Blizzard EntertainmentKing Kong hasn’t got anything on the Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build in Diablo 4. Here’s how to assemble it in Season 7 and beyond.
Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion added exciting 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.
Blizzard EntertainmentBest Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn skills
To assemble the Crushing Hand Gorilla Spiritborn build, allocate this many points on these 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 |
Also, allocate this many points on these 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 |
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-Vessel of Hatred 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.
Related
Spirit Hall
At level 15, select Centipede as your Primary Spirit animal and Jaguar as your secondary.
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 Crushing Hand skill rotation
When running the Crushing Hand Spiritborn build, you’ll need to make sure that you use your skills in the following order against mobs and elites:
- 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.
Blizzard EntertainmentPowers of Witchcraft
Season 7 adds Witch Powers to give each character a boost and something new to do this season. While all Witch Powers are beneficial, some are more suited to certain classes and builds.
For this build, choose the following Witch Powers:
- Breath of the Coven – Boosts Attack Speed.
- Soul Harvest – Sucks the life from nearby enemies.
- Aura of Misfortune – Enemy hits can sometimes fail to connect.
- Aura of Siphoning – Casts an aura that heals you.
- Aura Specialization – Expands aura size and slightly buffs critical strike damage.
- Doom Orb – Damage reduction.
Powers of Witchcraft may disappear after Season 7, but they could return in another form like Vampire Powers and Malignant Hearts did.
Best Occult Gems
Here are the best Occult Gems for this build:
- Dust Stone – Buffs damage.
- Moonlight Ward – Boosts defense.
- Vile Phylactery – Pulls enemies closer for group damage.
Best 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 Mercenaries
The top recommended primary mercenary for leveling a Spiritborn in Diablo 4 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 | Power | Item type | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrelenting | Every 3rd consecutive Crushing Hand smashes an additional 10 times around you dealing [25-45%] of its Base damage per hit. | Various | Nahantu – Remnants of Rage dungeon |
| 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. | Various | None – Extract from a Legendary item |
| 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. | Various | None – Extract from a Legendary item |
| Redirected Force | Gain increased Critical Strike Damage equal [30-70%] of your Block Chance. Blocking doubles this bonus for 10 seconds. | Various | None – Extract from a Legendary item |
Best items, equipment & Runewords
Here’s the best gear you should hunt down for the Crushing Hand 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. |
| 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 to return 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. |
Building the Crushing Hand for PvP
Currently, the above Crushing Hand build will serve you well in PvP as it does in all other areas of gameplay. Not only is the Spiritborn an S-tier class in PvP this season, but the Crushing Hand build, while not as overpowered as the Quill Volley build, is still an effective choice.
Now you’re up to date with how to best build the Evade Eagle in Season 7 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.