The Rogue class in Diablo 4 is known for its focus on applying powerful buffs and debuffs to dominate in combat. Though mastering this class can be challenging, the Rogue has the potential for high damage output against both single-target enemies and large groups when built strategically. In this guide, we will go over the three main builds for the Rogue class – Poison, Ice, and Shadow – and what active abilities, passives, and upgrades you should focus on to maximize each build’s potential.

Best Rogue Builds

Each Rogue build can be tailored to excel in taking down either large groups or single-targets. However, the builds listed in this guide aim to excel in both areas. The main differences between them come from the Imbuement abilities they use and some minor optimizations for each element. Additionally, we will also provide notes on how you should approach playing with each class to maximize its top passives and upgrades.

Poison Rogue

The Poison Rogue build is among the most popular builds available, as it applies poison damage to all enemies in an area to melt them down quickly. This build’s overall effectiveness is due to the passive abilities related to poison damage that make enemies susceptible to more damage, deal less damage, and eventually die. Players need to utilize their primary and core skills for more active attacks in combination with the Advanced Twisting Blades and Dash to get cooldown reductions for each enemy the blades pass through. Combining Poison Imbuement with Rain of Arrows is another effective strategy that lets players inflict damage over time to an entire battlefield’s worth of enemies.

Active skills:
– Primary: Forceful Arrow
– Advanced: Twisting Blades
– Methodical: Dash
– Countering: Poison Trap
– Mixed: Poison Imbuement
– Supreme: Rain of Arrows

Passive skills:
– Weapon Mastery
– Exploit
– Deadly Venom
– Debilitating Toxins
– Alchemical Advantage
– Exposure

Specializations:

Ice Rogue

The main difference between the Poison Rogue and Ice Rogue builds is in the passive abilities. While the active skills are relatively similar, the Ice Rogue build will focus more on crowd control and passive abilities that benefit from freezing and slowing enemies. Ice skills slow down enemies, whereas passive abilities change the way players handle their attacks to benefit the build.

Active Skills:
– Fundamental: Forceful Arrow
– Advanced: Twisting Blades
– Methodical: Dash
– Countering Stealth: Concealment
– Mixed: Cold Imbuement
– Supreme: Rain of Arrows

Passive skills:
– Concussive
– Trick Attacks
– Weapon Mastery
– Mending Obscurity
– Exploit
– Frigid Finesse
– Chilling Weight
– Aftermath
– Precision

Specializations:

Rapid Fire Shadow Rogue

If you are looking for a build that’s different from typical Rogue builds, try the Rapid Fire Shadow Rogue. Players should focus on quickly regaining energy to use Rapid Fire, as well as applying vulnerability to enemies via the primary attack to deal maximum damage. The basic loop of this build is: use Shadow Imbuement to infect enemies, use Puncture to apply vulnerability, use Concealment to get a critical hit, deal big damage with Rapid Fire or Rain of Arrows, and then repeat. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can melt tough enemies with ease.

Active Skills:
– Fundamental: Puncture
– Improved: Rapid Fire
– Methodical: Dash
– Countering Stealth: Concealment
– Blended: Shadow Imbuement
– Supreme: Rain of Arrows

Passive skills:
– Exploit
– Shadow Crash
– Consuming Shadows
– Malice
– Weapon Mastery
– Mending Obscurity
– Innervation
– Second Wind
– Alchemist’s Fortune
– Aftermath
– Victimize

You can get more build guides and helpful tips from GameSpot’s Diablo 4 Guide Hub. Please note that the products listed in this guide were independently chosen by our editors, and GameSpot may receive a share of the revenue if you purchase anything featured on our site.