Rogue Leveling Build for Last Epoch (Patch 1.2)

From the start, we will be forced to use  Flurry. Once you unlock  Puncture, you may want to use this for clearing and  Flurry for single-target damage. Either can be used with a melee or ranged weapon, so choose whichever playstyle you prefer or whichever has the best weapon drop for you. You can even specialize in either one initially; however, it will be dropped fairly quickly at Level 16.

At Level 16, you will unlock  Umbral Blades. You should specialize in this skill as soon as possible, dropping whatever skill you had in the first slot and start following the skill selections below. You won't yet have your mastery or other skills unlocked, so you can keep the other skill you chose to specialize in for the time being. Also, while you won't be specialized in it, it's recommended to at least have  Shift on your bar for extra maneuverability for now.

Below is the list for Passive Point allocation for the Rogue Passive Tree. We don't recommend spending more than the necessary 20 points here, as you'll want as many points in Falconer as you can get after this.

• (Rogue) 4 points in Swift Assassin: Gives us attack speed and flat physical damage to all attacks.
• (Rogue) 1 point in Guile: A bit of Dodge and Poison Resistance, but we mainly take this to unlock further nodes.
• (Rogue) 5 points in Evasion: We gain 20% damage reduction while moving with this node. This is by far one of the best defensive layers we have early.
• (Rogue) 5 points in Agility: Gives us a 25% chance on hit to gain Haste, boosting our movement speed, and provides 1% increased damage per 1% movement speed.
• (Rogue) 5 points in Dodge and Parry: Gives us 30 Dodge Rating and a 15% chance for a Glancing Blow. When we receive a hit with Glancing Blow, we take 35% less damage.

Note: If you notice you are constantly falling low on mana, taking a point or two in Sapping Strikes can be a short-term fix. You will not need this later due to the recovery from our skills later in the build.

Unlocking Falconer, which usually happens around Level 16, allows you to specialize in  Falconry. You should also specialize in  Smoke Bomb and start following the skill tree below. Any previous skills take away from our ability to use unscaled skills like  Decoy, which can save you from a pack of hard-hitting enemies or even a boss. Our other skills won't unlock until we get some points in the Falconer tree, so you'll have an extra specialization slot when your third unlocks that you could experiment with or keep your initial choice from Level 1. However, your optimal damage rotation will now be using  Umbral Blades whenever  Falconry is on cooldown.

With your first 4 points in  Falconry, you will max out Side by Side and put 1 point in Falconer's Journey to path there. This lets  Umbral Blades and other attacks reduce the cooldown on  Falconry, which is our big pack-clearing ability right now. It has a bit of a cooldown normally, so this node helps bring it back much quicker.

Reaching Level 20, you should have just enough points to place the following Passive Points into the Falconer Tree.

• (Falconer) 5 points into Raptor's Wings: We increase our chance to gain Haste on hit from the Agility node earlier. Additionaly, we also have a chance to gain Haste if our Falcon hits.

Skill rotation doesn't change much, although  Umbral Blades' behavior changes as you get deeper into its tree. As you add the recommended points, they will turn into spinning blades, you won't have to recall them anymore, they will start homing in on enemies, proccing  Shadow Daggers on enemies, and even exploding on them as well. The Falcon will get stronger as you progress as well, and you shouldn't have any real problems throughout this stage of the game. Once we get 30 points in the Falconer tree, we unlock our next ability,  Aerial Assault. If you have been using  Shift up to that point, as we suggested, you can now replace it on your bar with this ability now. It is both a movement and damage ability.

Gear you are looking for is anything with increases to Physical Damage and Throwing Damage for your offense. For defense, look for Resistances, Health, Dodge Rating, and Increased Dodge Rating. Also, Dexterity is our best attribute, as it increases damage by 4% on our abilities and adds 4 Dodge Rating per point. In the early levels, 1–30, the three Elemental and Physical Resistances are the most important ones. Focus on getting those as high as you can during this time. The higher they are, up to 75%, the more they will increase your survivability. It's not until later in the campaign that Necrotic, Void, and Poison damage become very dangerous.

Node allocation to Level 35 should be as follows. This assumes you have 12 points in the skill. If you happen to have more due to additional skill levels on gear, just look ahead on this page to see where the next points are spent!

• 1 points into Dawnfall: This node gives us a defensive layer with Dusk Shroud, but also boosts our damage with each Dusk Shroud we have with Edge of Obscurity.
• 1 point into Sword Thrower: This node is what starts to make  Umbral Blades hit very hard.
• 1 point into Lethal Darkness: Inflicts a stack of  Shadow Daggers on hit.
• 1 point into Cacophony of Steel: This causes our blades to spin in place, making the  Umbral Blades hit three times per second with  Bladestorm. However, the real damage comes from applying  Shadow Daggers.
• 4 points into Steel Torrent: This node increases the duration and size of the  Bladestorm from Cacophony of Steel.

• 1 points into Falconer's Journey: Your Falcon will do 1% more damage per level you are, and 1% per Dexterity.
• 3 points into Side by Side: When you hit an enemy with an attack, the skill reduces its cooldown.
• 4 points into Avian Stamina: The active portion of the ability, hits additional times.
• 2 points into Bird of Prey: Falcon strikes now instantly kill an enemy at 16% or less health.
• 2 points into The Blood Dance: When your Falcon kills an enemy, it will hit two more enemies.

Once you unlock this skill and get a few points in it, the speed of the build dramatically increases. This becomes our new movement skill, replacing  Shift on your bar, but it is also a great damage ability. It will trigger  Umbral Blades for you as well.  Aerial Assault will often be enough to clear smaller packs on its own, saving  Falconry for larger packs or tougher rares.

• 3 points into Avian Hunter: We decrease the cooldown and increase the damage.
• 1 point into Projectile Training: Featherstorm from the Falcon, gains 30% of our damage.
• 3 points into Twilight Strike: The Falcon will now throw six Umbral Blades. Note: Three Blades will instantly Detonate and the other three will linger.
• 1 point into Plumed Daggers: The previous node will now Shred Armor.
• 1 point into Skyward Swoop: You recover 10% of Aerial Assault's cooldown whenever your Falcon hits an enemy.
• 2 points into Refreshing Resolve: You gain 6% of your missing Mana when you use Aerial Assault.
• 1 point into Coordinated Assault: You reduce the cooldown based on current mana that you have, for both  Falconry and  Dive Bomb.

At minimum, upon reaching Level 35, you should have another 15 Passive Points to spend since the previous level tier. However, it's likely you have more due to quest rewards. Thus, the following list will assume you have access to 20 extra points. If you have less, it isn't a big deal. You can always go back and finish optional quests after the campaign is finished.

• (Falconer) 5 points into Handler: Increases Minion Damage and add +5% chance for our Falcon to Critically Strike.
• (Falconer) 2 points into Wilderness Scout: Additional Health and Dodge Rating.
• (Falconer) 4 points into Outlander's Tenacity: Further add to our Dodge Rating, and gaining a % of our Maximum HP as Endurance Threshold.
• (Falconer) 1 point into Crimson Skies: A value point, as we have a chance to gain Crimson Shroud. This gives us up to 15% less damage taken from DoTs.
• (Falconer) 3 points into Peltast: Both our Falcon and us gain Throwing Attack Speed.

 Dive Bomb is renowned as one of the hardest hitting skills in the game. In Season 2, while the skill has been slightly nerfed, it still retains this reputation. It will be your boss killer, pack flattening... It will just kill everything. Use it only as necessary, as the cooldown can be high until scaled further.

While  Dive Bomb will start out at a lower level than your other skills, we'll still list out the first 12 points to place into the skill.

• 4 points into Rushing Wings: Adds more damage and makes the dive animation faster.
• 4 points in Devastating Dive: Adds more damage and increases the Stun duration.
• 4 points in Rush of the Hunt: Increases the cooldown recovery of the skill.

By now the build should feel smooth as you glide from pack-to-pack with the Falcon wiping the health bars from the map. Lucky Nemesis drops can easily carry you through the story portion of the game, however for pieces that weren't dropped from a Nemesis you'll want to cover certain things that may not be covered naturally. These things include Movement Speed, all Resistances, and any increase to Physical Damage, Throwing Damage, or Critical Strike Multiplier that you can fit in. This is especially important around the time you go to fight Lagon, as this boss hits extremely hard. Prioritize Cold, Physical, and Lightning Resistance for this fight.

Upon reaching Majelka on your first character, you'll have the opportunity to to join a trade faction; either Merchant's Guild and Circle of Fortune, both providing a unique way to obtain loot and customizing your gameplay experience. Both have their pros and cons, and it's entirely up to the player to make the decision on which to choose.

Node allocation to Level 50 should be as follows. This assumes you have 16 points in the skill. If you happen to have more due to additional skill levels on gear, just look ahead on this page to see where the next points are spent!

• 1 points into Dawnfall: This node gives us a defensive layer with Dusk Shroud, but also boosts our damage with each Dusk Shroud we have with Edge of Obscurity.
• 1 point into Sword Thrower: This node is what starts to make  Umbral Blades hit very hard.
• 1 point into Lethal Darkness: Inflicts a stack of  Shadow Daggers on hit.
• 1 point into Cacophony of Steel: This causes our blades to spin in place, making the  Umbral Blades hit three times per second with  Bladestorm. However, the real damage comes from applying  Shadow Daggers.
• 4 points into Steel Torrent: This node increases the duration and size of the  Bladestorm from Cacophony of Steel.
• 1 point into Loathing: We take this node in order to have the  Bladestorm home in on enemies. It is slow, but effective.
• 5 points into Jagged Carvings: We add 20 base Physical Damage to  Umbral Blades.
• 1 point into Precision Cuts: We take this node for the ability to have  Umbral Blades go exactly where we want, when we self cast.
• 1 point into Explosive Blades: This causes the Blades to now explode when it touches and enemy.

• 1 points into Falconer's Journey: Your Falcon will do 1% more damage per level you are, and 1% per Dexterity.
• 3 points into Side by Side: When you hit an enemy with an attack, the skill reduces its cooldown.
• 4 points into Avian Stamina: The active portion of the ability, hits additional times.
• 2 points into Bird of Prey: Falcon strikes now instantly kill an enemy at 16% or less health.
• 2 points into The Blood Dance: When your Falcon kills an enemy, it will hit two more enemies.
• 1 point into Trained to Hunt: Your highest increased global damage now applies to the Falcon at 75% its value.
• 1 point into Go For the Eyes!: Your Critical Strike Chance will now be applied to the falcon at 75% its value.
• 1 point into Exposed Weakness: When you use a Throwing Attack and critically strike, your Falcon will gain your Critical Multiplier at 25% of its value. (This effect can stack twice per 2 seconds).
• 1 point into Feather Knives: Your Falcon will throw knives at enemies at random, automatically.

• 3 points into Avian Hunter: We decrease the Cooldown and increase the damage.
• 1 point into Projectile Training: Featherstorm from the Falcon, gains 30% of our damage.
• 3 points into Twilight Strike: The Falcon will now throw six Umbral Blades. Note: Three Blades will instantly Detonate and the other three will linger.
• 1 point into Plumed Daggers: The previous node will now Shred Armor.
• 1 point into Skyward Swoop: You recover 10% of Aerial Assault's cooldown whenever your Falcon hits an enemy.
• 2 points into Refreshing Resolve: You gain 6% of your missing Mana when you use Aerial Assault.
• 1 point into Coordinated Assault: You reduce the cooldown based on current mana that you have, for both  Falconry and  Dive Bomb.
• 1 point into Featherstorm: Featherstorm has and increased duration.
• 2 points into Domain of the Huntress: Featherstorm now slows, and you gain 2 Dodge Rating per point of Dexterity you have while inside the storm.
• 1 point into Shaded Wingspan: If there is a boss or rare, a Shadow Falcon will automatically attack them when you use Aerial Assualt. Note: This is a shadow, not the Falcon. Their skills work independtly of each other.

At minimum, upon reaching Level 50, you should have another 15 Passive Points to spend in since the previous level tier. However, it's likely you have more due to quest rewards. Thus, the following list will assume you have access to 20 extra points. If you have less, it isn't a big deal. You can always go back and finish optional quests after the campaign is finished.

• (Falconer) 5 points into Tactician: Our Falcon gets a large increase to both their Throwing and Melee base damage.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Fencing Grace: We gain Block Chance and Block Effectiveness. We also gain increase damage.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Avian Hurl: This gives us a large increase to our base throwing damage. Moreover, our Falcon now gains 50% of all of our base throwing damamge as both Melee and Throwing for it.
• (Falconer) 3 points into Evasion Tactics: We gain an increase to our Armor and Dodge rating.
• (Falconer) 2 points into Relentless Talons: Both the Falcon and us gain increased damage, we also heal when our Falcon hits and enemy, based on our Dexterity.

Although  Smoke Bomb can be scaled much sooner, we hold off until we can properly utilize it. It is also our generic "get-out-of-jail" card. We can use it to bolster our defenses, while we make a stand against a pack. Doing so, will enure maximum damage output from the Smoke Blades node. We also get to stay in the Smoke Bomb longer, thanks to the Cloud Gatherer on Dive Bomb.

While  Smoke Bomb will start out at a lower level than your other skills, we'll still list out the first 16 points to place into the skill.

• 5 points into Generosity: This increases the area of the smoke bomb, which gives us a bigger space for safety.
• 1 point into Enfeeblement: This node will inflict the enemies with Frailty.
• 2 points into Moonlight Bomb: We gain Silver Shroud in Smoke Bomb.
• 1 point into Cleansing Steam: We purge any negative ailments on us when we cast Smoke Bomb.
• 1 point into Shrouded in Darkness: We gain Dusk Shroud while we are in the Smoke Bomb.
• 4 points into Rapid Concealment: The previous node applies Dusk Shroud to us, twice as fast.
• 2 points into Lingering Fumes: Smoke Bomb and its effects last longer.

Entering the Monolith using this build will feel strong, and you may choose to stay in this build until you drop enough gear for you endgame setup. Good news is This build can easily bypass Level 70. In the event you're unsure about what to do for endgame, but you're enjoying this, feel free to flesh the build out further. If you do have an endgame build in mind, it's around this time that you'd want to set up a loot filter to start finding the gear you need on the different build.

This build was tested without twink gear, and was capable of entering and completing Empowered Echoes at level 76. This build is tried and true since 1.0. For your first character, you may not even be able to get through the normal Monolith at this level, simply because there's forced Monolith Islands you must complete.

Congratulations on getting this far. Below, you'll find the remainder of the skill point and node allocations that you will need through to Character Level 70 and Skill Level 20.

• (Rogue) 4 points in Swift Assassin: Gives us attack speed and flat physical damage to all attacks.
• (Rogue) 1 point in Guile: A bit of Dodge and Poison Resistance, but we mainly take this to unlock further nodes.
• (Rogue) 5 points in Evasion: We gain 20% damage reduction while moving with this node. This is by far one of the best defensive layers we have early.
• (Rogue) 5 points in Agility: Gives us a 25% chance on hit to gain Haste, boosting our movement speed, and provides 1% increased damage per 1% movement speed.
• (Rogue) 5 points in Dodge and Parry: Gives us 30 flat dodge rating and a 15% chance for a Glancing Blow. When we receive a hit with Glancing Blow, we take 35% less damage.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Raptor's Wings: We increase our chance to gain Haste on hit from the Agility node earlier. Additionaly, we also have a chance to gain haste if our Falcon hits.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Handler: Increases to our minion damage, and add +5% chance for our Falcon to Critically Strike.
• (Falconer) 2 points into Wilderness Scout: Adding Health and Dodge Rating.
• (Falconer) 4 points into Outlander's Tenacity: Further add to our Dodge Rating, and gaining a % of our Maximum HP as Endurance Threshold.
• (Falconer) 1 point into Crimson Skies: A value point, as we have a chance to gain Crimson Shroud. This gives us up to 15% less damage taken from DoTs.
• (Falconer) 3 points into Peltast: Both our Falcon and us gain throwing attack speed.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Tactician: Our Falcon gets a large increase to both their Throwing and melee base damage.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Fencing Grace: We gain Block Chance and Block Effectiveness. We also gain increase damage.
• (Falconer) 5 points into Avian Hurl: This gives us a large increase to our base throwing damage. Moreover, our Falcon now gains 50% of all of our base throwing damamge as both Melee and Throwing for it.
• (Falconer) 3 points into Evasion Tactics: We gain an increase to our Armor and Dodge rating.
• (Falconer) 3 points into Relentless Talons: Both the Falcon and us gain increased damage, we also heal when our Falcon hits and enemy, based on our Dexterity.
• (Falconer) 1 point into Intuitive Connection: All of the Falcon abilites are now instantly casted.
• (Falconer) 6 points into Needle Like Precision: The Falcon and us, gain increases to Critical Strike chance and Critical Strike Multiplier.
• (Falconer) 7 points into Finesse Them: This node will give our Falcon Critical Strike Multiplier based on our own Critical Strike Avoidance. This gives us a reason to go above 100%.
• (Falconer) 4 points into Stymphalian Feathers: We gain Armor based on our Dexterity. Additionally, whenever our Falcon hits an enemy, we gain 2% increased armor.
• (Bladedancer) 5 points into Pursuit: This will increase your melee and throwing damage. However, we mostly take this node for the 8% increased Movement Speed.

• 1 points into Dawnfall: This node gives us a defensive layer with Dusk Shroud, but also boosts our damage with each Dusk Shroud we have with Edge of Obscurity.
• 1 point into Sword Thrower: This node is what starts to make  Umbral Blades hit very hard.
• 1 point into Lethal Darkness: Inflicts a stack of  Shadow Daggers on hit.
• 1 point into Cacophony of Steel: This causes our blades to spin in place, making the  Umbral Blades hit three times per second with  Bladestorm. However, the real damage comes from applying  Shadow Daggers.
• 4 points into Steel Torrent: This node increases the duration and size of the  Bladestorm from Cacophony of Steel.
• 1 point into Loathing: We take this node in order to have the  Bladestorm home in on enemies. It is slow, but effective.
• 5 points into Jagged Carvings: We add 20 base Physical Damage to  Umbral Blades.
• 1 point into Precision Cuts: We take this node for the ability to have  Umbral Blades go exactly where we want, when we self cast.
• 1 point into Explosive Blades: This causes the Blades to now explode when it touches and enemy.
• 4 points into Burst of Agony: We add significant damage and area of the explosion, based on how long it has been on the ground for.

• 1 points into Falconer's Journey: Your Falcon will do 1% more damage per level you are, and 1% per Dexterity.
• 3 points into Side by Side: When you hit an enemy with an attack, the skill reduces its cooldown.
• 4 points into Avian Stamina: The active portion of the ability, hits additional times.
• 2 points into Bird of Prey: Falcon strikes now instantly kill an enemy at 16% or less health.
• 2 points into The Blood Dance: When your Falcon kills an enemy, it will hit two more enemies.
• 1 point into Trained to Hunt: Your highest increased global damage now applies to the Falcon at 75% its value.
• 1 point into Go For the Eyes!: Your Critical Strike Chance will now be applied to the falcon at 75% its value.
• 1 point into Exposed Weakness: When you use a Throwing Attack and critically strike, your Falcon will gain your Critical Multiplier at 25% of its value. (This effect can stack twice per 2 seconds).
• 1 point into Feather Knives: Your Falcon will throw knives at enemies at random, automatically.
• 3 points into Sky Chaser: Significantly increases the rate at which the Falcon will throw Feather Knives.
• 1 point into Rending Talons: Your Falcon will have % of your values of applying ailments. IE: Armor Shred.

• 3 points into Avian Hunter: We decrease the Cooldown and increase the damage.
• 1 point into Projectile Training: Featherstorm from the Falcon, gains 30% of our damage.
• 3 points into Twilight Strike: The Falcon will now throw 6 Umbral Blades. Note: 3 Blades will instantly Detonate and 3 will linger and 3 will linger.
• 1 point into Plumed Daggers: The previous node will now Shred Armor.
• 1 point into Skyward Swoop: You recover 10% of Aerial Assault's Cooldown whenever your Falcon hits an enemy.
• 2 points into Refreshing Resolve: You gain 6% of your missing mana, when you use Aerial Assault.
• 1 point into Coordinated Assault: You reduce the cooldown based on current mana that you have, for both  Falconry and  Dive Bomb.
• 1 point into Featherstorm: Featherstorm has and increased duration.
• 2 points into Domain of the Huntress: Featherstorm now slows, and you gain 2 Dodge Rating per point of Dexterity you have while inside the storm.
• 1 point into Shaded Wingspan: If there is a boss or rare, a Shadow Falcon will automatically attack them when you use Aerial Assualt. Note: This is a shadow, not the Falcon. Their skills work independtly of eachother.
• 1 point into Umbral Remnants: A shadow will be created if Wingburst or Featherstorm kills and enemy.
• 2 points into Ambush: Wingburst and Featherstorm do more damage to High Health Enemies.
• 1 point into Slayer of big Prey: The previous node will always apply to any rare of boss enemy, regardless of health.

• 4 points into Rushing Wings: Adds more damage and makes the dive animation faster.
• 4 points in Devastating Dive: Adds more damage and increases the Stun duration.
• 4 points in Rush of the Hunt: Increases the cooldown recovery of the skill.
• 4 points into Focused Hunter: Adds more damage and reduces the Mana cost.
• 3 points in United Assault: Reduces the cooldown when you use a throwing attack that hits an enemy.
• 1 point into Cloud Gatherer: This node increases the duration of our defensively scaled  Smoke Bomb.

• 5 points into Generosity: This increases the area of the smoke bomb, which gives us a bigger space for safety.
• 1 point into Enfeeblement: This node will inflict the enemies with Frailty.
• 2 points into Moonlight Bomb: We gain Silver Shroud in Smoke Bomb.
• 1 point into Cleansing Steam: We purge any negative ailments on us when we cast Smoke Bomb.
• 1 point into Shrouded in Darkness: We gain Dusk Shroud while we are in the Smoke Bomb.
• 4 points into Rapid Concealment: The previous node applies Dusk Shroud to us, twice as fast.
• 2 points into Lingering Fumes: Smoke Bomb and its effects last longer.
• 4 points into Smoke Blades: We gain increased base damage per second, while in the smoke bomb. The effects last 4 seconds, so 4 stacks can be applied.