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Taking down the Feared as a Plume of Pursuit Hydrosphere Inquisitor

3 years ago13

by ifnjeff#1252

8.89M

DPS

56.18K

Effective HP

2.28K

Life

Overview

Taking down the Feared as a Plume of Pursuit Hydrosphere Inquisitor is a Path of Exile Inquisitor build by ifnjeff#1252, made for the Sanctum league (3.20). It is centered on Hydrosphere and plays as a intelligence, spell, area, duration archetype. In Path of Building it reaches 8.89M DPS with 56.18K effective HP, 2.28K life, 1.9K energy shield. Suited for: Simulacrum, Expedition, Mapping, Bossing. Key uniques include The Winds of Fate, Plume of Pursuit, Taste of Hate, Expedition's End, Polaric Devastation.

Build Video

ifnjeff#1252's Notes

Most of the fun I have in Path of Exile is in theorycrafting skill and item combinations to find the unicorn build that is simultaneously clever, powerful, and achievable (for a habitual reroller), but somehow undiscovered by the community. After the first week or two, I spend a lot of my "play time" in path of building, testing mechanics in standard, or lurking on poeninja. The builds are always fun to toy around with, even if they don't end up fitting all the criteria, but I've finally had success in combining a bunch of mechanics that I've been chasing for a while so I figured I would share.

TLDR: I'm abusing the fact that Hydrosphere's pulses inherit the damage properties of the most recent cast. Using Plume of Pursuit with Divergent Spell Echo means the pulses always crit, so I can use Marylene's Fallacy and the new The Winds of Fate staff for around 550% crit multi with no further investment. Going Inquisitor for Battlemage doubles Hydrosphere's base damage thanks to the staff's huge numbers. The 1 second cooldown recently added to Hydrosphere makes it tough to apply an ailment with Spell Echo, so I use some ridiculous Wave of Conviction tech which lets only the repeat hit the sphere. I'm using Avatar of Fire and Expedition's End to freeze the sphere and convert all of my damage from physical to cold to fire, granting access to lots of good damage scaling. Finally, I'm using instant cyclone between hydrosphere movements to maintain Fanaticism for improved coverage, mana sustain, and speed. Typical hybrid Inquisitor tools for regen-centric defense round the build out.

Even the TLDR is long because the build is a bit of a science project. It's not particularly fast or smooth. It's not particularly tanky. It would probably struggle on a budget. But it's been a very satisfying to take an original homebrew meme build all the way to endgame. With around 9 million bossing DPS and a safe totem-like playstyle, I was able to clear some content I'd never managed before. Here's a few clips of the build:

The PoB is below, but I wouldn't recommend trying to recreate it, this is more of a showcase than a guide. I've made no attempt to make the build widely accessible or reasonable to level. Check out the forum post linked below for a much more detailed walkthough of the builds mechanics, synergies, and downside-mitigations. It's a long read, but could be interesting for those who enjoy this kind of thing.

If there's enough interest, I'll consider talking through the build mechanics in video format, let me know.

Gear

The Winds of Fate
Plume of Pursuit
Expedition's End
Marylene's Fallacy
Polaric Devastation
Generic
Generic
Generic
Avoidance
Phasing
Stormshroud
Medium Area
Medium Area
Unnatural Instinct
Glorious Vanity
Large Physical
Forbidden Flesh
Forbidden Flame
Watcher's Eye
Thread of Hope
Avoidance

Skills

Weapon 1

  • HydrosphereHydrosphere21/20WMain
  • Spell EchoSpell Echo20W
  • Awakened Controlled DestructionAwakened Controlled Destruction5/20W
  • Awakened Elemental FocusAwakened Elemental Focus5/20W
  • Concentrated EffectConcentrated Effect20/20W
  • Cold to FireCold to Fire20/20W
  • Awakened Fire PenetrationAwakened Fire Penetration5/20W

Body Armour

  • Wave of ConvictionWave of Conviction20/20W
  • Spell EchoSpell Echo20/20W
  • Awakened Unbound AilmentsAwakened Unbound Ailments5/20W
  • Faster CastingFaster Casting20/20W
  • Arcane SurgeArcane Surge1/20W
  • CombustionCombustion20/20W

Helmet

  • HatredHatred20/20W
  • Petrified BloodPetrified Blood20/20W
  • DeterminationDetermination20W
  • EnlightenEnlighten4W

Boots

  • Herald of AshHerald of Ash20/20W
  • VitalityVitality20W
  • ArroganceArrogance20/20W

Boots

  • Herald of PurityHerald of Purity20/20W

Gloves

  • Righteous FireRighteous Fire20/20W

Gloves

  • FlammabilityFlammability20/20W

Gloves

  • Vaal Molten ShellVaal Molten Shell20/20W

Gloves

  • Flame DashFlame Dash20/20W

Ring 2

  • CycloneCyclone1W

Passive Tree

Passive tree 3.20
scroll to zoom
Inquisitor
Inquisitor
Bandits
Eramir (1 Passive Skill Point)
Pantheons
Soul of Arakaali, Soul of Abberath

Character Stats

Level
97

Damage

Full DPS
0
Combined DPS
8.89M
Hit DPS
8M
With Poison DPS
8M
With Ignite DPS
8M
With Bleed DPS
8M
Damage over Time
0
Culling DPS
889.12K
Average Hit
2.29M
Burst Damage
2.29M

Attack & Crit

Attack/Cast Rate
2.73/s
Hit Rate
3.5/s
Hit Chance
100%
Crit Chance
100%
Crit Multiplier
553%
Mana Cost
17
Life Cost
0

Defence

Effective Hit Pool
56.18K
Life
2.28K
Energy Shield
1.9K
Mana
103
Ward
0
Armour
35.78K
Evasion
1.79K
Phys Damage Reduction
78%

Mitigation & Avoidance

Block
18%
Spell Block
0%
Spell Suppression
0%
Evade (Melee)
0%
Evade (Projectile)
0%
Attack Dodge
0%
Spell Dodge
0%

Resistances

Fire Resistance
75% (+5%)
Cold Resistance
75% (+5%)
Lightning Resistance
75% (+20%)
Chaos Resistance
-52%

Max Hit Taken

Physical
21.58K
Fire
58.53K
Cold
58.53K
Lightning
46.83K
Chaos
27.55K

Recovery

Life Regen
800.1/s
Net Life Regen
318.15/s
ES Regen
800.07/s
ES Recharge
1.9K/s
Mana Regen
30.2/s
Life Leech
894.6/s
ES Leech
189.9/s
Mana Leech
0/s
Total Degen
963.9/s

Attributes & Utility

Strength
213
Intelligence
223
Dexterity
104
Movement Speed
79%
Endurance Charges
3
Frenzy Charges
3
Power Charges
3
Devotion
0