Barrage Rogue Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 4) - Icy Veins (2024)

Build Introduction

The Barrage Rogue unleashes multiple arrows in an arcing area to kill all foes on the battlefield. Barrage is the perfect Core Skill for players wanting a simple playstyle that is effective for any fight. It can be used to deliver a spread of arrows to hit multiple enemies within a pack, or casted up close to tougher elites and bosses to shotgun them with every arrow.

The only starting requirement for this endgame build guide is a character around Level 50 in World Tier 3. Check our Rogue Leveling Guide if you need help getting there.

Strengths and Weaknesses

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

The Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 58 Skill Points for the Barrage Rogue build. Make sure you obtain the 10 Skill Points available from Renown.

Alternative Skills

If a further playstyle is preferred, swap Puncture for Heartseeker for a Basic Attack with more range. Puncture is the top recommendation for the Barrage Rogue, due to the faster Combo Points generation and consistent Vulnerable application.

Barrage Rogue Specialization

Combo Points is the preferred Rogue Specialization for general farming due to the burst damage playstyle of the Barrage Rogue. Build Combo Points with Puncture to unleash additional damage and arrows for Barrage.

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 each Paragon Board setup for the Barrage Rogue.

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 (Control)

Socket Control for a damage multiplier against Stunned or Frozen enemies, which is activated by Methodical Shadow Step and Cold Imbuement.

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 (Canny)

Rotate the Cheap Shot board 3 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node on this board. Socket Canny to increase non-physical damage, which includes attacks imbued by Cold Imbuement or Shadow Imbuement. Prioritize leveling Canny to 15 for the increased radius to obtain the additional bonus.

4. Exploit Weakness (Combat)

Rotate the Exploit Weakness 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 from Precision.

5. No Witnesses (Exploit)

Rotate the No Witnesses board 3 times before attachment. Socket Exploit for increased Vulnerable damage and additional Vulnerable application. The Legendary Node on this board is not utilized.

Paragon Board images courtesy of d4builds.gg. Click this link for the Paragon planner.

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. For further details, read the overview in the Tempering and Masterworking section.

Legendary Aspects

Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects for the Barrage 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.

Gems

Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.

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.

1. Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
2. 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.
3. Elixir of Fortitude is the best general purpose option for survivability.
4. Elixir of Iron Barbs can provide a high amount of Physical Damage Reduction. Armor becomes more effective as you approach the Armor cap (9,320 against monster level 100 and above).
5. Specific Resistance Elixirs can be utilized to survive against Uber Bosses with elemental attacks.

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 for Barrage Rogues. 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 affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades.

When comparing Legendary 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.

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.

Check the Tempering and Masterworking section for more details on Blacksmith upgrading.

Unique Items

Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique Items for the Barrage Rogue build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades.

• Condemnation (recommended) provides a 1.4x multiplier that works well in this Combo Points build.
  • Masterworking Priority: Basic Skill Attack Speed or Critical Strike Damage
• Harlequin Crest (recommended) provides a good amount of offense and defense, if you are lucky enough to find this Uber Unique Item.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Ring of Starless Skies (recommended) is an Uber Unique Item that provides a highly valued 1.4x multiplier. The downside is the unique effect requires some management to ramp up and maintain the buff stacks.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
• Skyhunter (optional) synergies well with Precision to increase damage and restore Energy. Although, a well-rolled Legendary Crossbow is preferred for a higher base damage value and tempering affixes. Move Aspect of Branching Volleys to your Amulet, and remove Edgemaster’s Aspect for this setup.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks of the Exploit Passive
• Tibault’s Will (optional) provides a damage multiplier and Energy generation effect, in addition to a Damage Reduction from Close Enemies affix that is not usually obtainable in the Pants slot. Activate the unique effect with Shadow Step. Optionally, Subverting Concealment can replace Disciplined Dash for a second source of Unstoppable.
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
• Fists of Fate (optional) increases overall damage by 50% with a 300% value on the unique effect. They are comparable to well-rolled Legendary Gloves with Ranks to Core Skills, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance, and an Offensive Aspect. The downside is the drastic damage range of the unique effect can cause an inconsistency in the hits required to kill enemies.
  • Masterworking Priority: any affix

Season 4: Loot Reborn

The following list details the changes in the Season 4 Update (Patch 1.4.0) that may pertain to Barrage Rogues. Check the Changelog for all the other guide updates.

• High Velocity Aspect
  • Barrage arrows now pierce through 1 enemy.
  • Barrage has 10%-20% increased Attack Speed.
• Exploit Weakness
  • Maximum increased damage buffed from 15%[x] to 25%[x].
• Skyhunter
  • Damage bonus increased from 10-30% to 20-40%.

Advanced Information

Additional details are provided in the following sections for a more in-depth explanation of the Barrage Rogue. Read this advanced information after understanding the basic overview of the build in the previous sections.

Build Mechanics

Barrage fires arrows in an arc similar to Multishot skills in other ARPG games, making it useful for killing multiple enemies spread out in a pack. Barrage can also be casted right next to elites and bosses to shotgun them with all arrows for high single-target damage.

Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar. Dark Shrouds stacks are instead granted through Umbrous Aspect with the high amount of hits per cast from Barrage.

Shadow Step and Dash are Cutthroat Skills that can be used before casting Barrage to gain the damage bonus from Tricks of the Trade.

Smoke Grenade is not equipped on the Skill Bar, but is instead auto-casted through Aspect of Quickening Fog by using Dash. Use Dash offensively to land on top of enemies and Daze them. Enhanced Smoke Grenade is also allocated for enemies to take 25% increased damage.

Innervation should provide enough Energy generation if you are taking the time to build 3 Combo Points before casting each Barrage. Consuming Shadows Rank 3 can be allocated if additional Energy generation is needed. Take extra points out of Dark Shroud for this setup.

Crowd Controls and Boss Stagger

Cold Imbuement is utilized to activate Mixed Cold Imbuement, Frigid Finesse, and Control for additional damage. These damage bonuses do not apply to Bosses unless they are Staggered.

Stun from Methodical Shadow Step, Chill from Cold Imbuement, and Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze/Daze/Immobilize/Slow tempers are utilized to quickly Stagger bosses. Repeated Crowd Controls of the same type in a short duration apply less Stagger to bosses, so separate sources of Crowd Controls are tempered for maximum effect. Make sure to optimize damage against Staggered bosses by activating Cold Imbuement.

Animation Cancel Technique

An Evade can be used immediately after using Barrage to cancel their casting animations. This technique is important to quickly dodge incoming attacks or advance forward. Boots with the implicit effect, Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown, 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.

Damage Rotation

Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.

1. Cast Puncture up to 3 times to build Combo Points.
2. Initiate combat with one of the following Skills:
   • Dash on top of enemies to apply Enhanced Dash, automatically drop a Smoke Grenade, and activate Tricks of the Trade.
   • Cast Shadow Step on an Elite to Stun them and activate Tricks of the Trade.
3. Activate one of the following Imbuement Skills:
   • Cast Shadow Imbuement against groups of enemies for increased damage and explosions.
   • Cast Cold Imbuement against Elites to Freeze them and deal additional damage.
4. Cast Barrage to deal damage. Stand next to elites or bosses to shotgun them with all arrows.
5. Immediately animation cancel Barrage.
6. Restart the rotation, refreshing Imbuement Skills when necessary.

Tempering and Masterworking

The Season 4 update (Patch 1.4.0) introduces a rework for itemization. Tempering and Masterworking brings the biggest change to itemization since the release of Diablo 4, so make sure you understand the new systems explained in this section.

The amount of affixes on items has been changed to reflect its rarity: Normal Items have no affixes, Magic Items have 1 affix, Rare Items have 2 affixes, Legendary Items have 3 affixes, and Unique Items have 4 affixes. Upgrading a Rare Item to a Legendary Item by imprinting a Legendary Aspect from the Codex of Power will not add a third affix. Therefore, Legendary Items are superior to lower rarity items for a min-maxed character.

Greater Affixes are a newly added mechanic that increases the value of an affix by 50%. Ancestral Legendary Items and Unique Items can now drop with up to 4 Greater Affixes! Search for items with your preferred Greater Affixes to upgrade with Tempering and Masterworking.

Tempering and Masterworking is an important system, even mandatory in the endgame, for character progression. You are able to add 2 additional affixes on any Rare Item or Legendary Item, exclusive to the Tempering System. An Ancestral Legendary Item can have up to 5 total affixes! Unfortunately, Unique Items cannot be tempered to add affixes.

Masterworking uses new crafting materials found in The Pit to further enhance the stats of an item. These upgrades can be applied on an Ancestral Legendary Item that has its Tempering Slots filled out. Unique Items can be upgraded with Masterworking right away, as tempering does not apply to them. Each item has 12 upgrade slots. On upgrade Ranks 4, 8, and 12, a random affix is increased in value by 25%. Every other upgrade Rank applies a 5% increase to all affixes on an item. Attempt to apply the bonus 25% upgrade to your preferred affix multiple times by resetting the Masterworking Ranks to repeat the process.

Obol Gambling

Obol gambling is a great way to potentially find item upgrades or items missing from your build. Use Obols on your target equipment for a chance to receive Greater Affixes. Check out the new tool from Icy Veins for gambling Obols in the link below.

Changelog

• May 22th, 2024:
  • Switched to Puncture as the default Basic Attack.
  • Skills changed to a double imbuement setup.
  • Optimized the Paragon setup with slight changes.
• May 15th, 2024: Priority Affixes updated with game changes made since the Season 4 PTR.
• May 14th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
• March 5th, 2024: Guide updated for the Mid Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.3).
• January 22nd, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
• November 15th, 2023: Paragon Board images added.
• October 17th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0).
• July 18th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 1.