Stinger – Spiritborn Leveling Build for Diablo 4

To find out more general information about leveling as a Spiritborn in Diablo 4, you can check out our main Spiritborn Leveling Guide. Or you can go to our Spiritborn Builds page for a list of other leveling builds to choose from.

This build focuses on poison damage over time and can easily complete the campaign on Normal difficulty. However, if you want to challenge your skills on Hard, Expert, or Penitent difficulties, we recommend using the Eagle Quill Volley or Jaguar Rake builds instead, as the Centipede Stinger is more gear-reliant.

Once your character reaches Level 60 or is ready for Torment I Difficulty, pick one of our Endgame Builds to continue your Spiritborn journey.

Build Introduction

This Spiritborn leveling build revolves around Stinger as the main skill and provides massive poison damage against large groups of enemies, combined with multiple Jaguar skills as well as the Jaguar as our Spirit Guardian, to amplify our attacks. Armored Hide and the Gorilla as secondary Spirit Guardian provide plenty of survivability, which will be great during leveling, or whenever you find yourself in a dangerous situation. 

For information on Season 6, you can check out our Season Hub.

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Allocation of Skill Points

The table below outlines the recommended order for allocating your Skill Points. At Level 60, you will have a total of 59 points available and an additional 12 points can be obtained upon completing Renown in each zone, resulting in a total of 71 points.

Order	Skill	Cluster
1	Rock Splitter	Basic Skill
2	Enhanced Rock Splitter	Basic Skill
3	Stinger	Core Skill
4	Enhanced Stinger	Core Skill
5	Advantageous Stinger	Core Skill
6	Stinger Rank 2	Core Skill
7	Stinger Rank 3	Core Skill
8	Stinger Rank 4	Core Skill
9	Stinger Rank 5	Core Skill
10	Vigorous	Core Passive
11	Velocity	Core Passive
12	Armored Hide	Defensive Skill
13	Enhanced Armored Hide	Defensive Skill
14	Reinforced Armored Hide	Defensive Skill
15	Counterattack	Defensive Skill
16	Counterattack Enhancement	Defensive Skill
17	Reinforced Counterattack	Defensive Skill
18	Rushing Claw	Potency Skill
19	Vigorous Rank 2	Core Passive
20	Vigorous Rank 3	Core Passive
21	Velocity Rank 2	Core Passive
22	Velocity Rank 3	Core Passive
23	Focal Point	Focus Passive
24	The Hunter	Ultimate Skill
25	Harmonious Hunter	Ultimate Skill
26	Exalted Hunter	Ultimate Skill
27	The Hunter Rank 2	Ultimate Skill
28	The Hunter Rank 3	Ultimate Skill
29	The Hunter Rank 4	Ultimate Skill
30	The Hunter Rank 5	Ultimate Skill
31	Focal Point Rank 2	Focus Passive
32	Focal Point Rank 3	Focus Passive
33	Mirage	Focus Passive
34	Adaptive Stances	Key Passive
35	Unrestrained	Focus Passive
36	Unrestrained Rank 2	Focus Passive
37	Unrestrained Rank 3	Focus Passive
38	Apex	Focus Passive
39	Apex Rank 2	Focus Passive
40	Apex Rank 3	Focus Passive
41	Diminishment	Focus Passive
42	Diminishment Rank 2	Focus Passive
43	Diminishment Rank 3	Focus Passive
44	Patient Guard	Defensive Passive
45	Antivenom	Defensive Passive
46	Nourishment	Defensive Passive
47	Nourishment Rank 2	Defensive Passive
48	Nourishment Rank 3	Defensive Passive
49	Endurance	Defensive Passive
50	Endurance Rank 2	Defensive Passive
51	Endurance Rank 3	Defensive Passive
52	Perseverance	Defensive Passive
53	Perseverance Rank 2	Defensive Passive
54	Perseverance Rank 3	Defensive Passive
55	Resilient	Potency Passive
56	Resilient Rank 2	Potency Passive
57	Resilient Rank 3	Potency Passive
58	Resolution	Ultimate Passive
59	Resolution Rank 2	Ultimate Passive
60	Resolution Rank 3	Ultimate Passive
61	Spiritual Attunement	Ultimate Passive
62	Supremacy	Ultimate Passive
63	Supremacy Rank 2	Ultimate Passive
64	Supremacy Rank 3	Ultimate Passive
65	Potent	Potency Passive
66	Furnace	Potency Passive
67	Furnace Rank 2	Potency Passive
68	Furnace Rank 3	Potency Passive
69	Ravenous	Potency Passive
70	Ravenous Rank 2	Potency Passive
71	Ravenous Rank 3	Potency Passive

These are the abilities you want on your skill bar:

Recommended

Suggested Skill Bar

CounterattackRushing ClawArmored HideThe HunterRock SplitterStinger

Skill Tree

Here is the completed skill tree for the build:

Spirit Hall – Spiritborn Specialization

The Specialization of the Spiritborn Class becomes available at Level 15. It is recommended to complete the “Sacred Hunt“ questline, within the town of Gea Kul in Kehjistan, as soon as possible. The quest is given by Tarka.

The Spirit Hall system allows you to choose two animal spirits as protective guardians to receive powerful passive bonuses. The first, primary Spirit Guardian can be selected at Level 15, after completing the quest. Followed by the secondary Spirit Guardian at Level 30. You do not have to pick the same Guardian twice! Each Guardian has a different primary and secondary bonus ability, and you do not have to pick the same Guardian twice!

The Spirit Hall allows you to combine two different Spirit Guardians or stick with just one.

• Primary Spirit Guardian: Jaguar
• Every 15th time you deal direct damage to an enemy with a Jaguar Skill, unleash an additional strike dealing 15% of the damage you have dealt to them in the last 0.5 seconds. All skills are now also Jaguar skills.
• Secondary Spirit Guardian: Gorilla
  • Maximum Resolve increased by 2. When you have at least 5 stacks of Resolve, you are Unstoppable.

For this endgame build, we use the Jaguar as the primary Spirit Guardian to maximize Stinger‘s damage while altering it to also be considered a Jaguar skill, which will help the build with additional strikes thanks to the primary spirit passive of the Jaguar. The secondary Guardian is the Gorilla, simply for increased Resolve and another way to gain Unstoppable.

Mercenaries

During the Vessel of Hatred campaign, you will unlock different NPC Mercenaries who join you on your travels. As you level up, you can generally pick any mercenary you like, as they will not play an essential role until you optimize your build in the endgame. However, if you would prefer to get a recommendation, we would advise selecting Aldkin as your main companion, and Raheir as Reinforcement.

Aldkin Skill Tree choices:

• Core Skill: Haunt
• Core Passive: Terrify
• Iconic Skill: Field of Languish
• Iconic Passive: Paranoia

Raheir Reinforcement choices:

• Opportunity Skill: Stinger
• Reinforcement Skill: Crater

Mechanics and Playstyle

The build is rather simple, centered around Stinger as the main source of damage.

Jaguar skills will provide all the mobility you need, while also increasing critical strike damage through Counterattack, as well as additional damage to Injured enemies with The Hunter Ultimate.

The Gorilla’s Armored Hide helps with protection and further boosts our survivability, while Rock Splitter is a good filler and generates Vigor.

Lastly, Stinger will greatly benefit from the Aspect of Infestation and the Aspect of Pestilence, which will increase and amplify our poison damage even further.

Damage Rotation

Let’s see how this build will look in action:

1. Use Rushing Claw to get close to enemies.
2. Armored Hide for increased protection.
3. Counterattack to boost dodge chance and increased Critical Strike Damage for every close enemy.
4. The Hunter Ultimate for even more damage, especially to Injured enemies.
5. Spam Stinger as much as possible!
6. Use Rock Splitter as a filler or to generate Vigor.

Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats

When picking your gear, higher Item Power generally indicates stronger gear, but you should also consider the affixes and effects that are relevant to your class and build. When making gear decisions, keep an eye on both Item Power and the specific attributes that complement the build.

Legendary Aspects

For general information on how to unlock the Codex of Power, head to our dedicated Aspects and Codex of Power guide. You can imprint Apsects onto items by visiting the Occultist.

Listed below are all the Aspects that are important for this Centipede Spiritborn leveling build. You can equip any aspect from this list in the slot it drops for, as they are all useful while leveling. However, when placed in your Weapon slot, the Aspect of Infestation provides an insane damage boost of +100% effectiveness. All Aspects are listed in order of priority.

If you want a recommendation regarding which Aspect to get first, the Aspect of the Umbral would be a good priority as it will help with Vigor management. You can unlock this aspect either through finding it naturally, as a random drop, or by completing the Champion’s Demise Dungeon in Dry Steppes.

Aspect Name	Legendary Aspect Power	Source
Aspect of Infestation	Lucky hit: Centipede Skills have up to a 35% chance to spawn a Pestilent Swarm from the target which deals {x} poison damage per hit. Pestilent Swarms now also deal 100% of their Base Damage as Poisoning Damage over 6 seconds.
Aspect of the Umbral	Restore {x} of your primary resource when you crowd control an enemy.	Champion’s demise, Dry steppes
Aspect of Pestilence	Soar casts Vortex at its landing location and deals {x}% increased damage.
Duelist’s Aspect	Maximum Ferocity increased by 1-5.
Aspect of Endurance	Your resolve has a x% chance to not be lost when you are hit for each stack of Ferocity you have.
Aspect of Interdiction	Gain x% Block Chance per Resolve stack.
Aspect of Unyielding Hits	Casting a Gorilla skill adds x% of your Armor to all attacks for 3 seconds.
Aspect of the Dark Dance	Every 5 seconds, your next Core skill costs {x} life instead of primary resource. This will only occur if you have at least 60% of your Maximum Life. Skills that spend life deal x% bonus damage.
Aspect of Disobedience	You gain x% increased armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage stacking up to x%.	Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

During your leveling journey, you may stumble across items with very good affixes. Tempering these items can provide you with a significant boost in character power, so make sure you understand how it works. 

Tempering is only possible if you have already found a few Tempering Manuals while leveling!

Keep an eye out for the following stats and modifiers that are particularly beneficial for this build (listed in order of importance):

Gear Slot	Important Affixes (ranked by priority)	Tempering Recipes and Affixes
Helm	1. Dexterity 2. Armor 3. Resistances	Spiritborn Guard (Defensive): Armored Hide Active Duration Centipede Innovation (Utility): Stinger Size
Chest	1. Armor 2. Resistances 3. Maximum Life	Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration or Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Total Armor
Gloves	1. Ranks to Stinger 2. Critical Strike Chance 3. Damage over Time	Centipede Finesse (Offensive): Centipede Damage Centipede Innovation (Utility): Stinger Size
Pants	1. Armor or Dexterity 2. Maximum Life 3. Resistances	Natural Resistance (Defensive): Any Needed Resistance or Centipede Innovation (Utility): Stinger Size
Boots	1. Vigor Per Second 2. Movement Speed 3. Resistances, Armor	Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed Increase or Centipede Innovation (Utility): Stinger Size
Amulet	1. Attack Speed 2. Ranks Ravenous 3. Resource Cost Reduction	Manual: Worldly Stability: Resource Cost Reduction / Resource Generation or Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage / Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Rings	1. Resource Cost Reduction 2. Critical Strike Damage 3. Critical Strike Chance	Manual: Worldly Stability (Resource): Resource Cost Reduction / Resource Generation or Centipede Finesse (Offensive): Centipede Damage
Weapon (Polearm)	1. Dexterity 2. Maximum Life 3. Damage Over Time	Centipede Finesse (Offensive): Centipede Damage or Centipede Augments (Weapon): Chance for Stinger to Extra Hit

Gems and Runewords

Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Amethyst for Damage Over Time or Sapphire For Vulnerable Damage	Skull for healing received or Emerald for Dexterity	Skull For more Armor

If you find some of the Runes listed below, you can equip them as a Runeword on your Chest or Pants.

Runeword Combination	Runeword Effects
Cem Tal	Cem – Gain: 50 Offering — Cast Evade. Tal – Requires: 100 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Evoke the Spiritborn‘s Pestilent Swarm, dealing damage to enemies.
Poc Wat	Poc – Gain: 2 Offering — Spend 5% of your Maximum Resource. Wat – Requires: 100 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Evoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify, Slowing enemies, reducing their damage, and letting you Execute them.
Tam Gar	Tam – Gain: 25 Offering — Cast a non-channeled core skill. Gar – Requires: 25 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Gain 2.5% critical strike chance for 5 seconds, up to 25%.
Lith Ohm	Lith – Gain: 25 Offering — Stand still while fighting for 0.3 seconds. Ohm – Requires: 500 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds — Evoke the Barbarian’s War Cry, increasing your Movement Speed and damage dealt.

Which Elixirs Should You Use?

Head to the Alchemist in any main town and craft Elixirs to boost your stats and experience gain for 30 minutes! Remember to gather the necessary crafting materials by foraging plants (to get Bundled Herbs)

Listed below are Elixirs that will be useful for you while leveling as a Centipede focused Spiritborn:

1. Elixir of Resourcefulness for better Resource Management.
2. Elixir of Advantage to boost Attack Speed.
3. Elixir of Iron Barbs or Elixir of Fortitude for a small defensive boost until other options become available.

Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival! You can upgrade your potion at Level 60 multiple times, depending on whether you have the required materials or not.

Season 6: Hatred Rising

For a complete overview of Season 6, its mechanics and theme, new game mode, and other changes coming with the Season of Hatred Rising, please take a look at our comprehensive season hub here.

What matters most for leveling are the Realmwalkers. Defeating the Realmwalker will open a portal to the Seeting Realm. Completing the dungeon within will reward you with various items, depending on the rewards you choose upon entering, as well as Seething opals, which are consumables you can use. They can be stacked with elixirs to increase experience gains even further. For more information on which different Opals are available, head to our Seething Opal section here. 

Difficulty and Endgame

Once you hit Level 60 with this build, you will be ready to tackle harder difficulties as you transition into more challenging endgame content. Make sure to pick one of our recommended endgame builds to continue your journey! Additionally, keep your Obols until you reach maximum level (60), then spend them on a weapon to kickstart your preferred endgame build.

Changelog

• October 2nd, 2024: Guide created and theorycrafted for Season 6.