There were loads of reveals and announcements at BlizzConline, including much-awaited news about Diablo IV. Blizzard dropped a new announcement trailer for the Rogue, the fourth playable character for the game. She joins the Barbarian, Druid and Sorceress and will be available to play at launch.
The Diablo IV Rogue announce trailer teases her personality, motivations and her relationship with a priest-type figure. In addition to these lore elements and backstory, the trailer also provides a glimpse at the Rogue's playstyle, attacks and abilities.
The trailer begins by showing the common reality of much of Sanctuary's population: Scared people, with no other option than to hope and pray for salvation from the Light. A woman sits behind a priest as he tries to reassure her that all will be well, that she will find salvation. However, the daughter of Mephisto, Lilith, has returned -- so that does not seem very likely. Demons and other horrors stalk the land, and nowhere is safe.
The Rogue slips in behind the priest as he prays, taking the other woman's place. She is a bitter and hooded figure, speaking the words of the priest's prayer with a sense of irony or anger that suggests she doesn't have any faith in the power of the Light. The priest recognises her from her voice, revealing that they have some sort of relationship. The Rogue later calls the priest "father," though this is perhaps just a religious honorific.
The priest proclaims her a servant of the Light, a force that has answered the prayers of his flock by punishing the wicked and the evil. Whether the Rogue is really this sort of 'Robin Hood' figure is left ambiguous, but it does go some way to answer why she might be found fighting against the demons and other enemies, rather than only looking out for herself. Though the Rogue does make sure to say, "The Heavens didn't send me."
Regardless, the Rogue is definitely a formidable fighting force. As the trailer shifts towards gameplay, the Rogue single-handedly takes down hordes of enemies and formidable boss creatures with a huge variety of abilities, attacks and special skills.
As with most rogue characters in similar titles, Diablo IV's Rogue seems to rely heavily on movement, fast attacks and a mixture of melee and ranged combat. In addition to these more traditional gameplay aspects, the Rogue is also able to enhance her attacks with poisons and devastating shadow magic. Stealth mechanics, movement and attack resets, crowd control and area of effect attacks all also make an appearance in the announcement trailer.
It seems as though the Rogue in Diablo IV will be a very versatile character, with many different playstyles and skills that can be swapped out or layered, depending on individual player preferences.