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In addition to having access to different types of weapons, the Rogue in Diablo 4 can also change up their combat style on the fly. Rogues have access to three different Specialization options, which is the class’ unique mechanic when compared to the other four. Players also have the ability to imbue their skills, which can completely change up combat for a Rogue and turn weaknesses into strengths. If you want to learn all about what Specializations the Rogue can equip and the different types of Imbues in Diablo 4, check out the guide below.
Diablo 4 Rogue unique Specializations
You first get access to the Rogue’s Specialization system when you reach level 15 in Diablo 4. At level 15, you will be able to go on a quest called “True Potential,” which will allow you to use the first Specialization.
Following level 15, you will unlock your next Specialization at level 20, and the third one at level 30. Each Specialization requires you to complete a new quest to unlock. Furthermore, future quests for the Rogue will rely on a specific Specialization to complete.
Below, you can see what those three Specializations are and how they work in more detail.
Combo Points – This is the first Specialization you will unlock after completing the True Potential quest. Combo Points adds a new attack meter that fills up as you cast basic attacks. Every basic attack performed will now add Combo Points, up to a maximum of three times. You can see how many Combo Points you have currently active by looking above your skill bar (the yellow icons). With these Combo Points, Core Skills can consume the points and in turn, will have an added effect that gives them additional power.
Inner Sight – The second Specialization you unlock, Inner Sight allows you to attack certain marked enemies. When you attack these enemies, you fill up your Inner Sight gauge, similar to how you fill up your Mana gauge. When the Inner Sight gauge is full, you can unleash it to gain unlimited energy for four seconds.
Preparation – This Specialization was not usable in the Diablo 4 beta, so we aren’t sure it does just yet. Some fans have speculated that it will have something to do with skill cooldowns, similar to World of Warcraft, but nothing is official at the time of writing.
Players can only have one Specialization active at a time in Diablo 4. However, if they’re fast enough with their UI navigation, players can swap between different Specializations throughout combat. For the most part, though, there will be one Specialization that suits a certain build.
The Rogue Imbue system
The last unique element of the Rogue class in Diablo 4 is the Imbue system. Rogues have an entire skill tree branch dedicated to this system. There are three different Imbue types: Frost, Shadow, and Poison.
When players select one of these three Imbuement skills, they will add that type of damage to whatever skill they use next (provided that skill can be imbued). So, for example, if you are using the Rain of Arrows skill and you want to make it so those arrows are poisonous, you would use the Poison Imbuement skill and then select the Rain of Arrows skill. Now, your Rain of Arrows will unleash poison damage to any enemy they touch. With poison specifically, this will also apply damage-over-time (DoT) to enemies, making them easier to eliminate. You can see if a skill can be imbued by looking at the skill tree menu in Diablo 4.
Normally, you would only want one of the Imbuement skills active on your skill bar at a time, as the other five slots are better suited for attacks and defensive maneuvers. However, if you figure out a fight calls for certain elemental damage to weaken an enemy, then you can easily switch out one Imbuement skill for the other.
Rogue Imbuement Skills
Frost Imbuement – Imbue your weapons with frigid energies. Your next 2 Imbueable Skills deal Cold damage and chill enemies for 25% per hit.Shadow Imbuement – Imbue your weapons with festering shadows. Your next 2 Imbueable skills deal shadow damage and infect enemies for six seconds. Infected enemies explode on death, dealing 40% damage to all surrounding enemies.Poison Imbuement – Imbues your weapons with lethal poison. Your next 2 Imbueable skills deal poison damage and apply poisoning over five seconds.
Out of these three Imbuement skills, you should choose the one that will work best for your build, obviously. However, you might want to look at our Rogue skills guide before determining which Imbuement skill to use, as there are only a handful of other skills that can be imbued. If you have a build full of skills that can’t be imbued, then the Imbuement skill is almost worthless in Diablo 4.
If you’re curious about what other skills to build out your Rogue with, we did a comprehensive guide on what six skills we picked in the Diablo 4 beta.
