What is the best Diablo 4 Rogue build? The sharp-shooting, back-stabbing, agile fiend is one of the best raw damage dealers in the game. Able to specialize in both close and distant damage dealing, you’ll generally want to pick one or the other before rushing down the rest of the talent tree.
Whether you’re playing with a group of friends in multiplayer or you’re going it alone, the D4 Rogue build has everything you need to handle any situation. If you want a more focused class with less room to experiment with two distinct fighting styles, you should check out the best Diablo 4 Barbarian build. It’s straightforward monster mashing. And with the best Necromancer build, best Sorcerer build, and best Druid build all but solidified as well, there’s no shortage of the best Diablo 4 builds out there. Now, here’s the best Diablo Rogue build and how to create it.
What is the best Diablo 4 Rogue build?
Here’s the best Diablo 4 Rogue build:
The Penetrating Shot Rogue is the best Diablo 4 Rogue build. While there’s a host of entirely viable endgame Diablo 4 Rogue builds, few are truly up to the task of helping you reach that point. It’s not unusual to use one build to level, another to grind endgame equipment, and a final one to settle into the final challenges.
With our best Diablo 4 Rogue build, you can take on the entire game without worrying about costly respecs and learning to ride the figurative bicycle all over again. Just remember that you need all the talent points from leveling up, but those from Renown bonuses as well.
- Basic
- Fundamental Puncture (1/5)
- Core
- Improved Penetrating Shot (5/5)
- Stutter Step (3/3)
- Agility
- Disciplined Caltrops (1/5)
- Disciplined Dash (1/5)
- Concussive (3/3)
- Trick Attacks (3/3)
- Weapon Mastery (3/3)
- Rapid Gambits (1/3)
- Subterfuge
- Countering Concealment (1/5)
- Countering Smoke Grenade (1/5)
- Agile (3/3)
- Exploit (3/3)
- Malice (3/3)
- Ultimate
- Innervation (3/3)
- Second Wind (3/3)
- Adrenaline Rush (1/3)
- Haste (3/3)
- Impetus (3/3)
- Key Passives
- Unconstrained (1/1)
How do I use the best Diablo 4 Rogue build?
Here’s how to play the best Diablo 4 Rogue build:
- Debuff targets with Smoke Grenade and Caltrops.
- Build up combo points with Puncture.
- Rack up damage with Penetrating Shot with every third combo point.
- Move as necessary with Dash and Concealment to reposition and build up movement-based damage multipliers.
This build relies on one thing and one thing only – swift repositioning to pierce as many targets as possible with a Penetrating Shot. Every node serves to soften up your targets in ways that only aid Penetrating Shot in hitting even harder.
Dash and Concealment allow for rapid movement, with both skills damaging targets in different ways as they resolve. You’ll be tempted to use these to rush through targets, but you’ll sometimes want to save them as ways to break out of crowd control efforts or dodge powerful attacks. Either way, following up with a Penetrating Shot will trigger a critical hit that can cause a powerful chain reaction thanks to the many other talent choices and Aspects.
These boons all stem from Puncture having the ability to make targets Vulnerable, leading to that softening up mentioned earlier. By pairing your Core ability with your Basic attack, Combo Points can dramatically increase the powerful ability’s Lucky Hit chance, activating even more bonuses as it pushes through groups of enemies.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue weapons and specialization
Without a doubt, the best specialization to be in for the ultimate Rogue build in Diablo 4 has to be Combo Points. It’s the first of the three styles you can access as soon as you complete the Rogue class quest at level 15, giving you ample time to practice charging Penetrating Shot with a three-hit combo before losing the powerful arrow.
Sadly, because you’re relying on a dual-wield Basic Skill to power your Core attack, you need to travel around Sanctuary looking for both a solid bow and a set of daggers to be at your best. Just be sure to focus on raw damage numbers and any extra ranks to Penetrating Shot on them. After that, anything that increases damage to crowd-controlled enemies will benefit the build. The Weapon Mastery talent offers something of worth whether you’re running a bow or a crossbow.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue gems
Here are the best Penetrating Shot Rogue gems:
- Emeralds
- Diamonds
- Rubies
There isn’t a whole lot to say about gem choices for a ranged-focused Rogue build. You stack emeralds into your weapons for Critical Strike Damage bonuses, diamonds into your jewelry like virtually every other class, and rubies into your armor for maximum life increases. You can to run emeralds in your armor instead for damage reduction while impaired, but rubies should have a more generalized effect.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue Aspects
Here are the best Penetrating Shot Rogue Aspects:
- Essential
- Trickshot Aspect
- Aspect of the Umbral
- Recommended
- Aspect of the Expectant
- Aspect of Quickening Fog
- Exploiter’s Aspect
- Accelerating Aspect
You won’t have to scour every one of the 100 Diablo 4 dungeons to get the aspect you need for the best Rogue build. All you need is Trickshot Aspect.
This spicy selection fixes the problem of your core skill only striking in a straight line, causing it to split off into two adjacent arrows that can apply the same effects the build relies on. Run down the list below to see which you’ll need, and which you can probably focus on later down the line:
As you start to build the setup further, you can look for some of the recommended boons above. Getting them from the Diablo 4 dungeons will work just fine early on, but you’ll have a much easier time clearing harder difficulties by searching for the same powers on Legendary and Unique gear. Stripping these down and applying their benefits to better equipment will always beat out powers unlocked via dungeons.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue Nodes, Glyphs, and stats
Once you’ve reached level 50 and unlocked the Paragon board, you might struggle to figure out which glyphs and nodes to aim for.
Here’s what the Penetrating Shot Rogue community suggests:
- Legendary
- Deadly Ambush
- Exploit Weakness
- Cheap Shot
- Rare
- Chip
- Exploit
- Ambush
- Tracker
- Combat
- Fluidity
The reasoning behind these choices should be pretty clear. You’re attempting to glean as much Critical Strike Damage as possible, with any boosts to Dexterity or crowd control damage only serving to blow your numbers even further out of the water. The whole system is a complicated means to an end, and it will take some time to really reap the benefits of it, but when pulled off correctly, you should start to see your big numbers get bigger. What more could you want?
For something a little bit different that has incredible speed, high damage output, and clears enemies without relying on multiple traps, NickTew has a Flurry Rogue endgame build that is good up to Nightmare Tier 70.
If you’re yet to hit level 50 and just happen to be cruising around looking for your potential main build, it won’t hurt to read our words on the Diablo 4 endgame, Diablo 4 loot system, and the Diablo 4 world boss locations while you’re here. These guides can play a major role in your efforts by giving reason to the journey and showing how to get the equipment you need. A boosted frame rate means an easier time dodging killer attacks.