Eye of Winter
Inquisitor Build

Updated for Patch 3.20

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The Traps and Mines playstyles are in most cases reserved for Saboteurs, but that's not always the case. The advantage of Mines is the ability to cast multiple Spells all at once ignoring Cast Speed completely, but what is more important here, is that it allows you to keep a safe distance from your target as the Projectiles released from Mines are very slow. Eye of Winter works similarly to Ball Lightning, you want the target to be constantly in the area of a Projectile to sink in all the damage it constantly radiates. Eye of Winter is a Projectile that shoots out secondary Projectiles. At the end of its duration, it fires an extra wave of shards, so it's likely that the enemy would be caught in its radius too for a massive burst of damage. The reason to use this Spell over Ball Lightning is the ability to Freeze and equip the freshly-reworked Heathiver Helmet. Inquisitor is simply one of the best Ascendancies to deal Elemental Damage, and with Pious Path Keystone, it boosts your defenses too. The build is not very expensive, it uses The Annihilating Light as a Weapon and Skin of the Lords as Body Armour. You won't even need to six-link the Staff.

As an Inquisitor, you'll have a high base Critical Strike Chance, Inevitable Judgement, so you won't need any Elemental Damage Penetration, no need for Cast Speed, and the base damage already tripled via The Annihilating Light. The Gem setup grants more and increased Damage on top of the already high flat base damage, which scales really well with the Eye of Winter's Gem Level. The passive skill tree is used to obtain extra Spell Critical Strike mods, Mana Reservation Efficiency, and Mine-related nodes. It uses two Large Cluster Jewels and four medium ones simply for even more DPS. If you have enough damage to Freeze bosses, Heatshiver will double your damage by adding the same amount of Cold Damage as Fire Damage, but it works with the enemies that are just Chilled. The build doesn't invest in any kind of Elemental Penetration or the Effect of Elemental Ailments so adding this extra damage layer is especially beneficial. It's not very good for mapping and its defenses are poor, but it is excellent at boss-killing.

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1. Gameplay

You're dealing damage via Mines - throw them in from of you and let Skitterbots detonate them for a smooth gameplay experience. You might want to swap some of them gems for mapping, like Slower Projectile Support Gem for one that allows you to throw them faster or cover more area. Your damage will be high enough to Freeze any opponent. To enhance your single-target damage use Arcane Surge with Flame Wall, Bear Trap, and Sniper's Mark. It will be rarely used. For a Guard Spell use low-level Immortal Call with Cast when Damage Taken. Flame Dash is the best movement Skill. For Auras use Vitality, Hatred, Purity of Elements, and Zealotry which should be linked to Divine Blessing Support and activated during boss fights. For more Damage use Righteous Fire, it's not a trouble to sustain its damage for an Inquisitor.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

We recommend leveling with an Elemental Damage Spell, Templar's really good at it. There are a lot of Lightning Damage nodes just outside your starting location, pick them all up and pick up Arc or Ball Lightning. You will need to respec these passive skill points invested in Elemental Damage anyway to make some space for Cluster Jewels later on anyway. First, we recommend picking up the regular Lightning Damage nodes with some Maximum Life, doing so you'll be easily able to reach yellow maps. The Annihilating Light requires level 68, after quipping it you can switch to Cold Damage, and if you have allocated at least two Mine Clusters on your Skill Tree, and a six-link, you can switch to the final Mine setup. Coward's Legacy requires level 52, but equip it only after allocating Pious Patch to reduce the Curse effect.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Arc setup
	Arc - a simple Lightning Spell that Chains multiple times hitting several enemies at once
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds Lightning Damage to Arc
	Inspiration Support - lowers Mana Cost, increases Elemental Damage, and Critical Strike Chance
	Arcane Surge Support - grants Arcane Surge buff for more Spell Damage and Mana Regeneration
	Spell Echo Support - Spell repeat additional times granting much more Cast Speed, but lowering Arc's damage

Mana Reservation setup
	Wrath - use it to gain more Spell Damage
	Purity of Elements - Grants a lot of Elemental Resistances and protects you from Elemental Ailments
	Clarity - increases Mana Regeneration Rate as a full-lined Arc costs a lot of Mana

various Gems
	Conductivity - Curse that lowers Lightning Resistance

Bandits:

you should kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

38 Points Skill Tree
Start with Spell Damage, Cast Speed, Lightning Damage, and maximum Life

75 Points Skill Tree
Just pick more of the aforementioned stats to amplify your damage and survivability. You will also need Mana Reservation Efficiency.

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - use it for its Attributes, Damage, and Resistances

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - offers a lot of Elemental Resistances

+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Praxis - One of the best leveling Rings for all characters with expensive Skills

+(20-30) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana Regenerate (3-6) Mana per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken Recouped as Mana

Lifesprig - You can wield it at level 1, an amazing leveling weapon for spell-casters

(8-12)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Spell Gems (20-28)% increased Spell Damage (5-8)% increased Cast Speed +(15-20) to maximum Life +(15-20) to maximum Mana Regenerate (6-8) Life over 1 second when you Cast a Spell

Atziri's Foible - If you need even more Mana, which you probably will if you have Tabula Rasa, consider this Amulet

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +100 to maximum Mana (16-24)% increased maximum Mana (80-100)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Items and Gems have 25% reduced Attribute Requirements

Tabula Rasa - use Tabula for the six, white, linked sockets

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:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

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

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

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Eye of Winter setup
	Eye of Winter - A Projectile Spell that fires multiple other, malles Projectiles to release an extra wave of shards at the end of its duration. It deals Cold Damage scaling really well with the Gem Level.
	Empower - Increases the Gem Level of Eye of Winter.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - Grants over 50% more Mine Damage, but lessens Throwing Speed. You can swap it for the  Increased Critical Damage Support if you don't have a Green socket, it's the second-best Support Gem.
	Blastchain Mine Support - Transforms the Eye of Winter to be cast in a form of a Mine, the more Mines you have already detonated, the more damage each next one will deal.
	Charged Mines Support - Upgrades your Mines - damage, Throwing Speed, and Crit Chance. It also generates Frenzy and Power Charges to scale up these upgrades alongside them.
	Slower Projectiles Support - Very important Gem when fighting stationary targets, it lowers the Projectile Speed of Eye of Winter so that the Shards are more likely to Hit the same target multiple times.

[UTILITY] Aracanist Brand setup
	Arcanist Brand - The Brand will cast all linked Spells every second while attached to an enemy.
	Sniper's Mark - Sniper's Mark increases Projectile Damage the cursed enemy is receiving.
	Flame Wall - Your Projectiles will deal bonus Fire Damage after passing through the Flame Wall.
	Bear Trap - immobilizes the target which is really good against mobile opponents, it also increases Mine Damage the affected enemy takes.

[UTILITY] Vitality setup
	Vitality - Vitality Regenerates your Life every second, it will help you sustain Righteous Fire degen.
	Arrogance Support - Vitality reserves Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Zealotry setup
	Zealotry - Increases Critical Strike Chance for Spells and grants more Spell Damage.
	Divine Blessing Support - Makes Zealotry a temporary Aura that reserves no Mana, but its cost will have to be paid to activate it. Use the Divergent Version to lessen the cost. Allocate Eldritch Battery to be able to cast it at all.
	Inspiration Support - It's used only to lower the Mana Cost so you might want to use a Divergent version as well.

[UTILITY] Mana-reserving Spells
	Hatred - An Aura that simply grants more Cold Damage.
	Purity of Elements - Grants extra Elemental Resistances and complete immunity to all Elemental Ailments.
	Summon Skitterbots - Skitterbots Chill and Shock enemies, provide you with more Mine Damage, but most importantly, activate your Mines and re-arm then resulting in much more DPS.
	Enlighten Support - You might not need it if your Mana Reservation Efficiency is high enough.

[UTILITY] Immortal Call setup
	Immortal Call - Immortal Call mitigates incoming Physical and Elemental Hit Damage for a short time. Keep it at level 3.
	Cast when Damage Taken - Level 1 Cast when Damage Taken should activate Immortal Call automatically every time you take 528 Damage.

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - A simple movement Skill that teleports you over a short distance.

[UTILITY] Righteous Fire
	Righteous Fire - It's used only for more Spell Damage buff it grants, you should be able to sustain it easily with Vitality and Pious Path, but don't use it when mapping, only during boss fights. Get the Divergent version.

6. Gear Setup

What you have to keep in mind is that you won't need any Cast Speed or Damage Penetration due to Mine Throwing Speed being not affected by Cast Speed, and Elemental Damage Penetration is overwritten by Inveitalbe Judgement. The most important will be the extra Levels for Eye of Winter Gem and Critical Strike Chance and its Multiplier. You should be able to increase the level of this Spell to 27 or rather effortlessly, just from Skin of the Lords and level 3 Empower, but with the Awakened Empower at level 5 and two extra Gem Levels from Amulet, and double-Corrupted Skin of the Loyal with just the right Implicits, it's possible to make it 34, which is what you should ultimately strive for. You should be able to reach a 100% Critical Strike Chance with some additional modifiers from rare items (including Strength due to the Righteous Providence). Look for some extra Mana Reservation Efficiency, it can be found on an Amulet or Small Cluster Jewels. The build uses a lot of Unique Items, only Boots, Gloves, and one Ring are of Rare Quality, you will need a lot of Elemental Resistances on them to combat the abundance of Uniques. Additionally, The Annihilating Light lowers them by 60% so be prepared to get some expensive rares. Cluster Jewels will be important, you can use up to two Large and four Medium ones. You will have up to six Jewel sockets, so gathering the missing Resistances and Attributes from there is very recommended. You will also need 155 Dexterity for Sniper's Mark, it might be hard to get.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Heatshiver - Doubles your Damage against Frozen enemies which you should be able to do with ease as your damage is overwhelmingly high. It's cheap

(80-100)% increased Evasion Rating 60% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Gain 1% of Cold Damage as Extra Fire Damage per 1% Chill Effect on Enemy Gain 100% of Cold Damage as Extra Fire Damage against Frozen Enemies

(Helmet) Cowl of the Thermophile - Fixes your Fire Resistance at 75% which allows you to run Righteous Fire even with no Fire Resistance on your gear - extremely useful with The Annihilating Light.

Can have a second Enchantment Modifier +(20-30) to all Attributes (60-80)% increased Armour Fire Resistance is 75% (55-50)% reduced Cold Resistance (55-50)% reduced Lightning Resistance

Helmet enchantments: Eye of Winter Damage enchantment

(Weapon) The Annihilating Light - Triples your Elemental Damage but reduces Elemental Resistances. It should be reasonably priced as you don't need to six-link it

+18% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff (70-60)% reduced Elemental Resistances Deal Triple Damage with Elemental Skills

(Body Armour) Skin of the Lords - It's used only for the two extra Levels it grants to your Skill Gems, so if you don't have capped Resistances yet, use any Rare Armour with them as a substitute. You can also try looking for a double-corrupted Skin of the Loyal with extra Gem levels for the Eye of Winter

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Sockets cannot be modified +2 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences You can only Socket Corrupted Gems in this item Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) <Random Keystone>

(Boots) Rare Boots - Rare Boots should get you a lot of Elemental Resistances, at least 25% increased Movement Speed and some Maximum Life. It's also where you can find Attributes

Min. requirements: 25% increased Movement Speed +40 to maximum Life +100% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Armour Attributes

(Boots) Ralakesh's Impatience - If you can stand still as the Mines are dealing damage, use these boots for extra Charges.

+(15-25)% to Cold Resistance +(15-25)% to Chaos Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Lose all Frenzy, Endurance, and Power Charges when you Move Minimum Endurance Charges equal to Maximum while stationary Minimum Frenzy Charges equal to Maximum while stationary Minimum Power Charges equal to Maximum while stationary

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Besides Maximum Life and Resistances, you should be able to gain some Dexterity or Strength here. Increased Damage with Hits against Chilled Enemies can be a bit expensive

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Attributes Optional affixes: increased Damage with Hits against Chilled Enemies Attributes

(Belt) Coward's Legacy - A permanent Vulnerability Curse is bad unless you can reduce its effect by 3/4 when standing on Consecrated Ground, which you can do by simply stopping every four seconds. It makes you Low on Life so that you can allocate Pain Attunement for 40% more Damage

+(9-20) to maximum Energy Shield +(15-20) to all Attributes (5-10)% increased Movement Speed 50% increased Effect of Curses on you You count as on Low Life while you are Cursed with Vulnerability You are Cursed with Vulnerability, with 80% increased Effect

(Amulet) Uul-Netol's Vow  - If you have a good Uul-Netol's Vow with high Resistances go ahead and use it, it allows you to socket ad additional Gem which is valuable since you can't change colors on Skin of the Lords

Has 1 Socket Socketed Support Gems can also Support Skills from your Body Armour +(-30-30)% to Fire Resistance +(-30-30)% to Cold Resistance +(-30-30)% to Lightning Resistance +(-23-23)% to Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Rare Amulet  - The most important is the additional level to Eye of Winter, it can be upgraded by two, but such an Amulet would be expensive, just one is good. Resistances and Attributes or Critical Strike mods can be found here too

Min. requirements: +40 Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances +1 to Level of all Skill/Cold Skill Gems Optional affixes: Attributes +1 to Level of all Skill/Cold Skill Gems Mana Reservation Efficiency

Recommended Anointments: Adjacent Animosity Diamond Skin

(Ring) Rare Rings - This one Rare Ring should be Elder-influenced to activate Shaper's Mark bonus. Seek mostly for Resistances and Attributes with some Maximum Life for survivability, there's not much more to look for

Min. requirements: +40 to Maximum Life +90% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes

(Ring) Mark of the Shaper - It's the best-in-slot Ring to increase your Spell Damage. It grants Elemental Damage, Maximum Life, ES, and extra Spell Damage if your other Ring is Eldritch

(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

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - You would be able to access a lot of Attributes and Resistances from these Jewels, and if you already got it sorted out, seek Maximum Life and Critical Strike modifiers

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Attributes Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Chance Critical Strike Multiplier

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - You're using Hatred, Purity of Elements, Vitality, and temporary Zealotry. We recommend extra Chaos Resistance from Purity of Elements or Critical Strike Chance from Hatred.

(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 - Cold to the Core for Damage, Doryani's Lesson for Life Leech, and Prismatic Heart for Elemental Resistances are the best three notables here.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cold to the Core 1 Added Passive Skill is Doryani's Lesson 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - One Arcane Pyrotechnics is mandatory, it grants an Arcane Surge, and alongside it, you can gain Guerilla Tactics. Eye to Eye and Repeater can be used for more Damage.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Eye to Eye 1 Added Passive Skill is Repeater 1 Added Passive Skill is Arcane Pyrotechnics 1 Added Passive Skill is Guerilla Tactics

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - For more Mana Reservation Efficiency of Hatred use one Small Cluster Jewel with Spiteful Presence.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Spiteful Presence

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - Atziri's Promise grants extra Damage sourced from Elemental Damage, Life Leech, and Chaos Resistance - all quite good.

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (5-8)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (5-8)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Bottled Faith - A very expensive Flask that's simply used for more DPS so you can replace it with a regular magic Sulphur Flask.

40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Alchemist's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline Diamond Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Life Flask with an increased Critical Strike Chance

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.