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This is the Twisting Blades Rogue leveling build for a fast level 1-50 clear time inDiablo 4. This build focuses on the Twisting Blades skill, but also makes use ofShadow Step and Dashto clear entire rooms and dungeons with ease. It’s fast, has great AoE potential, and will literally make you feel faster as you play.
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However, it’s also a moretechnicallychallenging class, with a focus on positioning and staying healthy. This guide covers skill priority, damage priority, items, farming, and everything else you’ll need on your Rogue journey.
Updated Aug 03, 2025:We’ve added a video guide to this article to show you how best to level your Rogue in Diablo 4.
Skill Priority
Here is the simple skill priority as you level your character.
Puncture Basic Skill
Unlike some builds in Diablo 4, you do want to pick up and keep abasic skill, in this casePuncture.Not only does this generate Energy (the Rogue’s main mana resource), you can also apply lots ofVulnerable debuffsto enemies to help you clear faster.
Puncture is also amelee abilitybut withrange- this is great for dealing damage while in boss fights, as many bosses have ground AoE effects (especially World Bosses, like Ashava).
Twisting Blades
Twisting Blades is a priority skill, and you should pick this andupgrade itwith your next skill points, taking:
You will want to prioritizeleveling Twisted Bladesto level 5 later during your leveling as skill points come in. Focus first on getting access to all the Skills required for the build.
Dash And Shadow Step
These are cornerstone skills for Rogue that improve your mobility massively.Dashis a two-charge ability that pairsbrilliantly with the returning Twisting Blades- time it correctly so that your blades slice through enemies left in your wake.
Shadow Step improves your movement speed by50% and causes you to become Unstoppable(you may move through enemies.)
Concealment Or Dark Shroud?
Once you’re into theSubterfuge Skilltree, you have a choice betweenDark ShroudorConcealment.
Although Dark Shroud is considered the best ability for an endgame Twisted Blades build,if you’re rushing quickly through World Tier 1 (an interesting idea for fast leveling), then Concealment makes more sense- more damage is better, especially if you’re not taking as much damage as you might be on a higher world tier.
Poison Imbuement Or Shadow Imbuement?
We’ve seen fun Twisting Blades builds with both Poison and Shadow Imbuement.
To Shadow Clone Or Not To Shadow Clone
We tested a build that utilized Shadow Clone as an ultimate and one that did not. While Shadow Clone is probably thebest ultimate out of the lot,we found the cooldown to be too long and suffocating in an otherwise high-rotation, fast-paced build.
If you don’t take Shadow Clone, you can pick up the passives from the Ultimate tree instead, likeInnervationfor extra Energy generation orAdrenaline Rush > Hastefor more movement speed.
That being said,you might just like how bursty Shadow Clone feelsso take it if you fancy that ultra-powerful damage for 15-20s.
Momentum
The vast majority of Rogue leveling builds - both Twisting Blades and other variations - make use of Momentum for its massive conditional buffs.
You get extra damage reduction, better energy regeneration, and increased movement speed whilebuilding stacks of Momentum- these are stacked by hitting enemies from behind, or hitting Dazed, Stunned, or Frozen enemies. These are all debuffsyou can inflict on your ownas a Rogue, but if you’re playing with a group you can also expect to make use of other classes CC abilities, too.
Passive Skill Priority
Here are the passive buffs and skills you should pick up in this Rogue build.
Siphoning Strikes
Rogue has the “Damage While Healthy” damage bucket, which means you do want to prioritize theSiphoning Strikespassive in thesecond tree.
This is one of the key ways to help you regenerate health above that 80% threshold for the Damage While Healthy buff to occur.
Weapon Mastery
Exploit and Malice
In the Subterfuge tree, you’re able to pick up Exploit and Malice for more flat damage boosts.Malice also stacks damage based on how often you’re inflicted Vulnerable damagewhich we will be because of our Puncture basic skill.
Specialization Priority
As you level, you’ll unlock new Specializations.
The first to pick up at level 20 isInner Sight- this allows for very strong burst damage windows when you haveunlimited energyfor a short window, which means you’re able to cast Twisting Bladesover and over and over again.Huge damage bursts for solo taking down bosses!
Best Legendary Aspects For Twisting Blades Rogue
For the Twisting Blades build, you definitely want to beeline for theBladedancer’s Aspect, unlocked via theJalal’s Vigil Dungeon in Scosglen.
Next up, theEdgemaster’s Aspect- this Aspect buffs skills to deal extra damage while your resource is full (in this case, the Rogue’s energy). Combine this withInner Sightand you’re able to see how this is a powerful, flat damage buff.It can be unlocked via the Oldstones dungeon in Scosglen.
Stats Priority
The main stats for Twisting Blades Rogues to look out for depend on the item - for example, Armor pieces generally apply Defensive passives like Armor and Life, but you should also keep an eye out forCooldown Reduction, Damage Reduction, Movement Speed.
Rings and Amuletsare typically where you’re going to find those powerful and often very useful offensive abilities, such asCritical Strike ChanceandEnergy Cost Reduction.
Always double-check new items when they appear, especially Legendaries, as they can have useful aspects and provide an excellent buffeven if some stats are lower than currently equipped items.
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