Build Introduction
The 
Twisting Blades Rogue leveling build rapidly impales foes with dual-wielded weapons. This is your leveling guide for Diablo 4, with the maximum Skill Point allocation at Level 50. Let us go over the build mechanics, character progression, and playstyle!
Twisting Blades deals high single target damage with 2 hits per cast. In addition, the piercing effect of the returning blades can be used to kill multiple enemies at a time with proper positioning. This fast-paced burst leveling build is highly recommended for new players starting their first Rogue character.
Once your Rogue character reaches Level 50 or enters World Tier 3, switch to the endgame guide for Twisting Blades to continue this build.
The Dual Core Rapid Fire Flurry Rogue is another leveling build option that also performs well. Check out the Rogue leveling page for an overview of all our builds and general tips for leveling.
Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.0): There were some nerfs to the 
Bladedancer’s Aspect and 
Poison Imbuement interaction. This Twisting Blades Rogue leveling build does not use Poison Imbuement, and it remains as one of the best ways to start a new Rogue character.
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 Twisting Blades Rogue.
- Bladedancer’s Aspect
- The orbiting blades can now hit each enemy 2 times, reduced from 3.
- Previous: Twisting Blades orbit for a short time after they return to you, dealing 10–15% of Twisting Blade’s return damage per hit. Based on the distance the blades returning, the orbit damage increases up to 20–30% of the return damage.
- New: Twisting Blades orbit for a short time after they return to you, dealing 20–30% of Twisting Blade’s return damage per hit.
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%.
Concussive - Previous: After Knocking Back or Knocking Down an enemy, you gain 4% increased Critical Strike Chance against them for 4 seconds.
- New: After Knocking Back or Knocking Down an enemy, you gain 4% increased Critical Strike Chance for 4 seconds.
- Aspect of the Expectant: Damage bonus now has a 5-second duration to be used.
- Fixed an issue where returning Twisting Blades while using the Bladedancer’s aspect were applying full Poison Imbue Damage, instead of the expected percentage of damage detailed in the Aspect’s description.
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 Twisting Blades 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 Twisting Blades 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.
Twisting Blades 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.
Build Combo Points with 
Puncture to unleash additional damage for Twisting Blades. This option is preferred for general farming due to the burst damage playstyle.
Mechanics and Playstyle
The Twisting Blade Rogue leveling build is more involved to play than most others. Twisting Blades damage is increased by several buffs to cause a devastating hit. Combo Points can be generated for additional damage. 
Shadow Imbuement turns the attack into Shadow damage. Finally, 
Concealment guarantees your opener to be a Critical Hit. After the first victim is impaled by Twisting Blades, 
Dash and 
Shadow Step are used to reposition around other enemies, so the returning blades can hit them. The flying blades retain the damage buffs of the initial impale, including the guaranteed Critical Hit!
Damage is increased further with 
Close Quarters Combat, 
Malice, 
Exploit, 
Precision Imbuement and 
Impetus. Survivability is gained through 
Agile and 
Sturdy, while 
Siphoning Strikes sustain Life. Finally, 
Stutter Step and 
Haste speed up movement for faster farming.
Status Effects
The Twisting Blades Rogue utilizes Crowd Control effects to render Elites helpless. Methodical Shadow Step Stuns for 2 seconds and closes the gap. Follow up with Twisting Blades to Daze your target. Once Dazed, Critical Hits activate 
Trick Attacks to continuously Knock Down the enemy.
Fundamental Puncture easily applies Vulnerable to a target with a single Basic attack. In group play, apply this debuff to Elites and Bosses so your teammates deal 20% more damage. Stack Damage to Crowd Controlled and Vulnerable Enemies on gear and the Paragon Board to scale your damage further.
AoE Damage Rotation
Explode groups of mobs with the following rotation.
- (Optional) Initiate combat with Shadow Step to close the gap, targeting the toughest opponent to Stun it.
- Immediately activate both Concealment and Shadow Imbuement to buff your next attack.
- Cast Twisting Blades one or two times on the target, depending on how tough it is.
- Use Dash or Evade to move through any additional enemies so the returning blades pierce through them.
- Use Puncture to finish off any injured enemies, generate Energy and build Combo Points for your next Twisting Blades.
- Cast additional Twisting Blades on any remaining enemies with high health.
- Repeat the rotation when cooldowns are ready.
Single Target Damage Rotation
Use the following rotation against Bosses for high sustained single target DPS.
- (Optional) Close the gap to the target with Shadow Step.
- Rapidly cast Puncture three times to build up Combo Points. Stand close enough to the target to hit twice, applying Vulnerable.
- If not on cooldown, activate Concealment to guarantee the next Critical Hit.
- If not on cooldown, activate Shadow Imbuement for more damage.
- Cast Twisting Blades once on the target.
- Repeat the rotation. Get into the rhythm of casting 3 Basic attacks for Combo Points before each Twisting Blades.
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 Twisting Blades 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. The DPS value on ranged weapons doesn’t matter, so prioritize affix values instead. Crossbows are preferred over Bows for the Vulnerable Damage implicit affix.
Stat Priority List
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear during early leveling of a Twisting Blades 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 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 / Dazed 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 Twisting Blades, Attack Speed and Critical Strike Chance + Dexterity, Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies + Lucky Hit Chance, LHC to Restore Primary Resource |
| 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 Malice, Exploit or Weapon Mastery 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. Bladedancer’s Aspect can be unlocked in the Codex of Power by completing the Jalal’s Vigil dungeon in Scosglen. Visit the Occultist to imprint this Aspect onto an item for Twisting Blades to orbit you for a short time after they return. Imprint on a Bow or Crossbow for +100% bonus effect on 2-Handed weapons. You do not need to replace your ranged weapon often, as this build doesn’t use any ranged skills. A Crossbow with useful damage increase stats is preferred.
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 Twisting Blades Rogue leveling build. They are listed in order of priority. The best-in-slot Aspects List is in the Endgame Guide for Twisting Blades Rogue.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bladedancer’s Aspect | Twisting Blades orbit for a short time after they return to you, dealing [10 – 15%] of Twisting Blades’ return damage per hit. Based on the distance the blades returned, the orbit damage increases up to [20 – 30%] of the return damage. | Jalal’s Virgil, 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 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 Retribution | Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal [20 – 40%] 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 |
 Exploiter’s Aspect | You have 20% increased Crowd Control Duration. While enemies are Unstoppable, you deal [20 – 50%] increased damage to them. | Random Drop Only |
| Cheat’s Aspect | You take [15 – 25%] less damage from Crowd Controlled enemies. Whenever a Crowd Controlled enemy deals direct damage to you, gain 15% Movement Speed for 2 seconds. | Luban’s Rest, Scosglen |
| 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 [30 – 50%] 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
- 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).
- July 18th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 1.
