Build Introduction
The Barrage Rogue leveling build unleashes a spread of arrows to hit every foe. 
Barrage shotguns the toughest enemies, and the arrows ricochet to hit additional targets. With many recent buffs made to Barrage, this is the best build to level a new Rogue character in Season 4 of Diablo 4.
Once your Rogue character reaches Level 50 or enters World Tier 3, switch to the endgame guide for Barrage to continue this build.
Video Overview and Gameplay Footage
Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar
Barrage 
Puncture 
Dash 
Shadow Step 
Shadow Imbuement 
Cold Imbuement The following table shows the order in which to allocate your Skill Points for the Barrage Rogue leveling build. You gain 48 points at Level 50 and 2 points from completing Renown in each Act zone, for a total of 58.
Barrage Rogue Specialization
Combo Points is the preferred Rogue Specialization for general farming due to it providing bonus damage and additional arrows for Barrage.
Build Mechanics and Playstyle
The Barrage Rogue build is fairly simple to play, but requires some precise positioning. Barrage fires arrows in an arcing range to cover a wide area, similar to Multishot in other ARPGs. The ricocheting arrows provide additional hits to clear groups of enemies, and the automatic targeting makes for an easy playstyle.
Fundamental Puncture applies Vulnerable to enable the 100% ricochet chance from Enhanced Barrage. 
Precision also guarantees Critical Strikes for the ricochets.
Activations of Shadow Imbuement and 
Cold Imbuement can be alternated for high imbuement uptime. Shadow Imbuement provides the build with much needed Area of Effect explosions against groups of enemies. 
Mixed Shadow Imbuement also increases the damage of Cold imbued attacks. Cold Imbuement quickly Freezes enemies in one cast of Barrage due to the multiple hits, activating Mixed Cold Imbuement and 
Frigid Finesse for a huge damage boost against Elites.
Damage is increased further with 
Concussive, 
Weapon Mastery, 
Exploit 
Malice, and 
Impetus.
Finally, 
Stutter Step, 
Haste, and Dash speed up movement for faster farming.
Damage Rotation
Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.
- Activate an Imbuement Skill:
- Against large groups of enemies, activate Shadow Imbuement for AoE explosions.
- Against Elites, activate Cold Imbuement for more single-target damage.
- Against large groups of enemies, activate
- Cast Puncture 3 times to build Combo Points. Try to stay close enough to elites and bosses to apply Vulnerable with Fundamental Puncture.
- Cast Barrage next to the toughest enemy to shotgun them, hitting them with every arrow and ricocheting to other enemies.
- Repeat the rotation, alternating activations of Imbuement Skills when needed.
Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats
Season 4 brings an incredible shift in character progression systems. The major rework to itemization and crafting in Patch 1.4.0 changes the core mechanics of Diablo 4, and the changes will remain in effect beyond Season 4. The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character during the leveling process.
Legendary Aspects
Aspect of Branching Volleys can be unlocked in the Codex of Power by completing the Shadowed Plunge Dungeon in Hawezar. Unfortunately, the dungeon is locked behind a Level 40 Stronghold. Clear Vyeresz to Stronghold and Shadowed Plunge Dungeon when you are around Level 40, and then visit the Occultist to imprint this Aspect onto an item. An Amulet is recommended for imprinting important Aspects for a +50% bonus effect, and it does not need to be replaced as often as weapons.
Higher Tier Aspects with stronger effects can be found on dropped Legendary Items. Salvage unwanted Legendary Items at the Blacksmith to unlock these Aspects in the Codex of Power, and the imprint them onto well-rolled Rare Items. Check the in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide for more information.
Listed below are all the Aspects found on Legendary Items that are important for the Barrage Rogue leveling build. They are listed in order of priority. The best-in-slot Aspects List is in the Endgame Guide for Penetrating Shot Rogue.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect of Branching Volleys | Increase the damage of arrows that ricochet from Barrage to [50 – 80%]. Barrage’s arrows have a [30 – 60%] chance to split when they ricochet. | Shadowed Plunge, Hawezar |
| High Velocity Aspect | Barrage arrows now pierce through 1 enemy. Barrage has [10 – 20%] increased Attack Speed. | Random Drop |
| Edgemaster’s Aspect | Skills deal up to [10 – 20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
| Aspect of the Expectant | Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by [5 – 10%], up to 30%. | Underroot, Scosglen |
 Aspect of Might | Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 6] seconds | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
| Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed. | Buried Halls, Dry Steppes |
| Accelerating Aspect | Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [15 – 25%] for 3 seconds. | Random Drop Only |
 Aspect of Quickening Fog | You automatically drop a  Smoke Grenade at the end of Dash. Dash’s Cooldown is reduced by [0.25 – 0.35] seconds for each enemy Dazed this way, up to [0.75 – 1.05] seconds. | Random Drop Only |
Gems
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.
| Slot | Gems |
|---|---|
| Weapon |  Royal Emerald for increased Critical Strike Damage. |
| Armor |  Royal Ruby for increased Maximum Life. |
| Jewelry | Any Resistance Gems needed or  Royal Skull for Armor (up to 9,230 Armor cap). |
Elixirs
Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Elixirs can also drop randomly from enemies and chests during many activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume, ranked by importance.
Elixir of Resource greatly helps with Energy issues, if you do not already have the appropriate Energy gear. This elixir is highly recommended for starting characters to maintain casting of Core Skills.
Elixir of Precision provides the highest damage output increase, if not already capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance.
Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
Elixir of Fortitude is the best general purpose option for survivability.
Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear during early leveling of a Barrage Rogue. Each line of affixes are listed in order of importance. Affixes on the same line are considered to be equally important, but their benefits may vary depending on how much is stacked or other character stats.
When comparing weapons with similar item levels, Crossbows are preferred over Bows for the better implicit stat and 
Weapon Mastery bonus. Daggers are beneficial for faster Combo Point generation, while Swords offer a boost to Precision with the Critical Strike Damage implicit.
Precision increases the priority of Critical Strike Damage to scale the bonus multiplier, while reducing the need for Critical Strike Chance.
Tempering Manuals are randomly dropped while leveling, and they need to be found to unlock their usage at the Blacksmith. Highlighted affixes are the the most beneficial temper to prioritize while leveling. All other tempers may not be worthwhile during early levels if you are consistently replacing gear with new item upgrades.
| Slot | Gear Affixes | Tempering Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Weapons | 1. Maximum Life, Critical Strike Damage 2. Dexterity, Vulnerable Damage |  Core Augments — Rogue (Weapon): Chance for Barrage Projectiles to Cast TwiceSpecialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage per Combo Point Spent |
| Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction, Energy per Second, Ranks to Shadow Imbuement 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance | Worldly Fortune (Utility): Chance to FreezeWorldly Endurance (Defensive): Maximum Life |
| Chest | 1. Ranks to Dark Shroud, Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | Worldly Fortune (Utility): Chance to FreezeWorldly Endurance (Defensive): Maximum Life |
| Gloves | 1. Ranks to Barrage, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Damage 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Resource Cost Reduction, Critical Strike Chance | Specialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage per Combo Point SpentWorldly Fortune (Utility): Chance to Freeze |
| Pants | 1. Resistances, Armor 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | Worldly Fortune (Utility): Chance to FreezeWorldly Endurance (Defensive): Maximum Life |
| Boots | Implicit Stat: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown 1. Movement Speed, Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Ranks to Dash, Maximum Life, Dexterity | Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement SpeedWorldly Fortune (Utility): Chance to Freeze |
| Amulet | 1. Ranks to Weapon Mastery, Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed 2. Movement Speed, Armor, Critical Strike Chance | Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Shadow or Cold Imbue Additional CastsSpecialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage per Combo Point Spent |
| Rings | 1. Attack Speed, Critical Strike Damage 2. Resource Cost Reduction, Vulnerable Damage, Resistances, Maximum Life 3. Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance | Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Shadow or Cold Imbue Additional CastsSpecialist Evolution (Offensive): Damage per Combo Point Spent |
Paragon
Paragon unlocks after reaching Level 50, and the progression system offers a considerable boost to character power. The images below provide a visual of an early Paragon board setup for the Barrage Rogue.
The Paragon boards in this leveling guide are designed as a temporary setup for characters that have recently reached Level 50. Continue your progress with the fully optimized Paragon setup in the Barrage endgame guide.
Important Notes:
- Make sure you select the correct Legendary Boards and rotate them into the correct orientation.
- Attach Legendary Boards in the correct order, as bonus requirements of Rare Nodes increase with their placement order.
- Additional bonus requirements on Rare Glyphs may not be obtainable until they gain increased radius range at Level 15.
1. Starting Board (Exploit)
Socket 
Exploit in the starting board. Prioritize leveling Exploit to 15 for increased radius, as it is needed to allocate enough Strength to activate the additional bonus.
2. Tricks of the Trade (Turf)
Rotate the 
Tricks of the Trade board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node, and then Socket Turf for some valuable Damage Reduction. Prioritize leveling Turf to 15 for increased radius, as it is needed to allocate enough Strength to activate the additional bonus.
3. Cheap Shot (Combat)
Rotate the 
Cheap Shot board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node on this board. Socket 
Combat to gain Critical Strike Damage for an increased damage bonus on Precision.
Paragon Board images courtesy of d4builds.gg. Click this link for the Paragon planner.
Changelog
- May 15th, 2024: Priority Affixes updated with game changes made since the Season 4 PTR.
- May 14th, 2024: Guide created for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
