Overpower Death Trap – Rogue Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 8)

Build Introduction

The Overpower Death Trap Rogue is a specialized build focusing on Ultimate Skill damage. Death Trap is rapidly cast through synergies with the Preparation specialization, Beastfall Boots, and Cooldown Reduction. The explosive trap damage in this build is perfect for pushing high tiers of The Pit and Inferno Hordes!

Season 8 Update (Patch 2.2.0): The interactions between Death Trap, Preparation, Scoundrel’s Leathers, and Banished Lord’s Talisman have been bug-fixed to work together, enabling an Overpower version of the build!

This late endgame guide assumes your character is Level 60 and fulfills the Build Requirements. If you are not ready for this build, follow the Rogue Leveling Guide to find a starter build.

Check the build tier lists to see how this build compares to others on Icy Veins.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Build Requirements

The Death Trap Rogue is an advanced endgame build with strict requirements to function. Obtain the following list of items before attempting the build.

Required Uniques

Beastfall Boots

Scoundrel’s Leathers

Banished Lord’s Talisman

Eyes in the Dark

• A Maximum Energy of 275 is required. Obtain 87 Maximum from gear, and then use Elixir of Resourcefulness II and Momentum to reach 275 Maximum Energy ((187 + 25) × 1.3 = 275.6). Obtain 87 Maximum Energy from any necessary combination of the following sources:
  • Beastfall Boots with a Greater Affix and/or Masterworking Bonuses on Maximum Resource.
  • Maximum Energy from Momentum.
  • A Legendary Helm or Harlequin Crest with a Greater Affix and/or Masterworking Bonuses on Maximum Resource. Harlequin Crest is not required to reach this requirement, but its Cooldown Reduction and Maximum Resource affixes make the setup much easier.
  • Galvanized Slasher’s Aspect can be imprinted onto a Legendary Ring to reach the Maximum Energy requirement with starter gear.
• Death Trap cooldown needs to be reduced to 20 seconds or less by any necessary combination of the following sources:
  • Beastfall Boots with a Greater Affix and/or Masterworking Bonuses on Ultimate Cooldown Reduction.
  • A Legendary Helm or Harlequin Crest with a Greater Affix and/or Masterworking Bonuses on Cooldown Reduction. Harlequin Crest is not required to reach this requirement, but its Cooldown Reduction and Maximum Resource affixes make the setup much easier.
  • Beastfall Boots with a greater affix and/or masterworking bonuses on Ultimate Cooldown Reduction.
  • Death Trap Cooldown Reduction tempers, potentially with Masterworking Bonuses, on both equipped Legendary Rings.
  • Ranks to Core Skills applies to Death Trap when Scoundrel’s Leathers is equipped. The additional ranks lower Cooldown and are available on Legendary Gloves, Banished Lord’s Talisman, Harlequin Crest, and Ring of Starless Skies.

Quick Navigation

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Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points

Skill Bar Setup for the Death Trap Rogue (order does not matter)

Death TrapConcealmentShadow ImbuementDashCaltropsBlade Shift

The Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 71 Skill Points for the Death Trap Rogue build. Make sure you obtain the 12 Skill Points available from Renown.

Frigid Finesse is always active against Staggered Bosses since they count as being affected by all crowd controls.

Wondering what comes after Level 60? Head to the Paragon Board section to power up the build even further. If you want to see how everything plays out in combat, check out the Rotation and Playstyle section for a quick breakdown.

Rogue Class Mechanic – Specialization

Preparation is the required Specialization for the Death Trap Rogue. Consuming the 275 Maximum Energy in this build activates Preparation 3 times, reducing the Cooldown of Death Trap by 15 seconds.

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Gear, Stats, Gems, and Runes

The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character in the endgame of Diablo 4.

Legendary Aspects

Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects for the Death Trap Rogue build. Salvage Legendary Items with higher Aspect values to unlock them in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto Legendary Items with the preferred affixes. For the best results, combine these Aspects with the ideal Stat Priorities.

Galvanized Slasher’s Aspect can be imprinted onto a Ring to reach the 275 Maximum Energy requirement with starter gear. For this setup, replace Vehement Brawler’s Aspect or Aspect of Surprise.

Trickster’s Aspect applies the Stun Grenade Tag to Death Trap, allowing it to receive Stun Grenade damage bonuses.

Gear Slot	Name	Effect
Ranged Weapon (+100% bonus effect)	Aspect of Apogeic Furor	Casting an Ultimate Skill increases your Ultimate damage by x [6 – 10%] , up to x [60 – 100%]. At 10 stacks, your Cooldowns and this bonus are reset.
Amulet	Banished Lord’s Talisman	After you spend 275 of your Primary Resource, your next Core Skill is guaranteed to Overpower. Your Critical Strikes that Overpower deal [20 – 60%] increased damage.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #1 (replaced by Doombringer)	Vehement Brawler’s Aspect	Casting an Ultimate Skill increases your damage by [10 – 30%] for 8 seconds. Gain 2 additional Ultimate Skill Ranks.
Ring Slot #1 (replaced by Ring of Starless Skies)	Aspect of Surprise	When you Evade or Shadow Step, you leave behind a cluster of exploding Stun Grenades that deal [X] total Physical damage and Stun enemies for 1 second. Your Stun Grenades deal x [25 – 45%] more damage.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #2	Trickster’s Aspect	Caltrops, Smoke Grenade, and Death Trap receive your Stun Grenade benefits and throw Stun Grenades that deal [X] Physical damage and Stun enemies for 1 second. Your Stun Grenades deal x [25 – 45%] increased damage.
Ring Slot #2	Opportunist’s Aspect	When you enter or break Stealth, you drop a cluster of exploding Stun Grenades around you that deal [X] Physical damage and Stun enemies for 1 second. Your Stun Grenades deal x [25 – 45%] more damage.
Gloves	Aspect of Artful Initiative	When you spend 75 Energy you release a cluster of exploding Stun Grenades that deal [X] total Physical damage and Stun enemies for 1 second. Your Stun Grenades deal x [25 – 45%] increased damage.
Helm (replaced by Harlequin Crest)	Juggernaut’s Aspect	Gain [X] Armor, but your Evade has 100% increased Cooldown.
Chest	Scoundrel’s Leathers	Your Trap Skills can be thrown and will spawn a Death Trap every 10 seconds when Cast, granting you x [10 – 30%] increased damage for 5 seconds.
Pants	Eyes in the Dark	Death Trap deals [50 – 150%] increased damage and will re-arm iteself once after activating.
Boots	Beastfall Boots	When you cast an Ultimate Skill, your next Core Skill consumes all of your energy and deals [0.25 – 0.75%] increased damage per Energy consumed. Using a Cooldown restores 25 Energy.

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Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Death Trap Rogues, ranked by importance. Affixes on the same line have equal value, so attempt to obtain all affixes in each line before moving on to the next. Yellow bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades, while blue bolded affixes are secondary options. For more details, check the Tempering and Masterworking guides.

Swords are preferred over Daggers for higher damage per hit and a better implicit stat. The choice of a Ranged Weapon between Bow and Crossbows does not matter.

The priority order of Resistances is Lightning > Poison > Fire > Cold > Shadow. Maximum Resistance is 70% by default for each element and can be increased to 85% by various sources.

Armor is only needed until capped at 1,000.

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Slot	Gear Affixes	Tempering Affixes
Weapons	1. Maximum Life 2. Dexterity, Overpower Damage	Trap Augments (Weapon): Chance for Death Trap to Deal Double Damage Worldly Finesse (Offensive): Overpower Damage
Helm	1. Maximum Resource 2. Cooldown Reduction 3. Maximum Life	Daze Control (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Daze Rogue Cloaking (Defensive): Ranks to Aftermath
Chest	Scoundrel’s Leathers	Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction from Enemies Affected by Trap Skills
Gloves	1. Maximum Life, Ranks to Core Skills 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Attack Speed	Trap Expertise (Utility): Caltrops Duration Worldly Finesse (Offensive): Overpower Damage
Pants	Eyes in the Dark	Tempering Not Available Masterworking Priority: Maximum Life
Boots	Beastfall Boots	Tempering Not Available Masterworking Priority: Maximum Resource or Ultimate Cooldown Reduction
Amulet	Banished Lord’s Talisman	Tempering Not Available Masterworking Priority: Maximum Life or Core Skills
Rings	1. Maximum Life 2. Any uncapped Resistances 3. Attack Speed, Dexterity	Ultimate Efficiency — Rogue (Resource): Death Trap Cooldown Reduction Worldly Finesse (Offensive): Overpower Damage

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Uniques and Mythic Uniques

Listed below are the required and recommended Unique and Mythic Unique Items for the Death Trap Rogue build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades. Check the Mythic Unique Items Guide for information on target-farming them.

• Scoundrel’s Leathers (required) applies the Core Skills tag to Death Trap for the Beastfall Boots and Banished Lord’s Talisman interactions.
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction from Enemies Affected by Trap Skills
• Beastfall Boots (required) consume all of your Energy for multiple activations of the Preparation and a damage increase for Death Trap.
  • Masterworking Priority: Maximum Resource or Ultimate Cooldown Reduction
• Banished Lord’s Talisman (required) guarantees Overpower damage for Death Trap.
  • Masterworking Priority: Maximum Life or Core Skills
• Eyes in the Dark (required) provides a massive 5x damage multiplier in its unique effect.
  • Masterworking Priority: Maximum Life
• Harlequin Crest (highly recommended) is a Mythic Unique Item that provides a boosted Cooldown Reduction affix, which is important for reducing the Cooldown of Death Trap.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Ring of Starless Skies (optional) is beneficial for a 50% damage increase and Ranks to Core Skills. This Mythic Unique Item can only be used if you do not need the Death Trap Cooldown Reduction temper from a Legendary Ring to reach the build requirement.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Core Skills

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Gems and Runewords

Listed below are the recommended Gems and Runewords to socket into your gear.

Gems

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Grand Ruby for Overpower damage.	Grand Emerald for Dexterity.	Any Resistance Gems needed or Grand Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap).

Runewords

Equip the following 2 Runewords, each consisting of a Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation. Insert the first Runeword into your Ranged Weapon, and then the second Runeword into any equipped Helm, Chest, or Pants item. Add sockets to your equipment at the Jeweler if necessary. Check the Runewords Guide for more details.

Runewords	Effects
Zan Xal (Ranged Weapon)	Gain: 150 Offering — Cast an Ultimate Skill. Requires: 300 Offering, Cooldown: 3 Seconds — Gain 20% Maximum Life for 6 seconds.
Poc Jah (Armor)	Gain: 5 Offering — Spend 5% of your Maximum Resource. Requires: 250 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds —Replace your next Evade with the Sorcerer’s Teleport, blinking further, dealing damage, and becoming Unstoppable.

Cir Vex can replace Poc Jah for a maximum damage setup.

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Paragon Board

Use the following Paragon Boards, Legendary Nodes, and Glyphs for the Death Trap Rogue.

Death Trap receives the Stun Grenade tag from Trickster’s Aspect to benefit from the damage multipliers from Explosive. The additive increased damage [+] for Stun Grenades is bugged to not work. Only invest enough Dexterity to enable the Additional Bonus and Legendary Bonus.

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Boss Powers (Season 8)

In the Season of Belial’s Return (Season 8), equip the following Boss Powers to enhance this build.

Main: Beast in the Ice’s Sleet — After casting 3 Skills which apply Crowd Control or Stagger effects, shoot out sleet spikes that deal [800%] Cold damage and Freeze enemies for 2 seconds.

Modifier:

• Harbinger of Hatred’s Volley: Casting a Basic Skill while at Maximum Resource spends it all to make all Nearby enemies Vulnerable. Activating your Main Boss Power grants x [30%] increased Vulnerable Damage for 5 seconds.
• Sinerat’s Flames: Gain x [5%] increased damage to all Elements. For each 1% of an Element’s Resistance from bonuses, gain x0.2% increased damage for that Element, up to a maximum of x [25%].
• Flesh Reaper’s Disruption: Gain x [5%] Vulnerable Damage, increased by x0.5% for each 1% of Crowd Control Duration Bonus you have, up to a maximum of x [20%].
  • Note: A Crowd Control Duration temper may be utilized to increase this bonus.

Mercenaries

Once the Den is unlocked during the main questline in the Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4, complete Mercenary key quests to acquire them. Hire a Mercenary and enlist a Reinforcement in the following setup.

• Hired Mercenary: Raheir
  • Skills: Shield Charge, Raheir’s Guard, Provoke, and Mocking Lure
• Reinforcement: Varyana
  • Skill: Bloodthirst
  • Opportunity: Cast when the player casts Caltrops.

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Build Mechanics

The Death Trap Rogue is a specialized build that requires a high amount of Cooldown Reduction applied to Death Trap and Maximum Energy to function. The cooldown of Death Trap must be reduced to 20 seconds or less through Cooldown Reduction affixes and Trap Cooldown Reduction tempers on gear.

The Preparation specialization is activated 3 times after consuming 275 Maximum Energy with Beastfall Boots to reduce the remaining Cooldown of Death Trap by 15 seconds. Obtain the Build Requirements to reach 275 Maximum Energy. The remaining 5 seconds of Cooldown are removed when Death Trap Overpowers an enemy, an inherent effect of the skill.

Concealment is cast before Death Trap in the Damage Rotation to apply Subverting Concealment for guaranteed Critical Strike and Vulnerable. The Subterfuge Skill also activates Danse Macabre to increase Death Trap damage by 75%[x].

Dash with Shadow Imbuement applied activates Eldritch Bounty to increase damage. Hitting a target with Dash also applies Mixed Shadow Imbuement for a smaller damage bonus, although this is not necessary to activate Eldritch Bounty. Prioritize using Dash to maintain a Distant range from enemies over hitting them for a bigger damage bonus from Deadeye.

Supreme Death Trap only works against bosses and is bugged to only hit when in close range, so make sure you stay Nearby them. When clearing other groups of enemies and elites, you can fight from a Distant range to gain the damage increase from Deadeye.

Resource Management

A total of 275 Energy needs to be consumed for each cast of Death Trap to activate Banished Lord’s Talisman. Ensure you have the following requirements to generate Energy.

• Enhanced Concealment generates 40 Energy.
• Beastfall Boots restores 25 Energy when using a Cooldown, which is activated by casting Concealment and Death Trap.
• Aftermath Rank 8, granted by Eyes in the Dark, generates 200 Energy after casting Death Trap.
• If you are still having an issue generating 275 Energy, obtain additional Ranks of Aftermath by Masterworking the affix on Eyes in the Dark or tempering from Rogue Cloaking.

Overpower

Overpower damage is scaled by Maximum Life and Fortify. Raheir grants Fortify when he casts Shield Charge. You will not have Fortify if you are playing in a group or do not have the Vessel of Hatred expansion for access to Mercenaries, resulting in a significant reduction in damage output.

Defenses

You most likely will not be able to cap Armor and Resistances in Torment 4. Do not worry, this build becomes tanky with high Maximum Life, multiple sources of damage reduction, and a rapidly refreshing barrier from Second Wind.

Rotation and Playstyle

Damage Rotation

Use the following rotation to optimize damage output. Steps 1-5 can be executed before a boss spawns. Due to a bug, remain in Nearby range against bosses for Supreme Death Trap to work. Supreme Death Trap does not work against normal and elite enemies, so utilize Deadeye against them from a Distant range.

1. Cast Blade Shift 10 times to fully stack Momentum to gain a Maximum Energy multiplier. This step only needs to be executed once per loading screen.
2. Cast Caltrops when more damage is desired against Bosses and tough Elites.
3. Activate Shadow Imbuement to imbue Dash.
4. Dash to maintain a Distant range from enemies and activate Eldritch Bounty. Dash through enemies to apply Mixed Shadow Imbuement, but prioritize the Distant range for the damage increase from Deadeye.
5. Drink a Potion to activate Unstable Elixirs.
6. Cast Concealment to guarantee Critical Strikes and apply Vulnerable through Subverting Concealment.
7. Cast Death Trap.
8. Repeat alternating casts of Concealment and Death Trap to continue dealing damage.

Button-Holding Technique

The button for Death Trap can be held down while you rapidly tap Concealment. This method spams Death Trap faster and is easier to execute, but not every Death Trap will gain the benefits of Concealment and Danse Macabre.

You can also hold down Concealment while tapping Death Trap. This technique simplifies the playstyle while speed-farming activities, allowing you to move and tap Death Trap as needed.

If you play using any button-holding technique, stack additional Critical Strike Chance on your Rings and Gloves to affect casts of Death Trap that do not have Subverting Concealment applied.

Elixirs and Incense

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs and Incense. Listed below are the best consumables for the Death Trap Rogue, ranked by importance.

1. Elixir of Resourcefulness II is required to fulfil the 275 Maximum Energy requirement in this build.
2. Reddamine Buzz is important for increased Maximum Life to scale Overpower damage.
3. Queen’s Supreme and Soothing Spices can also be consumed.

Season 8 Updates

A brief summary of the seasonal changes are provided below. For a complete overview of Season 8, take a look at the comprehensive season guide.

• Fists of Fate no longer applies random crowd controls.
• Worldly Fortune can no longer apply any crowd control tempers.
• Aspect of Concussive Strikes no longer provides increased damage.
• Frostbitten Aspect is now in the Offensive category.
• Death Trap
  • Base Cooldown increased from 50 to 60 seconds.
  • Lucky Hit Chance increased from 8% to 15%.
  • Death Trap’s Pull In effects will always happen around the area the trap is thrown or placed.
  • Previous: If Death Trap kills an enemy, its Cooldown is reduced by 10 seconds.
  • Now: If Death Trap kills or Overpowers an enemy, its Cooldown is reduced by 10 seconds.
• Prime Death Trap
  • Previous: Death Trap Slows all surrounding enemies by 85% for 5 seconds when it activates.
  • Now: Enemies hit by Death Trap take 50 20%[x] increased damage from your Trap Skills for 8 seconds.
• Trick Attacks
  • Previous: Dazing or Stunning an enemy increases your Critical Strike Chance by 2/4/6% and Critical Strike Damage by 2/4/6% for 5 seconds, up to 12/24/36%.
  • Now: Attempting to Daze or Stun an enemy increases your Critical Strike Chance by 1/2/3% and Critical Strike Damage by 1/2/3% for 8 seconds, up to 5/10/15%.

Changelog

• May 4, 2025: Slight adjustments made to Paragon due to an Explosive Glyph bug.
• May 3, 2025:
  • Included mention of Supreme Death Trap bug.
  • Optimized Boss Powers.
• May 2, 2025: Build reworked to utilize Overpower.
• April 26, 2025: Guide updated for Season 8 (Patch 2.2.0).
• January 21, 2025: Guide updated for Season 7 (Patch 2.1.0).
• October 4, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
• September 21, 2024: Guide created.