Question about shower copper piping route

Hi there,

I am supply piping to the shower faucet and I had a question about if a route is acceptable. I have drawn two routes, one is in blue, and it would go through the back wall of the shower, and then around the corner to the faucet. The other, in red, goes between the ceiling drywall and the HVAC ducting, and then I would etch out 3/4" of the face of the top wall plate in order to have the piping recessed there, and then put a protective plate over top. Between the ceiling drywall and the duct there will be approximately 3/4", just enough for the 1/2" pipe.

Is the red route acceptable or would that be considered poor workmanship? The blue route would need a lot of 45/90s and I'm concerned it might restrict the flow...

I'd love to know what an experienced plumber would do. Thanks!

I would go the blue route more fittings and more drilling.
But save you in the long run.

You don't want the copper pipe in contact with the duct, so keep that in mind when doing the rough-in.

If you can do the red route without touching the ductwork, that is the way I would go.