Diablo 4 Spiritborn mains lose Stinger and Counterattack power in the Season 16 PTR
Stinger and Counterattack lose ground while Razor Wings and Storm Feathers pick up the buffs.
The 3.3.0 PTR for Diablo 4 Season 16 is live until November 3. Spiritborn actually has one of the shortest lists of changes. However, the two skills behind last season's best Spiritborn builds are the ones that changed the most. Most of the buffs go to off-meta builds.
Most Important Changes for Spiritborn in Season 16
Here are the three most important changes in our opinion.
Stinger loses a lot of damage. The base damage drops from 140% to 125%, the Damage Bonus upgrade also drops from 30% to 25%, and the Weakened upgrade from 25% to 20%. That adds up to roughly 18% less Stinger damage overall. Players who used 
Bliss of the Multitude and 
Harmony of Ebewaka should also be aware that these items were nerfed. 
Counterattack's cooldown changed. The cooldown does not start until the active effect has finished. Counterattack was one of the swarm generators in Pestilent Swarm builds, so fewer casts means less swarm uptime. 
Jacinth Shell changes too. It used to drain Life to shorten Cooldowns, but now it will drain Vigor while giving 4-7% Damage Reduction per active Cooldown. 
Razor Wings is getting a buff. Damage goes up from 120% to 160%. Focus skills now restores a charge, and Ultimates restore all of them. The Charge Cooldown upgrade now takes 2 additional seconds off the cooldown, and the previous Refund Charges upgrade becomes a Lucky Hit that can also remove 1 second from any active Cooldown. This could be an interesting change and push some builds into the meta.
Did the Nerfs Hit Last Season's Top Spiritborn Builds?
Season 15 Spiritborn top builds come out a little weaker, but some of the lower-tier builds will receive a boost. This is in line with Blizzard's strategy to always find a balance for each class.
Build | Season 15 Standing | PTR Verdict |
|---|---|---|
Pestilent Swarm | S-Tier | Mixed |
Storm Stinger | S-Tier | Nerfed |
Stinger Leveling | Best Leveling | Slightly weaker |
Evade Storm Feathers | A-Tier | Buffed |
Razor Wings | Off-meta | Buffed |
Stinger should still be the class's best setup. However, Storm Feathers and Razor Wings may make a comeback in Season 16.
Of course, we do not know yet how Horadric Items will impact all builds. The new system lets players combine multiple Talisman set bonuses. Check the Horadric Items affixes here.
There will also likely be more changes before Season 16 goes live on December 1st.
Spiritborn PTR Patch Notes
Spiritborn
Spiritborn Skills
Stinger
Damage reduced from 140% to 125%.
Damage Bonus Upgrade reduced from 30%[x] to 25%[x].
Weakened Damage Bonus Upgrade reduced from 25%[x] to 20%[x].
Counterattack
Cooldown no longer begins until the active effect has finished.
Razor Wings
Damage increased from 120% to 160%.
Now has "Casting a Focus Skill restores a Charge. Casting an Ultimate Skill restores all Charges."
Charge Cooldown Upgrade
Previous: Razor Wings' Cooldown is increased by 40% but it now regains all Charges at once.
Now: Razor Wings' Cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds and spends all Charges at once.
Refund Charges Upgrade
Renamed to Cooldown Reduction
Previous: Razor Wings has a 15% chance to regain a Charge when hitting an enemy. Double this chance when you have a Barrier.
Now: Lucky Hit: Razor Wings has up to a 15% chance to reduce one of your active Cooldowns by 1.0 seconds.
Spiritborn Paragon
Swarm of Storms
Pestilent Swarm and Spirit Storm damage increased from 80%[x] to 100%[x].
Storm Feathers damage increased from 150%[x] to 200%[x].
Talon Glyph
Legendary bonus now grants Vulnerable damage rather than Lightning Damage.
Jagged Plume Glyph
Legendary bonus now grants Eagle damage rather than Lightning Damage.
Spiritborn Legendary Aspects
Aspect of Wild Claws
Damage per stack increased from 0.6-0.8% per stack to 0.7-0.9%, and maximum increased from 60-80% to 70-90%.
Aspect of Infestation
Percent of damage as Poisoning reduced from 80-100% to 60-80%.
Spiritborn Unique Items
Sunstained War-Crozier
Now also has "Your Potency Skill gain 1 additional Charge."
Jacinth Shell
Previous: Spending Vigor Heals you for 7-10% of your Maximum Life. Every second, you active Cooldowns each drain 10% Maximum Life from you to reduce their durations by 2 seconds.
Now: Each of your active Cooldowns grants 4-7% Damage Reduction, and each second, they drain 10% of your Maximum Vigor from you to reduce their durations by 1.5 seconds.
Loyalty's Mantle
Previous: While your Spirit Hall choices match: Their bonuses are 100% more potent. Skills of their Base Spirit gain 50-60% Vigor Cost Reduction. Skills of their Base Spirit gain 50-60% Cooldown Reduction.
Now: While your Spirit Hall choices match: Their bonuses are 100% more potent. Skills of their Base Spirit gain 50-60% Vigor Cost Reduction and Cooldown Reduction. Skills of their Base Spirit deal 50-60%[x] increased damage.
Harmony of Ebewaka
Damage bonus reduced from 25-30%[x] to 20-25%[x].
Band of the First Breath
Damage bonus increased from 50-60%[x] to 60-70%[x].
Peacemonger's Signet
Damage bonus increased from 15-20%[x] to 30-40%[x].
Armor gain increased from 60-80%[+] to 80-100%[+].
Protection of the Prime
Now has a 2 second grace period after moving before losing the Dodge chance and Damage Reduction.
Spiritborn Talisman
Bliss of the Multitude
2-Piece Set Bonus reduced from 20%[x] to 15%[x].
5-Piece Set Bonus reduced from 50%[x] to 40%[x].
Kwatli's Grace
5-Piece Set Bonus increased from 200%[x] to 225%[x].
Spiritborn Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where Aspect of Supremacy could exceed its intended stack limit of 15.
Fixed an issue where The Protector could consume Resolve without triggering Aspect of Lapa's Scripture.
For more updates, head over to our Diablo 4 news hub.