News April 30, 2026

Blizzard has temporarily disabled the Trampled Under Foot variant of the Spiritborn's Armored Hide skill in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred. The disable was announced through official channels and affects a variant that allowed the traditionally defensive Armored Hide ability to deal Thorns damage upon evading—a combination that became popular among Thorns-focused builds.

The decision comes as Blizzard continues monitoring the Spiritborn class following the Lord of Hatred expansion launch. This isn't the first time a skill interaction has been flagged for unintended behavior in recent weeks, suggesting developers are actively policing balance issues as players discover new build combinations.

What Changed

Trampled Under Foot variant for Armored Hide has been temporarily disabled for Spiritborn players

The variant allowed Thorns damage to trigger upon evading with the defensive skill

No alternative variants appear affected at this time, though the base Armored Hide ability remains functional

Players using this build will need to switch to different skill configurations until re-enabled

What This Means for Players

Thorns-focused Spiritborn builds that relied on the Trampled Under Foot interaction will need to pivot. The variant was particularly effective because it turned a defensive cooldown into an offensive tool—dealing Thorns damage each time the player evaded while Armored Hide was active. Without access to this combination, players may experience reduced clear speeds in content that relies on reflect mechanics.

Those affected should consider temporarily respeccing into alternative Spiritborn builds that don't depend on the disabled variant. The base Armored Hide skill still functions normally, so players can continue using it for its defensive properties without the Thorns interaction until Blizzard re-enables the Trampled Under Foot variant after addressing the unintended interactions.

What's Next

Blizzard has not specified a timeline for when the Trampled Under Foot variant will be re-enabled. The developer noted they appreciate player patience while working on a fix. Players should monitor official Diablo 4 channels and patch notes for updates. Once the issue is resolved, Thorns builds incorporating this variant should become viable again.