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The Diablo IV beta has given players a glimpse of how each of the game's classes will play out. While many classes functioned well and may only need slight adjustments, the Druid was one of the worst-performing classes available. However, players will want to give the Druid another chance upon full release, after some adjustments have been made to the class's abilities.
While most classes available in Diablo IV have potent abilities to allow for a diverse playstyle against many enemies, the Druid seemed to lack these abilities during the open beta. Players seemed to need help to fend off hordes of enemies regardless of which ability they used or if they went melee or magic heavy. Thankfully Blizzard North listened to feedback from the beta and has made significant improvements to the Druid class.
The Druid Has Received Various Buffs
Many of the complaints from the initial test run of the Druid included that their abilities appeared to be significantly weaker than the other classes, making the game more challenging. While there is an argument that the Druids are a late-game class whose abilities will strengthen over time, having early-game content be more complex than needed can turn players away quickly. There needs to be more motivation to try and see if a character may pay off in the late game if they cannot make it through the first parts, let alone monsters like the Butcher, even to begin truly leveling them enough for potentially stronger abilities that may not exist.
Fortunately, the Druid received multiple buffs to their abilities, making the class much more robust and inviting to new players. The companion skills have been improved to deal immensely increased damage, all the Druid's ultimate skills now have reduced cool-downs, and Maul and Pulverize have been made more usable. Given the chief complaints about poor damage output and issues with using abilities properly, these buffs should make the class much more powerful and give players the damage they need to progress through the story.
The Druid Did Not Have Access to Spirit Animals
One of the most potent aspects of each class is their passive abilities, which typically become unlocked at level five. However, the Druid's Spirit Animals were inaccessible in the beta due to being in a locked area called Scosglen. After the full game release in early June, players will have access to the entire map after traveling to the location first and can access the passive abilities for the Druid. These include various boons the player can choose depending on their bonded animal, which they can swap as they please and then use the various buffs after unlocking all four boons. This ability has the potential to make the Druid a true powerhouse once the ability becomes accessible, given just how powerful they can be for other classes such as the Book of the Dead for the Necromancer, which provides them with an army of skeletons or a Golem to help fend off enemies.
It could be easy to write off the Druid based on the class's performance during the Diablo IV beta. However, it is worth it to give the class another chance. Blizzard North has stated that improvements have been made to the class to strengthen their abilities, and a core aspect of it wasn't even accessible in the beta. It would be a disservice to claim a class as weak before even having access to all of their abilities and seeing what they can achieve.