- League Starter
- Mapper
- All-Rounder
5
Introduction
Before you read on, I also have a Juggernaut version of Righteous Fire. He scales armour to mitigate Elemental Damage, so no need to build block. It’s extremely unlikely you will get one shot and barely takes any physical damage. Now that sounds all very good being so tanky, but you will lose some advantages that the inquisitor has to offer namely: higher boss damage, more complexity due to ES scaling, highly resistant to curses and easier on the map mods. If you are totally new to Path of Exile and this is your first build, I recommend you play the Juggernaut version that you can find here.
(Note: the Juggernaut version deals around 25% Less damage than the Inquisitor due to some recent nerfs)
Righteous Fire has been a true Path Of Exile staple since the skill gem’s introduction back in Patch 0.9.9. The concept of running through maps while hordes of monsters die around you is a true Power Fantasy staple, and this simple fact has kept Path Of Exile players returning to Righteous Fire, optimising the build and adapting it to perform well throughout each expansion & League.
From abusing Snapshotting to making use of various Ascendancies to optimise damage and life regeneration, Righteous Fire builds have always driven players to overcome the challenges thrown at us in Path Of Exile and find a way around the many quirks the playstyle offers. This build of course is no exception.
The FAQ section can be found on my RF Wiki
Build Overview
In this section, We’ll be outlining the pros, cons, and general playstyle of the Righteous Fire Inquisitor. This will allow you to determine if this is the right build for you!
PROS
+ League Starter – Though RF can seem daunting to League Start with, it is extremely doable and can be started around level 20.
+ Easy Playstyle – A lot of content can be done by simply activating Righteous Fire and moving through the zone while using a movement skill/stopping for a split second to maintain Consecrated Ground.
+ Extremely Tanky – Righteous Fire builds LOVE maximum fire resistance, and with the right setup you can push over 85% max resistances on this build along with over 6k EHP that is a combination of life and energy shield.
CONS
– Weak Early for uber bosses – Our primary bossing ability will be Fire Trap, unfortunately, the average player will be around 2m-2.5m Dps & the PoB goes up to 6M but it’s a bit unrealistic to go past 10M DPS without some crazy investment.
– Map Modifiers can be annoying -Max Resistance, Less Recovery & No Regeneration are all pretty awful for this build. Later on, we’ll also be skipping – Reduced Aura Effect & Less Block Chance.
– Always face tanking – While the RF Area Of Effect is formidable, we will, for the most part, be in melee range, knowing when to back off a tiny bit and play patiently is important.
Playstyle
The play style is as simple as it gets, activate Righteous Fire at the beginning of a map, maintain your flasks, and run through your map while the world burns around you. Using Frostblink every few seconds, or simply Shield Charge to sustain Consecrated Ground regen we get from the Inquisitor Ascendancy Pious Path.
For Bossing, keep the target at the edge of your Righteous Fire AoE this will provide a much-needed buffer for dodging mechanics and rotating in your Fire Trap where possible. This allows for a safe bossing experience.
The above will, of course, vary for some boss mechanics; for instance, in the Guardian Of The Hydra fight, we would want to stay right on top and Frostblink behind when she fires any of her projectiles.
When you engage a large pack of monsters. Do not forget to use your Infernal Cry
Damage Scaling & Defensive Layers
Our primary damage scaling will come from modifiers to Fire Damage, Burning Damage, and (Fire) Damage Over Time Multiplier from the tree & gear.
On Sceptres, we will be prioritising “+ to level of all spell skill gems”, “+1 to level of all fire spell skill gems” and high amounts of Fire Damage Over Time Multiplier, as they give us significantly more damage compared to generic increases which get heavily affected by diminishing returns. If you’re looking for a perfect sceptre you’ll ideally want all the above modifiers.
PoB and Passive Skill Tree
The PoB community fork created by Localidentity is the only version being kept up to date, so make sure you have the correct version: PoB Community Fork.
This Comprehensive PoB will carry you through each stage of levelling, from both a League Start perspective & using Twink Gear all the way up to End Game and High Budget with Aegis and Melding.
Gearing
The comprehensive gearing section can be found by pressing the button below. For a “Generic” rundown, the gear is listed below.
| Item Slot | Item Name | Rarity |
| Head | Here we’ll be looking for an Armour helmet with Elder influence ilvl 82, Essence of Horror helmet modifier with Socketed Gems are Support by either level 16/18/20 Burning Damage OR Concentrated Effect (IF YOU HIT BOTH YOU GOT A GOD HELM) The level doesn’t matter in particular as long as you can get these modifiers. Beyond this, getting the + level to AoE gems craft will be huge for your Fire Trap. Alternatively, you can purchase Burning Damage & Concentrated effect helmets on trade. You can usually find these really cheap after the first week. For SSF players you can reforge Fire with Harvest | Rare |
| Amulet | A life amulet with Damage Over Time Multiplier and resistances will do plenty when starting out. Getting +1 to level of all fire/spell gems is also great here if you’re using a rare. The base will be either Jade Amulet or Marble Amulet depending on whether you need the extra attributes or not. | Rare |
| Chest | Preferably a hybrid Armour ES base with high armour and ES rolls and some resistances. If possible we want to craft the Gravicius Mod that now gives “5% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage & 5% of Physical Damage taken as Lightning Damage” Expensive versions can also craft with the essence of Loathing for mana reservation efficiency. A base like Saintly Chainmail would work well. (if you have no life modifiers you should take the 15% Increased Maximum Life Mastery) | Rare |
| Gloves | This is one of THE Most important places to get a High % Life Regen roll. It can roll all the way up to 21%. Since gloves are our least likely gear to replace I’d recommend spending some currency on them. This is also a great place to get Dex or Chaos res along with +1 to socketed aoe gems and place our aura gems in our gloves for the bonus. Eldritch influences – Fire Exposure (MANDATORY) & Fire Multi | Rare |
| Boots | Legacy of Fury This slot is pretty self-explanatory, it gives us huge AoE explosions and applies Scorch to nearby enemies. However, if you can’t afford them or you’re in SSF you should look for high Movement speed boots 20%+ and I recommend getting high life regen/% Life regen & Chaos resistance. You can also put eater/exarch influence for scorched ground which is a nice boss damage increase if you don’t have legacy | Unique |
| Belt | The highest source of FLAT Life regen which pairs extremely well with our Gloves. You’re looking for Life/Life regen & potentially res/chaos resistance. For uniques Immortal Flesh is honestly going to beat most rares due to the Armour bonus & MASSIVE Life regen. For the super late game, we can go with an elder crafted stygian with high life/life regen modifiers and any missing stats we need. | Unique |
| Rings | An easy source of Life & Resists, we can craft minimum frenzy charges for some free damage too. This is usually where I get most of my chaos resistance. Harvest Reforge chaos = Guaranteed Chaos resistance roll. | Rare |
| Weapon | Here we want High sources of Fire Damage Over Time Multiplier & Increase Fire Damage. For a more expensive weapon, we can look for + Fire Gems with Multi or High Increase and craft the missing stat. You can also go with a mixture of stats such as High burn damage & High increases and craft Multi. Basically, you want a combination of stats and the 2 best modifiers to bench craft are Fire Multi & Fire damage & Ignite chance. | Rare |
| Shield | Preferably a high Armour / ES shield with +to maximum fire resistances, or increased fire damage/level to all fire spell skill gems depending on what you can get. For players pushing into Higher Maps, we’ll be looking for a shaper recovery shield for when we switch to block Based. End game players will be hunting for an Aegis Aurora | Rare |
Ascendancy, Bandit & Pantheon Powers
You can read about the Ascendancy, Bandit choice, and Pantheon Power recommendations for this build on our dedicated page.
Levelling
Levelling trees & Gem setups can be found in the Path Of Building link, levelling will heavily depend on whether we’re league starting or have access to Twink gear. Twink gear will allow us to run Righteous Fire earlier but here we’ll focus on running it around level 20.
Early on we’ll be using Rolling Magma supported by Elemental Proliferation Support and Combustion Support, as soon as we can get Flame Wall we use that as well.
For players who don’t like Rolling Magma your alternative is using Holy Flame Totem linked with Added Fire Damage Support & Summon Phantasm Support
Anyone looking to get a bit faster can also purchase Leap Slam after you kill Brutus and link it to faster attacks.
At Level 12 we get Flame Surge which we will use for a single target all the way up until our Fire Trap catches up. Usually around level 40. Make sure your target is ignited from your other skill to get max damage output.
Picking up Reservation Skills like Determination , Vitality , Purity of Elements when they’re available to us will go a long way.
For mobility, we’ll be using Frostblink all the way from Act 1 to the endgame.
In act 3 I like to pick up Flammability and link it to Lifetap Support
You also have the option for switching to Armageddon Brand after killing Gravicius, this will be less single target but faster clear and no more reason for Flame Wall and Rolling Magma.
Switching to Righteous Fire
This can be done as soon we reach our first Fire Mastery. Usually around level 20. If you’re struggling don’t worry, we get another huge spike of Life Regeneration when we reach the Hearty Notable & Pick up Summon Stone Golem in Act 4
To help reach the fire resistance cap we can use 2 ruby rings & craft fire resistance on our gear from our bench at our hideout. To help acquire ruby rings we can vendor an iron ring + red gem to make a ruby ring.
The setup here depends on how many sockets we actually have access to, but they will be listed in order of priority so if you only have a 4-link or 5-link don’t worry.
- Righteous Fire
- Elemental Focus Support
- Burning Damage Support
- Increased Area of Effect Support
- Lifetap Support
- Swift Affliction Support
4-Link Fire Trap (Requires Act 3 Library quest Completion)
This setup can be used all the way to the very endgame.
- Fire Trap
- Combustion Support
- Lifetap Support
- Trap and Mine Damage Support
Questions?
If you have any questions about my build, please join the ARPG Vault Discord where a team of moderators will answer you.
Closing Notes
If you’ve gotten this far with the guide, I’d like to sincerely thank you & hope you decided to play the RF Inquisitor, you can check out my Twitch Stream, where I am live almost daily. For other daily content including build updates, be sure to check out my Youtube Channel.
