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Diablo 4’s Vessel of HatredExpansion has added the Spiritborn class to the game, and the community is eager to find the best builds. While some, such as the Evade Eagle build, are strong due to unintended interactions, some are powerful by design. One of these, the Endgame Rake Spiritborn, is an excellent choice for players looking for a fast paced AoE build.
To build this Endgame Rake Spiritborn, players will need to prioritize key stats such as Critical Strike Damage, Overpower Damage, and Dodge Chance. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to which Paragon Glyphs to use, Best in Slot Gear, Ability Point Distribution, and even which Mercenary choices most benefit the build.
Why This Rake Spiritborn Build Is Strong
What makes the Endgame Rake Spiritborn one of thebest Spiritborn buildsin the game is its' namesake abiilty, Rake. The Rake Spiritborn relies on two characteristics of this ability: its strong damage numbers and its reduced Vigor cost per stack of Ferocity. Careful itemization and the use ofthe Duelist’s Aspectcan make Rake essentially free to cast without compromising on damage. This results is a powerful AoE playstyle ideal for clearing packs and enemy-dense content (such as Infernal Hordes or the Pit).
However, it is worth noting that this build naturally lacks some survivability - the Jaguar’s abilities don’t have the mobility of the Eagle or the tankiness of the Gorilla. Instead,Defensive Aspects and Elixirs are key to surviving mechanicsin the late game. Don’t be afraid to adjust them as needed for specific activities.
Ability Point Distribution For The Rake Spiritborn Build
The Ability Point distribution for the Endgame Rake Build is quite straightforward, relying almost exclusively on Jaguar Skills and Passives.
Basic Node
Thrash is the Basic Ability in this build, although hopefully as Vigor generation comes online it will be used infrequently. Put a single point into the ability, and then Enhanced Thrash to unlock the next Skill Node.
Core Node
The Core Node is where we pick up the build’s namesake - Rake.
Focus Node
The Focus abilities in this build are Vortex and Ravager. Vortex will be grouping enemies to be hit by Rake, and Ravager will be buffing Rake.
Defensive Node
The only Defensive skill used by this build is Counterattack. To enhance its passive effectiveness, this build stacks dodge chance. However, the active effect of Counterattack is excellent in situations where players need an attack to miss them (such as a one-shot mechanic).
Potency Node
No skills from the Potency Node are in this build, but several passives from this cluster are used to increase damage output.
Ultimate Node
The Ultimate for this build is Hunter. For best results, level all five ranks, and buy the two upgrades.
Key Passive Node
Finally, there are two possible Key Passives for this build, depending on which Mercenary the player is using.If utilizing Aldkin, this build can make excellent use of Vital Strikesdue to Aldkin’s Vulnerable spam. However,if using Subo, it is better to select Prodigy’s Tempo.
Spirit Hall Choices For The Rake Spiritborn
Somewhat unsurprisingly, this build benefits from the first Eagle Spirit Bonus, as it improves clear speed through movement buffs, as well as allowing Jaguar Skills to benefit from the Acceleration and Brilliance Passives by making all skills Eagle Skills. Many builds use this Spirit Hall Bonus for the same reason.
In the second Slot, this build uses the Jaguar Spirit. Not only does it allow us to stack Ferocity on kills, but it also increases maximum Ferocity Stacks by 1, and raising that max Ferocity number as high as possible is this build’s bread and butter.
Best In Slot Equipment For The Rake Spiritborn Build
This build has one non-negotiable Aspect, and several that can assist players with survivability and enhanced clear speed. However, the build can also benefit from a few Unique items if they are available.
Three unique Items fit perfectly into the Rake Build:
Mythic Uniques
This build doesn’t crave Mythic Uniques to function, but one surprising Mythic Unique is worth substituting in. Despite many players considering it useless,Nesekem the Heraldhas potential in this build due to the way it stacks Overpower and Critical Strike damage, as well as its attack speed. Players should expect their damage to bosses to skyrocket when using Nesekem with the Rake build. Additionally, none of the build’s required aspects are Offensive, so the Legendary slot is no great loss.
Best Aspects
There are three Aspects that players will want to use with this build:
While theDuelist’s Aspect grants the biggest damage boostby raising maximum Ferocity to 14 stacks (when overcapped by the ultimate), the other two are key to the build’s tankiness. Both increase Dodge Chance, which this build tries to stack up to 50%, and provide benefits upon successful dodges such as Fortify and Healing.
In addition, there are a handful of Aspects players could consider to round out their gear:
High Priority Stats
When enchanting and choosing gear, the stats to look for (ordered loosely in priority) are:
While the native Critical Strike Chance of the Spiritborn is low, possibly leading players to believe they need to stack it, the number tracked by the game is misleading. Jaguar skills have a number of abilities that increase their critical strike chance, none of which are tracked in the stats window.
Tempering Choices
There are a number of powerful Temper choices for this build. Of the greatest importance are the Manuals of Jaguar Innovation and Worldly Endurance, but also keep the Jaguar Finesse and Worldly Finesse in mind.
Players will want the following:
Spare Temper slots can also be used to reach the 1000 Armor cap and increase Max Health, although this is lower priority.
Gems & Runewords
Players looking at which socketables to use should look to theYulXan - Pugilist’s Extinctionruneword combination, which guarantees Critical Strikes and Overpowers whenever the player uses an ability with a cooldown. Then, fill the remaining Armor sockets with Diamonds. In the jewelry, prioritize capping all resistances, or socket Skulls if Resistances are already capped.
Paragon Board Choices For The Rake Spiritborn
When arranging Paragon Boards, the optimal combination is:
For which node paths to select, see the picture above or theD4 Build Planner’sParagon Section.
Glyph Leveling Order
When leveling glyphs, priority should be the following order to their first radius increase, and then going down the list again to hit max level:
Mercenary & Reinforcement Choices For the Rake Spiritborn
The Rake Spiritborn has a couple of choices in Mercenary, but the Reinforcement is quite important to the player’s survivability.
Mercenary
Whenchoosing a Mercenary to hire, none of the three remaining options are terrible, but players will see the greatest combat buff from either Aldkin or Subo. When selecting Subo, spec into either the Pin Cushion or Bargaining Chip Key passive (depending on preference for Core ability). If selecting Aldkin, Spec through to either the Paranoia Key Passive or the Condemmed Key Passive (both have the same parent ability).
Reinforcement
Raheir is the Reinforcement of choice due to his ability to Taunt enemies and grant damage reduction. In this build, select Provoke, and have it trigger whenever the player becomes Injured.
