Rogue Shadow Imbued Penetrating Shot Endgame Build

This is a guide to the Shadow Imbued Penetrating Shot Build, a PVE Rogue Build in Diablo 4. This build can clear mobs instantly and release a burst of critical hits against elites every three seconds using Combo Points, it also has life sustain against close enemies thanks to the basic attacks. Read on to learn this build's gear, skill, and aspects, including a guide on how to play it!

Shadow Imbued Penetrating Shot Build Overview

Build Summary

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Summary	Skills	Aspects	Paragon

This build uses a Shadow Imbued Penetrating Shot to instantly mow down mobs and is a great source for burst damage.

DPS can reach up to 20,000 - 50,000 damage for mobs and bosses alike thanks to Penetrating Shot primarily being bolstered by Dark Shroud, Shadow Imbuement, and Combo Points. Stacking three Combo Points boosts your damage and Dark Shroud gives additional critical chance while Shadow Imbuement boosts your damage and your critical damage output in addition to your aspect bonuses and item affixes that lean to the benefit of your Penetrating Shot.

This build is also equipped with life sustain skills, allowing you to heal from your critical strikes against close enemies. With the items in this build, even your basic skills with fast attack speed critically strike almost always, meaning that you constantly heal while stacking your Combo Points.

Rogue Class Guide

Shadow Imbued Penetrating Shot Build Breakdown

Skill Progression

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Summary	Skills	Aspects	Paragon

Skill		Upgrade Path
Puncture	→	Enhanced Puncture	Fundamental Puncture
Penetrating Shot	→	Enhanced Penetrating Shot	Improved Penetrating Shot
Dash	→	Enhanced Dash	Disciplined Dash
Dark Shroud	→	Enhanced Dark Shroud	Countering Dark Shroud
Shadow Imbuement	→	Enhanced Shadow Imbuement	Blended Shadow Imbuement
Shadow Clone	→	Prime Shadow Clone	Supreme Shadow Clone

Skill Progression Breakdown

Recommended Skill Progression
Lv.2	Lv.3	Lv.4	Lv.5
Puncture	Enhanced Puncture	Fundamental Puncture	Penetrating Shot
Lv.6	Lv.7	Lv.8	Lv.9
Enhanced Penetrating Shot	Improved Penetrating Shot	Dash	Enhanced Dash
Lv.10	Lv.11	Lv.12	Lv.13
Sturdy	Siphoning Strikes	Siphoning Strikes	Dark Shroud
Lv.14	Lv.15	Lv.16	Lv.17
Enhanced Dark Shroud	Countering Dark Shroud	Penetrating Shot	Penetrating Shot
Lv.18	Lv.19	Lv.20	Lv.21
Shadow Imbuement	Enhanced Shadow Imbuement	Blended Shadow Imbuement	Penetrating Shot
Lv.22	Lv.23	Lv.24	Lv.25
Weapon Mastery	Precision Imbuement	Siphoning Strikes	Shadow Clone
Lv.26	Lv.27	Lv.28	Lv.29
Prime Shadow Clone	Supreme Shadow Clone	Shadow Crash	Consuming Shadows
Lv.30	Lv.31	Lv.32	Lv.33
Weapon Mastery	Weapon Mastery	Penetrating Shot	Precision Imbuement
Lv.34	Lv.35	Lv.36	Lv.37
Exploit	Precision Imbuement	Malice	Exploit
Lv.38	Lv.39	Lv.40	Lv.41
Exploit	Sturdy	Sturdy	Malice
Lv.42	Lv.43	Lv.44	Lv.45
Malice	Stutter Step	Innervation	Adrenaline Rush
Lv.46	Lv.47	Lv.48	Lv.49
Haste	Shadow Imbuement	Consuming Shadows	Shadow Imbuement
Renown Skill Points (Lv50 Onwards)
R1	R2	R3	R4
Consuming Shadows	Innervation	Innervation	Haste
R5	R6	R7	R8
Stutter Step	Disciplined Dash	Haste	Stutter Step
R9	R10	-	-
Haste	Stutter Step	-	-

Aspects and Affixes

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Summary	Skills	Aspects	Paragon

Best Weapons

Equipment	Aspects and Affixes
Crossbow	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%. ・+ X% Vulnerable Damage (Inherent) ・+ X% Core Skill Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills ・+ X% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
Dagger	Condemnation Your Core Skills deal (20-40%) increased damage when spending 3 Combo Points. Your Skills using this weapon have a 30% chance to generate 3 Combo Points. ・+ X% Damage to Close Enemies (Inherent) ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance against Injured Enemies ・+ X% Damage with Dual Wield Weapons ・+ X% Core Skill Damage
Sword	Aspect of Imitated Imbuement Your Shadow Clones also mimic the Imbuements applied to your Skills. Casting an Imbuement Skill grants your active Shadow Clone (8-16)% increased damage for 9 seconds. ・+ X% Critical Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies (Inherent) ・+ X% Core Skill Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills ・+ X% Vulnerable Damage

Best Armor

Equipment	Aspects and Affixes
Helmet	Cowl of the Nameless You gain (15-25)% increased Lucky Hit Chance against Crowd Controlled enemies. ・+ X% Dexterity ・+ X% Cool Down Reduction ・+ X% Crowd Control Duration Bonus ・+ X% Maximum Energy ・+ X% Vulnerable Damage
Chest	Umbrous Aspect Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes with Marksman Skills have up to a (40-60)% chance to grant a free Dark Shroud shadow. ・+ X All Stats ・+ X% Imbued Skill Damage ・+ X% Physical Damage ・+ X% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
Gloves	Rapid Aspect Basic skills gain (15-30)% Attack Speed. ・+ X Ranks T2 Spell ・+ X% Attack Speed ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Pants	Cheat's Aspect You take (15.0-25.0)% less damage from Crowed Controlled enemies. Whenever a Crowed Controlled enemy deals direct damage to you, gain 15% Movement Speed for 2 seconds. ・While Injured, Potion Grants X% Max Life as Barrier (Inherent) ・+ X Armor ・+ X Main Stat ・+ X Potion Charges ・+ X% Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
Boots	Penitent Greaves You leave behind a trail of frost that Chills enemies. You deal (7-10%) more damage to Chilled enemies. ・+ X% Dodge Chance While Evading(Inherent) ・+ X% Movement Speed ・+ X% Crowd Control Duration ・+ X% Cold Resistance

Best Jewelry

Equipment	Aspects and Affixes
Necklace	Aspect of Corruption Your Imbuement Skill effects have (20-40)% increased potency against Vulnerable enemies. ・+ X% Resist All (Inherent) ・+ X Armor ・+ X Weapon Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies
Ring	Ring of Starless Skies Spending resources reduces your resource costs and increases your damage by x10% for 3 seconds, up to 40%. ・+ X% Shadow Resistance (Inherent) ・+ X% All Stats ・+ X% Lucky Hit Chance ・+ X% Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies ・+ X% Core Skill Damage
Ring	Trickshot Aspect Whenever Penetrating Shot damages an enemy, 2 additional arrows split off to either side. These side arrows deal (XX)% of Penetrating Shot's Base damage and do not split. ・+ X% Resistance (2 Elements) (Inherent) ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage with Imbued Skills

Best Gems

Item Type	Effect Explanation
Sapphire (Weapon)	+ X% Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies Sapphires provide Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies that boosts this build's overall damage output.
Ruby (Armor)	+X% Maximum Life Rubies give max HP boost which is crucial for Rogue's as they do not have the highest health pool.
Diamond (Jewelry)	+ X% Resistance to All Elements Diamonds allow you to resist elemental damage which can be great to keep yourself alive specially against elites.

Paragon Board Setup

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Summary	Skills	Aspects	Paragon

Shadow Imbued Penetrating Shot Playstyle

Critical Imbued Penetrating Shot Build Tips
Build Combo Points Fast Using Daggers Always Use Dark Shroud and Shadow Imbuement Only Use Dash to Reposition

Build Combo Points Fast Using Daggers

Daggers have high attack speed and are beneficial for this build as it uses Combo Points to stack your damage bonuses; this means that you can always maximize the damage output of your Penetrating Shot within a few seconds.

Always Use Dark Shroud and Shadow Imbuement

Always activate your Dark Shroud and Shadow Imbuement before using your Penetrating Shot. Aside from boosting your damage this skill combo utilizes your chance for critical strikes and boosts your critical damage.

Only Use Dash to Reposition

Do not use Dash to imbue enemies as your Penetrating Shot and the Trickshot Aspect can imbue more enemies at once, furthermore, your first Imbued Penetrating Shot can already clear waves of enemies allowing you to use your second Penetrating Shot against another wave.

Only use Dash to reposition or use it as a panic button when things go south. This strategy applies to both bosses and normal mobs.

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