Being a hybrid build, the fury/summon druid obviously cannot max all the fury skills (wolf/feral rage/fury) and all the summon skills (spirit/dire/grizzly) while still having maxed oak/lycan. So what do you guys think is the best compromise between the two?

Note that this is a character on SC, with the goal of being able to solo as much of the game (especially end areas) as possible.

I believe the most popular route is to max lycan/oak/grizzly/dire/fury. Werewolf and feral rage don't add all that much to fury, and by maxing grizzly and dire you have 4 strong recastable tanks.

However, how good are dire wolves in the end game? Do they hold up well against normal mobs, even without full summon gear? What about bosses? Do they last until at least as long as their recasting timer? Now what about spirit wolves? Dire wolves only synergize damage, which is pretty much useless. Spirit wolves would at least give a defense boost to the bear.

The other point I want to discuss is, is oak really that useful? Before you call me a stupid noob, remember that I'm building this character mainly for solo play, not for group play, and that I'm also on SC, not HC. Oak really only comes in handy during boss fights or difficult areas like cleft/castle, but in those situations either the oak dies really fast even when maxed (think diablo's flame nova), or sob is much better. I remember the first time I made a druid, oak was the first thing I maxed, but on bosses I found it too much of a hassle to recast oak every 5 seconds so I just didn't even bother with it (and still did fine), and during normal play I found myself using my 1 point sob almost all the time. A druid with lycan is sturdy enough as is, is oak that essential? Or could 20 points into spirit or feral rage possibly be more useful? I will admit though that I didn't get a chance to play the later acts of hell with that druid, and there could be a difference there.

Thanks ahead of time for your input!

Well while im not sure about sc
Hc i would always build in this fasion..

Lycan
Oak
Fury
Griz
Dire

I maxed those and not the wolf/feral becasue imo, the dmg boost from feral just wasnt worth the added tanks you could get. The dmg you'll get from a good wepon will sustain you far better then extra dmg - having viable tanks.
The point of maxing dire is they have more life then spirits, and while they only do add dmg, they themselves arent half bad tanks, especially when you can summon 3. Strength in numbers, or in this case, defense in numbers.
I didnt bother maxing wolf because teh bonuses just werent worth it.
Also dont forget to put a point into maul, as like with feral, maul is a one point wonder, much like sob.
Now i know you said maxing oak was to much of a hassle, it just died to fast.
And while yeah that is true, and if you really think you dont need it, then i would guess goahead and max your spirit wolf, see how that works for you, but remember the maxing of oak makes your tanks much more viable in later difficulties, and also your merc.
Note this is for a style of play where dieing is not a good thing o.o
Although it does very, thats how i like to make them, you can always play around and figure out what you like better.

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Lifes what you make it, so make it how you want to live it, if your life isnt what you wanted, then maybe you should change it.

Every time i hear someone say they wont max the best lifebuff skill in the game on a druid (oak) I LOL

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