Looking for a quick way to clear a room as a rogue in Diablo 4? It may not be immediately obvious, but the rogue class offers a powerful array of close-combat and ranged area-of-effect abilities that can eventually be incorporated into even an endgame rogue build. In many RPGs, the rogue class is used for dealing heavy damage to a single target. But in Diablo 4, the rogue offers numerous abilities for attacking several enemies at once, and even creating explosive effects that can chain off of slain enemies.
Each player will have different ideas of what works best when creating their rogue build. Regardless of what kind of rogue the player wants to be, it's usually a good idea to have at least one AOE ability to clear out weaker enemies when needed. To that end, here are the best rogue AOE abilities to clear a room.
8 Poison Trap
Poison Trap is a subterfuge skill that drops a nefarious little device capable of dealing significant damage to enemies over time. When triggered, the trap releases a cloud of toxic fumes, poisoning enemies and dealing poison damage over time.
The downsides of this ability are twofold. First, it takes a moment to arm, meaning players will have to time its placement well. Second, an enemy must walk into the trap for it to trigger, which can make it difficult to use against ranged opponents. Regardless, being able to place up to four of these traps at once means players can effectively wall off small passageways with deadly landmines.
7 Barrage
This core ability utilizes a ranged weapon to fire a small wave of arrows to clear out crowds from a distance. The number of arrows fired can be adjusted or increased with class specialization features. It works excellently for applying status effects to crowds of enemies. This ability can also be swapped in as part of a rapid fire build to allow for ranged crowd control.
This ability is useful for more than just ranged combat, however. When facing close enemies, this attack functions more like a shotgun, stacking up the damage of multiple arrows that strike the same target.
6 Shadow Imbuement
Though it may not seem so initially, the rogue's ability to imbue their attacks with shadow damage actually allows for some great AOE effects. Shadow Imbuement adds an effect to certain abilities that infect enemies with shadow, causing severe damage after enough time has passed. Alternatively, the ability creates an explosion if they are killed before this time expires.
These explosions turn infected enemies into living (or unliving) bombs waiting for the player to set them off. With certain adjustments, this shadow damage can be made to spread and create a chain reaction of exploding minions. Plus, it's awesome for players to see theirunique rogue weapons cloaked in twisting shadows.
5 Smoke Grenade
For rogue players who like to be in the thick of close combat, Smoke Grenade is a highly recommended ability. While it may not kill enemies on its own, it inflicts the Dazed effect, which completely prevents enemies from attacking for a few seconds.
Not only can this power be a lifesaver when surrounded by enemies, but the incredible defensive potential of the Smoke Grenade can also be turned to offense. Certain adjustments and passive skills can be paired with the smoke grenade to stun, knock down, or apply the vulnerable effect to enemies.
4 Caltrops
Whether creating a ranged rogue, a melee rogue, or something in-between, it's hard to beat Caltrops when it comes to avoiding danger and managing crowd control. Not only does this skill create a damaging area in front of the player that slows enemies down, but it also triggers a backward leap. This can help ranged players stay ahead of enemies and get melee players out of tight spots.
Several different abilities can be synergized with Caltrops to increase the damage they deal, or to inflict further debilitating effects on those caught in it. The versatility of Caltrops makes it a great addition to many unique and creative character builds.
3 Death Trap
Functioning more like a delayed burst attack than an actual snare, Death Trap is a devastating ultimate ability capable of wiping out huge crowds of enemies in a single blast. The downside, as with all ultimate abilities, is that it takes a while to recharge.
The wide area of effect and shadow damage infection makes this ability an ideal partner for other AOE abilities, such as Shadow Imbuement and caltrops. Of course, enemies will have to walk into it first.
2 Rain of Arrows
For players preferring a powerful ranged rogue build, this skill offers a deadly and debilitating attack capable of pushing back and knocking down enemies. Another ultimate ability, Rain of Arrows produces two waves of falling arrows that spread out from the player in a cone a moment after being fired.
Not only are these arrows highly damaging and capable of knocking enemies to the ground, but they can also be augmented with one of the rogue's elemental imbuements. When combined with Frost or Shadow Imbuement, this ability can keep hordes of enemies at bay or clear an entire crowd in one attack.
1 Flurry
For melee-focused or hybrid rogues, Flurry is a must-have core ability that turns the player's standard melee attack into a vicious forking attack. This ability strikes enemies in an arc in front of the player and can be augmented to siphon health from crowd-controlled enemies, increasing the survivability of melee characters.
Not only that, but Flurry's effects can be further customized with certain rogue specializations or elemental imbuements. This skill synergizes especially well with combo points and vulnerability effects.
Diablo 4 is currently available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 1, and Xbox Series X.