King Kong ain’t got s**t on the Crushing Hand Spiritborn build in Diablo 4. Here’s how to set it up for leveling and the endgame.
Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion busted buildcrafting wide open with the introduction of new mechanics like Mercenaries and Runewords. Of course, its most prominent addition was the Spiritborn, a brand new class to tinker with from the ground up.
Seen by many as an evolution of Diablo 3’s Witch Doctor, the Spiritborn draws on the power of four different animal guardians for flashy moves and interesting playstyles. This build focuses on the offensive and defensive synergies of the Gorilla.
Our handy guide will run through the best leveling and endgame setup for the Crushing Hand Spiritborn build in Diablo 4. Prepare for ‘monke’.
Best Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn leveling build in Diablo 4 Season 6
While your primary damaging skills for this build are Gorilla skills, you’ll notice a few Eagle and Jaguar skills thrown in to take advantage of certain passives. This is particularly true for the early leveling stages before you hit endgame.
Best leveling setup
Follow the guide below to set up your Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build to take you from level 1 to 60 in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred’s new leveling system.
Once you start your new character, invest your skill points in the following order:
| Level | Skill |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rock Splitter |
| 2 | Enhanced Rock Splitter |
| 3 | Sharp Rock Splitter |
| 4 | Crushing Hand |
| 5 | Enhanced Crushing Hand |
| 6 | Sustenance |
| 7 | Soar |
| 8 | Ravager |
| 9 | Crushing Hand |
| 10 | Crushing Hand |
| 11 | Crushing Hand |
| 12 | Crushing Hand |
| 13 | Vigorous |
| 14 | Velocity |
| 15 | Velocity |
| 16 | Velocity |
| 17 | Rushing Claw |
| 18 | Enhanced Soar |
| 19 | Replenishing Soar |
| 20 | Enhanced Ravager |
| 21 | Replenishing Ravager |
| 22 | Endurance |
| 23 | Fueled |
| 24 | Vigorous |
| 25 | Vigorous |
| 26 | The Seeker |
| 27 | Harmonious Seeker |
| 28 | Exalted Seeker |
| 29 | Resolution |
| 30 | Spiritual Attunement |
| 31 | Supremacy |
| 32 | Supremacy |
| 33 | Supremacy |
| 34 | Vital Strikes |
| 35 | Mirage |
| 36 | Swift |
| 37 | Swift |
| 38 | Swift |
| 39 | Mirage |
| 40 | Swift |
| 41 | Swift |
| 42 | Swift |
| 43 | The Seeker |
| 44 | The Seeker |
| 45 | The Seeker |
| 46 | The Seeker |
| 47 | Focal Point |
| 48 | Apex |
| 49 | Apex |
| 50 | Apex |
| 51 | Patient Guard |
| 52 | Nourishment |
| 53 | Sustinence |
| 54 | Intricacy |
| 55 | Intricacy |
| 56 | Enhanced Rushing Claw |
| 57 | Invasive Rushing Claw |
| 58 | Ravager |
| 59 | Ravager |
| 60 | Ravager |
| Renown 1 | Ravager |
| Renown 2 | Resolution |
| Renown 3 | Resolution |
| Renown 4 | Auspicious |
| Renown 5 | Auspicious |
| Renown 6 | Auspicious |
| Renown 7 | Resilient |
| Renown 8 | Resilient |
| Renown 9 | Resilient |
| Renown 10 | Potent |
| Renown 11 | Potent |
| Renown 12 | Spiritual Attunement |
Spirit Hall
At level 15, once you’ve completed the Sacred Hunt quest, set Eagle as your Primary Spirit. This will cause your evade to deal tremendous damage and inflict Vulnerable on enemies which will help take advantage of the Vital Strikes passive skill.
When you hit level 30, your Secondary Spirit should be set to Jaguar. This will keep up your stacks of Ferocity which not only helps increase your attack speed but also eliminates cooldown time for Rushing Claw.
Best leveling rotation
- Soar
- Ravager
- Rock Splitter
- Crushing Hand
- The Seeker
- Rushing Claw
When facing down mobs with the Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build in Diablo 4, you’ll want to open by dropping in with Soar for some solid opening damage and some Vulnerable procs. Pop Ravager for a damage increase and begin using Rock Splitter to build Vigor and stack Resolve for defensive and offensive boosts from your passives.
When you have enough Vigor, start using your Crushing Hand in combos of three to take advantage of the Unrelenting Aspect which doles out an extra 10 hits every third time you use the skill. The Seeker can be used for big damage but also applies more Vulnerable which helps your Vital Strikes Key Passive replenish your health and Vigor.
Rushing Claw will keep you mobile and allow you to move between mobs or exit any overwhelming situations.
Best leveling Legendary Aspects
The following Legendary Aspects will enhance your core damage skill and we’ve thrown in more sources of Vulnerable to help with resource and health generation.
| Aspect name | Effect | Where to get | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrelenting | Every 3rd consecutive Crushing Hand smashes an additional 10 times around you dealing [25-45%] of its Base damage per hit. | Remnants of Rage | Nahantu |
| Fell Soothsayer’s | When you cast an Incarnate Skill enemies around you become Vulnerable for 5 seconds.Killing a Vulnerable enemy echoes [15-55]% of the killing blow’s damage to another Nearby enemy | Ularian Sepulcher | Nahantu |
| Accursed Touch | Lucky Hit: Up to a 35.0% [20.0 – 40.0]% chance for your Skills to inflict Vampiric Curse on enemies.Enemies afflicted with Vampiric Curse are also Vulnerable. Vampiric Curse’s stored souls deal [20.0 – 60.0]% increased damage. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of Accursed Touch | All Regions |
| Redirected Force | Gain increased Critical Strike Damage equal [30-70%] of your Block Chance. Blocking doubles this bonus for 10 seconds. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of Redirected Force | All Regions |
| Unyielding Hits | Casting a Gorilla Skill increases your Weapon Damage by [10-30]% of your Armor for 3 seconds. Maximum 1,500 bonus Weapon Damage. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of Unyielding Hits | All Regions |
Best leveling Mercenary
For the Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build in Diablo 4, Raehir is the best Mercenary to have hired. He grants some extra defense through Fortify and also offers a passive bonus to Armor that will boost the damage bonus you receive from the Unyielding Hits Aspect.
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Best Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn endgame build for Diablo 4 Season 6
Now that you’ve leveled your Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn, it’s time to make some endgame alterations. This build relies on dealing massive AOE damage with the Rampant Crushing Hand skill thanks to an augment from the Unrelenting Aspect as well as damage boosts from stacking Resolve.
Through Resolves boosts to Armor and Block Chance, you’ll also pick up further damage boosts to your Gorilla skills via the Aspects of Unyielding Hits and Redirected Force. The combination of the Rod of Kepeleke and Ring of Midnight Sun Uniques will work in conjunction with the Prodigy’s Tempo Key Passive to cycle permanent Critical Hits and unprecedented resource generation.
Active skills
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Rock Splitter (Prior to acquiring Rod of Kepeleke) | Enhanced | 5 |
| Crushing Hand | Enhanced, Rampant | 5 |
| Ravager | Enhanced, Measured | 1 |
| Counter Attack | Enhanced, Reinforced | 1 |
| Armored Hide | Enhanced, Reinforced | 4 |
| Scourge | Enhanced, Adaptable | 1 |
| The Hunter | Harmonious, Exalted | 4 |
Passive skills
| Passive Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Vigorous | 1 |
| Balanced Exertion | 3 |
| Mirage | 1 |
| Unrestrained Power | 3 |
| Focal Point | 1 |
| Apex | 3 |
| Endurance | 1 |
| Perseverance | 3 |
| Patient Guard | 1 |
| Auspicious | 3 |
| Resilient | 3 |
| Dominant | 1 |
| Potent | 3 |
| Furnace | 3 |
| Resolution | 3 |
| Spiritual Attunement | 3 |
| Supremacy | 3 |
| Prodigy’s Tempo | Key Passive |
Spirit Hall
Despite being a Gorilla-centric build, the endgame variant of Crushing Hand Spiritborn uses the Centipede as its Primary Spirit. This offers more damage reduction for survivability.
The Jaguar is used as the Secondary Spirit to enhance attack speed. Both work in tandem with the Harmony of Ebewaka Unique Helm to apply a total of three Spirit types to your damaging skills for a major damage increase.
Best endgame rotation
- Crushing Hand
- Ravager
- Scourge
- The Hunter
- Armored Hide
- Counterattack
The Rod of Kepeleke turns your Core Skills into Basic Skills that don’t require Vigor to cast, which means you won’t need Rock Splitter when the build is fully online. Instead, you’ll want to spam Crushing Hand as often as possible because of its high AOE damage per Resolve stack and its ability to generate a Barrier.
Ravager and Scourge should be kept up as often as possible because they increase your damage and with proper use of the Prodigy’s Tempo Key Passive, they should have almost no cooldown. Scourge also offers healing.
Armored Hide will keep you safe from major damage and crowd control effects, and will also increase your resolve stacks should they fall too low. Counterattack offers additional defense but also increases your crit chance proccing extra abilities from passives and Legendary Aspects.
Finally, activate The Hunter wherever possible to gain a number of buffs from the passive skills like Supremacy and Resolution, which are available in the Ultimate node of the skill tree.
Paragon Glyphs
These are the Paragon Glyphs you’ll want to focus on for the Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build in Diablo 4:
- Fitness: For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal +2.0% increased Critical Strike Damage. Skills that Critically Strike generate 3 Vigor.
- Spirit: For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, Core Skills deal +4.0% increased Critical Strike Damage. Critical Strikes increase the damage an enemy takes from you by 3% for 20 seconds, up to 15%.
- Outmatch: Grants +25.0% bonus to all Rare nodes within range. You deal 15% increased Physical damage to Non-Elites and Bosses.
- Colossal: For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +2.0% increased damage with Gorilla Skills. You deal +2.0% increased damage to Close enemies. You deal 2% increased damage for each stack of Resolve you have.
- Turf: For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +2.0% increased damage to Close targets. You gain 15% Damage Reduction against Close enemies.
Best endgame Aspects
| Aspect name | Effect | Where to get | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrelenting | Every 3rd consecutive Crushing Hand smashes an additional 10 times around you dealing [25-45%] of its Base damage per hit. | Remnants of Rage | Nahantu |
| Unyielding Hits | Casting a Gorilla Skill increases your Weapon Damage by [10-30]% of your Armor for 3 seconds. Maximum 1,500 bonus Weapon Damage. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of Unyielding Hits | All Regions |
| Moonrise | Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill grants you 4% Attack Speed for 10 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Upon reaching maximum stacks, you enter a Vampiric Bloodrage, gaining [40 – 100]%[x] Basic Skill damage and 15% Movement Speed for 10 seconds. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of the Moonrise | All Regions |
| Redirected Force | Gain increased Critical Strike Damage equal [30-70%] of your Block Chance. Blocking doubles this bonus for 10 seconds. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of Redirected Force | All Regions |
Best endgame items and equipment
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmony of Ebewaka | PocQue | Helm | According to your secondary Spirit Hall choice, your Skills are all additionally Jaguar, Eagle, Gorilla, or Centipede Skills.Your Skills deal 30%increased damage per Spirit type they have. |
| Chest Armor of Binding Morass | Two emeralds to get extra Dexterity | Chest Armor | Dealing indirect damage to an enemy progressively Slows them by [30-70%] for 3 seconds. You deal 20%[x] increased damage to Slowed Enemies |
| Gloves of the Moonrise | – | Gloves | Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill grants you 4% Attack Speed for 10 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Upon reaching maximum stacks, you enter a Vampiric Bloodrage, gaining [40 – 100]%[x] Basic Skill damage and 15% Movement Speed for 10 seconds. |
| Leggings of Interdiction | Two emeralds to get extra Dexterity | Pants | Gain [1-15%] [+] Block Chance per Resolve stack. |
| Yen’s Blessing | – | Shoes | Unique Effect: Casting a Skill has a [40 – 60]% chance to cast a Non-Mobility, Non-Ultimate Skill that is currently on Cooldown. Can only occur once every 8 seconds. |
| Rod of Kepeleke | XolJah | Weapon | Your Core Skills are now additionally Basic Skills and free to cast, but deal up to 30% reduced damage based on their Vigor Cost.When cast at Maximum Vigor, your Core Skills consume all Vigor toreturn to full damage, cast at their largest Size, and become guaranteed Critical Strikes, with 3.00% increased Critical Strike Damage for each point of Vigor spent this way. |
| Amulet of Redirected Force | Skull to get extra Armor | Amulet | Gain increased Critical Strike Damage equal [30-70%] of your Block Chance. Blocking doubles this bonus for 10 seconds. |
| Ring of Unyielding Hits | Skull to get extra Armor | Ring | Casting a Gorilla Skill increases your Weapon Damage by [10-30]% of your Armor for 3 seconds. Maximum 1,500 bonus Weapon Damage |
| Ring of the Midnight Sun | Skull to get extra Armor | Ring | When you Critically Strike, you regain 50% of the Vigor you’ve spent in the last 2 seconds.Gain Counterattack’s Passive Effect. |
Best endgame Mercenary
For the same reasons as the leveling build, the Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn endgame build in Diablo 4 benefits from hiring Raehir as a Mercenary. His boost to Armor is invaluable to making the most of the Unyielding Hits Aspect.
Those are the most important aspects you need to be aware of when setting up your Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build in Diablo 4.
If you want to see how it stacks up against other builds for the class, check out our Spiritborn tier list.
