[3.18] Spark RF Inquisitor | 86-90% All Resistances - 75/75 Block - Aegis Aurora - High Regen
" While there are many Spark Inquisitor variants floating around, I wanted to showcase my take on a pure lightning Spark Inquisitor, with a heavier focus on regen/sustain and being able to facetank content, while still dishing out considerable DPS. The main focus of this build was to stack recovery. I noticed many Spark Inquisitor builds on PoE.Ninja simply did not have much in terms of recovery, often relying on only life flasks for healing and topping off at around 800-1000 regen per second (most seem to only have like 400-500 regen). Many did not have enough regen to utilize Righteous Fire. My build has well over 3000-4000 recovery per second, more than enough to keep Righteous Fire on permanently without making a dent for an extra 40% more spell damage. This is excluding extra sustain from Leech & Aegis Aurora... I'm talking raw, passive regeneration mechanics. PROS:
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- Extremely satisfying and efficient mapclear. Spark can travel off screen and performs exponentially better in any indoor layout maps - 86-90% all elemental resistances easily achieved, better than 100% spell suppression - Powerful sustain from utilizing Inquisitor's simultaneous dual regen (Life + ES) - 75/75 block for even more sustain with Aegis Aurora - Extremely high casts / second - Fanaticism reduces mana costs by 75%, effectively making your spark casts free, unlocking an extra flask slot (No Enduring Mana Flask required!) CONS:
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- Can't run Elemental Reflect Map - Enduring Mana flask required to run No-regen maps (still suggest rerolling) - Very difficult to fit in Chaos resistance due to elemental resistance needs, consider running an amethyst flask (or Atziri's Promise) for mapping - Bosses without walls to bounce spark are slow (IE: Sirus) VIDEOS
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I have completed all the maven invites, Sirus, Shaper, Uber Elder, Maven, Exarch & Eater on this build without issues (during 3.17).
Tank Showcase - T16 Cemetery Just a quick showcase of how "tanky" the build is on a basic T16 map. No spark casting - only Tempest Shield and Herald of Lightning clearing packs. (I spent first 15-20 seconds casting spark to proc Exarch influence. Also note, Frost Shield is not active in most cases here, since you need to cast to trigger them - you'll note on the boss it's easily dropped by activating RF, frost blink, or your Wrath blessing aura and is up all fight) https://youtu.be/qBXkfpIOUmc Minotaur map with Phoenix Buddy https://youtu.be/d5IIZIgQnFs T16 Cemetery Clear - Regular Spark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv5NS6EyywQ T16 Cemetery Clear - Black Spark MTX I use the black spark MTX as I feel it reduces screen clutter. https://youtu.be/Z3K4OKbw_30 You'll note in many of the videos I forget to activate my Wrath - Divine Blessing buff during mapping, which is some added DPS lost. It's not really mandatory, just a nice damage buff to have. I usually try to pop it before a boss (but often forget anyway). ****************************************** PATH OF BUILDING https://pastebin.com/PYeXLghX (Be sure to use the Community Fork PoB) ****************************************** WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THIS BUILD? While I typically play on Softcore, I prefer characters that are more Hardcore viable and have strong defenses coupled with sustain mechanics, while still maintaining respectable levels of DPS. Dying is never fun. I'm also often half-asleep and enjoy charging directly into the middle of every pack, so I like characters that are durable. My main focus for this build was to boost up restoration/sustain as much as possible. I often prioritize having high sustain on my builds through either regen or leech - especially nowadays with all the strong degen/ground effects in maps. Secondly, I wanted to automate as much as I could (i'm lazy) and ensure full or high uptime on all necessary buffs. This means full uptime on power, frenzy, and endurance charges (and I have 4-5 endurance charges). I also didn't want to selfcast my frost shield or mark, so they automatically trigger for me. *This build CONSISTENTLY has all buffs on the PoB config, no PoB warrior shenanigans with power/frenzy charges being up on bosses without any method to generate them, or relying on a silver flask for only method of onslaught. Shock% is set to 25%, although we can shock up to 50%. Inquisitor has a unique ascendancy node, Pious Path, which allows your life regeneration to also apply to your energy shield regeneration. What this means is that you can stack life regeneration and also have very respectable energy shield regeneration, despite not investing anything into ES regen. Utilizing the Glorious Vanity - Corrupted Soul, you will split damage 50/50 between your life and energy shield. This is a HUGE benefit over regular hybrid builds, as this means you will always be utilizing both your Life and ES regens simultaneously, while hybrid builds won't benefit at all from their life regen until damage breaks through their energy shield. This timeless jewel also provides 1000 energy shield, so you have over a 2000 energy shield "buffer" despite not investing into increasing your ES. I currently run with 4500 life and 2200 energy shield, and you can probably hit 5k life at level 100. If you prefer even more life/regen you can drop cluster jewels for more life nodes, but I find 6K+ EHP to be plenty. With my current gear, my character regenerates 2376 life/s and 1098 ES/s. This is a net of over 3400 EHP/s. In addition, you also have leech to Life and/or Energy Shield which adds another 1200-1400/s, so any time you get tickled, you are instantly back to full health AND energy shield. I'm not joking when I say this build recovers over 4000 of your health/ES pool each second, without even having to touch your life potions. With this amount of regen, you can activate and leave Righteous Fire on permanently, for a massive 40% more spell damage. You can also use Vaal Righteous Fire on top of this for more burst DPS if you'd like. Thanks to our higher maximum resistances, Righteous Fire barely hurts, and decreases total regen down to 2000 life/s and 700 es/s, for a net of 2700 EHP/s. So for 40% more damage you are only losing about 700 EHP/s via degen. Sick! The build uses the typical Determination / Defiance combination to achieve 20-30k unbuffed armor, allowing the use of Aegis Aurora for additional on-block recovery. Depending on how much you want to stack armor and which flasks you use, this equates to around 400 - 700 energy shield gained on blocks. Lastly, I fit in an extra "free" 50% damage aura through Divine Blessing + Lifetap. Although it chunks your life bar when activated, you are instantly back to full life thanks to high regen, and the buff lasts 10+ seconds. Why Corrupted Soul? Isn't it bad with Aegis?
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Most Aegis using Inquis/Occultist builds often have practically 0 or very low regen/sustain mechanics. They rely entirely on Aegis keeping their ES full and if they take any damage to life, they rely entirely on a life flask (or leech) to get them to full. Personally I dislike this type of building as it's SEVERELY weak against damage over time or ground degens, of which there are SO many nowadays, with more being added each league. Usually most Aegis builds don't stack ES high, just enough for Aegis blocks to restore to full on blocks, acting as a "buffer" to their life (somewhat like Ward). This works very well for many small hits, but less so for large hits that penetrate your shields and hit your life, especially if you don't maximize the powerful dual-regen capabilities of Pious Path. Here's PoE.Ninja for current Inquisitors with Melding + Aegis + Glorious Vanity: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds?class=Inquisitor&item=Aegis-Aurora,Melding-of-the-Flesh,Glorious-Vanity You'll note many have 2-3.4K ES, with around 2.5K being the average. Comparatively, here's the Inquisitors only running Melding + Aegis: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds?class=Inquisitor&item=Aegis-Aurora,Melding-of-the-Flesh You'll note the average ES is somewhat lower, around 1.5-2K, average looks to be around 1.8k. Corrupted Soul on average provides about 1000 extra ES when slapped onto a build. Here's a few example scenarios, lets compare 2 inquisitors under the assumption of both having the same armor (50K) and same max resists. (1) No Corrupted Soul: 5000 HP 1500 ES 500 life/es regen (2) Corrupted Soul: 5000 HP 2500 ES 2000 life/es regen Large hit: 6K
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If a large hit comes through for 6k damage: (1) takes 1500 to ES, then 4500 to life. He survives with 500 life. After 1 second, he regenerates to 1000 life and 500 energy shield. The maximum hit he can take after 1s is 1500. (2) takes a split of 50/50, 3000 to each. Since ES pool is only 2500, takes 3500 to life and 2500 to ES. He survives with 1500 life. After 1 second, he regenerates to 3500 life and 2000 energy shield. The maximum hit he can take after 1s is 5500. Large hit: 7K
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If a large hit comes through for 7000 damage: (1) takes 1500 damage to ES, then 5500 damage to life. Dead with -500 life. (2) Takes a split of 50/50, which is 3500 damage to each. Since you only have 2500 ES, you take 2500 to ES, then 4500 to life. You survive with 500 life. After 1 second, he regenerates to 2500 life and 2000 energy shield. The maximum hit he can take after 1s is 4500. 10 consecutive small hits for 2k damage
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So lets say you don't care about big oneshots, and are more concerned about many small monsters constantly hitting you (IE: swarms of titty monsters shotgunning you offscreen). Lets also assume 70% block for 7/10. Further, lets assume you are never "unlucky" enough to get hit twice in a row, always getting a block in between hits. Let's assume in an ideal world, the 10 attacks look like this: Block, Hit, Block, Block, Hit, Block, Block, Hit, Block, Block (1) The first hit for 2k brings his ES to 0 and life to 4500. He then blocks twice restoring 1000 ES per block, putting him back to his 1500 ES cap. The next hit comes through for 2k and again only deals 500 to life. After all 10 hits, he's at 1500/1500 ES, and 3500/5000 life. (2) All hits are split 50/50. The first hit deals 1000 to life, and 1000 to ES, bringing his ES to 1500 and life to 4000. He then blocks twice restoring 1000 ES per block, putting him back to his 2500 ES cap. The next hit comes through for 2k and deals another 1000 to life. After all 10 hits, he's at 2500/2500 ES and 2000/5000 life. You'll note that in this scenario, the Corrupted Soul version has taken considerably more damage to his life - he ends up with almost 40% less life remaining (2000 instead of 3500). If several more unlucky blocks came through, he'd be dead, even with full energy shield. So in this example, the first inquisitor survives all the hits with 5000 remaining EHP (3500 Life + 1500 ES). While the second inquisitor survives with only 4000 EHP (2000 LIfe + 2500 ES, but since damage is split, he can only use 2000 Life and 2000 ES). 20 consecutive small hits for 2k
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Lets stretch this out further and assume even more hits are coming through. Based on the prior example, we can assume about 6 hits will come through out of the 20. (1) 6 hits at 500 life per hit = 3000 life damage. He's alive with 2000/5000 life and 1500/1500 ES. (2) 6 hits at 1000 life per hit = 6000 life damage. Dead with -1000 life. So what this means is, the Corrupted Soul version will not survive as many of these "small hits" due to the damage split. However, in practice, remember that Inquisitor #2 also has significantly higher life/ES regen. The chances that you are hit 6 times in a row without any time to regenerate life is slim - even just 1 second is enough to restore 2000 life. Personally I've played many inquisitors with both variants, and still favor the corrupted soul/higher EHP/high regen version. This is because in practice, Aegis is still so powerful, that with very high regen and even splitting 50/50 damage, you are absolutely fine. What really kills me this league are not 20 small titty monsters shotgunning me. 100% of my deaths are from large oneshots, such as Sentinel-juiced Expedition monsters or Legion spearmen - specifically, those crossbow guys. A single rare juiced crossbow expedition monster can 1-shot snipe me offscreen. So Aegis takes care of all the small hits, and having a higher EHP pool from Corrupted Soul/Regen allows me higher chances to survive a big one hit, and then regen up quickly in case a 2nd hit comes through soon. CURRENT GEAR Gear Notes: Since it was my priority to stack recovery, I made sure any rare I had equipped had either 100+ flat life regen or 13-15%+ life recovery rate or life regeneration rate - note, these are actually TWO DIFFERENT STATS that are multiplicative with each other. Sources of life recovery rate are slim; I get this stat from my chestpiece and Watcher's Eye: Vitality. Wand can be crafted by buying a base with +1 Lightning or +1 Spells and spamming Woe Essences on it. The best hits are +flat to lightning spells and cast speed. Spell crit / spell mult are luxury. I made several wands that I sold for multiple exalts earlier in the league just spamming essences, so they aren't at all hard to craft or buy now. Make sure you have an open suffix if you want to utilize triggered spells. I opted for a rare influenced chest for more consistent Frenzy charge generation. Explosion mod is also strong if you want more clear. Note that non-influenced chests are VERY powerful with the new exarch/eater implicits. You can roll up to +3% maximum cold resistance on chest and +2% maximum cold resistance on gloves with Exarch implicits. If you have both, you'll have 90% all maximum resistances. I'm currently only at 86% but plan to get to 87% from my glove soon. Since I'm in SC I don't really feel the need for the 90%, so I rather have an influenced chestpiece. Your call. I just dropped the Bottled Faith, not even sure if I want to use it over a blue flask (for an extra suffix) but giving it a shot for now. Was using a regular Diamond Flask previously and honestly might prefer it since I could use either % spell damage leeched to ES or maybe immunity to poison, or cast speed. I'm already at 100% spell crit chance, and Inquisitor has permanent consecrated ground, so Bottled Faith is partially wasted on this build. OTHER GOOD GEAR ALTERNATIVES
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- Body Armor: Skin of the Lords is a very strong budget chestpiece. If you can afford an Empower 4 gem, in this chest piece, you'll get +5 levels on your Spark, making this a very strong contender for DPS. In addition the 100% global defenses provides over 7000-8000 extra armor and 300-400 energy shield. Lastly, you save 1 skill point if you grab one with Divine Shield. Glancing Blows or Iron Will would also be very strong and will allow you to drop Thread of Hope for different pathing. If you go this route, you will need Cold Snap in your trigger wand to generate frenzy charges during mapping, and you may want to run Poacher's Mark instead of Sniper's Mark for guaranteed charges on bosses.
- Helm : Crown of the Inward Eye is ridiculously strong for such a cheap item, even with a +3 spark enchant (as many lab runners use this helm). It actually provides 150 more life than a T-1 life rolled rare helm, AND provides well over 4000 extra armor and 400 energy shield. Don't feel obligated to craft a rare blizzard crown. *** The % projectile speed enchant is likely just as good as the +3 spark enchant *** - Ring : I run a Circle of Regret and use Herald of Thunder primarily only for the implicit on the ring - You Gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on hit. This guarantees 100% uptime of onslaught without relying on a silver flask or on-kill from a rare boot. In addition, with the % lightning damage mod on the ring, Herald of Lightning provides 16% more total damage which is very strong for a 25% reservation aura (in comparison, Zealotry, which is a 50% aura, only provides the build 20% more damage. These rings were very expensive in the past, but in 3.17, they seem to be very plentiful and there's tons up for 40-80c. If you rather not use Circle of Regret, you can just rely on a Silver Flask for your onslaught, and use another good rare ring. Mark of the Shaper is a solid, budget option. Or you can run 1 or 2 Call of the Brotherhood rings, which convert some of your lightning into cold damage, which will open up Nebulis as a strong main-hand option. - Amulet : I wanted to maximize my DPS and it was tough to get more without adding in another aura, so I went with Aul's to run both Wrath & Zealotry. In reality, the OPOP Ashes of the Stars is just as good if not better, and provides an extra 30% projectile speed to your Spark via the 30% quality bonus. The +1 skill gems will help counterbalance the loss of Zealotry. Your call; I like bigger DPS numbers and also the extra 70 life on Aul's. - Gloves : Algor Mortis are very powerful and provide almost 10% more damage to this build, plus the ability to Sap enemies under your chilling ground, providing another added layer of defenses. Frostblink and Frost Shield both create chilling ground to ensure you have this readily available on bosses. You can also get good corruptions on them fairly cheap (% chance to crit for spells looks to run under 1 ex). Or you can get cheap temp chains / enfeeble on hit so everything in maps hits like a noodle. - Boots : I would like to emphasize that Tailwind boots are no longer the only source of action speed, as you can now roll up to 6% action speed on regular boots with the new Exarch implicit. For reference, Tailwind adds 8%, so it's a slight decrease but you gain the benefit of also having an Eater of Worlds implicit. I went with Life Regeneration Rate (which rolls up to 10%) but there are a ton of good options for both implicit types. Other good implicits include sapped ground and brittle ground. In general, you can EASILY find much cheaper "non-influenced" boots with high life, movement speed and resistances, and then slap on implicits - rather than go for a mediocre Tailwind boot with no resists and crafted life. Tailwind boots with movespeed, life, and resistances often run 15-25 exalts whereas I picked up my boot for like 20c, and then slapped on lower-tier implicits for around 50c. - Weapon : If you want a cheap option, Nebulis on this build is dirt cheap and is only 7% less damage than the self-crafted wand I'm using. If you run a Call of the Brotherhood (or two) to convert some damage over to Cold, Nebulis actually provides more DPS than a GG crafted mirror wand. It's challenging to fit in all the resists and dex you need without at least one rare ring, but if you can make it work, this is probably a stronger option. Note that you will lose the ability to auto-trigger in your wand, so you'll need to manually cast frost shield and sniper's mark. ROUGH SKETCH - BUDGET GEAR
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Here's a quick budget gear sample I put together: https://pastebin.com/TNtYZCyA This was my 3rd character this league so I started off with around 10-15 ex before pumping more currency in. It can be done on a budget, but the build requires strong investment into getting all the regen (and life recovery rate), and reservation efficiency that you need to stack auras and Righteous Fire. The build functions absolutely fine without Righteous Fire, but to minmax the damage, you really need to follow the build (and all reservation efficiencies) exactly, to fit in all the auras. Although this build isn't an "aura stacker" it does utilize NINE total auras, all of which benefit the build for defense or offense. Budget options do exist for gear pieces; I actually started off this build with ALL of the below items, but later switched some pieces around to my liking: Aegis Aurora - 70c [RIP - OP shield, use a rare % ES gained on Block shield] Ashes of Stars - 50c [RIP - Just use a rare +1 amulet until Aul's] Crown of Inward Eye - Looks like around 2ex for +3 spark, but sometimes I see them for 1-1.5ex if you are patient. Or look for the % projectile speed enchant, honestly I think it's just as good as +3 spark. Circle of Regret with Onslaught - I see a bunch up for 60c - 1ex, depends on rolls. Skin of Lords - 5B1R around 80c, try to grab one with keystone that does nothing, or saves you a skill point like Divine Shield Forbidden Flame/Flesh Jewels - Right now I checked and Forbidden Flame - Instruments of Zeal is around 2ex. When I bought it, I paid 7.5ex... so hopefully price stays down. 2ex is very cheap! The rest is just all rares to cap resists / get dexterity. Cluster jewels will vary in price depending which notables you want. *** For budget version, I suggest just using 1 large cluster jewel, with 2 medium projectile jewels, with a small cluster (or two) for reservation efficiency and enduring composure *** Rough estimate of bare minimum around 7-8 exalts, but honestly I would aim for around 10ex+ for this to feel comfortable. NOTE - For budget version, you will need to drop 1 damage aura (Wrath or Zealotry) and also slot in Cold Snap into your wand to generate frenzy charges on trash. You will have 100% uptime of frenzy charges during mapping, but none for bosses. You can slot in Poacher's Mark for frenzy charges on bosses if you really want them. Also if your regen is too low, drop Righteous Fire until you can sustain it better. CLUSTER JEWEL EXPLANATION
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Cluster jewels are lower priority on this build, and are mostly to push damage; don't feel obligated to get them immediately. The build is really point-starved, so you won't be able to easily fit in 2 large clusters until you are lvl 85/90+. Start with 1 large cluster, the second is luxury. MANDATORY: Storm Rider - This is your source to generate Power charges. You'll have 100% uptime of charges, even on bosses, as you inflict chill through cold damage (Blizzard Crown) or reliably when you trigger your Frost Shield or Frostblink under targets. Enduring Composure - This is your method to generate endurance charges. I suggest you try to grab it on a Megalomaniac with at LEAST 1 other good notable, if not 2. Otherwise, just get it on a small 2-point (armor) jewel cluster. OPTIONAL/STRONG Doryani's Lesson - You will want this for elemental damage leech. Snowstorm - Solid DPS increase but mostly on bosses, since most map trash will be dead before chilling them matters Streamlined / Aerodynamics - Luxury DPS/Projectile Speed/Pierce Pressure Points - One of the strongest DPS notables. I highly suggest you try to fit in at least 1 of these as having at least 1 source of "Chance to Deal Double Damage" means when it procs, you'll inflict a 2x impact shock - very big for single target DPS. MEGALOMANIAC
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I'm a huge fan of the Megalomaniac cluster jewel, as you can often save a few skill points and pick up some important notables you normally can't fit in on many builds. The main priority is Enduring Composure - which is only available on small armor cluster jewels. This is the smoothest method to guarantee 100% uptime on endurance charges (another method is manually casting Enduring Cry, not as ideal). Second, use your Megalomaniac to either help fit in any auras you need depending on your Enlighten gem level. Reservation reduction notables include: Uncompromising (Determination) Pure Guile (Purity of Ice) Righteous Path (Zealotry) You can also fit in some extra % maximum resistances here, to make gearing easier to 90%: Prismatic Carapace - 1% All Max Res Prismatic Dance - 1% All Max Res Winter Prowler - 2% Max Cold Res Antifreeze - 1% Max Cold Res Lastly, you can look for strong DPS or Defense oriented notables here. Some hot picks: Master of Fear (Unnerve) Wish for Death (Culling) Veteran Defender (Attributes, Armor/ES, Resists) Unspeakable Gifts (Explosions) Thunderstruck (Knockback) Surging Vitality (Life / Regen) (Note with Pious Path gives both Life and ES) WATCHER'S EYES This build is quite flexible in terms of what auras/Watcher's Eyes you plan to use. As I am stacking regeneration, I wanted to make sure I included "Life Recovery Rate while Effected by Vitality". Not at all mandatory, and you can pick from the below useful eye mods:
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Wrath: Crit Chance
Wrath: Lightning Damage Zealotry: Gain Arcane Surge (I went with this one because my mana usage is often nearly 0 during fanaticism, meaning I can't proc it with flame dash/frostblink) Zealotry: Enemies take % increased damage Zealotry: Crit Chance to enemies on Consecrated Ground Zealotry: Cast Speed Determination: Crit reduction Determination: Armor Determination: Phys damage reduction (weak since we have armor and 3-4 endurance charges) Vitality: Life gain on Hit (Strong additional sustain since spark will be hitting many times/many targets) Vitality: Life Regen Purity of Ice: Phys taken as cold Clarity: - Cost of Spells Clarity: Gain Mana -> Extra ES RARE GEAR SEARCH EXAMPLES
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Finished Wand: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/35dqMjgF5 Fractured Base (For Crafting): https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/Dmlm864I5 Glove: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/XbR3jXBcP Helm: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/B6BgX6wt8 Boots: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/P8RPljGFL Belt: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/p4rJvPef0 Armour: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/wv7M9jmcb *** Note all links are from Archnemesis late in the league, so prices are high and options are limited. Honestly, the majority of rares are going to be cheaper if you attempt to craft them yourself. Frenzy/+1 Skill chestpiece for example you can craft yourself easily with awakener orbs. Helm is best crafted on a Blizzard Crown base, which can be found: https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Archnemesis/n4krynzu0 LEVELING I would just recommend leveling as either Storm Brand or with caster totems (arc, freezing pulse, holy fire totem, etc.) Selfcast Arc is also a viable option. If you don't mind respeccing, I'd probably suggest leveling as a Totem Hierophant for ease / league starts, and then swap out later to a self-caster inquisitor once you progress further (probably after Merc lab). AURAS:
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Without at least an Enlighten 3, you will be limited on options.
What you choose to run will depend largely on your Watcher’s Eye and possibly Megalomaniac / Small Clusters to reduce reservations. You may want to only run Wrath or Zealotry, possibly not both, depending on your gear. When I was running Ashes of the Stars, I had to run 1 small cluster with either "Uncompromising" or "Pure Guile" to fit in all auras and Wrath. I suggest trying to grab a Megalomaniac with both Enduring Composure and 1 of these reservation reductions. Mandatory Auras: Determination, Defiance Banner, Tempest Shield, Purity of Ice, Vitality Optional Auras: Wrath, Zealotry, Clarity, Herald of Thunder CALCULATING SPARK DPS / SPARK BOUNCE MECHANICS
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So the exact damage of Spark builds are very difficult to calculate, as it depends entirely on the arena you are fighting in.
Unlike most other spells that can only hit an enemy 1 time per cast, Spark has the capability to hit enemies an infinite number of times. This is because of the "rearm" mechanics of spark bouncing off walls. Normally, spark can only hit a target 1 time per cast, regardless of how many projectiles you fire. Spark cannot shotgun. So regardless if you fire 1 or 20 sparks, enemies will only be hit by 1 spark every time you cast. However, Spark "rearms" all projectiles fired once any of the sparks from the cast hits a wall, allowing all sparks from the same cast to once again hit the same enemy. This means if you shoot off 10 sparks from a single cast, and one hits an enemy, and then one single spark hits a wall, all the other 9 sparks will again be eligible to hit the same enemy (although only one can hit, before another bounce is needed). The result is that in practice, if you are fighting any monsters or bosses in an area with walls or in almost every indoor layout map (think stuff like haunted mansion), your sparks can easily be hitting targets for 2, 3, 4 or more times each cast. It's difficult to compute exactly how many times since the sparks move erratically and is contingent on many factors such as your projectile count, projectile speed and skill effect duration. (This is also why the +3 spark helm enchant may not necessarily be BIS, some argue the % projectile speed enchant is better). Projectile Speed and Skill Effect Duration will both impact Spark's ability to travel further and bounce around longer before dissipating. Most say to aim for around 100% projectile speed to feel comfortable. It's worth noting almost all the endgame bosses (Maven, Conquerors, Guardians, Elder, Shaper, Exarch, Eater, etc) are in small-ish arenas that allow your sparks to bounce around extremely well. The only exception is Sirus, where there are no walls to bounce anything off of. The tooltip DPS of this build is only in the 4-5 million DPS range, but this is assuming only 1 hit of spark per cast. It's extremely conceivable the true DPS is closer to 2 to 3 times this number (or more?) if you are running indoor maps/tight layouts. Also, keep in mind my PoB config is not inflated. Unlike many builds that have no consistent generation of frenzy or power charges on bosses, or no method to gain onslaught besides a silver flask, or have Vaal Righteous Fire enabled... all buffs enabled in my build are 100% uptime. *The only exception is Frost Shield, which will only apply when you are underneath it. For any tank/dangerous monsters, it's always going to be there. IE: when you stop for Archnemesis statue, or are fighting a boss, you are going to be standing still under the frost shield. *** Also note - I SET SHOCK TO 25% *** This build can shock up to 50%, but to be fair, I left it at 25%. Most monsters I hit I see a debuff of 35-45% shock so I believe I am being very conservative with just 25% shock. BANDIT: Alira Crit Mult, Mana Regen, Resistances… all great +2 skills is alright as well, but this build really needs resists and mana regen. PANTHEONS
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Major: Brine King (For stun/freeze immunities and chill reduction)
Minor: Tukohama, Shakari (since we are low chaos resist), Abberath, Ralakesh (If you don't have a corrupted blood immunity jewel). I run with Tukohama for the extra 2% regen. ASCENDANCY
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Inquisitor is excellent for self-cast spells as it inherently provides extremely high crit chance through Righteous Providence. Without really paying much attention you are easily at 200+ str/int which provides 200%+ crit chance, easily putting your crit chance to 70/80%+ without much investment. Getting to 100% is really, really easy on Inquisitor.
Inevitable Judgement provides full resistance penetration, coupled with 100% crit, means you can ignore penetration completely. Pious Path and Sanctuary provide strong sustain through regen mechanics. ORDER: Sanctuary -> Righteous Providence -> Inevitable Judgement -> Pious Path FORBIDDEN JEWELS
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I run with Instruments of Zeal, which provides an interesting playstyle of spamming Shield Charge to move around to gain a MASSIVE 75% MORE cast speed. With Fanaticism up, my casts per second goes from 5.14 to 9. That's a LOT of sparks per second.
For reference, to achieve this level of casts without Fanaticism, you would need an extra 180% increased cast speed on gear, which is literally impossible. It's important to note that this playstyle requires that you constantly be charging around to maintain your Fanaticism. *** NOTE - Fanaticism also reduces all mana costs by 75%. This means your spark will, literally, cost 0 mana. No need for an enduring mana flask. This also means you cannot proc Arcane Surge using a travel skill, since you spend 0 mana. *** *** Important note - Shield charge can be used directly on top of your character to "slam" the ground without actually moving your character. This is crucial as you will want to facetank stronger monsters or bosses under your Frost Shield, without charging out of the shield. So simply aim your curser under your character and hit shield charge between your spark casts. (You can theoretically also use Leap Slam if you run a sceptre like Nebulis, or Whirling Blades if you use a caster dagger) Other good Forbidden Jewel options: Augury of Penitence - Approx 9% more damage Sanctuary of Thought - Easier to fit in auras, 50% reduced spell costs (means you can drop some mana cost reductions), and about 400 extra energy shield Conviction of Power - Easy 4 endurance 4 power charges, can drop enduring composure and stormrider Harmony of Purpose - Pretty much 100% uptime of endurance, power and frenzy charges without needing enduring composure, stormrider, frenzy on hit chest, poacher's mark, or coldsnap. *** This would likely be my 2nd choice for QoL Radiant Faith - If you run with petrified blood and lowlife, you get some solid ES/Armor from this. SKILLS:
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6L: Spark + Inspiration + Increased Critical Strikes + Increased Critical Damage + Pinpoint + Spell Echo Level 21 Spark is ideal. I'm running a Level 20 Vaal Spark since my chestpiece grants Vaal skills an extra +1. Ideally, I want a Level 21 Vaal Spark. If you run a Skin of the Lords, drop the weakest support for Empower (probably Increased Crit Damage) 4L: Determination + Purity of Ice + Tempest Shield + Enlighten Enlighten 3 is sufficient for my build. 4 is luxury. You can probably not even use one if you get enough reservations from small cluster jewels or a megalomaniac. *** Note - You need Purity of Ice to level 23, which I get from +1 on chest and +1 on helm. 4L: Defiance Banner + Vitality + Wrath/Zealotry + Herald of Thunder Wrath is more DPS but you can use either, or both, if you can fit it into your build. If you want to use Aul's instead of Ashes, the Zealotry variant is significantly cheaper than Wrath. 3L WEAPON: Frost Shied + Lifetap + Sniper's Mark 3L SHIELD: Shield Charge, Faster Attacks, Frostblink (or Flame Dash) (I use Frostblink as it's instant cast and applies chilling ground, which helps with Snowstorm cluster jewel damage. Also if you run Algor Mortis gloves, this is the best way to apply chilling ground) If you run a trigger wand, Frost Shield is very powerful both offensively and defensively. Lifetap is needed as your mana is mostly reserved. Sniper's Mark is flexible and you can consider the following instead:
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-Assassin's Mark -Stone Golem (Provides 200+ regen to life and ES! He also taunts and tanks, and although will die quickly, comes back every 8 seconds). -Sigil of Power -Orb of Storms / Tornado (No idea if these are even worth using on a 1-link, but extra damage is extra damage right? You could also consider dropping Frost Shield for a 2-Link Orb of Storms, perhaps with Power Charge on Crit for easy generation) -Temporal Chains -Enfeeble -Voidsphere Note that if you are lower on crit, Assassin's Mark will provide more DPS than Sniper's mark. If you are near or close to 100% crit, go with Sniper's. You can also selfcast marks on bosses if you prefer. I like automating it in my wand as it will still throw it onto enemies while I clear maps. Added bonus is Sniper's Mark will technically produce more sparks as if a spark hits the cursed target, it "splits" off to 4 additional targets. Play around with the trigger slots to see what you enjoy using. This is entirely optional and you may not even want to use a trigger wand, although I'm lazy during mapping and enjoy the QoL. FLEXIBLE LINKS 3L + 1L: Divine Blessing + Lifetap + Wrath/Zealotry Clarity - By itself (Don't link to lifetap/divine blessing or it becomes a buff) This gives you an extra "free" aura to pop for more damage before bosses. It only lasts 10 seconds so it's somewhat irritating to keep up during mapping. UNSET RING: Try to get an unset ring to fit in one more gem. Not mandatory but it helps if you want to also run a level 1 clarity and also Vaal Righteous Fire. Good alternatives: CWDT setup with - Stone Golem, Immortal Call or Vaal Molten Shell, Increased Duration or 4 link Orb of Storms for more single target/boss DPS FLASKS:
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There are no required flasks. I do recommend the following:
1) Diamond Flask - If you aren't crit capped, or don't have a bottled faith. If you are at 95%+ crit it's probably not worth using. 2) Granite Flask - More armor for Aegis Aurora 3) Basalt Flask - As per above 4) Quicksilver Flask You can also use a Jade flask if you want some evasion, or Quartz for phasing, although with shield charge it's not really needed. Atizir's Promise / Amethyst flask also recommended for chaos resists. Bottled Faith is the obvious luxury flask OPTIONAL TECH:
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May not be mandatory, especially if you are on softcore, but I like running a flask with "Removes burning on use" with the instilling orb craft "Used when you take a savage hit". Doesn't matter what flask you put this on; I'm using an Iron Flask since it provides 200 ward for a little extra "please don't kill me" when it's triggered after a savage hit.
So whenever you take a savage hit, your flask will now auto-use and remove Righteous Fire, granting you roughly an extra 1000 EHP/s regeneration. You'll have to reactivate RF afterwards. This also gives you the ability to remove RF on demand if you need to use the flask and gain more regen, like if you are running a map with 60% less recovery of life/ES. ____________________________________________________ CLOSING THOUGHTS Overall, this character's gear isn't really improving any further and the only upgrades I have in sight are an Awakened Spell Echo (17ex+) and a Level 21 Vaal Spark (13ex+). Very solid build that I intend to use for all my general mapping needs. It can still tackle bosses absolutely fine, but for the amount of currency invested, there are plenty of better bossing builds. This build is primarily intended for fast map clear WITHOUT dying, since you can easily facetank everything including delirious maps. I may consider gemswapping to Ball Lighting + Slower Projectiles for bosses to see how it performs. Or making a different character solely to melt bosses. To clarify, this build can handle all bosses fine. It just won't delete them in 3 seconds like a phys trapper. Thanks for reading through this and hopefully this build has given you some ideas towards your next character. Good luck, Exiles! Cospri CoC Cold->Fire Trickster: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2576559 Divine Ire Trickster: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2459778 Last edited by KooperT on Jul 21, 2022, 9:51:41 AM Last bumped on Aug 28, 2022, 6:22:08 PM
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Hello, TY for your work! How much cost budget version and what she can do? And how much cost normal?
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Righteous, right on. On my first POE character going for Spark Inquis and this fills in the gaps of knowledge. Thanks.
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" This was my 3rd character this league so I started off with around 15-20 ex before pumping more currency in. It can be done on a budget, but the build requires strong investment into getting all the regen (and life recovery rate) that you are able to utilize Righteous Fire. Since it uses so many uniques and Melding of the Flesh, it's critical to fit in tons of resists alongside regen on every rare piece. Here's rough budget build I put together: https://pastebin.com/TNtYZCyA None of this gear is too expensive. Aegis Aurora - 70c Ashes of Stars - 50c Crown of Inward Eye - Looks like around 2ex for +3 spark, but sometimes I see them for 1-1.5ex if you are patient. Or look for the % projectile speed enchant, honestly I think it's just as good as +3 spark. Circle of Regret with Onslaught - I see a bunch up for 60c - 1ex, depends on rolls. Skin of Lords - 5B1R around 80c, try to grab one with notable that does nothing, or saves you a skill point like Divine Shield Forbidden Flame/Flesh Jewels - Right now I checked and Forbidden Flame - Instruments of Zeal is around 2ex. When I bought it, I paid 7.5ex... so hopefully price stays down. 2ex is very cheap! The rest is just all rares to cap resists / get dexterity. Cluster jewels will vary in price depending which notables you want. Rough estimate of the above is around 6-7 exalts, but honestly I would aim for around 10ex for this to feel comfortable. Note with budget version you will likely have to: 1) Remove Zealotry (or Wrath) 2) Disable Righteous Fire - You need life regen on gear + life recovery rolls + watcher's eye vitality mod You'll note without proper investment on low budget/no righteous fire, DPS drops down to around 2 million instead of 5 million. Which is still a lot per spark, but it's a noticeable decrease. Righteous Fire + Zealotry + Wrath provides significant damage once you fit it all in. 2M+ DPS is more than enough to tackle all T16 mapping content, but for bosses, you will want more DPS. Good luck Cospri CoC Cold->Fire Trickster: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2576559 Divine Ire Trickster: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2459778 Last edited by KooperT on Feb 28, 2022, 3:27:22 PM
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how would we get 90% all res?
I'm assuming brassdome body armor? | |
" No, you get 90% all res through Melding of the Flesh jewel. Utilizing just Aegis Aurora (5% max cold res) and Purity of Ice (5% max cold res) you are at 85% all resistances. The remaining 5% comes from the new Influence modifiers. You can get 2% on gloves and 3% on body armors, bringing your total up to 90% all maximum resistances. Cospri CoC Cold->Fire Trickster:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2576559 Divine Ire Trickster: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2459778 | |
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ah ok, I see Thanks for the reply.
I've tried rolling 2% max cold res on gloves but it always rolls 1% no matter of the eldritch tier...I've spent like 6 exalts trying to roll 2% on gloves...as for the body armor is it recommended to replace the +1 level of all vaal skill gems with the +3% max cold res? if so ill re-roll over it, if not ill keep it this is my current PoB, I've tried to copy your build to the exact T, but some items like the megalomaniac and watchers eye are just 1 of a kind and cant be bought more than once :/ can you tell me if there's anything I'm missing (besides some health nodes as I need levels to obtain them) Thanks in advance! https://pastebin.com/GSmVHUir -EDIT I've fit in a level 21 stone golem just because I have a extra gem slot open -EDIT #2 I've just went ahead and bought gloves with 2% max cold res on trade I have completely given up on crafting them myself. as for the body armor I can not put a eldritch orb on a influenced piece of armor so this makes me take prismatic skin for the anoint on my amulet. I am still however max attack/spell block Last edited by Blaized on Mar 12, 2022, 1:21:23 PM
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You don't need the max Res on glove and chest to hit 90%. I played the build at league start and can't remember the exact numbers but with enough aura effect, max res on chest (2% works if I remember correctly), purity of ice effect on chest, you can hit 90%. I had pierce and unnerve as my glove mods
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I am playing almost the same build, although more like the budget variant. I don't get how you get 75% spell block. I get 24 % and can't seem to find any nodes on the passive tree that I'm missing compared to yours.
I have taken Glancing Blows and the Sanctuary and Arcane Guarding wheels. Could you help me find what I'm missing here? | |
" Tempest shield |
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