Jump to content

Magic Inquisitor Defense and Boss Questions.


Sirius

Recommended Posts

Yeah I know, I've mentioned I've played shadow warrior mostly, and I have.
But I decided to take a short break and try inquisitor out a bit, and damn do I love his Area of Effect spells vs a mass of weak targets.
However, I'm a bit confused.
How do I focus on astute supremacy and still deal with strong single targets, mostly bosses somewhat effectively?
Also, which path should I go for defense? 
At the moment I'm going combat reflexes to up my dodge, so I can have a chance when enemies hack away at me. 
That is ofcourse after I put my points in intelligence and astute supremacy lore as my main weapon.
Which leaves dexterity completely un-leveled, which in turn makes my defense ability suffer.

You may answer: "just use a guide, duh".
To that I'd have to say that I mainly enjoy figuring things out as I go along for myself, but I'd still love a few pointers before I mess up my character beyond repair.

  • Like! 1
Link to comment

Highly depends on the game version you're playing. In my experience, bringing a spellcaster inquisitor up to niob is not really that possible in Vanilla/CM. Don't know about PFP. One Tip I have for single target: Use his massive debuffing potential.

 

 

I won't tell you what to do, but I can give some advice on what not to do:

For defense: Inquisitor already has very high base dexterity, no need to level it. Plus his reflection buff pretty much neglects the need for a high defense value. It's more about reducing the damage peaks which manage to sneak through your buff. That's why I also don't take combat reflexes and even when I'm playing EE and have access to shield lore I never take it for those reasons.

Many guides tell you to go for three buffs. I wouldn't recommend it - the souls buff is not that useful imho, and completely useless against single target bosses. The inquisition buff is pretty good, yes, but not good enough for justifying to take gruesome inquisition focus and concentration just for the buff.

The main issue I faced when figuring out how to skill him is the problem that he can't use shields, Making me either take an unnecessary skill with dual wield just to be able to wield my 2x tinwora's curse or being stuck with 2h-wpns forever. Luckily that issue is gone with EE, freeing one more skill for him which is just the right amount to take everything I want.

Also I wouldn't recommend to take any offensive nor general skills.

 

 

One final advice: play as you like it, not as I like it, and try to have fun:wink:

  • Like! 1
Link to comment

Thanks for the reply. It's really helpful.
However, a bit confused about this:

11 hours ago, Lindor said:

Also I wouldn't recommend to take any offensive nor general skills.

I'm playing the latest steam version with only the purist fixpack added.

Link to comment
10 hours ago, Sirius said:

Thanks for the reply. It's really helpful.
However, a bit confused about this:

NP, I'll explain what I mean:

Skills are divided into four categories.

I recommend to take a look at Combat Art Skills and Defensive Skills
as they're what you want for a spellcasting inquisitor
while skipping Offensive Skills and General Skills
as for the latter two there are other playstyles for that.
On him they'd be pretty much a waste.

Hope that helped :)

10 hours ago, Sirius said:

I'm playing the latest steam version with only the purist fixpack added.

Okay, I don't know for sure but my guess is since the goal of PFP was to keep the vanilla game balance, it'd be quite a challenge to bring him all the way up to niob.
Also it might be worth taking a look at dual wield even if that's an offensive skill. I have no definitive answer wether it's worth wasting a skill just to be able to dual wield or not, but being stuck with 2-h-wpns forever. Your choice.:dntknw:

Link to comment

Yeah, Inquisitor is pretty much required to take dual-wield due to not being able to use shields. A melee Inquisitor can go for 2 handed weapons, but a caster one is basically forced to take it as you want as many sockets as possible to improve your spell damage.

For defensive skills, the best path to usually take is Armor Lore (mandatory on pretty much any build), Constitution and Toughness. These 3 are guaranteed to increase your survivability and have crazy synergy between each other. The other main noteworthy skill is Spell Resistance. It's pretty weak before Mastering it, but once Mastered, it is one of the most impactful skills in the game and basically negates all DoTs the game can throw at you. I generally don't like Combat Reflexes, as it's just a chance, works only against weapon attacks, can be easily got on gear and if you get unlucky, it will not save you anyway. The other defensive skills have guaranteed value.

For attributes, Vitality should be your main go to for survival, not Dexterity. Going all in on Intelligence will improve your damage and especially Spell Intensity, but might leave you a bit squishy. Your choice. Putting points into Strength and Dexterity is really not worth it, especially since Ice & Blood released, where they were greatly nerfed when it comes to increasing weapon damage and the attack/defense values are pretty much inconsequential, especially on higher difficulties. Willpower is only worth it on characters that have shields (TG and Seraphim) and Stamina is useful for any character reliant on regen times.

Also, taking Gruesome Inquisition focus is highly recommended, just to mod Purifying Chastisement and Frenetic Fervor. Even though they are in the melee oriented tree, they are extremely helpful to a caster Inquisitor. Frenetic Fervor has chance to evade on the silver mod and Purifying Chastisement Bronze mod alone is worth it for an Astute Supremacy caster due to the massive magic damage increase to the spells and the Gold mod to either further boost your damage or get the survivability (both Gold mods are god tier). I assume you are taking Concentration anyway for the reduced regen times so why not use the free buff slot for one of the most impactful ones in the game :D

But yeah, a caster Inquisitor doesn't really have that many options to deal with tough single targets. The debuff Lindor mentioned is in the Nefarious Netherworld tree, but not sure you can squeeze another Focus skill into your build. It also requires going into melee, which a squishy caster might not be able to afford. Paralyzing Dread in that tree is also another very impactful defensive Combat Art.

There are quite a lot of options for defense, depends on your build.

Edited by idbeholdME
Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/26/2023 at 4:03 PM, idbeholdME said:

The debuff Lindor mentioned is in the Nefarious Netherworld tree

Nope, not exclusively.

On 3/8/2022 at 2:18 AM, Lindor said:

The major strength of the Inquisitor is his enormous debuff potential. You want to stack as many deduffs as possible, so you don't want to wait for all the spells' cooldowns independently, casting them in the quickest succession possible is mandatory. The Inquisitor's non-cooldown based debuff spells are:

  • Dislodged Spirit (all Attributes debuff)
  • Mortifying Pillory (Disgrace (armor reduce) + Mortify (defense value reduce))
  • Levin Array (depending on Silver mod, either Paralyze (move speed) or Hesitation (attack speed) debuff)
  • Raving Thrust (Bedaze (stun) + Lesion (deep wound) mod)
  • Ruthless Mutilation (Deprivation (move speed debuff) and Petrify (stun chance) mod)
  • Callous Execution (depending on silver mod, either Lacerate (deep wound) or Startle (stun))
  • Inexorable Subjugation (just the stun)

I've colored the most important debuffs. That's why my Inquisitor debuff's combo is Dislodged Spirit, Mortifying Pillory, Raving Thrust and Callous Execution, sorted from longest to shortest duration so I get max amount of overlap time. Oh and the defense value reduce is important for debuffing Weapon CAs hit chance since it's a caster build and I have low Attack Value.

Another one is the "pull enemies in" - "Area of Effect" Synergy. So my main group Attack Combo is Clustering Maelstrom - Levin Array - Raving Thrust. The same sort of synergy comes from Seraphim's Radiant Pillar with Hypnotize mod together with, let's say, Flaring Nova or BFG with the pierce mods. If they weren't in a Combo, the enemies would have time to spread out again.

And then there's of course the put-all-cooldown-spells-into-a-combo synergy, since only one cooldown applies. This is why the T-Energy Temple Guardian can't cast multiple Area of Effect spells in the same Area, it would be completely broken otherwise. For my Inquisitor, it would be the Paralyzing Dread-Frenetic Fervor Combo. Sometimes I put the Doppel in as well, but I don't like that CA. In my mod, I replaced it with a lightning bolt.

Last but not least I have the Levin Array-Raving Thrust Combo as a main Attack against few enemies. Sometimes I duplicate this Combo and put in Inexorable Subjugation for the stun as a Combo against bosses, it's important for survivability but over the years I've learned how to survive without it. With low casting speed, it lowers my DPS, with high Casting Speed, I'd even put a fourth spell just for the machine gun effect, mostly Dislodged Spirit or the lightning bolt I mentioned.

Honestly, the possibilities of Combos are countless, you're missing lots of your characters potential out if you don't use them in my opinion. Btw it has taken me yoars to figure this build out and get it to work in Niob, it's completely viable in Vanilla:D

One last thing: If you count the abilities used, you get to 8/9 (depending on doppel or not) different abilities over four slots, and some appearing twice or even three times. The fifth slot is for the teleport CA of my mod which replaced Eruptive Desecration. That's the power of Combos.:schot:

And then there are also the cooldown based debuffs, the secondary damage effect debuffs and the debuffs coming from his items, like chance for deep wounds, deadly wounds etc.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Lindor said:

Nope, not exclusively.

And then there are also the cooldown based debuffs, the secondary damage effect debuffs and the debuffs coming from his items, like chance for deep wounds, deadly wounds etc.

Well, Deep Wounds, I find really underwhelming. It's present on a ton of CAs as mods on many characters, but 8% is simply not impactful enough. The Weaken effect by itself from Magic damage is much more impactful, especially against bosses.

Deadly wounds are fine, but way too rare, as it is only present on a few uniques/legendaries and two handed swords AND you have to have Sword Lore Mastered to even unlock it.

Armor reduction would have been fine, if it worked on all sources and not just physical. That severely limits its usability as even weapon users just want to convert as much physical to anything else to increase the chance/power of secondary damage effects.

Defense value reduction is similar. Squishy caster simply can't in many cases just go in and get some hits in. Try doing that in Dragon Caves on Niobium :P Could be useful for pistol Inquisitors though I guess.

Stun is good, but it being chance based is really off-putting to me as you can't rely on it in crucial moments. Chances on CA mods are usually in the 10-35% territory when levelled. Bosses chunk very hard later on in the game. Facetelleon can just randomly shotgun you when you go in for a melee hit. He deals obscene amounts of damage when you're in melee range.

 

Some of the most powerful debuffs are indeed movement/attack speed slows, especially because they work unmitigated against bosses. So I can see Levin Array being good for that.

The 2 main debuffs for Inquisitor are Paralyzing Dread and Dislodged Spirit, both in the Nefarious Netherworld tree. PD is an Area of Effect around you that slows enemies to a crawl, including bosses, and DS greatly reduces the durability/damage of anything it's cast on, including bosses.

 

And yes, combos are very good for some builds. My ranged tri-aspect Shadow Warrior used 13/15 CAs regularly (all except Shadow Veil and Ruinous Onslaught) and it was probably the most fun character I've ever made. Would have been impossible without Combat Discipline and combos.

Link to comment
22 minutes ago, idbeholdME said:

Well, Deep Wounds, I find really underwhelming. It's present on a ton of CAs as mods on many characters, but 8% is simply not impactful enough. The Weaken effect by itself from Magic damage is much more impactful, especially against bosses.

Well you take what you get. Given how easy it is to access and trigger consistently, it's definitely worth it.

25 minutes ago, idbeholdME said:

Deadly wounds are fine, but way too rare, as it is only present on a few uniques/legendaries and two handed swords AND you have to have Sword Lore Mastered to even unlock it.

It's part of the Deylen's Power Set. All three of his main sets have some sorts of wounds effect as a special bonus. The main drawback is not accessibility, but that item modifier seem to almost always exclusively work with weapon based attacks whih is a huge disadvantage for spell damage based builds. Very unfortunate decision imho.

26 minutes ago, idbeholdME said:

Armor reduction would have been fine, if it worked on all sources and not just physical. That severely limits its usability as even weapon users just want to convert as much physical to anything else to increase the chance/power of secondary damage effects.

You cannot change the spell damage type ingame unless its part of a modification. Clustering Maelstrom and Raving Thrust both do physical damage. Also Eruptive Desecration, although I rarely use it.

31 minutes ago, idbeholdME said:

Stun is good, but it being chance based is really off-putting to me as you can't rely on it in crucial moments

That's why I prefer open wounds. That and the fact that you already ave access to a 100% stun chance via Inexorable Subjugation. Depending on the mod you're playing, it even works on Bosses.

32 minutes ago, idbeholdME said:

Defense value reduction is similar. Squishy caster simply can't in many cases just go in and get some hits in. Try doing that in Dragon Caves on Niobium :P Could be useful for pistol Inquisitors though I guess

Can do it while he's stunned. Good for giving him an actual chance to hit with Mortifying Pillory or Callous Execution even though you're a caster, e.g. by putting the in a Combo after Inexorable Subjugation. Not saying that you should do it but the option exists. Oh and on EE most Bosses are faster than you even if you're mounted, so you will get into melee range either way especialy while casting.

38 minutes ago, idbeholdME said:

The 2 main debuffs for Inquisitor are Paralyzing Dread and Dislodged Spirit

They're key essentials, yes, but missing out them wouldn't be any worse compared to missing Raving Thrust's deep wound or Levin Array's speed debuff out.

On 2/26/2023 at 4:03 PM, idbeholdME said:

Also, taking Gruesome Inquisition focus is highly recommended, just to mod Purifying Chastisement and Frenetic Fervor.

I'm never sure wether it's worth wasting two skills for taking gruesome inquisition focus and concentration just for the buff and/or frenetic fervor. If yo do so, you don't have enough skills left. The interesting ones are:

ASLore
ASFocus
NNLore
NNFocus
Ancient Magic
Combat Discipline
Concentration
GIFocus
Armor Lore
Toughness
Constitution
Spell Resistance

Which are 12 Skills. Constitution not worth it for Regen Times, rather put poits into the lores / combat discipline. Its's just here for buffs. GIFocus also just here for the buff and temporary buff. Leave those two out and you got your 10.

Otherwise which one to leave out? NN are essential against bosses. Combat Discipline, okay, and what else? Spell Resistance? He's already squishy enough. The only way I see this working is if you skip the NN tree. But without those debuffs and because of the tickle damage your spells do in lategame to bosses, then what to do?

Well, haven't played in a long time, I'll start a new char and try and get it to work, maybe you'll manage to change my mind:)

  • Thanks! 1
Link to comment
  • The title was changed to Magic Inquisitor Defense and Boss Questions.
  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/19/2023 at 3:35 PM, Lindor said:

Otherwise which one to leave out? NN are essential against bosses. Combat Discipline, okay, and what else? Spell Resistance? He's already squishy enough. The only way I see this working is if you skip the NN tree. But without those debuffs and because of the tickle damage your spells do in lategame to bosses, then what to do?
 

I'd probably drop Nefarious Netherworld Lore. It's probably one of the least impactful lore skills in the game, because the main appeal of the tree is not really the damage.

After that, it's either Toughness or Spell Resistance. Detrimental Effect reduction is generally easier to get on gear than damage mitigation, so probably drop SR. 3 Defensive skills are generally enough.

And Concentration is never a waste on any character that uses CAs. Lowering buff penalty and CA regen times is always good on any character that uses CAs, especially spellcaster as it allows you to pump their levels that much higher.

Edited by idbeholdME
  • Like! 1
Link to comment
19 hours ago, idbeholdME said:

I'd probably drop Nefarious Netherworld Lore. It's probably one of the least impactful lore skills in the game, because the main appeal of the tree is not really the damage.

It's a good idea. Usually inexorable subjugation is one of the main damage sources aganst bosses though. Also it improves casting speed, but that can also be acquired on gear. Also with just NN Focus, you can only mod three NN spells. But that is enough if you leave inexorable subjugation as dmg source out anyway.

19 hours ago, idbeholdME said:

After that, it's either Toughness or Spell Resistance. Detrimental Effect reduction is generally easier to get on gear than damage mitigation, so probably drop SR. 3 Defensive skills are generally enough.

I tend to disagree. Imho -% Derimental Magic Effects is the second best defensive bonus you can get, right after damage mitigation. You cannot withstand dragon's breath on Niob without that. Getting it to an acceptable level would use a lot of slots. Also Spell resistance skill increases your spell resistance stat, decreases your DoT suffering time and protects against crits from spells. It's a pretty insane bonus and not optional imho.

19 hours ago, idbeholdME said:

And Concentration is never a waste on any character that uses CAs. Lowering buff penalty and CA regen times is always good on any character that uses CAs, especially spellcaster as it allows you to pump their levels that much higher.

Okay, I give you that. :)

 

Would be possible to drop NN Lore. Still one skill left. And dropping any of those left is pretty hurtful. I'd vote for combat discipline since chance to halve regen time doesn't work on combos, but still missing the damage is quite hurtful and also the playstyle becomes more exhausting. Combos are good for quality of life.

Link to comment

Or drop concentration and use just purifying chastisement. Reflection seems to occur less often on boss fights, and soul reaver is useless against bosses. Would open up the possibility to use combos. And no big differene between using one buff without reduce buff penalty or using three buffs with reduce buff penalty.

Link to comment
5 hours ago, Lindor said:

I tend to disagree. Imho -% Derimental Magic Effects is the second best defensive bonus you can get, right after damage mitigation. You cannot withstand dragon's breath on Niob without that. Getting it to an acceptable level would use a lot of slots. Also Spell resistance skill increases your spell resistance stat, decreases your DoT suffering time and protects against crits from spells. It's a pretty insane bonus and not optional imho.

Don't get me wrong, detrimental effect reduction is extremely good and Spell Resistance is great whenever you have the space to take it. But in the long run, the effects of Spell Resistance Mastery are easier to replace than Toughness Mastery. At the higher levels, a single piece of gear can have 40-50%+% detriment reduction. And having high Spell Resistance stat will just cut spell damage by 30% at most 

Toughness is universal, reduces all sources of damage (including DoTs) and also gives you a chunk of flat armor on top of that, which further scales with Armor Lore. Just combining Toughness with Innure Gold mod on PC will give you massive survivability, if that's what you're after. Supplement with one or 2 pieces of gear/jewelry with -DME% and you're golden. Jewelry can have -DME% on it, which is huge, while damage mitigation is only on very few select, hard to get Unique/Legendary jewelry pieces and in quite low amounts compared to DME.

And I definitely would not drop Concentration on any spellcaster build. You can also choose to make the Doppelganger a buff. It will free up a spell slot and Concentration will ensure you still have better regen times than you had without it. Doppelganger can be pretty good as a distraction/meat shield.

And Reflection doesn't work on ground effects/DoTs. So standing in a Dragon Breath or getting spit on by a spider, not even 100% reflection would save you.

Edited by idbeholdME
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