[GameSpot] - Diablo 4 - Druid Animal Spirits Guide

[343iBot]

Every playable class in Diablo 4 has a unique mechanic that is specific to them. The Rogues have Specializations, the Sorcerers have Enchantments, and so on. In regard to the Druid, players will have access to the Animal Spirits mechanic. While this mechanic is not playable in the Diablo 4 beta, we have enough of an understanding of Animal Spirits to describe it in-depth and predict how it will play out in the full game.

Diablo 4 Druid Animal Spirits mechanic

To start, the Animal Spirits system builds off of the Druid's ability to shapeshift into a wolf or bear and also have animals as companions. However, with Animal Spirits, players will be able to pick one of four different spirits at a time. The Animal Spirit they pick will offer them unique bonuses, which are called Boons in Diablo 4.

There's no word on what the Animal Spirits will be yet or what each of their Boons will be. Players could see an increase in their elemental damage, have their animal companions become stronger, or get some additional defensive buffs, but none of that has been confirmed by Blizzard as of yet.

We do know that players will unlock the first of the four Animal Spirits when they arrive in the town of Scosglen. Blizzard predicts players will reach this town at around level 15 in the full game. Whenever it does happen, players will eventually cross paths with an Animal Spirit that they can harness in some way. Once players capture an Animal Spirit, they will be able to take advantage of its specific Boon.

For the most part, players can only have one Animal Spirit Boon active at a time. Although, when players unlock all four of the spirits, they will be able to have two Boons active at the same time. As players equip new Animal Spirits, there will supposedly be an XP system in place that lets players rank up each of the spirits. The more XP players earn for their active spirit will result in additional passive buffs that the spirit offers. This part of the mechanic is rumored by players who participated in the closed beta months ago, though, so take that information with a grain of salt.

At this point, players are hoping that Blizzard makes the Animal Spirit system especially strong, as the Druid's overall skills seem slightly underwhelming in the beta. Perhaps the added element of having an Animal Spirit Boon active at all times will give the class a much-needed boost.

We'll update this article as more information comes in regarding the Animal Spirit mechanic for the Druid in Diablo 4. If you're playing as the Druid in the beta or getting ready for the full game's launch, you can look at all of the Druid's available skills to get a better sense of the class overall, or find all of our Diablo 4 guides here.

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