Rogues have been the kings of Sanctuary during Pre-season and Season 1, with the most build variety and highest damage ceiling. It lost a bit on the race in Season 2, but it’s still one of the most enjoyable classes to play, and definitely one of the best for levelling. With the introduction of Vampiric Powers and new Unique Items, certain builds came into play that were never possible before! So here are the best 5 Rogue Builds in Season of the Blood!
5. Penetrating Shot
The Penetrating Shot Rogue build is a straightforward yet highly effective choice, which continues to shine as you progress further into the game. Numerous tools and tactics are available to help you maintain your safety while unleashing devastation from various angles.
Penetrating Shot serves as a foundational ability, firing a single powerful arrow that can pierce through multiple targets. Although it may seem unremarkable initially, when combined with Imbuements and the Trickshot Aspect, it becomes a true powerhouse. Like many Rogue skills, achieving its full potential hinges on strategic positioning, as the damage output increases when hitting multiple enemies in a line. Succeed in doing so, and you'll witness a spectacular display of demonic body parts.
Bow-oriented builds, such as this one, now benefit from the Umbrous Aspect, providing an additional 7th skill without any cost. We also allocate points to Dark Shroud for the added movement speed, as the Umbrous Aspect inherits all the enhancements we invest in this skill.
This build is immensely gratifying and fulfilling, demanding careful planning to unlock its maximum potential.
What Penetrating Shot Excels in:
- Only ‘ranger’ style build in the game.
- Long snipes.
- High single target.
- Very rewarding to play correctly.
Pick Penetrating Shot if you Like:
- One-shotting bosses from afar.
- Massive piercing arrows.
- A slower-paced combat that promotes aiming and positioning.
Vampiric Powers and Unique Items:
- Ravenous (Minor) - Boasting a substantial attack speed boost, thanks to the multitude of movement speed enhancements we've chosen. This even grants us the flexibility to forgo certain attack speed aspects.
- Metamorphosis (Major) - Bestows the "unstoppable" status, simplifying the management of crowd control effects. It also enables the activation of Tibault's Will without any cost.
- Hectic (Minor) - An excellent method to reduce cooldowns, particularly beneficial for Imbuements.
- Prey on the Weak (Minor) - A convenient means of maintaining the Vulnerable status on enemies while adding some extra damage to your attacks.
- Undying (Minor) - Provides exceptional sustainability, allowing you to remain in battles for extended periods without relying solely on health potions.
- Condemnation – Bread and Butter for any Combo Point Rogue build. Absolutely insane, but easy to farm.
- Harlequin Crest – The Uber Shako, best item in the game, but definitely not a must.
- Grasp of Shadow – Really interesting pair of gloves that essentially will double your damage in some occasions.
- Tibault's Will – Broken pants that give you up to 40%x damage multiplier and 50 flat resource.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/penetrating-shot-rogue-guide
4. Barrage
Barrage is an incredibly versatile skill that launches multiple arrows, radiating outward from its center. It leaves behind a captivating shadowy residual effect, which becomes even more visually striking as you step away following an attack.
The Barrage Rogue represents a master of versatility, excelling in various scenarios without specializing in any one area. You have the freedom to choose the optimal distance for each situation, transforming it into a true hybrid build. Deploy the skill at mid-range to disperse your arrows for substantial area-of-effect damage, or employ Shadow Step to close in on remaining elites and concentrate all your arrows on a single target for impressive damage output. Enhance this madness with Aspect of Branching Volleys for additional ricochets.
This build leverages the Umbrous Aspect, granting an additional 7th skill at no cost. Simultaneously, it's important to allocate points to Dark Shroud for increased movement speed, as the Umbrous Aspect inherits all the enhancements invested in this skill.
What Barrage Excels in:
- Very easy and enjoyable to play.
- Multi-arrow play style.
- Extremely versatile.
- Visually pleasing to watch.
Pick Barrage if you like:
- Firing a barrage (duh) of arrows into packs, instantly clearing it.
- Feeling like a turret, shooting arrows non-stop.
- Good positioning.
Vampiric Powers and Unique Items:
- Moonrise (Major) - Provides a significant boost in attack speed and movement speed while enabling your basic attacks to accumulate Combo Points, giving them more impact.
- Resilience (Minor) - Offers additional defence, particularly valuable for hardcore gameplay.
- Hectic (Minor) - A useful means to efficiently reduce your cooldowns, especially on your imbuement.
- Prey on the Weak (Minor) - A straightforward method for keeping Vulnerable status on enemies and enhancing your damage output.
- Undying (Minor) - Offers outstanding sustainability, allowing you to endure battles for extended periods without relying solely on health potions.
- Condemnation – Bread and Butter for any Combo Point Rogue build. Absolutely insane, but easy to farm.
- Harlequin Crest – The Uber Shako, the best item in the game, but definitely not a must.
- Grasp of Shadow – Really interesting pair of gloves that essentially will double your damage on some occasions.
- Tibault's Will – Broken pants that give you up to 40%x damage multiplier and 50 flat resource.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/barrage-rogue-guide
3. Rain of Arrows
This build wields devastating area-of-effect (AoE) attacks that can obliterate entire screens of monsters in a single blow, all while maintaining mobility and providing substantial single-target damage against bosses. It's worth noting that the primary combo becomes active through the use of Word of Hakan, and it's advisable to refrain from using the Ultimate Skill until you acquire the amulet (fortunately, it's a common drop and can be specifically targeted from various endgame bosses).
Rapid Fire is an attack skill that releases a barrage of arrows sequentially in a straight line. While this skill naturally delivers high damage against bosses, it can pose challenges when dealing with groups of enemies.
To address this issue, the build places a strong emphasis on Shadow Imbuement, which can be applied in tandem with either Rapid Fire itself or Dash to debuff entire groups of enemies simultaneously. For particularly large enemy packs, a well-placed Rain of Arrows is employed, bolstered by numerous damage modifiers to ensure complete annihilation. Thanks to Preparation and the unique Flickerstep, its cooldown can be reduced to mere seconds, ensuring it's readily available for every major encounter.
One remarkable advantage of this build is that you'll never deplete your Energy, provided enemies remain Vulnerable, thanks to Improved Rapid Fire, primarily achieved through the Exploit Glyph and various other triggers.
What Rain of Arrows Excels in:
- Infinite Energy
- Constant use of your ultimate
- Screen-wide Clearing
- Really high damage
Pick Rain of Arrows if you like:
- Showering your enemies with massive arrows that explode, freeze and poison all at the same time!
- Fun and unique playstyle
- Bursting bosses and packs instantly with a massively satisfying ultimate.
Vampiric Powers and Unique Items:
- Accursed Touch (Major) - Initiates and disseminates the Vampiric Curse, providing additional effects.
- Prey on the Weak (Minor) - Ensures a high Vulnerable status uptime, benefiting Improved Rapid Fire and enhancing our damage.
- Flowing Veins (Major) - Significantly boosts our Poison damage output.
- Anticipation (Minor) - Reduces the cooldown of Rain of Arrows, allowing for more frequent use.
- Ravenous (Minor) - Frequently grants a substantial Attack Speed boost, resulting in increased damage and more Preparation activations.
- Once we obtain the late-game uniques Temerity and Flickerstep, we substitute Accursed Touch and Ravenous with Metamorphosis and Undying. This change is due to our increased focus on resetting Rain of Arrows through Evade rather than relying on our attacks, and it also allows us to build substantial shields.
- Flickerstep: Replacing Ghostwalker or Ravager, these Boots offer a powerful cooldown reduction effect for your Ultimate Skill and great stats.
- Temerity: Replacing Protector, this item grants us a powerful Barrier for extra defence and to trigger Conceited.
- Harlequin Crest or Andariel's Visage: If you get lucky with these drops, replace Escape Artist.
- Doombringer: If you get lucky with this drop, you can use it instead of Accelerating to survive high-end content more easily.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/rain-of-arrows-rogue-build-guide
2. Twisting Blades
This build is an exceptional farmer, boasting unmatched speed in the game and effortlessly obliterating even the most formidable bosses within seconds. However, this remarkable power comes with a trade-off: your defences are relatively lacklustre, and playing optimally can be quite challenging. If you're seeking a fun and agile Rogue build, you've come to the right place!
Twisting Blades is a two-part melee attack: initially striking a single enemy for a moderate amount of damage, and then the blades return to your position from the enemy's location after a brief delay. These returning blades serve as the build's core element, and mastering their path is essential for success. As they travel, they deal high damage to all enemies they touch, and when combined with various mobility skills like Evade, Dash, and Shadow Step, you can wipe out entire enemy groups during their flight.
This build offers various variations by pairing the Core Skill with different Imbuements and additional effects. Overall, Twisting Blades is a remarkably versatile skill, excelling in various aspects, making this build an excellent all-around choice. While it may require some practice to master initially, don't be discouraged! With some dedication and our guide, you too can achieve success with the Twisting Blades Rogue in Diablo 4.
What Twisting Blades Excels in:
- Damage while moving
- Fastest Rogue clearing build
- Always on the move while dealing damage
Pick Twisting Blades if you like:
- Difficult builds to play and master.
- Intense Combat.
- High APM builds.
- Always be on the edge of your seat.
Vampiric Powers and Unique Items:
- Accursed Touch (Major) - Initiates and propagates the Vampiric Curse, providing additional effects.
- Prey on the Weak (Minor) - Ensures a high Vulnerable status uptime and further amplifies our damage.
- Moonrise (Major) - Introduces additional Attack and Movement Speed to the setup.
- Ravenous (Minor) - Regularly provides a substantial Attack Speed boost for increased damage.
- Hemomancy (Minor) - Occasionally inflicts area-of-effect damage and restores your health.
- Tibault's Will: With Ravager it's easy to trigger this effect for a huge damage boost. If you feel too squishy with this item, use a defensive legendary or Temerity instead.
- Godslayer Crown: This item is used in the Pinnacle Boss variant of the build for massive burst damage.
- Harlequin Crest or Andariel's Visage: If you get lucky with these drops, replace Cheat's.
- Doombringer: If you get lucky with this drop, you can use it instead of Corruption or Ravenous. This sword has amazing stats and a damage reduction proc to survive high-end content more easily.
- Ring of Starless Skies: If you get lucky with this drop, you can use it instead of Ravenous or Umbral. It also has the added perk of having two All Resistance rolls, so you may be able to cap them entirely without individual Resistance affixes on your gear.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/twisting-blades-rogue-guide
1. Death Trap Rogue
This build seamlessly blends exceptional crowd control, utility, and sheer power, making it a versatile solution for tackling any challenge the game throws at you. While many Rogue builds might include Poison Trap or Death Trap, this one takes it to the next level by specializing in these traps and adding the trap-centric Exposure Key Passive into the mix. Teamed up with the high lucky hit rates of Twisting Blades, you can reset your traps in the blink of an eye, ensuring a continuous onslaught against your adversaries!
In general, this build shares a lot in common with the Twisting Blades Rogue in terms of setup and play style. However, it distinguishes itself through slightly slower movement speed, more potent nukes, and the ability to draw foes together with Prime Death Trap, making it truly unique. The crowd-pulling capability offers excellent group utility, but even when playing solo, it proves handy for corralling enemies into the effects of your Poison Trap and Bladedancer's area-of-effect abilities, dispatching them swiftly.
Unlike the usual necessity of darting around the battlefield to maximize the impact of Twisting Blades and hit as many targets as possible, the Trapper style of play is more laid-back. Running this build, you'll effortlessly manipulate your foes, giving them a taste of their own medicine.
What Death Trap Rogue Excels in:
- Massive nukes with your traps
- Vacuum playstyle
- Constant use of Ultimates
- Great for party play
Pick Death Trap Rogue if you Like:
- Juggling Cooldowns
- Play with timings for your skills
- Exploding enemies in a purple cloud
- Big numbers
Vampiric Powers and Unique Items:
- Accursed Touch (Major) - Triggers and spreads the Vampiric Curse for extra effects.
- Prey on the Weak (Minor) - Ensures high Vulnerable uptime and buffs our damage more.
- Moonrise (Major) - Adds extra Attack and Movement Speed.
- Undying (Minor) - Provides massive healing at all times.
- Ravenous (Minor) - Regularly gives us a massive Attack Speed boost.
- Tibault's Will: Substituting either Protector or Cheat's, this item provides a significant damage boost in an otherwise defensive slot. If you find yourself too vulnerable, consider using a legendary item instead.
- Harlequin Crest or Andariel's Visage: If you're fortunate enough to acquire these drops, you can replace Might.
- Doombringer: Should you be lucky enough to obtain this item, it can be used in place of Accelerating. This sword boasts impressive stats and a damage reduction effect, aiding in your survival during high-end content.
- Ring of Starless Skies: If you're fortunate to obtain this item, you can use it in lieu of Ravenous or Umbral. It also offers the added benefit of featuring two All Resistance attributes, potentially allowing you to max out your resistance values without the need for individual Resistance affixes on your gear.
Build details: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/death-trap-rogue-guide
