Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred introduces the Spiritborn class which leverages the power of four different Spirit Guardians. Speccing into the Centipede gives you access to the busted Touch of Death build.
Diablo 4’s buildcrafting landscape has been turned upside down since the 2.0 update dropped alongside Vessel of Hatred and the Season of Hatred Rising. Sweeping changes to progression including a new level cap and a reworked Paragon system have impacted every player.
For those who purchased the expansion, you also have new mechanics such as Mercenaries and Runewords to consider. While overwhelming at first, the good news is this adds a tonne of depth to your build options.
Best Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn skills
To assemble the Touch of Death build, allocate this many points on these active skills:
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Rock Splitter (Prior to acquiring Rod of Kepeleke) | Enhanced | 5 |
| Touch of Death | Enhanced, Poised | 5 |
| Ravager | Enhanced, Measured | 1 |
| Counter Attack | Enhanced, Reinforced | 1 |
| Armored Hide | Enhanced, Reinforced | 1 |
| Scourge | Enhanced, Reinforced | 1 |
| The Hunter | Harmonious, Exalted | 3 |
Also, allocate this many points on these passive skills:
| Passive Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Vigorous | 2 |
| Balanced Exertion | 3 |
| Mirage | 1 |
| Unrestrained Power | 3 |
| Focal Point | 1 |
| Apex | 3 |
| Endurance | 1 |
| Perseverance | 3 |
| Patient Guard | 1 |
| Auspicious | 3 |
| Resilient | 3 |
| Vehemence | 3 |
| Potent | 3 |
| Furnace | 3 |
| Ravenous | 3 |
| Oppressive | 3 |
| Oppressive | 3 |
| Resolution | 1 |
| Spiritual Attunement | 3 |
| Supremacy | 3 |
| Noxious Resonance | Key Passive |
When you start a new character, if you’re a returning player, you’ll likely have lots of skill points ready to assign from your Renown or by being boosted to level 50 from the start.
But if you’re a new player, you’ll need to start from scratch. The good news is you’ll be able to hit level 50 very quickly in the post-Season 6 version of Diablo 4.
Below, we’ve detailed how many skill points you’ll need to assign to each passive and active skill using your leveling and Renown points.
You may find yourself needing to select other skills to progress across the skill tree. That’s okay, just respec to the ones included in the build once you’re able. Who knows, you may create a custom build that suits your needs better.
Spirit Hall
At level 15, select Jaguar as your Primary Spirit animal and Gorilla as your secondary. This will ensure that both your damage output and Resolve remain buffed at all times, meaning you’ll do more damage and take less.
While the Touch of Death build is based on Centipede skills, it doesn’t require the Centipede in the Spirit Hall.
| Spirit | Skill | Buff |
|---|---|---|
| Jaguar (Primary) | – | Additional strike every 15 strikes |
| Gorilla (Secondary) | Resolve | Damage Reduction |
Best Touch of Death rotation
When running the Touch of Death build, you’ll need to make sure that you use your skills in the following order against mobs and elites:
- Touch of Death
- Ravager
- Armored Hide
- Scourge
- The Hunter
- Counter Attack
Thanks to the Rod of Kepeleke, your Touch of Death is now a Basic skill that costs no resource, so you should be spamming it as often as possible to deal damage and generate swarms. Keep up Ravager and Armored Hide as often as possible for damage buffs and Unstoppable.
When faced with Elites or Bosses, pop Scourge to deal a massive burst of damage and refresh your resource. Use The Hunter Ultimate wherever possible to gain increased damage from Supremacy and Resolution.
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When required for defense, Counter Attack will dodge almost all incoming damage thanks to a number of buffs to dodge chance. It also offers a critical chance bonus but it’s best saved for a pinch.
Best Paragon Glyphs
Once you reach level 60, you’ll gain access to the Paragon Board to continue leveling. You’ll essentially boost your stats each time you unlock a node, but eventually, you’ll need to select a Glyth for a more substantial upgrade.
More of these will unlock as you progress, so select the following Glyphs to maximize the potential of this Spiritborn build:
Level 15
- Spirit
- Bane
- Canny
- Menagerist
- Colossal
Level 46
- Bane
- Spirit
- Menagerist
- Canny
- Colossal
Best Mercenaries
The top recommended primary mercenary for leveling a Spiritborn in Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion is Varyana. Not only will she buff your speed as her killstreak increases, but she’ll also distract and tank a lot of enemies.
Consider using Raheir as your reinforcement merc. His defensive buffs will help keep you alive should you get caught by a mob.
Best Aspects
Here are the best Aspects you should hunt down for this Spiritborn build:
| Aspect name | Effect | Where to get | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insatiable | Kills extend the duration of your active Touch of Death swarms by 0.2 seconds. When a swarm is replaced early it bursts for [100-300%] of the damage it would have done. | Betrayed Tomb | 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 |
| Aprehension | Once an enemy is Slowed by at least 80%, they also become Feared for 3 seconds. You deal [20-40%]x increased damage to Feared enemies. | Skatsimi Fane | Nahantu |
| 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 items, equipment & Runewords
Here’s the best gear you should hunt down for the Touch of Death build, including the best Runewords to use:
| 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. |
| Jacinth Shell | Two emeralds to get extra Dexterity | Chest Armor | Spending Vigor Heals you for 9% [1 – 10]% of your Maximum Life.Every second, your active Cooldowns now drain 10% of your Maximum Life to reduce their durations by 3 seconds. |
| Gloves of Unyielding Hits | – | Gloves | Casting a Gorilla Skill increases your Weapon Damage by [10-30]% of your Armor for 3 seconds. Maximum 1,500 bonus Weapon Damage |
| Leggings of Aprehension | Two emeralds to get extra Dexterity | Pants | Once an enemy is Slowed by at least80%, they also become Feared for 3 seconds. You deal 40% increased damage to Feared enemies. |
| Rakanoth’s Wake | – | Shoes | When you cast a Skill with a Cooldown, you explode, dealing [150 – 450] Fire damage. |
| Rod of Kepeleke | XolKry | 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. |
| Insatiable Ocelot’s Eye | Skull to get extra Armor | Amulet | Kills extend the duration of your active Touch of Death swarms by 0.2 seconds. When a swarm is replaced early it bursts for [100-300%] of the damage it would have done. |
| Soulwatch Hoop of Redirected Force | Skull to get extra Armor | Ring | Gain increased Critical Strike Damage equal [30-70%] of your Block Chance. Blocking doubles this bonus for 10 seconds. |
| 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 Touch of Death PvP build
Fortunately, you don’t need to make any alterations to the skills or equipment on your Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn to take it into Diablo 4’s PVP. The resource generation and damage buffs of this build make it a monster against other players.
Whittle them down with DOT from Touch of Death and Scourge and then pop them unceremoniously with the Noxious Resonance Key Passive. It’s simplicity itself.
Now you’re up to date with how to best build the Evade Eagle in Season 6 of Diablo 4 if you want to make sure to check out the best classes to run as a Barbarian, Sorcerer, Rogue, Druid, and Necromancer. If you’re curious as to where your favorite build shapes up in the current meta, our Spiritborn tier list has all you need to know.