The Rogue class in Diablo 4 offers a blistering fast playstyle with high damage and blinding speed. Fans of agile character classes have plenty to love with Blizzard's take on this classic hero archetype as they blaze through Sanctuary in an attempt to stop yet another apocalypse from happening.

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Rogues have a number of possible build paths in Diablo 4, but some do stand out when it comes to raw power and clearing potential. For those who are having a rough time getting through the campaign or the first 40 or so levels, here are two Rogue builds that require as little gear and Skill Point investment as possible without sacrificing DPS output and survivability.

Our Early Game Rogue Leveling Builds for Diablo 4 is still accurate, even with the changes made with the 1.0.3 patch released on June 27, 2023.

Twisting Blades Speed Clear Build

This is arguably the most popular Rogue build for both leveling and Diablo 4's massive endgame. Twisting Blades can nuke bosses and decimate large hordes with relative ease, making it an extremely versatile melee skill. It also features several mobility options as well as some flexible skill slots for players who want to experiment.

This is an early leveling variation of the popular Twisting Blades build that will have Rogues darting from one end of the room to the other while cutting down everything in their path. This is made possible by combining Advanced Twisting Blades and Methodical Dash—the former reduces all active cooldowns whenever the returning blades hit targets, while the latter reduces Dash's own cooldown if it strikes Crowd Controlled enemies. Use Shadow Step when all Dash charges are expended or to nuke an important target.

Poison Trap and Death Trap can be replaced with other abilities like Cold Imbuement for its synergy with Methodical Dash, Dark Shroud for more survivability, or Shadow Clone for maximum boss damage. Later on, players should take passive nodes that increase their Critical Hit Chance when they have enough of the stat from their items.

The build works well on its own, but players should ideally have the Bladedancer's Aspect on one of their items to make Twisting Blades even stronger. Inscribe it into a bow or crossbow to avoid having to re-inscribe it into a one-handed weapon when a better gear piece drops while leveling.

Close Quarters Archer Build

This is a double Core Skill build that revolves around the Close Quarters Combat Key Passive that greatly increases attack speed and damage against Crowd Controlled enemies. It's not as lethal as the Twisting Blades build, but it is versatile at all ranges and incredibly fun to play.

Rapid Fire is this build's main damage dealer. Flurry is only here to spread Vulnerable caused by Puncture and trigger the Close Quarters Combat passive. Players need to be within melee range when using Rapid Fire, or else the Key Passive will not work.

Methodical Caltrops slows enemies while giving players Close Quarters Combat's bonus damage as well as some breathing room after diving into melee range. Use Methodical Dash to push through Chilled enemies and shave some seconds off the cooldown's next cast.

Shadow Clone almost doubles the player's DPS output when active. Trigger Close Quarters Combat, make the enemy Vulnerable, then pepper them with a hail of arrows from a distance. This works best with the Combo Points Specialization, though Inner Sight can result in having small windows of opportunity where players can quickly unleash unlimited arrows.

As for Aspects, players should go for Rapid, Encircling Blade, and Expectant. The first two are there mostly to help with applying Vulnerable, while the third one cranks the damage of Rapid Fire when shot at full Energy and at three total Combo Points.

Diablo 4 is available now in early access, with its full launch coming June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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