Build Introduction
The Penetrating Shot Rogue leveling build blasts through even the most formidable foes. 
Penetrating Shot always pierces to deal massive hit damage to any enemies in the way. This is your guide to building a character for leveling in Diablo 4, with the optimal setup for Skills, Rotation, and Gear.
While Penetrating Shot Rogue is not the most optimal build for leveling a new Rogue character, it is viable as an alternative option. If you are looking for a semi-ranged playstyle, The Barrage Rogue is highly recommended as the stronger build.
Check the Rogue Leveling Guide Overview for a comparison of all the starter builds on Icy Veins.
Once your Rogue character reaches Level 60, switch to the Endgame Guide for the Penetrating Shot Rogue to continue this build.
Quick Navigation
Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to sections.
Allocation of Skill Points
The following table shows the order in which to allocate your Skill Points while leveling with the Penetrating Shot Rogue build. You gain 59 points at Level 60 and 12 points from Renown, for a total of 71.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
Penetrating Shot
Puncture
Dash
Shadow Step
Smoke Grenade
Shadow ImbuementIf you are unsure on how to use these Skills, read the Build Mechanics section after setting up your Skill Bar.
Wondering what comes after Level 60 or which Paragon boards to pick? Head to the Rogue Builds page and choose an endgame build to continue your character progression.
Rogue Class Mechanic – Specialization
Once you reach Level 15, immediately complete the True Potential class questline to unlock the Rogue Specialization. Combo Points is the preferred Rogue Specialization for general farming due to it providing increased Lucky Hit Chance for Penetrating Shot, in addition to increased damage.
Gear, Stats, Gems, and Runes
The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character during the leveling process. Higher Item Power generally indicates stronger gear, but you should also consider the affixes and effects that are relevant to your class and build.
Legendary Aspects
Trickshot Aspect can be unlocked in the Codex of Power by completing the Bastion of Faith in Hawezar. Visit the Occultist to imprint this Aspect onto an Amulet for +50% bonus effect.
Higher Tier Aspects with stronger effects can be found on dropped Legendary Items. Salvage unwanted Legendary Items at the Blacksmith to unlock these Aspects in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto well-rolled Rare Items. Check the in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide for more information.
Listed below are all the Aspects found on Legendary Items that are important for the Penetrating Shot Rogue leveling build. They are listed in order of priority. For the best results, combine these Aspects with the ideal Stat Priorities. The best-in-slot Aspects List is in the Endgame Guide for Penetrating Shot Rogue.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Bastion of Faith, Hawezar |
| 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. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
| 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%. | Underroot, Scosglen |
 Aspect of Might | Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2 – 6] seconds | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
| Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed. | Buried Halls, Dry Steppes |
| Accelerating Aspect | Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by [15 – 25%] for 3 seconds. | Random Drop Only |
 Aspect of Quickening Fog | You automatically drop a  Smoke Grenade at the end of  Dash. Dash’s Cooldown is reduced by [0.25 – 0.35] seconds for each enemy Dazed this way, up to [0.75 – 1.05] seconds. | Random Drop Only |
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear during the early leveling of a Penetrating Shot Rogue, ranked by importance. Affixes on the same line have equal value, so attempt to obtain all affixes in each line before moving on to the next.
The Item Power of weapons determines its DPS and is the most important factor when searching for upgrades. When comparing weapons with similar Item Power, Crossbows are preferred over Bows for the higher Damage per Hit. 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.
The most beneficial tempering affixes while leveling are included below. The best-in-slot tempering affixes are available in the Endgame Guide for the Penetrating Shot Rogue. Check the Tempering Guide for more information on this system.
| Slot | Gear Affixes | Tempering Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Weapons | 1. Critical Strike Damage 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity |  Core Augments — Rogue (Weapon): Chance for Penetrating Shot Projectiles to Cast TwiceMarksman Finesse (Offensive): Critical Strike Damage |
| Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction, Energy per Second, Ranks to Shadow Imbuement 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance | Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Total Armor |
| Chest | 1. Ranks to Dark Shroud, Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Dexterity | Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Total Armor |
| Gloves | 1. Ranks to Penetrating Shot, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Damage 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Resource Cost Reduction, Critical Strike Chance | Marksman Finesse (Offensive): Critical Strike Damage |
| Pants | 1. Resistances, Armor 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Total Armor |
| Boots | Implicit Stat: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown 1. Movement Speed, Energy per Second 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Ranks to Dash, Maximum Life, Dexterity | Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed |
| Amulet | 1. Ranks to Unstable Elixirs, Exploit, Malice, or Weapon Mastery 2. Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed | Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Shadow Imbue Additional CastsMarksman Finesse (Offensive): Critical Strike Damage |
| Rings | 1. Attack Speed, Critical Strike Damage 2. Resource Cost Reduction, Vulnerable Damage, Resistances, Maximum Life 3. Dexterity, Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance | Imbuement Abundance (Resource): Shadow Imbue Additional CastsMarksman Finesse (Offensive): Critical Strike Damage |
↑ Back to Legendary Gear Table
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the best Gems and Runes to socket into gear for each item type.
Gems
| Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
|---|---|---|
 Emerald for increased Critical Strike Damage. | Emerald for Dexterity. | Any Resistance Gems needed or  Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap). |
Runewords
Runes are drop after unlocking them during the Vessel of Hatred campaign. A Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation can be combined by inserting them into equipment with 2 available sockets, creating a Runeword. A limit of 2 Runewords can be equipped.
Listed below are the best Runewords utilizing Magic and Rare Runes that are beneficial for this build. The best-in-slot Runewords utilizing Legendary Runes are in the Endgame Guide for the Penetrating Shot Rogue.
| Runewords | Effects |
|---|---|
 Yax Tun | Gain: 200 Offering — Drink a Healing Potion. Requires: 100 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Evoke the Rogue’s Stun Grenades, Stunning and dealing damage to enemies. |
 Feo Lac | Gain: 1000 Offering — Become Injured or Crowd Controlled (Cooldown: 10 seconds). Requires: 400 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Evoke the Barbarian’s Challenging Shout, reducing your damage taken for 3 seconds. |
Boss Powers (Season 8)
In the Season of Belial’s Return (Season 8), Boss Powers can be equipped to enhance your character. Unlocking specific powers for a build is challenging due to their random appearance, so utilize any that provide the most damage. Check the Endgame Guide for the Penetrating Shot Rogue for the best-in-slot setup of Boss Powers.
Mercenaries
Once the Den is unlocked during the main questline in the Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4, complete the Mercenary key quests to acquire them. Hire a Mercenary and enlist a Reinforcement in the following setup.
- Hired Mercenary: Varyana
- Skills:
Cleave, 
Hysteria, 
Bloodthirst, 
Bloodlust
- Skills:
- Reinforcement: Raheir
- Skill:
Bastion - Opportunity: Cast when the player becomes Injured
- Skill:
Build Mechanics
The Penetrating Shot Rogue build is fairly simple to play, but has some complex mechanics to learn. Penetrating Shot has a focused Area of Effect (AoE) in a straight line that can be hard to utilize. Trickshot Aspect helps overcome this downside by adding more arrows to increase coverage and help clear packs of enemies.
Damage is increased further with 
Concussive, 
Weapon Mastery, 
Exploit 
Malice and 
Impetus.
Smoke Grenade prevents enemies from attacking you, greatly increasing survivability.
Finally, 
Stutter Step, 
Haste, and Dash speed up movement for faster farming.
Shadow Imbuement is used to help clear packs of enemies and generate Energy with 
Consuming Shadows.
Lucky Hit
Penetrating Shot has a high Lucky Hit Chance of 80% when used with 3 Combo Points, and it has a chance of proccing on every enemy hit by the piercing arrows. Therefore, Countering Smoke Grenade and 
Innervation are used for Lucky Hit Effects.
Puncture can also be used to proc Lucky Hits with 35% chance per blade thrown. This works extremely well with increased Basic Attack Speed and 3 blades thrown per cast on Fundamental Puncture.
Status Effects
The Penetrating Shot Rogue utilizes multiple status effects to render enemies helpless. Advanced Penetrating Shot Slows enemies and Knocks Down elites when cast at full Energy.
Fundamental Puncture easily applies Vulnerable to a target with a single Basic attack. In group play, apply this debuff to Elites and Bosses so your teammates deal 20% more damage!
Smoke Grenade is another powerful Crowd Control (CC) in our trapper arsenal. This Skill can be used often to Daze groups of enemies with Countering Smoke Grenade. Dash also drops an automatic Smoke Grenade with Aspect of Quickening Fog.
Advanced Penetrating Shot and Disciplined Dash both apply Slow to restore Energy with 
Aspect of the Umbral.
Rotation and Playstyle
Use the following rotation to optimize damage output.
- Use Smoke Grenade or Dash with Aspect of Quickening Fog to Daze enemies.
- Use a Potion to activate the damage buff from
Unstable Elixirs. - Against large groups of enemies, activate Shadow Imbuement for AoE explosions and Energy generation.
- Cast Puncture 3 times to build Combo Points. Try to stay close enough to shotgun elites and bosses to apply Vulnerable and proc Lucky Hit.
- Line enemies up to piece through them with Penetrating Shot.
- Repeat the rotation. Try to cast Penetrating Shot while you have full Energy to activate Advanced Penetrating Shot and Edgemaster’s Aspect.
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 for 
Bundled Herbs 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 while leveling the Penetrating Shot Rogue, ranked by importance.
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 casts of Core Skills.
Elixir of Precision provides the highest damage output increase, if not already capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance.
Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
Elixir of Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability.
Return to the Alchemist every 10 Levels to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.
Season 8 Updates
A brief summary of the seasonal changes are provided below. For a complete overview of Season 8, take a look at the comprehensive season guide.
Fists of Fate no longer applies random crowd controls.- Worldly Fortune can no longer apply any crowd control tempers.
- Aspect of Concussive Strikes no longer provides increased damage.
- Frostbitten Aspect is now in the Offensive category.
Trick Attacks - Previous: Dazing or Stunning an enemy increases your Critical Strike Chance by 2/4/6% and Critical Strike Damage by 2/4/6% for 5 seconds, up to 12/24/36%.
- Now: Attempting to Daze or Stun an enemy increases your Critical Strike Chance by 1/2/3% and Critical Strike Damage by 1/2/3% for 8 seconds, up to 5/10/15%.
Difficulty and Endgame
Once you hit Level 60 with this build, tackle harder difficulties and more challenging endgame content. Make sure to pick one of our recommended endgame builds for Rogue to continue your journey! The endgame builds also cover the Paragon setup unlocked at Level 60.
Changelog
- April 26, 2025: Guide updated for Season 8 (Patch 2.2.0).
- January 21, 2025: Guide updated for Season 7 (Patch 2.1.0).
- October 4, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
- August 6, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
- May 14, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
- January 22, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
- October 17, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0).
- July 18, 2023: Guide updated for Season 1.
