Dark Ice Diablo IV Rogue Build [RDY-4-Launch]

Dark Ice Rogue BUILD for Diablo IV [RDY-4-Launch]

(get up close & personal to cause the shadows to explode, chilling & freezing your foes)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV‘s Launch is getting closer and it’s time to make some Ready-For-Launch full Builds/Theorycrafts that should be good for both ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters as well as late endgame. I also plan to evolve them further when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Rogue Class called Dark Ice.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect + unique item + gems & sockets + suggested stat rolls + paragon boards that work well with the build which you can use to tinker. Alternatively, I’ve added build calculator links (mostly needed for the paragons)

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have more in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken + alternative skill options, you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Dark Ice) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Puncture Throw blades a short distance, dealing 21% (X – ?) damage. Every 3rd cast Slows enemies by 2 seconds. Critical Strikes will always Slow. Requires Dual Wielded Weapons. Lucky Hit Chance: 50% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Basic, Ranged, Marksman
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Puncture Gain 2 Energy when Puncture damages a Crowd Controlled enemy.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Fundamental Puncture Puncture now throws 3 blades in a spread, each dealing 35% of its Base damage. Hitting an enemy with at least 2 blades at once makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.

Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Flurry Unleash a flurry of stabs and slashes, striking enemies in front of you 4 times and dealing a total of 60% (X – ?) damage to each. Combo Points increase damage and grant an Attack Speed bonus: 1: 75% damage, +15% Attack Speed ; 2: 90% damage, +30% Attack Speed ; 3: 105% damage, +45% Attack Speed Requires Dual Wielded weapons Energy Cost: 25 Lucky Hit Chance: 8% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Core, Melee, Imbueable, Cutthroat
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Flurry Each time Flurry damages a Crowd Controlled or Vulnerable enemy, you are Healed for 1% of your Maximum Life, up to 12% Maximum Life per cast.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Improved Flurry If Flurry hits any Vulnerable enemy it will make all enemies hit by that cast Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) Sturdy You gain 4%/8%/12% Close Damage Reduction.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 2 points here) Siphoning Strikes Heal for 1%/2%/3% of your Maximum Life when you Critically Strike Close enemies.
  • (passive) did not pick any other Core passives to save points

Agility Skills (Required Points: 6 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Dash Dash forward and slash enemies for 37% (X – ?) damage. Requires Dual Wielded weapons Charges: 2 Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Melee, Imbueable, Cutthroat
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Dash Enemies damaged by Dash take 20% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage for 5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Methodical Dash Dealing damage to Crowd Controlled enemies with Dash reduces its Charge Cooldown by 0.5 seconds, up to 3 seconds per cast.
  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Caltrops Leap backwards and throw Caltrops on the ground, dealing 30% (X – ?) damage and Slowing enemies by 50%. Lasts 6 seconds. Energy Cost: 21 Lucky Hit Chance: 25% Damage: Physical ; Tags: Agility, Trap
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Caltrops Enemies take 3% (multiplicative) increased damage from you each second they’re in Caltrops.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Disciplined Caltrops You have +5% Critical Strike Chance against enemies inside your Caltrops. Double this amount against Vulnerable enemies.
  • (passive) Weapon Mastery Gain a bonus when attacking based on weapon type:
    Daggers: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy enemies.
    Swords: 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage.
    Bows: 4%/8%/12% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
    Crossbows: 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage.
  • (passive) did not pick other Agility passives to save points

Subterfuge Skills (Required Points: 11 ) Not taking an Active Subterfuge skill

  • (active)
    • (1st upgrade)
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2)
  • (passive) Exploit – You deal 6%/12%/18% (multiplicative) increased damage to Healthy and Injured enemies.
    • (upgrade) Malice – You deal 3%/6%/9% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
  • (passive) did not pick other Subterfuge passives to save points

Imbuements Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – ONLY put 1 point here) Shadow Imbuement Imbue your weapons with festering shadows. Enemies struck by your next 2 Imbueable Skills deal damage and infect enemies for 6 seconds. Infected enemies explode on death, dealing 40% (X) damage to all surrounding enemies. If the infection expires before the enemy dies, it will deal 40% (X) damage to only that enemy. Cooldown: 9 seconds. Lucky Hit Chance: 33% Damage: Shadow ; Tags: Imbuements
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Shadow Imbuement You have +25% increased Critical Strike Chance against Injured enemies infected by Shadow Imbuement.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Blended Shadow Imbuement Shadow Imbue’s primary explosion makes enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
  • (passive) Precision Imbuement – Imbued Skills gain +5%/+10%/+15% increased Critical Strike Chance.
  • (passive – Invested 2/3 ranks into it only to save points) Shadow Crash Lucky Hit: Shadow damage has up to a 10% chance to Stun for 0.5/1/1.5 seconds.
    • (upgrade – ONLY put 1 point here) Consuming Shadows Each time you kill an enemy with Shadow Damage, you generate 10/20/30 Energy.
  • (passive) Frigid Finesse You deal 5%/10%/15% (multiplicative) increased damage to Chilled enemies. This bonus increases to 10%/20%/30% (multiplicative) against Frozen enemies.
  • (passive) did not pick other Imbuements passives to save points

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Shadow Clone Your shadow mimicks your actions for 15 seconds. The shadow deals 60% of your damage. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Damage: Physical ; Tags: Ultimate
    • (1st upgrade) Prime Shadow Clone You are Unstoppable for 5 seconds after casting Shadow Clone.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Supreme Shadow Clone Your Shadow Clone deals an additional 20% of your damage.
  • (passive) Innervation – Lucky Hit: Up to a 10%/20%/30% chance to gain 8 Energy.
    • (upgrade) Second Wind – Every 100 Energy you spend grants you +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance for 5 seconds.seconds.
    • (upgrade) Alchemist’s FortuneNon-Physical damage you deal has a +5%/+10%/+15% increased Lucky Hit Chance.
  • (passive) Aftermath – After using an Ultimate Skill, restore 25/50/75 Energy.
  • (passive) did not pick other Ultimate passives to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Close Quarters Combat Damaging a nearby enemy with Marksman or Cutthroat Skills grants a +10% Attack Speed bonus for 8 seconds. While both Attack Speed bonuses are active, you deal 20% (multiplicative) increased damage against Crowd Controlled enemies.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much information about the 3rd Specialization of the Rogue. The 3 Specializations are the Rogues’ Class Mechanics:

  • Combo Points – Your Basic Skills now generate Combo Points. Certain Skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
  • Inner Sight – Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
  • Preparation – This specialization was not available during the closed beta builds of the game.

I prefer and advise using Combo Points but I liked Inner Sight during the beta too so not a bad one either for some 0 cost Skill Spams every now and then. We’ll have to wait and see about the last one.

Unique Item

In Diablo IV apparently (I have multiple sources that confirmed this) we can equip more than one unique item at the same time (not so ‘unique’ if we can get decked out in full uniques I guess). It seems that the one unique per build idea that Unique inherited from the Mythical gear they supposedly replaced was scrapped even before the closed beta tests. My top pick will be the following one but check the notes under the Aspects list for some additional picks:

Frostburn (Gloves)

Lucky Hit: Up to a [15 – 25]% chance to Freeze enemies for 2 seconds.

+[3 – 8]% Critical Strike Chance
+[0.07 – 0.14] Cold Damage
+[7 – 14]% Freeze Duration
Lucky Hit: Up to a 5% Chance to Restore +[14 – 28]% Primary Resource

A touch so frigid it stops the heart and chills the very soul.

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my RDY-4-Launch Builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Dark Ice) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Exploiter’s Aspect
  • Amulet: Aspect of Encircling Blades
  • Chest: Aspect of Quickening Fog
  • Pants: Aspect of Elusive Menace
  • Gloves: Blast-Trapper’s Aspect Until The Unique goes here
  • Boots: Frostbitten Aspect
  • Ring 1: Icy Alchemist’s Aspect
  • Ring 2: Aspect of Corruption
  • 1H Weapon: Shadowslicer Aspect
  • Off-hand: Aspect of Imitated Imbuement
  • 2-H Weapon: Vengeful Aspect
NOTE 1: Blast-Trapper's Aspect goes in the Gloves slot ONLY until you get the Frostburn Unique Gloves. 
There are two other alternative picks for Uniques you could use if you get those first: Grasp of Shadow (Gloves) & Harlequin Crest (Helm)
See the 2nd note below:

NOTE 2: How to re-arrange if using any of the alternative Uniques:
- For Grasp of Shadow (Gloves): Blast-Trapper's Aspect gets removed from the Gloves to make room for the Unique (same item type as Frostburn so nothing special)
- For Harlequin Crest (Helm): Blast-Trapper's Aspect gets removed from the Gloves and Exploiter’s Aspect goes in the Gloves to make room for the Unique

Sockets & Gems

There are various possible good/viable choices for the gem slots. I’ve shortlisted what works by slot. I’d recommend picking one of those:

Weps: Saphire, Skull, Diamond, or Emerald.
Armor: Skull or Ruby.
Jewelry: Diamond unless you need specific resistance more than all.

XYZ Diamond (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Ultimate Skill Damage
• Armor: +N% Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: N% Resistance to All Elements

+5%/+5%/5 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Skull (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N Life On Kill
• Armor: +N% Healing Received • Jewelry: +N Armor

+13/+5%/+170 for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Saphire (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies
• Armor: N% Damage Reduction While Fortified
• Jewelry: N% Cold Resistance

+7.5%/5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Ruby (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Overpower Damage

• Armor: +N% Maximum Life
• Jewelry: N% Fire Resistance

+15%/+5.5%/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

XYZ Emerald (Requires Level XY)

• Weapon: +N% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
• Armor: +N Thorns
• Jewelry: N% Poison Resistance

+7.5%/39/14.3% for chipped (the 2nd grade at lvl 20)

Paragon Boards:

Use the links below to check the paragon boards selected and the nodes I’ve taken. One link is for what the boards will look like at lvl 95 without any paragon points from renown (so more paragon points will be obtained on the way to 100 as well as from renown. The other link will be what the boards will look like when fully maxed out on paragon points.

Suggested Gear Rolls to look out for (NOT in order of priority):

I’ve shortlisted 45 different affixes that work well with the build of almost 300 total. I’ll highlight in Orange the ones I think should get higher priority

Bonus to All Damage
Critical Strike Chance/Critical Damage Bonus
Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Shadow/Cold Skills
Critical Chance/Critical Damage with Core/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Damage with Core/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance
+ X Ranks to Core/Imbuements/Ultimate Skills
Lucky Hit Chance with Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage
Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage Bonus
+ % Critical Chance / Critical Damage with Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage
Resistance to All Elements
Damage to Enemies Affected by Trap Skills
+ % Physical/Shadow/Ice Damage to Elites
+ % Critical Strike Chance with Physical/Shadow/Cold Damage Against Elites
+ % Damage for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction for X Seconds After Killing an Elite
Damage Reduction from Elites
Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Close Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Close Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Critical Strike Chance Against Vulnerable Enemies
Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
Vulnerable Damage
Damage while Healthy
Damage to Vulnerable Enemies with Imbued Skills
Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills
Shadow Imbued Skill Damage
Imbued Skill Damage
Imbuement Potency
Higher Priority
Damage for X Seconds After Dodging an Attack
Attack Speed for X Seconds After Dodging an Attack
Dodge Chance (both +% and x% exist)
Dodge Chance Against Close Enemies
+ All Stats
Damage vs Injured Enemies
Damage vs Healthy Enemies
Weapon Damage (not sure if there are any bonuses to that as rolls)
Energy Generation / Regeneration/ On Kill
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
Dexterity
Resource Cost Reduction
Lower Priority

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV RDY-4-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Dark Ice Rogue Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

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