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.
This guide for the new Touch of Death Spiritborn build for Diablo 4 should illustrate that. We take you through options for PVE and PVP builds for the build and prepare you for endgame content like the Artificer’s Pit.
Best Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn leveling build in Diablo 4 Season 6
The Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn build is exclusively for the Diablo 4 endgame and because of how it relies on certain Aspect synergies and Paragon skills, there isn’t really a workable variant for fast leveling.
For that reason, we recommend the Stinger Centipede Spiritborn build to level with. It uses some of the skills you’ll wind up with in your endgame Touch of Death build and is a handy way to learn when to cast them effectively.
Best setup for leveling
| Level | Skill |
|---|---|
| 1 | Thunderspike |
| 2 | Enhanced Thunderspike |
| 3 | Accelerated Thunderspike |
| 4 | Stinger |
| 5 | Enhanced Stinger |
| 6 | Advantageous Stinger |
| 7 | Ravager |
| 8 | Enhanced Ravager |
| 9 | Vigorous |
| 10 | Stinger |
| 11 | Stinger |
| 12 | Armored Hide |
| 13 | Enhanced Armored Hide |
| 14 | Reinforced Armored Hide |
| 15 | Measured Ravager |
| 16 | Velocity |
| 17 | Rushing Claw |
| 18 | Enhanced Rushing Claw |
| 19 | Invasive Rushing Claw |
| 20 | Enhanced Rushing Claw |
| 21 | Invasive Rushing Claw |
| 22 | Stinger |
| 23 | Stinger |
| 24 | Vigorous |
| 25 | Velocity |
| 26 | The Hunter |
| 27 | Harmonious Hunter |
| 28 | Exalted Hunter |
| 29 | Vigorous |
| 30 | Velocity |
| 31 | Ravenous |
| 32 | Ravenous |
| 33 | Ravenous |
| 34 | Focal Point |
| 35 | Apex |
| 36 | Noxious Resonance |
| 37 | Apex |
| 38 | Apex |
| 39 | Mirage |
| 40 | Swift |
| 41 | Swift |
| 42 | Swift |
| 43 | Acceleration |
| 44 | Acceleration |
| 45 | Resolution |
| 46 | Spiritual Attunement |
| 47 | Supremacy |
| 48 | Diminishment |
| 49 | Diminishment |
| 50 | Diminishment |
| 51 | Antivenom |
| 52 | Nourishment |
| 53 | Patient Guard |
| 54 | Auspicious |
| 55 | Auspicious |
| 56 | Supremacy |
| 57 | Supremacy |
| 58 | Nourishment |
| 59 | Nourishment |
| 60 | The Hunter |
| Renown 1 | The Hunter |
| Renown 2 | The Hunter |
| Renown 3 | The Hunter |
| Renown 4 | Fueled |
| Renown 5 | Resilient |
| Renown 6 | Resilient |
| Renown 7 | Resilient |
| Renown 8 | Potent |
| Renown 9 | Potent |
| Renown 10 | Potent |
| Renown 11 | Resolution |
| Renown 12 | Resolution |
Best leveling rotation
- Thunderspike
- Stinger
- Ravager
- Rushing Claw
- Armored Hide
- The Hunter
Thunderspike will be your chief way of generating Vigor while applying Vulnerable to enemies to soften them up for your key damage abilities. You’ll also get some useful damage reduction from this thanks to the Diminishment passive when you allocate points there.
Stinger is your primary source of damage and a potent poisoning option thanks to some Legendary Aspects we’ll go over below. Pop Ravager to increase your damage output and increase Vigor generation.
Rushing Claw is used primarily as a mobility tool but with the Invasive augment, its a great tool for spamming damage as it loses its hindering cooldown. Reinforced Hide is here your defensive tool and also grants Unstoppable to shed crowd control.
Pop The Hunter ultimate often as a means of dealing big damage and stacking Ferocity of increased attack speed and Vigor generation. This should help you get off more Stingers to deal poison damage and use the Noxious Resonance Key Passive to pop that poison for insane AOE.
Best leveling Legendary Aspects
These Legendary Aspects will bolster your key damage skill and help generate resources to cast it more often. We have some for survivability thrown in.
| Aspect name | Effect | Where to get | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pestilence | Stinger Spawns a Pestilent Swarm at its target locations which deals [35-75]% of its base damage per hit.Pestilent swarms now last 100% longer and spiral outwards. | Hallowed Stones | Nahantu |
| Infestation | Lucky Hit: Centipede Skills now have a 35% chance to spawn a Pestilent Swarm which deals [x] poison damage per hit.All Pestilent Swarms also deal 100% of their base damage as Poisoning damage over 6 seconds. | Salvage a piece of gear with Aspect of Infestation | All Regions |
| Raider’s | Heal for [1-21%] Maximum Life when you Poison a Healthy enemy. | Salvage a piece of gear with Raider’s Aspect | All Regions |
| Umbral | Restore [1-8] resource of your Primary Resource when you Crowd Control an enemy. | Champion’s Demise | Dry Steppes |
| 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 this particular leveling build, Raehir is the best Mercenary to have on retainer. He provides Fortify for defense while harrying enemies with stun and a passive boost to Armor means you’ll get the most out of the Unyielding Hits Aspect’s damage boost when you use Reinforced Hide.
His Valiance skill also rescues you from big damage which means you’ll avoid one shots when trudging through Helltides for that extra Experience.
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Best Touch of Death Centipede endgame build in Diablo 4 Season 6
Now that we’ve leveled effectively with the Stinger Centipede build, it’s time to swap over to the Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn for endgame. This build focuses on synergizing the Touch of Death skill’s massive DOT and the Insatiable Aspect’s explosive swarms.
The Noxious Resonance Key Passive will pop your poison damage and trigger new swarms which makes up the bulk of your damage output. The Poised Touch of Death Augment turns the skill into a Core skill which then benefits from the Rod of Kepeleke’s insane Unique Aspect.
For your Primary Spirit Hall, you’ll want to use the Gorilla for access to Barrier as well as a near-permanent buff from the Aspect of Unyeilding Hits. Choose the Jaguar as your Secondary Spirit Hall for increased attack speed and a massive boost from the Harmony of Ebewaka Unique helm.
Combine all of this with the Ring of Midnight Sun and some extra sources of Vigor generation and the end result is a build that is able to constantly spam high-damage attacks thanks to unlimited resources and guaranteed crits.
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 |
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 |
Best endgame rotation
- 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.
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.
Paragon Boards and Glyphs
These are the Paragon Glyphs you’ll want to focus on for the Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn build:
- Canny: For every 5 Intelligence purchased within range, you deal +2.0% increased Non-physical damage.
- Spirit: For every 5 Dexterity purchased within range, you deal +2.6% increased Critical Strike Damage.
- Bane: For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +2.0% increased Poison damage.
- Revenge: Grants +20.0% bonus to all Rare nodes within range.
- Colossal: For every 5 Strength purchased within range, you deal +2.0% increased damage with Gorilla Skills.
Best endgame Aspects
| 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 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. |
| 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 endgame Mercenary
For the same reasons he helped the leveling build, Raehir is the best Mercenary to hire for the Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn. Primarily, the damage boosts he provides to the Unyielding Hits Aspect make him invaluable to keeping up your slaughter.
Best Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn PvP build in Diablo 4 Season 6
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.
That’s everything you need to know to build your Touch of Death Centipede Spiritborn in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred. Check out our Spiritborn build tier list if you want to see how your chosen loadout stacks up.