Season 9’s Meta-Breaking Build Is Paywalled Behind Spiritborn

Diablo IV Season 9 is almost here, and many players are already prepping their strongest builds! However, if you want to play what is likely the best meta build, you will need access to the Spiritborn class from the Vessel of Hatred expansion.

The Power of Spiritborn Poison Thorns

Since the Season 9 PTR, the Poison Thorns Spiritborn build is currently topping early tier lists for good reason:

• Balazan’s Maxtlatl (new Unique pants): Provides great synergy with Thorns and Poison, as well as the Noxious Resonance key passive, making the build incredibly lethal.
• Double Jaguar Spirit bug: Currently there is a bug that allows the double Jaguar Spirit Hall powers to cause double-dipping, which boosts effectiveness (though likely to be fixed).
• Horadric Spells: These allow for flexible and devastating combos that push the build even further, especially with additional poison damage.

Put together, this build offers high survivability, a ton of reactive damage, and insane synergy, all with a pretty smooth and easy playstyle.

Expansion Owners Only

Here is the catch: Spiritborn is still only playable for owners of the Vessel of Hatred expansion, which has already been out for a few seasons. If you are still only playing the base game, you won’t be able to access this class, and this build, at all.

Currently, the expansion in on sale for half the price if you have been waiting for a discount. You have until June 30!

Best Alternatives If You Don’t Have Spiritborn

If you are locked out of the Spiritborn build, don’t worry, there are still a few strong options this season. However, most of them are currently pulled up by bugs, which may change after the June 27 Developer Livestream.

Here are your top alternatives for the time being:

• Flay Barbarian
  • Core item: Hooves of the Mountain God (new Unique boots)
  • Why it’s strong: Benefits from a powerful bug allowing him to deal negative damage and one-shot enemies.
  • Note: This strength likely won’t last, this bug will most likely be patched before Season 9 launches.
• Hydra Sorcerer
  • Core item: Ophidian Iris (new Unique staff)
  • Why it’s strong: If the other builds get nerfed, Hydra Sorcerer could become the most reliable, top-performing build thanks to the powerful three-headed Hydra from the unique.

Blizzard is hosting a Developer Update Livestream on June 27, which will reveal final balance changes and patch notes. If bugs are removed, or if Hydra gets buffed or nerfed, the entire meta could shift before Season 9 even begins.

If you want to take a look at the full list of best classes for Season 9 you can also check our latest breakdown. Or take a look at our Tier Lists which will be updated for Season 9 after the Patch Notes released!