Shadowform Dread Claws Metamorphosis Warlock

Master the Shadowform Dread Claws Metamorphosis Warlock build in Diablo IV. Unleash billions of damage with Dread Claws, enhanced by Shadowform, Stealth, and Demonology skills. Learn gear, skills, and strategy.

The Shadowform Dread Claws Metamorphosis Warlock is a powerful build in Diablo IV, capable of dealing billions of damage per hit across a wide area. It relies on a combination of mechanics, with Dread Claws as the primary damage dealer, amplified by its Greater Demons, Abyss Skill Damage, Demonology Skill Damage, Shadow Damage, Critical Strike Damage, Vulnerable Damage, Paragon Board boosts, and the Harash’s Shadow charm set.

Dread Claws gains significant damage boosts when you are Stealthed, especially with stacks of Shadowform and the Harash’s Shadow charm set. Shadowform and Stealth are linked; you are Stealthed while moving with Shadowform stacks, but movement consumes these stacks. Using Dread Claws also consumes Shadowform stacks via its Enveloping Terror upgrade. Fortunately, Sigil of Subversion, Command Laalish, and Metamorphosis help generate Shadowform, ensuring you maintain it during combat.

The core gameplay loop involves casting Sigil of Subversion on enemies, teleporting to them with Nether Step, using Command Laalish to create a Terror Zone that echoes your Dread Claws, and then attacking. Frequent movement, especially between attacks and on shadow trails from kills within Sigil of Subversion, is crucial for maintaining Shadowform and Stealth, preserving damage buffs, and becoming untargetable. While this offers significant survivability, watch out for damage spikes and Area of Effect (AoE) attacks, which are the primary threats. Profane Sentinel can be used for longer fights to spread debuffs like Slow and Vulnerable and echo Dread Claws if Command Laalish is on cooldown or out of position.

SCMW Build Pros and Cons

Skills

Dread Claws

Your main damage dealer. The Ambush upgrade applies a 50% damage bonus to your first hit, which applies to all hits when attacking from Stealth. Enveloping Terror causes Dread Claws to be cast around you, consuming one stack of Shadowform to have the attack echoed by the last Greater Demon summoned. The Cost Reduction upgrade reduces the skill's cost when you kill enemies.

Nether Step

Nether Step teleports you and your summons, granting Movement Speed and Damage Reduction, and provides Shadowform stacks. The Shadow Recall upgrade ensures your summons accompany you during the teleport, allowing for repositioning of your Greater Demons. Damage Reduction and Movement Speed upgrades enhance its utility as a survival and mobility tool.

Profane Sentinel

Profane Sentinel deals damage via eye beams and applies Vulnerable to enemies. It also counts as a Greater Demon, capable of echoing Dread Claws, serving as a secondary option to Command Laalish. The Single Target Damage, Wide Beam, and Focused Glare upgrades are recommended. This skill is important for its synergy with the Blasphemous Fragment Soul Shard, which inflicts Hex and boosts damage to enemies with Abyss Demonology skills by 20% when the shard is equipped.

Sigil of Subversion

Sigil of Subversion Hexes and Slows enemies within its area. Killing enemies within the sigil's radius contributes to maintaining Shadowform.