I tried to make a Lightning Storm Druid

… but Cataclysm is SO much more powerful that, once I could get 100% uptime on Cataclysm which is pretty easy to do, it became painfully obvious that Lightning Storm is a joke by comparison, and ANY amount of resources I put toward my ‘Core’ skill were just gimping my build. Cataclysm is that much better and has that many ways to buff it.

Is this ‘working as intended’?

EDIT: To be clear, I’m not against having viable builds that don’t use core skills. It’s just that in this case, Cataclysm basically does the same thing as Lightning storm only better, and with many more ways to buff it like crazy. By comparison, my Minion Necro also doesn’t use a core skill, and tries to have as much up time on his Ultimate as possible… but in that case the Ultimate is making my ‘Main’ ability, Minions, much much stronger, rather than making them obsolete.

(EDIT: I’m not into seasons, so I am on Eternal Realm, if that matters.)

What you just wrote is true for any non-Cataclysm Druid build.

It’s also true for any build this season (all classes) that isnt Cataclysm, Blood Wave or Earthquake.

It’s working as intended. It’s just your measuring stick being broken.

Laceeate build owns again. Try out .
Diablo IV Pit 105 Run with a Lacerate Druid S7

Boulder Druid is also very strong. Druid class is the one which should have the least doom mongering merchants. Hardly any bugs and multiple viable builds.
Sorcerer is another story.