Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2016 8:48:47 GMT
[Disclaimer: I wrote both of these build threads very quickly - I will edit them over the next few days, but if you spot any mistakes please let me know!]
Druids are one of HG's 'core classes' (together with Arcane, Bard, and Cleric), the fundamental casters that make endgame runs a lot smoother.
In my opinion Druids are the single best class for 'carrying' shallow Hell runs, which are the most common endgame runs getting organised these days.
The downside is that they are a highly mechanical class and are thus one of the most difficult classes to play well; they have good defences thanks to their excellent AC, but they are very vulnerable when flat-footed and they have to move into danger a lot. I think if you are generally comfortable with gaming/NWN caster they are a sound choice, while weaker players might be more comfortable with a Cleric or a non-caster instead.
HG has an option called Reincarnation, which allows you to transfer XP/tags and remake a character (following certain restrictions) - check out the link to learn more. Reincarnation is an incredibly powerful tool for new characters, because it allows you to change to a stronger subrace later and lets you tune your build for specific situations.
Some relevant examples:
*Animal Empathy is a very strong ability for early levels (~5-30) before starting to fall off.
*Conjuration spells will be your staple killing methods from Levels 15-60, but is very limited in power for the endgame areas.
*Necromancy is very strong in endgame areas with a good subrace and some Paragon levels, beginning to shine at Levels 65 and up.
*Abjuration is very strong at the LSF/PSF level, which is usually only reached at Level 70 and above.
I've written three builds here, each designed for a specific stage of your toon's 'life'.
-> Make Version #1 as a fresh toon, and once you hit Level 40 start saving up cash to buy some Fallen Angel race-books.
-> At Level 50, you can reincarnate into Version #2, a Fallen Angel build which will be relatively strong everywhere in the server and is a great starting point to explore the Hells in.
-> Eventually (Level 70+) you can get your hands on some very rare Rilmani race-books and reincarnate into Version #3. This is the 'final form' of the build and is tailored for the hardest areas of the server, such as the Abyss and Limbo. There is absolutely no rush to reach this version of the build, Version #2 is quite sufficient for practically everything in the module.
Note: There is no 'correct' way to build a character, though some play-styles are objectively stronger than others. The following builds are MY OPINION on how to create an effective Druid for a new player, though some may not agree with them. If you have any questions or comments, please post below and ask!
VERSION #1: Open Subrace Druid: Dryadkin
*Tailored for Levels 1-50
*Animal Empathy (useful for Levels 1-40)
*Maxed Conjuration (very useful for Levels 1-60)
*No Spell Penetration until Level 40; for most of your 1-40 journey you won't have any issues, for the few times you do (notably Drow tags) you can cast Nature's Balance to reduce their spell resistance
*No Necromancy/Abjuration
*Monk level is taken 'early' (Level 32 instead of ~40) to access the bonus AC earlier, at the cost of some Discipline and Tumble
-----
VERSION #2: Ultrarare Subrace Druid: Fallen Angel
*Tailored for Levels 50-70
*Maxed Necromancy
*Decent Conjuration
*Boosted saves
*No Abjuration
*No Animal Empathy
-----
VERSION #3: Beyond-Ultrarare Subrace Druid: Rilmani
*Tailored for Levels 70+
*Full Necromancy/Abjuration foci
*Limited Conjuration foci
*No Animal Empathy
-----
BASICS OF HOW TO PLAY:
I will flesh this out later - I have always planned to release a detailed guide to Druid fundamentals in Hell, but never gotten around to finishing it (I am a Med student and life gets busy at times!), so this will have to do for now. There is also extra information in the threads made by various other players, though in general the actual builds are outdated or (IMO) sub-optimal in today's climate. Be sure to check out:
Green Mage
Drunken Druid
Greenpeace
The Wooden Balancer
Brief Leveling Guide:
Levels 1-30: Use Animal Empathy and Summons, buff them up and kill stuff
-> Ask in-game (!newbie channel is your friend) about the Oltum
Levels 31-40: Use AoE spells (Storm of Vengeance, Elemental Swarm, Bombardment) to nuke mobs down.
-> Many of the 30+ tag bosses take only Exotic damage, you can deal Magic (Quillfire), Positive (Earthquake), Negative (Finger of Death) and Divine (Bombardment) to deal with them.
-> Creeping Doom and Vortex of Teeth can be handy extra damage for tough bosses.
Levels 41-60: Not too different to 31-40, you will have a lot of AC now so you can mass-spawn areas and nuke them down for very fast XP.
Levels 60+: Total game-changer now; the old 'spawn and nuke' strategy we were so used to no longer works in the endgame areas.
Greatly simplified 'one paragraph' summary of Druids in Hell:
1) Use Nature's Balance on high-SR enemies (this is your most important job!). Check out Raj's Guide to Spell Resistance for more information.
2) Drown/Stone/Crumble monsters that are vulnerable to it (mostly trash + golems)
-> Kocrachon/Infestiarchs are key Druid targets that you have to focus on, no one else can kill them as quickly as a Druid
3) Specific insta-kills on vulnerable targets - Poison on Amnizu, Slay Living/Finger of Death on Advespa/Osyluth, Infestation of Maggots is slow to act but works on almost everything! (these spells are usually low DC, so it's hard at low levels)
4) Use damage spells on the 'big boys' (Acid on Malebranche/Cornugon, Cold on Pit Fiends, Fire on Gelugons)
Sample Hells spell-book:The spellbook does change a bit from layer to layer - again, this is an overly simplified example of the main stuff you'll use (*loosely* in order of importance).
Level 9: Extended Nature's Balance, Cast in Stone, Elemental Swarm, Extended Finger of Death
Level 8: Nature's Balance
Level 7: Extended Drown/Crumble, Empowered Inferno, Empowered Galvanic Cone
Level 6: Drown/Crumble, Empowered Vitriolic Ray
Level 5: Empowered Ice Lance, Slay Living, Empowered Infestation of Maggots
Level 4: Buffs (Mass Camouflage, Freedom of Movement), Empowered Flame Lash, Empowered Heat Body/Caustic Gel, Murderous Mist
Level 3: Buffs (Caustic Weapon, Extended Blood Frenzy), Poison
Level 2: Lesser Restoration, Desert Sirocco (in general you are very weak at Gust'ing compared to Cleric/Arcane)
Level 1: Not that important
Other notable buffs you need include Aura of Vitality, Premonition/Greater Stoneskin (depending if you're using Armor/Shield or Robes/Torch), Energy Buffer, Endure Elements, Augury, Font of Purification/Vision
Druids are one of HG's 'core classes' (together with Arcane, Bard, and Cleric), the fundamental casters that make endgame runs a lot smoother.
In my opinion Druids are the single best class for 'carrying' shallow Hell runs, which are the most common endgame runs getting organised these days.
The downside is that they are a highly mechanical class and are thus one of the most difficult classes to play well; they have good defences thanks to their excellent AC, but they are very vulnerable when flat-footed and they have to move into danger a lot. I think if you are generally comfortable with gaming/NWN caster they are a sound choice, while weaker players might be more comfortable with a Cleric or a non-caster instead.
HG has an option called Reincarnation, which allows you to transfer XP/tags and remake a character (following certain restrictions) - check out the link to learn more. Reincarnation is an incredibly powerful tool for new characters, because it allows you to change to a stronger subrace later and lets you tune your build for specific situations.
Some relevant examples:
*Animal Empathy is a very strong ability for early levels (~5-30) before starting to fall off.
*Conjuration spells will be your staple killing methods from Levels 15-60, but is very limited in power for the endgame areas.
*Necromancy is very strong in endgame areas with a good subrace and some Paragon levels, beginning to shine at Levels 65 and up.
*Abjuration is very strong at the LSF/PSF level, which is usually only reached at Level 70 and above.
I've written three builds here, each designed for a specific stage of your toon's 'life'.
-> Make Version #1 as a fresh toon, and once you hit Level 40 start saving up cash to buy some Fallen Angel race-books.
-> At Level 50, you can reincarnate into Version #2, a Fallen Angel build which will be relatively strong everywhere in the server and is a great starting point to explore the Hells in.
-> Eventually (Level 70+) you can get your hands on some very rare Rilmani race-books and reincarnate into Version #3. This is the 'final form' of the build and is tailored for the hardest areas of the server, such as the Abyss and Limbo. There is absolutely no rush to reach this version of the build, Version #2 is quite sufficient for practically everything in the module.
Note: There is no 'correct' way to build a character, though some play-styles are objectively stronger than others. The following builds are MY OPINION on how to create an effective Druid for a new player, though some may not agree with them. If you have any questions or comments, please post below and ask!
VERSION #1: Open Subrace Druid: Dryadkin
*Tailored for Levels 1-50
*Animal Empathy (useful for Levels 1-40)
*Maxed Conjuration (very useful for Levels 1-60)
*No Spell Penetration until Level 40; for most of your 1-40 journey you won't have any issues, for the few times you do (notably Drow tags) you can cast Nature's Balance to reduce their spell resistance
*No Necromancy/Abjuration
*Monk level is taken 'early' (Level 32 instead of ~40) to access the bonus AC earlier, at the cost of some Discipline and Tumble
Dryadkin (Half-Elf Base)
[38 Druid/1 Monk/1 Paladin]
Neutral Good <- some alignment changes on the way
Half-Elf Base Stats:
STR 9
DEX 14
CON 9
WIS 18
INT 14
CHA 8
--> Dryadkin
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 8
WIS 20
INT 14
CHA 8
Skills @ 40:
Animal Empathy 43
Craft Armor 43
Concentration 43
Discipline 43 (Monk/Paladin sink)
Lore 43
Tumble 35 (Monk sink)
-> At Level 41 you will get +40 skillpoints (from Half-Elf), put those into Parry.
-> Spare skillpoints at Levels 41+ can go into anything you want - Spellcraft is cool just to see what everyone else is casting. Heal is another option.
Leveling Order:
1-31 Druid
32 Monk [Discipline/Tumble sink]
33-39 Druid
40 Paladin [Discipline sink]
--- Pre-Epic Feats
1 - Spell Focus: Conjuration
3 - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration
6 - Spell Focus: Evocation
9 - Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
12 - Spell Focus: Transmutation
15 - Greater Spell Focus: Trasmutation
18 - Metamagic: Empower Spell
--- Epic Feats
21 - Epic Spell Focus: Conjuration
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Transmutation
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Evocation [Druid Bonus Feat]
27 - Metamagic: Extend Spell
28 - Great Wisdom 1 [Druid Bonus Feat]
30 - Great Wisdom 2
33 - Great Wisdom 3
33 - Great Wisdom 4 [Druid Bonus Feat]
36 - Great Wisdom 5
37 - Great Wisdom 6 [Druid Bonus Feat]
39 - Great Wisdom 7
Wondrous Tome: Spell Penetration (Free Epic Spell Penetration)
--- Legendary Feats
42 - Legendary Spell Penetration
45 - Legendary Spell Focus: Conjuration
48 - Legendary Spell Focus: Transmutation
51 - Great Wisdom 8
54 - Great Wisdom 9
57 - Great Wisdom 10
60 - Epic Reflexes
YOU SHOULD HAVE REINCARNATED BY NOW!
[38 Druid/1 Monk/1 Paladin]
Neutral Good <- some alignment changes on the way
Half-Elf Base Stats:
STR 9
DEX 14
CON 9
WIS 18
INT 14
CHA 8
--> Dryadkin
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 8
WIS 20
INT 14
CHA 8
Skills @ 40:
Animal Empathy 43
Craft Armor 43
Concentration 43
Discipline 43 (Monk/Paladin sink)
Lore 43
Tumble 35 (Monk sink)
-> At Level 41 you will get +40 skillpoints (from Half-Elf), put those into Parry.
-> Spare skillpoints at Levels 41+ can go into anything you want - Spellcraft is cool just to see what everyone else is casting. Heal is another option.
Leveling Order:
1-31 Druid
32 Monk [Discipline/Tumble sink]
33-39 Druid
40 Paladin [Discipline sink]
--- Pre-Epic Feats
1 - Spell Focus: Conjuration
3 - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration
6 - Spell Focus: Evocation
9 - Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
12 - Spell Focus: Transmutation
15 - Greater Spell Focus: Trasmutation
18 - Metamagic: Empower Spell
--- Epic Feats
21 - Epic Spell Focus: Conjuration
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Transmutation
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Evocation [Druid Bonus Feat]
27 - Metamagic: Extend Spell
28 - Great Wisdom 1 [Druid Bonus Feat]
30 - Great Wisdom 2
33 - Great Wisdom 3
33 - Great Wisdom 4 [Druid Bonus Feat]
36 - Great Wisdom 5
37 - Great Wisdom 6 [Druid Bonus Feat]
39 - Great Wisdom 7
Wondrous Tome: Spell Penetration (Free Epic Spell Penetration)
--- Legendary Feats
42 - Legendary Spell Penetration
45 - Legendary Spell Focus: Conjuration
48 - Legendary Spell Focus: Transmutation
51 - Great Wisdom 8
54 - Great Wisdom 9
57 - Great Wisdom 10
60 - Epic Reflexes
YOU SHOULD HAVE REINCARNATED BY NOW!
VERSION #2: Ultrarare Subrace Druid: Fallen Angel
*Tailored for Levels 50-70
*Maxed Necromancy
*Decent Conjuration
*Boosted saves
*No Abjuration
*No Animal Empathy
Fallen Angel (Human Base)
[38 Druid/1 Paladin/1 Monk]
Neutral Good <- some alignment changes on the way
Human Base Stats:
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12
WIS 18
INT 12
CHA 8
--> Fallen Angel
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12
WIS 23
INT 12
CHA 10
Skills @ 60:
Craft Armor 63
Concentration 63
Discipline 43 (Monk/Paladin sink)
Lore 63
Parry 63
Tumble 43 (Monk sink)
-> Spare skillpoints at Levels 41+ can go into anything you want - Spellcraft is cool just to see what everyone else is casting. Heal is another option.
Leveling Order:
1-19 Druid
20 Paladin [Discipline sink]
31-39 Druid
40 Monk [Discipline/Tumble sink]
--- Pre-Epic Feats
1 - Spell Focus: Conjuration
1 - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration
3 - Spell Focus: Evocation
6 - Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
9 - Spell Focus: Transmutation
12 - Greater Spell Focus: Trasmutation
15 - Metamagic: Empower Spell
18 - Metamagic: Extend Spell
--- Epic Feats
21 - Epic Spell Focus: Conjuration
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Transmutation
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Evocation [Druid Bonus Feat]
27 - Great Wisdom 1
28 - Great Wisdom 2 [Druid Bonus Feat]
30 - Spell Penetration
33 - Greater Spell Penetration
33 - Epic Spell Penetration [Druid Bonus Feat]
36 - Great Wisdom 3
37 - Great Wisdom 4 [Druid Bonus Feat]
39 - Great Wisdom 5
Wondrous Tome: Necromancy (Free ESF: Necromancy)
--- Legendary Feats
42 - Legendary Spell Penetration
45 - Legendary Spell Focus: Transmutation
48 - Great Wisdom 6
51 - Great Wisdom 7
54 - Great Wisdom 8
57 - Legendary Spell Focus: Necromancy
60 - Great Wisdom 9
Artifact: Pyramid Energy (Wisdom)
--- Paragon Feats
63 - Paragon Spell Focus: Transmutation
66 - Paragon Spell Focus: Necromancy
69 - Paragon Spell Knowledge: Necromancy
72 - [Flexible]
75 - [Flexible]
78 - [Flexible]
3 Flexible feats at 72+, options include:
*Paragon Spell Penetration
*Great Wisdom 10 (combines with the odd Paragon point to give you +1 DC)
*Boosting Evocation to the desired level
*Boosting Conjuration to the desired level
*Taking Abjuration to ESF (larger Font sizes, grants Nature's Frailty as an Epic Spell [huge SR drop at range])
*Taking Illusion to ESF (moderate infliction % from Creeping Doom, grants Veil of Mists as an Epic Spell [bonus AC])
[38 Druid/1 Paladin/1 Monk]
Neutral Good <- some alignment changes on the way
Human Base Stats:
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12
WIS 18
INT 12
CHA 8
--> Fallen Angel
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12
WIS 23
INT 12
CHA 10
Skills @ 60:
Craft Armor 63
Concentration 63
Discipline 43 (Monk/Paladin sink)
Lore 63
Parry 63
Tumble 43 (Monk sink)
-> Spare skillpoints at Levels 41+ can go into anything you want - Spellcraft is cool just to see what everyone else is casting. Heal is another option.
Leveling Order:
1-19 Druid
20 Paladin [Discipline sink]
31-39 Druid
40 Monk [Discipline/Tumble sink]
--- Pre-Epic Feats
1 - Spell Focus: Conjuration
1 - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration
3 - Spell Focus: Evocation
6 - Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
9 - Spell Focus: Transmutation
12 - Greater Spell Focus: Trasmutation
15 - Metamagic: Empower Spell
18 - Metamagic: Extend Spell
--- Epic Feats
21 - Epic Spell Focus: Conjuration
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Transmutation
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Evocation [Druid Bonus Feat]
27 - Great Wisdom 1
28 - Great Wisdom 2 [Druid Bonus Feat]
30 - Spell Penetration
33 - Greater Spell Penetration
33 - Epic Spell Penetration [Druid Bonus Feat]
36 - Great Wisdom 3
37 - Great Wisdom 4 [Druid Bonus Feat]
39 - Great Wisdom 5
Wondrous Tome: Necromancy (Free ESF: Necromancy)
--- Legendary Feats
42 - Legendary Spell Penetration
45 - Legendary Spell Focus: Transmutation
48 - Great Wisdom 6
51 - Great Wisdom 7
54 - Great Wisdom 8
57 - Legendary Spell Focus: Necromancy
60 - Great Wisdom 9
Artifact: Pyramid Energy (Wisdom)
--- Paragon Feats
63 - Paragon Spell Focus: Transmutation
66 - Paragon Spell Focus: Necromancy
69 - Paragon Spell Knowledge: Necromancy
72 - [Flexible]
75 - [Flexible]
78 - [Flexible]
3 Flexible feats at 72+, options include:
*Paragon Spell Penetration
*Great Wisdom 10 (combines with the odd Paragon point to give you +1 DC)
*Boosting Evocation to the desired level
*Boosting Conjuration to the desired level
*Taking Abjuration to ESF (larger Font sizes, grants Nature's Frailty as an Epic Spell [huge SR drop at range])
*Taking Illusion to ESF (moderate infliction % from Creeping Doom, grants Veil of Mists as an Epic Spell [bonus AC])
VERSION #3: Beyond-Ultrarare Subrace Druid: Rilmani
*Tailored for Levels 70+
*Full Necromancy/Abjuration foci
*Limited Conjuration foci
*No Animal Empathy
Rilmani (Human Base)
[39 Druid/1 Monk]
Lawful Neutral
Human Base Stats:
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12
WIS 18
INT 12
CHA 8
--> Rilmani
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 16
WIS 24
INT 12
CHA 8
Skills @ 60:
Craft Armor 63
Concentration 63
Discipline 43 (Monk sink)
Lore 63
Parry 63
Tumble 43 (Monk sink)
Spare skillpoints at Levels 41+ can go into anything you want - Spellcraft is cool just to see what everyone else is casting. Heal is another option.
Leveling Order:
1-39 Druid
40 Monk [Discipline/Tumble Sink]
If you are very high level, a possible variant is to take the Monk level at 20 and then spend Paragon points boosting Discipline/Tumble to 41. This gives you better saves, but is very skill-point heavy (best to boost base INT to 14 by dropping base CON to 10); I think this is not worth it unless you are over Level 78.
--- Pre-Epic Feats
1 - Spell Focus: Evocation
1 - Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
3 - Spell Focus: Transmutation
6 - Greater Spell Focus: Transmutation
9 - Metamagic: Empower Spell
12 - Spell Focus: Abjuration
15 - Greater Spell Focus: Abjuration
18 - Metamagic: Extend Spell
--- Epic Feats
21 - Epic Spell Focus: Abjuration
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Transmutation
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Evocation [Druid Bonus Feat]
27 - Greater Spell Penetration
28 - Epic Spell Penetration [Druid Bonus Feat]
30 - Great Wisdom 1
33 - Great Wisdom 2
33 - Great Wisdom 3 [Druid Bonus Feat]
36 - Great Wisdom 4
37 - Great Wisdom 5 [Druid Bonus Feat]
39 - Great Wisdom 6
Wondrous Tome: Necromancy (Free ESF: Necromancy)
--- Legendary Feats
42 - Legendary Spell Penetration
45 - Legendary Spell Focus: Transmutation
48 - Great Wisdom 7
51 - Great Wisdom 8
54 - Great Wisdom 9
57 - Legendary Spell Focus: Necromancy
60 - Legendary Spell Focus: Abjuration
Artifact: Pyramid Energy (Wisdom)
--- Paragon Feats
63 - Paragon Spell Focus: Transmutation
66 - Paragon Spell Focus: Necromancy
69 - Paragon Spell Knowledge: Necromancy
72 - Paragon Spell Focus: Abjuration
75 - Great Wisdom 10
78 - Paragon Spell Penetration
[39 Druid/1 Monk]
Lawful Neutral
Human Base Stats:
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12
WIS 18
INT 12
CHA 8
--> Rilmani
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 16
WIS 24
INT 12
CHA 8
Skills @ 60:
Craft Armor 63
Concentration 63
Discipline 43 (Monk sink)
Lore 63
Parry 63
Tumble 43 (Monk sink)
Spare skillpoints at Levels 41+ can go into anything you want - Spellcraft is cool just to see what everyone else is casting. Heal is another option.
Leveling Order:
1-39 Druid
40 Monk [Discipline/Tumble Sink]
If you are very high level, a possible variant is to take the Monk level at 20 and then spend Paragon points boosting Discipline/Tumble to 41. This gives you better saves, but is very skill-point heavy (best to boost base INT to 14 by dropping base CON to 10); I think this is not worth it unless you are over Level 78.
--- Pre-Epic Feats
1 - Spell Focus: Evocation
1 - Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
3 - Spell Focus: Transmutation
6 - Greater Spell Focus: Transmutation
9 - Metamagic: Empower Spell
12 - Spell Focus: Abjuration
15 - Greater Spell Focus: Abjuration
18 - Metamagic: Extend Spell
--- Epic Feats
21 - Epic Spell Focus: Abjuration
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Transmutation
24 - Epic Spell Focus: Evocation [Druid Bonus Feat]
27 - Greater Spell Penetration
28 - Epic Spell Penetration [Druid Bonus Feat]
30 - Great Wisdom 1
33 - Great Wisdom 2
33 - Great Wisdom 3 [Druid Bonus Feat]
36 - Great Wisdom 4
37 - Great Wisdom 5 [Druid Bonus Feat]
39 - Great Wisdom 6
Wondrous Tome: Necromancy (Free ESF: Necromancy)
--- Legendary Feats
42 - Legendary Spell Penetration
45 - Legendary Spell Focus: Transmutation
48 - Great Wisdom 7
51 - Great Wisdom 8
54 - Great Wisdom 9
57 - Legendary Spell Focus: Necromancy
60 - Legendary Spell Focus: Abjuration
Artifact: Pyramid Energy (Wisdom)
--- Paragon Feats
63 - Paragon Spell Focus: Transmutation
66 - Paragon Spell Focus: Necromancy
69 - Paragon Spell Knowledge: Necromancy
72 - Paragon Spell Focus: Abjuration
75 - Great Wisdom 10
78 - Paragon Spell Penetration
BASICS OF HOW TO PLAY:
I will flesh this out later - I have always planned to release a detailed guide to Druid fundamentals in Hell, but never gotten around to finishing it (I am a Med student and life gets busy at times!), so this will have to do for now. There is also extra information in the threads made by various other players, though in general the actual builds are outdated or (IMO) sub-optimal in today's climate. Be sure to check out:
Green Mage
Drunken Druid
Greenpeace
The Wooden Balancer
Brief Leveling Guide:
Levels 1-30: Use Animal Empathy and Summons, buff them up and kill stuff
-> Ask in-game (!newbie channel is your friend) about the Oltum
Levels 31-40: Use AoE spells (Storm of Vengeance, Elemental Swarm, Bombardment) to nuke mobs down.
-> Many of the 30+ tag bosses take only Exotic damage, you can deal Magic (Quillfire), Positive (Earthquake), Negative (Finger of Death) and Divine (Bombardment) to deal with them.
-> Creeping Doom and Vortex of Teeth can be handy extra damage for tough bosses.
Levels 41-60: Not too different to 31-40, you will have a lot of AC now so you can mass-spawn areas and nuke them down for very fast XP.
Levels 60+: Total game-changer now; the old 'spawn and nuke' strategy we were so used to no longer works in the endgame areas.
Greatly simplified 'one paragraph' summary of Druids in Hell:
1) Use Nature's Balance on high-SR enemies (this is your most important job!). Check out Raj's Guide to Spell Resistance for more information.
2) Drown/Stone/Crumble monsters that are vulnerable to it (mostly trash + golems)
-> Kocrachon/Infestiarchs are key Druid targets that you have to focus on, no one else can kill them as quickly as a Druid
3) Specific insta-kills on vulnerable targets - Poison on Amnizu, Slay Living/Finger of Death on Advespa/Osyluth, Infestation of Maggots is slow to act but works on almost everything! (these spells are usually low DC, so it's hard at low levels)
4) Use damage spells on the 'big boys' (Acid on Malebranche/Cornugon, Cold on Pit Fiends, Fire on Gelugons)
Sample Hells spell-book:The spellbook does change a bit from layer to layer - again, this is an overly simplified example of the main stuff you'll use (*loosely* in order of importance).
Level 9: Extended Nature's Balance, Cast in Stone, Elemental Swarm, Extended Finger of Death
Level 8: Nature's Balance
Level 7: Extended Drown/Crumble, Empowered Inferno, Empowered Galvanic Cone
Level 6: Drown/Crumble, Empowered Vitriolic Ray
Level 5: Empowered Ice Lance, Slay Living, Empowered Infestation of Maggots
Level 4: Buffs (Mass Camouflage, Freedom of Movement), Empowered Flame Lash, Empowered Heat Body/Caustic Gel, Murderous Mist
Level 3: Buffs (Caustic Weapon, Extended Blood Frenzy), Poison
Level 2: Lesser Restoration, Desert Sirocco (in general you are very weak at Gust'ing compared to Cleric/Arcane)
Level 1: Not that important
Other notable buffs you need include Aura of Vitality, Premonition/Greater Stoneskin (depending if you're using Armor/Shield or Robes/Torch), Energy Buffer, Endure Elements, Augury, Font of Purification/Vision