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Rogue has proved to be one of the most powerful classes in Diablo 4 due to its agility, AoE damage potential, and ability to apply debuffs consistently. Here’s a list of the best Diablo 4 Rogue builds such as Twisting Blades that you can use to level up as well as clear the end-game content.

Diablo 4 has been out for a few weeks and all five classes have impressed players looking to defeat Lilith. The Rogue might not be the most popular class so far, but it is certainly one of the strongest due to quick leveling up and high damage output for the end game.

Rogue in Diablo 4 is quite agile and has access to traps, Shadow damage, Poison damage, and Cold damage. You are free to build your character around any of these skills which can be confusing, especially for beginners.

Here’s a detailed guide on the best Diablo 4 Rogue builds including Twisting Blades, Penetrating Shot, Cold Imbuement, Shadow Imbuement, and more.

A Rogue character with a mask in Diablo 4
Blizzard

Rogue is an agile class in Diablo 4 with unique elemental abilities as well.

Best Rogue build in Diablo 4

The Twisting Blades Rogue is the best Rogue build in Diablo 4 because it specializes in AoE damage and with some practice, you should be able to master technicalities like character positioning and escaping.

The build revolves around the core Twisting Blades skill and the ability is good enough for you to rank it up to level 5. It’s the main source of damage and pairing it with mobility-enhancing skills like Dash is how you play this build.

Skill tree for the Twisting Blades Rogue build in Diablo 4

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the Twisting Blades Rogue build in Diablo 4 explaining how you can spend all your skill points from level 1-50 and the ten additional skill points from Renown:

Level Rogue skill Skill type
2 Puncture Basic skill
3 Enhanced Puncture Basic skill
4 Twisting Blades Core skill
5 Enhanced Twisting Blades Core skill
6 Improved Twisting Blades Core skill
7 Fundamental Puncture Basic skill
8 Dash Agility skill
9 Enhanced Dash Agility skill
10 Disciplined Dash Agility skill
11 Twisting Blades Core skill
12 Twisting Blades Core skill
13 Concealment Subterfuge skill
14 Enhanced Concealment Subterfuge skill
15 Countering Concealment Subterfuge skill
16 Exploit Subterfuge skill
17 Malice Subterfuge skill
18 Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
19 Enhanced Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
20 Mixed Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
21 Sturdy Core skill
22 Sturdy Core skill
23 Sturdy Core skill
24 Agile Subterfuge skill
25 Shadow Clone Ultimate Skill
26 Prime Shadow Clone Ultimate Skill
27 Supreme Shadow Clone Ultimate Skill
28 Exploit Subterfuge skill
29 Malice Subterfuge skill
30 Exploit Subterfuge skill
31 Malice Subterfuge skill
32 Agile Subterfuge skill
33 Twisting Blades Core skill
34 Twisting Blades Core skill
35 Close Quarters Combat Key Passive
36 Shadow Crash Imbuement Skill
37 Consuming Shadows Imbuement Skill
38 Consuming Shadows Imbuement Skill
39 Consuming Shadows Imbuement Skill
40 Innervation Ultimate Skill
41 Innervation Ultimate Skill
42 Innervation Ultimate Skill
43 Weapon Mastery Agility skill
44 Weapon Mastery Agility skill
45 Weapon Mastery Agility skill
46 Siphoning Strikes Core skill
47 Siphoning Strikes Core skill
48 Siphoning Stikes Core skill
49 Adrenaline Rush Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -1 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -2 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -3 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 4 Shadow Crash Imbuement Skill
Renown skill point -5 Shadow Crash Imbuement Skill
Renown skill point -6 Stutter Step Core skill
Renown skill point -7 Stutter Step Core skill
Renown skill point -8 Stutter Step Core skill
Renown skill point -9 Concussive Agility skill
Renown skill point -10 Concussive Agility skill

How to play the Twisting Blades Rogue build in Diablo 4

The Twisting Blades Rogue build in Diablo 4 applies debuffs such as Slow, Dazed, and Vulnerable to enemies. Shadow Imbuement that explodes dead opponents is a key skill here as it synergizes brilliantly with Twisting Blades and allows you to deal 40% more damage to nearby enemies.

For boss fights or tough battles in general, the Shadow Clone Ultimate is perfect. You basically get a clone that replicates all your actions and deals 60% more damage, and you can use Aspects to make your clone throw Shadow Imbued attacks as well.

You can use this attack rotation to make the most of the Twisting Blades Rogue build:

  • Puncture (build up Combo points) > Concealment > Shadow Imbuement > Twisting Blades > Dash > Puncture > Twisting Blades.
Rogue class in Diablo 4 trailer
Blizzard

Depending on the build, Rogue can excel in both single-target damage and crowd control.

Best Paragon Board for the Twisting Blades Rogue build in Diablo 4

You can use your Paragon Points on the following nodes and Glyphs to make the strongest endgame Rogue in Diablo 4:

Paragon Board for the Rogue Nodes (including Legendary) to pick Glyph
Starting Skillful and Lawless Closer
Deadly Ambush Trapper, Engineering, Cunning, Spring-Loaded Diminish
Cheap Shot Safeguard, Magic Nodes, Devious, and Wiles Control
No Witnesses Knowledge, Training, Exploit
Cunning Strategem Lawless, Finisher, Turf
Exploit Weakness Artifice and Dosage Combat

The nodes and Glyphs mentioned above will significantly improve your Rogue character in Diablo 4 but considering that you’ve already completed the campaign, this is the best time to experiment with different skills. Hence, use the table as a guide, and feel free to create an entirely unique path.

Alternative Rogue builds in Diablo 4 for leveling up and endgame

While Twisting Blades Rogue is the best Rogue build in Diablo 4, there are many amazing skills like Penetrating Shot, Cold Imbuement, Barrage, and Posion Imbuement that can help you deal a ton of damage:

Skill tree for the Penetrating Shot Rogue build in Diablo 4

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the Penetrating Shot Rogue build in Diablo 4 explaining how you can spend all your skill points from levels 1-50 and the ten additional skill points from Renown:

Level Rogue skill Skill type
2 Forceful Arrow Basic skill
3 Enhanced Forceful Arrow Basic skill
4 Penetrating Shot Core skill
5 Enhanced Penetrating Shot Core skill
6 Advanced Penetrating Shot Core skill
7 Fundamental Forceful Arrow Basic skill
8 Shadow Step Agility skill
9 Enhanced Shadow Step Agility skill
10 Disciplined Shadow Step Agility skill
11 Penetrating Shot Core skill
12 Penetrating Shot Core skill
13 Dark Shroud Subterfuge skill
14 Enhanced Dark Shroud Subterfuge skill
15 Subverting Dark Shroud Subterfuge skill
16 Smoke Grenade Subterfuge skill
17 Enhanced Smoke Grenade Subterfuge skill
18 Subverting Smoke Grenade Imbuement skill
19 Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
20 Enhanced Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
21 Blended Shadow Imbuement Core skill
22 Poison Imbuement Core skill
23 Enhanced Poison Imbuement Core skill
24 Blended Poison Imbuement Subterfuge skill
25 Penetrating Shot Ultimate Skill
26 Penetrating Shot Ultimate Skill
27 Poison Imbuement Ultimate Skill
28 Poison Imbuement Subterfuge skill
29 Exploit Subterfuge skill
30 Malice Subterfuge skill
31 Exploit Subterfuge skill
32 Malice Subterfuge skill
33 Exploit Core skill
34 Malice Core skill
35 Precision Key Passive
36 Precision Imbuement Imbuement Skill
37 Precision Imbuement Imbuement Skill
38 Precision Imbuement Imbuement Skill
39 Stutter Step Imbuement Skill
40 Stutter Step Ultimate Skill
41 Stutter Step Ultimate Skill
42 Concussive Ultimate Skill
43 Shadow Crash Agility skill
44 Consuming Shadows Agility skill
45 Trap Mastery Agility skill
46 Trap Mastery Core skill
47 Trap Mastery Core skill
48 Adrenaline Rush Core skill
49 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -1 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -2 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -3 Concussive Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 4 Weapon Mastery Imbuement Skill
Renown skill point -5 Weapon Mastery Imbuement Skill
Renown skill point -6 Weapon Mastery Core skill
Renown skill point -7 Concussive Core skill
Renown skill point -8 Innvervation Core skill
Renown skill point -9 Innervation Agility skill
Renown skill point -10 Innveration Agility skill

How to play the Penetrating Shot Rogue build in Diablo 4

The Penetrating Shot Rogue build focuses on dealing single-target damage in Diablo 4 because the effect of its skills mostly impacts a single enemy. As a result, when you’re planning to take on massive World Bosses in the game like Ashava, this build can help make things easier.

On top of the over-time damage from Poison, you should also try affecting your enemies with the Vulnerable effect through attacks like Fundamental Invigorating Strike. Penetrating Shot has a massive Lucky Hit % chance and this skill also lets you maintain a safe distance from the enemies.

You’ll have enough mobility in this build, thanks to Stutter Step, Haste, and Dash. To make things even simpler, you can follow this attack pattern:

  • Shadow step to position for Penetrating Shot > Forceful Arrow to build Combo points > Shadow Imbuement > Smoke Grenade > Penetrating Shot > Poison Imbuement

Skill tree for the Cold Imbuement Rogue build in Diablo 4

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the Cold Imbuement Rogue build in Diablo 4 explaining how you can spend all your skill points from levels 1-50 and the ten additional skill points from Renown:

Level Rogue skill Skill type
2 Puncture Basic skill
3 Enhanced Puncture Basic skill
4 Barrage Core skill
5 Enhanced Barrage Core skill
6 Advanced Barrage Core skill
7 Fundamental Puncture Basic skill
8 Shadow Step Agility skill
9 Enhanced Shadow Step Agility skill
10 Disciplined Shadow Step Agility skill
11 Barrage Core skill
12 Barrage Core skill
13 Dark Shroud Subterfuge skill
14 Enhanced Dark Shroud Subterfuge skill
15 Subverting Dark Shroud Subterfuge skill
16 Smoke Grenade Subterfuge skill
17 Enhanced Smoke Grenade Subterfuge skill
18 Subverting Smoke Grenade Imbuement skill
19 Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
20 Enhanced Shadow Imbuement Imbuement skill
21 Blended Shadow Imbuement Core skill
22 Cold Imbuement Core skill
23 Enhanced Cold Imbuement Core skill
24 Mixed Cold Imbuement Subterfuge skill
25 Barrage Ultimate Skill
26 Barrage Ultimate Skill
27 Cold Imbuement Ultimate Skill
28 Cold Imbuement Subterfuge skill
29 Exploit Subterfuge skill
30 Malice Subterfuge skill
31 Exploit Subterfuge skill
32 Malice Subterfuge skill
33 Exploit Core skill
34 Malice Core skill
35 Precision Key Passive
36 Precision Imbuement Imbuement Skill
37 Precision Imbuement Imbuement Skill
38 Precision Imbuement Imbuement Skill
39 Shadow Imbuement Imbuement Skill
40 Enhanced Shadow Imbuement Ultimate Skill
41 Mixed Shadow Imbuement Ultimate Skill
42 Frigid Finesse Ultimate Skill
43 Frigid Finesse Agility skill
44 Frigid Finesse Agility skill
45 Shadow Crash Agility skill
46 Consuming Shadows Core skill
47 Consuming Shadows Core skill
48 Adrenaline Rush Core skill
49 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -1 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -2 Haste Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point -3 Innervation Ultimate Skill
Renown skill point – 4 Weapon Mastery Imbuement Skill
Renown skill point -5 Weapon Mastery Imbuement Skill
Renown skill point -6 Weapon Mastery Core skill
Renown skill point -7 Sturdy Core skill
Renown skill point -8 Sturdy Core skill
Renown skill point -9 Innervation Agility skill
Renown skill point -10 Innveration Agility skill

How to play Cold Imbuement Rogue build in Diablo 4

The Cold Imbuement Rogue build in Diablo 4 allows you to slow down enemies and control groups of them while maintaining distance. With weapons like bows, it is easy to quickly fire projectiles and even if some enemies get too close, you can rely on Dashes and Smoke Grenades.

After using the Cold Imbuement skill, the next two skills (Barrage in this case) apply a 25% Cold effect to the enemies, and at 100% Cold, they freeze. This is exactly how you can utilize your skills to freeze a single target or groups.

Shadow Imbuement is simply there to add AoE damage to this build and passives like Consuming Shadows help generate energy as well. Here’s an attack rotation that might help you understand the Barrage Cold Imbuement build better:

  • Shadow Step > Puncture (to build Combo Points) > Shadow Imbuement > Barrage > Cold Imbuement > Barrage > Smoke Grenade (to escape mobs) > Shadow Step
Rogue class in Diablo 4
Blizzard

The Rogue class in Diablo 4 can get Combo points through the Specialization System.

Best Legendary Aspects for the Rogue class in Diablo 4

The most powerful Legendary Aspects for the Rogue in Diablo 4 include:

  • Cheat’s Aspect – Can be used by players struggling to survive as this Legendary Aspect decreases the damage you take from crowd-controlled enemies and if you take direct damage from them, movement speed is increased by 15% for 2 seconds.
  • Volatile Blades – Twisting Blades deal additional damage based on the distance they travel and cause an explosion upon returning to you.
  • Sleeting Imbuements – Rain of Arrows is always affected by all your Imbuement skills together.
  • Trickshot Aspect – Helps in improving the range and damage of Penetrating Shot.
  • Edgemaster’s Aspect – Increases skill damage based on your Resouce. Builds with high energy regeneration must use it.
  • Aspect of Branching Volleys – Splits Barrage’s arrows which significantly boosts the skill’s damage and scope.
  • Aspect of Corruption – Boosts damage output of Imbuement skills against Vulnerable enemies.
  • Aspect of the Expectant – Increases Core skill damage based on your basic skill usage. Rogue builds require basic skills for combo points anyway, which is why this Aspect works well with the class.
  • Umbrous Aspect – Grants you free Dark Shroud shadow if you critically strike enemies with Marksman skills. It is beneficial for skills with Barrage, Penetrating Shot, Puncture, and Heartseeker.

Best stats for the Rogue build in Diablo 4

The following stats should be your top priority when building a Rogue character in Diablo 4:

  • Dexterity
  • Strength
  • Intelligence
  • Willpower

Apart from these stats, you can always look for increasing your base damage and damage reduction.

Best gems for the Rogue in Diablo 4

You can use the following gems to build the strongest Rogue in Diablo 4:

  • Emeralds are best for weapons as they increase Crit DMG. If your build focuses on crowd-controlling, Sapphires can work great too.
  • If you’re struggling to survive tough bosses or swarms of enemies, place Skulls in your Jewelry or Armor pieces to boost the healing you receive from potions or gain armor.
  • Place Topaz in your Armor to reduce the damage received when you’re Control Impaired. As a Rogue, you’ll find yourself in such situations many times where this effect will come in handy.

Best specializations for the Rogue in Diablo 4

Here are the class specializations for the Rogue in Diablo 4 and the best scenarios to use them:

  • Combo Points – Using this specialization significantly increases the damage of your Core skills such as Twisting Blades, Flurry, Penetrating Shot, Rapid Fire, and Barrage. If your build resolves around the core skills such as Barrage, Penetrating Shot, and Twisting Blades, using Combo Points is a no-brainer.
  • Inner Sight – Players struggling with keeping their Energy high must use Inner Sight. A purple-eye ucon appears on certain enemies during battles and beating them adds to your Energy.
  • Preparation – This specialization reduces the cooldown of your Ultimate Skill based on Energy usage. It works best during the endgame where you’ll face the toughest enemies and energy consumption will be at its highest.

Well, this was everything to know about the most powerful Rogue builds in Diablo 4.

For more Diablo 4 content, you can check out:

Best Diablo 4 Sorcerer builds | Best Diablo 4 Druid builds | Best Diablo 4 Barbarian build | Diablo 4 skill tree builder | Is Diablo 4 coming to Nintendo Switch | Is Diablo 4 playable on the Steam Deck | How to salvage gear in Diablo 4 | How to transmog gear in Diablo 4 | All Diablo 4 Altars of Lilith locations | Diablo 4 ending explained | How to earn skill points in Diablo 4 | How to upgrade healing potions in Diablo 4 | How to fast travel in Diablo 4 | All classes in Diablo 4 | Diablo 4 Renown system explained | Is Diablo 4 coming to Game Pass?

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