Build Introduction
Rogue leveling is a breeze as you fly through Sanctuary with the 
Rapid Fire and 
Flurry leveling build. This is your leveling guide for Diablo 4, with the maximum Skill Point allocation at Level 50. We currently believe this build to be the best option for leveling a new Rogue character in Season 3. Let us go over the build mechanics, character progression, and playstyle!
This Dual Core Skill build is perfect for players who want the best of both single-target Damage Per Second (DPS) and Area of Effect (AoE) clearing. Rapid Fire deals high single-target damage to snipe elite and bosses, while Flurry hits every enemy around the Rogue with AoE damage.
Unlike builds using 
Shadow Imbuement or other Cooldowns to clear packs of enemies, this hybrid build has unlimited AoE available for every engagement. Another key advantage is having both Cutthroat and Marksman Skills to activate 
Close Quarters Combat for more Attack Speed and Damage.
Once your Rogue character reaches Level 50 or enters World Tier 3, switch to the endgame guide for Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry to continue this build.
Check out the Rogue leveling page for an overview of all our builds and general tips for leveling.
Mid Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.3): Multiple buffs to 
Flurry and 
Rapid Fire further reinforce the Dual Core Rogue as the best leveling build for the class.
- Flurry
- Damage increased by 10%.
- Improved Flurry
- Previous: If Flurry hits any Vulnerable enemy, it will make all enemies hit by that cast Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
- New: Flurry deals x20% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. If Flurry hits any Vulnerable enemy it will make all enemies hit by that cast Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
- Advanced Flurry
- Previous: Evading through an enemy will cause your next Flurry to Stun enemies for 2.5 seconds.
- New: Evading through an enemy will cause your next Flurry to deal x30% increased damage and Stun enemies for 2.5 seconds.
- Rapid Fire
- Damage increased by 10%.
Aspect of Encircling Blades - Damage bonus increased from 8-15% to 15-22%.
- Fixed an issue where an attack that swaps from melee to Crossbow would double the bonuses from the
Precision and 
Weapon Mastery Rogue passives.
Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.0): With Precision buffed and Close Quarters Combat nerfed, the Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry build becomes an even better choice for starting a new Rogue character. Watch the video below for the full details.
Video Guide and Gameplay Footage
Season of the Construct
Season 3 Patch Updates
The following list details the changes in the Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.0) that may pertain to leveling a Hybrid Dual Core Rogue.
Close Quarters Combat - Amount of Damage vs Crowd Controlled bonus conversion percent reduced from 40% to 10%.
- Attack Speed per stack increased from 10% to 15%.
- Aspect of the Expectant: Damage bonus now has a 5-second duration to be used.
Seneschal Construct Companion Powers
The Season 3 theme introduces a Seneschal Construct Companion that can deal damage or provide support to complement your character. Equip the Seneschal with two Governing Stones to activate their abilities, and then link them to three Tuning Stones each to augment the abilities. There are 12 different Governing Stones and 27 different Tuning Stones that can be found in Vaults scattered across Sanctuary. Fuse together duplicate stones to level them up, increasing the potency of Governing Stones or adding augments to Tuning Stones.
Listed below is the best Seneschal Construct Companion setup for Rapid Fire and Flurry Rogues. The first 2 Governing Stone setups are equipped for the construct to support the player. The 3rd setup is equipped for the construct to deal high damage on its own. Although only 3 Tuning Stones can be linked to each Governing Stone, alternative options are provided and sorted in order of importance.
- Flash of Adrenaline: Administers a quick flash of adrenaline into the player, granting bonus damage for a duration.
- Genesis: Increase the effectiveness of the supported Skill.
- Tactical Support: Decrease the cooldown of the supported Skill.
- Duration Support: Supported Skills have their durations increased.
- Fortify Support: When the Seneschal Construct uses the supported Skill, you gain Fortify. Skills with slower attack speeds or skills with cooldowns will increase the amount of Fortify granted.
- Tempest: Electrically charge an enemy causing it to deal damage to themselves and additional enemies each second over time. If the enemy is killed, Tempest spreads to another enemy gaining additional time and bonus damage. These bonuses are also applied if Tempest is reapplied onto the same enemy. — This attack setup is used for a supportive construct, buffing the player to deal more damage.
- Evernight: The supported Skill grants you +4 to all Skills when used.
- Resource Support: Player gains an amount of Primary Resource when the supporting Skill first deals damage.
- Efficiency Support: When the supporting skill deals damage, you gain Critical Strike Chance to the same targets hit.
- Safeguard Support: When used, the supported Skill grants Damage Reduction to you.
- Firefly: Deploy a small construct that lands on the target and explodes 3 times, dealing damage. — Replace the Tempest setup to enable more damage output from the construct.
- Multishot Support: Supported Projectile skills launch additional projectiles.
- Piercing Support: The supported Projectile Skill will pierce multiple enemies.
- Seeking Support: The supported Projectile Skill will auto-seek enemies for a limited duration.
Skill Tree Points
The following table shows the order in which to allocate your Skill Points for the Rapid Fire and Flurry 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.
Alternative Skills
All 3 Mobility Skills, 
Dash, 
Shadow Step and 
Concealment, are utilized to speed up the leveling process. Alternatively, Concealment can be replaced with any other utility skill, such as an Imbuement Skill.
Dual Core Rogue Specialization
The Rogue Specialization can be unlocked at Level 15. Complete the True Potential questline as soon as possible to gain access to the first Specialization option, Combo Points. This is the preferred Specialization for leveling a Rogue.
Build Combo Points with 
Puncture to unleash additional damage and arrows for Rapid Fire. Combo Points can also be used to gain additional damage and an Attack Speed buff with Flurry.
Mechanics and Playstyle
Rapid Fire has high single target damage, but normally lacks Area of Effect (AoE) for clearing groups of enemies. Aspect of Repeating does not provide enough additional targets, and Shadow Imbuement has a cooldown that is not always available for every pack. Therefore, Flurry is utilized in this build for unlimited AoE.
All 3 Mobility Skills, Dash, Shadow Step and Concealment, are utilized to speed up the leveling process. Alternatively, Concealment can be replaced with any other utility skill, such as an Imbuement Skill.
This hybrid build has an arsenal of both Cutthroat Skills (Flurry, Shadow Step and Dash) and Marksman Skills (Rapid Fire and Puncture) to activate damage increases from Close Quarters Combat and eventually Tricks of the Trade after obtained in Paragon.
Spam Flurry in the middle of a group of enemies to deal AoE damage, while Advanced Flurry Stuns them. Once you have a clear line of sight, snipe Elite enemies with Rapid Fire.
Vulnerable
Fundamental Puncture easily applies Vulnerable to a target with a single Basic attack. Aim Puncture at the toughest enemies in a pack. Once at least one enemy is Vulnerable, cast Improved Flurry to spread the status to the rest of the enemies. In group play, apply this debuff to Elites and Bosses so your teammates deal 20% more damage.
Animation Cancel Technique
Evade immediately after using Rapid Fire or Flurry to cancel their casting animations. This technique is important to quickly dodge incoming attacks while activating Advanced Flurry and Advanced Rapid Fire. Boots with the implicit effect, attacks reduce Evade’s cooldown by 1.2 seconds, allow for an animation cancel after using 3 Basic Attacks and a Core Skill. Practice hitting Evade after every Core Skill to build muscle memory.
AoE Damage Rotation
Explode groups of mobs with the following rotation.
- (Optional) Dash through tougher enemies to apply Enhanced Dash if necessary.
- Evade through at least 1 enemy if using Advanced Flurry.
- Build 3 Combo Points with Puncture.
- Cast Flurry to deal AoE damage and Stun enemies.
- Immediately animation cancel Flurry with an Evade
- Restart the rotation.
Single Target Damage Rotation
Use the following rotation against Elites and Bosses for high single target Damage Per Second (DPS).
- Use Evade to activate Advanced Rapid Fire.
- Build 3 Combo Points with Puncture. Make sure you are close enough for Fundamental Puncture to apply Vulnerable.
- Cast Shadow Step on the toughest Elite to Stun them. Alternatively, Dash can be used through a Boss to apply Enhanced Dash.
- Cast Rapid Fire at the target.
- Immediately animation cancel Rapid Fire with an Evade to restart the rotation.
Gear Choice and Stat Priority while Leveling
Make sure to pick up all Rare equipment drops that may be upgrades while you are leveling a Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry Rogue. Save Legendary items with useful aspects in your stash to be used later for extraction and imprinting onto well rolled Rare items.
When comparing weapons with similar item levels, Daggers are preferred over Swords for the Damage to Close Enemies implicit. Crossbows are preferred over Bows for the Vulnerable Damage implicit.
Stat Priority List
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear during early leveling of a Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry 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. Bolded stats are the most important and sometimes vital for the build to function properly.
The priority order of Resistances is Lightning > Poison > Fire > Cold > Shadow. Maximum Resistance is 70% by default for each element and can be increased to 85% by various sources.
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies is a high priority affix due to Close Quarters Combat.
| Gear Slot | Important Affixes |
|---|---|
| Weapons | + Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies, Dexterity, All Stats + Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close Enemies, Core Skill Damage + Critical Strike Damage, Damage to Stunned Enemies |
| Helm | + Armor, Resistances + Basic Attack Speed, Cooldown Reduction, Maximum Life + Crowd Control Duration, Dexterity, Maximum Energy |
| Chest | + Armor, Damage Reduction, DR from Close Enemies, Resistances + DR from Distant Enemies, Maximum Life + Dexterity |
| Gloves | + Ranks of Rapid Fire, Ranks of Flurry, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance + Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills, Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies |
| Pants | + Armor, Damage Reduction, DR from Close Enemies, Resistances + DR from Distant Enemies, Maximum Life + Dodge Chance, DC Against Close Enemies, Dexterity |
| Boots | + Resistances, Movement Speed + Energy Cost Reduction, Ranks of Dash + Dexterity, Dodge Chance, DC Against Distant Enemies, DR while Injured |
| Amulet | + Armor, Ranks of Frigid Finesse Passive + Cooldown Reduction, Movement Speed + Energy Cost Reduction, Damage Reduction, DR from Close Enemies + DR from Distance Enemies, % Dexterity |
| Rings | + Critical Strike Chance, Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies + Maximum Life, Resource Generation + Damage to Close Enemies, Vulnerable Damage + Maximum Energy, Lucky Hit Chance |
Legendary Aspects and Codex of Power
To unlock Aspects in the Codex of Power, you must complete the corresponding Dungeon where the specific Aspect drops. Aspect of Encircling Blades can be unlocked in the Codex of Power by completing the Forsaken Quarry in Fractured Peaks. It is located right above the first major town of Kyovashad. The dungeon is part of the Rogue Specialization Quest, so follow it after it unlocks at Level 15. Immediately visit the Occultist to imprint this Aspect onto an item to increase the AoE range of Flurry.
Aspects found on dropped Legendary Items have stronger effects than those applied from the Codex of Power. Additionally, it is important to know that certain Aspects can only be obtained by finding them on a legendary item, and are not accessible through the Codex of Power. Extract Aspects from unusable Legendary Items to imprint them onto well-rolled Rare Items. Avoid imprinting valuable extracted Aspects onto weapons, because weapons they get replaced often while leveling.
We have a dedicated in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide that you can check out for more information.
Listed below are all the Aspects found on Legendary items that are important for the Rapid Fire and Flurry Rogue leveling build. They are listed in order of priority. The best-in-slot Aspects List is in the Endgame Guide for Dual Core Rogue.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect of Encircling Blades | Flurry damages enemies in a circle around you and deals [15 – 22%] increased damage. | Forsaken Quarry, Fractured Peaks |
| 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 |
| 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 Retribution | Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [10 – 20%] increased damage to Stunned enemies. | Abandoned Mineworks, Kehjistan |
 Ravager’s Aspect | Shadow Step has an additional Charge. Killing an enemy with Shadow Step refunds a Charge and increases the damage of Shadow Step by [1 – 6%] for 2 seconds, up to [5 – 30%]. | Random Drop Only |
 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 Disobedience | You gain [0.25 – 0.50%] increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to [15.00 – 30.00%]. | Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan |
| Wind Striker Aspect | Critical Strikes grant [8.0 – 16.0%] Movement Speed for 1 second, up to 6 seconds. | Shivta Ruins, Kehjistan |
| Vengeful Aspect | Lucky Hit: Making an enemy Vulnerable has up to a [40 – 60%] chance to grant 3% increased Critical Strike Chance for 3 seconds, up to 9%. | Inferno, Kehjistan |
Gems
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each slot type for Rogue leveling.
- Weapon:
Emerald for Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies. - Armor:
Ruby for Maximum Life. - Jewelry:
Royal Skull for Armor.
Elixirs and Health Potions
Visit the Alchemist 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. Craft the highest quality 
Assault Elixir to increase Attack Speed.
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.
Changelog
- March 5th, 2024: Guide updated for the Mid Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.3).
- February 5th, 2024: Seneschal Construct Companion Powers section updated with an optional setup for construct damage.
- January 28th, 2024: Seneschal Construct Companion Powers section updated.
- January 22nd, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
- October 17th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0).
