It’s been over a year since the release of Diablo IV, while the Vessel of Hatred expansion was announced at BlizzCon 2023. Today, an official livestream shared the first details on the upcoming brand-new Spiritborn class.
Spiritborn hail from Nahantu, a brand-new area players will explore and campaign through in the DLC. They can swap between the realm of the living and the spirit realm. Their mission is to sustain the harmony between Sanctuary and the Spirit Realm. However, for young, living Spiritborn, stepping into the Spirit Realm is not recommended, as it is a dangerous journey predominantly left to the elders.
In this live stream, players see a trailer of the Spiritborn and how they came to be. Additionally, you get to witness their combat style. The Spiritborn utilizes martial arts and can also connect with Spirit Guardians and summon them to fight alongside you in small bursts. Depending on what abilities you are focusing on, it can change your fighting style completely.
Depending on the Spirit Guardian, it can change how you deal your damage. As explained in the live stream by Art Director Nick Chilano, they all have unique fighting styles. The Gorilla uses blunt force damage and is intensely strong. The Jaguar utilizes cleave attacks, multi-hit combos, and agility, and the Centipede uses open-palm strikes and applies poison. Finally, the Eagle is a precision-based guardian who focuses on repositioning on the battlefield as and when needed.
With the addition of the Spiritborn, Diablo will see a mount that isn’t a horse added to the game. There will also be the addition of pets, where you can get the Alkor Snow Leopard, Hralti Canine, and Natalya the Tiger pets.
During the live stream, the developers showcased some of the abilities players can expect to see and utilize when experimenting with the Spiritborn. Unlike some other classes available in Diablo IV, Spiritborn will be a highly agile, fast-attacking class, regardless of what Guardian you use.
This will become an ultimate ability for those who want to see their Spirit Guardian on the battlefield. While you may catch glimpses of them in your abilities, they will instantly be summoned to your side once you cast your Ultimate.
Going for a Jaguar (Rezoka) build will have fast-paced attacks, multi-attack combos, and plenty of fiery flair. Players must focus on attack speed to get as many cleave attacks as possible to get the most out of the Jaguar. Additionally, the Jaguar provides a buff that will increase attack speed to all Jaguar abilities, give them even more power, and reduce cooldowns to allow you to use abilities more often. One of the primary Jaguar skills showcased in the live stream is an ability called “Rushing Claws,” where the player will dash through the target and slash at everything in its path. Rezoka’s abilities all do Fire damage.
The Gorilla (Wumba) focuses its energy around protection and is a slightly tankier build than some others. You’ll be able to retain the damage taken, buff your attacks using it, and return it to the enemy. The primary attribute of the Gorilla is damage reduction. An example of one of the primary abilities of the Gorilla is called “Crushing hands,” which is very self-explanatory. It crushes all enemies on the spot in a small circle. Wumba’s abilities do physical damage only.
The Eagle (Kwatli) is a highly agile guardian who enables freedom of movement with dashes, blinks, and more. Its primary attribute is movement speed. One of the main abilities of the Eagle is “Soar,” which allows you to pick a target area to fly to, come down on enemies, and apply Vulnerable to them to enhance your attacks. Kwatli’s abilities do Lightning damage.
The Centipede (Balazan) is about persistence and applying poison where possible. This build is one to look out for if you like damage-over-time builds and applying stacks of poison. In addition, the Centipede can also leech health back off of their enemies. One of the primary abilities of the Centipede is called “Stinger,” and it causes a large amount of damage in a small circle area. However, it has the unique concept of pseudo-range, which can also echo damage onto nearby enemies who have been poisoned. In the live stream, Centipede’s primary attribute is not mentioned. Balazan’s abilities inflict Poison damage.
Each Spirit Guardian has their own key passive, which can help you decide on what build you want to choose and allow for a wider range of flexibility.
- Eagle: 30% Movement Speed
- Gorilla: 30% Damage Reduction
- Jaguar: 30% Attack Speed
- Centipede: 30% Life Steal
The Spiritborn class in Diablo IV is shaping up to be one of the most in-depth classes in the game, offering a wide range of abilities and ways to play the new DLC for those excited to get stuck into Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, the DLC releases on October 8, 2024. Once immersed in Nahantu, Spiritborn will have a class quest to complete, which unlocks the Spirit Hall, which is the brand-new mechanic for Spiritborn.
Utilizing the Spirit Hall will allow players to deepen their connection with the Guardians of their choice. You can select one as your Primary Spirit and either choose the same spirit again or a different Guardian for your secondary spirit at level 30. For even more info on the Spiritborn, check out Blizzard’s blog post.
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