The Rogue's Twisting Blades Skill quickly stole the spotlight as one of the class' best abilities in Diablo 4. It enables a super fast playstyle that's great against hordes and bosses alike, though its reliance on mobility and elusiveness makes it a little harder to use than other options.
Players who reach Diablo 4's endgame can crank this ability up ever further. With more Aspects, Uniques, and synergies to be had, Rogues can dance their way through all the content the game has to offer without breaking a sweat. Here's one variation of the Twisting Blades build that focuses on consistent AOE and high CC.
Our Diablo 4 Rogue Twisting Blades build guide is still accurate and relevant after Blizzard introduced the 1.0.3 patch on June 27, 2023.
Diablo 4: Rogue Twisting Blades Build (Level 50+)
Skills | Total Points |
Fundamental Puncture | 3 |
Advanced Twisting Blades | 7 |
Methodical Shadow Step | 3 |
Disciplined Dash | 3 |
Mixed Shadow Imbuement | 7 |
Supreme Death Trap | 3 |
Players can choose between Invigorating Strike and Puncture as their Basic Skill. Both apply Vulnerable, and players can weigh their preference once they unlock the Exploit Glyph on the Paragon Board. Invigorating Strike can solve potential Energy issues, while Puncture can debuff enemies more reliably and consistently.
Advanced Twisting Blades is the preferred upgrade since it reduces the cooldown for the rest of the Rogue's abilities. This is important for Shadow Imbuement, which is the build's main source of AOE damage. Use Mixed Shadow Imbuement once the Exploit Glyph is unlocked to increase the damage dealt by Death Trap.
Take Methodical Shadow Step for the extra Crowd Control against elites and bosses, and get Disciplined Dash to enable synergies with Crowd Control effects.
Passive Skills
Skills | Points |
Sturdy | 3 |
Siphoning Strikes | 3 |
Exploit | 3 |
No Mercy | 3 |
Shadow Crash | 1 |
Consuming Shadows | 3 |
Precision Imbuement | 3 |
Aftermath | 3 |
Adrenaline Rush | 3 |
Impetus | 3 |
Use either Preparation to minimize the downtime between Death Trap casts or Inner Sight for brief moments of unlimited Twisting Blades. The latter is better against bosses, while the former excels in horde clearing. Momentum is a good Key Passive here if players need more survivability. Otherwise, use Victimize for more AOE damage.
Players will want Sturdy and Siphoning Strikes since this is a melee-focused build. The extra tankiness and sustain will help keep Rogues alive as they dive deep into the fray.
Weapon Mastery, Exploit, and Malice are staples of many Rogue builds, and they will work just fine with this one. The rest are also self-explanatory: they increase damage and help players maintain their Energy levels as they use their abilities.
Gear and Aspects
Offense | Defense | Utility |
Bladedancer | Might | Umbral |
Edgemaster | Protector | Mangler |
Accelerating | Disobedience | Shared Misery |
Shadowslicer |
The most ideal setup for this build includes the Penitent Greaves Unique boots that constantly form a trail of frost over the player's position. This allows Rogues to maintain a Barrier at all times by dodging through targets with the Snap Frozen Aspect. Expect to be less tanky without this combo.
Edgemaster and Blade Dancer are the two primary damage Aspects for this build. Have them on a Crossbow and Amulet to reap the biggest benefits.
The other Aspects are here to boost defense, spread CC, and regain Energy. Some of these do rely on Lucky Hit; with Shadow Step's 105% proc and the quick attack speed of Rogues in general, expect the Aspects to trigger often.
As for gear stats, prioritize the following:
- Vulnerable Damage
- Damage to Close
- Critical Strike Chance
- Critical Strike Damage
- Core Skill Damage
Paragon Boards
Attach Exploit Weakness first for its bonuses against Vulnerable targets and path toward the Exploit, Artifice, and Hunter Killer nodes for quicker gratification. Players can choose to attach the Cheap Shot board next or go for the Exploit Weakness Legendary Node, depending on how many Paragon Points they have.
Cheap Shot works best with the Penitent Greaves, though players can get roughly the same effect if they have the Shadowslicer Aspect, which can trigger Disciplined Dash's Daze effect with a single cast of the ability. Without Penitent Greaves, treat Cheap Shot as an assassination tool using Shadow Step's Stun and the rest of the build's CC effects.
No Witnesses can greatly increase the deadliness of Death Trap. It also has a Glyph Socket with plenty of nearby Strength nodes, making it the perfect board to place the Exploit Glyph. Players who want to use the Glyph as early as possible should take this board first instead.
As for Glyphs, the player's best choices are Closer (Starting Board), Combat (Exploit Weakness), Exploit (No Witnesses), and Control (Cheap Shot).
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.