Druid

Mechanics

Druids have one of the most unique playstyles in the game and bring significant utility to the battlefield through Manifest Aspects.

Manifest Aspects Oread is your go-to, giving you significantly increased single-target damage. In AoE situations, you can call on Aspect of the Nereid, and Aspect of the Dryad is great for restoring mana and healing party members.
Beyond the Aspect system, Natures Wrath is very useful to root targets during some boss fights, and Druids have powerful AoE damage and snare abilities. Further, Druids can sap target's mana, and apply Heal over Time effects to allied with Rejuvenation! A great all-round support class.

Attribute points should be spent in approximately a 2 Strength : 1 Agility : 4 Intelligence ratio.

Ultimately you want ~750 base Strength, ~300 base Agility and ~2450 base Intelligence in order to achieve 20-25,000 health, and 400 total Agility for maximum attack speed.

For your familiar skills, you want to invest in the 5% Spell Power buff from Aptitude and your preference of 75 Strength/Agility/Intelligence from Gift of Endurance/Dexterity/Wisdom, to achieve the Agility and Strength breakpoints above.

At max level, the core setup is / , combined with your choice of Olympian Relic;

Immortal Armor of Hepheastus - This Relic offers survivability, mana regeneration and spell power. Easily the best choice to pull you through the difficult fights when you don't have a dedicated Tank
Searing Flame of Prometheus - Searing Flame provides the best damage and healing output but sacrifices survivability
Thundering Hammer of Zeus - Hammer of Zeus is another option for a more support-orientated build

>>Blanket Disclaimer: You, and every other player will need items from all crafting professions so there is no 'best' profession for any given class. If you are selfishly looking for personal enhancements, Alchemy is the only profession whereby you can't bring items you crafted through to another game, so this might be the best choice on a personal level, but increases dependency on others for crafting<<

Abilities

Manifest Aspect (F)

Draws from the Druid's ancestral wisdom and manifests a spirit's power for 20 seconds. Aspect of the Dryad - Grants Soothing Presence and enhances Rejuvenation. Aspect of the Oread - Your auto-attack cooldown decreases and they have a chance to apply Nature's Wrath, but your auto attack range decreases. Also enhances Nature's Wrath. Aspect of the Nereid - Your auto-attacks deal splash damage, but your auto-attack cooldown increases. Also enhances Malestorm and Thunderbolt. Only one aspect can be manifested at a time.

Items

While leveling, your priority will be as follows:

Levels 1-50

Level 7

You can upgrade your skills to level 2 at the Book shop in Athens

Level 10

You can now get an additional class skill, Maelstrom, which can be dropped from Atlas, Thea or Uranus.

Level 15

You can upgrade your skills to level 3 at the Book shop. Additionally, now would be a good time to hunt for some Oracle's Set pieces / , dropped by Rokthul or crafted through professions.

Level 30

You can upgrade your skills to level 4 at the Book shop.
Additionally, you can now access the High Oracle's Set / from Manticor, Goretusk, Gethos, or crafted through professions, and Class set items.

Your Class set is made up of 3 items, Hide of the Wild and Staff of the Wild have a chance to be dropped from the 3rd through 6th titans (Themis, Cronus, Uranus, Rhea), and from Pelias. Crown of the Wild is crafted at Master Metalsmith Heletes, costing 1 Blood Ruby and 1 Lump of Pure Adamantium.

When you have all 3 items in your inventory, you will gain Wild Set— Reclamation also reduces your Manifest Aspect cooldowns by 8 seconds.

Level 40

Now you're level 40, Eris' Golden Apple of Discord will be a good upgrade, and its use effect can be used from your familiar when you out grow it later! Eris' Golden Apple of Discord can be dropped from Occeanus, Gaea or Heiros.

If you're struggling, you can also search out the Regal Crown and Crystal Helm from Cyclopse.

Level 45

You can now get the final Delphi Oracle's Set / from Heiros or crafted through professions.

You can now upgrade your Regal Crown and Crystal Helm to a Regal Helm of Sparkling Crystal at Metalsmith Arcadios in New Issus if you managed to acquire them.

Level 50

You can upgrade your skills to level 5 at the Book shop.

Another good item you can pickup now would be Priams Scepter from Aeacus. Even if this item isn't a big upgrade on what you have, it is worth getting as it can be upgraded later on.

Malestorm (T)

Level 1

Create a 350 AoE zone which deals a total of 600 (+Spell Damage) magical damage over 2.5 seconds. Whenever an enemy enters the zone, Maelstrom will attempt to Stun it once for the remaining duration. Also, Maelstrom drags Stunned enemies towards the zone's center. Aspect of the Nereid - Reduces Maelstrom's cooldown to 18 seconds. Costs 75 mana. 21 second cooldown.

Rejuvenation (Q)

Level 1

Heals a target friendly unit for 300 (+Spell healing) health over 15 seconds. Aspect of the Dryad - Rejuvenation dispels a debilitating debuff. Also if the target does not have Rejuvenation active, Soothing Presence's persists for an additional 3 seconds after Aspect of the Dryad dissipates.Costs 30 mana. 2.5 second cooldown.

Nature's Wrath (W)

Level 1

Deal 200 (+Spell Damage) physical damage and Ensnare the target to prevent its movement for 2 seconds. Aspect of the Oread -- Nature's Wrath empowers the next aspect manifested within 30 seconds. This reduces the aspect's enhanced spell cooldown(s) by 0.5 seconds and can stack up to nine times. (This effect cannot reduce a spell's cooldown below 1 second). Costs 35 mana. 6 second cooldown.

Thunderbolt (E)

Level 1

Blasts out a bolt of thunder towards a target location, dealing 100 (+Spell Damage) magical damage in a line. Enemies caught withing are Thunderstruck for 18 seconds. Thunderstruck enemies take 25% more damage from Thunderbolt stacking up to two times. Aspect of the Nereid - Reduces Thunderbolt's cooldown to 12 seconds. Enemies struck also have their armor reduced by 5 for 8 seconds. Costs 50 mana. 15 seconds cooldown.

Reclamation (R)

Level 1

Convoke nearby spirits to purify the target dealing 100 (+Spell Damage) magical damage over 3 seconds. The spirits also siphon 50 mana from the target and transfer it to the Druid over this period. Costs 25 mana. 10 second cooldown.