv/ronarray

This Guide will be CONSTANTLY UPDATED when we will get all data for tree, Druids and Bear skills, so please check it from time to time for the changes, especially in the endgame versions.

❗TREE FOR 0.4 (Dont Take Anger Management Before Shaman) - Early Tree - https://shorturl.at/XBOYW

How to Level the BEAR Step by Step - https://youtu.be/QwAqpw_3JM4

❗❗❗ To make Furious Slam faster, make sure to use Maul right before it

Build Concept Explained - https://youtu.be/_m2Sb2QUTpo

LET'S GO TEAM BEARS!

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Why Bear Druid?

At the moment, Bear Druid is looking like both - build with a fast map clear AND decent single target, all of that while being Tanky with armor stack mechanics.

To be FAST we are going to use Rampage Bear Skill which allow us to run forward with improved speed while Slaming everything around.

Combining Rampage with Heralds for the Clear can be VERY effective to keep the speed UP, while 55-Walking Calamity, Berserk and Maul will help with boss damage.

At the Leveling phase of Early Game we can also use Polcirkeln (which is pretty easy to get) + Herald of Ice to have decent clear with no investment. In the late endgame it would be great to explore Fire Option as well leaning into Herald of Ash + Ignite Proliferation + Walking Calamity Bear Skill.

It also seems that we can use Wolf Druid abilities to so can add POUNCE for better mobility early on.

Shaman OR Oracle?

At the moment it seems that at the League Start - Shaman looks like a better option for Leveling and Early Game since it can provide RAGE Generation to prolong our Rampage with no investments and can also provide maximum rage on top, helping us to reach 55-60 Rage which can give up to 90%+ MORE Damage with Berserk.

So as the save option I recommend to start Shaman and swap later if Oracle will be able to provide better bonuses in very late endgame after Rage generation is solved.

You can find Ascendency order for Shaman Bear below.

What about other Ascendancies?

There are a few other ascendancies you can try with Bear Build, however - Shaman provides Rage regeneration which will help us to use both Rampage AND Walking Calamity much easier and more often which should lead to higher Quality of Life + potential higher DPS as well.

The rest of the Shaman Ascendency is looking pretty good as well, such as Adaptation which can help A LOT with survivability and runes buff which can provide a nice set of additional bonuses with no investment. More information about it can be found in that video - https://youtu.be/L-9omQXqNjo

All of that should make Shaman Druid a VERY strong option to play Bear Build with.

How to START it?

At the Early Progression we will have Maul, which should provide decent amount of Rage and can combine it with Furious Slam for AOE + Volcano for boss damage.

❗We can also use Pounce skill from Wolf Druid setup even while using Bear related weapon, so we can get speed from Wolf form while keeping all the damage and combos that Druid provides.

More info about early progression you can find below.

Vendor REGEX (copy paste it in the vendor search in the game):

This regex will show you movement speed boots, +level to skills and attack speed items.

"\d+% i.+mov|^\+.*ills$|ck spe"

Campaign Rewards:

Charges, Stun Threshold, Resistances, Movement Speed or Global Defense

Strengths and Weaknesses

YOU ARE A BEAR!
Tanky with a lot of Armour
Great Clear with Rampage
Great Bossing Potential
Can use Pounce from Wolf Freely

We don't have full info yet.
Rage Managment

Build Variants

Main Setup (Endgame)

Act 1-3

Act 3-6

This is going to be the main Endgame setup for Bear Druid Build. Check all the skill info below.

❗Use 2 other setups to see leveling progression and starting skills.

Equipment

Main Setup (Endgame)

Act 1-3

Act 3-6

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

Gear will be updated further when League Progresses.

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❗Since Bear Druid is a attack based build, your weapon is giving you most dmg. So try to REPLACE Your Weapon as often as you can.

What kind of Talisman (Weapon to Pick):

For Bear Druid Build we will need to use Talisman which is a two handed weapon.

Perfectly you just need a high Physical Dmg one - if there are elemental damage instead, go for Cold damage + replace Fire Attunement on your Maul skill to the Cold Attunement

Armour options:

Here, just focus on getting good rares with high base armour. getting + levels to melee skills on gloves and amulet is also mandatory for better dmg.

Your main priority is getting +Level of Melee Skills on gloves and amulet when you can.

Constricting Command also can be a good addition to the endgame setup even after nerf, since you will be able to lower the limit up to 1 enemy to be surrounded. It will require more tests but a big chance, that the Helmet will still worth it.

Priority for Jewelry:

At the start, prioritize rings with flat Physical damage + Any other Elemental Flat Damage that fits the build. Getting Amulet with + level to melee skills is also pretty important.

Since early on one of the rings is locked for Polcirkeln, at the other we will need to get Resistances + Life Leech and Mana regeneration.

Dont forget to use Ngamahu's Chosen IF you can get it because it can instantly provide you with maximum Rage so you can keep using your Bear skills.

Skill Gems

Main Setup (Endgame)

Act 1-3

Act 3-6

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 55

Dex 15

Int 30

Expand all

Maul

Rampage

Herald of Ice

Ferocious Roar

Furious Slam

Volcano

Scavenged Plating

Berserk

Charge Regulation

Gem Priority

+18

You can find Combos for Bosses and Clear, Early and endgame down Below.

❗Important Early Swap:

After level 14 Maul should be replaced by Fury of the Mountain skill for rage generation.

Use it to get the rage up for Furious Slam to spend it.

Fury of the Mountain Supports - Rage I -> Upheaval I -> Rapid Attacks I

How to Move FAST in Early Game (Before rampage):

Since we are using the talisman, it is possible to use POUNCE to jump forward and change into the wolf form to run faster. Use it as often as possible to move around faster.

Pounce Supports - Rapid Attacks I -> Marked For Death

Combo for the Clear:

EARLY: Pounce -> Fury of the mountain (or Maul before 14) -> Furious Slam after 10 Rage

LATEGAME: Fury of the Mountain -> Rampage -> Furious Slam if needed.

Main Single Target Combo for EARLY game and how to use it:

When you are starting the game as a Bear Shaman you will use Volcano + Furious Slam as your main combo until reaching higher levels. That combo can be used through whole campaign.

Just engage with your POUNCE, cast Volcano twice and spam Furious Slam to trigger it for huge damage boost. Volcano will also get boosted by Rage after you will get Druidic Champion ascendency from Shaman.

You also can add Shockwave Totem to the combo since Furious Slam is providing Jugged ground if you are enraged.

Later on you will be able to use Fury of the Mountain to generate Rage before unloading it with Furious Slam. Add Ferocious Roar in the middle of it for more damage too.

❗If you want to avoid clicking too many buttons, you can add Rage I to Furious Slam to just spam it.

Single Target Combo in the endgame & Walking Calamity Setup:

Shockwave Totem -> @Fury of the Mountain -> Walking Calamity -> Rampage

In the Endgame you will be able to use Totem + Fury of the Mountain + Walking Calamity +One Furious Slam for Jagged Ground and then Rampage around to trigger all effects at once to kill bosses.

So for Walking Calamity Bear skill we will need to use Momentum, Fire Attunement, Elemental Armament II as main damage boost. Fist of War II can be decent option as well.

Other supports will be tested on the 0.4 release, there are at least a few new ones which should fit the Bear Druid build pretty good.

Support Options for Rampage:

Momentum and Heft should take the priority and will provide the most damage.

After we will get Polcirkeln ring it would be worth it to use Cold Attunement for sure.

Before that, we can still try a combination of Cold Attunement + Herald of Ice to boost the clear, but there might be not enough Cold damage for consistency.

If it is the case - Replace Cold Attunement UNTIL you get Polcirkeln.

We also don't know how Rampage will scale with attack speed, so Heavy Swing can be an option.

Fist of War II and Aftershock II (both should be 2 and not 3) should be tested, because it is not clear how those will work if you are constantly rampaging as well.

Why Berserk is good for Bear Druid? Will it Drain too much Life?

While playing the BEAR Druid Build we can get up to 55-60 Rage (59 with my initial tree) so berserker can provide almost 40% of MORE damage buff if we can counter Life Loss.

Use Berserk against BOSSES and Rares. Adding Physical Damage leeched as Life to our ring should fix that issue, DEACTIVATE Berserk while mapping or not hitting anything.

Why consider Time of Need?

Time of Need can help you a lot during campaign since it can provide life sustain and help with ailments clear too.

Use it if you feel like your damage is enough, but you need more survivability, especially at bosses.

Why consider Attrition?

❗Use Attrition ONLY IF NEED DMG BUT CANT use Berserkdue to the lack of regeneration to cover life loss.

At the Moment, Attrition is the safe net that should help us with boss damage, it is not very effecient but can be helpful form time to time.

Since Bear seems Tanky enough to survive the fight longer + Bosses will have Damage reduction now that falls off with TIME, it seems that Attrition will be a decent option to counter that because 20-60% MORE damage sounds amazing. And it also has CULL on top!

It has also been buffed significantly since for now it will take only 30 spirit instead of 60, which making Attrition decent enough to use now if you lack damage for any reason.

Passive Tree

Main Setup (Endgame)

Act 1-3

Act 3-6

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

❗IMPORTANT - Current Tree can be used for inspiration only.

❗TREE FOR 0.4 (Dont Take Anger Management Before Shaman) - Early Tree - https://shorturl.at/XBOYW

What should be a priority in the tree?

At the first few levels we will need to take Damage nodes together with some life regeneration close to the new Druid start + you can add some Area Effect and Area Damage to it as well.

After that it would be nice to progress down there while trying to reach Singular Purpose and Crushing Verdict since Talisman (Druid Weapon) is a 2 handed.

After that we will probably focus on new Rage based nodes, so wait for the update there.

Light on your Feet and Momentum are mostly End of the campaign nodes so don't rush them if you are not trying to maximize speed early on.

What About Elemental Nodes?

You can use Sigil of Fire, Sigil of Ice or Sigil of Lightning nodes based on the damage type that you have on your weapon and that you are doing in general.

When you have Herald of Ice and Cold Attunement later on, Sigil of Ice will be the best choice.

Before that you can improvise but most of the time Sigil of Fire should be better early on since you are using Volcano as a main Druid spell.

Mana vs BloodMagic:

Since as a mana solution we can still roll Physical Damage Leeched as Mana on one of the rings, it seems that using Blood Magic is not necessary. However if you feel like it, you can always pick Life Leech on the rings and take Blood Magic as well.

Investing into Vaal Pact also can be a good idea to boost leech effect if you go for Life cost route.

Ascendency Order for Starting as Shaman Druid:

1. Druidic Champion - just node on the way, but can help with spell damage for Volcano early on.

2. Furious Wellspring - our main Rage generator and the main reason to go Shaman over Oracle, after reaching it we will be able to use Rampage much more often which should fix the speed issues that Druid might have. After reaching it - make sure that you are using Rage II support for Maul.

3. Wisdom of the Manji - another DPS improvement node. Will boost your runes and idols.

4. Reactive Growth - the buff to the tankiness, will work passively so just take it and forget.

As an Alternative Option you can pick Sacred Flow for additional spirit if you will need it early on but the weight of good Charms is pretty big, so I wouldn't go this way if it is not absolutely necessary.