Diablo IV: How to Master the Rogue's "Blade Dance" Build for Speedruns

Dec 11,2024

With the latest update of Diablo IV: "Torment of Hatred," each class has received exciting new skills. Among them, the Rogue's "Blade Dance" offers a gameplay experience reminiscent of the previous three installments, while also showcasing impressive strength. Currently, the Blade Dance build ranks as the top choice for speedrunning. In this guide, we'll explore how to effectively wield this new skill, along with the best gear and talents to pair with it.

Essential Gameplay Mechanics


To excel with this build, positioning is key. The first requirement for optimizing your performance is achieving a movement speed bonus of 190%. This allows you to maintain uninterrupted Blade Dance stacks while engaging enemies. The core concept is to keep moving around enemy groups in a circular pattern without pausing. As you progress, you'll acquire the "Essence of Celestial Fragments" legendary power, which enables you to spend combo points to cast Blade Dance, making it harder to interrupt your attacks.

Skill Allocation Strategy


Your skill point distribution should focus on the following:



  • Basic Skills: Blade Shift (1) - Enhance Blade Shift

  • Core Skills: Staggering Steps (3), Sturdy (3)

  • Agility Skills: Blade Dance (5) - Enhance Blade Dance, Unstable Elixir (3), Deceptive Strike (3), Weapon Specialization (3), Sturdy Physique (3)

  • Deception Skills: Stealth (1) - Enhance Stealth, Overturn Stealth, Dark Veil (5) - Enhance Dark Veil, Exploitative Means (3), Malicious Intent (3)

  • Infusion Skills: Poison Infusion (1) - Enhance Poison Infusion, Mixed Toxins (3), Alchemical Advantage (3), Deadly Toxin (1), Debilitating Toxin (3), Frost Techniques (3)

  • Ultimate Skills: Shadow Clone (5) - Strong Shadow Clone, Rejuvenate (1), Swift Moves (3), Support Charge (3)

Key Passive Skills and Specialization


For passives, choose "Ready to Strike" to enhance your ultimate's coverage and damage reduction. Shadow Clone provides damage and movement speed, essential for boosting the overall effectiveness of your build. The higher the coverage, the better your results.

Recommended Glyphs and Pinnacle Nodes


Following the recent changes to the pinnacle system, selecting your legendary nodes and glyphs has become more intuitive. Focus on these glyphs: Adaptability, Agile Hunter, Deceptive Control. For pinnacle nodes, prioritize damage enhancement with selections like "Dance of the Dead, Expose Weakness, Dark Scheme, No Survivors." These choices significantly boost your damage output against elites and enhance your overall performance.

Gear and Affix Priorities


Your weapon choice is crucial. For two-handed weapons, prioritize those that double Blade Dance damage and enhance agility. For one-handed, select "Acheron's Curved Dagger." Gloves like "Fist of Fate" are ideal for their inherent stats and the random crowd control effects that enhance both damage and survivability. Additionally, necklaces should provide passive damage boosts such as Malicious Intent or Weapon Specialization.

Stat Prioritization


When stacking attributes, focus on resistance (aim for 70% at the current difficulty), attack speed, Blade Dance skill level, Dark Veil level, agility, max health, and strength. The following items are recommended for optimal performance:



  • Amulet: Essence of Vitality

  • Rings: Essence of Secret Deals

  • Helmet: Veil Essence

  • Pants: Frostbite Essence

  • Shoes: Toxic Frost Essence

Jewelry and Socket Recommendations


For your gems, use green gems to boost agility or select other preferred runes. Jewelry should include skulls or diamonds to enhance armor and resistances. For weapons, opt for the rune set "Beckon of Yom" to enhance your mobility, as constant movement improves your triggering rates.

Mercenary Compositions


For mercenary support, primarily utilize Varyana, while selecting Rahiel for backup. Skills can be allocated as follows to maximize effectiveness.

New Strategies for Advanced Players


As players dive deeper into the game, exploring hybrid builds that combine Blade Dance with other class skills can create unique playstyles. For example, integrating aspects of the Sorceress for additional elemental damage can catch enemies off guard and enhance your overall versatility.

Emphasizing Team Play


In cooperative gameplay, communicating with teammates about your positioning and skill usage can lead to devastating combos. Using Blade Dance to draw aggro while teammates unleash their powerful attacks can turn the tide of battles.

Future Updates and Meta Shifts


As the game evolves, staying updated on patch notes and community discussions will be crucial. Meta shifts can significantly influence the viability of builds, so adaptability will be key to maintaining your edge in Diablo IV.