Black Cane Absolution of Inspiring
Inquisitor Starter Build

Updated for Patch 3.24

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Absolution of Inspiring is very similar to the regular Absolution, however, this one encourages you to deal damage yourself rather than by the Sentinels of Absolution. It is done so by reducing the maximum amount of these types of Minions you're able to summon, and causing all increases and reductions to Minion Damage to apply to the Damage of this Spell at 250%. There are not a lot of opportunities to take advantage of it, but it's still a great source of damage when combined with the 60% sourced from The Black Cane. This Weapon also grants you the Phantasmal Might that adds Physical Damage per each Phantasm you have summoned. It's good with Absolution that deals Physical Damage, half of which is Converted to Lightning. The other half should be Converted too, which is done with one Support Gem. To Summon these Phantasm you will use Herald of Purity and Arcanist Brand linked to Vortex. These Skills, after linking with Summon Phantasm Support, have a 20% Chance to spawn such Minion on Hit against Rare or Uqniue Enemies (even higher on Kill, but that won't happen often). The maximum number of Phantasms is 11 if the Support Gem is at level 21, which it should be in both setups. These Minions won't do a lot of damage on their own, they're here only to add Physical Damage to your Absolution.

Your defensive layers are mostly Maximum Life, Energy Shield, Block Chance, Armour, and Perified Blood. After Reserving half of your Life Pool you will benefit from Petrified Blood and Pain Attunement to take damage in a more controlled manner and deal more Spell Damage. Algor Mortis Gloves, combined with the Chilled Ground you create with Brands and Vortex will Sap the enemies causing them to deal less and take increased damage. The Inquisitor is one of the best choices here. With its Inevitable Judgement that specializes in Elemental Damage and Critical Strikes, and Pious Path that Regenerates your ES alongside Life pretty much constantly, it's definitely suitable, if not the best ascendancy.

It's a cheap league starter build that can be used as a starting point for any other Inquisitor build, or developed into a proper end-game one after some investment and minor adjustments, like using the Awakened Spell Cascade Support. We won't delve into it in this guide.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Use the Absolution to slay enemies as you go. Phantasms will be spawned during boss fights via Arcanist Brands and Herald of Purity - it will significantly improve your damage. Arcanist Brand will also create Chilled Ground with Vortex, making the build much stronger than it may seem initially. For a Curse use Assassin's Mark, for a movement Spell - Frostblink. Your Guard Skill is Molten Shell as your Armour is relatively high. It should be linked to CwDT alongside Frostshield to mitigate even more incoming damage. Your Auras are Zealotry, Determination, Herald of Purity, Tempest Shield, Petrified Blood, and Defiance Banner.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can start with Absolution or any other Lightning Spell as we have shown in this Templar Leveling Guide using Lightning Spells.

Bandits:

you should kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

119 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
119 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Righteous Providence
2. Sanctuary
3. Pious Path
4. Inevitable Judgement

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time; +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Absolution of Inspiring setup
	Absolution of Inspiring - In this build, it's a basic Physical to Lightning Spell that also benefits from modifiers do Minions' Damage at 250% of the original value.
	Summon Phantasm Support - Each Phantasm will grant you extra flat Physical Damage via The Black Cane. If you already have 10 Phantasms summoned with your other setups, replace it with  PCoC or Spell Cascade.
	Physical to Lightning Support - Converts the remaining Physical Damage to Lightning, and a lot of Physical Damage as Extra Lightning Damage.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Increases Critical Strike Multiplier.
	Inspiration Support - Increases Critical Strike Chance, lowers Mana Cost, and grants more Elemental Damage.
	Spell Echo Support - Used to cast the same Spell twice with higher Cast Speed but lower damage. It can be replaced with  PCoC if your Crit Chance is low.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Zealotry - More Spell Damage and Increased Spell Critical Strike Cance.
	Determination - More and Increased Armour to take less Physical Hit Damage.
	Herald of Purity - More Physical Damage, later Converted. It also creates Minions that will have a chance of summoning Phantasms on Hit and on Kill.
	Summon Phantasm Support - Sentinels of Purity will summon Phantasms. Each Phantasm will grant you extra flat Physical Damage via The Black Cane. Try to increase the Gem Level to 21.

[UTILITY] Arcanist Brand setup
	Arcanist Brand - Arcanist Brand is used to trigger Vortex while you're busy casting Absolution. With Runebinder, you can have two of these on a single enemy.
	Summon Phantasm Support - Vortex will also create Phantasms against tough enemies. It's a 20% chance of summoning one per Hit against a Rare or Unique enemy. Try to increase the Gem Level to 21.
	Vortex - Creates Chilled Ground and causes enemies to take increased damage with Algor Mortis. It also deals Hit Damage with a chance of summoning Phantasm.
	Increased Duration Support - Increases the Duration of Arcanist Brand to cast it less often and summon more Vortexes per Cast, which also last longer.

[UTILITY] Petrified Blood setup socketed in Prism Guardian
	Petrified Blood - It prevents a portion of incoming Hit Damage and makes it DoT, but only for the lower half of your Life Pool. The upper half is Reserved.
	Tempest Shield - Use it for additional Spell Block Chance.
	Defiance Banner - Increases your Armour and reduces Crit Chance for nearby enemies.

[UTILITY] CwDT setup
	Cast when Damage Taken - Linked Skills will trigger after taking a certain amount of Hit Damage.
	Molten Shell - Prevents a portion of incoming Hit Damage for some time.
	Frost Shield - Drains your Energy Shield to form a protective, stationary dome, inside of which you take less damage, and have an increased base Critical Strike Chance.

[MOBILITY] Frostblink and Assassin's Mark setup
	Frostblink - A movement Skill that also creates Chilled Ground.
	Arcane Surge Support - After spending enough Mana on linked Spells it grants you the Arcane Surge buff for increased Cast Speed and Mana Regeneration Rate.
	Assassin's Mark - Increases Critical Strike Chance and Multiplier against Marked enemy.

[UTILITY] Vaal Righteous Fire
	Vaal Righteous Fire - Activate Vaal RF for a brief but potent bonus to your Spell Damage.

6. Gear Setup

It's a very basic Spell Damage build, and despite the unique trait of Absolution of Inspiring, there are little to no opportunities to get "increased Minion Damage" modifiers. Most of the Rare gear will aim to improve your defences such as Resistances, Maximum Life, Energy Shield, Armour, and Life Regeneration. Attributes are not as important, but try to get as much Strength as Intelligence for more Critical Strike Chance - it's a very efficient way to gain this stat. You will of course need to reach a 100% Critical Strike Chance. All Unique Items are cheap, especially after the first day of a new league. They're all common, even as a loot from endgame bosses. The Black Cane is a core element of the build.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Crown of the Inward Eye - It improves your Armour, ES, Maximum Life, and even Damage. It's the best Helmet for its price if your Resistances are already sorted out.

333% increased Armour and Energy Shield (9-21)% increased maximum Life, Mana and Global Energy Shield Transfiguration of Soul Transfiguration of Body Transfiguration of Mind

(Weapon) The Black Cane - The Phantasmal Might adds Physical Damage per Phantasm you control. You can have up to 11 Phantasms resulting in 440 to 660 added Physical Damage to Spells. Increased Cast Speed, Mana Regeneration Rate, Elemental Damage, and even Minion Damage are all great for this build.

24% increased Elemental Damage +(20-30) to Intelligence (8-15)% increased Cast Speed (40-60)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Minions deal (40-60)% increased Damage Each Summoned Phantasm grants you Phantasmal Might

(Off-hand) Prism Guardian - You will socket three of your Mana-Reserving Skills there and reserve around 50% of your Maximum Life to benefit from Pain Attunement and Petrified Blood.

+12% to all Elemental Resistances +2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems Cost and Reserve Life instead of Mana Socketed Gems have 30% increased Reservation Efficiency +(20-30) to Dexterity +25% to all Elemental Resistances

(Off-hand) Magna Eclipsis - It has good raw stats - a lot of Maximum Life, and Energy Shield. It also protects you from Elemental Damage with the Elemental Aegis. It's not our recommended choice, this build is adjusted to use Prism Guardian to reach Low Life most efficiently.

+(20-30) to maximum Life +2 to Level of Socketed Gems Triggers Level 20 Elemental Aegis when Equipped (180-220)% increased Armour +(60-80) to maximum Life +(80-100) to Evasion Rating and Energy Shield

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - We suggest a very simple and cheap 6-link Body Armour that you can probably craft yourself - it only needs some Maximum Life and Elemental Resistances.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Life Regeneration Chaos Resistance Additional Physical Damage Reduction #% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage #% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage (crafted Prefix)

(Boots) Rare Boots - Here, on top of Maximum Life and Resistances, you will need at least a 25% increased Movement Speed bonus.

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Life 50% Total Elemental Resistances 25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Gloves) Algor Mortis - A major damage boost to your Lightning Damage and survivability on account of the rare Sap Ailment. Chilled grounds are created with Vortex and Frostblink.

+(50-70) to maximum Energy Shield +(15-20)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances (20-30)% chance to Sap Enemies in Chilling Areas Enemies in your Chilling Areas take (25-35)% increased Lightning Damage (15-20)% increased Effect of Non-Damaging Ailments

(Belt) Hyperboreus - It has most of the valued stats like Maximum Life and Elemental Resistance. You can also use it to apply a powerful Chill and deal increased Damage against such enemies. For a veiled mod, we recommend "Your Critical Strike Chance is Lucky while Focused",

+(25-40) to maximum Life +(30-40)% to Cold Resistance Chill nearby Enemies when you Focus, causing 30% reduced Action Speed Focus has (30-50)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate (50-70)% increased Damage with Hits and Ailments against Chilled Enemies Veiled Suffix

(Belt) Rare Belt - The most basic Maximum Life, Resistances, and Strength are what you should look for. Armour and Life Regeneration are worth seeking too.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Strength Optional affixes: Gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike Life Regeneration Armour

(Amulet) The Eternal Struggle  - A cheap amulet with a lot of Attributes, which is great already as you need them anyway. It slows down and reduces damage of your enemies via Malignant Madness, or executes them - depending on the dominant flavour of the Amulet. In addition to that, it has two eldritch implicit modifiers, some of which can be of substantial value. It increases your defences too.

<<Random Searing Exarch implicit>> <<Random Eater of Worlds implicit>> +(20-50) to Strength +(20-50) to Dexterity +(20-50) to Intelligence (10-15)% increased Global Defences Critical Strikes inflict Malignant Madness if The Eater of Worlds is dominant Kill Enemies that have 15% or lower Life on Hit if The Searing Exarch is dominant

Recommended Anointments: Charisma Throatseeker/Heartseeker Doom Cast Infused Sanctum of Thought

(Ring) Mark of the Shaper - If your other Ring has the Elder influence, get Mark of the Shaper for a very powerful 80% increased Spell Damage modifier. All the other stats are very useful as well.

(15-25)% increased Elemental Damage 20% chance to Trigger Level 20 Summon Volatile Anomaly on Kill Adds (13-18) to (50-56) Lightning Damage to Spells (6-10)% increased maximum Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Life (60-80)% increased Spell Damage if your other Ring is an Elder Item Cannot be Stunned by Spells if your other Ring is a Shaper Item

(Ring) Lori's Lantern - It has quite a lot of Elemental Resistances and even some Movement Speed. You're always on Low Life so the Chaos Resistance with the "Unlucky Damage against you" modifiers will stay on.

+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances +10% to all Elemental Resistances (6-8)% increased Movement Speed when on Low Life 31% increased Light Radius +(20-25)% to Chaos Resistance when on Low Life Damage of Enemies Hitting you is Unlucky while you are on Low Life

(Ring) Rare Ring - Here we recommend getting all the necessary Dexterity, if you even need it, Maximum Life, and Resistances. Acquiring some Chaos Resistance via the Amethyst base is a good idea, other modifiers are harder to get.

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Life 40 Strength Elemental and Chaos Resistances Optional affixes: Elemental and Chaos Resistances Non-channelling Skils have -# to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Adds # Lightning Damage against Shocked Enemies (Crusader Prefix) increased Cast Speed Attributes

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Mostly Maximum Life, Resistances, and Attributes. If you need more Critical Strike Chance or Critical Multiplier you can get them here too.

Recommended affixes: Attributes Resistances increased Maximum Life increased Energy Shield Critical Strike modifiers

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Your Auras are Determination and Zealotry. Determination has some mediocre defensive options, while Zealotry has Cast Speed and conditional Crit Chance.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Large Lightning Damage or Elemental Damage Cluster Jewels may be a good way to spend your points, especially if there are Snowstorm, Doryani's Lesson, or Stormdrinker notables.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Overshock 1 Added Passive Skill is Doryani's Lesson 1 Added Passive Skill is Inspired Oppression 1 Added Passive Skill is Snowstorm 1 Added Passive Skill is Sadist 1 Added Passive Skill is Storm Drinker

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - Use it for Armour and additional Block Chance.

+1500 to Armour +(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Effect +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Silver Flask with increased Cast Speed Quicksilver Flask with Reduced Mana Cost of Skills (crafted) or reduced Effect of Curses on you Life Flask with Bleed Immunity

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.