Blizzard Entertainment / DexertoThe Penetrating Shot Rogue is one of the most thrilling classes to master in Season 7. If you’re gearing up to pierce your enemies right where it hurts you’ll want to know about the best builds for leveling and endgame play.
Season 7 has given a nice boost to the stealthy and agile Rogue class in Diablo 4. If you’re after a playstyle that turns enemies into pin cushions with a few precise shots, this build is right up your alley. Plus, if you’re not enjoying it, you can just use the Armory to switch back to your usual build.
Whether you’re just starting out or deep into endgame content, the Penetrating Shot build adapts beautifully. With the right skills, gear, and Paragon Glyphs, your Rogue will dominate Season 7 like never before.
Best Skills for the Penetrating Shot Rogue build
Diablo 4Active Skills
| Active Skill | Upgrades | Points allocated |
|---|---|---|
| Puncture | Enhanced | 1 |
| Smoke Grenade | Enhanced, Countering | 1 |
| Penetrating Shot | Enhanced, Advanced | 5 |
| Shadow Step | Enhanced, Disciplined | 1 |
| Dash | Enhanced, Methodical | 1 |
| Poison Imbuement | Enhanced, Mixed | 1 |
| Death Trap | Enhanced, Prime | 5 |
| Dark Shroud | Enhanced, Countering | 5 |
Passive Skills
| Passive Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Sturdy | 3 |
| Siphoning Strikes | 3 |
| Stutter Steps | 2 |
| Weapon Mastery | 3 |
| Unstable Elixirs | 3 |
| Trick Attacks | 3 |
| Rapid Gambits | 1 |
| Agile | 2 |
| Exploit | 3 |
| Malice | 3 |
| Frigid Finesse | 3 |
| Innervation | 3 |
| Second Wind | 3 |
| Precision | 1 |
| Rugged | 3 |
| Balestra | 1 |
| Aftermath | 1 |
| Victimize | 1 |
If you’re after a ranged Rogue build that lets you nuke everything on screen, you’ve found it. The Penetrating Shot Rogue is straightforward, powerful, and scales beautifully into the endgame.
Penetrating Shot itself is a simple, piercing arrow, but when you pair it with the Umbracrux dagger and Trickshot Aspect, it turns into a screen-clearing nuke. Like most Rogue skills, positioning is key since the more enemies you hit in a line, the more damage you deal.
This build thrives on stacking Critical Strike Damage with the right gear and passives, making sure no monster stands a chance. Overall, it’s a highly satisfying build that rewards some strategic planning.
Don’t forget to claim your rewards from the Season 7 Battle Pass and spend your Smouldering Ashes in the EXP boost to reach level 50 in a matter of hours.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue Specialization setup
Our top pick for this build is Combo Points. Use your Basic Skills to stack up Combo Points, and then unleash your Core Skill for some seriously boosted damage. Combo Points make Penetrating Shot hit harder and give it a nice Lucky Hit Chance boost.
Best rotation
- Heartseeker
- Death Trap
- Poison Trap
- Shadow Step/Dash
- Penetrating Shot
Start your rotation with Heartseeker to stack up Combo Points. Next, toss out Death Trap to gather enemies for maximum damage. Deploy Poison Trap to add some extra damage and trigger those fancy totems from The Umbracrux.
Next, use Shadow Step or Dash to get into the perfect position and activate Tricks of the Trade for a damage boost. Then, fire Penetrating Shot to cut through the clustered enemies and make your damage shine.
Best Witchcraft Powers
Here are the best Witchcraft Powers for the Penetrating Shot rogue:
- Firebat Servants: Provides a stun, great for Trick Attacks and working towards 3 Eldritch powers for the Witching Hour Gem.
- Hex of Flames: Taken to reach 3 Eldritch powers for the Witching Hour Gem.
- Purging Touch: Increases the damage of your core skill.
- Aura of Lament: Provides an aura with a powerful slow effect, useful for maintaining distance.
- Aura Specialization: Offers a free Critical Strike Damage Multiplier.
- Piranhado: Groups up mobs, making it easier to line up your shot.
Best Occult Gems
These are the best Occult Gems for this build:
- Dust Stone: Provides a damage bonus when both Hex and Aura powers are active.
- Witching Hour: Combined with Purging Touch Witch Power, it provides a massive damage buff for your core skill.
- Wicked Pact: Enhances the power of Witching Hour and Purging Touch.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue Legendary Aspects
Here are the best Legendary Aspects for your Penetrating Shot Rogue build in the endgame of Diablo 4:
| Aspect | Power | Dungeon | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trickshot | Whenever Penetrating Shot dmages an enemy, 2 additional arrows split off to either side. These side arrows deal a percentage of Penetrating Shot’s base damage and do not split. | Bastion of Faith | Hawezar |
| Rapid | Basic Skills gain Attack Speed. | Buried Halls | Dry Steppes |
| Edgemaster’s | Skills deal increased damage based on your Primary Resource when cast. | Oldstones | Scosglen |
| Might | Basic Skills grant Damage Reduction. | Dark Ravine | Dry Steppes |
| Expectant | After attacking enemies with a Basic Skill, increase the damage of your next Core Skill. | Underroot | Scosglen |
| Energizing | Damaging an Elite enemy with a Basic Skill generates 4 Energy. | Sanguine Chapel | Fractured Peaks |
| Protector | Damaging an Elite enemy grants you a Barrier absorbing damage. | Lost Archives | Fractured Peaks |
| Wind Striker | Critical Strikes grant extra movement speed. | Shivta Ruins | Khejistan |
| Unstable Imbuements | When casting an Imbuement Skill, you trigger an explosion around yourself. | Whispering Vault | Dry Steppes |
| Enshrouding | Using a Healing Potion makes a free Dark Shroud shadow. | Ghoa Ruins | Hawezar |
| Umbrous | Critical Strikes grant a free Dark Shroud shadow. | Gamble Murmuring Obols | – |
| Crowded Sage | Increase your Dodge chance. Also, Dodge restores your Maximum Life. | Gamble Murmuring Obols | – |
| Concussive Strikes | Damaging an enemy can Daze them. | Gamble Murmuring Obols | – |
| Accelerating | Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed. | Gamble Murmuring Obols | – |
| Elements | Gain increased damage to a set of damage types. Alternates between Fire, Lightning and Physical and Cold, Poison and Shadow. | Gamble Murmuring Obols | – |
Remember, you can also strip these Aspects from their original item and apply them to an item of your choosing.
Best Mercenaries
For a Penetrating Shot Rogue, the top mercenary picks are Subo (Hired) and Raheir (Reinforcement).
Subo is invaluable for his ability to reveal enemies and resources on the minimap, streamlining farming for materials like Iron Chunks and Bundled Herbs. His Ambusher passive boosts your Lucky Hit Chance, which is crucial for maximizing Victimize procs. Additionally, Subo’s Share a Drink skill is perfect for generating more resources, especially when frequently using potions for Unstable Elixirs.
Raheir, with his Bastion skill, offers essential defense, making him ideal when gathering mobs for powerful Death Trap combos.
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue Paragon Board Glyphs
Blizzard EntertainmentOnce you hit endgame in Season 7, either by finishing the story, reaching level 50, and unlocking the Paragon Board – you can respec to the endgame Penetrating Shot Rogue build. It’s basically the same as the leveling build, but with some crucial tweaks in point allocation that we’ll cover next.
Glyphs start with a 3-radius, but hit level 15 and they’ll stretch to 4. Keep grinding through Nightmare Dungeons to score Glyph experience and make your Glyphs worth their weight in loot.
Level 15
- Combat
- Control
- Fluidity
- Pride
- Ambush
Level 21
- Combat
- Control
- Fluidity
- Pride
- Ambush
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue item build
| Item | Socket | Item type | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runic SkullCap of Might | 2 Emeralds | Helm | Basic Skill grants Damage Reduction |
| Frostbitten Runic Mail | LithOhm | Chest | Enemies hit by your Stun Grenades have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to be Frozen for 2 seconds. You deal 30% increased Critical Strike Damage against Frozen or Stunned enemies. |
| Trickshot Runic Gloves | – | Glove | Whenever Penetrating Shot damages an enemy, you get 2 additional arrows split. |
| Umbrous Runic Leggings | PocLac | Pants | Critical Strikes have a chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow. |
| Runic Cleats of Concussive Strikes | Boots | Boots | Damaging an enemy has a chance to Daze them. |
| Edgemaster’s Warcaster | 2 Emeralds | Ranged Weapon | Skills deal increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast. |
| Obsidian Blade of the Expectant | Emerald | Melee Weapon 1 | After attacking enemies with a Basic Skill, increase the damage of your next Core Skill. |
| Obsidian Blade of Elements | Emerald | Melee Weapon 2 | Gain increased damage to a set of damage types. |
| Rapid Necklace | Ruby | Amulet | Basic Skills gain more Attack Speed. |
| Accelerating Band | Emerald | Ring | Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed. |
| Ring of Retribution | Sapphire | Ring | Distant enemies have a chance to be Stunned when they hit you. |
Best Penetrating Shot Rogue build in Diablo 4
If you’ve got this Penetrating Shot Rogue build that’s a beast in endgame content, it’s also a nightmare for anyone in PvP.
It’s built to slice through enemies like they’re made of wet tissue paper, and in PvP, that means you’ll be the one doing the slicing. With its high burst damage and precision, it’s perfect for turning enemy players into pincushions from a distance.
Now that you know how to craft this top-tier Necromancer build, make sure to check out our guides for the Druid, Sorcerer, Rogue, Barbarian, and Spirtiborn. There’s also our Diablo 4 Class tier list so you can see where this build fits in the current meta.
