Diablo 4: The Rogue class returns with an adaptable playstyle
Two years after announcing Diablo 4 at BlizzCon 2019, we unfortunately still don’t have a release date for the next installment in the action-RPG series. But, we did get to meet the new class that will be available in the game: the Rogue.
The Rogue is Diablo 4’s first dexterity class, similar to the Demon Hunter from Diablo 3 and the Assassin in Diablo 2. While the Barbarian relies on brute strength and the Sorceress on Arcane powers, the Rogue uses finesse and speed to defeat her enemies.
The Rogue is a hybrid class that can wield swords and daggers for melee, and bows and crossbows for range. In combat, the Rogue can seamlessly swap between the two ranges and not only does it look cool — it’s incredibly effective.
The Rogue in Diablo 4 is very much inspired by the class we were introduced to in the first Diablo game. Players can adapt their playstyle through weapon selection, a Weapon Imbue system unique to the class, and specializations.
The Weapon Imbue system allows you to augment your weapon through magic and enhancements, harkening back to the Mercenary system in Diablo 2. In the deep dive, Executive Producer Rod Fergusson and Game Director Luis Barriga specifically highlighted Frost Imbue, Poison Imbue and Shadow Imbue. Any of the Rogue’s abilities can be imbued with these special elements and the result is some pretty deadly combinations.
The Weapon Imbue system is in addition to the Rogue’s three specializations: Combo Points, Shadow Realm and Exploit Weakness. These specializations are unlocked by completing special quests throughout the open world and while you can complete all the quests to unlock them all, you can only have one active at a time.
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Shadow Realm makes the battle smaller by drawing the Rogue and three enemies into an alternate realm. For those few seconds, the Rogue only has to deal with those few enemies — hopefully killing them — before transporting back and having less enemies to deal with.
Exploit Weakness targets specific enemies and lets you do a lot more damage to them. At certain points during an enemy’s attack, an icon will flash over their head. If the player is quick enough, they can retaliate and deal much more damage.
Combo Points creates sort of a rhythm game from combat. It lets you build multiple combo points which enhance your spender’s effectiveness in combat. The result can be some big moments in combat.
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The Rogue definitely feels like a class with a high skill cap and high ceiling. With her addition, there are now four confirmed classes in Diablo 4: Rogue, Barbarian, Sorceress and Druid. But as Rod Fergusson hinted, there’s always room at the campfire, suggesting at least one or two more classes will be revealed before Diablo 4’s release.