Lightning Strike
Crit. Inquisitor
Build updated for Patch 3.2

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: moderately low (350 Chaos Orbs)

Inqusitor was meant to be one of the highest crit/elemental dps classes out there. All of this class's major Ascendancy passives grant significant buffs to both elemental damage and critical strikes. On top of that you get to completely ignore monsters' elemental resistances with critical strikes after picking up the Inevitable Judgement passive. This build's defenses are also extremely well balanced, providing high Life pool and high evasion/dodge provided by Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics nodes. Our suggested build revolves around the use of Claw as your main-hand weapon. Claws have moderately high base critical strike chance, as well as very good life leech, not to mention extremely powerful Shadow class's Claw nodes.

If you have been looking for something else, you might want to check our other Path of Exile builds in the following article: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Basic gameplay

This is extremely straightforward build. It becomes powerful early on, and stays that way untill late game. It also scales well with proper gear, allowing facetanking any boss in game. In general, this is an elemental/melee build, with amazing aoe damage provided by the Lightning Strike active skill gem. The skill itself can be replaced with Molten Strike for higher single target damage, and the change will only require you to swap the skill gem and replace two jewels, with the Molten Strike tresshold jewels. There is no need for kiting or positioning, you simply travel around maps with Whirling Blades or Shield Charge (up to your personal preference) and use LS/MS by holding down just one button, and dealing immense damage.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Your main attack skills are obtainable very early (Molten Strike at level 1, and Lightning Strike at level 12). They are both extremely powerful, with MS being more of a single-target dps skill, and LS providing better aoe. It is a great idea to socket them both in Tabula Rasa, linking them to the same support gems. 

Suggested leveling gem setups:

Molten Strike/Lightning Strike setup
	Lightning Strike - your main dps skill. It is the best for farming/leveling because of its' great aoe
	Molten Strike - another great skill. You can level up solely by using ML, or you can keep it around for bosses and high single-target dps
	Added Lightning Damage Support - good early dps buff
	Faster Attacks Support
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
	Mana Leech Support - linking your skills together with 4-5 support gems greatly increases their mana cost. This gem solves this issue entirely

Utility gems
	Summon Ice Golem - increases your critical strike chance and accuracy rating. Pretty much the best pick for crit templars
	Herald of Thunder - adds extra lightning damage to your attacks
	Herald of Ice - adds extra cold damage to your attacks

Bandits:

We recommend killing all bandits for the additional 2 passive points

Leveling skill trees:

32 Points Skill tree
Priorities: 1) Retribution 2) Elementalist 3) Catalyse 4) Constitution

69 Points Skill tree
Prorities: go straight for the claw nodes - Soul Raker and the Claws of the Magpie 

Recommended leveling items:

Hand of Thought and Motion - great leveling claw. It provides amazing dps that scales well with your level. If you can afford some high int gear this might actually work well untill late game
+12 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (20-25)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Adds 1 to (50-60) Lightning Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed Adds 1 to 5 Lightning Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 10 Intelligence

Praxis - great leveling ring if you are using high mana cost dps setups (usually that is the case when using Tabula Rasa)
+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

Tabula Rasa - one of the best leveling items in Path of Exile. It gives you 6links as early as level 1
3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points and Pantheon

Final skill tree:

116 Points Final Skill Tree
117 Points Path of Building link

First go for Vaal Pact and Bravery. In the next step pick up all the Shadow's crit nodes and jewel sockets.

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Instruments of Virtue
2. Righteous Providence
3. Inevitable Judgement
4. Augury of Penitence

Pantheon:

Major God : Soul of the Brine King - You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

Minor God : Soul of Gruthkul - 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final gems links

[DPS] Lightning Strike/Molten Strike setup
	Lightning Strike - your main dps spell. Can be replaced with Molten Strike for highest single target dps
	(optional)Molten Strike - used mainly vs bosses. When using it you also need 2x Wildfire unique jewels equipped and it is advised to grab the Point Blank passive
	Added Lightning Damage Support
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
	Multistrike Support
	Elemental Focus Support - this greatly increases your dps, but your LS can no longer shock. If you are using this gem remember to link Innerveate to your Herald of Ice
	Increased Critical Strikes Support

[AURA] Herald of Ice setup
	Herald of Ice - adds a good portion of your dps. It is also the only skill in this build that can apply shock
	Innervate Support - grants extra dps and allows you to shock enemies (neither LS or Herald of Thunder cannot apply shock)
	Onslaught Support - this will make your Herald of Ice apply another great offensive buff

[DEFENSE/UTILITY] Immortal Call setup
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will cast supported spells after certain amount of damage is taken by the player (528 at level 1). Do not upgrade this gem above level 1
	Vaal Haste - increases attack speed
	Increased Duration Support - link all 3 gems together to increase their duration
	Immortal Call - grants brief immortality

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Shield Charge - your main mobility skill, can be replaced with Whirling Blades - which is up to your personal preference
	Fortify Support - grant extra defensive bonuses with melee hits
	Faster Attacks Support

[CURSE/UTILITY] Orb of Storms CoH stup
	Orb of Storms - great spell that will apply your curse and generate power charges for extra crit
	Curse on Hit Support - supported spells will apply the supported curse
	Power Charge on Critical Support - will generate power charges through critical hits by Orb of Storms
	Enfeeble - the best defensive curse in Path of Exile, not to mention it works really well in evasion/melee builds

[UTILTY] Other gems
	Herald of Thunder - adds some extra dps
	[3L]Ancestral Protector - this Totem increases your attack speed while it's active
	[3L]Lightning Golem - the best golem for this build
	[3L]Minion and Totem Elemental Resistance Support - since you have the extra socket, you can add some little extra defenses to your golem and the Ancestral Protector totem

5. Gear Setup

Each item on our list included minimum stat requirements and estimated price. We will also try to both beginner friendly and end-game gear options. If you can't afford some of the items, you may want to visit our Path of Exile marketplace and get some cheap PoE Currency required to complete this build. Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully
3. Save you at least a couple of hours!

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - amazing helmet for melee/evasion characters. Provides great balance between offensive and defensive stats

50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life

(Helmet) Rat's Nest - another good helmet slot option. It provides better dps buffs than Starkonja's has lower defenses. It works well in low and mid tier maps

15% increased Attack Speed (60-75)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 150% increased Evasion Rating (20-25)% increased Rarity of Items found 10% increased Movement Speed 10% reduced Character Size

(Body Armour) Lightning Coil - extremely powerful armour. It provides great dps boost and mitigates big portion of physical damage taken.

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) Adds 1 to (20-30) Lightning Damage to Attacks (90-120)% increased Armour and Evasion +(60-80) to maximum Life -60% to Lightning Resistance 30% of Physical Damage taken as Lightning Damage

(Weapon) Rare Gemini Claw - with as high attack speed and elemental damage as you can afford

Min. requirements: 220 elemental DPS 20 increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: Attributes increased Critical Strike Chance

(Weapon) Ornament of the East - this is used in a budget-friendly variant of the build without the Lycosidae shield (which is the most expensive item on the list). It provides high attack speed and the "Your hits can't be evaded" stat, which is necessary to fully utilize this build's potential. This works well with the rare shields listed

+44 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (160-180)% increased Physical Damage Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 10 Faster Attacks (10-15)% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Stun and Block Recovery +1 to Level of Socketed Dexterity Gems Hits can't be Evaded

(Shield) Lycosidae - it provides the mandatory "Your hits can't be Evaded" stat and some extra defensive stats

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) +(10-20) to maximum Life +(120-160) to Armour +(30-40) to maximum Life Your hits can't be Evaded +(3-5)% Chance to Block Adds 250 to 300 Cold Damage to Counterattacks

(Weapon) Rare Evasion/Life/res shield - use this combo untill you can afford Lycosidae shield and a proper ele.dps claw

Min. requirements: 800 Evasion 60 maximum Life 60 total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes

(Boots) Rare Life/res boots - preferably with dexterity attribute requirement and some additional Evasion

Min. requirements: 250 Evasion 80 maximum Life 24% Fire Resistance 36% Lightning Resistance 20% increased Movement Speed

(Belt) Rare Life/res belt - and with increased elemental damage with attack skills. Picking up a dual-res belt with will make it totally affordable even on a tight budget

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 36% Cold Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Amulet) Rare Life/%Evasion amulet - amulets with this stats and added elemental damage to attacks (any element will do) may be impossible to find with additional resistances. We will skip it on the amulet slot and aim to cap resistances with gloves and rings

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 16% increased Evasion Rating Added 16 Elemental Damage with Attacks (any element) Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Attributes Global Critical Strike Chance Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Rings) Rare Life/res rings - with added elemental damage to attacks. Opal rings are the most suitable for end-game content (and wealthier players)

Min. requirements(1st ring): 60 maximum Life Added 9 Elemental Damage with Attacks (any element) 45% Fire Resistance 18% Cold Resistance Min. requirements(2nd ring): 60 maximum Life Added 9 Elemental Damage with Attacks (any element) 45% Lightning Resistance 18% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes Evasion Rating

(Gloves) Rare Life/res gloves - again, best to pick dexterity-based pair

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Melee Damage Attack Speed

Wildfire - Molten Strike tresshold jewel, use only if you are actually using this skill

(10-15)% increased Fire Damage With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Molten Strike fires 2 additional Projectiles With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Molten Strike has 25% increased Area of Effect

(Jewels) Rare jewels - as usual rare jewels are mainly used to increase your maximum life and damage output

Recommended affixes: % increased maximum Life % increased Generic/Elemental/Melee Damage Optional affixes: % increased Attack Speed % increased Attack Speed while holding a Shield % increased Global Critical Strike Chance

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - one of the most popular Flasks in Path of Exile. Grants additional chaos damage and extra life leech

2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Vessel of Vinktar - grants additional dps and amazing leech. It requires a Shock Immunity Flask to be used right after Vessel

(80 to 100)% increased Charges used Shocks nearby Enemies during Flask effect, causing 10% increased Damage taken You are Shocked during Flask effect, causing 50% increased Damage taken Adds (25–105 to 35–130) Lightning Damage to Attack during Flask effect 20% of Lightning Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (bleeding immunity) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to freeze and chill effects) Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Grounding (extra crit and shock immunity)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.

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