Diablo 4 Season 9 has introduced a wave of build diversity-and standing out among them is the Poison Rake Spiritborn centered around Balazan Maxtlatl. This jaguar-themed build combines blistering speed, high mobility, and poison-laced Thorns damage to shred enemies in both large mob packs and late-game content. 

Why Choose This Build?

Strengths:

Massive AoE Poison Damage:Melt groups with Thorns-procced poison DoTs.

Top-tier Mobility:Jaguar Spirit lets you zip across the battlefield effortlessly.

Excellent Crowd Control:Vortex + Catalyst combos make tight packs easy prey.

Great Spirit Hall Synergy:All skills become Jaguar-aligned, unlocking strong passives.

Weaknesses:

Gear-Dependent:Requires specific Uniques (Balazan Maxtlatl, Razorplate) to function at full power.

Fragile Early On:Low sustain until Barriers and defenses are optimized.

Cooldown Management:Timing Ravager, Hunter, and spells is crucial for survival and burst.

High APM Build:Constant casting, movement, and rotations required for efficiency.

This Spiritborn build transforms Thorns damage into Poison via Balazan Maxtlatl, allowing you to scale DoT damage rapidly. Rake becomes your main skill, triggering Thorns repeatedly. Vortex pulls mobs together, while Jaguar Spirit summons a phantom predator to dart between enemies, spreading poison and chaos.Your legend begins with the right gold. Shop Diablo 4 gold with confidence at MMOexp.

Your core loop:

1.Vortex to group enemies and apply crowd control.

2.Rake to apply Thorns, stack Ferocity, and trigger poison through Balazan.

3.Activate Toxic Skin and Ravager to amplify Poison and durability.

4.Use The Hunter to summon your Jaguar Spirit for burst damage.

5.Stay inside Mystic Circles from Aspect of Plains Power for maximum Ferocity.

6.Finish with Catalyst + Corrosive Vapor to detonate everything.

Skill Progression Guide

Levels 2–15:Foundation

Thrash → Enhanced Thrash

Vortex → Enhanced + Replenishing

Start investing in passive nodes like Mirage, Focal Point, and Apex for mobility and early sustain.

Levels 16–32:Core Setup

Ravager → Enhanced

Toxic Skin → Enhanced + Replenishing

Begin building into Endurance, Auspicious, and Bastion for survivability.

Levels 33–60:Power Spike

Unlock The Hunter and upgrades (Harmonious, Exalted)

Core passive:Noxious Resonance (converts Thorns to Poison scaling)

Add Rake and Advantageous Rake to maximize uptime and Ferocity gain

Levels 61–72:Final Optimization

Add Armored Hide, Velocity, Furnace

Cap with Measured Ravager and Perseverance to boost uptime and sustain

Spirit Hall Loadout:Jaguar Focus

Primary Spirit-Jaguar:

Every 15th attack with a Jaguar skill echoes 15% of the last damage dealt.

All your skills become Jaguar-aligned, greatly increasing Ferocity synergy.

Secondary Spirit-Jaguar:

Boosts Ferocity cap and stack speed on elite or boss hits.

Best Gear & Unique Items:

1.Balazan Maxtlatl (Chest)

Converts Thorns into Poison damage.

Increases Poison damage by up to 300%.

The build core item-absolutely mandatory.

2.Razorplate (Chest)

Stacks huge amounts of Thorns.

Enables the Poison-Thorns interaction from Balazan to truly shine.

3.Loyalty Mantle (Gloves)

Doubles Spirit Hall bonuses when aligned.

Reduces cooldown and resource cost of Jaguar skills.

4.Ring of Starless Skies (Optional)

Reduces ability costs and grants burst windows-useful for elite killing.

Key Aspects & Spellcraft

Legendary Aspects:

Aspect of Wild Claws-Rake summons a Spirit Jaguar to assist.

Plains Power-Summons Mystic Circles that boost damage and Ferocity.

Duelist Aspect-Increases Ferocity cap for greater damage scaling.

Conceited Aspect-Adds damage when Barrier is active.

Vehement Brawler-Burst bonus after casting The Hunter.

1.Horadric Jewelry:

Seal of Denial-Adds Thorns and Barrier; key for defense.

Tyrant Bane-Amplifies DoT over time; scales infinitely.

Idol From Below-Huge stat bonus, but attracts danger in dark zones.

2.Gems:

Grand Emerald-Boosts Dexterity for better damage and evasion.

3.Runewords:

NeoQax-Big damage burst at the cost of all resources.

IgniJah-Turns your evade into teleport, boosting mobility.

TamQue-Grants Earthen Bulwark for damage absorption.

4.Spellcraft Setup:

Catalyst:Celestial Surge-Pulls mobs and detonates Ocular Rune.

Infusion:Corrosive Vapor-Adds Poison DoT to Catalyst hits.

Arcana:Floaty Bobble, Gleaming Conduit, Jagged Bramble-Enhance spell damage and uptime.

The Poison Rake Spiritborn build is a hidden gem in Season 9-explosive, agile, and full of depth. Secure your buy Diablo 4 Items now, only at MMOexp. While it’s not a beginner-friendly build due to its gear requirements and cooldown micromanagement, those who invest time and effort will find one of the most satisfying playstyles in Diablo 4.