Diablo 4 best beta Rogue build, class skills and armor explained

The Diablo 4 open beta is in full swing this weekend, and with that comes your chance to play your desired character class to get a feel for what the game may be like when it’s fully released, including the Rogue class.

We did have some problems loading into the early access Diablo 4 beta which means our time experiencing the game was limited. That being said, we did heavily focus on building our Rogue class character to match their level (which ultimately ended up being level 9).

Based on our experience with the early access beta, we’ve put together a guide for the best Diablo 4 Rogue class build for this weekend’s open beta. However, it’s crucial to note that things written in this guide may change based on your personal game experience and may be different in the final version.

On this page:

Diablo 4 Rogue Class explained

The Rogue class in Diablo 4 is a good choice if you like a character that is efficient at both ranged and close quarters combat. Also, their dodge ability can help you to escape trouble or swiftly change direction to catch an enemy off guard. Rogues really come into their own when you’re facing down a horde of rampaging Ghouls that are being backed up by Crossbow Skeletons.

A Rogue excels at being able to be in the thick of it in a fight, and then being able to pull away from it to avoid danger while still being able to inflict damage from afar. The only downside to this is that they can only carry three weapons at a time, meaning your choice of attacks can be limited.

They can also use Shadow Magic and add Poison to their weapons, which can significantly increase the power of their combo attacks.

Best Rogue Class armor in Diablo 4 beta

Now, it’s important to remember that the best armor will depend on how you want to build your character and how you want to tailor them to your preferred battle dynamics.

When you add a piece of armor to your character, their stats change in line with that piece. When it comes to the best armor pieces of a Rogue, we found it useful to watch these specific stats:

Core Stats

Defensive Stats

• Armor.
• Armor Contribution.
• Dodge Chance.
• All Elemental Resistances.

You can compare armor pieces in your equipment menu. This is a good way of narrowing down which pieces to use, which ones to keep, and which ones to sell:

The main thing to look at when building the armor for your Rogue are the perks that come with the armor pieces. Most pieces will have an extra perk, if not quite a few and they can be significantly helpful in boosting specific areas of your character. Some of these perks can counteract each other and some will compliment each other, so it’s important to pay attention to each one and how it impacts your overall stats.

For example, we had the Miner’s Litany Ring equipped. The stat perks for this armor item is as follows:

• Item Power: 143.
• 7.5% Lightning Resistance.
• 7.5% Shadow Resistance.
• +1.5% Cold Damage.
• +3.5% Damage to Distant Enemies.
• +3.0% Vulnerable Damage.

This complimented and boosted our Shadow Resistance when coupled with the Intrepid Reckoning Boots.

Our top picks for Rogue class armor

On our playthrough of the Beta, we found three armor items to be extremely effective:

• Miner’s Litany (Ring) – Item power of 143 and five perks.
• Intrepid Reckoning (Boots) – Item power of 107 and three perks.
• Coalescent Strider’s Crown – Item power of 102 and one perk.

As with every element of building your character, it’s ultimately your choice as to which armor pieces are the best for your Rogue build.

Best Rogue Class weaponry in Diablo 4 beta

The Rogue class in the Diablo 4 beta can only hold three weapons at a time, meaning it’s a good idea to find the best weapons possible as soon as you can. Rogues have slots for a dual-wielded weapon, one slot for each hand, and another slot for a larger ranged weapon such as a Bow.

We found that the best way to approach weapons for a the Rogue class is to have ‘fast’ or ‘very fast’ dual-wield weapons but the speed for the ranged one is definitely up to your personal preference. The skill/attack we had equipped (Heartseeker) meant that the damage inflicted by this attack wasn’t really impacted by the speed.

Now, the best weapon for a Rogue will depend on how you want to build out your character’s skill set. For our build, we put the ranged weapon as our Basic skill (the action button) and the dual-wielded weapons as our Core skill.

As our dual-wielded weapons are set as a Core skill, and as they are the one that took the longest to charge, we want to make them the more powerful and efficient weapons on hand. This way, one hit could do a substantial amount of damage to an enemy with little energy cost.

Our top picks for Rogue class weapons

With the aim of creating powerful attacks that compliment a less powerful (but still useful) ranged attack, here is how our Rogue class weapons build looks:

• Adroit Boot Blade – Item power of 111, 49 DPS, [36-54 damage per hit], 1.10 attacks per second, +3.0% Critical Strike Damage, and +6 Dexterity.
• Whisper Work – Item power of 134, 62 DPS, [42-62 damage per hit], 1.20 attacks per second, +3.0% Damage to close enemies, +1.5% damage to crowd controlled enemies, +3.5% damage to distant enemies and +2.0% critical strike damage.
• Adroit Simple Crossbow – Item power of 103, 90 DPS, [81-121 damage per hit], 0.90 attacks per second, +6.0% vulnerable damage, and +10 dexterity.

Just like the other elements of building your character, you may come across different items in the game than we have and you may have a different preference for your character or character level than we do. This is just a rough example of things we found in the time we’ve played the beta.

Best Rogue Class skills in Diablo 4 beta

As you level up through the beta, you will gain skill points which can be spent in the skill tree. You can collect new skills or upgrade ones that you have already learned with these skill points.

As with everything so far, the skills you choose for your Rogue will depend on how you want their attack style to be and which weapons you want to make the most use of. There are skills that focus on close quarters combat, some that focus on ranged combat, and a few skills that improve both. You’re also likely to change your mind about your skills build as your progress through the beta and face different enemies.

Our skill build mainly focuses on ranged combat and enhancing the power of the dual-wield weapons so that one hit will inflict a lot of damage without sacrificing too much energy. We also chose a skill that helps us with crowd control when we’re getting swarmed with Ghouls which is something we highly recommend doing.

Our top picks for Rogue class skills

Basic Skill – Heartseeker

This skill allows the arrow to seek out an enemy and it boosts your chance of getting a critical hit on them. When you are running away from an enemy or trying to dodge them, having a skill that allows the ammunition to do the majority of the aiming is always a bonus. We upgraded this skill once.

Core Skill – Twisting Blades

This was our favourite skill to use for our dual weapons. It inflicted damage when hitting the enemy, drained them slightly, and then did large amounts of damage to multiple enemies as it returned to our hands. Great for crowd control and for mowing down several enemies in one go. The only downside to this one is the energy cost, but the pros outweigh the cons. We also upgraded this skill once to boost its power.

Agility Skill – Caltrops

As you jump back, you throw a large circle of Caltrops onto the ground. This is the one we chose to help with crowd control as the trap can slow down enemies and the jump back helps you to get some distance from them.

As you explore the beta and earn more skill points, you can add to your skill/attack slots to create an even more powerful Rogue build.

That’s it for this guide on the best Rogue class build for the Diablo 4 beta!

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