Jump to content

[EE Mod] Inquisitor so difficult


RavenLight

Recommended Posts

Greetings! Recently I installed Flix's Enhanced Edition Mod and I find it pretty interesting actually. I've created an unstoppable Shadow Warrior as well as a Seraphim that cuts in pieces everything in her path.. but, I find them boring to just click click click. 

So I decided to do a triple aspect hybrid Inquisitor with Ruthless Mutilation for single enemies and Clustering Maelstrom for large groups (triple buff Soul Reaver, Chastisement and Reverse Polarity). But... no matter what I do, I find him so squishy and I always die somehow.

In my first attempt I died around level 30-ish (stupidly went to Gahanka and underestimated him) so I tried again and started another Inquisitor following the same style and this time died around level 40-ish (Lightning Lord owned me here). So I did a third try and this time pumping up Vitality as well as Constitution and Toughness early on but... the story is the same, it only prolonged the inevitable (this time died at level 60-ish killed by... 3 little dragon champions in the Seraphim Island lol).

Anyone else find Inquisitor to be the most difficult character to play with on Enhanced Edition? He has decent damage but his health pool and resistances are so low. 

Your thoughs?

  • Like! 1
Link to comment

Maybe I can offer you something: One of my personal mods is an alternative to the famous Alternate Spells module, but it started as an Inquisitor rebalance mod. The two main ideas were making the Aspects more independent of each other and giving him at least one protective buff that's not all-or-nothing. Once S2EE 3.0 is released, I'll update it to that and after some playtesting, because I don't want it to feel cheaty nor underpowered, I'll upload it if Flix is okay with that (I mean I built it around his mod so when I'm ready I'll ask him first). It might take me some time because I'm simultaneously working on another mod. If by the time of release you tried the tips by Daedalus and Androdion and the others but you're still not getting warm with the standard S2EE Inquisitor, maybe that's an alternative for you.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment

Well, my personal experience with the inquisitor on EE so far is as follow:

I was really tempted for a while to do something similar as you regarding the 'auras' , which is my term for the permanent buffs (due to the ... well ... aura they give the toon, duh :D ). 

Such a build is way, wayyyyyy to offensive and especially in EE. In fact, I've noticed too many people are very attracted to the absolute carnage an inquisitor can do using those ... and completely ignoring that doing so is the total expanse of defense, which is guaranteed to be a death sentence sooner or later.

Much current inquisitor at level 79, and boy were they stupid death where it was not the build or the toon itself but me the player who was totally responsible for it :( 

Because one thing I've noticed with the inquisitor is ... well ... did you notice how the dude never seem to lose its cool? Well, that's how you need to play him not just to survive but to teach those heretics a lesson they will never forgot mwahahahhahahahah !! :eqs5V2L: 

And let's be honest there, the inquisitor, especially in EE, is really, really well equipped to deal with a whole lot of different situations. And since getting to level 75 and getting a third aura, I am often switching the third one according to the region I am in and the monsters I am facing. To make a long story short, weapon bases monsters (or claw based, or vine-in-your-face based ... you get the drill), soul reaver is the way to go ... generally but not always. reflective aura on the other hand is always useful when modded properly but can lack some ompfh! in certain zones. 

The other thing the inquisitor has going for him is ways to deal both with a metric ton of monsters (clustering maelstrom is a big one as you've noticed :) ) and ways to deal with bosses ( dislodged spirit+ inexorable subjugation can be really and wholly destructive against all bosses :eqs5V2L: especially with doppelganger/demonS pals :eqs5V2L: ). 

But my biggest and one of the most surprising discovery (especially for a caster inquisitor like mine!) is how damn incredibly useful is mortifying pillory!! Wow!!! This has saved my inquisitor's hide more than a few times since I've started using it and ... it's surprisingly straightforward how: 

Keep at low to very low regen times and a the first hint of being swarmed with too many monsters, mark a few of those as "heretics", creating a civil war in the process and allowing some room to breathe, regroup ... and send them to their collective grave en masse like the heretics that they are ... and make sure to shout "EXTERMINATUS" very loud when you do !!! :eqs5V2L: (:P). No kidding, if you have just a modicum of gruesome inquisition focus, that CA can save your hide trust me. And make some of the thoughest champions fight soooo much more easy to win!! :) 

Personal experience of course, then again ... only two deaths so far, and due to the fact that, like you, not only did I panick ( poor life choice :) ) but also did not upgrade my reflecting aura enough (ouch!) . 

I could also add that there are a few mods that can regenerate a % based portions of your life and that they are incredibly effective ... provided of course you're fighting monsters that actually leave a soul or body to drain for life, which does not always happen. 

Anyways, these are some of the few tidbits I've learned on the inquisitor, specifically for EE ... and that I intend to do a "civil war" build one of these days using mortifying pillory to have the monsters fight each other ... while I kill them at a distance. 

PS : use  a ranged weapon slot with mortifying pillory and use some +% to attack speed in addition to having low regen time for extra usefulness :D 

Link to comment
9 hours ago, Androdion said:

I can't speak for EE because I've played the Inquisitor with just CM 1.60, but having played a triple aspect one with the same buffs as you I can tell you that he's an absolute squish. The simple fact is that the Inquisitor is very vulnerable to both elemental and spell damage, but he compensates with a hefty damage output. With that being said if you don't employ some defensive measures early on you'll be put down by rangers/casters very easily. Having some sort of life leech is a must in my book, since the Inquisitor hits very hard and very fast. Playing with Gruesome Inquisition as your primary aspect allows you to dish out an immense amount of both hits and damage, so the more hits the more LL. Also make sure to run mounted when in highly populated areas, the special mount gives a boost to Willpower, so it covers a gap in that class' attributes.

One other thing that may com in handy is to prioritise your first masteries. I have a running toon, an Ice/Delphic High Elf, and the first three masteries were all defensive skills. Namely Armor Lore, Constitution and Toughness. Sure I've spread some points enough to modify a few working CAs, but those were the first skills I've mastered, even before CA Focus and Lore skills. After lv.75 you have plenty of time to start modifying everything else. If you're running a squishy class and the crits do hit you badly then going for defense before offence can be a good thing.

You should also use your buffs accordingly to the spot where you are. RP is great in smaller crowded spaces like the Carnach Caves, as well as boss fights where SR just won't work. For open air monster hunting maximize your damage output with PC+SR. If you're at the Swamp you may want to use PC+RP though, there's much more danger from casters there than from melee mobs.

I've modded my Ruthless Mutilation for the Lifeleech mod but it simply isn't enough. Wanted to fully use the Disgraced Gods set for the effect but I'm standing at 4 pieces from it at the moment. 

I started another Inquisitor, this time focusing on my defense more than my offense, like mastering Armor Lore and Constitution at 75 along Concentration and maybe Tactics Lore at 80-90.

For the buffs I will mainly use Soul Reaver and Reverse Polarity until 75 where I'll start using Chastisement. Hope it'll work this time around :D

Link to comment
7 hours ago, Lindor said:

Maybe I can offer you something: One of my personal mods is an alternative to the famous Alternate Spells module, but it started as an Inquisitor rebalance mod. The two main ideas were making the Aspects more independent of each other and giving him at least one protective buff that's not all-or-nothing. Once S2EE 3.0 is released, I'll update it to that and after some playtesting, because I don't want it to feel cheaty nor underpowered, I'll upload it if Flix is okay with that (I mean I built it around his mod so when I'm ready I'll ask him first). It might take me some time because I'm simultaneously working on another mod. If by the time of release you tried the tips by Daedalus and Androdion and the others but you're still not getting warm with the standard S2EE Inquisitor, maybe that's an alternative for you.

Your mod sounds fun as well as the EE mod I'm currently using. May giving it a try :D Also, does it work with EE mod or I have to disable it before trying yours?

  • Appreciation 1
Link to comment
5 hours ago, Daedalus said:

Well, my personal experience with the inquisitor on EE so far is as follow:

I was really tempted for a while to do something similar as you regarding the 'auras' , which is my term for the permanent buffs (due to the ... well ... aura they give the toon, duh :D ). 

Such a build is way, wayyyyyy to offensive and especially in EE. In fact, I've noticed too many people are very attracted to the absolute carnage an inquisitor can do using those ... and completely ignoring that doing so is the total expanse of defense, which is guaranteed to be a death sentence sooner or later.

Much current inquisitor at level 79, and boy were they stupid death where it was not the build or the toon itself but me the player who was totally responsible for it :( 

Because one thing I've noticed with the inquisitor is ... well ... did you notice how the dude never seem to lose its cool? Well, that's how you need to play him not just to survive but to teach those heretics a lesson they will never forgot mwahahahhahahahah !! :eqs5V2L: 

And let's be honest there, the inquisitor, especially in EE, is really, really well equipped to deal with a whole lot of different situations. And since getting to level 75 and getting a third aura, I am often switching the third one according to the region I am in and the monsters I am facing. To make a long story short, weapon bases monsters (or claw based, or vine-in-your-face based ... you get the drill), soul reaver is the way to go ... generally but not always. reflective aura on the other hand is always useful when modded properly but can lack some ompfh! in certain zones. 

The other thing the inquisitor has going for him is ways to deal both with a metric ton of monsters (clustering maelstrom is a big one as you've noticed :) ) and ways to deal with bosses ( dislodged spirit+ inexorable subjugation can be really and wholly destructive against all bosses :eqs5V2L: especially with doppelganger/demonS pals :eqs5V2L: ). 

But my biggest and one of the most surprising discovery (especially for a caster inquisitor like mine!) is how damn incredibly useful is mortifying pillory!! Wow!!! This has saved my inquisitor's hide more than a few times since I've started using it and ... it's surprisingly straightforward how: 

Keep at low to very low regen times and a the first hint of being swarmed with too many monsters, mark a few of those as "heretics", creating a civil war in the process and allowing some room to breathe, regroup ... and send them to their collective grave en masse like the heretics that they are ... and make sure to shout "EXTERMINATUS" very loud when you do !!! :eqs5V2L: (:P). No kidding, if you have just a modicum of gruesome inquisition focus, that CA can save your hide trust me. And make some of the thoughest champions fight soooo much more easy to win!! :) 

Personal experience of course, then again ... only two deaths so far, and due to the fact that, like you, not only did I panick ( poor life choice :) ) but also did not upgrade my reflecting aura enough (ouch!) . 

I could also add that there are a few mods that can regenerate a % based portions of your life and that they are incredibly effective ... provided of course you're fighting monsters that actually leave a soul or body to drain for life, which does not always happen. 

Anyways, these are some of the few tidbits I've learned on the inquisitor, specifically for EE ... and that I intend to do a "civil war" build one of these days using mortifying pillory to have the monsters fight each other ... while I kill them at a distance. 

PS : use  a ranged weapon slot with mortifying pillory and use some +% to attack speed in addition to having low regen time for extra usefulness :D 

I never used Mortifying Pillory, might give it a try. Usually when I was crowded with mobs I just Maelstrom them to death :D 

Also for the Dislodged Spirit and Subjugation, didn't really used them since I don't usually use Nefarious Lore in this 3 aspect build. I had problems against bosses as well but I was just summoning my Sakkara Demon from the Divine gift and watch them fight. I'll probably use Dislodged/Subjugation but I'm not sure if they will work without Nefarious Lore, especially against bosses.

Link to comment
33 minutes ago, RavenLight said:

Your mod sounds fun as well as the EE mod I'm currently using. May giving it a try :D Also, does it work with EE mod or I have to disable it before trying yours?

Once it's finished, it will work with EE. In fact I'm building it around EE so it won't work without EE:D

  • Like! 1
Link to comment
3 hours ago, RavenLight said:

For the buffs I will mainly use Soul Reaver and Reverse Polarity until 75 where I'll start using Chastisement. Hope it'll work this time around

Thing is, Soul Reaver only works with mobs that provide souls. Undead, Energy and Mechanical mobs won't give you any boost, and if you're thinking just about the main campaign you do find a lot of those. Also by not using your best buff you're setting aside the best part of the Inquisitor, his high damage output. Purifying Chastisement is your all around buff, the one you always keep turned on, while Soul Reaver will be used for when you face mainly weapon-based mobs (melee, ranged), and Reverse Polarity you'll use for when you run against casters and bosses (unless you're going against the Raging Boar for instance, where Soul Reaver will be more effective). I'm not even sure if you do need that Concentration mastery because those three buffs can be paired when needed, and that alone leaves you much more room to concentrate on other skills which will let you develop your build better.

I used to run my Inquisitor with a Clustering Maelstrom/Ruthless Mutilation combo followed by a Ruthless Mutilation/Callous Execution combo, and even with Superspawn you get a lot of bang for the buck. Dual-wielder, life leeched per hit weapons, CAs modified for extra impact, Zealous Doppelganger modified for boss fights (it retains any weapon effects you carry, so life leech!) and Paralyzing Dread/Frenetic Fervor for a rapid boost and debuff. The idea is to get as many mobs around you as possible and kill them in as little hits as possible. The CM/RM combo is great for that, and then you get to double the dose with RM/CE right after it. And since you can modify CE for regen per hit you get to recharge CM with it. So you can loop your combos.

The one thing I'd advise in an Inquisitor to make it less squishy would be to find room in the skill set for Spell Resistance. I know I didn't because I just wanted to go all out offensive, but I really noticed how the lack of that skill impaired my build.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment
2 hours ago, Androdion said:

Thing is, Soul Reaver only works with mobs that provide souls. Undead, Energy and Mechanical mobs won't give you any boost, and if you're thinking just about the main campaign you do find a lot of those. Also by not using your best buff you're setting aside the best part of the Inquisitor, his high damage output. Purifying Chastisement is your all around buff, the one you always keep turned on, while Soul Reaver will be used for when you face mainly weapon-based mobs (melee, ranged), and Reverse Polarity you'll use for when you run against casters and bosses (unless you're going against the Raging Boar for instance, where Soul Reaver will be more effective). I'm not even sure if you do need that Concentration mastery because those three buffs can be paired when needed, and that alone leaves you much more room to concentrate on other skills which will let you develop your build better.

I used to run my Inquisitor with a Clustering Maelstrom/Ruthless Mutilation combo followed by a Ruthless Mutilation/Callous Execution combo, and even with Superspawn you get a lot of bang for the buck. Dual-wielder, life leeched per hit weapons, CAs modified for extra impact, Zealous Doppelganger modified for boss fights (it retains any weapon effects you carry, so life leech!) and Paralyzing Dread/Frenetic Fervor for a rapid boost and debuff. The idea is to get as many mobs around you as possible and kill them in as little hits as possible. The CM/RM combo is great for that, and then you get to double the dose with RM/CE right after it. And since you can modify CE for regen per hit you get to recharge CM with it. So you can loop your combos.

The one thing I'd advise in an Inquisitor to make it less squishy would be to find room in the skill set for Spell Resistance. I know I didn't because I just wanted to go all out offensive, but I really noticed how the lack of that skill impaired my build.

I agree with the Spell Resistance. Basically I was kinda immune vs weapons and one hit dead from spells from champion mobs. I think I'm going to replace Asture Lore with Spell Resistance, it's the only skill that I can afford to play without.

As for the Soul Reaver, I used superspawn and basically I got like 15.000 attack and 12.000 defense all the time (even got souls from Undead like skeletons or zombies, at least in the swamps I did, not sure from ghosts). 

How did you modded your Chastisement buff by the way? As I stated some posts above I went for the Fire damage boost for bronze (not really matters here) while silver I went with increased chance to crit instead of threshold increase. For gold I went for damage output increase instead of damage mitigation (probably the most important choice here, not sure how is it proper to go to be honest) 

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Androdion said:

I used the same config as you, in order to maximize damage output.

Whem I played triple aspect I just used the focus skills of the other two trees for modifying the CAs, so yeah I'd drop ASL as well.

Glad to hear your feedback! Thanks for the info :D 

Link to comment

No problem mate. The Inquisitor is a very specific class, it verges on those that are clearly unbalanced on purpose in this game. You know, unlike a Shadow Warrior or a Seraphim where you can play however you want and still have a nice natural balance between being tough and practical. Other classes in this game tend to be closer to the glass canon archetype, in which you can be highly effective yet very prone to being hurt. The Inquisitor is not only that, but it also revels in that. That's why you have the threshold mod in the Purifying Chastisement buff, to play like you don't care about defense since that way you can kill faster and faster. So playing an Inquisitor as if it was a balanced class is a bit tricky indeed. Furthermore with the added difficulty provided by EE you'll find that threshold even closer and the frailties of the class even more pronounced. Hence why I mentioned playing a HE with an emphasis on mastering defensive skills first and foremost. You see, you can't play EE like you'd play vanilla. It'll hurt you, bad. So the alternative is to find an optimal way to stay alive, and in that respect focusing first on a different set of skills while keeping a balance with modifying important CAs seems to strike a few points for balance.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment

I know it's not as fun but the Inquisitor can use shields in EE.  So that's always an option.

I'll see if there's not some tweaks I can make for his survivability in 3.0.  One that comes to mind is having souls heal the Inquisitor a bit more when he collects a soul.  That might help survival while still being in keeping with his offensive nature.

By the looks of the latest Addendum, Paralyzing Dread wasn't working right at all either.  Once I get it overhauled there may be some more benefits there.  These include significant debuffs to enemy attack speed, armor, and attack rating, as well as Fear to keep them away from you.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment

Yeah the Inquisitor is meant to be an offensive demon, constantly risking death at the cost of massive damage output.

That being said, I've tested the new revamped (fixed) Paralyzing Dread and it should make a huge difference in 3.0.

I'm not sure which, if any, of the original functions was working, but I can confirm they're all working now, to a great effect.  The debuffs to enemy attack speed, attack value, physical armor are definitely working and will make any melee mob much less dangerous.  I also tested fear and the expanded radius - also working.

For the gold mod "Confidence" I had to replace the attack rating buff with an Evade Chance buff, for technical reasons.  This should help with defense, and I think the Inquisitor's cup already overrunneth when it comes to sources of attack rating anyway.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment
13 hours ago, Flix said:

Yeah the Inquisitor is meant to be an offensive demon, constantly risking death at the cost of massive damage output.

That being said, I've tested the new revamped (fixed) Paralyzing Dread and it should make a huge difference in 3.0.

I'm not sure which, if any, of the original functions was working, but I can confirm they're all working now, to a great effect.  The debuffs to enemy attack speed, attack value, physical armor are definitely working and will make any melee mob much less dangerous.  I also tested fear and the expanded radius - also working.

For the gold mod "Confidence" I had to replace the attack rating buff with an Evade Chance buff, for technical reasons.  This should help with defense, and I think the Inquisitor's cup already overrunneth when it comes to sources of attack rating anyway.

Any idea when the EE 3.0 will be out? Asking to know so I'll start a new toon on the updated patch

Link to comment
1 hour ago, RavenLight said:

Any idea when the EE 3.0 will be out? Asking to know so I'll start a new toon on the updated patch

Sometime around Christmas, I expect.  Everything is pretty much done.  I'm just working on some texture upscaling for the Blood Forest right now.  I usually like to package up the entire mod and then test it for a few days before release to make sure I didn't leave anything out.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Flix said:

Sometime around Christmas, I expect.  Everything is pretty much done.  I'm just working on some texture upscaling for the Blood Forest right now.  I usually like to package up the entire mod and then test it for a few days before release to make sure I didn't leave anything out.

Thanks! Can't actually wait :D However, will it require a new campaign or I can play with some old toons I have?

Link to comment
8 hours ago, Androdion said:

I've made him that same question recently. His answer was that apart from a few possible broken quests and a re-roll of the rare items' bonuses you're in the clear to keep your toon. :)

Thanks! :D 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up