Build Introduction
The 
Shadow Step Rogue is an advanced endgame build featuring 
Shadow Clone in Diablo 4, Vessel of Hatred. The infinite casts of Shadow Step enable this build to be the fastest speed-farmer within the Rogue class, perfect for Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and The Pit!
This 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
- Extremely high mobility for speed-farming
- High burst damage
- Multiple crowd controls to render entire groups of enemies helpless
- Boss damage dependent on Stagger
- Strict build requirements
- Small cleave radius
Build Requirements
The Shadow Step Rogue requires a high amount of Cooldown Reduction to be applied to Shadow Step. With Disciplined Shadow Step reducing the Cooldown by 3 seconds, the Shadow Step Cooldown on its tooltip needs to be lowered to at least 3.25 seconds for rapid casting (0.25 seconds account for the attack animation frames). Shadow Clone Cooldown should also be reduced. Obtain the following list of items before attempting the build.
Assassin’s Stride — A greater affix Mobility Cooldown Reduction with 3 masterworking bonuses is highly recommended.- At least 1 Ring or Amulet with a Shadow Step Cooldown Reduction temper.
- At least 1 Ring or Amulet with a Shadow Clone Cooldown Reduction temper.
Quick Navigation
Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to sections.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
Shadow Step
HeartseekerShadow Clone
Smoke Grenade
Dark Shroud
DashThe Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 71 Skill Points for the Shadow Step Rogue build. Make sure you obtain the 12 Skill Points available from Renown.
Shadow Imbuement is automatically applied by Assassin’s Stride. Do not equip it on the Skill Bar.
Frigid Finesse is activated by a Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze temper. The damage buff also always applies against Staggered Bosses, as 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 preferred specialization for the Shadow Step Rogue to grant 15% Damage Reduction and reduce Shadow Clone Cooldown. 
Qax consumes Energy to activate Preparation.
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 Shadow Step 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 | 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 (+50 bonus effect) |  Ravager’s Aspect | Shadow Step has an additional Charge. Killing an enemy with Shadow Step refunds a Charge and increases the damage of Shadow Step by x [4.5 – 14.5%] for 2 seconds, up to x [27 – 87%]. |
Ring Slot #1 ( Pitfighter’s Gull optional) | 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 Ring Slot #2 | Vehement Brawler’s Aspect | Casting an Ultimate Skill increases your damage by [10 – 30%] for 8 seconds. Gain 2 additional Ultimate Skill Ranks. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Aspect of Retribution | Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal x [15 – 35%] increased damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Aspect of Inner Calm | Deal x [5 – 13%] increased damage. Triple this bonus after standing still for 3 seconds. |
Gloves (replaced by  Grasp of Shadow) | Clandestine Aspect | Gain + [3 – 5] Ranks to Agility and Subterfuge Skills. |
| Helm |  Cowl of the Nameless,  Harlequin Crest, or  Heir of Perdition | See Unique and Mythic Items section. |
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 – 65%] chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow. |
| Boots | Assassin’s Stride | Mobility Skills are always Shadow Imbued with [40 – 80%] increased potency. Lucky Hit: Damaging an Elite or Boss with a Mobility Skill has up to a [40 – 80%] chance to instantly triggers a free Shadow Imbuement explosion. |
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Shadow Step 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 affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades, while blue affixes are secondary options. For more details, check the Tempering and Masterworking guides.
Daggers are selected over Swords for the Damage to Close Enemies implicit when using 
Close Quarters Combat. A Bow is preferred for a faster cast of 
Heartseeker.
If Critical Strike Chance is not capped at 100% (see Critical Strike Chance section), replace Critical Strike Damage with Vulnerable Damage instead.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ranged Weapon | 1. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage | 1.  Agile Augments (Weapon): Shadow Clone Double Damage2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons | 1. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage | 1. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies 2. Assassin Augments (Weapon): Shadow Step Cleaves |
| Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance 2. Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration |
| Chest | 1. Ranks to Dark Shroud 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance 2. Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration |
| Gloves | 1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies 2. Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration |
| Pants | 1. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Daze Control (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Daze 2. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Rogue Cloaking: Dodge Chance |
| Boots | Assassin’s Stride | Masterworking Priority: Mobility Cooldown Reduction |
| Amulet | 1. % Dexterity, Ranks to Frigid Finesse 2. Ranks to Unstable Elixirs 3. Ranks to Exploit or Malice | 1. Agility Efficiency (Resource): Shadow Step Cooldown Reduction 2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies |
| Rings | 1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage | 1. Agility Efficiency (Resource): Shadow Step Cooldown Reduction or Ultimate Efficiency — Rogue: Shadow Clone Cooldown Reduction 2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies |
Uniques and Mythic Uniques
Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique and Mythic Unique Items for the Shadow Step 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.
- Cowl of the Nameless (highly recommended) is best-in-slot for damage output if +7 Ranks to
Trick Attacks is granted by a greater affix and masterworking bonuses. - Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Trick Attacks
- Heir of Perdition (optional) provides a consistent damage increase, which works against bosses that do not summon adds.
- Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
- Harlequin Crest (optional) is useful for a boosted Cooldown Reduction affix if you cannot reduce the Cooldown of Shadow Step enough elsewhere.
- Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
- Assassin’s Stride (highly recommended) is the best source of Cooldown Reduction for Shadow Step.
- Masterworking Priority: Mobility Cooldown Reduction
- Grasp of Shadow (recommended) grants up to +8 Ranks to Shadow Step with a greater affix and masterworking bonuses. The unique effect triggers an extra Shadow Clone to mimick Shadow Step, with an estimated 2 second internal cooldown.
- Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Marksman or Cutthroat Skills
- Shroud of False Death (highly recommended) 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
- Pitfighter’s Gull (optional) provides a 45% damage increase after casting Smoke Grenade.
- Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the recommended Gems and Runewords to socket into your gear.
Gems
| Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
|---|---|---|
 Grand Emerald for Critical Strike Damage. | Grand Emerald for Dexterity. | Any Resistance Gems needed or  Grand Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap). |
Runewords
Insert one of the following Runewords, consisting of a Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation, into your equipped Ranged Weapon. The other Runeword can be inserted 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 |
|---|---|
 YulQax | Gain: 50 Offering — Cast a Skill with a Cooldown. Requires: 400 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Your next non-Basic Skill cast spends all of your Primary Resource to deal up to 100% increased damage. |
 Noc Kry | Gain: 10 Offering — Inflict a Crowd Control. Gain double offering if it isn’t a Slow or a Chill. Requires: 300 Offering, Cooldown: 3 Seconds — Invoke the Spiritborn’s Vortex, dealing damage and Pulling In enemies. |
Paragon Board
Use the following Paragon Boards, Legendary Nodes, and Glyphs for the Shadow Step Rogue.
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.
- Harbringer 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 [11%] increased Vulnerable Damage for 5 seconds.
- 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: Raheir
- Skills:
Ground Slam, 
Raheir’s Aegis, 
Bastion, 
Inspiration
- Skills:
- Reinforcement: Varyana
- Skill:
Bloodthirst - Opportunity: Cast when the player casts any skill in combat
- Skill:
Build Mechanics
The Shadow Step Grenade Rogue is a specialized build that requires a high amount of Cooldown Reduction applied to Shadow Step to function. Shadow Step is rapidly cast by lowering the base Cooldown to at least 3.25 seconds, while Disciplined Shadow Step further reduces the Cooldown by 3 seconds. The remaining 0.25 seconds account for the attack animation frames of Shadow Step.
Shadow Clone contributes to the majority of damage output, and its Cooldown needs to be reduced with at least 1 Shadow Clone Cooldown Reduction temper. The Cooldown is further reduced by a Yul Qax runeword that activates Preparation.
Shadow Imbuement is automatically applied by Assassin’s Stride to gain the benefits of Enhanced Shadow Imbuement and Mixed Shadow Imbuement.
Vulnerable status is applied by Enhanced Shadow Step to multiple enemies with Shadow Step Cleave tempers.
Critical Strike Chance
Critical Strike Chance should be capped at 100% to fully utilize Critical Strike Damage bonuses. A total of 25% Critical Strike Chance is granted through the Skill Tree by 
Subverting Dark Shroud and Enhanced Shadow Imbuement. Fundamental Heartseeker, Enhanced Dash, and Trick Attacks can also be somewhat reliable.
The character stats sheet needs to display the remaining Critical Strike Chance, acquired through gear. Greater Affixes and/or Masterworking Bonuses for Critical Strike stats on gear can be utilized. 
Elixir of Precision II can also be used if needed.
Rotation and Playstyle
Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.
- Activate Dark Shroud to prepare for battles.
- Hit elites and bosses with
Smoke Grenade to apply Enhanced Smoke Grenade and activate Pitfighter’s Gull. - Cast Shadow Clone to activate
No Witnesses and mimick Shadow Step. - Drink a Potion to activate
Unstable Elixirs. - Cast Heartseeker to activate the Marksman requirement of Close Quarters Combat and
Tricks of the Trade. - Rapidly spam Shadow Step to deal damage. The button for Shadow Step can be held down for continuous attacks, even chaining to your next enemy.
- Cast Dash to traverse when there are no enemies to target with Shadow Step.
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 Shadow Step Rogue, ranked by importance.
- 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.
Gameplay Video
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 4, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
- September 2, 2024: Guide created for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
