Best Twisting Blades Rogue build in Diablo 4

Every class in Diablo 4 has unique skills, passives, and builds. And one of the more popular builds that Rogues have been enjoying is the Twisting Blades build. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the Twisting Blades Rogue build, including best skills, weapons and gear, leveling guide and skill point assignment, Legendary Aspects, and gems.

Diablo 4: Best Twisting Blades Rogue build 

Best Twisting Blades Rogue build: level one to 50 skills and passives

The Twisting Blades Rogue build features several skills and passives that enhance your attacks, movement speed, damage, and damage reduction—with a few that offer Energy Regeneration, Damage over Time, and slight healing when you critically strike an enemy.

Although Rogues are incredibly fun to play as they’re fast and can do a lot of damage, they’re also very squishy, meaning they have low defenses and are mechanically intense. So, you’re constantly performing attacks and combinations and moving. 

There are ways to help mitigate this, at least in terms of their defense, either through a few of these skills, which we’ve included below, gear, and Legendary Aspects. But here are all the Basic, Core, Agility, Subterfuge, Imbuement, Ultimate, and Key Passives you’ll take with this build. 

Basic

• Puncture: You’ll throw damage-dealing daggers. Every third attack, your daggers will slow an enemy.
  • Advanced Puncture: Gain two Energy when Puncture damages a Crowd Controlled enemy.
    • Fundamental Puncture: Puncture will throw three blades that deal 35 percent of its base damage. And if you hit an enemy twice, you’ll make them Vulnerable for a couple of seconds. 

Core

• Twisting Blades: Impale an enemy with your blades and deal a considerable percentage of its base damage. And if an enemy is impaled by Twisting Blades, they’ll take more damage from your attacks.
  • Enhanced Twisting Blades: Blades deal more damage when returning.
    • Advanced Twisting Blades: When your Twisting Blades return, your active cooldowns will be reduced for every enemy they pass through. And this stacks up to two seconds. 
• Sturdy (Passive): You’ll gain Close Damage Reduction.
  • Siphoning Strikes (Passives): Heal for a percentage of your maximum life when you Critically Strike an enemy.

Agility

• Shadow Step: You’ll become Unstoppable and strike your enemy from behind from the shadows. And you’ll gain movement speed.
  • Enhanced Shadow Step: If you damage an enemy with Shadow Step, your Critical Strike Damage will increase for a few seconds.
    • Methodical Shadow Step: If you damage enemies with Shadow Step, they’ll be Stunned for two seconds. 
• Concussive: After Knocking Back or Down an enemy, your Critical Strike Damage will be increased for a few seconds. 
• Dash: You’ll dash forward and damage your enemies.
  • Enhanced Dash: Enemies damaged by Dash will receive more Critical Strike Damage. 
• Weapon Mastery: You’ll get bonuses depending on the weapon you use. Daggers do more damage to Healthy enemies, Swords increase damage, Bows increase damage to Vulnerable enemies, and Crossbows do more Critical Strike Damage. 

Subterfuge

• Dark Shroud: Surround yourself in a protective shadow where you’ll gain damage reduction for every shadow. And every time you’re damaged, you’ll get reduced damage, and a shadow is consumed.
  • Enhanced Dark Shroud: There’s a chance that your shadows won’t be consumed.
    • Subverting Dark Shroud: Your shadows will increase your movement speed. 
• Poison Trap: You’ll place a trap that gets activated when enemies are near, and they’ll deal Poison Damage over nine seconds. But you can only have four traps.
  • Enhanced Poison Trap: Your Poison Traps will Knock Down enemies for under two seconds. 
• Exploit (Passive): You’ll damage Healthy or Injured enemies more. 

Imbuement

• Deadly Venom (Passive): You’ll deal more Poison damage.
  • Debilitating Toxins (Passive): Poisoned enemies do less damage to you/
  • Alchemical Advantage (Passive): For every Poisoned enemy, you’ll do increased damage, up to 15 percent. 

Ultimate

• Innervation (Passive): There’s a chance you’ll get more Energy. 
• Trap Mastery (Passive): When your Poison or Death traps activate, you’ll get more Critical Strike Damage against Vulnerable or Crowd Controlled enemies for a few seconds. 
• Adrenaline Rush (Passive): When you’re moving, you’ll regain some Energy.
  • Haste (Passive): If your Energy is above 50 percent, you’ll get more movement speed. But you’ll get more attack speed if it’s below 50 percent. 

Key Passives

• ‍Momentum: All your Cutthroat skills give you Momentum stacks for eight seconds if you hit a Dazed, Stunned, or Frozen enemy or an enemy from behind. In addition, three Momentum stacks will also increase Damage Reduction, Energy Regeneration, and Movement Speed. 

Best Twisting Blades Rogue build: Level one to 50 skills point assignment

In addition to the points you’ll earn through leveling, there are also 10 Skill points you earn through increasing your Renown. When you earn these Skill points, you can either assign them to the skills above to level faster or assign them directly to these skills or passives:  

• Enhanced and Discipled Dash (skill)
• Malice (maxed)
• Stutter Step (maxed)
• Dash (two points)

Best Twisting Blades Rogue Specializations

When Rogues hit level 15, they’ll go on the class quest that allows them to unlock powerful passives. As soon as you complete your class quest, you’ll take the following passives at these levels:

• Level 15: ‍Combo Points: Using your Basic Skills’ll boost your Core Skills. 
• Level 20: ‍Inner Sight: You’ll get regular Energy refills after attacking marked enemies.
• Level 30: Preparation: This resets your Ultimate Skill, which resets all other skills.

Best Twisting Blades Rogue build: Gear, Stats, and Gems 

Best Weapons

As you level, you’ll generally pick the weapons with the highest Item Power and the best stats because some of the best weapons for this build are found in end-game content and drops. But the type of weapon is the same.

The Rogue’s melee weapon should be whichever has the highest damage, preferably daggers, and your ranged weapon should have stats that increase damage. And the best-ranged weapon is generally a crossbow.

Best Jewelry

Amulets and rings are the two types of Jewelry you’ll want to equip to help increase your Offensive stats. You’ll want amulets that increase your movement speed and damage. And for rings, you’ll want stats that increase your damage and critical strike damage.

Best Armor

Armor, which includes your helm, chest armor, boots, and pants, are Defensive, while your gloves, even though they are part of your Armor, are Offensive. As Rogues are, by default, squishy, many of these pieces, except for boots and gloves, need to have stats that increase your armor or your maximum health.

Regarding your boots, you’ll want stats that increase your movement speed or energy cost reduction, and for gloves, you’ll want to get ones that increase your damage, critical strike damage, and your Twisting Blades ranks.

But for your chest armor and pants, you’ll also want to get ones with damage reduction and cooldown reduction for your helm.

Best Gems 

Regarding the best gems for your Rogue, Emerald is the best one to slot into your weapon for the increased critical strike damage to Vulnerable enemies.

Topaz is the best for your armor due to the increased damage reduction while enemies are control impaired, and the Skull is the best for your Jewelry pieces for the additional armor. 

Best Legendary Aspects for the Twisting Blades Rogue build

There are dozens of Legendary Aspects for Rogues in Diablo 4, with many guaranteed when you complete specific dungeons and ones that can be obtained on the equipment you receive from drops.  

Related: All Rogue Legendary Aspects in Diablo 4 and where to get them

These three dungeon-based Legendary Aspects are ones that everyone can get as long as they complete the required dungeon.

Regarding drop-based Legendary Aspects, ones like Aspect of Bursting Venoms for additional Poison damage, Aspect of Stolen Vigor for healing, or Ravager’s Aspect for the additional Shadow Step charge can be incredibly beneficial. 

As this is only the leveling version of the Twisting Blades Rogue build, we will update this with the end-game version of the Twisting Blades Rogue build soon.