Sorceress Faq For V1.10 (beta) Part 3

[Luke]

------------------
- Build Advice -
------------------

You can build a sorceress that learns and develops attacks from
one, two, or even all three trees.

A single tree sorceress with maxed attacks and mastery will destroy
non-immune monsters with ease. However, she will be unable to
damage, let alone kill, monsters immune to her tree; and immune
monsters are commonplace in Hell. It is very difficult to impossible
to solo Hell with just one tree.

A dual tree sorceress develops powerful attacks from two out of the
three trees. Generally, one tree is designated as a primary and
the second tree as backup. The primary tree sees heavy skill point
investment, and its attacks are the sorceress's main killer skills.
The secondary tree has just enough investment to make it a viable
killer against monsters immune to her primary attack. Monsters
immune to both of her chosen attacks are uncommon, and are limited
to unique bosses. (Dual immune normal monsters exist in 1.10,
but one of the immune elements is poison, physical, or magic,
which are irrelevant to the sorceress.)

A tri-elemental sorceress strives to develop viable attacks from all
three trees. Although the sorceress is guaranteed to have at least
one attack that can hurt the enemy, her killing speed is relatively
slow. If the enemy can regenerate very quickly, the sorceress may
have trouble inflicting enough damage to overcome it.

From the above three, the dual tree sorceress is perhaps the best
build for solo PvM. It combines good killing power with just enough
versatility to overcome most monsters. Below are lists of effective
skill choices for a dual tree sorceress. Pick a primary tree and a
secondary tree. There are more viable choices, but those listed
are the most effective.

FIRE (Primary)
- max Fire Ball, max Meteor, max Fire Mastery

FIRE (Secondary)
- max Firewall, 1+ Fire Mastery.
- max Meteor, 1+ Fire Mastery.

LIGHTNING (Primary)
- max Charged Bolt, max Lightning, max Lightning Mastery
- max Lightning, max Chain Lightning, max Lightning Mastery

COLD (Primary)
- 1+ Ice Bolt, max Ice Blast, max Blizzard, 1+ Cold Mastery
- max Ice Bolt, max Frozen Orb, 1+ Cold Mastery

COLD (Secondary)
- max Frozen Orb, 1+ Cold Mastery

For example, let's look at a sorceress who uses fire as primary
and cold as secondary. From the above choices, the sorceress build
when completed would look something like this:

FIRE LIGHTNING COLD
1 Warmth 1 Static Field 20 Frozen Orb
20 Fire Ball 1 Telekinesis 1 Cold Mastery
20 Meteor 1 Teleport 5 prerequisites
20 Fire Mastery
4 prerequisites

This build uses 94 points, which can be completed by level 78.

The tactics the example sorceress would likely use is to shoot
Fireballs and the occasional Meteor against anything that isn't
fire immune. Against fire immunes, Frozen Orb is used.
Fire/cold dual immune bosses are ignored if possible. If the
boss has to be killed, the sorceress will probably let the merc
do all the work and feed him potions to keep him alive.


-----------------------------
- About Energy Shield Use -
-----------------------------

If you decide to use Energy Shield, you will need plenty of mana
to support it. If you avoid its use, you will need lots of life
just so you don't die in one hit, and you still need some mana
to fuel your attack skills. You will need to decide if you want
to use Energy Shield. Below is a list of pros and cons for Energy
Shield and non-ES users.

High life, no Energy Shield:
PROS:
+ You do not need to cast yet another buff skill every few minutes.
+ The skill points saved can go to Warmth or other damage skills.
+ With higher life, the sorceress is more resilient against poison.
+ Sorceress is less likely to be affected by the Blood Mana curse
from succubi or Baal.
CONS:
- Your mana is low without help from items.
- Life does not regenerate, or does so slowly. You will need
to drink health potions often.

High mana and Energy Shield:
PROS:
+ You can have more effective life.
+ Mana regenerates faster than life.
+ Mana is easier to boost than life.
+ Bigger mana pool means more mana is regenerated over time.
CONS:
- Life drain from poison is not absorbed by Energy Shield.
- Succubi will cast Blood Mana against you.
- Mana Burn bosses and minions can drain your mana down to
nothing easily.
- Sorceresses not interested in using Lightning/Chain Lightning
need to waste skill points in useless prerequisite skills.
- You may need to invest more skill points in Telekinesis to
make Energy Shield mana efficient.
- If you use absorption items, Energy Shield will absorb damage
first, then the remaining damage is absorbed by items. In
other words, Energy Shield will absorb damage as if you didn't
have any absorption items.

In my experience, I found Energy Shield in 1.10 to be more trouble
than its worth. Although I needed somewhat fewer health potions,
I needed to carry and drink many more mana potions. Also, the skill
points I need to spend to learn Energy Shield and make it better
are, in my mind, points that are better spent on attack skills to
let the sorceress kill monsters faster; and this was especially
true if I did not want to use a Chain Lightning sorceress.
On the other hand, Energy Shield might be a necessary evil
for Hardcore players, who cannot afford to die.


================================================== ====================
EQUIPMENT
================================================== ====================

Like it or not, Diablo II is a game of equipment. Items make or
break the characters. While the sorceress does not need to rely on
equipment as heavily as most other classes, you will want equipment
to make the sorceress more powerful and durable.

----------------------
- Mods to Look For -
----------------------

Below is a list of mods you should look for in items. I listed them
in order of importance, starting with the most important. It does
not mean that items that do not have these mods are useless, it just
means that items with these mods are more useful to a sorceress.
Also, keep it mind that some non-caster items are highly useful
to other classes or your mercs, so don't throw away The Grandfather
just because your sorceress cannot equip it -- give it to your barb
merc, or trade it for other valuable items.

+x TO ALL SKILLS
This is the most important mod for the sorceress. The extra
levels really help your attack spells kill faster. They also
let you save points in other skills that do not need many points
to be useful (e.g., Static Field). + to all skills will also
boost non-class skills granted by items.

+x TO SORCERESS SKILL LEVELS
Same as '+ to All Skills' *except* that any non-class skills
granted by items (e.g., Battle Orders from Call to Arms) are
not boosted. Only the sorceress skills are boosted.

ALL RESISTANCES +x%
Resistances are essential for survival, especially in Nightmare
and Hell due to penalties. Elemental attacks are very common
in 1.10, and are often are very damaging. You will need to
maximize resistance to soften the blows. Otherwise, such attacks
can easily kill you in a few hits.

-x% TO ENEMY FIRE/LIGHTNING/COLD RESISTANCE
Items with elemental piercing can greatly increase the damage
done by your attacks, sometimes much more than what an extra
+1 or +2 to skills can do, especially against highly resistant
monsters. Against a monster with no resistance, think of pierce
as a hidden damage multiplier. For example, -50% pierce will
cause a non-resistant monster to take 50% more damage. Against
a monster that is highly resistant, piercing can make the monster
take much more damage than usual. For example, -50% pierce will
cause a monster with 75% resistance to take damage as one with
25% resistance; in other words, triple damage. Note, if you have
Cold Mastery, any boosts you get from items are added to whatever
cold piercing you already have. This is a very powerful offensive
mod, especially to fire and lightning sorceresses.

+x% TO FIRE/LIGHTNING/COLD SKILL DAMAGE
This is to the sorceress as what +x% Enhanced Damage is to every
non-caster class (e.g., barbs, pallies, zons). This multiplies
the damage done by your skills. If you already have Fire and/or
Lightning Mastery, the extra damage is additive. For example,
if you have +170% lightning damage from Lightning Mastery, an
item with +15% to lightning damage will boost your damage to +185%.
This mod is very useful to cold sorceress because Cold Mastery
pierces instead of boosting damage directly.

x% FASTER CAST RATE
This is another important mod. Simply put, this lets you cast
spells faster. Faster spells mean more spells over time which
in turn mean more damage. Faster spells also let you teleport
quicker, which can be useful for breaking out of a jam.
Below are the breakpoints from 1.09, which seem unchanged in 1.10.
Note that Lightning and Chain Lightning are cast slower, so the
breakpoints do not apply. Faster cast will speed them up though.

-----------------
fast cast | fps
-----------+-----
0- 8 | 13
9- 19 | 12
20- 36 | 11
37- 62 | 10
63-104 | 9
105-199 | 8
200+ | 7
-----------------

+x TO LIFE (or +x TO VITALITY)
More life will help the sorceress take more hits and survive more
easily. You can never have too many hit points, especially since
the sorceress has less life than most other classes.

+x TO MANA (or +x TO ENERGY) -or- INCREASE MAXIMUM MANA BY %
More mana will help the sorceress cast more spells before running
out of mana. The larger mana pool will also increase the amount
of mana regenerated.

REGENERATE MANA x%
This speeds up your mana recovery by a percentange. Faster mana
recovery is convenient.

+x INCREASED CHANCE OF BLOCKING
Usually found on shields, this speaks for itself. A blocking
sorceress will want as much of this as possible. The more blocking
a sorceress has from items, the less DEX she needs to max blocking
at 75%.

+x TO DEXTERITY
If you want to maximize blocking, you will want items that boost
dexterity. Spending your stat points to boost your dexterity to
over 200 is prohibitively expensive. Extra Dexterity also boosts
your Attack Rating, which is useful if you use weapons.

DAMAGED REDUCED BY x%
This is a very powerful mod since it literally gives you resistance
to physical damage. You can have a maximum of 50% damage reduction.
With high damage reduction, you can easily survive hits from melee
attackers. The only problem with this mod is it is found only
on several uniques, most of which are not the best items for
casters due to requirements or lack of other good spellcaster
mods, or any item socketed with the hard-to-obtain 'Ber' rune.

+x ABSORB -or- ABSORB x%
Absorption items can absorb one of four elements: fire, lightning,
cold, or magic. Damage that is absorbed heals the user's life.
In the case of absorb percentance, this effectively reduces damage
by double the absorb percentange. For absorb by a fixed number,
it is possible for attacks to heal you if they are weak enough.
For example, with the Rising Sun amulet, which has fire absorb,
you can stand in the flames of a burning building in Tristram
and regain life. Needless to say, absorb is a very powerful mod.
However, as with damage reduction, absorption is found only
on several uniques and a few runewords.

+% FASTER HIT RECOVERY
If the sorceress takes a hard enough hit to go into hit recovery,
this reduces the recovery time somewhat, which might be enough
to let the sorceress run/teleport away from danger before more
hits are taken. In 1.10, hit recovery times are much longer.

x% FASTER RUN/WALK
Not as important as some other mods, but useful nonetheless.
At least in the beginning, you will want to run as fast as possible
to escape from danger, dodge attacks, and to navigate through towns
or mazes as quickly as possible. Once you gain enough mana to
teleport as much as you like, faster running becomes less important.

REPLENISH LIFE +x
This is a convenience. Though the rate is rather slow and will
not save you from death in mortal combat, it can top off your life
between battles, possibly saving the hassle of drinking potions or
running to town for healing.

+x MANA PER KILL
This is useful for gaining back mana when you kill swarms of
relatively weak monsters quickly.

% DAMAGE TAKEN GOES TO MANA
For an energy shield user, this effectively reduces the mana lost
when hit by an attack. Your energy shield can take more hits, and
is less likely to be dropped due to an empty mana pool.

SLAIN MONSTERS REST IN PEACE
Found only on a few uniques, this mod prevents anyone from
using the corpses of monsters you kill. Shamans cannot raise
their minions, Reanimated Hordes (such as Pindleskin) always
stay down, and Nihlathak cannot explode corpses. This can
make fights against such monsters much easier.


-----------------------
- Items to Look For -
-----------------------

Below the general advice of each item slot are lists of items.
You will find lists for at least Ideal and Affordable items.
Here is a brief description of what the lists mean.

Ideal: These are among the best items in the game for the sorceress.
In most cases, they are (very) hard to come by, and you will have
to settle for less.

Good: Though not the very best, these items are still strong
choices, and are useful for mid-to-late game. They may not
be found easily, but they are usually easier to come by than
Ideal items.

Affordable: These items are easily available yet effective.

Combat: These are options for the desperate sorceress who may
consider using weapons to defeat a monster immune to all of her
spells. Many of the options are good or ideal for other classes
and can be very hard to obtain. Don't worry if you can't get
your hands on them; you can usually ignore immune monsters.

Magic Find: This lists items that add magic find, and are not
already listed in better item lists. Since they do little else
useful aside from boosting magic find, I do not recommend donning
many of such items if you want to live.

Below each item listed is a brief list of mods that shows why
the item is useful for the sorcerss.


ARMOR
Try to find armor with a good combination of caster bonuses, stat
boosts, and defensive power. You definitely want +skills on the
armor. Faster cast is nice, but many of the best armors do not
have any. You will need to get resistances from somewhere, and
the armor slot is a good place for it. Although very high defense
is not critical for a sorceress who tries to stay away from monsters,
it is useful for reducing the chance of a hit when monsters do manage
to take a shot at her. Out of all the item slots, a good armor can
provide more defense than other item slots combined. Try to get at
least 800 defense from armor; the more, the better (but do not
sacrifice more important bonuses such as +skills and resistances).
Other bonuses such as attributes, life, and mana are just gravy.

Ideal Equipment:
- Chains of Honor (runeword: Dol Um Ber Ist)
[+2 all skills, +65% resist all, +8% dr, +20 str, +25% mf,
life regen +7]

- Enigma (runeword: Jah Ith Ber)
[+2 all skills, +45% faster r/w, +8% dr, +.75 str/lvl, +1% mf/lvl]

- Skin of the Vipermagi (unique Serpentskin Armor)
[+1 all skills, +30% fast cast, +20-35% resist all]

- Tyreal's Might (unique Sacred Armor)
[R.I.P., cannot be frozen, +20% faster r/w, +20-30% resist all,
+20-30 str, -100% req.]


Good Equipment:
- Smoke (runeword: Nef Lum)
[+24% fhr, +50% resist all, Weaken charges]

- Lionheart (runeword: Hel Lum Fal)
[+30% resist all, +25 str, +15 dex, +20 vit, +10 nrg, +50 life]

- Que-Hagen's Wisdom (unique Mage Plate)
[+1 all skills, +20% faster cast, +20% fhr, +10 nrg, +3 mana/kill]

- Ormus' Robes (unique Dusk Shroud)
[+3 to one sorc skill, +20% fast cast, +15% regen mana,
+10-15% fire/lit/cold skill damage]

- Shaftstop (unique Mesh Armor)
[+30% dr, +60 life]

- Naj's Light Plate (set Hellforge Plate)
[+1 all skills, +25% resists all, +65 life, +45% dmg->mana]

- Tal Rasha's Guardianship (set Lacquered Plate)
[+40% resist fire/lit/cold, +88% mf]

- Guardian Angel (unique Templar Coat)
[+15% max resist all, +20% block]


Affordable Equipment:
- Stealth (runeword: Tal Eth)
[+25% fhr, +25% fast cast, +25% faster r/w, +30% resist poison,
+6 dex, +15% mana regen.]

- 4 perfect ruby armor
[+152 life]



WEAPONS
Regardless of the character build, one handed weapons are preferred.
This is because you can get more bonuses, especially resistances,
from a weapon and shield than with a two-handed weapon. However,
if you find a powerful two-handed weapon before you find your dream
weapon and shield, and it is better than what you currently have,
then use it!

The typical sorceress will rarely if ever attack enemies with weapons
after late Act II or early Act III Normal, and use spells exclusively
for damage. Therefore you will look for weapons that augment the
sorceress's spellcasting abilities and/or survivability.
Mods to look for are extra skill levels, increased casting speeds,
bonuses to life or mana, and bonuses to one or more resistances.

Ideal Equipment:
- Call to Arms (runeword: Amn Ral Mal Ist)
[+2 all skills, life regen +12, Battle Cry, Battle Orders,
Battle Command, +30% mf]

- Heart of the Oak (runeword: Ko Vex Pul Thul)
[+3 all skills, +40% fast cast, +30-40% resist all, +15% max mana,
life regen +20, +10 dex, Oak Sage charges]

- Eschuta's Temper (unique Eldritch Orb)
[+1-3 sorc skills, +40% fast cast, +10-20% fire/lit damage,
+20-30 nrg]

- Death's Fathom (unique Dimensional Shard)
[+3 sorc skills, +20% fast cast, +30% cold damage,
+25-40% resist fire/lit.]

- The Oculus (unique Swirling Crystal)
[+3 sorc skills, +20% fast cast, +20% resist all, +20 vit, +20 nrg,
+50% mf, Teleport when struck]

- Doom (runeword: Hel Ohm Um Lo Cham)
[+2 all skills, -40-60% cold pierce, Holy Freeze aura]

- Silence (runeword: Dol Eld Hel Ist Tir Vex)
[+2 all skills, +24% fhr, +75% resist all, +2 mana/kill, +30% mf]

- Mang Song's Lesson (unique Archon Staff)
[+5 all skills, +30% fast cast, -10-15% fire/lit/cold pierce]

- Ondal's Wisdom (unique Elder Staff)
[+2-4 all skills, +45% fast cast, +40-50 nrg, +5% xp]


Good Equipment:
- Wizardspike (unique Bone Knife)
[+50% fast cast, +75% resist all, +15% max mana, +15% mana regen,
+2 mana/lvl]

- Crescent Moon (runeword: Shael Um Tir)
[-35% lightning pierce]

- Suicide Branch
[+1 all skills, +50% fast cast, +10% resist all, +10% max mana,
+40 life]

- Hexfire (unique Shamshir)
[+3 fire skills, +25% resist fire, +10% max fire resist]

- Chromatic Ire (unique Cedar Staff)
[+3 sorc skills, +20% fast cast, +20-40% resist all,
+20-25% max life]

- Memory (runeword: Lum Io Sol Eth)
[+3 sorc skills, +33% fast cast, +20% max mana, +10 vit, +10 nrg,
+2 Static Field, +3 Energy Shield]


Affordable Equipment:
- Honor (runeword: Amn El Ith Tir Sol)
[+1 all skills, +2 mana/kill, +10 str]

- Leaf (runeword: Tir Ral)
[+3 fire skills, +33% resist cold, +3 Warmth, +3 Inferno]


Combat Equipment:
- Breath of the Dying (runeword: Vex Hel El Eld Zod Eth)
[+350-400% dmg, +60% ias, -25% enemy def, +30 all stats,
prevent monster heal, -25% req.]

- Passion (runeword: Dol Ort Eld Lem)
[+160-210% dmg, +25% ias, Berserk, Zeal, Heart of Wolverine charges]

- Kingslayer (runeword: Mal Um Gul Fal)
[+230-270% dmg, +30% ias, prevent monster heal, -25% enemy def,
+20% ar, +33% crushing blow, +25% open wounds, Vengeance]

- Hand of Justice (runeword: Sur Cham Amn Lo)
[+280-330% dmg, +33% ias, -20% fire pierce, itd, +33% deadly strike,
hit blinds target, freezes target +3, Holy Fire aura]

- Beast (runeword: Ber Tir Um Mal Lum)
[+240-270% dmg, +40% ias, +25-40 str, +10 nrg, +25% crushing blow,
+25% open wounds, prevent monster heal, +2 mana/kill, Werebear,
Fanaticism aura]

- Fury (runeword: Jah Gul Eth)
[+209% dmg, +40% ias, -25% enemy def, +20% ar, prevent monster heal,
itd, +66% open wounds, +33% deadly strike]


Magic-Find Equipment:
- 6 Ist weapon
[180% mf]

- Blade of Alibaba (unique Tulwar)
[+1% mf/lvl, +2.5% gold/lvl, +15 mana, +5-15 dex, 2 sockets]

- Gull (unique Dagger)
[+100% mf, -5 mana]

- Skull Collector (unique Rune Staff)
[+1% mf/lvl, +2 all skills, +20% max mana, +20 mana/kill]



HELMS
you can find a wide variety of useful mods here, especially on
circlets. Look for the usual desired caster and defensive mods.
This is yet another good item slot to add +skills for the sorceress.
Helms with +skills can be found on magic or rare circlets, unique
helms, and a few runewords.

Ideal Equipment:
- Harlequin Crest (unique Shako)
[+2 all skills, +1.5 life/lvl, +1.5 mana/lvl, +10% dr, +50% mf]

- Nightwing's Veil (unique Spired Helm)
[+2 all skills, +10-20 dex, +8-15% cold damage]

- Griffon's Eye (unique Diadem)
[+1 all skills, +25% fast cast, -15-20% lit pierce,
+10-15% lit damage]

- Delirium (runeword: Lem Ist Io)
[+2 all skills, Confuse on striking, +10 vit, +25% mf, +50% gold]


Good Equipment:
- Kira's Guardian (unique Tiara)
[+50-70% resist all, +20% fhr, cannot be frozen]

- Peasant Crown (unique War Hat)
[+1 all skills, +20 vit, +20 nrg, life regen +6-12, +15% faster r/w]

- Sazabi's Mental Sheath (set Basinet)
[+1 all skills, +15-20% resist fire/lit]


Affordable Equipment:
- Lore (runeword: Ort Sol)
[+1 all skills, +30% resist lit, +10 nrg, +2 mana/kill]

- rare circlet with +1-2 sorc skills, fast cast, life/mana, resists.



SHIELDS
Most sorceresses look for shields that improve spellcaster abilites
or resistances. Caster shields are limited to a select few uniques,
but any shield with sockets can be filled with gems for an easy
resistance boost. For sorceresses with high dexterity, shields
with a high blocking percentange and faster block rate are also
important. Below is the formula to calculate your chance to block
an attack.

Total Block = (Chance to Block * (DEX - 15)) / (clvl * 2)

Ideal Equipment:
- Sanctuary (runeword: Ko Ko Mal)
[+20% block, +50-70% resist all, +20 dex, +20% fhr,
Slow Missile charges]

- Stormshield (unique Monarch)
[+35% dr, +25% block, +25% resist lit, +60% resist cold]

- Lidless Wall (unique Grim Shield)
[+1 all skills, +20% fast cast, +10% max mana, +3-5 mana/kill]


Good Equipment:
- Viscerataunt (unique Defender)
[+1 sorc skills, +30% block]

- Whinstan's Guard (set Round Shield)
[innate 87% chance to block -- highest in the game]

- Moser's Blessed Circle (unique Round Shield)
[+20% block, +25% resist all, 2 sockets]


Affordable Equipment:
- Rhyme (runeword: Shael Eth)
[+20% block, +25% resist all, cannot be frozen, +50% gold, +25% mf]

- Ancient's Pledge (runeword: Ral Ort Tal)
[+48% resist fire/lit/poison, +43% resist cold, 10% dmg->mana]

- 3 perfect diamond shield
[+57% resist all]



GLOVES
Not much variety of good gloves to choose from. With the options
available, you will look for gloves with caster mods, resistance,
stats, and/or magic find. The best gloves with caster mods are
either Magefists, for the +1 fire skills and faster cast, or
Frostburns, for the huge boost in mana. If you have neither,
you can cube crafted caster gloves, which are like a watered down
version of Frostburns. If you can live without the mana boosts,
then this is a free slot for the other mods. If you want magic find,
Chance Guards are the best; but if you don't have them, the shops
often sell magic gloves with magic find mods.

Ideal Equipment:
- Frostburns (unique Gauntlets)
[+40% max mana]

- Magefists (unique Light Gauntlets)
[+1 fire skills, +25% fast cast, +25% mana regen]


Affordable Equipment:
- crafted caster gloves
(CUBE: magic leather gloves + magic jewel + Ort(9) + P. amethyst)
[+10-20 mana, +4-10% mana regen, +1-3 mana/kill, rare mods]


Combat Equipment:
- Laying of Hands (set Bramble Mitts)
[+20% ias, +350% dmg to demons, +50% fire resist]

- crafted blood gloves
(CUBE: magic heavy gloves + magic jewel + Nef(4) + P. ruby)
[+10-20 life, +5-10% crushing blow, rare mods]


Magic Find:
- Chance Guards (unique Chain Gloves)
[+25-40% mf, +200% gold]



BOOTS
Although the sorceress can use the skill Teleport for quick
transportation, you still want to run as fast as possible during
the times you do not teleport, especially in town where teleporting
is not allowed. The fastest mod available for boots is 40%. In
addition to faster run/walk, look for bonuses to mana, life, stats,
and/or resistances. However, if you want some magic find, this is
a good place for it since the caster bonuses here are not very
significant.

Ideal Equipment:
- Silkweaves (unique Mesh Boots)
[+30% faster r/w, +10% max mana, +5 mana/kill]

- Aldur's Advance (set Battle Boots)
[+40% faster r/w, +50 life, 10% dmg->mana, +40-50% resist fire]

- Waterwalk (unique Sharkskin Boots)
[+20% faster r/w, +15 dex, +45-60 life, +5% max fire resist]

- War Travelers (unique Battle Boots)
[+25% faster r/w, +10 str, +10 vit, +30-50% mf]


Good Equipment:
- Natalya's Soul (set Mesh Boots)
[+40% faster r/w, +15-25% resist lit/cold]

- Sander's Riprap (set Heavy Boots)
[+40% faster r/w, +5 str, +10 dex]


Affordable Equipment:
- crafted caster boots
(CUBE: magic boots + magic jewel + Thul(10) + P. amethyst)
[+10-20 mana, +4-10% mana regen, +2-5% max mana, rare mods]

- crafted blood boots
(CUBE: magic light plated boots + magic jewel + Eth(5) + P. ruby)
[+10-20 life, life regen +5-10, rare mods]


Combat Equipment:
- Gore Rider (unique War Boots)
[+30% faster r/w, +15% crushing blow, +15% deadly strike,
+10% open wounds]



BELT
You will want to carry as many potions as you can in your belt so
slot space is very important. The most slots a belt can have is 16.
A plated belt will be the first 16 slot belt you will find. Later,
you will find exceptional and elite belts, all of which have 16 slots.
If you find a good unique or rare belt with less than 16 slots
(e.g., Lenymo, Nightsmoke), upgrade them to exceptional belts.
In addition to space, you will also want the usual desired bonuses.

Ideal Equipment:
- Arachnid Mesh (unique Spiderweb Sash)
[+1 all skills, +20% fast cast, +5% max mana]

- Gloom's Trap (unique Mesh Belt)
[+15% max mana, +15% mana regen, +15 vit]

- Tal Rasha's Fine Spun Cloth (set Mesh Belt)
[+20 dex, +40 mana, 37% dmg->mana, +10-15% mf]

- Snowclash (unique Battle Belt)
[+15% max cold resist, +15 cold absorb, +3 Glaical Spike,
+2 Blizzard, +2 Chilling Armor]

- Thundergods Vigor (unique War Belt)
[+10% max lit resist, +20 lit absorb, +20 str, +20 vit]

- Verdugo's Hearty Cord (unique Mithril Cord)
[+10-15% dr, +30-40 vit, +10% fhr, life regen +10-13]

- Nightsmoke (unique Belt)
[+10% resist all, +50% dmg->mana, +20 mana]


Good Equipment:
- Lenymo (unique Sash)
[+5% resist all, +30% regen mana, +15 mana]

- String of Ears (unique Demonhide Sash)
[+10-15% dr]


Affordable Equipment:
- crafted caster belt
(CUBE: magic light belt + magic jewel + Ith(6) + P. amethyst)
[+5-10% fast cast, +10-20 mana, +4-10% mana regen, rare mods]


Magic Find:
- Goldwrap (unique Heavy Belt)
[+30% mf, +50-80% gold, +10% ias]



AMULET
The most important mods to look for in an amulet are increased skill
levels and resistances. Other useful mods to look for include faster
cast and bonuses to life, mana, and/or stats.

Ideal Equipment:
- Mara's Kaleidoscope (unique)
[+2 all skills, +5 all stats, +20-30% resist all]

- Tal Rasha's Adjudication (set)
[+2 sorc skills, +33% resist lit, +50 life, +42 mana]

- rare with +2 sorc skills, +10% fast cast, life, mana, and/or
resists.


Affordment Equipment:
- crafted caster
(CUBE: magic amulet + magic jewel + Ral(8) + P. amethyst)
[+5-10% fast cast, +10-20 mana, +4-10% mana regen, rare mods]

- crafted blood
(CUBE: magic amulet + magic jewel + Amn(11) + P. ruby)
[+10-20 life, +5-10% faster r/w, rare mods]

- any amulet with +1 or +2 sorc skills.


Combat Equipment:
- Highlord's Wrath (unique)
[+1 all skills, +35% resist lit, +20% ias, +0.375%/lvl deadly strike]

- The Cat's Eye (unique)
[+25 dex, +20% ias, +30% faster r/w]



RINGS
Unique rings with increased skill levels, mana, and/or absorb are the
best by a long shot. However, most of them are very hard to find.
Until you find two good unique rings, you will need to make do with
other rings. Look for large boosts to mana and/or life.

Ideal Equipment:
- Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band (unique)
[+2 all skills, +0.5 life/lvl]

- The Stone of Jordan (unique)
[+1 all skills, +20 mana, +25% max mana]


Good Equipment:
- Raven Frost (unique)
[+15-20 dex, +40 mana, +20% cold absorb, cannot be frozen]

- Wisp Projector (unique)
[+10-20% lit absorb, +20% mf, Oak Sage charges]

- Nature's Peace (unique)
[R.I.P., +20-30% resist poison, Oak Sage charges]


Affordable Equipment:
- crafted caster ring
(CUBE: magic ring + magic jewel + Amn(11) + P. amethyst)
[+1-5 nrg, +10-20 mana, +4-10% mana regen, rare mods]

- rare with +10% fast cast, life, mana, and/or resists.



================================================== ====================
MERCS
================================================== ====================

Mercs are great companions for the sorceress. The sorceresses is a
relatively fragile character that usually relies on powerful ranged
attacks. Without any true summoning skills that create minions to
distract the enemy, the sorceress can benefit greatly from a tough
merc that can absorb hits and/or keep the enemy at bay. This lets
the sorceress spend less time running and more time casting spells
and killing things.

----------------
- Merc Types -
----------------

ACT I ROGUES
These bow-wielding women are ranged attackers who will try to
find a safe place away from enemies then shoot arrows at them.
All rogues can use the skill Inner Sight, which lights up enemies
and lowers their defense slightly. Rogues may also use either
Fire or Cold arrows. Both types of arrows inflict similar damage,
and a portion of the damage is converted to elemental damage based
on its type. Sorceresses without fire attacks might want the
Fire Arrow rogue. Otherwise, Cold Arrow merc is the more useful
of the two types. As ranged attackers, Rogues make poor meat
shields and are not recommended to sorceresses who want a good tank
to keep enemies at bay. However, for sorceresses who do not need a
tank (due to DR/block and/or good teleporting skills), a Rogue can
provide good artillery support. With the right equipment, Rogues
are the best at taking care of themselves and surviving, or picking
off tough foes trapped at a distance. For a weapon, a Rogue may
only use bows; she cannot use crossbows or Amazon-only bows.


ACT II TOWN GUARDS
The Town Guard is a melee attacker, and will run up to the nearest
enemy and attack. Once the enemy is dead, he moves on to the next
enemy to repeat the process. The Town Guard is rather simple-minded
and will fight to the death. As a result, he can be downright
suicidal at times. For skills, the Town Guard attacks with Jab,
and he can use an aura like a paladin or aura enchanted monster.
The aura he uses depends on the type of merc and difficulty he was
hired in.

Normal/Hell auras:
Combat = Prayer (slowly regenerates life)
Defensive = Defiance (increases defense)
Offensive = Blessed Aim (increases attack rating)

Nightmare auras:
Combat = Thorns (reflects damage taken)
Defensive = Holy Freeze (chills and slows enemy)
Offensive = Might (increases damage)

In Normal, all three types are useful. If you plan to use weapons
to kill things until you reach level 24 or 30, you will have
problems with low AR; an Offensive (Blessed Aim) merc will help
remedy this. A Defensive (Defiance) merc is useful if you want
both your sorceress and merc to have high defense ratings. If you
have no need for AR or defense, go with the Combat (Prayer) merc.
Due to the sorceress' relatively low life early in the game,
Prayer is actually useful because your life will recover fairly
quickly after you take a hit. As for the Nightmare-only auras,
the only useful one to a sorceress is Defensive (Holy Freeze).
However, Holy Freeze is very powerful since it slows down almost
everything, even cold immunes, which makes it easier for you and
your merc to survive. Ultimately, if you choose a Town Guard to
be your final merc, you want either Holy Freeze for slowdown or
Defiance for high defense. Due to Town Guards' skills, they are
the ideal tanks for any sorceress. They may use any polearm or
spear (including javelins) except those that are Amazon-only.


ACT III IRON WOLVES
These are sorcerers equipped with a sword and shield. Despite
their equipment, Iron Wolves almost always attack with spells.
Like the Rogues, Iron Wolves will try to find a safe distance
before attacking with their spells, so the sorceress cannot
use him to tank. Iron Wolves come in one of three elemental
flavors: Fire, Lightning, or Cold. Perhaps the most useful
element is cold. The cold merc is highly effective in Normal
and Nightmare, where he can spam endless Ice Blasts and Glacial
Spikes to freeze then vaporize the enemy. However, the immunities
in Hell can leave him totally powerless in some areas of the game.


ACT V BARBARIANS
Barbarians are melee attackers and they have the same aggressive
behavior of the Act II Town Guard. A barbarian can use the skills
Bash and Stun. With them, he can stunlock single enemies rather
easily until death. However, his Bash can be counter-productive
since it can push monsters out of the area of some of your spells,
such as Firewall. The Barbarian is capable of tanking, but he
is overshadowed by the Act II mercs thanks to their longer weapons
and useful auras. A Barbarian may use any one-handed or two-handed
sword, although he cannot duel-wield two swords. He may also wear
Barbarian-only helms.


----------------
- Merc Items -
----------------

WARNING -- Major Bug Alert:
If you try to equip a merc an item that gives non-class skills,
the game will crash with an assertion error. Do not do it!
Examples of items that give non-class skills include Call to Arms,
Enigma, Widowmaker, and even the Trang-Oul's helm and armor combo.
Note, items that provide auras work just fine, as long as they
do not have non-class skills. Something like Doom or Hand of
Justice works okay, but something like Beast (not that any merc
can wield an axe or hammer) would cause the game to crash.

ARMOR
You want something with a good combination of high defense,
resistances, and/or extra life. For Act II and V mercs, damage
reduction is very important, as that will let them tank longer.
For an Act III merc, what's good for your sorceress is good for him.

Ideal Equipment:
ALL mercs: Chains of Honor, Duriel's Shell, -or- Shaftstop

(More choices for specific mercs)
Act I: Lionheart
Act II: Leviathan
Act III: Skin of the Vipermagi
Act V: Leviathan


WEAPON
For Act I, II, and V mercs, give them the most damaging weapon
you can find. In addition, try to get life leech on the weapon.
If you can, add sockets the weapon and fill them with Amn runes.
For an Act III merc, you will want swords that increase +skills
or those that offer elemental piercing. Failing that, give
him something that will boost his resistances.

Ideal Equipment:
Act I: Breath of the Dying (Crusader/Hydra Bow) -or- Windforce
Act II: Doom -or- Breath of the Dying (War Pike)
Act III (fire): Hexfire, Silence, -or- Hand of Justice
Act III (lit.): Crescent Moon -or- Silence
Act III (cold): Silence
Act V: Breath of the Dying (Colossus Blade)


HELM
For Act I, II, and V mercs, try to find a helm that will boost
life leech, damage reduction, and/or resistances. In short,
anything important to the survival of your merc that is not
covered by the merc's armor and weapon. For an Act III merc,
he will need the same kind of helm your sorceress needs.
Look for helms with + to all skills and, if possible, elemental
piercing or skill damage bonuses.

Ideal Equipment:
Act I: Delirium, Harlequin's Crest, Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest,
-or- Vampire's Gaze
Act II: Delirium, Vampire's Gaze, -or- Crown of Ages
Act III (fire): Harlequin Crest
Act III (lit.): Griffon's Eye
Act III (cold): Nightwing's Veil
Act V: Delirium, Vampire's Gaze, Crown of Ages, -or- Arreat's Face


SHIELD
Only an Act III merc can equip a shield. Use this slot to cover
resistance weakness. If he does not have any, use a shield that
will boost +skills, faster cast, or magic find.

Ideal Equipment:
Act III: Lidless Wall, Stormshield, -or- Sanctuary


-----------------------
- Most Useful Mercs -
-----------------------

#1. Act II "Defiance" Town Guard
If you have access to a Doom polearm, you can have the best of both
worlds -- high defense from Defiance, and slowdown from Holy Freeze.
Even without Doom and the Holy Freeze that comes with it, the extra
defense still helps the merc (and the sorceress) take fewer hits
from many monsters as he tanks for the sorceress.

#2. Act II "Holy Freeze" Town Guard
Holy Freeze slows most and he tanks wonderfully. He is the ideal
choice for almost any sorceress.

#3. Act I Rogue
Good for the sorceress who does not need a tank, but rather wants
someone who does not need to march recklessly into melee combat in
order to cause some damage. For the magic-find obsessive types,
the rogue is the best merc for the job since you can pile magic find
armor on her and she can still kill things while staying alive.


================================================== ====================
TIPS
================================================== ====================

----------------------
- General Strategy -
----------------------

* Do not waste points on skills you will not use later. For example,
do not invest several points into Fire Bolt just so you can kill
Act I Normal enemies faster. Of course, if the skill is a
prerequisite to a more powerful skill you want, then invest
one and only one point into the skill. Patience is a virtue.
Even with synergies, you still need to invest points where
they count the most.

* Keep point investment into utility skills to a minimum.
You will rely on skill booster items to increase their levels.

* If you need a certain skill for a specific encounter, but do not
want to learn the skill itself (for example, Blaze for Andariel),
then shop for and buy a staff with that skill included.

* Learn and develop attacks from two trees. In Hell, most monsters
are immune to one type of damage.

* Find two or three attacks you want to specialize in and stick with
them. Do not spread your points around in every skill; if you
spread your points, your attacks will not be strong enough to kill
things in Hell quickly, especially in large multiplayer games.

* Take advantage of synergies to boost the damage of your primary
attack skills. You will want the extra damage to kill more
effectively in Hell. If possible, try to use powerful skills
that synergize with each other. For example, Fire Ball/Meteor,
Ice Blast/Blizzard.

* Use Static Field to weaken high life monsters.

* When planning your character development, consider items with
strength and/or dexterity bonuses. With such items, you do not
need to invest as many points into STR/DEX to meet requirements
for the rest of your gear, and you can spend the saved points
into vitality or energy instead. You can also use items that
boost DEX to improve your blocking percentange.


-------------------
- Survival Tips -
-------------------

* Try to acquire a Call to Arms weapon as soon as possible. Save
every rune you find and upgrade them until you get every rune you
need. It will probably take a long time to get if you are starting
out, but the reward is worth it. The Battle Orders it will grant
you can boost your life and mana by nearly double.

* Keep all your resistances as high as possible.

* If you know you are going to fight tough monsters known for their
powerful poison and cold attacks, namely Andariel and Duriel, buy
and drink some antidote or thawing potions. Antidote will boost
maximum poison resistance by 10% and poison resistance by 50%.
Thawing potions boost cold resistances by a like amount.

* Consider using Telekinesis to use objects from a distance if you
suspect (idle) monsters nearby the desired objects. For example,
you can free Cain without even seeing and alerting the champion
monsters that loiter around the middle in Tristram.

* Hire and use mercs. They are great for absorbing hits meant for
you. In addition, they are immune to the explosions of Frenzied
Enslaved and their ilk.

* When you Teleport, your merc teleports with you. If your merc is
losing a battle against monsters, teleport away from them to save
your merc from death. Also, if you have a melee merc, you can
teleport close to a monster so your merc can attack it.

* In Act V, you may encounter succubi class monsters in some areas.
If you have more mana than life, they will place the Blood Mana
curse on you. If affected, life is drained instead of mana when
you use skills. Use your most mana-efficient attacks if possible,
and drink health potions to keep your life up.

* Use charged items to your benefit. Some examples include the
following: Lower resists can make your skills do more damage;
Weaken can help reduce damage from bruisers such as Duriel;
Slow Missiles can work wonders against ranged attackers and
lightning enchanted bosses.


================================================== ====================
MISCELLANEOUS
================================================== ====================

-------------------
- Runeword List -
-------------------

Runewords marked by a ! are new in 1.10.

Body Armor:
! BRAMBLE = Ral(8) + Ohm(27) + Sur(29) + Eth(5)
! CHAINS OF HONOR = Dol(14) + Um(22) + Ber(30) + Ist(24)
! ENIGMA = Jah(31) + Ith(6) + Ber(30)
! GLOOM = Fal(19) + Um(22) + Pul(21)
LIONHEART = Hel(15) + Lum(17) + Fal(19)
SMOKE = Nef(4) + Lum(17)
! STONE = Shael(13) + Um(22) + Pul(21) + Lum(17)
STEALTH = Tal(7) + Eth(5)
WEALTH = Lem(20) + Ko(18) + Tir(3)

Class Specific:
! CHAOS (Assassin) = Fal(19) + Ohm(27) + Um(22)
! EXILE (Paladin) = Vex(26) + Ohm(27) + Ist(24) + Dol(14)

Helm:
! DELIRIUM = Lem(20) + Ist(24) + Io(16)
LORE = Ort(9) + Sol(12)
NADIR = Nef(4) + Tir(3)
RADIANCE = Nef(4) + Sol(12) + Ith(6)

Shields:
ANCIENT'S PLEDGE = Ral(8) + Ort(9) + Tal(7)
RHYME = Shael(13) + Eth(5)
! SANCTUARY = Ko(18) + Ko(18) + Mal(23)

Weapons:
! BEAST = Ber(30)+Tir(3)+Um(22)+Mal(23)+Lum(17)
(axe, hammer, scepter)
BLACK = Thul(10) + Io (16) + Nef(4)
(club, hammer, mace)
! BREATH OF THE DYING = Vex(26)+Hel(15)+El(1)+Eld(2)+Zod(33)+Eth(5)
(any)
! CALL TO ARMS = Amn(11) + Ral(8) + Mal(23) + Ist(24)
(any)
! CRESCENT MOON = Shael(13) + Um(22) + Tir(3)
(axe, sword, polearm)
! DOOM = Hel(15)+Ohm(27)+Um(22)+Lo(28)+Cham(32)
(axe, hammer, polearm)
! ETERNITY = Amn(11)+Ber(30)+Ist(24)+Sol(12)+Sur(29)
(any melee)
! FAMINE = Fal(19) + Ohm(27) + Ort(9) + Jah(31)
(axe, hammer)
FURY = Jah(31) + Gul(25) + Eth(5)
(any melee)
! HAND OF JUSTICE = Sur(29) + Cham(32) + Amn(11) + Lo(28)
(any)
! HEART OF THE OAK = Ko(18) + Vex(26) + Pul(21) + Thul(10)
(mace, staff)
HOLY THUNDER = Eth(5) + Ral(8) + Ort(9) + Tal(7)
(scepter)
HONOR = Amn(11) + El(1) + Ith(6) + Tir(3) + Sol(12)
(any melee)
KING'S GRACE = Amn(11) + Ral(8) + Thul(10)
(scepter, sword)
! KINGSLAYER = Mal(23) + Um(22) + Gul(25) + Fal(19)
(axe, sword)
LEAF = Tir(3) + Ral(8)
(staff)
MALICE = Ith(6) + El(1) + Eth(5)
(any melee)
MELODY = Shael(13) + Ko(18) + Nef(4)
(missile)
MEMORY = Lum(17) + Io(16) + Sol(12) + Eth(5)
(staff)
! PASSION = Dol(14) + Ort(9) + Eld(2) + Lem(20)
(any)
SILENCE = Dol(14)+Eld(2)+Hel(15)+Ist(24)+Tir(3)+Vex(26)
(any)
STEEL = Tir(3) + El(1)
(axe, mace, sword)
STRENGTH = Amn(11) + Tir(3)
(any melee)
VENOM = Tal(7) + Dol(14) + Mal(23)
(any)
WHITE = Dol(14) + Io(16)
(wand)
ZEPHYR = Tal(9) + Eth(5)
(missile)


================================================== ====================
CREDITS
================================================== ====================

Thanks to the following:
* Blizzard for the Diablo games.
* PhrozenHeart for the DiabloII mod site Phrozen Keep.
* ChippyDip for his DiabloII skill calculator.
* Zharous for some insights and help on the 1.09 sorceress.

DiabloII Links:
* http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp
A.k.a. Arreat Summit, this is the official site for D2: LoD.

* http://d2mods.xfernet.com
The Phrozen Keep is the place to go if you want to learn how
mods work in DiabloII.

* http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~cbradfor/diablo2/skills.html
Chippydip has a very nice skill calculator. Although it
is based on 1.09, some of the hidden data such as Meteor's
fire duration and Thunderstorm's bolt delay seem unchanged
in 1.10.

================================================== ====================

[Mystic]

spit u got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay 2 much time on ur hands..

[ITH]

ahhh my eyes

[Mydnight]

i'm playing a 1.10 sorc right now....things were going fine on the 3-tree path until I got to hell. it's hard as...well, hell now.

got memory...it seems to help.

[Mydnight]

info on a 1.10 sorc without all the elite gear and well thought out stats:

it's hard as hell to play in hell. expect to be taken down in one hit even if you are lvl 76 like me. heh.

[totifero]

My sorc uses Shako,Enigma,Crafted ammy,whitstand shield,dual sojs,magefist,arachnid,occy and crafted boots,she is loaded with 8 cold charms and two fire chamrs plus whole bunch of 5 to res chams,she have all her res at max and blocking at 75%.

The skills i use are:

Max firemaxtery(35 with items)
Max fireball
max meteor
one to warmth(14 with items)

10 to orb(30 with items)
10 to cold mastery(30 with items)
one to energy shield (13 with items)
one to blizzard(21 with items)

The main problem i have now is that i need more life since she have only 600 life,i just got a call to arms wep that should help me with it.

With items i have about 900 life nad 1000 mana.

She have little problems beating hell,im planning on investing at least 2 more skills points into firebolt for the extra synergy bonus.

[JIMBO]

Think it would be worth my while to make a lghtning sorc for running the pit and that chick who drops runes..... you know the one who bathes in the blood of virgins. (?)

[Bolong]

do u guys know where to find sorc ias bps??

[Silver Ice]

its cast bps and for a sorc i think the last one is 110

[jerzilla]

I don't like E/S either, Mana burn sucks. Rather have more life.

[Bolong]

im asking for ias silver... im planning to make a bowsorc... i cant find ias table for sorc

[Rapta111]

You would need 160/60 and 140/45 to reach it, that's for sure. I recall seeing it once, and it was as high as 200%.

[Nubli]

The funny thing is, this post was made before 1.10? Still good though, wish I had seen it before I quit D2.

[[Ghost]]

this isnt stickyed WHY!?

[Timetear]

Ideal Equipment:
- Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band (unique)
[+2 all skills, +0.5 life/lvl]
not +1 all skills ??

btw, gj

[Superman40024]

In the making with this sorc. lvl 14. Let you know how things progress throughout!

[Superman40024]

Bump...

SpitFire you know the stats for this char build?

[kuruba_shadowz]

gj nice thred