Heartseeker – Rogue Build for Diablo 4 (Season 8)

Build Introduction

The Heartseeker Rogue is the easiest-to-play build within the class, mainly focused on repeatedly casting a Basic Skill to deal damage. Heartseeker deals devasting single-target damage, and Paingorger’s Gauntlets echos the damage to clear activities with high monster density, such as Inferno Hordes and The Pit.

The final version of the Heartseeker Rogue utilizes Shard of Verathiel for maximum damage output. Heartseeker is transformed to consume Energy, so the setup has strict requirements to function properly. Check the Shard of Verathiel section for the full details.

The only starting requirement for this endgame build guide is a Level 60 character. Check the Rogue Leveling Guide if you need help getting there.

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

Strengths and Weaknesses

Quick Navigation

Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to sections.

Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points

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

HeartseekerDashShadow StepCaltropsSmoke GrenadeShadow Clone

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

Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar. Dark Shroud shadows are granted through Umbrous Aspect.

Cold Imbuement is not equipped on the Skill Bar. Coldclip Aspect automatically applies the effects of Enhanced Cold Imbuement and Mixed Cold Imbuement to Heartseeker.

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 preferred specialization for the Heartseeker Rogue for 15% Damage Reduction and to reset Cooldowns. The bonuses are activated by casting Shadow Clone.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

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 Heartseeker 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.

Gear Slot	Aspect Name	Aspect Power
Ranged Weapon	Aspect of the Moonrise	Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill grants you 4% Attack Speed for 10 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Upon reaching maximum stacks, you enter a Vampiric Bloodrage, gaining x [40 – 80%] Basic Skill damage and 15% Movement Speed for 10 seconds.
Amulet	Aspect of Adaptability	When cast below 50% Maximum Resource, Basic Skills generate 3 of your Primary Resource, once per cast. When cast at or above 50% Maximum Resource, Basic Skills deal x [20 – 80%] increased damage.
Dual-Wielded Weapons or Rings	Aspect of Retribution	Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [15 – 30%] increased damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies.
Dual-Wielded Weapons or Rings	Aspect of Elements	Gain x [20 – 30%] increased damage to a set of damage types for 7 seconds. This effect alternates between 2 sets: • Fire, Lightning, and Physical. • Cold, Poison, and Shadow.
Dual-Wielded Weapons or Rings	Coldclip Aspect	Your Basic Skills are always Cold Imbued. You deal x [5 – 20%] increased damage to enemies who are Chilled or Frozen.
Dual-Wielded Weapons or Rings	Frostbitten Aspect	Enemies hit by your Grenade Skills have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to be Frozen for 2 seconds. You deal x [10 – 25%] increased Critical Strike Damage against Frozen or Stunned enemies. (only used for the damage multiplier, not the Grenade Skills effect)
Gloves (replaced by Paingorger’s Gauntlets)	Rapid Aspect	Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed.
Helm (replaced by Harlequin Crest)	Aspect of Might	Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 6] seconds
Chest (replaced by Shroud of False Death)	Cheat’s Aspect	You take [10 – 30%] less damage from Crowd Controlled enemies. Whenever a Crowd Controlled enemy deals direct damage to you, gain 15% Movement Speed for 2 seconds.
Pants	Umbrous Aspect	Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a [45 – 60%] chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow.
Boots	Aspect of Quickening Fog	You automatically drop a Smoke Grenade at the end of Dash. Smoke Grenades reduce Dash’s cooldown by [0.5 – 0.65] seconds for each enemy hit, up to [1.50 – 1.95] seconds.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Heartseeker 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. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. For more details, check the Tempering and Masterworking guides.

The Ranged Weapon type selected depends on your preference. Bows have a faster weapon speed, while Crossbows have a higher damage per hit. Equip Daggers for a faster weapon speed on Shadow Step.

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.

↑ Back to Legendary Gear Table

Slot	Gear Affixes	Tempering Affixes
Weapons	1. Maximum Life, Vulnerable Damage 2. Life on Hit, Dexterity	Marksman Augments — Basic (Weapon): Chance for Heartseeker Projectiles to Cast Twice (up to 100% maximum chance, and then temper Caltrops Duration or Caltrops Size from Trap Augments) Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction, Lucky Hit Chance 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity	Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance
Chest	1. Ranks to Dark Shroud 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity	Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance
Gloves	1. Critical Strike Chance, Lucky Hit Chance, Attack Speed 2. Vulnerable Damage, Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity	Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration
Pants	1. Ranks to Heartseeker 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity	Daze Control (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Daze Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance
Boots	1. Movement Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Ranks to Dash, Maximum Life, Dexterity	Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration
Amulet	1. Ranks to Frigid Finesse, Unstable Elixirs, Malice and Exploit 2. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed, Lucky Hit Chance	Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed
Rings	1. Critical Strike Chance, Lucky Hit Chance, Attack Speed 2. Vulnerable Damage	Agility Efficiency (Resource): Agility Cooldown Reduction Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Uniques and Mythic Uniques

Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique and Mythic Unique Items for the Heartseeker 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.

• Paingorger’s Gauntlets (highly recommended) echos damage to multiple enemies to supplement the limited targeting of Heartseeker.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Basic Skills
• Shard of Verathiel (recommended build variant) provides a 3x multiplier for Heartseeker, at the cost of 25 Primary Resource per cast. Solving for the heavy Energy drain requires strict gearing, so check the Shard of Verathiel section for the full setup.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Basic Skills
• Ring of Starless Skies (recommended build variant) synergizes with Shard of Verathiel to reduce the Mana cost of Heartseeker, while also providing a damage multiplier.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed, or Lucky Hit Chance
• Harlequin Crest (recommended) provides a good amount of offense and defense, if you are lucky enough to find this Mythic Unique Item.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Fists of Fate (optional) increases overall damage by 50% with a 300% value on the unique effect.
  • Masterworking Priority: Lucky Hit Chance
• Cowl of the Nameless (optional) provides the highest damage output when properly Masterworked.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Unstable Elixirs or Trick Attacks
• Shroud of False Death (optional) provides the highest damage increase in the slot due to the +1 Ranks to All Passives inherent affix.
  • Masterworking Priority: All Stats or Maximum Life

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Gems and Runewords

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

Gems

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Grand Diamond for increased Ultimate Damage to scale No Witnesses.	Grand Emerald for Dexterity.	Any Resistance Gems needed or Grand Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap).

Runewords

Insert the following 2 Runewords, each consisting of a Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation, 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
Yax Gar	Gain: 200 Offering — Drink a Healing Potion. Requires: 25 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Gain 2.5% Critical Strike Chance for 5 seconds, up to 25%.
Lith Ohm	Gain: 25 Offering — Stand still for 0.3 seconds. Requires: 600 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds — Invoke the Barbarian’s War Cry, increasing your damage dealt by x15% for 6 seconds.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Paragon Board

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

The Paragon setup displayed above focuses on quickly unlocking the essential Glyph sockets and Legendary Nodes at a moderate Paragon Level. Once the base setup is complete, allocate the remaining Paragon points in the following order.

1. Obtain any remaining nodes providing a damage increase within the radius of Glyph sockets.
2. Path to the remaining Rare and Magic nodes. Prioritize obtaining damage reduction, any needed Resistances/Armor, and damage increases.
3. Any remaining points can be spent on Dexterity nodes within the radius of Headhunter.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

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:

• Liilth’s Wind of Hate: Hitting an Elite enemy with a Main Boss Power creates an inert Blister Clone with 10% of their Maximum Life for 15 seconds. Killing the Blister removes [2.1%] of the Elite’s Life. An Elite can have up to 1 Blister active at once, and a Boss can have up to 2 Blisters. Enemies with Resilience cannot spawn Blisters.
• 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 [15.5%].
• 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 [10.5%].

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: Varyana
  • Skills: Cleave, Hysteria, Bloodthirst, Bloodlust
• Reinforcement: Raheir
  • Skill: Bastion
  • Opportunity: Cast when the player becomes Injured

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Build Mechanics

The Heartseeker Rogue focuses on increasing Basic Skill damage with massive multipliers from Aspect of the Moonrise and Aspect of Adaptability. Primary Heartseeker allows for 2 hits per cast, even against an individual target due to the seeking property of the skill.

Paingorger’s Gauntlets mark enemies hit by Smoke Grenade and Caltrops to echo damage done by Heartseeker to groups of enemies.

Vulnerable from Enhanced Cold Imbuement is automatically applied through Coldclip Aspect.

Dark Shrouds stacks are rapidly generated through Umbrous Aspect with the high Attack Speed of Heartseeker and can also be manually cast from the Skill Bar when needed.

Smoke Grenade can be cast manually from the Skill Bar, or auto-casted through Aspect of Quickening Fog by using Dash. Aspect of Quickening Fog also reduces the cooldown of Dash when enemies are hit by a Smoke Grenade from either source. Use Dash offensively to land on top of enemies and Daze them, while applying Enhanced Smoke Grenade for enemies to take 25% increased damage.

Caltrops increase the damage enemies take from you by 45% with Enhanced Caltrops. A Caltrops Duration temper and a Caltrops Size temper prevent the effect from falling off during Boss fights.

Shadow Clone activates No Witnesses and Preparation, while mimicking Heartseeker to supplement damage output.

Rotation and Playstyle

Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.

1. Initiate combat with one of the following Skills:
   • Cast Shadow Step on the toughest enemy.
   • Dash on top of enemies to automatically drop a Smoke Grenade (if using Aspect of Quickening Fog).
   • Cast Smoke Grenade to Daze enemies from a distance while running up to them.
2. Cast Shadow Clone to activate No Witnesses.
3. Against bosses or tough elites, cast Caltrops on top of them to apply Enhanced Caltrops.
4. Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
5. Spam Heartseeker to deal damage.

Elixirs

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs, or find Elixirs by killing enemies or opening chests during various activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume for the Heartseeker Rogue, ranked by importance.

1. Elixir of Precision provides the highest damage output increase, if not already capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance.
2. Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
3. Elixir of Fortitude is the best general purpose option for survivability.
4. Specific Resistance Elixirs can be utilized to survive against Uber Bosses with elemental attacks.

Shard of Verathiel Heartseeker Rogue

The final version of the Heartseeker Rogue utilizes Shard of Verathiel for a massive 3x damage multiplier, at the cost of 25 Primary Resource per cast. Energy is drained quickly from rapidly casting Heartseeker with a high Attack Speed, so the setup has strict requirements to function.

Make the following changes to the original version of the Heartseeker Rogue to solve Energy issues:

• Remove Rapid Aspect and Aspect of Elements from the build.
• Equip a Shard of Verathiel with at least a 150% value on the unique effect.
• Equip Ring of Starless Skies to reduce the Resource cost of your Skills.
• Remove Skill Points from Stutter Step (3) and Sturdy (2).
• Add Skill Points to Innervation (3) and Second Wind (2).
• Temper Ranks to Innervation from Rogue Invigoration onto your Rings and Amulet (instead of Movement Speed).

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.
• 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

• 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 16, 2024: New Paragon tool added.
• October 4, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
• August 6, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
• May 26, 2024: Guide created.