[On Hold] Storm Brand Inquisitor - Beginner Friendly - SSF/League Start Viable - All Content

Hi,

In our pob i can see you have brand recall lvl 7 and arcane surge lvl 7 at the end tree is this correct ? Why does it happen ?

Thing i might go with zealotry over wrath, wrath is 19% more lightning damage at lvl 20, zealotry is 15% more but also gives 39% crit chance and can create conc ground giving 100% increased crit chance, opinions on this?

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Great job, mate! Keep it up!

Probably a stupid question, I've never played a character that didn't have a basic source of leech (I've always played melee or Elementalist)... how do I sustain life?

I'm only level 30 so far, but I feel like I'm constantly kicking back HP flasks to keep myself going, and looking at the gear and skill tree I don't see how this ever changes. Am I missing something? Or am I just not supposed to get hit ever somehow.

Edit: nm I somehow mentally skipped the CWDT Warlorks Mark.

Hey, I'd like to post a suggestion for this particular leveling path.

I started running into mana "issues" (not really an issue but rather the necessity to use and carefully manage a mana potion), so I wrote about it to a friend and he suggested to try linking the Herald of Thunder with Assassin's Mark and Curse on Hit, and that change has made my experience much better at level ~60. It both made mana a complete non-issue and increased my damage in clear by a ton due to the crit and power charges.

I see that Warlord's Mark is mentioned as a CWDT or as the ring mod, but I think mentioning that it can simply be linked into the Herald is something that should be in the guide as well as an option. It's a very cheap and available method to do it, and there were several other comments about mana issues from a quick glance at the comments. CWDT can work too, sure, but I think this way is more consistent (doesn't rely on getting hit) and is easier to add (you're already using Herald of Thunder).

And while we're on the subject of Marks, whilst both Warlord's and Assassin's would work for the hp/mp sustain, I do think that Assassin's wins out in all situations because of its damage benefits (ENORMOUS damage benefits for a character that doesn't have a lot of crit on gear - i.e., exactly the case for leveling). Its sustain is a lot weaker in single target situations than flat leech of Warlords, but versus a single target you are not spamming brands, you're just keeping 2 up, so mana itself is less of an issue there. It's also an int gem, so less attribute requirements to meet. I think it's pretty much always better than a self-casted Conductivity, especially after Merc lab and a transition into crit.

Edit: worth noting is that I replaced the Controlled Destruction (that was recommended in the Act 3 segment) to Inc Crit Strikes as my 4th link at some point when the talent tree suggestions started including crit, and when I got the Merc lab and Diamond Flask done. It just felt wrong to have like ~5-6% crit whilst investing into crit things. Controlled Destruction totally made sense in A3 though, but imo the guide should suggest to switch it into Crit Strikes around the time we start investing into crit and critmulti nodes and wearing a Diamond Flask (was at around Act 6 or 7 area that I noticed this). Maybe even earlier with the Herald-Curse on Hit-Assassin's link.

Edit 2: another inconsistency I noticed is that in Act 2 you recommend to "If you have the Extra Orbs of Alteration - start leveling Controlled Destruction, Concentrated Effect, Elemental Focus" but never explain what for. I realize it's for the lightning spire trap, but that's in the 'advanced' section; imo, this paragraph should at least clarify this.

Other than that, I've leveled with the leveling path outlined here and it was solid.

Edit 3: so after playing a bit more with Assassin's vs Warlord's, I can say that the life leech from Warlord's is dearly missed at the point where sustaining off of just a Life Flask isn't viable and mobs don't necessarily get one shot (already in white maps for me), so I swapped to it as well.

@Derptime : i had a mana issue aswell. I linked my movement skill with blood magic and now everything is fine (with both wrath and herald of thunder). I don't use my mana potion anymore.

Hi first off thank you so much for the detailed leveling guide! Its really amazing!

In the act 2 leveling section you say

"If you have the Extra Orbs of Alteration - start leveling Controlled Destruction, Concentrated Effect, Elemental Focus"

when is the elemental focus gem used? I don't see it mentioned in the guide anywhere after this point.

Is the reason we use controlled destruction over ele focus because we do shock things? Also i see ele focus and conc effect in the guide but not in the gems, what are they for, boss swap ins or something?

Also why does lightning spire trap use increase area if its just for boss dps wouldn't you want cocn for more damage or is the area on the skill so bad you need inc aoe?

Can you update the POB as there is some changes at the right side of tree after POB update at 'Coldhearted Calculation'. POB only shows up to required level: 77. Thanks

Thanks for the amazing guide, thi3n. I love watching your stream and your absolutely pro level potato mechanics. This the second time I'm rolling an old man build of yours; ran GC tots back in Bestiary. Running SSF this time, and this seems like a dream build, easy to gear for and powerful even with junk! Thanks again for all the hard work you put into the community as a content-maker. Good luck in 3.6, exile.