Diablo 4 Rogue Guide: All About Rogue in Diablo IV

Rogue is one of three classes that can be played in the Diablo 4 beta. And if Sorceress and Barbarian have already been discussed in their respective guides, but now is the time for the most inconspicuous killer of the Diablo 4 world. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at talents, best class builds, unique class mechanics and helpful tips.

How to play as Rogue in Diablo 4

The Rogue makes a triumphant return to the Diablo series after being absent for several installments. By integrating elements from the Assassin and Demon Hunter, Diablo IV’s Rogue emerges stronger than ever. Equipped with both melee and ranged capabilities, stealth, traps, and a solid defensive arsenal, the highly agile Rogue excels in both group and solo scenarios. Players can confidently tackle a wide range of challenges with the Rogue, as various builds provide a distinct experience akin to playing an entirely different class. Whether embracing stealth and shadows, employing bows and traps, or harnessing the power of Poison or Ice, the Rogue masterfully executes tasks and swiftly disappears.

Rogue is very versatile in terms of damage types – in his arsenal of Physical, Cold, Poison, and Shadow damage types. He uses Energy as a resource and, like any other class, he has six groups of class abilities: Basic, Core, Agility, Subterfuge, Imbuement, Ultimate.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Movement Speed Effective in both solo and group play Can solo all content	Life/Damage Reduction Limited mass CCs at lower levels Early levels are slow

Diablo 4 Rogue Best Skills

As you advance in the game, you’ll gain skill points that can be utilized to boost your capabilities. Additional skill points can be acquired via the Renown system. With progress, you’ll unlock new skill groups and have the chance to upgrade your active skills up to five times, enhancing their strength and reducing their cooldown by 5% per level up. Be aware, that we will talk about Diablo 4 best Rogue build later, and now just discuss the skills in general.

While exploring the skill tree further, you’ll also discover two specializations for each active skill. By choosing one of these specializations, you can refine the skill’s focus and strengthen its performance in battle.

Passive abilities are accessible as well and are connected to specific skill clusters. These abilities offer minor benefits to damage, defense, or utility under particular circumstances, enabling you to tailor your character’s build according to your preferred playstyle.

Basic Skills

Your main abilities also generate combo points. In parentheses are the weapons required to use the ability.

Show Basic Skills

Invigorating Strike (dual-wield) – Deals damage and improves energy regeneration.
Blade Shift (dual-wield) – Do a quick stab while moving through enemies.
Puncture (dual-wield) – Throw blades at a short distance; every third cast will slow enemies; critical hits will always slow.
Heartseeker (ranged weapon) – Fire an arrow that seeks an enemy; it increases your critical chance against them.
Forceful Arrow (ranged weapon) – Fire an arrow; the third cast makes the target vulnerable.

Core Skills

Core skills require energy to use. Through the Imbuement tier, they can be infused with magical attributes, which become accessible after investing a minimum of two skill points.

Show Core Skills

Barrage (ranged weapon) – Unleash spread arrows that expand outwards in an arc; each arrow has a chance to ricochet off an enemy.
Twisting Blades (dual-wield) – Impales a target and causes them to take increased damage while impaled; the blades will then pierce through enemies when returning to you.
Flurry (dual-wield) – Do four hits with stabs and slashes.
Penetrating Shot (ranged weapon) – Fire an arrow that pierces through a line.
Rapid Fire (ranged weapon) – Fires up to five arrows in quick succession.

Agility Skills

Agility skills revolve around leveraging the Rogue’s dexterity and cunning to maneuver across the battlefield. Allocating a minimum of six skill points enables you to choose from these abilities.

Show Agility Skills

Shadow Step (dual-wield) – Become unstoppable (i.e., remove and prevent all control impairing effects), then backstab a target; movement speed is temporarily increased afterward. This can be imbued.
Caltrops – Leap backward and throw caltrops on the ground; slows down enemies; two charges.
Dash – Dash forward and slash enemies; two charges; can be imbued.

Subterfuge Skills

Subterfuge skills, true to their name, allow you to employ deceptive tactics to secure an advantage. You can access these abilities after dedicating 11 skill points.

Show Subterfuge Skills

Concealment – Enters stealth temporarily (not removed by taking damage); makes you unstoppable; move through enemies freely.
Smoke Grenade – Throw a smoky concoction that dazes enemies.
Poison Trap – Place a trap that causes a poison AoE when an enemy moves within range.
Dark Shroud – Surround yourself with shadows that reduce damage taken; shadows are consumed when you’re hit.

Imbuement Skills

In Diablo 4, Rogue skills with Imbuement grant supplementary effects to certain abilities, such as poison, shadow, and cold. You can choose these enhancements after allocating 16 skill points.

Show Imbuement Skills

Shadow Imbuement – The next two imbued skills deal shadow damage and infect enemies, causing an explosion if they die.
Poison Imbuement – The next two imbued skills deal poison damage, as well as a damage-over-time (DoT) effect.
Cold Imbuement – The next two imbued skills deal cold damage and apply the chill effect (i.e., reduces movement speed and a chance to freeze if repeatedly applied).

Ultimate Skills

In Diablo 4, Ultimate skills are game-changers, delivering massive damage or amplified effects. After investing a minimum of 23 skill points, you may select one Ultimate skill to wield.

Show Ultimate Skills

Shadow Clone – Create a shadow that mimics your actions, dealing a portion of your base damage.
Death Trap – Place a trap that’s triggered once hostile moves within range, dealing huge damage in an area.
Rain of Arrows (ranged weapon) – Numerous arrows rain down over an area twice; they can be imbued.

Diablo 4 Rogue Specializations

In Diablo IV, Unique Class Mechanics are distinct systems exclusive to each class, providing extra avenues for further customization. These mechanics are closely tied to the class’s fantasy and aim to deliver an engaging gameplay experience.

For the Rogue, the Unique Class Mechanic is the Class Specialization System, allowing you to select one of three active specializations at a time to strengthen your character. Each specialization becomes available upon reaching the required level threshold.

Combo Points (15 Level) — Your Basic Skills now generate Combo Points. Certain Skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
Inner Sight (20 Level) — Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
Preparation (30 Level) — no information yet.

Diablo 4 Rogue Leveling Build

Rouge with Rapid Fire is a very strong and easy to play build. In this guide, we will delve into the mechanics, character development, and playstyle of this build.

Rapid Fire Rouge Build

Puncture → Enhanced Puncture → Fundamental Puncture
Rapid Fire (5/5) → Fundamental Puncture → Enhanced Rapid Fire → Improved Rapid Fire
Concealment → Enhanced Stealth → Countering Stealth
Shadow Imbuement → Enhanced Shadow Imbuement → Blended Shadow Imbuement
Shadow Crash
Consuming Shadows (3/3)
Dash
Rain of Arrows → Prime Rain of Arrows → Supreme Rain of Arrows
Exploit (2/2)

AoE Damage Rotation:

Trigger the Shadow Imbuement to empower your attacks with dark energy.
Swiftly Dash through a dense group of enemies, infecting them with the imbued shadow energy.
Ensure a guaranteed Critical Hit by activating the Concealment ability.
Optionally, when facing tougher enemies, unleash a downpour of arrows with the Rain of Arrows ability.
Unleash a barrage of shots with the Rapid Fire to obliterate the infected foes and trigger their explosive demise.
Generate Energy and reapply Vulnerable as necessary with the Puncture ability.

Single Target Rotation

Initiate your attack by casting the Puncture ability in close proximity to the target, allowing it to hit twice and apply the Vulnerable debuff.
If available, activate the Concealment ability to ensure your next attack is a Critical Hit.
If possible, activate the Shadow Imbuement to imbue your attacks with dark energy.
Next, unleash a barrage of shots with the Rapid Fire ability, firing 2-3 times depending on your attack speed, while the target is still Vulnerable.
Once the Vulnerable status has worn off, repeat the rotation by casting Puncture and reapplying Vulnerable.

Diablo 4 Rogue Best Gear

To select the most effective Diablo 4 Rogue armor sets, it’s crucial to understand the key attributes and the bonuses they provide. For Rogue, the most important attributes are Strength, Willpower, Intelligence, and Dexterity.

Main Stat	Secondary Stat
Dexterity enhances Skill Damage by 0.1% and the Chance to Dodge attacks by 0.025% per point.	Willpower increases Resource Generation (0.1% for 1), Healing Received by 0.1% and Overpower Damage (0,25%) Strength raises Armor by 1 per point. Intelligence increases All Resistances by 0.05%

Diablo 4 Rogue Best Gems

The primary function of gems is to enhance your character’s statistics rather than to provide a massive power boost. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose gems that complement your current gear and provide the most substantial advantages. For Barbarians, Emarald and Ruby are highly recommended gems.

Emerald is an ideal gem for increasing your Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies, while Ruby is great for boosting your Maximum Life. Additionally, gems that increase your Resistance are also a wise choice for Rogue.

Best Legendary Aspects for Rogue

Aspects are the final piece of the puzzle in creating a powerful build, offering unique and potent abilities that can be obtained by exploring dungeons. Once acquired, they are added to your Codex of Power, and you can then apply them to your equipment for additional benefits.

When it comes to Rogues, there are many aspects to choose from. Here are some of the best and most popular ones:

Edgemaster — Skills deal up to #%[x] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource.
Repeating — Rapid Fire has a #% chance to ricochet to another target.
Quickening Fog — You automatically drop a Smoke Grenade at the end of Dash. Dash’s Cooldown is reduced by # seconds for each enemy Dazed this way, up to # seconds.
Shadowslicer — When you cast Dash, a Shadow Clone is spawned at your location that also casts Dash, dealing #% of the Base damage.

Diablo IV is set to be released on June 6, 2023, with early access opening for players on June 2, 2023. More details can be found in our Diablo IV Overview guide. As the game’s release is scheduled for this summer, many aspects of the Rogue class could still change. For now, the class appears to be quite intriguing. As always, we are closely monitoring the Diablo 4 beta and will update our guide with any new information.

Diablo 4 Rogue Guide

How to play as Rogue in Diablo 4