A comprehensive guide to the Pure Caster Inquisitor

[Dobri 55]

WARNING!! This build can be utilized up to patch 2.43 of Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel. With the wicked nerfs to deathblow, all skills and other items in Ice & Blood, the Pure Caster Inquisitor will have very, very tough time in platinum and niobium, since his damage will be vastly reduced due to the lack of deathblow for various of his aspects and the reduced CA level he will be forced to play with. If you still want to try this build in Ice & Blood, be warned. I don't want to hear how hard it is. It was hard in Fallen Angel, it will be even harder in Ice & Blood. Good luck!

 

 

Anyone up for a challenging game with lots of ups and downs, full of raw power, almost no left-clicking and a lot of tough time, but still yielding a very enjoyable and very rewarding result? Yes? Good. Then this pure caster Inquisitor build is for you.

 

Before I start writing this guide, I'd like you to know that I am fully aware of the other guides that analyze the pure caster inquisitor aspect of this game (especially Stephane's and Von Bek's). Although my skill setup is the same as the one Von Bek wrote in his guide (http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=9334) quite some time ago, I will give you a completely different perspective.

 

1. Preparing to play a pure caster Inquisitor.

 

I will start outright with a warning - the Pure Caster Inquisitor is a very difficult build, which requires an experienced player, who is well versed in the mechanics of this game, has some serious Sacred 2 background and preferably enough chars to support this Inquisitor as he levels up.

 

By support I mean shoppers (own or friends) and preferably a char with access to niobium (or a char with blacksmithing in niobium) difficulty. You can do it without this, but you will be in for a REAL TOUGH time, which may force you to quit this char or see him succumb to his enemies. However, if you manage to do it without any support, you can give yourself a well deserved pat on the back. Still, with so many players having niobium smiths and such, you hardly be left without any basic help.

 

2. Basic reasoning.

 

The Pure Caster Inquisitor is a tough to play build which yields astonishing results in the end. However, he does require time to start showing his true potential. If you are willing to invest that time and get a game that barely gets boring, this build is for you. If not - just make an offensive close combat Inquisitor and have fun.

 

In order to make this char shine, you will need to play with a strongly specialized main aspect, good support aspect, and a very precise skill complement. In addition to that, you will need to keep a very close eye on his health bar and his resistances, because the Inquisitor suffers from a poor armor complement regardless of the build.

 

3. Advanced reasoning - what's so special about this build and what's the difference between it and the other guides?

 

The answer is very simple - most of the caster Inquisitor get way too comfortable with the Astute Supremacy aspect and make it their main aspect without much thinking. I agree - Astute is great, has great crowd control, allows for quick leveling up, but lacks one major thing. There is no boss killing combat art there. Levin Array may be good, but it doesn't kill a boss quickly, and you don't really want to get hit often. Clustering Maelstrom and Raving Thrust are useless vs. bosses. This is why I decided to try out a build based on the Nefarious Netherworld Aspect as main one and Astute Supremacy as a secondary. I would like to assure you that the Astute aspect will by no means suffer from this choice. It is powerful enough as it is.

 

Taking Nefarious Netherworld as main aspect has some serious advantages. The aspect has the perfect boss killer combat art - Inexorable Subjugation. Although it is a slow killer, this combat art is a boss disabler. This means that while you're chanelling this CA, the boss or the enemy is immobilized and will not hit you. In addition to that, if the enemy dies which you're chanelling, you will get a helper (minion) for a certain duration. At higher levels the caster Inquisitor may be surrounded by a doppelganger and over 15 minions, which means more than enough distraction for the enemies on the map, and this keeps him alive. Properly modded Subjugation CA will make the minions a more enticing target and will even allow the Inquisitor to approach the boss up close and slap a Dislodged spirit CA without even getting hit (provided his doppelganger didn't do it), or further debilitate the enemy with Paralyzing Dread.

 

4. The build.

 

You can feel free to change the initial build setup and take the skills in whichever order you may wish. However, my playthrough analysis will be based on this exact order of skill picks.

 

level 2 - Concentration - to allow for 2-3 buffs and further improve the regeneration times for our CAs.

level 25 - Constitution - you will not go far without a proper amount of hit points. This skill is a must for any build and you must achieve a mastery in it by level 75 at all costs.

level 50 - Toughness - this skill is extremely powerful. Not only it improves our armor, but it also nullifies part of the incoming damage.

level 65 - Constitution [75] - we only need the in-combat hit point regeneration bonus, you should have it at skill level 75 by char level 75. The + all skills equipment will deal with the rest.

4. Toughness [75+] - you need a mastery here to ensure your survival. Since the Inquisitor has poor armors, you should improve this skill regularly (mainly through updating your + all skills equipment till you get to mastering it) to cope with the improving damage of the enemies.

8. Concentration [75] - mastering this skill at the 8th pick isn't late, because most of the game you will be hard pressed to play with reduced number of buffs, or otherwise you will overburden your regeneration times a great deal.

9. Concentration - 75

Constitution - 75

Toughness - 165

Dual Wield - 1

 

911 points total. No deaths, but quite a few close shaves.

 

EDIT: A little in-depth analysis. We only need 75 points in a skill at first. As soon as you have gotten all 9 masteries, then we will start adding more points in the respective skills who may go over 75 (netherworld lore, astute lore, toughness). Let's calculate. It takes 8x75=600 points to master skill 8 and 9x75=675 points to master skill 9. You need to put 5 points in Netherworld Lore to open up anything else, but they still count in the totals, so they will simply slow the mastery of any skill above Netherworld lore which can't be kept at character level (most notably armor lore and nefarious lore itself) by 1 level.

Until level 50 you have: (3 * 1) + (7 * 2) + (13 * 3) + (25 * 4)=156 points. This means that by level 50, you can have 2 skills at character level and one pretty close to it - 50 in Nefarious focus; 50 in astute focus; 46 in Constitution; 5 in level 1 skills (armor lore, astute lore, Concentration, Combat Discipline, Toughness) and 5 necessary to put in nefarious lore. To get to 600 you need 444 more points and to get to 675 you need 519 more points. This means you need: 444/5=88.8 or 89-90 levels to get a mastery in your 8th skill (concentration) which is level 50+89=139 (or 140 if 90 levels) - the doppelganger should arrive just in the nick of time for niobium. 519/5=103.8 or 104 levels to get your mastery in the last skill - Combat Discipline, which should happen at about level 154 (50+104).

From level 155 upwards the only thing you need to do is improve the 2 lores of this build till you mod everything, meaning you should first get Nefarious lore and Astute Lore up to 125. This is 100 points (2x50) or 20 levels. This means that by char level 175 you will have mastered everything and will have modded everything. From level 175 upwards I strongly suggest you evenly boost Toughness and Nefarious Netherworld Lore till you get to level 200 and the build setup I posted above.

 

6. Distributing the attribute points.

 

This build has one big problem - and that problem is its defense. Even though we will be running all possible options to reduce the damage our inquisitor is going to take, he will still need a lot of hit points to survive. As such, I propose 2 attribute point distribution options:

 

Option 1: All attribute points (401) go to Vitality.

Option 2: 1 vit at start (2-49), 1 vit/1 sta from level 50 till level 150, 3 vit till the end (150-200).

 

The second option will improve the regeneration times a little, but you will manage to balance them in the end no matter what, so option 1 is my preferred choice.

 

7. The playthrough.

 

Although I'm usually giving the playthrough in the very end of my guides, I will make an exception this time. The main reason for this is the fact that this build is very delicate and you should know what to expect at all times. It will also help you understand my reasoning in the selection of CA mods and equipment.

 

Level 1-15 - these levels are designated for kobold trashing. This will ensure that you get enough runes to set all your main CAs before we start doing the Griffin boss runs.

Level 15-35 - these levels are designated for one of the 2 options:

-> White Griffin Boss Runs - if you have a good niobium smith and a shopper to set you up with a decent starter equip with a lot of sockets, then this option is the best for you. It will ensure that you get a lot of set items to start your character off the right foot. This option also allows for very quick level up from 15 to 35, as well as ensuring a lot of runes to go around.

-> Do quests - if you don't have a good niobium smith/shopper, etc., you will have to start doing various quests for rare and set item drops.

At this point you can afford only 1 buff - Soul reaver, only when you take the 2nd mod - Source, which decreases the regeneration time of combat arts while the Inquisitor is accompanied by souls, no sooner.

Level 35-60 - find a good place to level up. I usually level in the Orc Cave till level 59 and get the last level while roaming the map. The Orc Cave is really easy now with the Clustering Maelstrom + Raving Thrust + Levin Array combo and 70% deathblow or more. With 75% deathblow and moderate + all skills the enemies inside die in a single combo.

Level 60-100 - I usually keep on leveling in the Orc Cave, while taking small breaks for questing in the swamps. Orc cave should be at 1-2 combos at this time (with the same combo and 75% or more deathblow) and the swamps are full of mobs, begging for crowd control leveling with Clustering Maelstrom or Clustering + Raving Thrust (+ Levin Array - can be skipped) combo. I know you may have a different play style, but I'm a grinder and have no problems doing areas over and over... Around level 85 you should be able to add your second buff - Reverse polarity and provide yourself with some more survivability.

Level 100-140 - Orc cave is my choice again, but the problem is that orcs start hitting harder and harder. At this point I usually re-vamp my entire equipment - I make 1 set based on physical (or all channel) damage mitigation and 1 universal set. Paying attention to the health bar and keeping up the 2 buffs is a good way of surviving this levels. I usually do Orc Cave - Desert - Swamp runs to keep myself from boredom, as well as occasional boss runs with Inexorable Subjugation. It is a slow killer, but it does work and provides me with some set items to replace the old ones. The Clustering - Raving - Levin Array is still a good combo. If you managed to get 75 in CD, add eruptive desecration to it.

Level 140-200 - even at 25x XP in my test, the level ups still took some time. At this point I can add Zealous Doppelganger as a buff, since higher value + all skills rings/amulets become available and regeneration times get easier to balance. As usual, I do Orc Cave runs (it's best to ensure 40% or more close combat reflection) and swamp hunting. Boss runs are a pain in the butt, but with Inexorable + Doppelganger they still work - although it does take 5-8 mins per run. I usually do Griffin or Holos. Holos has purely physical damage, and my equipment with the inquisitor is mainly based on physical damage mitigation, which is based on my play style: orc cave requires good physical damage resistance and poison relics.

 

8. The Combat arts.

 

Since we're using only 2 aspects, we will utilize most of their combat arts. Due to the intricate nature of most of the Inquisitor's combat arts, it is very hard to give a proper minimum or maximum regeneration time limit. Where no proper regeneration time is applicable, I will do my best to give thorough pointers.

 

8.1. Nefarious Netherworld aspect.

 

Read 1-5 runes (at most) in all of these CAs and get the rest through + all combat arts equipment. Keep it up until you get to niobium. With the improved + all skills rings and amulets you regeneration times will drop and then you can add some more runes.

 

1) Dislodged Spirit - this is a pretty cool CA. It reduces the enemy's abilities for a certain amount of time. Its only real usefulness is when battling bosses, as it will indirectly improve the damage you inflict (due to the decreased boss attributes). Keep the regeneration time roughly equal to the time in which the soul is away from the opponent's body (refer to the CA description).

Mods:

Spite - Increases the duration of the soul being held. (50% increase)

Deprivation - Further decreases opponent's attributes while the soul is being held. (64% increased base value)

Stimulate - Steals energy from the target, which will decrease the regeneration time of combat arts. (5% + 5% per CA level stolen)

Our task is to keep the duration high. Even though the boss will be almost constantly Subjugated (meaning disabled), we would still want Subjugation to do more damage, right?

 

2) Inexorable Subjugation - our main CA for this aspect. It can be used vs. bosses and for ordinary hunting. Keep the regeneration time roughly close to the time it takes to channel the CA or less. At higher char level the CA itself will settle between 2.0s-2.8s, although the chanelling will be a lot longer, which means you can try and pump runes here to increase the CA level way beyond its max level, provided by Netherworld focus.

Mods:

Brunt - Inflicts more magic damage per time unit. (33.3% increase)

Menace - The spectral companion poses a significantly higher threat to opponents. (100% increase)

Probation - Increases the spectral companion's lifespan. (33.3% increase)

I tried Brunt vs. Effort and I can't really say which is better. Brunt forces the CA to last longer, and you can pump it to really high levels without burdening the regeneration time, because the chanelling lasts for quite a while (about 4-5 seconds before you need to recast). Menace and probation will ensure that the enemies will hack at your subjugated minions and not at you. Extremely important mod. Probation ensures your minions last longer

NOTE: Although wiki says the increase in lifespan is a flat value, the CA does improve the lifespan. At CA level 108 my minions last around 60 seconds. I can't be sure since I have no chronometer and I'm counting out loud... You can imagine how stupid I look...

 

3) Soul Reaver - very cool buff for the caster Inquisitor. It provides a nice boost to atk and def values while its active... And more!

Mods:

Zealot - Increases the lifespan of each reanimated soul. (50% increase)

Source - Decreases the regeneration time of combat arts while the Inquisitor is accompanied by souls. (10% + 0.5% per CA level decrease)

Zealot - Increases the lifespan of each reanimated soul. (50% increase)

Modded like this, the buff pretty much cancels its own penalty on the CA regen times. With more levels in netherworld focus and concentration, it will even reduce the regen times as long as you have at least 1 soul with you. This is why taking the improved soul lifespan twice is imperative.

 

4) Eruptive Desecration - forces slain enemies to explode, inflicting additional damage. The only good use I found for this CA was in the Clustering + Raving + Levin Array combo when I got Combat Discipline mastery. The damage output is decent and if executed properly, it will pretty much obliterate anything left standing. Keep the regeneration time equal to that of Clustering maelstrom and Raving thrust.

Mods:

Greed - Adds a chance to receive additional items from the corpse. (19.8% + 0.2% per CA level chance)

Violence - Increases the damage dealt by explosions. (50% increased physical damage)

Apocalypse - Increases the explosion's range. (60% increase from base value)

The bronze mod isn't much... you can pick whichever you like. I took greed because it reminded me about the old times with the barbarian in Diablo 2 where I went from corpse to corpse to pop them up for more items. I took Violence because the damage increase is nice and you don't really need 2 range improvements, because clustering maelstrom will keep the mobs close, and that's why only the last mod is for range improvement.

 

5) Paralyzing Dread - it is really, really cool CA, but with all those offensive CAs running around, it's sort of useless, because it's hard to incorporate in the play style. However, it does work well together with Dislodged spirit. I usually use it against bosses in a combo with dislodged, as it debilitates them even further. Keep its regeneration time roughly equal to that of dislodged spirit.

Mods:

Despair - Reduces the opponents' resistance values. (50 + 1 per CA level decrease)

Decrepit - Reduces attack speed even more. (19.8% + 0.2% per CA level decrease / 50% increase from base value)

Extension - Increases the range of effect. (50% increase)

Since we will be using this CA in conjunction with Dislodged spirit, these are the logical mods. Reduction in resistance values will improve the damage of Inexorable Subjugation and the Zealous Doppelganger's attacks. Decrepit and Extension are simply a bonus.

 

8.2. Astute Supremacy aspect.

 

Read 1-5 runes (at most) in all of these CAs and get the rest through + all combat arts equipment. Keep it up until you get to niobium. With the improved + all skills rings and amulets you regeneration times will drop and then you can add some more runes.

 

1) Clustering Maelstrom - the wickedly overpowered CA as long as there are a lot of enemies on the map or you managed to gather a big mob. Use this CA when you can gather 6 or more opponents close to one another. Keep the regeneration time to 3-5s in the early levels (should be enough to gather a mob) and under 2s at higher levels, so that it becomes an effective combo CA.

Mods:

Chaos - Opponents tumbling into other opponents will inflict more damage. (49.5% + 0.5% per CA level increase)

Vortex - Increases the range of Clustering Maelstrom. (18.75% increased area of effect from base value)

Vortex - Increases the range of Clustering Maelstrom. (18.75% increased area of effect from base value)

Modded like this, maelstrom works wonder for me. I'm counting on sheer enemy numbers to make maelstrom good, not on its secondary effects. There is nothing that tops the ability to kill over 20 enemies in a single cast. Simply priceless! And... you are not a student at Hogwarts to take the Stupefy mod. Let Harry Potter cast it and forget about it.

 

2) Levin Array - this is our secondary CA for the astute aspect. It provides good attacking options for groups of 2-5 enemies. using it against single opponents will be a waste because Inexorable Subjugation is way better in that aspect. Keep it at 2.5s at lower char level and at 1s or less on higher char levels in order to both spam it and get it to be a good combo complementation CA.

Mods:

Disperse - Increases the angle of effectiveness. (45° increase / 50% increase from base value)

Hesitation - Briefly reduces the opponent's attack speed. (19.8% + 0.2% per CA level decrease)

Dynamic - Increases the chance for critical hits. (19.8% + 0.2% per CA level chance)

I prefer the disperse mod. Since most of the Inquisitor's spell attacks are at mid-range (nothing like the HE's Cobalt Strike/Frost Flare or Seraphim's Baneful smite), I'd rather take the opportunity to hit mobs in a larger area in front of me rather than the ones further back. For the same reason, I'd rather have the opponents' atk speed reduced than run speed. As for the last mod, everyone loves crits!

 

3) Raving Thrust - alone this CA doesn't do much, unless you're tightly surrounded by mobs. We are not planning on that, so the only useful place there is for this spell is in a combo with clustering maelstrom. This is why you should keep its regeneration time close or equal to that of Clustering Maelstrom - 3-5s at lower levels and under 2s at higher levels.

Mods:

Bedaze - Adds a chance to stun opponents briefly. (19.8% + 0.2% chance)

Vehemence - Increases damage caused. (33.3% increase)

Lesion - A successful hit greatly reduces the target's base hitpoints for a brief period. (19.9% + 0.1% per CA level chance of deep wound)

Since we decided not to play Harry Potter with Clustering Maelstrom, we will do that here, since we will use raving in the same combo with clustering, hence the Bedaze mod. Vehemence and Lesion just make raving thrust better.

 

4) Reverse Polarity - the second buff you will take. It is imperative to have it by the time you reach Platinum, since at that point the mobs start hitting harder. Do not use it until you get the silver mod for close combat reflection - you will simply burden the regen times. As soon as you take it though, start utilizing the buff. It will save your life more than once.

Mods:

Rebound - Adds a chance to reflect magic damage. (20% + 2% per CA level chance)

Counterblow - Adds a chance to reflect close combat damage. (20% + 2% per CA level chance)

Evade - Increases the defense value. (10 + 5 per CA level increase)

Nothing much to deliberate about the mods... These are the only ones that complement this build to the best of their ability.

 

EDIT 2: A nice discussion heated up, and quite rightly so. The Exploit Gold mod on Reverse Polarity directly reduces the damage you take by switching some of it to your minions.

For that matter, if you play single player, or you play online, but 100% of the time solo, you should choose that mod, as it will complement your build better than the evade mod.

However, if you play mostly in party online or you are a regular kamikaze Sunday member, I strongly advise against that mod, as it may seriously hurt your party members.

If have have taken the Exploit mod and you play in a party, make sure you inform your party members in advance. Having someone die because of you is awful. I do agree that in the heat of battle (and the lag) you never know where the damage is coming from, but it is downright improper that YOU be the cause of someone's death.

 

5) Zealous Doppelganger - this will be our final buff. Why buff? Simple. You have only 4 CA slots and we want to use them for essential CAs and combos ONLY. Doppelganger isn't one of those, so we'd rather use it as a third buff from level 140 upwards.

Mods:

Incentive - Increases the doppelganger's attack and defense values. (25% + 5% per CA level increase)

Equal - The doppelganger receives the aspect Gruesome Inquisition.

Companion - Causes permanent doppelganger (buff)

Incentive is the most important mod. It will help your doppelganger last awhile longer and take more punishment before he dies. Although the second mod isn't that important, since the doppelganger uses all 3 aspects, I discovered that having him take Gruesome Inquisition makes him more willing to dash in the front lines instead of me, meaning he takes the hits for me. I like it. Still, the doppelganger is widely unpredictable, so always be on the lookout for troubles, even if you are surrounded by minions and backed up by him.

 

9. Combos and slot distribution.

 

Although our main aspect is Nefarious Netherworld, we will use mainly Astute Supremacy CAs and combos.

 

Combo 1: Big mob offensive

Clustering Maelstrom + Raving Thrust + Levin Array + Eruptive Desecration - if you have CD mastery

 

Basic idea:

Clustering is cast and start forcing the enemies into the collision point

Raving Thrust is cast at the closing in mobs, forcing them to collide BEFORE maelstrom itself forces them to collide

Mobs collide for the second time due to the maelstrom

Levin Array is cast, hitting any surviving enemy and inflicting additional DoT on them.

Eruptive Desecration is cast, forcing a body to explode and finish off the mobs that are left for good.

 

Combo 2: Boss/Champion debilitation.

Dislodged Spirit + Paralyzing Dread

 

Basic idea:

Dislodged spirit reduces attributes and Paralyzing forces the enemy to take more damage and attack even slower

 

Combo 2 Option:

Add an Inexorable Subjugation to it - this will save you the bother to switch to another CA slot right after casting this combo, since it usually lasts for 2 subjugations:

Dislodged Spirit + Paralyzing Dread + Inexorable Subjugation

 

 

Combo 3: Single Target/Raising Minions/Bosses/Champions

Inexorable Subjugation

 

This is 1-CA combo. It will improve the damage of Subjugation and the regeneration time, thanks to Combat Discipline.

 

Combo 4: Several Targets

Levin Array

 

This is 1-CA combo. It will improve the damage of Levin Array and the regeneration time, thanks to Combat Discipline. Use it against 2-5 targets.

 

10. Order of modification.

 

Since this is a very delicate build, you should select the order of modification of the CAs very, very carefully.

 

10.1. Nefarious Underworld aspect.

 

Our main CAs in this aspect are Inexorable Subjugation and Soul Reaver, followed by dislodged spirit, paralyzing dread and eruptive desecration. This is why we mod the Combat Arts in the following manner:

 

1. Inexorable Subjugation - full modding

2. Soul reaver - full modding

3. Dislodged Spirit - Spite

4. Paralyzing Dread - Despair

5. Paralyzing Dread - Decrepit

6. Dislodged Spirit - Deprivation

7. Dislodged Spirit - Stimulate

8. Paralyzing Dread - Extension

9. Eruptive Desecration - full modding

 

The idea behind this modding is that we don't need eruptive until we get CD mastery. Inexorable and Soul Reaver are the standpoints of this aspect and this is why they're modded first. Then we mod the boss debilitation CAs in a manner which will help our char survive more easily vs. bosses - attribute reduction first, then damage taken increase, then further reduction in attack speed, longer attribute decrease, and finally the utility mods - stimulate and extension.

 

10.2. Astute Supremacy Aspect.

 

Our main CA in this aspect is Clustering Maelstrom, followed by Levin Array, Reverse Polarity, Raving Thrust and Zealous Doppelganger. Since this is our secondary aspect, it will suffer from less hard points added in it. This is why we will mod its CAs in a specific manner.

 

1. Clustering Maelstrom - full modding

2. Levin Array - Disperse

3. Raving Thrust - Bedaze and Vehemence

4. Reverse Polarity - Rebound and Counterblow

5. Levin Array - hesitation and Dynamic

6. Zealous Doppelganger - full modding

7. Reverse Polarity - Evade

8. Raving Thrust - Lesion

 

Clustering is our main CA here and it should get the most attention. Levin Array can go with Disperse for quite a while, which allows us to mod Raving Thrust - this way our first combo is powerful enough now. After you get enough of 1-combo killing everything, you should be around level 80, which is the perfect time to start thinking about Reverse polarity to help us get through platinum. In platinum the astute combo may get a bit weaker (mainly because of the wicked increase in enemy HPs), this is why you should fully mod levin array next, followed by Zealous Doppelganger for Niobium. When you decide to get the astute lore all the way up to 125, you can get the last 2 mods.

 

11. Equipment.

 

Sacred 2 Wiki Set item references:

Insignia of Balefulness set - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...of_Balefullness

Dreadbringer set - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacred_2:Dreadbringer

Drapes of Catharsis set - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...es_of_Catharsis

Saraki's Path to the Netherworld set - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...the_Netherworld

Deylen's power set - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...eylen%27s_Power

Officer's Saber stats (one-handed unique swords) - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...28One-Handed%29

Tinwora's Curse Stats (one-handed hafted weapons) - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...28One-Handed%29

Nlovae's Mystery stats (one-handed staves) - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacre...taffs_and_Wands

 

After we have analyzed the entire build and its combat arts, it's time to supplement all that with a proper equipment.

 

Head:

Insignia of Deference from the Insignia of Balefulness set

+ Damage mitigation (Physical); + chance to halve regeneration times; 2 sockets (s/g)

-> that's the best helm. Physical attacks consist over 75% of the Sacred 2 attacks, and chance to halve regen time seems to be a trait that procs pretty often. When it procs, it will cut down the regen time of your last cast CA in half. Pretty neat.

 

Torso:

We have 2 options for torso armor. You should use both of them depending on the situation.

Option 1: Robe of Anguish from the Dreadbringer set

+ Damage mitigation (physical); +offensive skills (not good for us); +block chance based on armor lore; 2 gold sockets

-> Although this armor has wickedly low armor, it does provide your Inquisitor with a very generous damage mitigation and 2 gold sockets.

Option 2: Cowl of Catharsis from the Drapes of Catharsis set

Prismatic defense (all types), chance to find valuables, 3 sockets (b/s/g)

-> These 3 sockets allow for great customization options

 

Shoulders:

Best option is to shop some good rare shoulders with all channel damage mitigation and 2 sockets. It will take a lot of time, but it's attainable. Your alternative option is to use the Shoulders of Catharsis from the Drapes of Catharsis set - 3 sockets (b/s/g), thus good customization options.

 

Sleeves:

Saraki's Downfall sleeves from the Saraki's Path to the Netherworld set

+ chance for critical hits; + inexorable subjugation; + eruptive desecration; 1 silver socket

Alternative option is some good sleeves with + all skills, + damage and 1 socket. You can also spawn once the Scribe Sleeves of Atherton for Inquisitor and benefit from their 2 gold sockets and no mods.

 

Gauntlets:

Deylen's Loyalty gloves from Deylen's power set

+ opponent's level for death blow; + clustering maelstrom; + levin array; 1 silver socket

-> The best there is. Not only they improve the CA level of the Combat Arts we will use the most, but they also provide a substantial deathblow. Amazing!

 

Belt:

Saraki's Demise belt from the Saraki's Path to the Netherworld set

+ damage mitigation (physical); + stamina; 2 sockets (s/g)

-> The best there is. Physical damage mitigation, stamina to lower the regen times and 2 sockets. There is nothing better than this one.

 

Lower robe/Pantaloons:

Pantaloons of Catharsis from the Drapes of Catharsis set

+ chance to evade; + run speed; 3 sockets (b/s/g)

-> Good customization options and good chance to evade, which should make you even harder to hit. The run speed is just a bonus

 

Boots:

Saraki's Folly boots from the Saraki's Path to the Netherworld set

+ Combat Art skills; + attack spd; + ranged value; 1 silver socket

-> I prefer these, because they are the 3rd part of the Saraki's set, which gives you scaling reduction in regeneration times for the Netherworld aspect.

 

Let's analyze. using wiki's values, you get:

Insignia of Deference - 22.2% phys

Robe of Anguish - +21.3% phys

Saraki's Demise - +14.6% phys

Shoulders - let's say 12%, can be more

Toughness - 18% at higher levels, can be more

Total of: 88.1% physical damage mitigation

 

Now how about that!!

 

Rings, amulets, socketables:

Look for + all combat arts, + all skills, + nefarious/astute aspect, + opponent's level for deathblow. At level 35 you should have 60% deathblow or more. At level 60 you should have over 70% deathblow. At level 100 you should have over 75% deathblow and at level 140 you should have over 80% deathblow to keep your damage output high.

 

12. Weapons.

 

Up until level 65 you should use the best weapon you find. In my eyes the best weapons are 3:

Officer's Saber - 3 gold sockets + 1 elemental modifier socket - great for customization for a lot of %deathblow

Tinwora's Curse - -regen time; + all combat arts; 2 gold sockets + 1 elemental modifier - great with its + all combat arts and regen time reduction

Nlovae's Mystery - + combat art range; - regen time; + casting speed; 2 gold sockets + 1 elemental modifier

 

After level 65, the moment you get Dual Wield, things change.

From level 65 to 100 or 140 - in my eyes, the best weapons in that range are dual officer's saber. 6 gold sockets is just too much to discard. If you are patient, you will find rings with +all skills/+%deathblow and amulets with +all combat arts/+ all skills or stacked deathblow/all skills/all combat arts. Stacked means that 2 modifiers of the same type have spawned on the same item (for example, one +13 all skills and one +15 all skills, which makes the amulet show +28 all skills) and such rings and amulets are very rare and very valuable.

 

From level 140 upwards, since your regeneration time for all CA will start to decline by itself, the best weapons in my eyes become dual Nlovae's Mystery Staves. Besides, in niobium the innate bonuses on the items improve dramatically, and that +combat art range on the Nlovae's staff becomes a treasure to behold, dramatically increasing the range of Clustering Maelstrom, Levin Array, Raving Thrust, Inexorable Subjugation (channels from farther away) and the range of Paralyzing Dread. In addition to that, with the improving bonuses on rings and amulets, you can put more in those 2 sockets than in the 3 sockets of officer's saber in platinum.

 

13. Final Words.

 

Thank you for reading, friends. I realize that much info hasn't been easy to go through, and hasn't been that easy to read. However, I do hope you will find it useful for this build or your other inquisitor builds. If you decide to try the Pure Caster Inquisitor, I'm certain you will find it largely entertaining and very challenging. This alone makes him a great char to try out and play.

 

EDIT 1: Added proper skill point distribution mechanics.

EDIT 2: Added a comment and option to the Reverse Polarity's Gold mod.

Edited August 30, 2009 by Dobri

[Barristan 14]

Heya,

 

quite the guide you wrote here ! Many Kudos Dobri.

 

When I get to buying some new slots... I will try one out for sure.

 

Good work

 

Greetz

[Rllulium 0]

Great guide. I have to agree that this is THE way to play pure caster Inquisitor. Come to think of it, this is almost exactly how I built mine. Thou I did stop playing him because of the mentioned "requires time to start showing his true potential". This guide almost makes me want to dust him of...

 

A quick question: What regen do you keep IS on? I remember trying to figure out the correct regen for chaincasting, but I never quite nailed it.

[gogoblender 3,313]

Dobri, great build again. lol, at the rate you're putting reference quality work out, we may have to increase your pm box just so you can handle all the questions I know you'll be barraged with after this

 

Every since Steph posted his build, I've been wanting to try pure magic Inquisitor out, and you've nailed it as being something that's going to be fun. Question about taking out bosses.

 

Is that really what this build does? Holds them in thrall until all their life is drained out? I'm just curious about how long this would take, and if you're able to produce enough damage to actually drop a boss with this, or just use it to weaken them with and then go in with other attacks.

 

 

gogo

[Rllulium 0]

Dobri, great build again. lol, at the rate you're putting reference quality work out, we may have to increase your pm box just so you can handle all the questions I know you'll be barraged with after this

 

Every since Steph posted his build, I've been wanting to try pure magic Inquisitor out, and you've nailed it as being something that's going to be fun. Question about taking out bosses.

 

Is that really what this build does? Holds them in thrall until all their life is drained out? I'm just curious about how long this would take, and if you're able to produce enough damage to actually drop a boss with this, or just use it to weaken them with and then go in with other attacks.

 

 

gogo

Now I don't know if things will be horrible much slower at higher levels, but when I played around with my "almost built like this"-Inquisitor in Silver, I was able to drop most bosses in 20-30 seconds using only IS. I didn't even care for debuffing as it required me to go into melee range.

[gogoblender 3,313]

Just using IS alone? That's amazing. hmmm, maybe I'll do some work on my boss combos today with my Inquisitor to see what I can pull out of this. I didn't take the lore for netherworld, so that's gonna hurt for the Combat Arts base damage, but I do have access to Niobium equipment with my level 73 bargainer, so maybe I'll make new wep with tons of slots and mix up plus all Combat Arts with the niob smith runes and see how much damage I can pull out of this for IS as a boss killer.

 

I must say, being able to vamp a boss dead...

 

delightful!

 

 

gogo

[Zonc1 0]

Great guide, but I just don't see the point of caster builds. Gruesome build with no aspect lores still can use classic CM + RM combo with deals with crowds very well, and still bosses are easy to kill.

[Dobri 55]

Great guide. I have to agree that this is THE way to play pure caster Inquisitor. Come to think of it, this is almost exactly how I built mine. Thou I did stop playing him because of the mentioned "requires time to start showing his true potential". This guide almost makes me want to dust him of...

 

A quick question: What regen do you keep IS on? I remember trying to figure out the correct regen for chaincasting, but I never quite nailed it.

 

Please don't laugh at me I do this - I cast Subjugation at a tough mob, like the orge champs in the orc area and start counting out loud. Usually the chanelling lasts about 4 or 5 seconds with the brunt mod (I'm unsure how long will it take with the effort mod, but even if it's lower, I need raw damage, not more ticks). So I start adding + all ca, + subjugation CA, or 1 or 2 runes till I get close to that duration - like 3.6s. Right now my Kami toon (level 66) has it at ca level 34 (5 runes +29 bonus) and the regen time is 4.0s with soul reaver (no souls) and 3.4 with soul reaver (with souls). However, If I eat one more rune it goes over 4.0s, and I wouldn't go below the minimum chanelling time.

 

The biggest bonus of IS as you know is that it's instant-cast and it can keep a boss in one place all the time (or let him advance a meter at most), so the regen time should be kept slightly lower than the duration, so that you can recast it straight away. I usually right click like crazy and sometimes the boss doesn't even get the chance to move

 

Now I don't know if things will be horrible much slower at higher levels, but when I played around with my "almost built like this"-Inquisitor in Silver, I was able to drop most bosses in 20-30 seconds using only IS. I didn't even care for debuffing as it required me to go into melee range.

 

Well, at higher levels - I had plenty of time to try it out with the boosted balance.txt in SP - things get different. Bosses have a lot of HP - for example, with the level 200 char vs. level 178 White Griffin (modded to disregard grey mob rules, other wise he's just running away) it takes about 3-4 minutes to kill him with Doppelganger active, IS alone in a combo and the Dislodged+Paralyzing+IS combo (alternating between the 2 when the defuffs go out), because he has about 800k life.

 

Great guide, but I just don't see the point of caster builds. Gruesome build with no aspect lores still can use classic CM + RM combo with deals with crowds very well, and still bosses are easy to kill.

 

Zonc1 - the reason is to push YOURSELF to the limit by trying out a tough build that will really test your character, tenacity, perseverance, persistence, logic, and so on as a person, and as a player. It's all too easy to play:

SW as DW or Hafted killer

Seraphim as BFG

HE as Pyro HE

Dryad as Acute Mind DW Int + casting build

TG as Devout backed up by lost fusion

Inquisitor as pure melee Gruesome-oriented Inquisitor

 

But it is hard to make a build that isn't overpowered, and still rock the game. Are you willing to try that or you prefer to play the simple easy-going overpowered builds and get the fake feeling that you're the best player there is? That's a question everyone should answer for himself. The thing is that every char can play every single of his aspects as a main one - he/she won't be that powerful, but experience, analysis, proper char planning and proper combat planning will always prevail - and in my opinion, that's the fun in this game - not playing a build that will breeze through the game just like that. There is neither fun, nor challenge in such builds.

Edited August 17, 2009 by Dobri

[gogoblender 3,313]

Great guide, but I just don't see the point of caster builds.

 

Hi Zonc (btw glad you made it over to DarkMatters, welcome )

 

I think this is really about build intent.

 

Most people when they're making builds have a plan in mind or particular goals they want a build to accomplish.

 

It's not just about kill speed, but how your accomplish the kill speed and what your build looks like on screen that's important here.

 

Dryad's kill fastest with ranged, but many people have opted out of this lately, and worked in caster and melee to mix it up and see if they can add some variety to the game and keep the game interesting.

 

If we were only to create builds who's build intent was fastest kill speed there would be a very much smaller number of builds to have fun with, and this game is a sandbox, we're supposed to experiment and see what we can produce ^^

 

Pretty much everyone in MP these days can access Niobium equipment and smith slots, so fastest kill speed as an absolute isn't that much of an interest anymore.

 

 

gogo

[Dobri 55]

And BTW, gogo - IS indeed does just that - keeps a boss disabled while sucking out his brain/life energy/whatever you feel like calling it.

 

Did you notice that in this kami generation there are no losses when me and Zin tagged along? The reason for that is that we both have boss disabler spells - jolting touch and inexorable subjugation. These 2 keep the bosses in place and simply waiting for the rest to slash them to pieces. This is why all bosses are so easy - including the guardians

 

However, the Pure caster inquisitor has some hard time vs. the guardians. In order to beat them up properly (especially in niobium) you will need to tackle them in the corridors, or you will never be able to drop their T-energy shield, as they will keep on getting it back from the machine. I was doing just that before I logged in to FDM... it took me over 40 minutes with superior equip - meaning about 90% physical damage mitigation and about 33% mitigation on the rest - to beat the four of them up. That's something I wouldn't recommend to a sane person

[MTCityHunter 0]

Wow! Really nice, and incredibly comprehensive job. I really like the caster side of the Inquisitor, and this seems pretty well done to me.

 

The only significant suggestions I'd make would be the following:

 

1) To use the exploit gold mod for RP instead of the +defense one. With all the minions you're going to have running around due to IS spamming, it seems to me like it'd be trivial to keep the maximum 25% mitigation active virtually all the time. I think that'd be superior to the +defense, especially considering that your minions are taking a fair number of attacks off of you which is already decreasing the frequency you'd otherwise be hit, so perhaps boosting mitigation and dampening the size of the hits you take may be preferable. Later on, when you use Dopp you're always going to have some mitigation from the get go as well.

 

2) I think waiting that long to start using RP is risky. I understand SR coupled with all the minions running around helps, but I'm paranoid, and RP provides outstanding defense. I'd fit concentration in earlier and try to start using RP asap.

 

3) Speaking of concentration, lets talk about the 3rd buff. Its a shame you can't mod PC, because its invaluable for boosting spell CA damage through the roof. If you were to choose GI focus instead of something else you've chosen (perhaps AS Lore?), mystic, eradicate, and hallow would boost the damage of IS to a huge degree, and you wouldn't lose much if any damage off the AS CAs with that setup, although mod points would be pushed back a bit for those. Also, since all you'd need to mod from the GI aspect would be PC, you'd free up a whole ton of skill points for other skills. Alternatively, you could choose inure and maybe skip toughness instead, although I'd probably go with the first option. Regardless, I think using PC as the 3rd buff instead of ZD would be highly preferable. You can still keep ZD up most of the time if you care to later on if you leave him as a spell, and he won't negatively impact regens that way.

 

Keep on rockin' in the free world!

[Zonc1 0]

But it is hard to make a build that isn't overpowered, and still rock the game.

Inquisitor can't be overpowered. Once when both me and a friend of mine who plays SW were same (110) level, I had 25k armor and he had over 35k. Plus the bonus from GR, AND 70% reflection (I had no more than 50%). Earlier on, when he was 10 levels ahead I TPed to him and died almost instantly (it was early Niob times level ~90).

 

It's just we don't get as much armor like other classes or insane armor form buffs. Trust me, I hate god-mode builds (espacially ranged) and never feeled like one playing current build.

[gogoblender 3,313]

Inquisitor can't be overpowered.

 

 

oowah, yes he can.

 

As I posted up above, a lot of mp players can use the bonus of completed campaign to advance a character's shopping abilities ^^

 

Clan Campaigning

 

What this means is that all our starter toons are ubergods right off the bat (It takes some work, planning and prep to do, but oh so worth it :bounche: ), and we can socket Niobium level equipment at lower levels.

 

Ascaron and their balancing

 

As we get closer to Niobium the huge uber god damage delta disappears along with the niobium defense socketing obtained from the smithers.

 

As well, with Bargaining networks, it's not hard to make a lazy Inquisitor (Yeah I have one ) completely outfitted with only the best gear.

 

Perfect Socketing

 

And that's for a level 66 Inquisitor ^^

 

It's easy to understand why people want to create exotic builds when it's so easy now to overpower most regular builds. We're not building for fastest kill speed anymore, now, it's all about fun in the wackiest way possible!

 

 

gogo

[MTCityHunter 0]

I agree with the general sentiment that the point is to build for what you find fun. Personally, I love the Inquisitor spell CAs and don't care to play without them.

 

I don't think a melee only Inquisitor is necessarily OP, but its definitely easier to optimize than a hybrid or caster Inquisitor.

 

For a playstyle involving boss runs to the exclusion of most else (I believe you've stated before that's your priority, eh Zonc1?), I don't think there's any way to beat pure melee for an Inquisitor. So if boss runs are the goal, using a pure caster would probably drive a person crazy. Melee simply carves up single targets and small groups faster and more effectively than the other 2 trees, but the point remains that NN and AS can be used to great effect as well so the caster style may as well get optimized for what it is and played for the challenge and playstyle differences it offers.

[Dobri 55]

Wow! Really nice, and incredibly comprehensive job. I really like the caster side of the Inquisitor, and this seems pretty well done to me.

 

The only significant suggestions I'd make would be the following:

 

1) To use the exploit gold mod for RP instead of the +defense one. With all the minions you're going to have running around due to IS spamming, it seems to me like it'd be trivial to keep the maximum 25% mitigation active virtually all the time. I think that'd be superior to the +defense, especially considering that your minions are taking a fair number of attacks off of you which is already decreasing the frequency you'd otherwise be hit, so perhaps boosting mitigation and dampening the size of the hits you take may be preferable. Later on, when you use Dopp you're always going to have some mitigation from the get go as well.

 

That is a good point. Still reverse polarity is one of the last stings to get the gold mod (between level 165-175), and at that point you will have over 70% physical damage mitigation, over 60% to reflect close combat damage, and over 45k HP. This alone should be enough to keep you alive. I'll have to note here, that the "Menace" mod is doing some superb job throughout the game. I can tell that for a fact because I had the first guardian attack one of the Subjugated TG's and not me.

 

Still, I like your idea, and you certainly drive a good point, which requires some testing. However, it is also a matter of play style. Hunting with IS is slow and tedious (much like an astral hand/skeletal fortification SW), and I barely use it. I prefer to round a big mob and use the maelstrom - raving - levin combo

 

2) I think waiting that long to start using RP is risky. I understand SR coupled with all the minions running around helps, but I'm paranoid, and RP provides outstanding defense. I'd fit concentration in earlier and try to start using RP asap.

 

It's all right to feel paranoid, especially in HC. However, we mod RP for magic and close combat reflect right after maelstrom and one of the levin array mods, and that should happen on a relatively low level. If yu have good HP total backed up by good def rating, few to no things can threaten you up until level 75, and you will have the RP modded by then by all means.

 

3) Speaking of concentration, lets talk about the 3rd buff. Its a shame you can't mod PC, because its invaluable for boosting spell CA damage through the roof. If you were to choose GI focus instead of something else you've chosen (perhaps AS Lore?), mystic, eradicate, and hallow would boost the damage of IS to a huge degree, and you wouldn't lose much if any damage off the AS CAs with that setup, although mod points would be pushed back a bit for those. Also, since all you'd need to mod from the GI aspect would be PC, you'd free up a whole ton of skill points for other skills. Alternatively, you could choose inure and maybe skip toughness instead, although I'd probably go with the first option. Regardless, I think using PC as the 3rd buff instead of ZD would be highly preferable. You can still keep ZD up most of the time if you care to later on if you leave him as a spell, and he won't negatively impact regens that way.

 

I think you're delving into Stephane's Wizard build with that PC idea I personally don't like taking a buff I'm not going to use, and PC is such buff. Besides, I'm not planning on taking damage in order to need it. I'd rather set my Inquisitor behind RP and back him up with wicked damage mitigation than wait on PC. Besides, PC play is really dangerous in niobium for a char who has a low defense rating, and the pure caster inquisitor doesn't have much options to raise it

Edited August 17, 2009 by Dobri

[MTCityHunter 0]

I think you're delving into Stephane's Wizard build with that PC idea I personally don't like taking a buff I'm not going to use, and PC is such buff. Besides, I'm not planning on taking damage in order to need it. I'd rather set my Inquisitor behind RP and back him up with wicked damage mitigation than wait on PC. Besides, PC play is really dangerous in niobium for a char who has a low defense rating, and the pure caster inquisitor doesn't have much options to raise it

 

 

Oh no, I'm not suggesting using PC for its enraged damage bonus. No, I agree, that'll get you murdered. The enraged is there for when you do get hit, but the goal is to stay as close to 100% HP as possible at all times, especially later on. The damage boosts from mystic, eradicate, and hallow all apply FULLY at max HP though. Inure also works fully at max HP if you use that mod for more mitigation.

 

I just think the damage boosts from PC (at max HP, with a little lagniappe damage when you do take damage) are too huge to ignore. If you ran with it, I doubt it'd take 4-5 minutes to kill bosses since IS would be doing waaaay higher damage. You wouldn't need a very high skill investment in GI focus to keep PC leveled quite high. +All Skills would pretty much do the trick, as diminishing returns kick in quite rapidly for focus skills anyway.

 

Obviously, its not necessary since you made it without using it, but it may make the road easier

 

The RP mitigation suggestion was simply an alternative. The +defense mod is still good (and has a nice synergy with SR), but you could cap out mitigation much sooner using RP that way if you cared to. I agree that its sort of a pain to worry about having "party members" (IS minions) active to ensure your defensive capabilities though. In my build, I used the defense mod because I only used IS occasionally, but if one were to use it to constantly keep a small group of minions active, more mitigation would be most welcome.

[Dobri 55]

I'll do some additional testing this evening. What you're suggesting is really good. I was thinking about it the last few hours and was trying out different scenarios and it works well so far.

 

It's usefulness is amazing. However, it does have a slight weakness. In the battle vs some mini bosses and the guardians there is little means to summon a helper to take advantage of and sometimes the boss does take a random hit in.

 

I will admit, the last few tests get me biased in favor of Exploit. However, there is one thing that worries me and it's my own failing, if I can say it like this. If I for example, force over 10% of the damage to my party (easy to achieve, that's CA level 52), and I have teamed up with a friend, 10% of the damage I take will be forced on to him. Imagine he takes a near death hit and he has lag so that his HP pot fails for 2 seconds (or he doesn't react straight away). The next hit I take will kill him, and I will take that hit because of my low defense rating, and that would clearly mean that I will be responsible for his death. Not that's a thing I can't live with.

 

However, this is a simple contingency that may happen or may not. I agree exploit mod is cool, but I will only pick it if I play alone, and even if that happens often, I wouldn't want to do a Kami Sunday in which I force over 10% of the damage I take to my party, because some of them have 3.5k HP, and a hit of over 800 damage will hurt them quite a bit...

[gogoblender 3,313]

and a hit of over 800 damage will hurt them quite a bit...

 

 

Indeed!

 

 

lol, sorry Dobri, but I found that both amusing and touching at the same time ^^

 

 

gogo

[Dobri 55]

It is, gogo. I must admit that if I were to play SP, I would take (and quite selfishly for that matter) the Exploit mod and have my minions take the damage. However, I can't just dismiss the fact that on the yesterday's kami I took a blow of about 9000 damage in the battle with the guardians. Granted, they were level 85 (I think) and I was 66, but I had a bit over 10k HP so I had the time to recover. However, at the same time several other peeps in the party were badly wounded. particularly, D-molisher had about 3.6k HP and was hit (I tend to look at my party's bars regularly). Imagine me inflicting 10% of that damage on him. He will remake the toon, no problems, but I will feel so guilty that I would most likely retire to SP. I hate feeling guilty...

 

granted, that wouldn't have been 10%, because my RP is level 5+27=32, which is about 4.9 + 3.2=8.1, but 9000*8.1%=729. Not a pleasant hit...

 

EDIT: After some additional testing, I added an option to the guide which states the usefulness of the exploit mod AS WELL AS it's complications and problems in party play. People have been warned. I'm not certain how this damage is calculated and what's its mechanics when it's distributed to the party members. If it's deducted directly from the HP's for T-Energy shield users (highly unlikely), this can cause the death of a divine Protection oriented Seraphim or a no-constitution oriented TG in record time at higher difficulties.

 

I also wonder could that damage be increased/decreased due to the party member's def/armor rating, toughness or simply the flat value is taken (Inquisitor is hit for 20k damage, so let's say 10% of it is distributed evenly between the members, whoch for a 5-man party means everyone should take 400 damage. However, if it's not the flat value, and, say, 2000 physical damage is taken by 1 member with low phys resistance, it may be increased, although, once again, it's highly unlikely.

 

I'm grasping at straws here...

Edited August 17, 2009 by Dobri

[MTCityHunter 0]

EDIT: After some additional testing, I added an option to the guide which states the usefulness of the exploit mod AS WELL AS it's complications and problems in party play. People have been warned.

 

Agreed. Exploit can be risky is MP situations; I wasn't really taking that into account as I play predominately SP, but I'd probably stick to the defense mod for a character used in a lot of HC MP. In a SP game or in specific MP setups its nice though.

[Zonc1 0]

Could anyone confirm that Dopple is a party member? cause if he was, Exploit + perma dopple would seem a bit better option than SR and dopple as a spell... the defence mod does not scale well and gets less and less useful over time. On the other hand, I'd miss level 170 dopple (my level 120), no regen penalty, and SR itself.

"Share your pain with friends!" new ad from the Inqusition company haha

[Dobri 55]

You teammates, your minions and your doppelganger are all party members in my knowledge. However, the player itself can't determine whether he takes damage or not because there is no way to see his HP, or at least I don't know of one However, in MP, other players can see the doppelganger in full (while the player can see him as ghostly figure) and can check his HP's.

 

I actually like that "ad" you wrote. It indeed is a specific aspect of the play with an inquisitor. Actually an inquisitor with that mod can kill his own party and still be the last one standing

[Rllulium 0]

Please don't laugh at me I do this - I cast Subjugation at a tough mob, like the orge champs in the orc area and start counting out loud. Usually the chanelling lasts about 4 or 5 seconds with the brunt mod (I'm unsure how long will it take with the effort mod, but even if it's lower, I need raw damage, not more ticks). So I start adding + all ca, + subjugation CA, or 1 or 2 runes till I get close to that duration - like 3.6s. Right now my Kami toon (level 66) has it at ca level 34 (5 runes +29 bonus) and the regen time is 4.0s with soul reaver (no souls) and 3.4 with soul reaver (with souls). However, If I eat one more rune it goes over 4.0s, and I wouldn't go below the minimum channelling time.

I somehow got the impression that Effort would reduce the overall channeling time, which is why I despised it. Seeing how it damages every second the channeling time has to be a whole number and I have to say that 5 seconds sounds more reasonable to me.

I can't really laugh at your method; mine was similar, although closer to checking the CAs regen when the channeling ended.

 

The biggest bonus of IS as you know is that it's instant-cast and it can keep a boss in one place all the time (or let him advance a meter at most), so the regen time should be kept slightly lower than the duration, so that you can recast it straight away. I usually right click like crazy and sometimes the boss doesn't even get the chance to move

This is what I really likes about the spell compared to the other bosskiller options availible to a pure caster Inquisitor.

One reason for why your IS isn't doing that much damage could be the lack of PC and GI Focus. It really adds alot to magic damage CAs like IS, and tit is relatively easy to utilize the WIDD by simply stunning when your health is at 70-50%, and wait with any possible healing.

[gasconron 11]

@ Dobri, I'm planning on the ff changes, I'd love to get your output on it if I'm on the right track.

 

Would a Cordell's Javelin of War (socketed Legoril's Ammy Astute Boni) work instead of the Timora's? - I lose out on double wield but I gain a whopping ~50+% on D. Blow which solves the wicked nerf? Also I have spare +30 skill ammy that weren't affected by the update.

 

I go GI focus instead of DW, to get my third buff Purifying Chasti (goes hand in hand w/ Toughness & some Darwargon sockets for dam miti & some evade chance %), I lose out on Doppleganger buff tough, but if I could get my Astute regen times down I could recast it anyways.

 

I go 3:1 INT/VIT to boost spell intensity... then I'll ride a mount of course since I play HC all the time.

 

The update doesn't really affect me that much since I don't play online anyways except LAN. And I have Sacred 2 installed on another computer with 2.40 on it... as far as Niob shopping goes, I'll just do it there.

[Hyperius 0]

Rings, amulets, socketables:

Look for + all combat arts, + all skills, + nefarious/astute aspect, + opponent's level for deathblow. At level 35 you should have 60% deathblow or more. At level 60 you should have over 70% deathblow. At level 100 you should have over 75% deathblow and at level 140 you should have over 80% deathblow to keep your damage output high.

 

After reading this whole post I admit to being jealous of the niob shoppers etc These caster builds are WAY more difficult/challenging with just your own buying power. I went a mainly(has some melee...but focus on spells) caster Inquisitor with bargaining/blacksmith as well. So that obviously hurts my combat skills a bit but I'm having fun so far. I took in order Bargaining, Dual wield, Armor lore, Gruesome Focus, Astute Lore, Combat Discipline, Constitution, Blacksmith so far and will have Concentration at 50 and Astute Focus at 65(it's hard on the regens getting both concent and focus this late lol...but almost there) I'm not going to list all my equip currently but it's not bad certainly. My bargaining skill is buffed 108 atm at level 47 and I usually do a full level to 1.5 every 5-7 for set pieces so I DO have decent gear for a self getter. My questions are thus: How the heck you getting such high DB% AND still maintaining some decent levels of +all and +combat arts. I have the two weapons below socketed with All gold level damage on the officer's and the Tinwora's with 2 amulets that I got lucky on and had +2 all/combat each for a total of +4 to both(is there a +3 level range or does it shoot up to +4 skills in the 60's?)

 

Officer's Saber - 3 gold sockets + 1 elemental modifier socket - great for customization for a lot of %deathblow

Tinwora's Curse - -regen time; + all combat arts; 2 gold sockets + 1 elemental modifier - great with its + all combat arts and regen time reduction

 

YES, I could wash the officer's and add all DB rings but they only spawn for me in the 18-20 TOPS % range yet(and with gold level smithing that is about 55% damage and 60ish attack value gone). I did a little testing and grabbed from the shop 2 weapons that had a BASE 24-25% DB and 2 sockets each...adding 2 DB rings each AND I have those set gloves with the DB%. When I equip those my raw damage goes WAY WAY down(of course) and my DB% only reaches 69-70 ish. I went and did two Griff/Boar runs and once they hit 70ish% I swapped weapons and I honestly did not SEE any difference. Could be observer error...but is losing all that +damage and +all/combat arts Really worth the DB? Higher levels when I can shop +DB AND combat ok. But pre 60's that is so rare I have not even SEEN one yet lol. You guys are much more experienced than me...I WILL listen(I'm not a total stone head that will not take advice lol) Is dropping all that RAW damage/att% and those extra +All/Combat arts worth it for DB? For instance, in silver with nobody in the server. My levin array does about 880 or 920(can't remember lol) damage at 47 plus whatever the same rank for clustering maelstrom does. I run into Orc caves and IF I can scoop up even one of the spiders and more than half the time if I don't all the orcs die in one cast anyhow or have so low health one regular swing drops them. Obviously add people and that is out the door. I'm assuming the DB would help in a full server where they actually have enough HP to live through the initial volley anyhow yes? See, I'm all just being silly here. It doesn't help that my Cluster/Raving/Levin combo is a regen of 9.8 seconds lol. But, no concentration/focus yet I'm likely finding my own problems already hey? I need to get to those levels and those extra skills ot make an acccurate judgment because as it is now I CANNOT make a second cast in the orc caves with that combo or even just Levin itself lol.

 

Generally speaking though, is it worth dropping all those other bonuses for DB? Thx LOL