With Diablo 4's PTR update 2.4.0 now live until August 26, some of the pieces from the Season 10 picture are coming together and revealing what players can expect from the new season. Although things are still subject to change before Diablo 4 Season 10 officially goes live on September 23, the balance update on the PTR suggests that there may be a meta shake-up on the way. However, the fate of one of Diablo 4 Season 9's worst classes is still unclear, and it could be in line for another disappointing season.

In Diablo 4 Season 9, the Rogue struggled to compete with classes like Spiritborn, Sorcerer, and Necromancer, given its lack of useful new Uniques and the overall nerf to Overpower Damage that many Rogue builds rely on. Other class builds like Companion Druid and Hydra Sorcerer likely won't be as strong in Season 10 due to nerfs to Grizzly Rage and the Serpentine Aspect, respectively, leaving the door open for the Rogue to find new success. However, it remains to be seen if the Rogue's new Orphan Maker Unique and skill buffs will be enough to lift the class up in the Season 10 meta.

Diablo 4's Rogue Class is in Limbo Ahead of Season 10

Ash_Knight rogue cosmetic diablo 4

Diablo 4 Season 10 is Giving the Rogue Some Necessary Buffs

The recent Diablo 4 PTR update included some much-needed improvements to a few of the Rogue's best skills. It's clear that Diablo 4 Season 10 Rogue builds will lean into the class's ranged capabilities, with buffs to skills like:

  • Barrage: Damage of each arrow increased from 22% to 25%
  • Penetrating Shot: Damage increased from 95% to 110%
  • Rapid Fire: Damage increased from 40% to 45%
Penetrating Shot in Diablo 4 Season 5
Diablo 4 Penetrating Shot description season 5

Penetrating Shot Rogue was one of the class's best build options in Season 9, despite being underpowered overall, so it's nice that it will continue to improve in Season 10. While the buffs to other skills like Rapid Fire and Barrage may seem marginal at best, both of these skills fire five arrows in rapid succession, so the overall damage dealt should be a more significant increase than what's on paper. Even with these buffs, the PTR hasn't provided enough practical evidence to suggest that Rogues will be better in Season 10, and a major factor that could cement the class's status will be its new Unique that comes with a brand-new gameplay mechanic.

The Rogue's New Orphan Maker Unique Leaves Something to Be Desired

diablo 4 dungeon loot salvager feature

Out of all the new Uniques being added in Diablo 4 Season 10, the Rogue's Orphan Maker is the most intriguing as it introduces the new Reload mechanic. Skills with this new keyword have a slight delay between when they can be cast, but deal 50% of the player's Attack Speed Bonus as damage. The Orphan Maker is the first Unique to utilize this keyword with the following affixes:

  • Affixes:
    • Inherent: +130% Vulnerable damage
    • +4-6 Ranks to Marksman Skills
    • +2-4 Ranks to Exploit
    • +32-45% Chance for Marksman Skills to Cast Twice
    • +125-170% Vulnerable damage

  • Unique Power:
    • Basic and Core skills that use this weapon now Reload. Reload Skills gain 250-300% increased damage and every 2nd Reload Skill gains twice this bonus.

A Rogue in Diablo 4

The Basic and Core skills that benefit from this Unique Power include:

  • Heart Seeker
  • Forceful Arrow
  • Barrage
  • Rapid Fire
  • Penetrating Shot

With several of the skills that gain the Reload ability with the Orphan Maker getting buffs in Diablo 4 Season 10, the stars could be aligning for a powerful new Rogue build type when the season officially drops. However, the major hang-up some PTR players are reporting with the Orphan Maker is the slow speed that Reload adds to these skills. Although a 250-300% increase in damage on top of the buffs to skills like Barrage and Penetrating Shot makes individual uses of the skills farm more deadly, the inability to cast them in rapid succession could diminish some of the Orphan Maker's utility later into Diablo 4's endgame. Hopefully, Reload gets some tweaks following PTR feedback so that the Rogue can have a comeback in Season 10 with a new tool in its belt.

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9 /10

Diablo 4
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Action RPG
Hack and Slash
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
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Released
June 5, 2023
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
Developer(s)
Blizzard
Publisher(s)
Blizzard
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DIGITAL
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Engine
Proprietary Engine
Genre(s)
Action RPG, Hack and Slash