Do you enjoy shooting things the face from point-blank range? Dual pistols Gunslinger-style? And taking out everything else nearby with collateral damage? Then read on!
DW gunslinger builds seem a step down in terms of raw power in GD, though that might just be my inexpert impression on their feasibility. I’ve always found them to be very “glass cannony” builds, especially those that used one or both of Fissure and Meteor Shower. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this build (which uses neither) kicking arse and taking names through Malmouth on Ultimate, though my “highest damage taken” is the 10500 that my health ball held when being 1-shot killed by the boss in Ultimate Cinder Wastes. This big hit suggests I haven’t found all the answers yet, but the build seems very strong (at least to me) for all but the very toughest fights. The other issue is I’m very far from having all the legendary gear necessary for a “true” top-end build, as my average item level of 77 will attest. I suspect better gear is the answer, so the quest is on.
Grimtools: http://www.grimtools.com/calc/nZoW8doZ
Yes, Aether resistance is a problem child, but Steel Resolve helps.
Essentially the build centers around the now-familiar concept of standing on an over-levelled Inquisitor Seal and blasting away, moving only to avoid ground effects or big hits. This wasn’t “familiar” when I started using it, so it was a nice surprise seeing how effective it was when I started using it towards the end of Elite. I definitely recommend it over the runes for DW guns.
Everything else proc’s off % chance on attack or critical hit - level 50 Voidsteel Gauntlets (mythical don’t have the Witchblaze special ability), Elemental Harmony Rings, Ulzin’s Pyroclasm relic and Pyroclasm Mark medal. Damage from the weapons comes mostly critical hits from Deadly Aim, Arcane Empowerment, high OA, enemy DA de-buff from Flashbang, enemy RR from Aura of Censure (%RR) and Elemental Storm (flat RR debuff). You won’t really need the debuffs until late-Elite/Ultimate.
Gear highlights: 2 Mythical Inquisitor pistols (with ADCtH components), Voidsteel Gauntlets (level 50), crafted Mythical Elemental Harmony rings, Ulzuin’s Pyroclasm, Mythical Pyroclasm Mark, 3 parts Mythical Sharpshooter’s set (room for improvement). The shoulders were a dual-affix MI drop from Elite difficulty Malmouth that fix my resists and happen to have a decent amount of health on them, and the boots are crafted “Enchanted Heavy Boots” (use all scrap for this and just keep the best pair).
The build was initially based on wielding dual Havocs (since I had a pair from the pre-expac), but I’ve not found the Mythical version yet and therefore currently have different guns at level 100 (Mythical Arcanum Sigilis and Mythical Anderos’ Amplifier) kitted out with ADCtH components. As it stands the guns are at 3.18 attacks/second, but I can see myself cutting the Amplifier for a Mythical Havoc later (unless I find another Arcanum Sigilis first).
The set I equip is the Mythical Sharpshooter’s set without the rifle which seems to do the trick, but I can appreciate that Ulzuin’s purple set has a nice proc that works in a similar vein to the rest of the build (ie circle of elemental damage around a toon that doesn’t move) though this would move the toon to a rifle-base rather than DW gunslinger (ironically the rifle is the only part of the Mythical Ulzuin’s set I’ve found - lol).
This build has gone through so many changes while I worked out what was effective and what wasn’t. Being new to the Inquisitor class I had to try out all the skills at some point and right now I’d struggle to give a proper skill levelling guide other than the broad outline that follows:
Start with Inquisitor and a point in Ranged Expertise to get DW for free immediately. Spread the first 27 points in Ranged Expertise and Bursting Round as you choose. At level 10 unlock Demolitionist and max the mastery and the Fire Strike line along the way (ignoring Static Strike). Basically Brimstone is the target and just blowing things up with dual pistols is pretty effective through Normal/Veteran, kiting the troublesome bosses. If you feel the need for the heal from Word of Renewal on the Inquisitor tree by all means get it as you go. At least 1 point in Flame Touched will be needed when you unlock Chariot’s Wayward Soul.
Then work on maxing (in no particular order) Ranged Expertise, Bursting Round and Deadly Aim before moving on to Inquisitor Seal (you’ll want to over-level the whole lot) and then pushing onto Aura of Censure into Ultimate. Once you have Inquisitor Seal at decent levels you can stop kiting very nearly everything and just facetank whatever is in front of you - this included Ultimate Loghorrean though I did retreat when he spawned a large number of adds “just in case”.
The screen does get VERY busy so keep checking for enemy ground effects and be aware of what mobs can kill you if they all hit you simultaneously, as this is basically the only way that the toon can be killed by anything without a purple name or player error. Keep putting down new Seals and just drink those Elixirs of Spirit. Try stand on the “rear” edge of the Seal so that enemies are standing on the “front” edge and therefore are hit by Rebuke (+30% damage to Aetherial, Cthonic and Eldritch races, which stacks nicely with the RR).
The huge attack speed bonus from the level 50 Havoc will see you hit the 4 attacks/second cap very easily if you have a pair - not sure how the Mythical version performs as it doesn’t have the special ability and I’ve not actually found one (as a level 82 item it seems a lot harder to find than level 94 gear). Toon survival is driven by damage absorption from over-levelled Inquisitor Seal, Ishtak constellation and Blast Shield, ADCtH on the guns, as well as heals from Word of Renewal and the Chariot and Behemoth constellations. Health isn’t super-high so make sure you’ve got the right resistance package for the game area you are in - that 10k 1-shot was when I foolishly only had 30% chaos resist in an ultimate void rift vs a level 106 boss, so entirely my fault.
Devotion path (OA base, then defence & damage absorption, then RR, then % health):
Eldritch - Spider (mainly for the slower attack retaliation)
Remove Eldritch
Ascendant
Harpy or Empty Throne (or perhaps Harpy early, Empty Throne respec later)
Remove Ascendant
Chariot of the Dead (bind to Flame Touched)
Chaos - Hydra
Remove Chaos and Spider
Order
Tortoise (bind to Vindictive Flame)
Panther
Eel
Lizard
Crane
Ishtak (bind to Deadly Aim)
Behemoth (to Giant’s Blood - bind to Aura of Censure)
Hawk
Rhowan’s Crown (to Elemental Storm - bind to Fire Strike)
Scales of Ulcama (1st point)
Chaos
Remove 16% Vitality Resist node on Chariot
Lion (1st Point)
For Attributes I went 1:1 Fortitude:Cunning until level 25 or so, then the rest went into Fortitude. I guess late game when OA is 2600+ you can respec all into Fortitude.
Enjoy!
I don’t have 8 hours per day to play this game, so finding high-end gear (particularly Legendary items) is something I treasure because I probably won’t find that item again for a long time. Adding an augment immediately makes the item soulbound, and therefore no other toon can equip it. I made that mistake in the original game with the Valiance jewellery set, adding an augment to the pendant for what at the time was one of only two toons I had ever created. I’ve found the set rings over and over since then, but never a second pendant. Okay, it’s not an all-powerful set so it’s not like I burst into tears every time I see the thing lying in my stash, but now unless I have a second copy of the item I just don’t even consider augmenting it. 