Rain of Arrows (RoA) – Rogue Build for Diablo 4 (Season 10)

Build Introduction

The Rain of Arrows Rogue (RoA) hails down an endless stream of death. Rain of Arrows receives a bonus damage that scales from your Damage to Distant bonus, making this S-Tier build capable of clearing the highest Tiers of The Pit!

Season 10 Update (Patch 2.4.0): The power of this build is significantly increased by Chaos Perks, Chaos Armor, and buffs to Legendary Paragon nodes. Be sure to check the Season 10 Mechanics section for the best-in-slot setup.

The Rain of Arrows Rogue is a top-performing build for the endgame of Diablo 4 but requires strict gearing to function. Make sure you meet the Build Requirements before getting started. The Dance of Knives Rogue is recommended as a starter build to collect the gear.

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

Strengths and Weaknesses

Build Requirements

The Rain of Arrows Rogue is a specialized build that requires strict gearing to function. Obtain the following items before switching to this build.

Required Uniques

Skyhunter

Word of Hakan

Beastfall Boots

• At least 150 Maximum Energy is required. Beastfall Boots provide 51 Maximum Energy with a Greater Affix and 2 Masterworking bonuses. Elixir of Resourcefulness II can be consumed if your Beastfall Boots are lacking Maximum Energy.
• The Cooldown of Rain of Arrows needs to be reduced to 10.25 seconds or less. Word of Hakan can easily reach the 75% cap for Rain of Arrows Cooldown Reduction to lower a Rank 5 Rain of Arrows Cooldown to 10.25 seconds.

Quick Navigation

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

Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points

Skill Bar Setup for Rain of Arrows Rogue (order does not matter)

Rain of ArrowsHeartseekerBarrageConcealmentSmoke GrenadeCaltrops

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

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 Rain of Arrows Rogue. Barrage consumes 150 Energy through Beastfall Boots to activate Preparation twice, reducing the Cooldown of Rain of Arrows by 10 seconds.

↑ 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 Rain of Arrows 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.

For the best-in-slot gear setup in Season 10, check the Chaos Armor section of the guide.

Gear Slot	Name	Effect
Ranged Weapon	Skyhunter	The first direct damage you deal to an enemy is a guaranteed Critical Strike. When you consume Precision casting a Skill, that Skill gains x [20 – 60%] increased Critical Strike Damage and you gain [30 – 60] Energy.
Amulet	Word of Hakan	Your Rain of Arrows is always Imbued with all Imbuements at once and receives your Arrow Storm benefits.
Dual-Wielded Swords	Aspect of Arrow Storms	Lucky Hit: Your Marksman and Cutthroat Skills have up to a 25% chance to create an Arrow Storm at the enemy’s location, dealing Physical damage over 3 seconds. Your Arrow Storms deal [45 – 65%] increased damage.
Dual-Wielded Swords	Vengeful Aspect	Lucky Hit: Damaging a Vulnerable enemy has a 25% chance to create an Arrow Storm at the enemy’s location, dealing [X] Physical damage over 3 seconds. Your Arrow Storms deal x [45 – 65%] more damage.
Gloves	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 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.
Ring Slot #2 (replaced by Pitfighter’s Gull)	Aspect of Retribution	Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [15 – 35%] increased damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies.
Helm (replaced by Heir of Perdition or Cowl of the Nameless)	Aspect of Might	Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 10] seconds.
Chest (replaced by Shroud of False Death)	Cheat’s Aspect	You have [5 – 15%] increased Damage Reduction and +10% increased Movement Speed, doubled while below 50% Maximum Life.
Pants	Umbrous Aspect	Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a [45 – 65%] chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow.
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.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for RoA 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.

Swords are equipped for the Critical Strike Damage implicit stat.

Prioritize capping Armor at 1,000 and all Resistances at 75%. Be aware of the increasing penalties to Armor and Resistances as you progress through Torment difficulties.

↑ Back to Legendary Gear Table

Slot	Gear Affixes	Tempering Affixes
Ranged Weapon	Skyhunter	Masterworking Priority: Chance for Marksman Projectiles to Cast Twice up to 100% cap and then Critical Strike Damage.
Dual-Wielded Swords	1. Critical Strike Damage 2. Dexterity, Maximum Life	1. Assassin Augments (Weapon): Chance for Rain of Arrows to Deal Double Damage 2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Distant Enemies
Helm	1. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Dexterity, Maximum Life	1. Rogue Persistence (Defensive): Ranks to Second Wind 2. Natural Schemes (Utility): Barrier Generation
Chest	1. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Dexterity, Maximum Life	1. Rogue Persistence (Defensive): Ranks to Second Wind 2. Natural Schemes (Utility): Barrier Generation
Gloves	1. Critical Strike Damage, Attack Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Dexterity, Maximum Life	1. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Distant Enemies 2. Natural Schemes (Utility): Barrier Generation
Pants	1. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Dexterity, Maximum Life	1. Daze Control (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Daze 2. Rogue Persistence (Defensive): Ranks to Second Wind
Boots	Beastfall Boots	Masterworking Priority: Maximum Energy
Amulet	Word of Hakan	Masterworking Priority: Rain of Arrows Cooldown Reduction until 75% cap and then Ultimate Damage.
Rings	1. Critical Strike Damage 2. Attack Speed 3. Dexterity, Maximum Life	1. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Distant Enemies 2. Ultimate Efficiency — Rogue (Resource): Rain of Arrows Cooldown Reduction

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Uniques and Mythic Uniques

Listed below are the required, recommended, and optional Unique and Mythic Unique Items for the Rain of Arrows 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.

• Word of Hakan (required) caps Rain of Arrows Cooldown Reduction at 75% and grants Arrow Storm benefits.
  • Masterworking Priority: Rain of Arrows Cooldown Reduction until 75% cap and then Ultimate Damage.
• Beastfall Boots (required) is necessary to consume all Energy to activate Preparation.
  • Masterworking Priority: Maximum Energy
• Skyhunter (required) provides a high amount of Critical Strike Damage to scale Precision and double cast for Rain of Arrows.
  • Masterworking Priority: Chance for Marksman Projectiles to Cast Twice up to 100% cap and then Critical Strike Damage.
• Heir of Perdition (recommended) is a Mythic Unique Helm that provides the most damage in the slot.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance or Lucky Hit Chance
• Cowl of the Nameless (recommended) is an alternative offensive option if you do not yet have Heir of Perdition.
  • Masterworking Priority: Movement Speed
• Shroud of False Death (recommended) provides the highest damage increase in the slot due to the +1 Ranks to All Passives inherent affix.
  • Masterworking Priority: Resource Generation or All Stats
• Pitfighter’s Gull (recommended) provides a multiplier to Critical Strike Damage that double dips with Precision. The Damage on Next Attack After Entering Stealth affix can be utilized by casting Concealment immediately before Rain of Arrows.
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage on Next Attack After Entering Stealth
• Ring of Starless Skies (optional) provides a highly valuable 1.5x multiplier.
  • Masterworking Priority: Attack Speed

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Gems and Runewords

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

Gems

Equip the corresponding Gems into your Weapon, Armor, and Jewelry slots.

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Grand Emerald for Critical Strike Damage to scale Precision.	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 Ritual 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
Zan Ohm	Gain: 150 Offering — Cast an Ultimate Skill. Requires: 600 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds — Invoke the Barbarian’s War Cry, increasing your damage dealt by x15% for 6 seconds.
Cir Jah	Gain: 300 Offering — Cast 5 Skills then become exhausted for 3 seconds. Requires: 250 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds —Replace your next Evade with the Sorcerer’s Teleport, blinking further, dealing damage, and becoming Unstoppable.

Vex can replace Jah for a maximum damage setup.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Paragon Board

Use the following Paragon Boards, Legendary Nodes, and Glyphs for the Rain of Arrows Rogue.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Season 10 Mechanics

Season 10: Infernal Chaos offers seasonal powers that can be utilized to enhance this build. Access Chaos Perks from the Powers tab in the character sheet, and equip Chaos Armor to create more powerful Unique Item combinations.

Chaos Perks

Progress through the Seasonal Reputation Board to unlock non-Unique Perks, and defeat Bartuc within the Infernal Hordes in Torment 1 or higher for a chance to unlock Unique Perks. Upgrade Chaos Perks by collecting Infernal Warp, earned by defeating Chaos Monsters. Equip the following Chaos Perk setup recommended for this build.

Power	Description
Unique Chaos Perk: A Beast Cornered	For every 10% Life you are missing, you gain x20% increased damage and 5% Damage Reduction. Spending Resources also drains a percentage of your Life equal to 30% the Resources spent, refunding those Resources. This cannot reduce you to below 10% Life.
Marred Guard	You can no longer be healed above 50% Life. You gain 10% Maximum Resistance to All Elements, x20% Armor, and 100% increased Barrier and Fortify Generation.
Unpredictable Alchemy	Imbuements flow wildly, Imbuing every Basic Skill Cast with a random Imbuement. Imbued Skills deal x40% increased damage.
Crazy Brew	Your Healing Potion is infused with the power of Chaos, granting you 100% Resource Cost Reduction, +80% increased Attack Speed and +80% increased Movement Speed for 5 seconds. Your Healing Potion has a 15 second Cooldown and you can drink it at full Life. Cooldown is affected by Cooldown Reduction.

Chaos Armor

Enhanced versions of certain Unique Items can drop to fit in the Helm, Chest, Gloves, Pants, or Boots gear slots. Defeat Bartuc in Torment difficulties to target-farm Chaos Armor (guaranteed drop in Torment 3-4).

Equip the following best-in-slot gear setup that is optimized with Mythic Unique Items and Chaos Armor, if you happen to be lucky enough to find them. Greater Affix and Masterworking Bonuses for Unique Items and Chaos Armor are bolded/highlighted. Chaos Armor slots that are interchangeable are noted in the table.

Gear Slot	Name	Effect
Ranged Weapon	Aspect of Arrow Storms	• Chance for Rain of Arrows to Deal Double Damage up to 100% cap and then Damage to Distant Enemies Lucky Hit: Your Marksman and Cutthroat Skills have up to a 25% chance to create an Arrow Storm at the enemy’s location, dealing Physical damage over 3 seconds. Your Arrow Storms deal [45 – 65%] increased damage.
Amulet	Vengeful Aspect	⁕ Ranks to Frigid Finesse, Unstable Elixirs, Exploit, Malice, or +% Dexterity Lucky Hit: Damaging a Vulnerable enemy has a 25% chance to create an Arrow Storm at the enemy’s location, dealing [X] Physical damage over 3 seconds. Your Arrow Storms deal x [45 – 65%] more damage.
Dual-Wielded Swords	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 Swords	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.
Ring Slot #1	Ring of Starless Skies	⁕ Attack Speed Spending your Primary Resource reduces the Resource cost of your Skills and increases your damage by x10% for 3 seconds, up to x50%.
Ring Slot #2	Pitfighter’s Gull	⁕ Damage on Next Attack After Entering Stealth Casting Smoke Grenade increases your Critical Strike Damage by x45% for [3 – 6] seconds and leaves behind a cloud of shadows. While within the cloud, you gain Stealth once per second.
Helm	Heir of Perdition	⁕ Movement Speed Succumb to hatred and earn Mother’s Favor, increasing your damage dealt by x60%. Slaughter enemies to briefly steal Mother’s Favor from surrounding allies.
Chest	Shroud of False Death or Chaos Armor: Fists of Fate (Chest Armor)	⁕ Resource Generation or All Stats +1 to All Passives ⁕ Attack Speed Your attacks randomly deal 1% to [200 – 300%] of their normal damage.
Gloves or Pants	Chaos Armor: Beastfall Boots (Gloves)	⁕ Maximum Energy 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.
Gloves, Pants, or Boots	Chaos Armor: Word of Hakan (Pants)	⁕ Rain of Arrows Cooldown Reduction until 75% cap and then Ultimate Damage Your Rain of Arrows is always Imbued with all Imbuements at once and receives your Arrow Storm benefits.
Gloves, Pants, or Boots	Chaos Armor: Skyhunter (Boots)	⁕ Chance for Marksman Projectiles to Cast Twice up to 100% cap and then Critical Strike Damage The first direct damage you deal to an enemy is a guaranteed Critical Strike. When you consume Precision casting a Skill, that Skill gains x [20 – 60%] increased Critical Strike Damage and you gain [30 – 60] Energy.

Mercenaries

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

• Hired Mercenary: Raheir
  • Skills: Ground Slam, Raheir’s Aegis, Bastion, Inspiration
• Reinforcement: Varyana
  • Skill: Bloodthirst
  • Opportunity: Cast when the player casts any skill in combat.

↑ Back to Navigation Table

Build Mechanics

The Rain of Arrows Rogue is a specialized build for the endgame of Diablo 4. The build excels at pushing the highest Tiers of The Pit. Although, the skill rotation is difficult and the playstyle has a slower pacing than other builds during speed-farming activities.

Rain of Arrows is rapidly cast by reducing its Cooldown. The cooldown cap of 75% can be obtained for Rain of Arrows solely through Word of Hakan to lower a Rank 5 Rain of Arrows to 10.25 seconds. Preparation is activated twice by consuming 150 Energy with Barrage and Beastfall Boots to further reduce Rain of Arrows Cooldown by 10 seconds. The additional 50 Energy is granted by Elixir of Resourcefulness II and/or Beastfall Boots.

Any Core Skill can be used to consume Energy with Beastfall Boots, but Barrage is ideal due to it having the lowest animation frames.

For survivability, Second Wind constantly generates Barrier due to the high Energy consumption. The ranged playstyle and Knock Downs provide additional layers of safety.

Mixed Cold Imbuement and Mixed Shadow Imbuement are applied by Rain of Arrows through Word of Hakan.

Concealment is cast directly before Rain of Arrows to apply Vulnerable with Subverting Concealment, while activating Danse Macabre and Damage on Next Attack After Entering Stealth affixes.

Resource Management

At least 150 Energy needs to be generated before each cast of Barrage to activate Preparation twice. Obtain the following sources of Energy generation.

• Beastfall Boots restores 25 Energy when using a Cooldown, which is activated by casting Rain of Arrows.
• Aftermath refunds 35 Energy after casting Rain of Arrows.
• The Chaos Perk available in Season 10, A Beast Cornered, is highly recommended to start this build. The seasonal power refunds 45 Energy after casting Rain of Arrows.
• Strength increases Resource Generation by about 10-13%.
• The remaining Energy should be generated by the temper, Ultimate Efficiency — Rogue: Casting Ultimate Skills Restores Primary Resource. If you have 10% increased Resource Generation from Strength, 32 Resource (rounded up) needs to be restored from the temper in addition to the other sources listed above: (25 + 35 + 45 + 32) × 1.1 = 150.7
• Shroud of False Death can also provide increased Resource Generation to reduce the amount needed from Ultimate Efficiency — Rogue: Casting Ultimate Skills Restores Primary Resource.

Rotation and Playstyle

Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.

1. Use a Potion every 10 seconds to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
2. Against tough elites and bosses, cast Caltrops to apply Enhanced Caltrops for more damage.
3. Cast Smoke Grenade on enemies every 5 seconds to apply Enhanced Smoke Grenade and activate Pitfighter’s Gull.
4. Cast Concealment every 4 seconds to activate Subverting Concealment and Danse Macabre.
5. Cast Rain of Arrows to deal damage.
6. Cast Barrage to consume all your Energy for Preparation and gain 1 Precision stack.
7. Cast Heartseeker twice to gain the 2nd and 3rd Precision stack.
8. Continue repeating the rotation Rain of Arrows, Barrage, and 2x Heartseeker.

Elixirs and Incenses

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 Rain of Arrows Rogue, ranked by importance.

1. Elixir of Resourcefulness II is helpful to reach 150 Energy if you do not have proper Beastfall Boots.
2. Elixir of Advantage II provides increased Attack Speed for more damage output.

Incense can also be crafted at the Alchemist. Queen’s Supreme (Core Stat), Song of the Mountain (Defensive), and Soothing Spices (Resistance) are recommended. These Incenses are categorized into three separate groups and can be active simultaneously. The added Armor and Resistances are especially helpful to reach their caps.

Season 10 Updates

A brief summary of the changes in Patch 2.4.0 that may pertain to this specific build is provided below. For a complete overview of Season 10, take a look at the comprehensive season guide.

• Subverting Concealment
  • Reworded the tooltip.
  • Vulnerable duration increased to 4 seconds.
• Aftermath: Energy refund is now always 35 (increased from 25) rather than scaling per rank.
• Eldritch Bounty: Damage increased from 30%[x] to 50%[x].
• Cheap Shot
  • Previous: You deal 5%[x] increased damage for each Nearby enemy that is Crowd Controlled, up to 25%[x]. A Nearby Staggered Boss provides the maximum bonus.
  • Now: Deal 30% increased damage, doubled against Crowd Controlled enemies.
• No Witnesses
  • Damage from ultimates increased from 20% to 30%.
  • Damage cap increased from 40% to 60%.
• Danse Macabre: Damage increased from 30% to 50%.
• Fixed an issue where Rain of Arrows could stop functioning.

Changelog

• September 21st, 2025: Guide updated for Season 10 (Patch 2.4.0).
• June 27th, 2025: Guide updated for Season 9 (Patch 2.3.0).
• April 26th, 2025: Guide updated for Season 8 (Patch 2.2.0).
• January 21st, 2025: Guide created for Season 7 (Patch 2.1.0).