Twisting Blades – Rogue Build for Diablo 4 (Season 8)

Build Introduction

The Twisting Blades Rogue build eviscerates your foes before they know what hit them. Twisting Blades hits hard with two sources of damage per cast. The target is first damaged with an impale, followed by an even more damaging hit when the blades are ripped out to fly back to the Rogue. The blades pierce through all enemies on the return flight, dealing more damage with proper positioning. This fast-paced melee build is perfect for players desiring a more complex and involved playstyle

If your character has not reached Level 60, follow the Leveling Guide for the Twisting Blades Rogue.

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

Strengths and Weaknesses

Quick Navigation

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Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points

Skill Bar Setup for Twisting Blades Rogue (order does not matter)

Twisting BladesPunctureShadow ImbuementSmoke GrenadeShadow StepDash

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

Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar, but is instead granted through Umbrous Aspect.

Frigid Finesse is always active against Staggered Bosses.

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

Combo Points is the preferred Rogue Specialization for general farming due to the burst damage playstyle of Twisting Blades Rogue. Build Combo Points with Puncture to unleash additional damage for Twisting Blades.

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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 Twisting Blades 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	Bladedancer’s Aspect	Twisting Blades orbit for a short time after they return to you, dealing [40 – 60%] of Twisting Blade’s return damage per hit.
Amulet	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 Weapon Slot #1 (replaced by Condemnation)	Rapid Aspect	Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed.
Gloves	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.
Ring Slot #1 (replaced by Ring of Starless Skies)	Accelerating Aspect	Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [15 – 25%] for 3 seconds.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #2 or Ring Slot #2	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%.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #2 or Ring Slot #2	Coldclip Aspect	Your Basic Skills are always Cold Imbued. You deal x [5 – 20%] increased damage to enemies who are Chilled or Frozen.
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)	Juggernaut’s Aspect	Gain [X] Armor, but your Evade has 100% increased Cooldown.
Pants	Umbrous Aspect	Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a [45 – 60%] chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow.
Boots	Slice and Dice Aspect	Twisting Blades’ initial hit cleaves. Twisting Blades return [25 – 45%] faster.

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Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Twisting Blades 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 weapon type selection does not make a significant difference in the performance of this build. Equip Daggers if you prefer a faster-paced playstyle or Swords if you desire higher Damage per Hit. Bows and Crossbows provide comparable implicit stats.

Close Quarters Combat increases the priority of the Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies tempering affix from Natural Finesse.

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, Dexterity, Vulnerable Damage	Cutthroat Augments (Weapon): Chance for Twisting Blades to Hit Twice up to 100% cap Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction, Ranks to Shadow Imbuement 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance	Imbuement Abundance (Utility): Shadow Imbue Additional Casts Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance
Chest	1. Dexterity, Maximum Life 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Healing Received	Imbuement Abundance (Utility): Shadow Imbue Additional Casts Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance
Gloves	1. Ranks to Twisting Blades, Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Resource Cost Reduction, Maximum Life, Lucky Hit Chance	Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies Imbuement Abundance (Utility): Shadow Imbue Additional Casts
Pants	1. Dexterity, Maximum Life 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor	Imbuement Abundance (Utility): Shadow Imbue Additional Casts Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance
Boots	Implicit Stat: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown 1. Movement Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Ranks to Dash, Maximum Life, Dexterity	Imbuement Abundance (Utility): Shadow Imbue Additional Casts Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed
Amulet	1. Ranks to Unstable Elixirs, Frigid Finesse, Malice, and/or Exploit 2. Critical Strike Chance, Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed	Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies
Rings	1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Resource Cost Reduction, Vulnerable Damage, Maximum Life	Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies Agility Efficiency (Resource): Agility Cooldown Reduction

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Uniques and Mythic Uniques

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

• Condemnation (recommended) provides a 1.4x multiplier that works well in this Combo Points build.
  • Masterworking Priority: Basic Skill Attack Speed
• 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
• Ring of Starless Skies (recommended) is a Mythic Unique Item that provides a highly valuable 1.5x multiplier. The downside is the unique effect requires some management to ramp up and maintain the buff stacks.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance or Ranks to Core Skills
• Penitent Greaves (optional) provide a decent damage increase in the unique effect. They are worth using when combined with Frigid Finesse to apply Chill for a damage increase.
  • Masterworking Priority: Movement Speed
• 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

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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 Emerald if Critical Strike Chance is capped at 100% or Grand Sapphire.	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
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 — Evoke the Barbarian’s Enhanced War Cry, increasing your Movement Speed and damage dealt.

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Paragon Board

Use the following Paragon Boards, Legendary Nodes, and Glyphs for the Twisting Blades 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.

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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:

• 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

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Video Guide and Gameplay Footage

Build Mechanics

The Twisting Blade Rogue build is more involved to play than most others. Twisting Blades damage is increased by several buffs to cause a devastating hit. Combo Points can be generated for additional damage. Shadow Imbuement turns the attack into Shadow damage.

After the first victim is impaled by Twisting Blades, Dash and Shadow Step are used to reposition around other enemies to hit them with the returning blades and then orbiting blades from Bladedancer’s Aspect. The flying blades retain the damage buffs of the initial impale, including the guaranteed Critical Hit and Shadow Imbuement!

Fundamental Puncture easily applies Vulnerable to a target with a single Basic attack. Aim Puncture at the toughest enemies in a pack. In group play, apply this debuff to Elites and Bosses so your teammates deal more damage!

Puncture is a Marksman Skill that can be used before casting Twisting Blades to gain the damage bonus from Tricks of the Trade.

Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar, but is instead granted through Umbrous Aspect.

Resource Management

Innervation, Enhanced Puncture, and Combat should provide enough Energy generation if you are taking the time to build 3 Combo Points before casting Twisting Blades. Ring of Starless Skies is an option for additional resource management.

Rotation and Playstyle

Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.

1. Activate Tricks of the Trade with either Dash or Shadow Step.
2. Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
3. Build 3 Combo Points with Puncture. Make sure you are close enough for Fundamental Puncture to apply Vulnerable.
4. Activate Shadow Imbuement for increased damage and explosions.
5. Cast Twisting Blades on the target.
6. Move through enemies to hit them with the returning and orbiting blades.
7. Repeat the rotation when cooldowns are ready.

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 Twisting Blades 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 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 the casting of Core Skills.
4. Elixir of Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability.
5. Elixir of Iron Barbs can provide a high amount of Physical Damage Reduction. Armor becomes more effective as you approach the Armor cap (9,320 against monster level 100 and above).
6. Specific Resistance Elixirs can be utilized to survive against Uber Bosses with elemental attacks.

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).
• August 6, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
• May 14, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
• January 22, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
• October 17, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0).
• July 18, 2023: Guide updated for Season 1.