Hexblast of Contradiction
Inquisitor Build

Created for Patch 3.24

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The Transfigured Hexblast of Contradiction is a quite interesting variant of the regular Spell. Compared to the original version, it has a much higher base Critical Strike Chance and deals 50% more bonus Damage with Hits against Hexed Enemies. The main problem is that the Chaos Damage is resisted by the highest Enemy's Resistance instead of the lowest, which renders it very hard to use in most cases. The best way to benefit from its amazing scaling is by adding flat Damage from other sources, such as Battlemage with Energy Blade or Archmage Support. 

The very slow base Cast time of this Spell also limits the available choices. Fortunately, both Traps and Mines can bypass this problem, but due to a specific Unique Helmet that synergizes with the scaling of Energy Blade, the Mines have the upper hand. The Unique Item in question is the Curtain Call, a notoriously powerful but hard to utilize Helmet. It causes you to throw extra Mines but requires you to get over 800 Dexterity and Intelligence. It allows you to skip the Minefield Support, which adds 4 mines but slows your Throwing Speed in half.   

To scale the Damage for the Battlemage you will use the usual Energy Blade Inquisitor setup, which uses a combination of specific Unique Items and Attributes to achieve absurd amounts of Energy Shield. The Energy Blade is a Buff that conjures a magic Weapon in your hand, which converts your Energy Shield into Lightning Damage. The Inquisitor's Instrument of Virtue Notable grants you the Battlemage effect, which you can combine with the Spellblade Support. In total, you will add 235% of your Main Hand Weapon Damage as extra Damage for the Hexblast. Lastly, you can use the Adorned Jewel and specialized Magic Jewels to elevate this Build to insane levels. It is an expensive upgrade, but you can transition gradually, and it is not even required to challenge the pinnacle content anyway. 

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1. Gameplay

Throw your Mines to kill Enemies. They will Detonate automatically thanks to the Detonate Mines Gem linked with Automation. To deal AoE Damage Hexblast must target Cursed Enemies. You will automatically apply Curse with the Blasphemy Aura and Curse on Hit Corruption on your Gloves. For Movement use Shield Charge and Frostblink.  

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The final version scales with Attributes and specific End-game Unique Items, so leveling can be very daunting if you are not familiar with this playstyle. It is possible, but we recommend using the usual Archmage Setup instead, which will effortlessly carry you through the campaign and save you a lot of time by sourcing the Damage from your Mana. For more tips, check out our Templar Leveling Guide for PoE using Lightning Spells. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

[DPS] Firestorm setup
	Firestorm - this Spell has the best synergy with the Archmage Support in the early levels in terms of Damage output. It has a rather bad AoE, so you can use the Arc or Ball Lightning instead.
	Arcane Surge Support - improves your Damage, Mana Regeneration, and Cast Speed. Keep it on a low Gem level to trigger it reliably.
	Archmage Support - grants massive amounts of Lightning Damage based on your maximum Unreserved Mana. It requires level 28, at first you can use the Added Lightning Damage Support.
	Faster Casting Support - improves your Cast Speed. Exchange it for the Spell Echo Support at higher levels.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - improves your Damage with Critical Strikes. You can also use the Controlled Destruction Support instead.
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - improves your chances to deal Critical Strike. If you don't use Crits, opt for Inspiration Support instead.

[UTILITY] Utility setup
	Clarity - an Aura that improves your Mana Regeneration. It lowers your Damage a bit, but it is required to sustain your Casts.
	Arcane Cloak - an offensive Guard Skill, it consumes a lot of Mana to form a protective barrier that also improves your Damage.
	Conductivity - a Curse that lowers Enemy Lightning Resistance.
	Flame Dash - a useful Movement Skill that can be used to move around faster or cross big terrain gaps.

Bandits:

Killing all Bandits for 2 bonus Skill Points is the best option. 

Leveling Skill Trees:
43 Points Passive Tree

Pick up Spell and Elemental Damage bonuses, as well as some maximum Life. You can start using the Archmage Support at level 28, at that point, you should start investing in Mana as well. 

70 Points Passive Tree
Lean towards Life, Mana, and Elemental Resistance Notables. With this Setup, you can finish the Campaign and farm White Tier Maps for more levels.  

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

121 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
121 Points Path of Building(PoB) link 
121 Points Path of Building(PoB) link with Adorned Jewel 

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in the order:

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

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 Ralakesh: 25% reduced Physical Damage over Time taken while moving; Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Hexblast of Contradiction setup
	Hexblast of Contradiction - your Main Skill, it deals massive Damage to Hexed Enemies and allows all Damage types to inflict all Elemental Ailments. In this Setup, it deals mostly Lightning Damage sourced from your Energy Blade.
	Spellblade Support - adds 135% of your Weapon Damage to your Spells. You can pair it with the Battlemage effect from the Inquisitor Ascendency for even more Damage.
	High-impact Mines Support - you will Throw Mines that Cast the Hexblast instead, which bypasses its poor Cast Speed, and you can throw 3 Mines at once.
	Charged Mines Support - greatly improves your Throwing Speed, and generates Frenzy and Power Charges for you.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - improves your Damage with Critical Strikes.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - slows your Throwing Speed a bit, but greatly improves your Damage in return.

[UTILITY] Automation setup
	Detonate Mines - you don't need this Gem to Detonate Mines manually, but it is required for the interaction with other Gems.
	Automation - thanks to this Gem you can forget about Detonating your Mines completely.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Purity of Elements - this Aura grants you a lot of Elemental Resistances and makes you immune to all Elemental Ailments.
	Discipline - grants you plenty of Energy Shield, which is a source of your Damage. You can also use the Arctic Armour or Purity of a particular Element if your prefer so.
	Vitality - this Aura provides Life Regeneration, which you will convert to Energy Shield Regeneration via Zealot's Oath.
	Enlighten Support - lowers the Mana Reservation of linked Auras.

[UTILITY] Blasphemy setup
	Enfeeble - you will need to apply a Hex to your Enemies so the Hexblast can deal its bonus Damage. You ignore Resistances, so it is best to use a defensive Curse such as Enfeeble or Temporal Chains.
	Blasphemy - applies linked Curse to nearby Enemies. You still need a source of Curse on Hit, as the Hexblast will rapidly remove them with every Hit.

[UTILITY] Mobility setup
	Shield Charge - a very fast Charge towards a targeted location. It is your main Movement Skill.
	Frostblink - an instant Teleport that leaves a Chilling Ground in both locations. Use it to quickly dodge incoming Attacks.
	Faster Attacks Support - improves your mobility by increasing the Attack Speed of your Shield Charge.

[UTILITY] Blessing setup
	Grace - a defensive Aura that grants you a lot of Evasion Rating.
	Eternal Blessing Support - makes your Aura free, but you cannot Reserve any Mana. You will use Blood Magic Keystone, so it has no penalty anyway.

[UTILITY] Energy Blade setup
	Energy Blade - a Buff that summons a Magic Weapon in your Hand that converts your Energy Shield into its Base Lightning Damage.
	Enhance Support - improves the Quality of the Energy Blade, which improves its Damage Conversion.

[UTILITY] Warcry setup
	Enduring Cry - a Warcry that grants you rapid Life Regeneration for a short moment, and generates Enduring Charges, which grants you bonus Elemental Resistances and Physical Damage mitigation.
	Call to Arms - automatically Triggers the linked Warcry. You can link it with the Enhance Support to lower the Cooldown further, but it is not required.

5. Gear Setup

The Build is very simple to assemble, however, it doesn't necessarily mean it is cheap to do so. You will need specific Unique Items, and tons of Attributes on your Rare Items. The Ivory Tower converts your Reserved Life into an Energy Shield. Most of your Resistances come from the Purity of Elements and Elemental Flasks with 100% uptime, but you will still need some of them on your Gear. Reaching the 800 Dexterity is crucial, but getting higher than that is usually not worth it due to opportunity cost. It is also true for Strength and Intelligence, although they can still be useful if you lack a Critical Strike Chance. After achieving that point, you should focus more on Critical Strike Multiplier and Mine Throwing Speed, which scale your Damage much more efficiently. 

With the Adorned Jewel, you will get fewer modifiers on your Magic Jewels, but they provide much higher values, making stacking Dex, Critical Strike Multiplier, Mine Throwing Speed, or Life much easier. Polishing your Jewels is a long but satisfying process, as the potential is nearly limitless. 

(Helmet) Curtain Call - a very important Helmet, it adds extra Mines to your every Throw, which massively improves your DPS. It is very cheap, so you should look for useful Corruptions, such as Reduced Reservation Costs or increased Effect of your Shock.

+23 to maximum Life (15-10)% reduced Mine Throwing Speed Mines have (40-50)% increased Detonation Speed Skills which throw Mines throw up to 1 additional Mine if you have at least 800 Dexterity Skills which throw Mines throw up to 1 additional Mine if you have at least 800 Intelligence

(Weapon) Rare Weapon - your Weapon will be converted to an Energy Blade, which keeps the Sockets of the original Weapon. You can cheaply buy one with an extra Abyssal Socket, or add it via fossils.

Min. requirements: Has 1 Abyssal Socket

(Weapon) Rathpith Globe - this Shield grants you tons of Damage and Critical Strike Chance based on your maximum Life, which you stack to convert into an Energy Shield. The Sacrifice leaves you at 1 point of Life, but it can't kill you.

(10-15)% Chance to Block Spell Damage (120-160)% increased Energy Shield 10% increased maximum Life Sacrifice 10% of your Life when you Use or Trigger a Spell Skill 5% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells per 100 Player Maximum Life 5% increased Spell Damage per 100 Player Maximum Life

(Body Armour) The Ivory Tower - with this Armour, you will convert your Reserved Life into Energy Shield, so you want to Reserve as much as possible. It doesn't grant you protection against Chaos Damage, you will need a specific Unique Flask for that.

+(40-70) to Intelligence +30 to maximum Energy Shield per 100 Reserved Life +(80-100) to maximum Mana Regenerate 2% of Energy Shield per second Chaos Damage is taken from Mana before Life

(Amulet) Astramentis - an excellent Amulet for this Build, it grants you tons of Attributes, which you can further boost using the Intrinsic Catalyst.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits

(Boots) Rare Boots - your Boosts should provide a lot of Dexterity, Life, and Movement Speed. On top of that, you should also look for defensive modifiers such as Spell Suppression or Chaos Resistances, but you can opt for even more Attributes.

Min. requirements: 20% Movement Speed +70 to maximum Life +50 to Dexterity Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Attributes % increased Effect of non-damaging Ailments Spell Suppression

(Gloves) Shaper's Touch - those Gloves grants you tons of maximum Life, and boost your Energy Shield and Evasion Rating. You should get one with Corrupted Implicit that Curses Enemies on Hit. It can be any Curse, but a defensive one is preferred. At much later stages you can try to obtain additional Frenzy on top of that.

(80-120)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +4 Accuracy Rating per 2 Intelligence +1 Life per 4 Dexterity +1 Mana per 4 Strength 1% increased Energy Shield per 10 Strength 2% increased Evasion Rating per 10 Intelligence 2% increased Melee Physical Damage per 10 Dexterity

Mandatory Corrupted Implicit: Curse Enemies with # on Hit

(Belt) Cyclopean Coil - another great Unique, it grants you tons of Attributes and improves your Damage based on the lowest Attribute. You can boost the Attributes with the Intrinsic Catalyst.

+(25-40) to maximum Life +(60-80) to maximum Life (5-15)% increased Attributes Cannot be Frozen if Dexterity is higher than Intelligence Cannot be Ignited if Strength is higher than Dexterity Cannot be Shocked if Intelligence is higher than Strength 1% increased Damage per 5 of your lowest Attribute

(Ring) Rare Ring - on your Rings you should seek tons of Attributes and a bit of maximum Life or Energy Shield. You can use the Amethyst Ring for the extra Chaos Resistances, or the Helical Ring for extra Attributes.

Min. requirements: +50 to Dexterity +15 to all Attributes +50 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Attributes

(Ring) Profane Proxy - this Ring can be used if you don't have a good Rare Ring with Attributes. You will replace the Blasphemy Aura with Skitterbots, which grants you more Damage.

+3 to Level of Socketed Curse Gems +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(20-30)% to Lightning Resistance Left Ring Slot: Your Chilling Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead Right Ring Slot: Your Shocking Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead

(Jewel) Brutal Restraint - a mandatory Jewel, it can grant you the Traitor Keystone which is used to generate Flask Charges. It adds extra bonuses to nearby Notables, look for even more Flask Charges and Alchemical Genius.

Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of Balbala Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic

(Jewel) Abyss Jewel - on your Abyss Jewel try to get maximum Life, Attributes, lacking Elemental Resistances, or Critical Strike Multiplier.

Min. requirements: +30 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Global Critical Strike Multiplier Elemental and Chaos Resistance Attributes

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - you will use a lot of Jewels, use them to boost your maximum Life, Energy Shield, Attributes, Mine Throwing Speed, and Critical Strike Multiplier.

Recommended affixes: Global Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Multiplier with Spells % increased Energy Shield % increased maximum Life % increased Mine Throwing Speed Elemental Resistances Attributes

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - you will only use defensive Auras, and this Jewel can make them even more powerful. Look for additional Spell Suppression Chance, Chaos Resistance, or Physical Damage mitigation.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended modifiers:  (8-12)% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Cold/Fire/Lightning Damage while affected by Purity of Elements +(30-50)% to Chaos Resistance while affected by Purity of Elements +(12-15)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage while affected by Grace

(Jewel) The Adorned - this Jewel introduces a completely new way to scale your Damage with Magic Jewels. It is expensive but offers amazing scaling opportunities. In most cases, even the low-budget version will be better than regular Rare Jewels and can be upgraded over time easily.

(50-150)% increased Effect of Jewel Socket Passive Skills containing Corrupted Magic Jewels

(Jewel) Corrupted Magic Jewels - you can have only two modifiers here, but they will provide twice as much value, or even more with a better roll on the Adorned Jewel. At a higher budget, you can also look for useful Corrupted or Synthesis Implicits.

Recommended affixes: Global Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Multiplier with Spells Flask Effect Duration % increased maximum Life % increased Mine Throwing Speed Elemental Resistances Attributes

(Flask) Coruscating Elixir - this Flask is your only defense against Chaos Damage, forgetting to activate it might lead to your quick demise. It also grants you a lot of Fire Resistance.

Chaos Damage taken does not bypass Energy Shield during effect Removes all but one Life on use Removed life is Regenerated as Energy Shield over 2 seconds 25% increased Duration

With the Traitor Keystone you can use only 3 Flasks to ensure 100% uptime on the Coruscating Elixir. You can use all 3 Elemental Flasks, or replace one with Quicksilver Flask to get better Clear Speed.  Other suggested Flasks: Topaz/Sapphire Flask with bonus Elemental Resistance Quicksilver/Sapphire Flask with Critical Strike Chance bonus

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

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