Build Introduction
Rogue leveling is a breeze as you fly through Sanctuary with the Rapid Fire and Flurry leveling build. This is your leveling guide for Diablo 4, with the maximum Skill Point allocation at Level 50. Let us go over the build mechanics, character progression, and playstyle!
This Dual Core Skill build is perfect for players who want the best of both single-target damage and Area of Effect (AoE) clearing. Rapid Fire deals high single-target damage to snipe elite and bosses, while Flurry hits every enemy around the Rogue with AoE damage.
Unlike builds using Shadow Imbuement or other cooldowns to clear packs of enemies, this hybrid build has unlimited AoE available for every engagement. Another key advantage is having both Cutthroat and Marksman Skills to activate Close Quarters Combat for more Attack Speed and Damage.
Season 5 Update (Patch 1.5.0): Flurry base damage is increased by 1.38x and Enhanced Flurry receives a 1.25x damage multiplier to improve the already powerful Flurry Rogue build. Improved Flurry is reworked to dash to enemies to make this leveling build feature the highest starting mobility.
Once your Rogue character reaches Level 50 or enters World Tier 3, switch to the endgame guide for Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry to continue this build.
Check the Rogue leveling page for a comparison of all the leveling builds and general tips.
Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar
The following table shows the order in which to allocate your Skill Points for the Rapid Fire and Flurry Rogue leveling build. You gain 48 points at Level 50 and 2 points from completing Renown in each Act zone, for a total of 58.
Dual Core Rogue Specialization
The Rogue Specialization can be unlocked at Level 15. Complete the True Potential questline as soon as possible to gain access to the first Specialization option, Combo Points. This is the preferred Specialization for leveling a Rogue.
Build Combo Points with Puncture to unleash additional damage and arrows for Rapid Fire. Combo Points can also be used to gain additional damage and an Attack Speed buff with Flurry.
Build Mechanics and Playstyle
Flurry provides Area of Effect damage to clear groups of enemies. Improved Flurry dashes to enemies to quickly traverse between enemy packs. Rapid Fire is eventually supplemented to deal higher single-target damage to tougher Elites and Bosses.
This hybrid build has an arsenal of both Cutthroat Skills (Flurry and Dash) and Marksman Skills (Rapid Fire and Puncture) to activate damage increases from Close Quarters Combat and eventually Tricks of the Trade in Paragon.
Cold Imbuement freezes enemies to activate damage bonuses from Mixed Cold Imbuement and Frigid Finesse.
Animation Cancel Technique
Evade immediately after using Rapid Fire or Flurry to cancel their casting animations. This technique is important to quickly dodge incoming attacks while activating Advanced Rapid Fire. Boots with the implicit effect, attacks reduce Evade’s cooldown by 1.5 seconds, allow for an animation cancel after using 3 Basic Attacks and a Core Skill. Practice hitting Evade after every Core Skill to build muscle memory.
AoE Damage Rotation
Explode groups of mobs with the following rotation.
- (Optional) Dash to enemies to activate Enhanced Dash.
- Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
- Build 3 Combo Points with Puncture.
- Activate Cold Imbuement.
- Cast Flurry to deal AoE damage.
- Immediately animation cancel Flurry with an Evade
- Restart the rotation.
Single Target Damage Rotation
Use the following rotation against Elites and Bosses for high single-target damage.
- Evade to activate Advanced Rapid Fire.
- Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
- Build 3 Combo Points with Puncture. Make sure you are close enough for Fundamental Puncture to apply Vulnerable.
- Activate Cold Imbuement.
- Cast Rapid Fire at the target.
- Immediately animation cancel Rapid Fire with an Evade to restart the rotation.
Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats
The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character during the leveling process.
Legendary Aspects
Aspect of Encircling Blades can be unlocked in the Codex of Power by completing the Forsaken Quarry in Fractured Peaks. It is located right above the first major town of Kyovashad. The dungeon is part of the Rogue Specialization Quest, so follow it after it unlocks at Level 15. Immediately visit the Occultist to imprint this Aspect onto an item to increase the AoE range of Flurry.
Higher Tier Aspects with stronger effects can be found on dropped Legendary Items. Salvage unwanted Legendary Items at the Blacksmith to unlock these Aspects in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto well-rolled Rare Items. Check the in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide for more information.
Listed below are all the Aspects found on Legendary Items that are important for the Rapid Fire and Flurry Rogue leveling build. They are listed in order of priority. The best-in-slot Aspects List is in the Endgame Guide for Dual Core Rogue.
Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
---|---|---|
Aspect of Encircling Blades | Flurry damages enemies in a circle around you and deals [15 – 22%] increased damage. | Forsaken Quarry, Fractured Peaks |
Breakneck Bandit’s Aspect | Flurry deals [25 – 40%] increased damage and has a 20% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds with each hit. | Random Drop Only |
Aspect of the Expectant | Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by [5 – 10%], up to 30%. | Underroot, Scosglen |
Edgemaster’s Aspect | Skills deal up to [10 – 20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
Aspect of Retribution | Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [10 – 20%] increased damage to Stunned enemies. | Abandoned Mineworks, Kehjistan |
Aspect of Might | Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 6] seconds | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed. | Buried Halls, Dry Steppes |
Accelerating Aspect | Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [15 – 25%] for 3 seconds. | Random Drop Only |
Gems
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.
Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
---|---|---|
Royal Sapphire for increased Vulnerable Damage. | Royal Ruby for increased Maximum Life. | Any Resistance Gems needed or Royal Skull for Armor (up to the 9,230 Armor cap). |
Elixirs
Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Elixirs can also drop randomly from enemies and chests during many activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume, ranked by importance.
- Elixir of Resource greatly helps with Energy issues, if you do not already have the appropriate Energy gear. This elixir is highly recommended for starting characters to maintain casting of Core Skills.
- Elixir of Precision provides the highest damage output increase, if not already capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance.
- Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
- Elixir of Fortitude is the best general purpose option for survivability.
Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear during the early leveling of a Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry Rogue. Each line of affixes are listed in order of importance. Affixes on the same line are considered to be equally important, but their benefits may vary depending on how much is stacked or other character stats.
The Item Power of Weapons determines its DPS and is the most important factor when searching for upgrades. When comparing weapons with similar Item Power, Crossbows are preferred over Bows for a higher Damage per Hit for Rapid Fire. Daggers are selected for the fastest weapon speed to generate Combo Points.
Prioritize Boots with the implicit effect, attacks reduce Evade’s cooldown, for constant Evades to activate Advanced Rapid Fire and Advanced Flurry.
Tempering Manuals are randomly dropped while leveling, and they need to be found to unlock their usage at the Blacksmith. Highlighted affixes are the most beneficial temper to prioritize while leveling. All other tempers may not be worthwhile during early levels if you are consistently replacing gear with new item upgrades.
Slot | Gear Affixes | Tempering Affixes |
---|---|---|
Weapons | 1. Maximum Life 2. Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage, Vulnerable Damage | Core Augments — Rogue: Chance for Rapid Fire Projectiles to Cast Twice Specialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies |
Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction, Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance | Alchemist Control (Utility): Flurry Size Rogue Recovery (Defensive): Flurry Healing |
Chest | 1. Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | Alchemist Control (Utility): Flurry Size Rogue Recovery (Defensive): Flurry Healing |
Gloves | 1. Ranks to Core Skills, Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Resource Cost Reduction, Maximum Life, Lucky Hit Chance | Specialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies Alchemist Control (Utility): Flurry Size |
Pants | 1. Resistances, Armor 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze Rogue Recovery (Defensive): Flurry Healing |
Boots | Implicit Stat: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown 1. Movement Speed, Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Ranks to Dash, Maximum Life, Dexterity | Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed Rogue Innovation (Utility): Flurry Size |
Amulet | 1. Ranks to Exploit, Critical Strike Chance, Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed 2. Movement Speed, Armor | Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Cold Imbue Additional Casts Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed |
Rings | 1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Resource Cost Reduction, Critical Strike Damage, Vulnerable Damage, Resistances, Maximum Life 3. Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance | Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Cold Imbue Additional Casts Specialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies |
Paragon
Paragon unlocks after reaching Level 50, and the progression system offers a considerable boost to character power. The images below provide a visual of an early Paragon board setup for the Dual Core Rogue.
The Paragon boards in this leveling guide are designed as a temporary setup for characters that have recently reached Level 50. Continue your progress with the fully optimized Paragon setup in the Dual Core endgame guide.
Important Notes:
- Make sure you select the correct Legendary Boards and rotate them into the correct orientation.
- Attach Legendary Boards in the correct order, as bonus requirements of Rare Nodes increase with their placement order.
- Additional bonus requirements on Rare Glyphs may not be obtainable until they gain increased radius range at Level 15.
1. Starting Board (Exploit)
Socket Exploit in the starting board. Prioritize leveling Exploit to 15 for increased radius, as it is needed to allocate enough Strength to activate the additional bonus.
2. Tricks of the Trade (Turf)
Rotate the Tricks of the Trade board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node, and then Socket Turf for some valuable Damage Reduction. Prioritize leveling Turf to 15 for increased radius, as it is needed to allocate enough Strength to activate the additional bonus.
3. Cheap Shot (Control)
Rotate the Cheap Shot board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node on this board. Socket Control to gain Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies for an increased damage bonus on Close Quarters Combat.
Paragon Board images courtesy of d4builds.gg. Click this link for the Paragon planner.
Changelog
- August 6th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
- May 15th, 2024: Priority Affixes updated with game changes made since the Season 4 PTR.
- May 14th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
- March 5th, 2024: Guide updated for the Mid Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.3).
- January 22nd, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
- October 17th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0).