Build Introduction
This Payback Spiritborn build turns 
Payback into a spammable powerhouse using the Unique Charm 
Rod of Kepeleke, removing its cooldown and making it count as a Basic, Core, and Potency Skill all at once.
Starting new? Begin with our Payback Leveling Guide and switch to this one at Level 70.
Have questions or feedback about this guide? Join Cashlarond’s livestream and ask him!
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Deals great damage both AoE and Single Target
- Strong in All Content
- Heavily reliant on gear
- Somewhat Squishy
Build Requirements
Ring of the Midnight Sun
Harmony of EbewakaWant to know more about the Uniques supporting this setup? Jump to the Uniques section.
Quick Navigation
Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to the sections you are looking for.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
Ravager
Scourge
Armored Hide
CounterattackPayback
The HunterWondering what comes after Level 70? Head to the Paragon Board section to power up the build even further.
And if you want to see how everything plays out in combat, check out the Rotation and Playstyle section for a quick breakdown.
Spiritborn Class Mechanic – Spirit Hall Choice
The Spirit Hall allows you to combine two different Spirit Guardians, or stick to just one.
- Primary: Eagle
- Casting an Eagle Skill or Evading shoots 6 Storm Feathers, each dealing 140% Lightning damage and applying Vulnerable for 5 seconds. The Storm Feathers Movement Speed bonus is doubled and always active.
- Secondary: Jaguar
- Maximum Ferocity is increased by 1. Gain 1 stack of Ferocity whenever you kill an enemy or damage a Boss.
Gear, Stats, Gems, and Runes
The following sections cover all systems that are important if you want to improve the power of your character in the endgame of Diablo 4.
Legendary Aspects
Each Aspect is listed with its matching gear slot. Do your best to keep each Aspect in the assigned slot. Remember to salvage Legendary Items with higher Aspect values to unlock them in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto gear pieces with the preferred affixes. For best results, combine these Aspects with the right stat priorities.
| Gear Slot | Gems/Runes | Aspect / Unique | Legendary Aspect / Unique Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helm |  Grand Emerald | Harmony of Ebewaka (Helm) | According to your secondary Spirit Hall choice, your Skills are all additionally Jaguar, Eagle, Gorilla, or Centipede Skills. Your skills deal [20-40%](x) increased damage per Spirit type they have. |
| Chest |  Tam Que |  Aspect of Interdiction | Gain [1 – 15%] Block Chance per Resolve stack. |
| Gloves | Grand Emerald |  Ferocious Aspect | Maximum Ferocity increased by [4 – 6]. |
| Pants |  Poc Kry | Aspect of Glynn’s Anvil | Your maximum Resolve is increased by 2. Resolve increases your Damage Reduction by an additional + [1 – 5%]. |
| Boots | Grand Emerald | Aspect of Tenacity | You gain Resolve for each [40 – 20] Vigor you gain while at maximum Vigor. This Resolve can overfill your maximum Resolve stacks by 5. |
| Amulets(50% bonus) |  Grand Ruby |  Echo of Kwatli | Increases your damage against Vulnerable enemies by 100%. After making an enemy Vulnerable, your next direct damage restores 5% of your Life and 10 Vigor, and removes the Vulnerable effect. |
| Ring | Grand Ruby | Ring of the Midnight Sun | When you Critically Strike, you regain [20-50%] of the Vigor you’ve spent in the 2 seconds. Gain Counterattack’s Passive Effect. |
| Ring |  Grand Topaz |  Aspect of Adaptability | Basic Skills generate 5 additional Primary Resource, once per Skill. Basic Skills deal [0.4-0.6%](x) increased damage for each point of Primary Resource you have. |
| Weapon (200% bonus) |  Grand Diamond | Aspect of Redirected Force | Gain increased Critical Strike Damage equal [30 – 70%] of your Block Chance. Blocking doubles this bonus for 10 seconds. |
Curious how this build compares to other endgame options? Take a look at our Endgame Build Tier List.
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Affixes on the same line are considered to be equally important. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. Be sure to check our Tempering and Masterworking guides for more details about these topics. Want to jump back up to the gear table?
| Slot | Targeted Gear Affix | Tempering Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | 1. Dexterity 2. Armor 3. Maximum Life 4. Maximum Resource |  Worldly Endurance – Maximum Resolve Stacks |
| Chest | 1. Dexterity 2. Maximum Life 3. Armor 4. Vigor Regeneration OR Maximum Resource | Worldly Endurance – Maximum Resolve Stacks |
| Gloves | 1. Dexterity 2. Attack Speed 3. Vulnerability Damage Multiplier 4. Critical Damage Multiplier | Eagle Finesse – Vulnerability Damage |
| Pants | 1. Dexterity 2. Armor 3. Maximum Life 4. Resistance – Lightning | Worldly Endurance – Maximum Resolve Stacks |
| Boots | 1. Dexterity 2. Maximum Life 3. Move Speed 4. Armor | Worldly Endurance – Maximum Resolve Stacks |
| Amulet | 1. Dexterity 2. Maximum Life 3. Vulnerability Damage Multiplier 4.Critical Strike Damage Multiplier | Eagle Finesse – Vulnerability Damage |
| Ring | 1. Dexterity 2. Critical Strike Damage Multiplier 3. Vulnerability Damage Multiplier 4. Attack Speed | Eagle Finesse – Vulnerability Damage |
| Ring | 1. Dexterity 2. Critical Strike Damage Multiplier 3. Vulnerability Damage Multiplier 4. Attack Speed | Eagle Finesse – Vulnerability Damage |
| Weapon | 1. Weapon Damage 2. Maximum Life 3. All Damage Multiplier 4. Critical Strike Damage Multiplier | Worldly Destruction – Attack Speed |
Looking for progression beyond gear? See our Paragon recommendations or Runewords Synergy next.
Uniques and Mythic Uniques
Below, you will find information on Uniques and Mythic Uniques that are useful and recommended for this build. If a Unique or Mythic Unique is not listed here, it is NOT recommended and won’t benefit this specific build in any way.
Uniques
Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique Items for this build.
- Ring of the Midnight Sun (Required): This dramatically helps with our Vigor costs; without it, the build will feel quite starved and awkward.
- Harmony of Ebewaka (Required): Makes all skills gain the Tag of your Secondary Spirit Hall, providing powerful bonuses when combined with your Rezoka’s Rage Charm Set
- Echo of Kwatli (Highly Recommended) – Provides a huge increase to damage against vulnerable targets, and generates additional Vigor and Heals you whenever you hit a vulnerable target, but removes the vulnerable effect.
Mythic Uniques
Currently, there are no specific required or recommended Mythic Uniques for this build, though further playtesting may change that.
If you are interested in target farming Mythic Uniques, check out our How to Farm Mythic Uniques guide. Or you can return to the Build Requirements.
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the recommended Gems and Runewords to socket into your gear.
Gems
| Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Diamond For increased Damage | Grand Emerald For More Dexterity | Grand Gems For Increased Resistances |
Runewords
Runewords are unlocked during the Vessel of Hatred campaign and replace gems in gear. Improve your build by combining a trigger Rune of Ritual and an effect Rune of Invocation. You can equip up to two Runeword pairs (four Runes) at a time. For a detailed guide on Runewords, check out our Runewords Guide!
The following are recommended Runeword combination options for the Payback Endgame build of the Spiritborn:
| Runeword Combination | Runeword Effects |
|---|---|
| TamQue | Tam – Gain: 25 Offering, Cast a non-channeled Core SkillQue – Requires: 300 Offering, Invoke the Druid’s Earthen Bulwark, granting yourself a Barrier. |
| PocKry | Poc – Gain: 5 Offering, Spend 5% of your Maximum Resource.Kry – Requires: 300 Offering, Invoke the Spiritborn’s Vortex, dealing damage and Pulling In enemies. |
Paragon Board
Paragon unlocks at Level 70 and plays a big role in endgame progression. The following Legendary Nodes and Glyphs are recommended for this build. Keep in mind that each Glyph’s information and radius listed below is for the Level 100 version.
Once you can maintain the Vigor costs without using Ring of the Midnight Sun, you can switch the 
Menagerist Glyph to 
Ritual Glyph, and use Aspect of Plains Power on a regular Legendary ring, dropping the Ring of the Midnight Sun entirely. This is a sizeable damage increase but requires a great deal of Vigor generation.
Need a refresher on how the skills are set up? Click here to return to the Skill Tree section.
Season 13 Mechanics
Season 13 sees the launch of the long awaited Lord of Hatred Expansion. While there are no specific Seasonal Mechanics, there plenty of new systems to explore, including War Plans, Talismans, the Horadric Cube and more!
Talisman – Seals and Charms
One new addition with the Lord of Hatred Expansion is the addition of the Talisman system. This allows you to add a Seal and up to 6 Charms that provide powerful bonuses to your character. This includes adding additional Unique effects without having to wear a specific unique, or even to collect new Set Charms that grant more powerful bonuses as you socket more of the set. For a more detailed breakdown, check out our General Talisman Guide here!
This build leverages the powerful effects of the Rezoka’s Rage Charm Set for additional damage scaling and defensive power, with the 5-piece set bonus scaling the offensive and defensive effects of its Prowess buff even further. It also uses the Rod of Kepeleke to make Payback a free Basic Skill that gets a massive boost to its damage whenever it is cast at maximum Vigor.
| Seal | 6 Charm Slots, Rezoka’s Rage Unique Effect |
| Charm Slot 1 | Rod of Kepeleke |
| Charm Slot 2 |  Phoba of Rezoka’s Rage |
| Charm Slot 3 |  Fer of Rezoka’s Rage |
| Charm Slot 4 |  Mlor of Rezoka’s Rage |
| Charm Slot 5 |  Linta of Rezoka’s Rage |
| Charm Slot 6 |  Berú of Rezoka’s Rage |
Seals and Charms also roll with random statistics, and while they are secondary to making sure you have the Set and Unique Charms, here is a list of powerful statistics you should keep an eye out for:
- Ranks to Eagle/Jaguar/Core Skills, Damage Multipliers, Attack Speed
- Movement Speed, Cooldown Reduction, Maximum Life
- Resistances, Armor
Mercenaries
During the Vessel of Hatred campaign, you will unlock different NPC Mercenaries who join you on your travels. For this build, we would advise selecting Raheir as your main companion, for the added survivability he provides, and Varyana as Reinforcement.
Raheir Skill Tree choices:
- Core Skill:
Ground Slam - Core Passive:
Raheir’s Aegis - Iconic Skill:
Bastion - Iconic Passive:
Inspiration
Varyana Reinforcement choices:
- Opportunity Skill: Payback
- Reinforcement Skill:
Bloodthirst
Build Mechanics
Rotation and Playstyle
This Payback build focuses on using powerful skills with very short cooldowns to maintain high uptime on a collection of powerful buffs, and then spamming your core skill to spend and generate large amounts of Vigor to power the Rod of Kepeleke‘s large damage multiplier, and to activate your Runewords as often as possible.
Overall, the build is fast-paced and aggressive. You will be pressing keys constantly, but in exchange, you get a rewarding damage loop that can melt both packs of mobs and bosses.
- Use Armored Hide for the extra defense.
- Use Scourge to fear nearby enemies and provide Damage Reduction
- Use Ravager to keep Ferocity high and grant massive Cooldown Reduction
- Use Counterattack when in combat to dodge all direct attacks
- Use The Hunter for big damage bursts, to grant additional Ferocity, and for Movement. You should try and use The Hunter when you can kill a large number of mobs while it is active so that it resets its cooldown through the Relentless Pursuit passive effect.
- Use Payback when you’re ready to burst mobs.
Besides Payback, most of your other abilities will be used off-cooldown when fighting enemies since we have high Cooldown Reduction, turning it into somewhat of a spam rather than a strict rotation.
Runeword Synergy
- TamQue – Consistently triggers when spamming your Payback skill, granting Barrier each time it activates for strong defensive sustain.
- PocKry – Spending Vigor by using Payback with the Rod of Kepeleke will trigger the Spiritborn
Vortex skill without needing to add it to the Skill Bar, allowing you to passively group enemies up through your regular skill use.
Season 13 Updates
For a full overview of what is new in Season 13, please take a look at our comprehensive season hub. Here is a quick overview of seasonal changes relevant to this build.
- Season 13 overhauls the Skill Tree and adds the new Talisman system, as well as adding several new core systems, such as the War Plans endgame system and the Horadric Cube.
Obol Gambling
Similar to Kadala in Diablo 3, the Purveyor of Curiosities lets you gamble your Obols for 850 item power gear at Level 70, making them a great way to fill in missing affixes, Aspects, or upgrades. There is also a small chance to receive an Ancestral piece with item power 900.
Changelog
- April 28th, 2026: Added support for New Skill Tree
- April 26th, 2026: Preliminary Guide Update for Lord of Hatred Season 13
- March 8th, 2026: Skills, Gear, Paragon, Tempers updated for Season 12.
- September 20th, 2025: Guide created for Season 10 with Chaos Armor requirements.
