How the engine works
Poison Imbuement turns Penetrating Shot into a poison applier, so the arrow's job is to put a heavy damage-over-time effect on everything it passes through. The Shadow Shot upgrade adds two Shades that fire when you do, and the Imitated Imbuement aspect makes those Shades and your Shadow Clones copy your Imbuement, so you become a mobile turret with several guns. Shadow Clone makes every enemy nearby Vulnerable and Weakened. With the Eaglehorn bow the arrow bounces off walls and comes back like a boomerang, so one shot can hit twice. The Splinter of Hellfire removes your critical strikes altogether in exchange for a 50% damage multiplier, which is why this build stacks Damage over Time, Vulnerable and Poison damage and ignores crit.
Who it's for
Anyone who wants one Rogue for everything. It clears, pushes and kills bosses without special gear, and its boss damage does not depend on crowd control.
- Rating
- S to A-Tier
- Difficulty
- Moderate — positioning matters
- Key stat
- Damage over Time
- Must have
- Nothing — Eaglehorn is the first item to chase
The bar
This is the Poison bar, the most complete way to run the build. Dark Shroud is fully ranked but sits off the bar, because the Mot rune casts it for you.
Rank 15 with Damage Increase, Ferocity and the Shadow Shot variant, which adds two Shades that fire with you. Fire it as much as you can.
Hold — constantlyRank 15 with Toxic Touch, Duration and Cooldown. It must always be active in combat. Hitting enemies while it is up shortens its cooldown.
Keep it upOne point, with Cooldown, Weaken & Vulnerable and the Sentry variant: a stationary shadow that fires three piercing arrows a second, with extra charges. Every cast also resets Concealment.
Press — on cooldownRank 13 with Recuperate. Stealth, Unstoppable, speed and a knockdown when you break it. It also switches on Tibault's Will.
Press — on cooldownRank 5 with the extra charge and the Primer variant, which gives Stealth for 4 seconds and Ferocity at the end of the Dash.
MovementOne point with Cooldown, Unstoppable and Artifice. It needs no target and leaves a decoy that taunts, then explodes for Shadow damage.
MovementRank 15 but not on the bar. The Mot rune generates its shadows. Take the Overflow variant for Energy regeneration, or Shadow Dancer for more defence once Energy is no problem.
Automatic — Mot runePassives
The Rogue tree has no passive nodes and no Key Passive. All 83 points go into active skills and their upgrades: Penetrating Shot 15, Poison Imbuement 15, Dark Shroud 15, Concealment 13, Dash 5, Shadow Clone 1 and Shadow Step 1. There is a second way to spend them: Shadow Clone to 15 and Concealment down to 2, with Dash at one point. The Sightless charms give Concealment all its upgrades free, which is why two points can be enough.
Specialization
Take Preparation. Every 75 Energy you spend cuts 5 seconds off Shadow Clone's cooldown, and using an Ultimate gives you 15% Damage Reduction for 10 seconds. Penetrating Shot burns Energy quickly, so Shadow Clone comes back fast enough to keep everything Vulnerable almost all the time.
| Pick | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Preparation | Spend 75 Energy to cut your Ultimate's cooldown by 5 seconds. Ultimates grant 15% Damage Reduction for 10 seconds. The default from your first day at 70. |
| Inner Sight | The fallback if you keep running out of Energy. The two-piece Spellbound Steel charm bonus also triggers it for you. |
| Combo Points | The Cold version's pick, for its damage and up to 30% Lucky Hit chance on Penetrating Shot. With five Nilfur's Narrow Eye charms, every Penetrating Shot fires Heartseeker three times, so the points build themselves. |
What to wear
The build works in plain legendaries, and then jumps in power with Eaglehorn. Everything after that is a bonus. Only one Mythic crafted in the Horadric Cube can be worn at a time.
Uniques
| Item | What it does | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Eaglehorn | Bow. Penetrating Shot bounces off walls, returns to you even with no wall, and deals far more damage (195% on the finished build), plus ranks to Penetrating Shot. Your power goes through the roof when it drops. | Core |
| Etna's Lost Dagger | Dagger. After you deal two different Non-Physical damage types, Imbuement Potency and Non-Physical damage rise by up to 78% for 8 seconds. Poison is one type; the second comes from an elemental temper, an elemental charm, Artifice's Shadow explosion or the Kry rune. | Core |
| Tibault's Will | Pants. 26% more damage and 25 Resource regeneration (your Energy) while Unstoppable and for 5 seconds after. Concealment triggers it, and it solves your Energy problems. | Core |
| Enigma | Chest runeword. Maximum Life, +2 to all skills, Damage Reduction and Movement Speed. Your Evade becomes the Sorcerer's Teleport and costs 33 Resource (your Energy). | Recommended Crafted |
| Leoric's Crown | Helm. It counts as jewellery and boosts the gem inside it by 65%, so it holds two more Soul Splinters. See the helm choice below. | Recommended |
| Stone of Jordan | Ring. All your resistances equal your highest one, and you deal more damage of that element. The defensive option: it makes a fragile build tanky. | Optional |
| Fists of Fate | Gloves. Attacks deal between 1% and 390% of normal damage. Only worth wearing as a Mythic. Otherwise keep the Aspect of Malice on your gloves. | Optional |
| Azurewrath | One-handed sword, Cold version only. Extra damage (120–150%) to the enemy frozen by Cold Imbuement. It can be worn as a Unique Charm instead. | Variant |
Before they drop
At a fresh 70, wear all legendaries: Imitated Imbuement on the bow, Ferocious and Alchemical Advantage on the daggers, Writhing gloves, Corruption amulet, Sapping and Malice rings, Cheat's helm, Heavenly Strength chest, Debilitating Toxins pants and Undying boots. Use the Ballista variant, put Dark Shroud on the bar in place of Concealment, and press Shadow Clone when you need to be Unstoppable. There are two ways to fill the helm later. Leoric's Crown gives you two extra Splinters and is the better early pick; the finished setup can drop it for a legendary helm with ranks to Poison Imbuement once Enigma and your charms carry the load. Take the Crown if you have it, and keep it for pushing. Harlequin Crest, with +6 ranks to all skills, is a fair stand-in.
Legendary aspects
| Aspect | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| Imitated Imbuement | Dagger (bow before Eaglehorn, or a ring). Shadow Clones and Shades copy your Imbuements, and casting one gives up to 60% more Non-Physical damage for 9 seconds. The most important aspect in the build. |
| Corruption | Ring or gloves. Imbuement effects have 60% more potency. That is your poison, directly. |
| Neurotoxic | Ring. 60% more Non-Physical damage to Hindered or Weakened enemies. Shadow Clone Weakens everything, so it is always on. |
| Crushing | Amulet. More damage while Fortified. Concealment's Recuperate and Mending Obscurity keep you Fortified. |
| Earthstriker's | Second amulet aspect, added in the Cube. An Overpower stack on weapon swap and more damage while you hold one. Alternating Dash, Shadow Step and Penetrating Shot swaps weapons constantly. |
| Malice | Gloves, unless you own a Mythic Fists of Fate. More damage to Vulnerable enemies, which Shadow Clone provides. |
| Debilitating Toxins | Helm, chest or pants. 20–30% Damage Reduction, and Poisoned enemies deal 15% less damage. Everything you hit is Poisoned. |
| Mending Obscurity | Boots. Heals you in Stealth and Fortifies you when you break it. Essential if you wear Blood-Mad Idol, which drains your Life. |
Etna's Lost Dagger needs a second damage type
The dagger does nothing until you deal two different Non-Physical damage types. Poison is the first. Make sure you have a second: an elemental temper, an elemental charm, Shadow Step's Artifice explosion or the Kry rune. Without one you are carrying a dead weapon.
Stats, gems and paragon
Roll and masterwork toward these, in this order.
| # | Stat | Where you roll it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damage over Time | Tempered on all three weapons and gloves; masterwork it on weapons and one ring |
| 2 | Vulnerable Damage | Gloves, rings and amulet; the masterwork target on all three |
| 3 | Poison Damage | Armour and daggers; the best affix to add by transfiguring |
| 4 | Dexterity | Eaglehorn first, then everywhere it rolls |
| 5 | Skill ranks | Penetrating Shot, Poison Imbuement, Imbuements, Core and All Skills; Poison Imbuement ranks on the helm |
| 6 | Attack Speed | Rings, and Leoric's Crown if you wear it |
| 7 | Maximum Life, Armour, All Resistance | Helm, chest and pants; Life is also the armour temper |
Hard targets
There is no hard breakpoint for the Poison version — follow the order above, and spend nothing on Critical Strike because the Splinter of Hellfire sets your crit chance to zero. The Cold version does have targets: 70% Critical Strike Chance on your sheet in town (the Gar rune, Dark Shroud and Concealment supply the last 30%), 50% Attack Speed from gear (ten stacks of Ferocity give the other 50%), and enough Cooldown Reduction to cast Heartseeker every 4 seconds.
Tempering & masterworking
Temper Damage over Time on the bow, both daggers and the gloves, Maximum Life on helm, chest and pants, and Movement Speed on boots. On jewellery take Lucky Hit: chance to restore Resource (your Energy), or Cooldown Reduction if Energy is fine, with Imbuement Potency on the amulet. Masterwork one affix per item: Poison Imbuement ranks on the helm, Damage over Time on weapons and one ring, Vulnerable Damage on gloves, ring and amulet, and the Movement Speed temper on boots. When you transfigure, Poison Damage is the best affix you can get; take All Skills on jewellery.
Gems, runewords & Splinters
- Emeralds in every socket. Poison damage multiplier in weapons, Dexterity in armour, Poison Resistance in jewellery. The Cold version uses Sapphires in weapons, Emeralds in armour and Diamonds in jewellery.
- Soul Splinters: Hellfire, Pain, Black Soulstone. Hellfire is 50% more damage for losing all crit, and it defines the build. Pain is 25% Damage Reduction for 30% less Movement Speed. Black Soulstone adds 2.5% damage per soul absorbed, and 1% damage taken. At a fresh 70 use Hellfire, Mother and Lies.
- Cir + Mot in the pants. Mot generates Dark Shroud shadows, which frees a bar slot for Concealment.
- Neo + Lac as the second runeword. Damage reduction from Challenging Shout. At a fresh 70 use Cir + Kry and Moni + Qua instead.
- Talisman: five Legacy of the Sightless charms on a seal with an extra charm slot. Entering Stealth cuts Ultimate cooldowns by 6 seconds, an Ultimate resets Concealment and gives it every upgrade free, and at five pieces Shadow Clone is permanent and breaking Stealth adds 250% damage. Before that, five Spellbound Steel charms give free Imbuement upgrades and 200% potency.
- Sixth charm: Rustbitten Dirk for 120% more damage to isolated enemies, best on bosses and tough elites. Swap to Cowl of the Nameless for more area damage.
Paragon
Five boards in this order, each with its glyph: Start with Versatility, Cheap Shot with Efficacy, Eldritch Bounty with Tracker, Exploit Weakness with Canny, and Danse Macabre with Bane. Tracker boosts damage to Poisoned targets, Canny and Efficacy boost Non-Physical damage and Bane boosts Poison. Rank the glyphs up in the Pit; the finished build has all five at 150. Headhunter can replace Efficacy in Cheap Shot if you prefer.
| Glyph | Where and why |
|---|---|
| Versatility | Start board. Boosts the Magic nodes around it. |
| Efficacy | Cheap Shot. Non-Physical damage. |
| Tracker | Eldritch Bounty. Damage to Poisoned targets, which is everything you hit. |
| Canny | Exploit Weakness. Non-Physical damage. |
| Bane | Danse Macabre. Poison damage. |
Mercenary
Hire Subo with Molotov, Snipe, Scorched Earth and Incendiary Bolt. Scorched Earth makes enemies take 30% more Damage over Time from you for 3 seconds. Set Varyana as reinforcement with Bloodthirst, triggered by Penetrating Shot, for Attack Speed. If you keep dying, hire Raheir instead for the defensive support. The Cold version pairs Subo with Raheir and sets Bastion to trigger on Dark Shroud.
From fresh 70 to finished
The build is playable the moment you hit 70. This is the order the pieces arrive in.
Get Imitated Imbuement first, then any generic damage aspects. Run Ballista, Dark Shroud with Overflow in Concealment's slot, and five Spellbound Steel charms. The set's Shadow Imbuement makes enemies Vulnerable for you. Splinters are Hellfire, Mother and Lies.
Put Resource aspects such as Umbral or Sapping on one or two rings, temper Lucky Hit: restore Resource on jewellery, swap to Inner Sight, and find a Mot rune.
This is where the build comes online. Shots bounce and return, and you can start angling them to hit twice. Move Imitated Imbuement to a dagger.
Concealment replaces Dark Shroud on the bar, Cir + Mot goes in the pants, and the Sightless charms with Rustbitten Dirk replace Spellbound Steel. Without the Steel set, put Accursed Touch on your boots for Vulnerable.
Enigma on the chest, Neo + Lac, Splinters of Hellfire, Pain and Black Soulstone, and all five glyphs to 150. For Mythic versions, upgrade in this order: Eaglehorn, Etna's Lost Dagger, Leoric's Crown, Fists of Fate, Tibault's Will.
Dark Shroud and Smoke Grenade replace Dash and Shadow Step, Ballista replaces Shadow Shot, and Leoric's Crown, Blood-Mad Idol and the Exploiter's aspect come in, with a Hellfire Torch as the unique charm.
The rotation
Dash and Shadow Step between packs. Alternating them with Penetrating Shot also swaps weapons, which feeds Earthstriker's.
Stealth, Unstoppable, speed and a knockdown. Casting it switches on Tibault's Will; breaking it adds the Sightless damage bonus.
Cast it on cooldown. Everything nearby becomes Weakened and Vulnerable, and Concealment resets.
Keep it active the whole fight. Hits while it is up shorten its cooldown, so keep shooting.
Line the pack up first. With Eaglehorn, angle the shot so the arrow hits on the way out and again on the way back.
Bar: Heartseeker, Penetrating Shot, Shadow Step, Concealment, Dark Shroud, Cold Imbuement, with Combo Points. Press Dark Shroud, hold Concealment and tap Shadow Step to travel, cast Heartseeker with Confluence every 4 seconds to pull the pack in, keep Cold Imbuement up, then fire Ballista shots through the frozen clump. It stacks crit instead of poison and wants the Synergy aspect on the amulet, Frozen Memories, Shivering and Vanquishing, Ring of Starless Skies and Azurewrath, with Cir + Vex and Neo + Gar. Choose it if you like grouped, frozen packs and the fastest map movement. Choose Poison for bosses, because its damage has no conditions.
On bosses
Swap Shadow Shot for Ballista: a slower, much bigger arrow with more single-target damage. Open with Poison Imbuement, then Shadow Clone, then shoot, reposition and carry on. Stand so the arrow has a wall behind the boss and Eaglehorn gives you extra bounces. Keep Rustbitten Dirk in the charm slot. The Cold version loses a lot of damage against Unstoppable enemies and needs the boss Staggered for its full damage, so Poison is the better boss killer.
Strengths, weaknesses, mistakes
What it's good at
- High damage at long range, with good mobility from two movement skills.
- Easy to gear. It does all content in legendaries, and one bow transforms it.
- Boss damage is unconditional. No crowd control or freeze is needed.
- Dark Shroud and much of the upkeep run themselves once the Mot rune and Sightless charms are in.
Where it struggles
- Average survivability until Stone of Jordan, Enigma or Pain are in place.
- Positioning matters, and Eaglehorn's bounces can be hard to control.
- Hungry for Energy before Tibault's Will.
- The damage is damage over time, so enemies melt after a moment, not on impact.
Mistakes that ruin it
- Shooting the nearest target. The arrow travels in a line. Line enemies up and use walls, or most of the shot is wasted.
- Letting Poison Imbuement drop. Without it the arrow applies no poison, and poison is the damage.
- Wearing non-Mythic Fists of Fate. The plain version is worse than the Aspect of Malice on legendary gloves.
- Using Etna's Lost Dagger with only Poison. It needs a second Non-Physical damage type before it does anything.
- Wearing Blood-Mad Idol and staying out of Stealth. The amulet drains your Life. Mending Obscurity heals you only while you are Stealthed.
- Rolling Critical Strike stats. The Splinter of Hellfire removes all your crit chance on the Poison version, so those affixes do nothing.
Not for you? The other Rogue builds: Dance of Knives · Death Trap.