Dual Core Penetrating Shot Rapid Fire Rogue Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 5)

Build Introduction

The Penetrating Shot and Rapid Fire Rogue equip 2 Core Skills to overcome any situation on the battlefield. This is the second version of the original Dual Core build, focusing on a more ranged playstyle. Rapid Fire deals high single-target damage to snipe elite and bosses, while Penetrating Shot excels at clearing large groups of enemies due to the additional arrows from Trickshot Aspect.

Dual Core Skills are utilized in different situations to either snipe tough targets or clear groups of enemies. The addition of Scoundrel’s Kiss in the game enables Rapid Fire to cover single-target and area-of-effect damage, removing the need for a 2nd Core Skill. The Pure Rapid Fire Rogue build is recommended once you obtain Scoundrel’s Kiss, which can be target-farmed from Lord Zir.

The only starting requirement for this endgame build guide is a character around level 50 in World Tier 3. Check our Rogue Leveling Guide if you need help getting there.

Strengths and Weaknesses

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Skill Bar Setup for Dual Core Penetrating Shot Rapid Fire Rogue (order does not matter)

Rapid Fire Penetrating Shot Heartseeker Cold Imbuement Dash Shadow Step

The Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 58 Skill Points for the Ranged Dual Core Rogue build. Make sure you obtain the 10 Skill Points available from Renown.

Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar. It is instead automatically activated by Umbrous Aspect.

Penetrating Shot Rapid Fire Rogue Specialization

Combo Points is the preferred Rogue Specialization for general farming due to the burst damage playstyle of Rapid Fire Rogue. Build Combo Points with Heartseeker to unleash additional damage and arrows for Rapid Fire. Combo Points can also be used to gain additional damage and Lucky Hit Chance with Penetrating Shot.

Paragon

Paragon unlocks after reaching Level 50, and the progression system offers a considerable boost to character power. The images below provide a visual of each Paragon Board setup for the Ranged Dual Core Rogue.

Important Notes:

• Make sure you select the correct Legendary Boards and rotate them into the correct orientation.
• Attach Legendary Boards in the correct order, as bonus requirements of Rare Nodes increase with their placement order.
• Additional bonus requirements on Rare Glyphs may not be obtainable until they gain increased radius range at Level 15.

1. Starting Board (Canny)

Socket Canny to increase damage while Cold Imbuement is active.

2. Tricks of the Trade (Turf)

Rotate the Tricks of the Trade board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node, and then Socket Turf for some valuable Damage Reduction. Prioritize leveling Turf to 15 for increased radius, as it is needed to allocate enough Strength to activate the additional bonus.

3. Cheap Shot (Control)

Rotate the Cheap Shot board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary node on this board. Socket Control to gain a damage multiplier.

4. Exploit Weakness (Combat)

Rotate the Exploit Weakness board 2 times before attachment. Immediately obtain the Legendary Node on this board. Socket Combat to gain Critical Strike Damage for an increased damage bonus on Precision.

5. No Witnesses (Exploit)

Rotate the No Witnesses board 3 times before attachment. Socket Exploit for increased Vulnerable damage and additional Vulnerable applications. The Legendary Node on this board is not utilized.

Paragon Board images courtesy of d4builds.gg. Click this link for the Paragon planner.

Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats

The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character in the endgame of Diablo 4.

Legendary Aspects

Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects for the Ranged Dual Core Rogue build. Salvage Legendary Items with higher Aspect values to unlock them in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto Legendary Items with the preferred affixes.

Gear Slot	Aspect Name	Aspect Power
Ranged Weapon (replaced by Skyhunter)	Accelerating Aspect	Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [15 – 25%] for 3 seconds.
Amulet	Coldclip Aspect	Your Basic Skills are always Cold Imbued. You deal x [5 – 20%] increased damage to enemies who are Chilled or Frozen.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #1 (replaced by Condemnation)	Rapid Aspect	Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed.
Gloves (optional replacement with Fists of Fate)	Aspect of Retribution	Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal x [15 – 30%] increased damage to Stunned and Knocked Down enemies.
Ring Slot #1 (replaced by Ring of Starless Skies)	Edgemaster’s Aspect	Skills deal up to [10 – 20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #2 or Ring Slot #2	Aspect of the Expectant	Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by [5 – 10%], up to 30%.
Dual-Wielded Weapon Slot #2 or Ring Slot #2	Trickshot Aspect	Whenever Penetrating Shot damages an enemy, 2 additional arrows split off to either side. These side arrows deal [10 – 25%] of Penetrating Shot’s Base damage and do not split.
Helm (replaced by Harlequin Crest)	Aspect of Might	Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 6] seconds
Chest (Tyrael’s Might optional)	Frostbitten Aspect	Enemies hit by your Grenade Skills have a chance equal to your Critical Strike Chance to be Frozen for 2 seconds. You deal x [10 – 25%] increased Critical Strike Damage against Frozen or Stunned enemies. (only used for the damage multiplier, not the Grenade Skills effect)
Pants	Umbrous Aspect	Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have up to a [45 – 60%] chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow.
Boots	Aspect of Concussive Strikes	Lucky Hit: Damaging an enemy has up to a 20% chance to Daze them for 2 seconds. You deal x [5 – 20%] increased damage to Dazed enemies.

Gems

Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Royal Emerald for increased Critical Strike Damage.	Royal Ruby for increased Maximum Life.	Any Resistance Gems needed or Royal Skull for Armor (up to the 9,230 Armor cap).

Elixirs

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Elixirs can also drop randomly from enemies and chests during many activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume, ranked by importance.

1. Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
2. Elixir of Resource greatly helps with Energy issues, if you do not already have the appropriate Energy gear. This elixir is highly recommended for starting characters to maintain the casting of Core Skills.
3. Elixir of Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability.
4. Elixir of Iron Barbs can provide a high amount of Physical Damage Reduction. Armor becomes more effective as you approach the Armor cap (9,320 against monster level 100 and above).
5. Specific Resistance Elixirs can be utilized to survive against Uber Bosses with elemental attacks.

Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Ranged Dual Core Rogues. Each line of affixes are listed in order of importance. Affixes on the same line are considered to be equally important, but their benefits may vary depending on how much is stacked or other character stats. Attempt to obtain all affixes in each line before moving to the next line. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades.

When comparing Legendary weapons with similar item levels, Crossbows are preferred over Bows for the higher Damage per Hit for both Core Skills. Daggers are selected for the fastest weapon speed to generate Combo Points.

Precision increases the priority of Critical Strike Damage to scale the bonus multiplier, while reducing the need for Critical Strike Chance.

Prioritize Boots with the implicit effect, attacks reduce Evade’s cooldown, for constant Evades to activate Advanced Rapid Fire.

The priority order of Resistances is Lightning > Poison > Fire > Cold > Shadow. Maximum Resistance is 70% by default for each element and can be increased to 85% by various sources.

Armor is only needed until capped at 9,230.

Check out our Tempering Guide for more details on Blacksmith upgrading.

Slot	Gear Affixes	Tempering Affixes
Weapons	1. Maximum Life, Critical Strike Damage 2. Dexterity, Vulnerable Damage	Core Augments — Rogue (Weapon): Chance for Rapid Fire or Penetrating Shot Projectiles to Cast Twice Subterfuge Expertise (Offensive): Damage per Dark Shroud
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance	Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor or Maximum Life
Chest	1. Ranks to Dark Shroud 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity	Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor or Maximum Life
Gloves	1. Ranks to Core Skills, Critical Strike Damage, Attack Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance	Subterfuge Expertise (Offensive): Damage per Dark Shroud Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze
Pants	1. Dexterity, Maximum Life 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor	Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor or Maximum Life
Boots	Implicit Stat: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown 1. Movement Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Ranks to Dash, Maximum Life, Dexterity	Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze
Amulet	1. Ranks to Weapon Mastery, Unstable Elixirs, and Frigid Finesse 2. Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed	Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Cold Imbue Additional Casts Subterfuge Expertise (Offensive): Damage per Dark Shroud
Rings	1. Attack Speed, Critical Strike Damage 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance	Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Cold Imbue Additional Casts Subterfuge Expertise (Offensive): Damage per Dark Shroud

Unique and Mythic Items

Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique Items for the Penetrating Shot and Rapid Fire Rogue build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades.

• Scoundrel’s Kiss (optional build transition) shifts the focus to Rapid Fire as the main damaging skill in the build. The lobbing arrows transform Rapid Fire to deal Area of Effect damage, removing the need for a 2nd Core Skill. Switch to the Pure Rapid Fire Rogue build guide for a specialized setup dedicated to Scoundrel’s Kiss.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Rapid Fire
• Skyhunter (recommended) synergies well with Precision to guarantee Critical Strikes, increase damage, and restore Energy.
  • Masterworking Priority: Attack Speed, Critical Strike Damage, or Chance for Marksman Projectiles to Cast Twice
• Condemnation (recommended) provides a 1.4x multiplier that works well in this Combo Points build.
  • Masterworking Priority: Basic Skill Attack Speed
• Harlequin Crest (recommended) provides a good amount of offense and defense, if you are lucky enough to find this Mythic Unique Item.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Ring of Starless Skies (recommended) is a Mythic Unique Item that provides a highly valuable 1.5x multiplier. The downside is the unique effect requires some management to ramp up and maintain the buff stacks.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance or Ranks to Core Skills
• Fists of Fate (optional) increases overall damage by 50% with a 300% value on the unique effect. They are comparable to well-rolled Legendary Gloves with Ranks to Core Skills, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance, and an Offensive Aspect. The downside is the drastic damage range of the unique effect can cause an inconsistency in the hits required to kill enemies.
  • Masterworking Priority: Attack Speed
• Cowl of the Nameless (optional) provides the highest damage output when properly Masterworked.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Unstable Elixirs or Trick Attacks
• Tyrael’s Might (optional) is the best defensive option for a Chest Armor, although this Mythic Unique Item can be difficult to obtain. The divine barrage does not contribute a significant portion of the total damage in this build.
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction

Video Guide and Gameplay Footage

Advanced Information

Additional details are provided in the following sections for a more in-depth explanation of the Dual Core Penetrating Shot Rapid Fire Rogue. Read this advanced information after understanding the basic overview of the build in the previous sections.

Build Mechanics

Penetrating Shot excels at clearing high-density activities, such as Nightmare Dungeons. Line up enemies to hit them with the piercing arrow, while Trickshot Aspect splits off additional side arrows for more area coverage. The piercing effect of the main arrow also applies to the side arrows.

When fired at full energy, Advanced Penetrating Shot applies a slow to normal enemies to activate Cheat’s Aspect and knocks down Elites to help you survive. Penetrating Shot also has a high Lucky Hit Chance when fired with 3 Combo Points to activate Umbrous Aspect for Dark Shroud stacks. Dark Shroud is not equipped on the Skill Bar.

Penetrating Shot can lack single target damage against elites and bosses, so Rapid Fire is used to snipe individual enemies. Learn when to use either Penetrating Shot or Rapid Fire in every situation to master this Dual Core Build.

Fundamental Puncture easily applies Vulnerable to a target with a single Basic attack. Aim Puncture at the toughest enemies in a pack. In group play, apply this debuff to Elites and Bosses so your teammates deal more damage!

Shadow Step and Dash are Cutthroat Skills that can be used before Rapid Fire or Penetrating Shot to gain the damage bonus from Tricks of the Trade.

Resource Management

Skyhunter and Combat should provide enough Energy generation if you are taking the time to build 3 Combo Points before casting each Core Skill. Ring of Starless Skies is an option for additional resource management. You can also reallocate 3 Skill Points from Stutter Step into Innervation.

Cold Imbuement

Cold Imbuement is utilized for Crowd Control and multiple damage increases. The 25% chill applies to every hit from Rapid Fire or Penetrating Shot, meaning enemies can become Frozen after just one cast. These multi-hitting Core Skills easily activate the additional bonuses on Mixed Cold Imbuement and Frigid Finesse for some insane damage multipliers. Make sure you temper the additional casts of Cold Imbuement affix onto Rings.

Elites are easy to kill after being Frozen, but bosses are initially immune to Crowd Controls. Cold Imbuement and Shadow Step can be used against bosses to eventually Stagger them. After fully Staggering a Boss, they are considered affected by all Crowd Control types for the Staggered duration.

Animation Cancel Technique

An Evade can be used immediately after using Rapid Fire or Penetrating Shot to cancel their casting animations. This technique is important to quickly dodge incoming attacks while activating Advanced Rapid Fire. Boots with the implicit effect, Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown, allow for an animation cancel after using 3 Basic Attacks and a Core Skill. Practice hitting Evade after every Core Skill to build muscle memory.

AoE Damage Rotation

Explode groups of mobs with the following rotation.

1. Cast Puncture 3 times at a distance to build up Combo Points.
2. Cast Shadow Step on tough elite enemies.
3. (Optional) Activate Cold Imbuement against tough opponents to increase damage and apply Chill/Freeze.
4. Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
5. Cast Penetrating Shot into the group or aimed at the toughest Elites.
6. Immediately animation cancel Penetrating Shot with an Evade to avoid damage or gain some distance.
7. Restart the rotation.

You lose all Crowd Control damage bonuses against Unstoppable Elites, making them much harder to defeat. Quickly kill any Elites within a group of enemies with the Single Target Damage Rotation (section directly below) before they become Unstoppable. Attempt to single them out or get next to them for Rapid Fire to hit. Otherwise, clear out some enemies with the AoE Rotation to create a line of sight.

Single Target Damage Rotation

Use the following rotation against Elites and Bosses for high single-target.

1. Use Evade to activate Advanced Rapid Fire.
2. Build 3 Combo Points with Puncture. Make sure you are close enough for Fundamental Puncture to apply Vulnerable.
3. Cast Shadow Step on the toughest Elite to activate Tricks of the Trade for a damage bonus to your next Marksman Skill, Rapid Fire. Alternatively, Dash can be used through a Boss to apply Enhanced Dash.
4. Activate Cold Imbuement for damage increases from Mixed Cold Imbuement and Frigid Finesse.
5. Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from Unstable Elixirs.
6. Cast Rapid Fire at the target.
7. Immediately animation cancel Rapid Fire with an Evade to restart the rotation.

Obol Gambling

Obol gambling is a great way to potentially find item upgrades or items missing from your build. Use Obols on your target equipment for a chance to receive Greater Affixes. Check out the new tool from Icy Veins for gambling Obols in the link below.

Season 5: Infernal Hordes

The following list details the changes in the Season 5 Update (Patch 1.5.0) that may pertain to Dual Core Penetrating Shot and Rapid Fire Rogues. Check the Changelog for all the other guide updates.

• Penetrating Shot
  • New functionality: Now deals 10% increased damage per enemy it pierces.
• Enhanced Penetrating Shot
  • Previous – Penetrating Shot deals 10% increased damage for each enemy it pierces.
  • Now – Casting Penetrating Shot and hitting a Boss or Elite with it has a 25% Chance to fire an additional shot for free.
• Dash
  • Damage increased by 25% (0.32 to 0.4).
  • Additional functionality: Dash Slows enemies hit by 30% for 3 seconds.
• Enhanced Dash
  • Previous – Enemies damaged by Dash take 15% increased Critical Strike Damage from you for 5 seconds.
  • Now – Casting Dash increases your Critical Strike Chance by 10% for 5 seconds.
• Disciplined Dash
  • Previous – Dash Slows enemies it hits by 30% for 3 seconds. Any enemy already Slowed will be Dazed for 2 seconds instead.
  • Now – At the end of Dash, Knock Down surrounding enemies for 2 seconds and deal 350% of its damage to them.
• Methodical Dash
  • Previous – Dealing damage to Crowd Controlled enemies with Dash reduces its Charge Cooldown by 0.5 seconds, up to 4 seconds per cast.
  • Now – Dash has 1 additional Charge and its Charge Cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds.
• Enhanced Shadow Step
  • Previous – Damaging an enemy with Shadow Step increases your Critical Strike Chance against them by 8% for 3 seconds.
  • Now – Damaging an enemy with Shadow Step Dazes and applies Vulnerable to them for 3 seconds.
• Methodical Shadow Step
  • Previous – Enemies damaged by Shadow Step are Stunned for 2 seconds.
  • Now – After Shadow Stepping, you gain 20% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds.
• Disciplined Shadow Step
  • Previous – Shadow Step’s Cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds when it damages an enemy you have not hit with Shadow Step in the last 4 seconds.
  • Now – Damaging an enemy with Shadow Step Stuns them for 2 seconds and reduces its Cooldown by 3 seconds.
• Dark Shroud
  • You can now only lose 1 Dark Shroud shadow every 1.5 seconds.
• Enhanced Dark Shroud
  • Previous – Dark Shroud’s shadows have a 14% chance to not be Consumed.
  • Now – Each active Dark Shroud shadow grants you 5% increased Movement Speed and also has a 15% chance to not be Consumed.
• Subverting Dark Shroud
  • Previous – Each active shadow from Dark Shroud grants you 4% increased Movement Speed.
  • Now – You Heal for 10% of your Maximum Life when a Dark Shroud shadow is removed.
• Countering Dark Shroud
  • You only need 1 active shadow to get the bonus Critical Strike Chance instead of 2.
  • Critical Strike Chance increased from 8% to 10%.
• Exploit Weakness
  • Previous – Whenever you deal damage to a Vulnerable enemy, they take 1%[x] increased damage from you for 6 seconds, up to 25%[x].
  • Now – Lucky Hit: Hitting a Vulnerable enemy has up to a 60% chance to increase your damage by 1%[x] for 25 seconds, up to 25%[x]. At 25 stacks the bonus remains for 6 seconds then expires.
• Tricks of the Trade
  • Previous – Your Marksman Skills grant your next Cutthroat Skill 25% increased damage. Your Cutthroat Skills grant your next Marksman Skill 25% increased damage.
  • Now – Your Marksman Skills grant your Cutthroat Skills 25% increased damage for 8 seconds. Your Cutthroat Skills grant your Marksman Skills 25% increased damage for 8 seconds.
• Cheap Shot
  • Previous – You deal 5% increased damage for each Nearby enemy that is Crowd Controlled, up to 25%.
  • Now – You deal 5% increased damage for each Nearby enemy that is Crowd Controlled, up to 25%. A Nearby Staggered Boss provides the maximum bonus.

Changelog

• August 6th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
• May 15th, 2024: Priority Affixes updated with game changes made since the Season 4 PTR.
• May 14th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
• March 5th, 2024: Guide updated for the Mid Season 3 Update (Patch 1.3.3).
• January 22nd, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
• December 18th, 2023: Article created.