Specialization is a mechanic unique to Rogues in Diablo IV, which helps further customize their playstyle.
At level 15, you will get a quest called ‘Rogue: True Potential’. Completing this will unlock the Specialization feature. Specialization allows the Rogue to pick one of three passive bonuses that will greatly affect your playstyle. At first they will only have access to Combo Points, but at level 20 they will unlock Inner Sight, and at level 30 they will unlock Preparation. Once unlocked, the Specialization can be changed at any time.
Combo Points
Your Basic Skills now Generate Combo Points. Core skills consume Combo Points for additional effects.
Combo Points allow the Rogue to make any of their Core Skills much more powerful, and give Basic Skills more purpose. Taking advantage of this mechanic will result in consistent powerful attacks.
Here are the Combo Point effects for each Skill:
| Skill | Combo Point Effect |
|---|---|
| Barrage | Combo Points increase damage and arrows fired: 25%/29%/33% damage, 6/7/8 arrows. |
| Rapid Fire | Combo Points increase damage and arrows fired: 26%/29%/34% damage, 6/7/8 arrows. |
| Penetrating Shot | Combo Points increase damage and improve Lucky Hit Chance: 91%/112%/133% damage, 10%/20%/30% chance. |
| Flurry | Combo Points increase damage and grant an Attack Speed bonus: 75%/90%/105% damage, 15%/30%/45% bonus. |
| Twisting Blades | Combo Points increase damage and grant a Movement Speed bonus: 58%/72%/86% damage, 20%/40%/60% bonus. |
Inner sight
Attack marked enemies to fill up your Inner Sight gauge. When it’s full, gain unlimited Energy for 4 seconds.
When approaching a group of enemies, one of them will be marked with a purple eye icon above them. The mark will stay on the enemy for 10 seconds or until it dies, then move to another random nearby enemy. Hitting marked enemies will fill up the Inner Sight gauge, which is next to the Energy bar. Larger hits fill it up faster.
After the full effect procs and expires, you will be left with full Energy. This is a very useful Specialization if you use Skills that hit most enemies at all times, or you can easily target the marked enemy.
Preparation
Every 100 Energy you spend reduces you Ultimate Skill’s Cooldown by 5 seconds. Using an Ultimate Skill resets the Cooldowns of your other Skills.
This essentially allows you to use all of your Skills faster. This is an excellent choice for builds that use and generate a lot of Energy.