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In Diablo 4, Rogues are a dexterity-based class that excels in both melee and ranged combat. They are known for their agility and nimbleness, making them difficult targets to hit in combat. In addition, they have the ability to imbue their attacks with poison, cold, or shadow damage. The Rogue class has three specializations: Combo Points, Exploit Weakness, and Shadow Realm. These specializations can be learned by completing a questline with one of the three Rogue groups found across Sanctuary. While further details about Rogue’s skills are yet to be revealed, stay tuned for more information about this exciting new class in Diablo 4.
Rogue Skills in Diablo 4
As a Diablo 4 player, you’ll find that the Rogue class has a variety of skills that can be grouped into several categories. These categories include Cutthroat, Marksman, Traps, and Grenades. Cutthroat skills are offensive melee abilities, while Marksman skills are offensive ranged abilities. Traps allow you to place down obstacles or crowd-control features, while Grenades let you throw explosives.
To unlock more skills and talents, you’ll need to spend skill points to progress through the different tiers or groupings of skills. There are Basic, Core, Agility, Imbuement, Subterfuge, and Ultimate skills groups. Each of these groups has a unique set of skills that can be unlocked and upgraded as you progress through the game. Additionally, the Rogue class uses energy as a resource, which regenerates over time, and there’s the Imbuement mechanic, where some attacks are infused with shadow, poison, or cold effects to make them deadlier. If you’re interested in learning more about the Rogue talents and passives, keep on reading.
Diablo 4: Rogue Basic Skills
As a Rogue in Diablo 4, you’ll have access to several basic skills that are always available to cast. These skills deal lower damage but are your go-to abilities when in combat. Here’s a breakdown of each basic skill:
| Skill Name | Weapon Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Invigorating Strike | Dual-wield | This skill deals damage to enemies and improves energy regeneration. With the Enhanced upgrade, an additional energy regeneration bonus is received when you damage crowd-controlled or injured targets. The Fundamental upgrade applies the vulnerable effect when you hit a target while below 50% energy, while the Primary upgrade grants an extra Lucky Hit Chance and increases when you hit a crowd-controlled or injured target. |
| Blade Shift | Dual-wield | This skill allows you to do a quick stab while moving through enemies. With the Enhanced upgrade, you move faster while active and upon damaging a foe. The Fundamental upgrade refreshes Blade Shift’s duration when moving through enemies, and the fifth time you do this, Blade Shift dazes enemies, preventing them from attacking or using skills. The Primary upgrade increases non-physical resistances and reduces the duration of control-impairing effects. |
| Puncture | Dual-wield | This skill allows you to throw blades at a short distance. Every third cast slows enemies, while critical hits are always slow. With the Enhanced upgrade, energy is gained when you hit a crowd-controlled enemy with Puncture. The Fundamental upgrade throws blades in a spreading arc, and if two blades hit the same enemy, they’ll become vulnerable and take 20% increased damage. The Primary upgrade makes every third cast ricochet and critical hits always ricochet. |
| Heartseeker | Ranged weapon | This skill allows you to fire an arrow that seeks an enemy and increases your critical chance against them. With the Enhanced upgrade, a critical hit gives bonus attack speed, which increases if the enemy is vulnerable. The Fundamental upgrade increases critical damage done against the target, while the Primary upgrade makes the arrow ricochet to another enemy. |
| Forceful Arrow | Ranged weapon | This skill allows you to fire an arrow, and the third cast makes the target vulnerable. With the Enhanced upgrade, the third cast has an increased crit chance. The Fundamental upgrade knocks back non-elite enemies, and if they collide with another hostile, they’re both knocked down. The Primary upgrade allows the arrow to pierce through vulnerable enemies. |
These are the basic skills available to the Rogue in Diablo 4, and each of them has its own unique upgrades and effects. As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to unlock and upgrade more skills to become an even deadlier force in combat.
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Diablo 4: Rogue Core Skills
Core skills are an essential part of Diablo 4 gameplay, and they cost energy to cast. These skills can be imbued with magical properties via the Imbuement tier and are unlocked once you’ve spent at least two skill points. Here’s a breakdown of each core skill:
| Skill Name | Weapon Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Barrage | Ranged Weapon | Unleashes a spread of arrows that expand outwards in an arc. Ricochets off an enemy. The Enhanced upgrade guarantees ricochet when hitting a vulnerable enemy or landing a critical hit. The Advanced upgrade increases crit chance when Barrage ricochets at least four times. The Improved upgrade makes every third cast make enemies vulnerable. |
| Twisting Blades | Dual-Wield | Impales a target and causes them to take increased damage while impaled. The blades pierce through enemies when returning to you. The Enhanced upgrade increases damage when the blades return to you. The Advanced upgrade reduces cooldowns for every enemy your returning blades hit. The Improved upgrade dazes enemies that are impaled. |
| Flurry | Dual-Wield | Allows you to do four hits with stabs and slashes. The Enhanced upgrade heals you if the target is crowd-controlled or vulnerable. The Advanced upgrade lets evading through an enemy let your next Flurry cast stun targets. The Improved upgrade makes all others hit by a cast vulnerable if Flurry hits a vulnerable enemy. |
| Penetrating Shot | Ranged Weapon | Fires an arrow that pierces through a line of enemies. The Enhanced upgrade increases the damage for every additional enemy it pierces. The Advanced upgrade slows enemies and knocks down elites if you have full energy. The Improved upgrade increases the crit chance for the next cast if you hit at least three enemies. |
| Rapid Fire | Ranged Weapon | Allows you to fire up to five arrows in quick succession. The Enhanced upgrade increases the crit chance for each subsequent arrow. The Advanced upgrade increases crit damage if cast after you evade. The Improved upgrade grants energy when you damage a vulnerable enemy. |
These are the Core skills available to the Rogue in Diablo 4, and each of them has unique upgrades and effects. With the right combination of skills and upgrades, you’ll be able to customize your gameplay to fit your style and become an unstoppable force in combat.
Diablo 4: Rogue Agility Skills
Agility skills are a set of Rogue skills that allow them to move quickly around the battlefield, outmaneuver their enemies, and strike from unexpected angles. These skills become available once you’ve spent at least six skill points, and here’s a closer look at what they offer:
| Skill Name | Skill Description | Enhanced Upgrade | Disciplined Upgrade | Methodical Upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Step (dual-wield) | Makes you Unstoppable and allows you to backstab a target. Movement speed is increased afterward. | Increases crit chance against an enemy you damage with Shadow Step. | Reduces the cooldown if you damage an enemy that you haven’t hit with Shadow Step. | Stuns enemies that are damaged. |
| Caltrops | Allows you to leap backward and throw caltrops on the ground, slowing down enemies. You have two charges available. | Makes enemies take increased damage when affected by Caltrops. | Increases crit chance against enemies affected by Caltrops. | Can deal cold damage and chill enemies. |
| Dash | Allows you to dash forward and slash enemies, with two charges available. Can imbue it with magical properties. | Makes enemies damaged by Dash take increased crit damage. | Slows down enemies and dazes them if they’re already slowed. | Reduces the cooldown of charges if you hit crowd-controlled enemies. |
These Agility skills can help the Rogue to move quickly and effectively around the battlefield, dodge enemy attacks, and deal significant damage to their foes.
Diablo 4: Rogue Subterfuge Skills
Subterfuge skills in Diablo 4 are all about using sneaky tactics to gain the upper hand in combat. These skills become available once you’ve spent 11 skill points, and here’s a closer look at what they offer:
| Skill | Description | Enhanced Upgrade | Countering Upgrade | Subverting Upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concealment | Enter stealth and move through enemies freely. Temporarily makes you unstoppable. | Grants energy when entering Concealment. | Guarantees critical hit when breaking out of Concealment. | Makes enemies vulnerable when breaking out of Concealment. |
| Smoke Grenade | Throw a smoky concoction that dazes enemies. | Increases damage taken by affected enemies. | Grants a chance for a Lucky Hit that reduces the cooldown. | Increases the duration of the daze effect if enemies are vulnerable. |
| Poison Trap | Place a trap that triggers a poison area-of-effect when an enemy moves within range. | Knocks down enemies when the trap is triggered. | Grants a chance to reset Imbuement cooldowns. | Increases damage to those affected. |
| Dark Shroud | Surround yourself with shadows that reduce damage taken. Shadows are consumed when you’re hit. | Grants a chance for shadows to not get consumed. | Increases crit chance when at least two shadows are active. | Increases movement speed for each active shadow. |
With these Subterfuge skills, you can gain the upper hand in combat by using sneaky tactics and underhanded maneuvers. Choose the right skills and upgrades to fit your playstyle and become a master of deception and trickery on the battlefield.
Diablo 4: Rogue Imbuement Skills
The Imbuement skills in Diablo 4 Rogue allow imbued abilities to gain additional effects, such as poison, shadow, and cold damage. To access these skills, you need to spend at least 16 skill points. Shadow Imbuement causes the next two imbued skills to deal shadow damage and infect enemies, causing an explosion if they die. Poison Imbuement makes the next two imbued skills deal poison damage and apply a damage-over-time effect. Cold Imbuement deals cold damage and applies the chill effect, reducing movement speed and possibly freezing enemies.
Each Imbuement skill has three tiers of upgrades, including Enhanced, Blended, and Mixed, which offer additional effects and increased damage.
Diablo 4: Rogue Ultimate Skills
The Diablo 4 Rogue has three Ultimate skills to choose from, and each one is powerful in its own right:
The first one, Shadow Clone, creates a shadow that mimics your actions and deals a portion of your base damage. You can become unstoppable temporarily after casting it by choosing the Prime upgrade, while the Supreme upgrade increases your clone’s damage output.
The second, Death Trap, places a trap that deals massive damage in an area once a hostile enemy moves within range. By choosing the Prime upgrade, enemies are pulled into the center of the trap and explosion radius, making it even more deadly. Meanwhile, the Supreme upgrade reduces the cooldown of the skill if it takes out a foe, allowing you to use it more frequently.
Lastly, the Rain of Arrows rains down numerous arrows twice over an area and can be imbued with magical properties. By choosing the Prime upgrade, imbued effects have increased potency, while the Supreme upgrade adds a knockdown effect to the second wave of arrows, making it an even more effective crowd-control tool.
Diablo 4: Rogue Key Passives
Once you spend 33 skill points, you’ll unlock the Key Passives that grant powerful bonuses. However, you can only choose one of the following options:
- Momentum, which grants damage reduction, energy regeneration, and movement speed upon reaching three stacks of Momentum;
- Close-Quarters Combat, which provides an attack speed bonus for hitting enemies at close range, and increases damage against crowd-controlled enemies;
- Precision, which adds a crit damage stacking bonus to Marksman skills that crit, and guarantees a crit with increased damage on the next Marksman skill;
- Victimize, which has a chance to cause an explosive AoE when dealing direct damage to a vulnerable enemy;
- Exposure, which can reduce cooldowns or drop stun grenades when dealing direct damage to an enemy affected by a trap. Choose wisely, as each Key Passive will drastically change your playstyle and impact your effectiveness in combat.
Best Rogue Build in Diablo 4
The best skills to use for a Diablo 4 Rogue build focused on agile melee damage are Invigorating Strike, Twisting Blades, Dash, Shadow Step, Shadow Imbuement, and Shadow Clone. Shadow damage is key to this build, so start by casting Shadow Imbuement to prime enemies for explosion upon death. Use Twisting Blades to deal heavy damage and provide cooldown reduction effects with the right enhancements. Dash is also crucial to this build, allowing you to weaken and line up enemies for Twisting Blades. For single-target damage, your Shadow Clone will be your greatest asset. This build is highly agile and evasive, allowing you to easily dodge away from damage while dealing massive damage through melee attacks and Shadow explosions.
Don’t miss the opportunity to explore our in-depth article focused on the top Rogue leveling builds in Diablo 4. Within its pages, you’ll discover a wealth of information and strategies to enhance your gameplay experience. Whether you’re drawn to intricate and immersive playstyles or prefer a more streamlined and effective approach, our article offers valuable insights and recommendations to help you optimize your Rogue character. Unleash devastating damage, master stunning abilities, and swiftly maneuver through the game world with our comprehensive guide to the best Rogue builds.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, building the best Diablo 4 Rogue character is all about choosing the right skills and enhancements. With Rogue’s diverse skill tree, it can be challenging to choose which path to take. However, by focusing on the main skill groups, such as Core Skills, Agility Skills, Subterfuge Skills, Imbuement Skills, and Ultimate Skills, you can create a highly effective Rogue build that excels in melee combat, ranged attacks, or a combination of both. For the most effective Rogue build, consider prioritizing agile melee damage, using Shadow damage to enhance your attacks, and boosting critical strikes, attack speed, and imbuements with legendary gear. By following these tips, you can build a Rogue character that can dodge, weave, and deal massive amounts of damage while dominating the battlefield.
