Penetrating Shot Rogue Abattoir of Zir Build (Season 2)

This is a Season 2 Penetrating Shot Rogue endgame build in Diablo 4 (D4) that utilizes Poison Imbuement, Vampiric Powers, and Tears of Blood for high damage and extremely high survivability. Read on for the complete list of Vampiric Powers, Skills, and Aspects you need and how to play the build for Season 2 and Abattoir of Zir (AoZ).

Penetrating Shot Rogue Strengths and Weaknesses

Penetrating Shot Rogue Strengths

High Burst Damage

Due to the overstack of skills from item affixes, Paragon Glyphs, and Tears of Blood, this build can achieve high damage outputs that can delete packs of mobs.

Tanky Build

This build can take high bursts of damage due to the stacks of Maximum Life and Damage Reduction.

Lots of Unstoppable

With the Metamorphosis Vampiric Power and multiple evade charges, this build is extremely evasive which benefits the build in pinnacle content.

Penetrating Shot Rogue Weaknesses

Build Difficulty

The build can be hard to achieve as it requires the Harlequin Crest and the Doombringer uber unique items to be fully optimized.

High Skill Requirement

The build requires precise skill combinations which can be hard to achieve. To top it off, this build does not have cleanse despite having multiple charges of unstoppable.

Penetrating Shot Rogue Build Overview

Build Summary

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Summary		Skill Progression		Vampiric Powers
Aspects & Affixes		Gems		Paragon

Skills

Aspects & Uniques

Stats & Gems

Build Overview and Summary
Penetrating Shot		Tier: TBD Focus: PVE Playstyle: Solo and Party
Active Skills
Passive Skills

Build Overview and Summary
Penetrating Shot		Tier: TBD Focus: PVE Playstyle: Solo and Party
Aspects and Uniques
Doombringer Harlequin Crest Penitent Greaves Tibault's Will X'Fal's Corroded Signet Condemnation Windforce Aspect of Disobedience (Amulet) Umbrous Aspect (Chest) Trickshot Aspect (Ring) Rapid Aspect (Gloves) Aspect of Quickening Fog (Boots)

Build Overview and Summary
Penetrating Shot		Tier: TBD Focus: PVE Playstyle: Solo and Party
Stat Priorities			Recommended Gems
・Vulnerable Damage ・Critical Strike Damage ・Critical Strike Chance ・Dexterity ・Damage Reduction ・Damage Reduction from Close Enemies ・Attack Speed Bonus ・Basic Skill Attack Speed ・Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies ・Core Skill Damage ・Poison Damage ・Physical Damage ・Damage Reduction From Distant Enemies ・Marksman Skill Damage ・Damage With Ranged Weapons			Emerald (Weapon) Ruby (Armor)

Penetrating Shot Rogue Build Breakdown

Skill Progression

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Summary		Skill Progression		Vampiric Powers
Aspects & Affixes		Gems		Paragon

Active Skills

Skill		Upgrade Path
Puncture (5 Points)	→	Enhanced Puncture	Fundamental Puncture
Penetrating Shot (13 Points)	→	Enhanced Penetrating Shot	Improved Penetrating Shot
Dash (5 Points)	→	Enhanced Dash	Methodical Dash
Poison Trap (5 Points)	→	Enhanced Poison Trap	Countering Poison Trap
Smoke Grenade (5 Points)	→	Enhanced Smoke Grenade	Countering Smoke Grenade
Poison Imbuement (8 Points)	→	Enhanced Poison Imbuement	Blended Poison Imbuement

This build requires the Uber Unique Helm Harlequin Crest to attain this number of skill points.

Passive Skills

Cold Poison Penetrating Shot Passives
Stutter Step (3 Points)	Sturdy (3 Points)	Weapon Mastery (3 Points)
Exploit (3 Points)	Malice (3 Points)	Precision Imbuement (3 Points)
Deadly Venom (1 Point)<	Debilitating Toxins (3 Points)	Innervation (1 Point)
Alchemist's Fortune (3 Points)	Adrenaline Rush (3 Points)	Impetus (9 Points)
Victimize (1 Point)

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	Penetrating Shot	Penetrating Shot
Lv.10	Lv.11	Lv.12	Lv.13
Penetrating Shot	Penetrating Shot	Dash	Enhanced Dash
Lv.14	Lv.15	Lv.16	Lv.17
Methodical Dash	Weapon Mastery	Weapon Mastery	Weapon Mastery
Lv.18	Lv.19	Lv.20	Lv.21
Dark Shroud	Enhanced Dark Shroud	Subverting Dark Shroud	Smoke Grenade
Lv.22	Lv.23	Lv.24	Lv.25
Enhanced Smoke Grenade	Countering Smoke Grenade	Poison Trap	Enhanced Poison Trap
Lv.26	Lv.27	Lv.28	Lv.29
Countering Poison Trap	Poison Imbuement	Enhanced Poison Imbuement	Blended Poison Imbuement
Lv.30	Lv.31	Lv.32	Lv.33
Sturdy	Sturdy	Sturdy	Stutter Step
Lv.34	Lv.35	Lv.36	Lv.37
Stutter Step	Stutter Step	Exploit	Exploit
Lv.38	Lv.39	Lv.40	Lv.41
Exploit	Malice	Malice	Malice
Lv.42	Lv.43	Lv.44	Lv.45
Precision Imbuement	Precision Imbuement	Precision Imbuement	Deadly Venom
Lv.46	Lv.47	Lv.48	Lv.49
Debilitating Toxins	Debilitating Toxins	Debilitating Toxins	Innervation
Renown Skill Points (Lv50 Onwards)
R1	R2	R3	R4
Alchemist's Fortune	Alchemist's Fortune	Alchemist's Fortune	Adrenaline Rush
R5	R6	R7	R8
Adrenaline Rush	Adrenaline Rush	Impetus	Impetus
R9	R10
Impetus	Victimize

Best Vampiric Powers

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Summary		Skill Progression		Vampiric Powers
Aspects & Affixes		Gems		Paragon

Vampiric Power Cost	Effect Explanation
Accursed Touch 0 6 0	Lucky Hit: Up to a 44% chance to inflict Vampiric Curse on enemies. Enemies with the Vampiric Curse have a 15% chance to spread it to other surrounding enemies. Accursed Souls deal 200% increased damage. Applies Vampiric Curses on enemies which is combined by Metamorphosis and Prey on the Weak vampiric powers. This vampiric power also helps with AoE damage against mobs or burst damage against bosses.
Ravenous 3 0 0	Lucky Hit: Up to a 20% chance to increase your Attack Speed by 40% of your Total Movement Speed for 6 seconds. Provides an attack speed boost that synergizes with almost every skill, aspect, and vampiric power in this build.
Undying 0 0 1	Casting Skills heals you for 3% Life. Double this bonus while below 50% Life. The Undying Vampiric power acts as a stronger replacement for Siphoning Strikes, as it heals you every time you use a skill; basic skills included.
Metamorphosis 2 2 2	When you Evade you turn into a cloud of bats, becoming Unstoppable for 4 seconds. Enemies along your path take 160% Physical damage and are inflicted with Vampiric Curse. Grants unstoppable that synergizes with Tibault's Will; also affects enemies with Vampiric Curse which synergizes with Accursed Touch and Prey on the Weak.
Prey on the Weak 2 0 0	You deal 16% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies. Enemies are Vulnerable while affected by a Vampiric Curse from your other Vampiric Powers. Boosts damage against vulnerable enemies and synergizes with the Accursed Touch vampiric power which makes enemies vulnerable, ultimately replacing the Exploit glyph for the paragon board.
Total Pacts Required 7 | 8 | 3

Specialization

Specialization Guide

Aspects and Affixes

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Summary		Skill Progression		Vampiric Powers
Aspects & Affixes		Gems		Paragon

Best Weapons

Equipment	Aspects and Affixes
Bow	Windforce Lucky Hit: Hits with this weapon have up to a (20-30)% chance to deal double damage and Knock Back the target. ・+ X% Damage to Distant Enemies (Inherent) ・+ X% Vulnerable Damage ・+ X% Core Skill Damage ・+ X Ranks of Concussive ・+ X Ranks of Impetus
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% Basic Skill Damage ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance Against Injured Enemies ・+ X% Damage with Dual-Wielded Weapons ・+ X% Core Skill Damage
1H Sword	Doombringer Lucky Hit: Up to a (15-25)% chance to deal Shadow damage to surrounding enemies and reduce their damage done by 20% for 5 seconds. ・+ X% Critical Strike Damage (Inherent) ・+ X% Core Skill Damage ・+ X Damage ・Lucky Hit: Up to 5% Chance to Heal X Life ・+ X Maximum Life

Best Armor

Equipment	Aspects and Affixes
Helmet	Harlequin Crest Gain (10.0-20.0)% Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +4 Ranks to all Skills. ・+ X All Stats ・+ X% Cooldown Reduction ・+ X Maximum Life ・+ X% Resource Generation
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% Damage Reduction From Close Enemies ・+ X% Lightning Resistance ・+ X% Damage Reduction ・+ X% Fire Resistance
Gloves	Rapid Aspect Basic skills gain (15-30)% Attack Speed. ・+ X Ranks of Penetrating Shot ・+ X% Lucky Hit Chance ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance ・+ X% Attack Speed
Pants	Tibault's Will You deal 20-40% increased damage while Unstoppable and for 4 seconds after. When you become Unstoppable, gain 50 of your Primary Resource. ・While Injured, Your Potion Also Grants 20% Resource (Inherent) ・+ X% Damage Reduction From Close Enemies ・+ X Potion Capacity ・+ X% Damage ・+ X% Maximum Resource
Boots	Aspect of Quickening Fog You automatically drop a Smoke Grenade at the end of Dash. Dash's Cooldown is reduced by (XX) seconds for each enemy Dazed this way, up to (YY) seconds. ・+ X Max Evade Charge (Inherent) ・+ X% Movement Speed ・+ X% Shadow Resistance ・+ X% Poison Resistance ・+ X% Cold Resistance

Best Jewelry

Jewelry	Aspects and Affixes
Amulet	Aspect of Disobedience You gain (0.25-0.50)% increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to (66)%. ・+ X% Resist All (Inherent) ・+ X Ranks Of The Weapon Mastery Passive ・+ X% Cooldown Reduction ・+ X Total Armor ・+ X% Damage Reduction
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% Maximum Life ・+ X% Critical Strike Chance ・+ X% Lucky Hit Chance ・+ X% Damage to Poisoned Enemies
Ring	X'Fal's Corroded Signet Lucky Hit: Your damage over time effects have up to a 50% chance to erupt, dealing 5.0-6.0 damage of the same type to Nearby enemies. ・+ X% Resist All (Inherent) ・+ X% Fire Resistance (Inherent) ・+ X All Stats ・+ X% Damage Over Time ・+ X% Lucky Hit Chance ・+ X% Cooldown Reduction

Best Gems

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Summary		Skill Progression		Vampiric Powers
Aspects & Affixes		Gems		Paragon

Item Type	Effect Explanation
Royal Emerald (Weapon)	+12.0% Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies Emeralds are the gems of choice for this build as it boosts critical damage against vulnerable damage which stacks on this build's favored affixes.
Royal Ruby (Armor)	4.0% Maximum Life Rubies on armor give this build a boost on its survivability because of its increase to maximum life, which is a must for Rogues.
Royal Diamond (Jewelry)	5.0% Resistance to All Elements Adjust your gem slots in the jewelry section depending on the elemental resistances you need. Note that elemental resistances have a cap of 70%, but it can be boosted to 85% temporarily through various means.

Paragon Board Setup

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Summary		Skill Progression		Vampiric Powers
Aspects & Affixes		Gems		Paragon

Starting Board (Ranger)

Get the most out of the rare nodes in this board with a minimal path to the next board while still getting the necessary stats for the Ranger glyph, and boosts for damage, armor, and max health.

• Ranger (Glyph): Provides an increase Penetrating Shot's raw damage.
• Prime and Skillful: Raw damage boosts along the path.
• Resilience: Provides an increase percentage on Max Life which is essential for Rogues.
• Lawless: Increase on armor for extra defense.

Cheap Shot (Tears of Blood)

This is the most optimal board for Tears of Blood with the number of core stats surrounding the glyph area. The magic and rare nodes in this board are one of the build's main sources of damage boost.

• Tears of Blood (Glyph): Will provide a significant damage boost that is extremely helpful for pinnacle content.
• Devious, Calculated, and Oppress: Provides extra damage to crowd-controlled targets.
• Spearhead: Gives a huge damage boost against healthy enemies, which is very important for the build's first cast of Penetrating Shot.

Eldritch Bounty (Infusion)

This board serves to increase the build's poison-imbued penetrating shot damage and resistances through its legendary, rare, and magic nodes.

• Infusion (Glyph): This glyph is important to keep the uptime of Poison Imbuement.
• Eldritch Bounty: Provides poison resistance and increased poison damage.
• Imbuer, Ready Supply, and Potent: Gives an additional boost to our
• Dosage: Increases potion healing and is a good source of extra Dexterity.

Cunning Stratagem (Exploit)

This is a low-investment board that can still give a powerful damage boost as it is an optimal board for the exploit glyph and core skill damage nodes. This board also provides armor which is helpful for this build's defense.

• Exploit (Glyph): Provides an increase on vulnerable damage; synergizes with Prey on the Weak and Accursed Touch Vampiric Powers.
• Finisher: Increases the build's core skill damage which is beneficial for this penetrating shot build.
• Lawless: Increase on armor for extra defense.

No Witnesses (Combat)

Important board for stacking raw damage burst damage, and critical damage for this build's Poison Imbued Penetrating Shot.

• Combat (Glyph): Provides an increase to critical damage, which benefits poison imbuement through its blended upgrade.
• Ruin and Knowledge: Adds raw and burst damage which is a must for penetrating shot builds.
• Training: Adds a percentage of maximum life that helps with the build's tanky playstyle.

Penetrating Shot Rogue Playstyle

Cold Poison Penetrating Shot Build Tips
Recommended Openers and Rotations Alternate Between Basic and Core Skills

Recommended Openers and Rotations

Trash Mob Opener and Skill Rotation

Boss Opener

Every time you use your Puncture, it has a 30% chance to generate 3 Combo Points because of Condemnation. Make sure that you pay attention to this to execute your skill rotation faster.

Alternate Between Basic and Core Skills

To maximize your damage with the Combo Points Specialization, you need to constantly build up your Combo Points using your Basic Attack and consume them with your Core Skill. In addition to the bonus from the Combo Points, make sure that you are also using your Poison Imbuement for additional damage.

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