Frater Perdurabo's MF Sorc Guide (yet another one)

[FraterPerdurabo]

Version history:
1.0 - first release, yay!
1.1 - some editing done, mainly appearance, should be much easier to follow now
1.2 - Some more appearance work, Merc section updated, strategies updated HEAVILY, Meph "bug" added. There may be a lot of flaws because I made some structural changes.
1.3 - Revised tal's set combination. Added some Merc equipment. Added on magic amulets and rings. Some changes in structure and appearance. Please excuse my lack of sense of colours. I am no artist.
1.4 - Minor corrections, added strategy for Diablo and Duriel running.
1.5 - Minor corrections on typoes and merc equipment.
1.6 - Minor corrections and some more information on merc.

This is a build that I have developed over years and has been built for running Andariel, Mephisto and Pindleskin, however running Countess, Diablo, Duriel, Summoner, Eldritch and Hell Cows is equally possible. 700% magic find can easily be reached without sacrificing too much power:

NB: Remember this is a MF guide, not a guide to killing bosses.

Equipment:
Helmet: PTopazed Harlequin Crest - The best MF helm out there. 74% MF, +2 skills, 10% DR, over 100 life + mana. What more could You ask for?
Griswold's helmet: with 2xPTopazes [Ists if You're a freak] provides a little bit more, however it's mods are just dire considered to those of The Harlequin Crest.)
Armor: PTopazed Skullder's Ire - Awesome MF with +1 skills. Try getting this Ethereal.
Belt: Goldwrap - Beats Tal's belt by 15% MF. Upgrade this at least once.
Rings: Dual Nagelrings,or any rings that have more than 30% MF. The crappy mods of a Nagelring are easily sacrificable. Try to find the Fortuitous Ring of Fortune, which can have up to 40% MF with other handy stats.
Amulet: Any high Magical MF amulet,try aiming above 30%. Fortuitous Amulet of Fortune can have up to 50% MF with other handy stats.
Gloves: Chance Guards
Boots: Wartravelers - Best MF boots out there with nice mods.

Switch 1:
Weapon: Wizardspike - (optionally, You may socket it with the Rainbow Facet of Your build for more damage)
Shield: Moser's Blessed Circle (With 2 PDiamonds)
In hell, set one gives You +68 all resists, meaning that You only need another +7 to reach the max. Resists are the single most important thing when MF'ing.

Switch 2:
Weapon: 2x Ist'ed Ali Baba
Gull - An alternative if You haven't got the 2xISTs quite yet.
Shield: Rhyme runeword shield - 25%MF, 20 resist all, Cannot Be Frozen
4xIST Monarch if You're rich

The whole idea of this build is that You have max resist with about 500% MF and You switch over to the 2nd Set when giving the final blow to the Bosses. This can raise Your MF to about 800% or even higher, haven't done the calculations yet. Oh and add a Gheed's.

Tal Rasha's Set's combo: (I updated this section since it's a large source of debate)
Tal Rasha's Amulet + Armor + Amulet = 192 MF (88+24+15+65)
Skullder's + Magic MF amu + Goldwrap = 209 MF (115+24+30+40)@lvl92
As You see, the difference is minute, a mere 17 MF @lvl 92. Which one to use?
Tal's set gives a whole load of extra resistances, however those shall be unnecessary with the equipment suggested above. It also gives +1 more skills than the default. It has 17 less MF. The 10% FCR provided by the combination is not going to boost the 50% on the Wizardspike a lot. Powerwise, Tal's combination is *NOT* going to make a difference. On the other hand, it's a lot more expensive. I would much rather sell those 3 items for runes. Once again, I would go for the default equipment, suggested above.

I've left out the Oculus. Why? Because even IST'ed, it cannot compare to the MF of Gull or Alibaba, therefore it's useless on the switch. Also, it is crappy compared to Wizardspike. It does give +3 to sorc skills, however, it has a much slower cast rate, (20% compared to 50% on Wizzy) and less resistances (20% compared to 75%). When doing bosses, remember resistances, resistances and resistances. With full resists You can tank Mephisto easily.

Stats:
Strength: Enough for gear, I usually go for 97 (required for Skullder's Ire)
Dexterity: 75 (necessary for Wizardspike [Alternatively, You could use a Hel'd Ethereal Wizardspike to put less into dexterity, but I think that 75 is decent, as it also gives You a little chance to bloack])
Vitality: rest
Energy: It is *helpful* to have some points here (I'll touch on this later)

Skills:
The essentials
Warmth: 1 point (personal choice, You don't need this, but I think that it's worth it)
Static: 1 point
Teleport: 1 point (duh! obviously!)
Shiver Armor: 1 (a must have), possibly more if You go for the Orb build.
Energy Shield: 1 A helpful skill to have, especially on the light sorc, however if You are makeing a Blizzard build You may choose to leave this one out, since it requires a whole load of prerequisites.

Mercinary:
The way that the merc works in MF'ing is that if he scores the kill, his MF is added on top of Your's, however, if You kill the monster, it's only Your MF that counts.
The aim is to have a good tank, not a killer, You can take care of the killing Yourself, so I suggest either:
Act 2 merc with Defiance: Boosts Your and his defence. Useful.
Act 2 merc with Holy Freeze: EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Even if You have a cold sorc. Why? Because he slows the enemies down, so that they're easier to hit, and he also slows down cold immunes, something that a cold sorc is completely helpless against.
Act 5 merc: I occasionally use these, because they have better resists.

Equipment for merc:
Armor: Personally, I find that more DR on Your merc works much better than extra defence. Also, try to get all of Your merc equipment ethereal.
Helmet - Vampire Gaze, cheap, get it with 20% DR. If You cannot afford one, Rockstopper will do.
Shako - less DR but gives life and mana. I prefer Gaze. If You choose Shako, make sure that it's etheral. eShako costs next to nothing.
If You decide on act5 merc, use Immortal King's Helmet. Try to get it with perfect MF%, then socket it with 2xPTopaz and You'll have 88% MF on the merc alone.
Armor - Shaftstop. GOLDY! Especially if ethereal. Socket it with whatever You like, preferrably "UM" if You're using an act2 merc.

Shaftstop + Gaze combo = 50% DR (max). Your merc practically never dies MF'ing, even if Pindle's minions charge right at him. This combo is also good for doing the Cow Level.

Weapon:
Act 2 merc: Eth Colossous Voulge Insight if You are not aiming for damage. However, it means that You have to socket his armor with +STR stuff. The key with Insight is that it provides mana regeneration.
Eth Colossous Voulge Obedience - another good choice, especially of You're into the Cow Level. Take Your merc to Stony Field, let him pwn some Fallen until his Enchant kicks in. Godly damage. Also, it provides the resists that Your merc is going to need to get max. Oh, and like Insight it's CHEAP!
Act 5 merc: Ethereal Flamebellow. Nice damage, cheap, especially good if You're a light or cold sorc for taking down those immunes.

Strategies:
I've experimented with different builds:

Fire sorc:
Andariel - teleport directly to Andariel. Don't bother with killing anybody around her, just blast at her. 3-4 Fire Balls, she's dead. Simple, however it is extremely helpful to have a decent merc here.
Countess - You need to have a mercinary that does a lot of damage, otherwise the runs get really tiresome and take ages.
Eldritch - easy, just have Your mercinary tank them and blast them with Meteors and Fire Balls
Summoner - easy

Cold Sorc: Orb-Blizzard pros and cons
Blizzard pro - always more damage than Orb,
Blizzard cons - annoying to aim even if You've mastered it, because the monster can move out of the way. Requires all of Your skill points.

Frozen Orb cons - weaker than Blizzard.
Frozen Orb pros - (A personal choice) Easy to aim, does decent damage once You've maxed out the synergy and mastery. Leaves You more skill points to play with. You can now put lots in Enegy Shield and Energy. My build had max Orb, max Ice Bolt and max Cold Mastery and it does awesome damage. Now I put the rest in Energy Shield and about 150 into Energy. Even though You cut down drastically on HP, this is very useful.

Andariel - cold sorc is the best, no cold immunes. She goes down really quick, especially with Orb.
Countess - once again, like for Fire, a tough merc is required.
Eldritch - impossible, unless You have Your merc to kill them, however it's a waste of time, because his drop isn't all that good. (I got a BER once though)
Summoner - easy

Lightning tree sorc:
A good choice, because You can use it with MMbot, however some monsters can be hard.
Andariel - not that good, but can be done rather easily. Also there can be annoying immunes, which isn't the case with a cold sorc.
Eldritch - same as Pindle, the ultimate killer
Summoner - eazy peazy as usual

Mephisto strategies:
Fire/Cold sorcs:
Key to Mephrunning is understanding his "behaviour". Always make a TP when You reach him, just in case he kills You when You're using Your MF set. Always teleport to the same place. This means that Meph is always going to use one way to get at You, making it easier to drop a Meteor or Blizzard. It's also better to let him come at You, because that way You won't attract the Ghoul Lords. Then, tele up to him and get his life to 50% with Static, tele away and start moving parallel to him and keep casting. It is actually very simple, just time Your attacks right after You have moved out of the way of his attacks.

All builds, but mainly Light Sorcs:
Because MF Light sorcs are not the best builds for Mephing, I suggest that You use this method:
Meph "bug".
You have to teleport so that Meph gets stuck behind the stairs (screenshot), meaning that You can blast at him with whatever You've got without him being able to attack You. Once You get the hang of it, it should be rather easy and handy to use if You're weaker (I can't really be bothered to do it, but if You're desperate, why not?)

NB1: This does *NOT* work with an Orb sorc. (bad range)
NB2: This does *NOT* work with a mercinary.

Pindleskin:
This is simple as long as You have a good tank. Tele to Pindle's room so that Your merc is also inside the room. Then just start blasting with whatever You've got. If Your element is his immunity then just let Your merc finish him off. The merc plays a key role in this.

Diablo:
This is a tough one to run with any sorc, since the Chaos Sanctuary has all kinds of immunes. I have not tried this with any sorc besides Blizzard, however theoretically it is possible if You have a powerful merc. I suggest that You don't try it with a Fire sorc though. I don't recommend that You do this, because it is dangerous, costly and the rewards are usually quite meager, however, I'll put the basic idea up and You can do whatever You like with it. Using the Wizardspike is the key. You really need as much resists and cast rate as You can.
The idea is: Teleport to the seals, past any monsters that You may encounter, open the seals, never stand in one place for longer than half a second. Cast Blizzard, teleport, repeat. The seal with the Grand Vizier of Chaos is the easiest. Lord de Seis is also pretty easy, it's the monsters around him that can cause a problem. Also, if he spawns cold immune, You just have to kill everybody around and let Your merc finish him off. With the last seal, once again, hope that the Infector of Souls won't spawn with cold immunity. Killing Diablo himself is pretty easy, just cast and move, You don't even need to teleport. Only teleport if Your merc is getting killed.

Duriel:
Same as for Diablo, Wizardspike with it's cast rate and resistances is the key. This is actually far easier than most people seem to think. Teleport to the Summoner, kill him, look at the 6 signs that are there and think which one is missing. With a little practice, that shouldn't take You longer than 5 seconds. Just teleport to the correct tomb (they are always in the same locations), inside, teleport around until You find the correct room, and then just keep teleing from one end of the room to the other, over him, casting whatever You use. If Your merc has 50% Damage Reduction and 75% cold resist, then this is child's play.

[Shellz]

I can talk Mephisto easily.

im thinkin u meaned tank???? just to let u know if u want to fix it up

[FraterPerdurabo]

im thinkin u meaned tank???? just to let u know if u want to fix it up

Thax, didn't notice that one. And I hate typos so thx for pointing that one out... By the way, it's "meant".

EDIT: So, what do You guys think? Please make some suggestions/corrections etc...

[ZxSlippy191]

Heh, looks like a fairly nice guide to me.

Blizzard Sorcs are the Ultimate Killer for Mephisto.. My buddys Blizz Sorc could kill Meph in 1-2 Blizzes, and Meph hardly moves out of the way.

Against Andariel, If your looking to take out the crowd around her, I'd go with Orb, but if you're looking to kill her and get the hell out, go with a Blizzer.

Other than my suggestions, it's a very well put together guide.

Nice job Frater!

[DaRK_IMMoRTAL]

Heh, looks like a fairly nice guide to me.

Blizzard Sorcs are the Ultimate Killer for Mephisto.. My buddys Blizz Sorc could kill Meph in 1-2 Blizzes, and Meph hardly moves out of the way.

Against Andariel, If your looking to take out the crowd around her, I'd go with Orb, but if you're looking to kill her and get the hell out, go with a Blizzer.

Other than my suggestions, it's a very well put together guide.

Nice job Frater!

thanks slippy i dont have to say this
also to note that this is for people who dont have godly as %$!# items. so! u could go with this until u can get tals armor belt n ammy ^ ^
which is better than skullders belt n a stupid mf ammy.

anyways yea
the ideas to kill pindle n stuff are kinda off and need mroe info
ex. the meph thing, orb isnt the best blizz is. haha
and it should also be noted that alot of these cannot be done with just only a crappy sorc. b/c of tele isssies and getting multi attacked.
;D

later~

~DaRK

[FraterPerdurabo]

Heh, looks like a fairly nice guide to me.

Blizzard Sorcs are the Ultimate Killer for Mephisto.. My buddys Blizz Sorc could kill Meph in 1-2 Blizzes, and Meph hardly moves out of the way.

Against Andariel, If your looking to take out the crowd around her, I'd go with Orb, but if you're looking to kill her and get the hell out, go with a Blizzer.

Other than my suggestions, it's a very well put together guide.

Nice job Frater!

Thanks a lot, however, if You notice, my guide includes quite rigid equipment in order to achieve maximum MF, therefore a lot of power is sacrificed for MF.

"also to note that this is for people who dont have godly as %$!# items. so! u could go with this until u can get tals armor belt n ammy ^ ^"

Exactly. I developed this guide in single-player, meaning starting from complete zero, and there's no trade, so You have to find all Your items by Yourself (Did this while I was at a boarding school with no internet). I still disagree with Tal's armor + Ammy, but I guess that's just personal opinion.

"anyways yea
the ideas to kill pindle n stuff are kinda off and need mroe info"

Ok, I'll elaborate on the strategies a bit more.

"ex. the meph thing, orb isnt the best blizz is. haha"

In my opinion, it's easier to kill Meph with Orb than Blizzard when You're wearing MF equipment.

"and it should also be noted that alot of these cannot be done with just only a crappy sorc. b/c of tele isssies and getting multi attacked."

The point that I'm trying to make in my guide is that sorcs can be godly if they've got full resists.
Last night I soloed Diablo with my MF Blizzard sorc. This was made possible due to 2 things:
1) Wizardspike - 75%all resists (meaning that You've already out of the negative, godly), 50% FCR (with a little practice, You never get stuck when teleporting)
2) Moser's Blessed Circle (63% all resists)

Both of them cost nothing. Please remember that this is a MF guide, not a guide for killing Bosses. Otherwise, thank You for Your suggestions. Version 1.2 coming up.

[Rallert]

pretty good guide. thanks gonna use this in ladder. but i found one odd think u said: "Belt: Goldwrap - Beats Tal's belt by 15% MF" Yes but if you're going with 3 parts the set bonus is 65% and that means 30 to match the amu and then there is 35 left. sry if im not making myself clear. 35(rest from bonus)+15(tal belt perf)=50 mf on belt

[FraterPerdurabo]

pretty good guide. thanks gonna use this in ladder. but i found one odd think u said: "Belt: Goldwrap - Beats Tal's belt by 15% MF" Yes but if you're going with 3 parts the set bonus is 65% and that means 30 to match the amu and then there is 35 left. sry if im not making myself clear. 35(rest from bonus)+15(tal belt perf)=50 mf on belt

Thanks.

"I've left Tal's set combination out deliberately, mainly because I believe that it is useless and that there are much better mods out there on much cheaper equipment."

Yeah, You're right, I should be more specific... I'll revise this part of the guide.

[DisposableHero]

Thanks.

"I've left Tal's set combination out deliberately, mainly because I believe that it is useless and that there are much better mods out there on much cheaper equipment."

Yeah, You're right, I should be more specific... I'll revise this part of the guide.

You're absolutely wrong in my opinion. Tal armor, belt and ammy has better mods than you're "cheaper" equipment AND more mf. Sure its more expensive, but if you can afford it, do it, no reason not to.

Ptopaz the armor and you're cake. 88 + 24 = 114 mf. Add on another 65 gives you 30 to make up for the armor leaving you with 35 left. 50 on belt, as someone already explained. BUT on top of that you get 30 more fcr, more defense, more life, more mana, better resistances and one more plus skills not to mention you dont have to "up" tal belt to have max potion slots.

[FraterPerdurabo]

You're absolutely wrong in my opinion. Tal armor, belt and ammy has better mods than you're "cheaper" equipment AND more mf. Sure its more expensive, but if you can afford it, do it, no reason not to.

Ptopaz the armor and you're cake. 88 + 24 = 114 mf. Add on another 65 gives you 30 to make up for the armor leaving you with 35 left. 50 on belt, as someone already explained. BUT on top of that you get 30 more fcr, more defense, more life, more mana, better resistances and one more plus skills not to mention you dont have to "up" tal belt to have max potion slots.

Allright, I revised my guide to make it clearer, however, I shall still stand my ground. It doesn't have more mf... Check the guide again, I added it in now. At lvl 92 - PTopazed Skullder's + Magic MF Amu + Goldwrap = 209 MF. Tal's armor PTopazed + amulet + belt (if perfect) = 192 MF. 17 less. I don't get Your counting... Try using commas and full stops to reduce rubble into comprehensible sentences...

What are those "better mods" on Tal's set?
+20 DEX? wow! Raises Your block rate by a bit? Nothing special. Don't use Tal's belt for the Dexterity, thinking that You can now save up on the 75 that You need for the Wizardspike. If You die, the weapon is picked up *BEFORE* the belt, meaning that You'll have to pick Your corpse up again. While You're picking it up, You shan't have the +75 resists on the Wizzy, meaning that You are very vulnerable to death again. Especial pain in the @$$ when trying to flee from a bunch of immunes.

By the way, it's not 30%FCR, but 10%. It will not make a difference when added to the 50% on Wizardspike.

More life? Slightly, but not significantly.
More mana? Again, slightly, You shall not run out of mana anyway if not using a merc with Insight.
More defence? Once again, slightly. However, eth Skully provides TONS more defence and is a lot cheaper than Tal's armor.
1 extra skill? Indifferent.
Better resists? Indifferent, as they shall be at 75 already.

My suggested equipment is a lot cheaper, and Tal's set WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I can afford Tal's combo. Why should I? It will not make a significant difference.

[DisposableHero]

Allright, I revised my guide to make it clearer, however, I shall still stand my ground. It doesn't have more mf... Check the guide again, I added it in now. At lvl 92 - PTopazed Skullder's + Magic MF Amu + Goldwrap = 209 MF. Tal's armor PTopazed + amulet + belt (if perfect) = 192 MF. 17 less. I don't get Your counting... Try using commas and full stops to reduce rubble into comprehensible sentences...

What are those "better mods" on Tal's set?
+20 DEX? wow! Raises Your block rate by a bit? Nothing special. Don't use Tal's belt for the Dexterity, thinking that You can now save up on the 75 that You need for the Wizardspike. If You die, the weapon is picked up *BEFORE* the belt, meaning that You'll have to pick Your corpse up again. While You're picking it up, You shan't have the +75 resists on the Wizzy, meaning that You are very vulnerable to death again. Especial pain in the @$$ when trying to flee from a bunch of immunes.

By the way, it's not 30%FCR, but 10%. It will not make a difference when added to the 50% on Wizardspike.

More life? Slightly, but not significantly.
More mana? Again, slightly, You shall not run out of mana anyway if not using a merc with Insight.
More defence? Once again, slightly. However, eth Skully provides TONS more defence and is a lot cheaper than Tal's armor.
1 extra skill? Indifferent.
Better resists? Indifferent, as they shall be at 75 already.

My suggested equipment is a lot cheaper, and Tal's set WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I can afford Tal's combo. Why should I? It will not make a significant difference.

First off, skullders(1.25 per char lvl mf, 1.25 * 92 = 115 + 24(topazd) = 139 + 30(ammy) = 169 + 30(gwrap) = 199...last time I checked 199 != 209. I think you're calculating with a 40 mf ammy.)

Second, dont correct my punctuation when it's better than alot of people on here, you wouldn't think twice if I was alfzzz.

Third, it is 20% more fcr(we were both wrong). And screw wizzy I use tal orb on main weap switch. I was also wrong, your set up has more mf(by 7), but you could have better stats.

I disagree that resists are the number 1 thing when mfing. My sorc has -20 all resists and I get by just fine, I go for fcr instead of resists.

I'll agree I can see where you're coming from but I like my way better, I like the more fcr and the better stats. Oh and Eth skully isn't very much cheaper than tal armor.

[A|fzZz]

I always prefer full tals.

[shadow51012]

very nice guide FraterPerdurabo vbmenu_register("postmenu_275681", true);

[FraterPerdurabo]

Thank You, still a lot of updating to do though...

[Pyro_Man]

This is a very very very good guide

[goldfish123]

very good guide. would you perfer a orb sorc over all of them? because i already have a blizz sorc i have abandoned and was wondering if i should renew my sorc for a orb or just co tinue with the blizz.

[FraterPerdurabo]

very good guide. would you perfer a orb sorc over all of them? because i already have a blizz sorc i have abandoned and was wondering if i should renew my sorc for a orb or just co tinue with the blizz.

Hmmm... It's been ages since I've played with my orb sorc, but I do recall her as being the most effective bosskiller. I suggest that if You want to make a Sorc for MF'ing Mephisto, Andariel and Pindleskin ONLY, then go for orb. If You think that You may be doing bit more than MF, then get a Blizz one, it does the job almost as well and is handier in situations in which more power is required.

EDIT: By the way, 1.4 just came up, check up at the version history for changes and additions.

[DaCougarMech]

nice guide

[goldfish123]

i dont know wat to look for the history and changes lol. i like thise guides so i will just use this one.

[goldfish123]

oo one more thing for the merc what merc is better. holy freeze or defiance merc. if you wrote it down on the guided sorry i didnt see it.