Build Introduction
The 
Shadow Step Rogue is an advanced endgame build featuring 
Shadow Clone in Diablo 4, Vessel of Hatred. The infinite casts of Shadow Step enable this build to be the fastest speed-farmer within the Rogue class, perfect for Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and The Pit!
Season 10 Update (Patch 2.4.0): The power of this build is significantly increased by Chaos Perks, Chaos Armor, and buffs to Legendary Paragon nodes. Be sure to check the Season 10 Mechanics section for the best-in-slot setup.
This endgame guide assumes your character is Level 60 and fulfills the Build Requirements. If you are not ready for this build, follow the Rogue Leveling Guide to find a starter build.
Check the build tier lists to see how this build compares to others on Icy Veins.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Extremely high mobility for speed-farming
- High burst damage
- Multiple crowd controls to render entire groups of enemies helpless
- Boss damage dependent on Stagger
- Strict build requirements
- Small cleave radius
Build Requirements
The Shadow Step Rogue requires a high amount of Cooldown Reduction to be applied to Shadow Step. With Disciplined Shadow Step reducing the Cooldown by 3 seconds, the Shadow Step Cooldown on its tooltip needs to be lowered to at least 3.25 seconds for rapid casting (0.25 seconds account for the attack animation frames). Shadow Clone Cooldown should also be reduced. Obtain the following list of items before attempting the build.
Assassin’s Stride — A greater affix Mobility Cooldown Reduction with 3 masterworking bonuses is highly recommended.- At least 1 Ring or Amulet with a Shadow Step Cooldown Reduction temper.
- At least 1 Ring or Amulet with a Shadow Clone Cooldown Reduction temper.
Quick Navigation
Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to sections.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
Shadow Step
HeartseekerShadow Clone
Smoke Grenade
Dark Shroud
DashThe Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 71 Skill Points for the Shadow Step Rogue build. Make sure you obtain the 12 Skill Points available from Renown.
Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar. It is instead automatically activated by 
Umbrous Aspect.
Shadow Imbuement is automatically applied by Assassin’s Stride. Do not equip it on the Skill Bar.
Frigid Finesse always applies to Staggered Bosses, as they are considered affected by all crowd controls. Enemies are also Frozen by 
Frostbitten Aspect when hit by Smoke Grenade.
Wondering what comes after Level 60? Head to the Paragon Board section to power up the build even further. If you want to see how everything plays out in combat, check out the Rotation and Playstyle section for a quick breakdown.
Rogue Class Mechanic – Specialization
Preparation is the preferred Specialization for the Shadow Step Rogue to grant 15% Damage Reduction and reduce the Cooldown of Ultimate Skills. 
Qax consumes Energy to refresh Shadow Clone.
Gear, Stats, Gems, and Runes
The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character in the endgame of Diablo 4.
Legendary Aspects
Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects for the Shadow Step Rogue build. Salvage Legendary Items with higher Aspect values to unlock them in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto Legendary Items with the preferred affixes. For the best results, combine these Aspects with the ideal Stat Priorities.
For the best-in-slot gear setup in Season 10, check the Chaos Armor section of the guide.
| Gear Slot | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ranged Weapon (+100% bonus effect) | Aspect of Inner Calm | Deal x [5 – 13%] increased damage. Triple this bonus after standing still for 3 seconds. |
| Amulet (+50% bonus effect) |  Ravager’s Aspect | Shadow Step has an additional Charge and gains a charge when it kills an enemy. Casting Shadow Step increases its damage by x [9 – 18%] for 5 seconds, up to x [45 – 90%]. |
Ring Slot #1 ( Pitfighter’s Gull optional) | Coldclip Aspect | You deal x [20 – 40%] increased damage to enemies that are Chilled or Frozen. Your Basic Skills are always Cold Imbued at 50% potency and gain this damage bonus against Bosses. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Vehement Brawler’s Aspect | Casting an Ultimate Skill increases your damage by [10 – 30%] for 8 seconds. Gain 2 additional Ultimate Skill Ranks. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Aspect of Retribution | Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal x [15 – 35%] increased damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Frostbitten Aspect | Enemies hit by your Grenade Skills have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to be Frozen for 2 seconds. You deal x [10 – 30%] increased Critical Strike Damage against Frozen or Stunned enemies. |
Gloves (replaced by  Grasp of Shadow) | Clandestine Aspect | Gain + [3 – 5] Ranks to Agility and Subterfuge Skills. |
| Helm |  Cowl of the Nameless,  Harlequin Crest, or  Heir of Perdition | See Unique and Mythic Items section. |
Chest (replaced by  Shroud of False Death) | Cheat’s Aspect | You have [5 – 15%] increased Damage Reduction and +10% increased Movement Speed, doubled while below 50% Maximum Life. |
| Pants | Umbrous Aspect | Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a [45 – 65%] chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow. |
| Boots | Assassin’s Stride | Mobility Skills are always Shadow Imbued with [40 – 80%] increased potency. Lucky Hit: Damaging an Elite or Boss with a Mobility Skill has up to a [40 – 80%] chance to instantly triggers a free Shadow Imbuement explosion. |
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Shadow Step Rogues, ranked by importance. Affixes on the same line have equal value, so attempt to obtain all affixes in each line before moving on to the next. Yellow affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades, while blue affixes are secondary options. For more details, check the Tempering and Masterworking guides.
Daggers are selected over Swords for the Damage to Close Enemies implicit when using 
Close Quarters Combat. A Bow is preferred for a faster cast of 
Heartseeker.
If Critical Strike Chance is not capped at 100% (see Critical Strike Chance section), replace Critical Strike Damage with Vulnerable Damage instead.
Prioritize capping Armor at 1,000 and all Resistances at 75%. Be aware of the increasing penalties to Armor and Resistances as you progress through Torment difficulties.
↑ Back to Legendary Gear Table
| Slot | Gear Affixes | Tempering Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Ranged Weapon | 1. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage | 1.  Agile Augments (Weapon): Shadow Clone Double Damage2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons | 1. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage | 1. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies 2. Assassin Augments (Weapon): Shadow Step Cleaves |
| Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance 2. Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration |
| Chest | 1. Ranks to Dark Shroud 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Dodge Chance 2. Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration |
| Gloves | 1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies 2. Worldly Fortune (Utility): Crowd Control Duration |
| Pants | 1. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Daze Control (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Daze 2. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Rogue Cloaking: Dodge Chance |
| Boots | Assassin’s Stride | Masterworking Priority: Mobility Cooldown Reduction |
| Amulet | 1. % Dexterity, Ranks to Frigid Finesse 2. Ranks to Unstable Elixirs, Weapon Mastery, Exploit, or Malice | 1. Agility Efficiency (Resource): Shadow Step Cooldown Reduction 2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies |
| Rings | 1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Critical Strike Damage | 1. Agility Efficiency (Resource): Shadow Step Cooldown Reduction or Ultimate Efficiency — Rogue: Shadow Clone Cooldown Reduction 2. Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies |
Uniques and Mythic Uniques
Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique and Mythic Unique Items for the Shadow Step Rogue build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades. Check the Mythic Unique Items Guide for information on target-farming them.
- Heir of Perdition (recommended) is a Mythic Unique Helm that provides the most damage in the slot.
- Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
- Cowl of the Nameless (recommended) is an alternative offensive option if you do not yet have
Heir of Perdition. - Masterworking Priority: Trick Attacks or Unstable Elixirs
- Harlequin Crest (optional) is useful for a boosted Cooldown Reduction affix if you cannot reduce the Cooldown of Shadow Step enough elsewhere.
- Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
- Assassin’s Stride (highly recommended) is the best source of Cooldown Reduction for Shadow Step.
- Masterworking Priority: Mobility Cooldown Reduction
- Grasp of Shadow (recommended) grants up to +8 Ranks to Shadow Step with a greater affix and masterworking bonuses. The unique effect triggers an extra Shadow Clone to mimick Shadow Step, with an estimated 2 second internal cooldown.
- Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Marksman or Cutthroat Skills
- Shroud of False Death (highly recommended) provides the highest damage increase in the slot due to the +1 Ranks to All Passives inherent affix.
- Masterworking Priority: All Stats or Maximum Life
- Pitfighter’s Gull (optional) provides a 45% damage increase after casting Smoke Grenade.
- Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the recommended Gems and Runewords to socket into your gear.
Gems
Equip the corresponding Gems into your Weapon, Armor, and Jewelry slots.
| Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
|---|---|---|
 Grand Emerald for Critical Strike Damage. | Grand Emerald for Dexterity. | Any Resistance Gems needed or  Grand Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap). |
Runewords
Insert one of the following Runewords, consisting of a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation, into your equipped Ranged Weapon. The other Runeword can be inserted into any equipped Helm, Chest, or Pants item. Add sockets to your equipment at the Jeweler if necessary. Check the Runewords Guide for more details.
| Runewords | Effects |
|---|---|
 YulQax | Gain: 50 Offering — Cast a Skill with a Cooldown. Requires: 400 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Your next non-Basic Skill cast spends all of your Primary Resource to deal up to 100% increased damage. |
 Noc Kry | Gain: 10 Offering — Inflict a Crowd Control. Gain double offering if it isn’t a Slow or a Chill. Requires: 300 Offering, Cooldown: 3 Seconds — Invoke the Spiritborn’s Vortex, dealing damage and Pulling In enemies. |
Paragon Board
Use the following Paragon Boards, Legendary Nodes, and Glyphs for the Shadow Step Rogue.
Season 10 Mechanics
Season 10: Infernal Chaos offers seasonal powers that can be utilized to enhance this build. Access Chaos Perks from the Powers tab in the character sheet, and equip Chaos Armor to create more powerful Unique Item combinations.
Chaos Perks
Progress through the Seasonal Reputation Board to unlock non-Unique Perks, and defeat Bartuc within the Infernal Hordes in Torment 1 or higher for a chance to unlock Unique Perks. Upgrade Chaos Perks by collecting Infernal Warp, earned by defeating Chaos Monsters. Equip the following Chaos Perk setup recommended for this build.
| Power | Description |
|---|---|
Unique Chaos Perk:  A Beast Cornered | For every 10% Life you are missing, you gain x20% increased damage and 5% Damage Reduction. Spending Resources also drains a percentage of your Life equal to 30% the Resources spent, refunding those Resources. This cannot reduce you to below 10% Life. |
 Marred Guard | You can no longer be healed above 50% Life. You gain 10% Maximum Resistance to All Elements, x20% Armor, and 100% increased Barrier and Fortify Generation. |
 Accelerating Chaos | Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy has up to a 10% chance to trigger a Chaotic Burst on the enemy, dealing 400% damage. Your Chaotic Bursts that hit an enemy reduce a random active Cooldown by 0.5 seconds. |
 Unpredictable Alchemy | Imbuements flow wildly, Imbuing every Basic Skill Cast with a random Imbuement. Imbued Skills deal x40% increased damage. |
Chaos Armor
Enhanced versions of certain Unique Items can drop to fit in the Helm, Chest, Gloves, Pants, or Boots gear slots. Defeat Bartuc in Torment difficulties to target-farm Chaos Armor (guaranteed drop in Torment 3-4).
Equip the following best-in-slot gear setup that is optimized with Mythic Unique Items and Chaos Armor, if you happen to be lucky enough to find them. Greater Affix and Masterworking Bonuses for Unique Items and Chaos Armor are bolded/highlighted. Chaos Armor slots that are interchangeable are noted in the table.
| Gear Slot | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ranged Weapon (+100% bonus effect) | Aspect of Inner Calm | Deal x [5 – 13%] increased damage. Triple this bonus after standing still for 3 seconds. |
| Amulet (+50% bonus effect) | Ravager’s Aspect | Shadow Step has an additional Charge and gains a charge when it kills an enemy. Casting Shadow Step increases its damage by x [9 – 18%] for 5 seconds, up to x [45 – 90%]. |
| Ring Slot #1 | Pitfighter’s Gull | ⁕ Critical Strike Chance Casting Smoke Grenade increases your Critical Strike Damage by x45% for [3 – 6] seconds and leaves behind a cloud of shadows. While within the cloud, you gain Stealth once per second. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Vehement Brawler’s Aspect | Casting an Ultimate Skill increases your damage by [10 – 30%] for 8 seconds. Gain 2 additional Ultimate Skill Ranks. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Aspect of Retribution | Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal x [15 – 35%] increased damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies. |
| Dual-Wielded Weapons or Ring Slot #2 | Frostbitten Aspect | Enemies hit by your Grenade Skills have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to be Frozen for 2 seconds. You deal x [10 – 30%] increased Critical Strike Damage against Frozen or Stunned enemies. |
| Helm | Heir of Perdition | ⁕ Critical Strike Chance Succumb to hatred and earn Mother’s Favor, increasing your damage dealt by x60%. Slaughter enemies to briefly steal Mother’s Favor from surrounding allies. |
| Chest | Shroud of False Death | ⁕ All Stats +1 to All Passives |
| Boots | Assassin’s Stride | ⁕ Mobility Cooldown Reduction Mobility Skills are always Shadow Imbued with [40 – 80%] increased potency. Lucky Hit: Damaging an Elite or Boss with a Mobility Skill has up to a [40 – 80%] chance to instantly triggers a free Shadow Imbuement explosion. |
| Gloves | Chaos Armor:  Cowl of the Nameless (Gloves) | ⁕ Trick Attacks or Unstable Elixirs |
| Pants or Chest (option #1) | Chaos Armor:  Fists of Fate (Pants) | ⁕ Critical Strike Chance or Attack Speed Your attacks randomly deal 1% to [200 – 300%] of their normal damage. |
| Pants (option #2) | Chaos Armor:  Grasp of Shadow (Pants) | ⁕ Ranks to Marksman or Cutthroat Skills Casting a Marksman or Cutthroat Skill has a [40 – 80%] chance to summon a Shadow Clone that mimics the Skill. |
Mercenaries
Once the Den is unlocked during the main questline in the Vessel of Hatred expansion, complete the key quests to acquire each Mercenary. Hire a Mercenary and enlist a Reinforcement in the following setup.
- Hired Mercenary: Raheir
- Skills:
Ground Slam, 
Raheir’s Aegis, 
Bastion, 
Inspiration
- Skills:
- Reinforcement: Varyana
- Skill:
Bloodthirst - Opportunity: Cast when the player casts any skill in combat.
- Skill:
Build Mechanics
The Shadow Step Grenade Rogue is a specialized build that requires a high amount of Cooldown Reduction applied to Shadow Step to function. Shadow Step is rapidly cast by lowering the base Cooldown to at least 3.25 seconds, while Disciplined Shadow Step further reduces the Cooldown by 3 seconds. The remaining 0.25 seconds account for the attack animation frames of Shadow Step.
Shadow Clone contributes a significant portion of the overall damage output, and its Cooldown needs to be reduced with at least 1 Shadow Clone Cooldown Reduction temper. The Cooldown is further reduced by a Yul Qax runeword that activates Preparation.
Shadow Imbuement is automatically applied by Assassin’s Stride to gain the benefits of Enhanced Shadow Imbuement and Mixed Shadow Imbuement.
Vulnerable status is applied by Enhanced Shadow Step to multiple enemies with Shadow Step Cleave tempers.
Subverting Concealment guarantees Critical Hits, so it does not need to be stacked anywhere on gear or the Skill Tree.
Rotation and Playstyle
Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.
- Refresh Subverting Concealment every 4 seconds to guaranteed Critical Hits.
- Hit elites and bosses with
Smoke Grenade to apply Enhanced Smoke Grenade and activate Pitfighter’s Gull. - Cast Shadow Clone to activate
No Witnesses and mimick Shadow Step. - Drink a Potion to activate
Unstable Elixirs. - Cast Heartseeker to activate the Marksman requirement of Close Quarters Combat and
Tricks of the Trade. - Rapidly spam Shadow Step to deal damage. The button for Shadow Step can be held down for continuous attacks, even chaining to your next enemy.
- Cast Dash to traverse when there are no enemies to target with Shadow Step.
Elixirs and Incenses
Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs, or find Elixirs by killing enemies or opening chests during various activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume for the Shadow Step Rogue, ranked by importance.
Elixir of Advantage II increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
Elixir of Fortitude II is the best general-purpose option for survivability.
Incense can also be crafted at the Alchemist. 
Queen’s Supreme (Core Stat), 
Song of the Mountain (Defensive), and 
Soothing Spices (Resistance) are recommended. These Incenses are categorized into three separate groups and can be active simultaneously. The added Armor and Resistances are especially helpful to reach their caps.
Gameplay Video
Season 10 Updates
A brief summary of the changes in Patch 2.4.0 that may pertain to this specific build is provided below. For a complete overview of Season 10, take a look at the comprehensive season guide.
- Subverting Concealment
- Reworded the tooltip.
- Vulnerable duration increased to 4 seconds.
Eldritch Bounty: Damage increased from 30%[x] to 50%[x].
Cheap Shot - Previous: You deal 5%[x] increased damage for each Nearby enemy that is Crowd Controlled, up to 25%[x]. A Nearby Staggered Boss provides the maximum bonus.
- Now: Deal 30% increased damage, doubled against Crowd Controlled enemies.
- No Witnesses
- Damage from ultimates increased from 20% to 30%.
- Damage cap increased from 40% to 60%.
Danse Macabre: Damage increased from 30% to 50%.
Changelog
- September 21st, 2025: Guide updated for Season 10 (Patch 2.4.0).
- June 27th, 2025: Guide updated for Season 9 (Patch 2.3.0).
- April 26th, 2025: Guide updated for Season 8 (Patch 2.2.0).
- January 21st, 2025: Guide updated for Season 7 (Patch 2.1.0).
- October 4th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
- September 2nd, 2024: Guide created.
