| Sorceress One of the rebellious women who have wrested the secrets of magic use from the male dominated Mage-Clans of the East, the Sorceress is an expert in mystical creation ex nihilo. Though somewhat lacking in the skills of hand-to-hand combat, she compensates for this with fierce combative magics for both offense and defense. |
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Credits: 953 Spent time on board: 1 Week, 2 Days and 18:29:15 Hours Rep Power: 15 ![]() | ================================================== ==================== Sorceress FAQ for Diablo II: Lord of Destruction v1.10 (Beta) Author: Patrick Martin Email: cimartin@gbronline.com Date: 7/27/2003 Version: 2.0 ================================================== ==================== * Introduction - Legal Stuff - History - About this FAQ * Terminology - Abbrevations - Definitions * Stats * Skills - Fire Skills - Lightning Skills - Cold Skills - Which Skills to Choose - Build Advice - About Energy Shield Use * Equipment - Mods to Look For - Items to Look For * Mercs - Types - Equipment - Most useful Mercs * Tips - General Strategy - Survival Tips * Miscellaneous - Runeword List * Credits ================================================== ==================== INTRODUCTION ================================================== ==================== ----------------- - Legal Stuff - ----------------- Diablo II is copyright of Blizzard Entertainment. This document is totally unofficial and copyright by the author, though some information, such as what is shown in tables, came from various sources, such as Arreat Summit or Diabloii.net. Below is a list of things you can and cannot do. DOs: - You may distribute this document in its entire, original form. - You may read and apply the information for your personal use. DON'Ts: - You may NOT alter this document in any way then redistribute such an altered document. - You may NOT sell, charge a fee, or otherwise demand monetary compensation for this document. - You may NOT incorporate this document into commercial publishings, such as magazines, promotional CDs, and the like. This document can be found at GameFaqs (www.gamefaqs.com). ------------- - History - ------------- * 2.0 (7/27/2003) - Whole faq updated for D2 LoD: patch 1.10 beta. - Extended skill tables to level 50. Release dates for my older faqs of 1.09: * 1.2 (9/19/2002) * 1.1 (7/11/2002) * 1.0 (5/15/2002) -------------------- - About this FAQ - -------------------- The main purpose of this faq is to serve as a reference. It is also designed help players unfamiliar with the sorceress develop one. I have not played very much 1.10 yet. So far, I have only experimented with skills and items just to see what works best for Hell games. Currently, this faq little more than a bunch of lists and some comments. After I get a chance to play 1.10 more thoroughly, I may update this faq with corrections and more strategies. Despite the increased difficulty, a well-built sorceress with all of the best items available can still rock /players 8 Hell, although she will not kill as fast as 1.09 sorceresses are used to. How hard it is to play through the game without all of the great items, I do not know yet. ================================================== ==================== TERMINOLOGY ================================================== ==================== Below is a small glossary of terms used throughout this FAQ. ------------------ - Abbrevations - ------------------ AR = Attack Rating CLVL = Character level D2C = Diablo 2 Classic D2X = Diablo 2 Expansion: Lord of Destruction DR = Damage Reduction SLVL = Skill level FCR = Faster Cast Rate FHR = Faster Hit Recovery FPS = Frames per second (Game runs at 25 frames per second.) IAS = Increased Attack Speed ITD = Ignore Target's Defense MF = Magic Find -or- Better Chance of Finding Magic Items PvM = Player vs. Monster PvP = Player vs. Player, in context of mutually consented dueling. PK = Player Killing SoJ = The Stone of Jordon SORC = Sorceress Below are abbrevations for various sorceress skills CB = Charged Bolt CL = Chain Lightning CM = Cold Mastery ES = Energy Shield FB = Fireball FM = Fire Mastery FN = Frost Nova FO = Frozen Orb FW = Firewall GS = Glacial Spike LM = Lightning Mastery SF = Static Field TK = Telekinesis TP = Teleport (can also mean Town Portal) TS = Thunderstorm ----------------- - Definitions - ----------------- FAST CAST Short for faster cast, it is a mod found on some items that let the sorceress cast all skills at a faster pace. LEGIT Short for legitimate items. These are items that are spawned normally in the game, such as dropped from a slain monster or opened chest, or bought from a vendor. Examples of items that are NOT legit are those created via dupes and hacks. MEAT SHIELD A character that is designed to attract monsters, keep them still, and absorb their attacks. Such a character has a combination of high life, resistances, and/or life leech to survive such attacks. While the monsters are busy attacking the meat shield, the sorceress can easily aim and cast spells at them from relative safety. MULE A character created specifically to hold items in his stash and/or inventory until they can be transferred then put to use by another character. NON-CLASS SKILL One of 1.10 new features is that some items can grant a skill usable by any class, and that skill can be used at will, as long as the user can pay the mana cost. For example, the Widowmaker Ward Bow allows any character, even a sorceress, to shoot Guided Arrows. These skills often come with huge bonuses. However, if the class can use a non-class skill normally, the bonus is capped at +3. For example, a Call to Arms weapon that gives +12 to Battle Orders, a barbarian skill, will give the sorceress a level 12 (or higher if she has '+ to All Skills' items) Battle Orders. On the other hand, if the sorceress equips two items from Trang-Oul's Avatar, which gives +18 Fire Ball to other classes, the sorceress will only boost her Fire Ball by +3, even if she has not learned the skill. PARKING This describes the strategy of luring monsters to a place (usually a remote area away from traffic), then leaving them behind. You need some way to keep the monsters in the desired place without them following you. A sorceress can easily do this by teleporting through obstacles so that monsters have no chance of following. SHAKO The elite version of a cap. However, when many people write "shako", they don't mean any old shako; instead they refer to the unique shako named the Harlequin Crest. (Why people call it Shako instead of Harly or Harle, I don't know.) In any event, the Harlequin Crest is a very powerful helm for the sorceress in Diablo 2: LoD. Now in 1.10, more helms comparable to the "shako" are available, and some of them may be better for specialized builds. Nonetheless, the Harlequin Crest remains to be a great all-around helm. +SKILLS An increase of all (or in this case, sorceress) learned skills by a variable amount of levels. This increase is given by all equipped items with the attribute '+x TO ALL SKILLS' or '+x TO SORCERESS SKILL LEVELS'. SPAMMING The continuous, rapid-fire use of an untimered skill. TANK As a noun, it is another term for MEAT SHIELD; often used interchangably. As a verb, tanking is to stand up against enemies and get their attention, then take a beating from them. TIMERED A skill that once cast, cannot be cast again for a short time. In addition, other timered skills cannot be used during the cool-down period. TWINK This is a player who builds optimized characters via precise stat/skill placement and ideal equipment, with the latter transferred from mules and available right from the start. For those familiar with pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, a twink is akin to a powergamer (if using legit items only) or munchkin (if using hacked, overpowered items that cannot spawn naturally). UNTWINKED A character that plays through the game without the aid of powerful items handed down to him from other characters. Such characters (often) do not have ready access to all the ideal equipment and must find them. VULPINE This describes the attribute "% DAMAGE TAKEN GOES TO MANA" found on various items. When your character takes damage from physical attacks, mana equal to the percentage of the damage taken is added to your mana pool. For the sorceress who relies on Energy Shield to absorb damage from physical attackers, Vulpine is useful for giving back some of the mana drained by Energy Shield. ================================================== ==================== STATS ================================================== ==================== A level one sorceress begins with the following stats: STR: 10 DEX: 25 VIT: 10 NRG: 35 STAMINA: 74 LIFE: 40 MANA: 35 For each level attained, you gain the following: +1 to stamina +1 to life +2 to mana +5 stat points You can earn up to 505 points to distribute among your stats. 490 from level ups 15 from Lam Esen Tome quest ------------------------------ 505 total extra stat points You can also earn up to 60 more life from the Golden Bird quest. Due to experience penalties at higher character levels, reaching level 99 is highly unlikely. You can expect to reach somewhere between level 80 and 90. Progressing beyond the late-80s will be very tedious. Therefore, plan builds with about 400-450 extra points, not the full 505 points a level 99 character has. STRENGTH As a spellcaster, you need not bother trying to equip big, heavy weapons, but you do need some STR to equip quality armor with useful bonuses. Depending on the items you want, your strength requirements can range from low to moderate. I recommend you boost STR to somewhere between 65 and 110. Below are the strength cutoffs for some ideal and popular items: 45 Light Gauntlets (Magefists) 50 Shako (Harlequin Crest), Spiderweb Sash (Arachnid Mesh) 53 Tal Rasha's Fine Spun Cloth 55 Mage Plate (Que-Hagen's Wisdom) 58 Grim Shield (Lidless Wall), Mesh Belt (upgraded Nightsmoke) 60 Gauntlets (Frostburns) 65 Mesh Boots (Natalya's Soul, Silkweave) 77 Dusk Shroud, Heater (upgraded Viscerataunt) 84 Tal Rasha's Guardianship, Wyrmhide (upgraded Vipermagi) 92 Mesh Armor (Shaftstop) 95 Battle Boots (Aldur's Advance, War Travelers) 96 Nightwing's Veil 100 Luna (Blackoak, upgraded Moser's Blessed Circle) 103 Archon Plate 106 Mithril Coil (Verdugo's Hearty Cord), Troll Nest 110 Thundergods Vigor (War Belt), War Gauntlets 118 Blade Barrier (Spike Thorn), Templar Coat (Guardian Angel) 156 Monarch (Stormshield) DEXTERITY This is the typical dump stat for spellcasters in Diablo 2. Unless you plan to wield elite weapons or reach 75% blocking with shields, keep this stat as low as possible. However, you should boost your DEX to at least 35, which is the minimum needed to equip a flail. (One very powerful caster runeword requires a staff or flail to work.) If you want a high block percentange with shields, be prepared to invest many stat points into DEX. Below is a formula to calculate the dexterity needed, where 'Total Block' is the block percentange you are aiming for, and 'Chance to Block' is the block percentange listed on the shield. DEX = (Total Block * clvl * 2 / Chance to Block) + 15 Below are cutoffs for maximum blocking (75%) with the best shields. | Character Level Shield (Chance to Block) | 75 80 85 90 95 99 -----------------------------+------------------------------ | Dexterity Needed Whinstan's Guard (87%) | 145 153 162 171 179 186 Viscerataunt Heater (72%) | 172 182 193 203 213 222 Stormshield (67%) | 183 195 206 217 228 237 Sanctuary Grim Shield (60%) | 203 215 228 240 253 262 Note to 1.09 veterans: Lightning and Chain Lightning casting speed does not depend on IAS anymore, so you can discard your Shael'ed swords and crossbows. Also, Wizardspike is no longer one of the best items; it is still good, but there are new, better options now. VITALITY This is a very important stat for the sorceress since it affects how much life you have. Any spare points should be placed in VIT. You should build it up to at least 200, preferably more, for Hell games. You can get away with somewhat less if you rely on Energy Shield to absorb some damage. Each point to VIT adds 2 points to your life and 1 point to stamina. ENERGY This affects the size of your mana pool. Your mana needs will depend on the skills and items you use. Thus, this stat can vary greatly from sorceress to sorceress. The range can be from 35 (base) to over 200, though many sorceresses build the NRG stat to at least 100. Each point of NRG adds 2 points to mana. ================================================== ==================== SKILLS ================================================== ==================== You can earn up to 110 points to distribute among your skills. 98 from level ups 3 from Den of Evil quest 3 from Radament quest 6 from Izual quest ---------------------------- 110 total skill points Again, don't expect to reach level 99 and the full 110 skill points. Count on gaining from 90 to 100 points. Screen distance is assumed to be in 640x480 resolution. (I suspect more people use 800x600, but I play with 640x480 because my monitor size is fairly small, and I don't like squinting my eyes to read text.) Duration and other time fields are listed in seconds. Range is listed in yards. It should be noted that the shape of circular areas is not a perfect circle. Instead, it is oval or square shaped depending on the skill used. You will see this when you use skills like Inferno or Nova. ----------------- - Fire Skills - ----------------- Fire Warmth Bolt | | | Inferno | | | | | | | | Blaze Fireball | | | \ | | | \ | Firewall | Enchant \ | | \ | | Meteor | | | Fire Hydra Mastery * Fire Bolt (clvl 1) In-game Description: "Creates a magical flaming missile." ======================================= Mana Cost: 2.5 ======================================= slvl Fire Damage | slvl Fire Damage ===================|=================== 1 3- 6 | 26 89-110 2 4- 7 | 27 98-120 3 6- 9 | 28 107-130 4 7- 10 | 29 134-158 5 9- 12 | 30 161-186 6 10- 13 | 31 188-214 7 12- 15 | 32 215-242 8 13- 16 | 33 242-270 9 15- 19 | 34 269-298 10 17- 22 | 35 296-326 11 19- 25 | 36 323-354 12 21- 28 | 37 350-382 13 23- 31 | 38 377-410 14 25- 34 | 39 404-438 15 27- 37 | 40 431-466 16 29- 40 | 41 458-494 17 33- 45 | 42 485-522 18 37- 50 | 43 512-550 19 41- 55 | 44 539-578 20 45- 60 | 45 566-606 21 49- 65 | 46 593-634 22 53- 70 | 47 620-662 23 62- 80 | 48 647-690 24 71- 90 | 49 674-718 25 80-100 | 50 701-746 ======================================= Receives Bonuses From: Fire Ball: +16% Fire Damage per Level Meteor: +16% Fire Damage per Level ======================================= Summary: + Low mana cost. + Good damage when powered up by synergies. - Made obsolete by Fire Ball once you learn it. Comments: Useful for killing monsters in early Act I, and the weapon you start with has this skill. Thanks to good synergies, Fire Bolt can become powerful enough to kill in Hell. However, Fire Ball is more powerful, so investing heavily into Fire Bolt is still not a good idea, at least not before maxing out other fire attacks. Recommended Points: 1 point if you need it as a prerequisite to other skills. * Warmth (clvl 1) In-game Description: "Passive -- increases the rate at which you recover mana." ===================================== slvl Percentage | slvl Percentage ==================|================== 1 30% | 26 330% 2 42% | 27 342% 3 54% | 28 354% 4 66% | 29 366% 5 78% | 30 378% 6 90% | 31 390% 7 102% | 32 402% 8 114% | 33 414% 9 126% | 34 426% 10 138% | 35 438% 11 150% | 36 450% 12 162% | 37 462% 13 174% | 38 474% 14 186% | 39 486% 15 198% | 40 498% 16 210% | 41 510% 17 222% | 42 522% 18 234% | 43 534% 19 246% | 44 546% 20 258% | 45 558% 21 270% | 46 570% 22 282% | 47 582% 23 294% | 48 594% 24 306% | 49 606% 25 318% | 50 618% ===================================== Summary: + Passive -- always active. + Faster mana recovery is more convenient. - Skill points are needed more elsewhere in other skills. Comments: Useful, but unless you specialize in Inferno or Enchant, you don't have enough points to spare to boost Warmth much. Besides, you can buy mana potions to refill mana when needed. However, regardless of build, Warmth is always worth at least one point. Recommended Points: 20 points if you plan to use Inferno or Enchant as primary skills. Otherwise, 1 to 5 points. * Inferno (clvl 6) In-game Description: "Creates a continuous jet of flame to scorch your enemies." ================================================== =============== Minimum Mana to Cast: 6 ================================================== =============== Average | Average slvl Fire Damage Range Mana | slvl Fire Damage Range Mana ================================|================= =============== 1 12- 25 3.3 7.0 | 26 271-291 15.3 26.5 2 21- 34 3.3 7.8 | 27 283-303 16.0 27.3 3 31- 43 4.0 8.5 | 28 295-315 16.6 28.1 4 40- 53 4.6 9.3 | 29 307-328 17.3 28.9 5 50- 62 5.3 10.1 | 30 320-341 17.3 29.6 6 59- 71 5.3 10.9 | 31 332-354 18.0 30.4 7 68- 81 6.0 11.7 | 32 345-367 18.6 31.2 8 78- 90 6.6 12.5 | 33 357-380 19.3 32.0 9 88-100 7.3 13.2 | 34 370-392 19.3 32.8 10 98-111 7.3 14.0 | 35 382-405 20.0 33.5 11 108-122 8.0 14.8 | 36 395-418 20.6 34.3 12 118-132 8.6 15.6 | 37 407-431 21.3 35.1 13 128-143 9.3 16.4 | 38 420-444 21.3 35.9 14 139-153 9.3 17.1 | 39 432-457 22.0 36.7 15 149-164 10.0 17.9 | 40 445-470 22.6 37.5 16 159-175 10.6 18.7 | 41 457-483 23.3 38.2 17 170-186 11.3 19.5 | 42 470-496 23.3 39.0 18 181-197 11.3 20.3 | 43 482-508 24.0 39.8 19 192-208 12.0 21.0 | 44 495-521 24.6 40.6 20 203-220 12.6 21.8 | 45 507-534 25.3 41.4 21 214-231 13.3 22.6 | 46 520-547 25.3 42.1 22 225-242 14.3 23.4 | 47 532-560 26.0 42.9 23 236-255 14.0 24.1 | 48 545-573 26.6 43.7 24 248-267 14.6 24.9 | 49 557-586 27.3 44.5 25 260-279 15.3 25.7 | 50 570-599 27.3 45.3 ================================================== =============== Receives Bonuses From: Warmth: +12% Fire Damage per Level ================================================== =============== Summary: + Projects a constant stream of fire. + The flames penetrate enemies. + Has a good synergy with Warmth. - Cannot move while firing. - Short range at low skill levels. - Relatively weak compared to most other fire skills. Comments: This shoots a stream of fire that will penetrate multiple targets and roast them in the process. At low levels, the range of Inferno is slightly beyond melee range. More points into Inferno will increase the range and damage, and the flames can go beyond full screen at very high levels. While firing, your sorceress will stand still and be unable to walk or run. If you click on a target, the sorceress will rotate on her own to track the target and will keep on firing until the target dies, gets interrupted by an attack, you release the attack button, or you run out of mana. For the best control, click the ground near your target so you can rotate freely and continue firing even after you kill your target. Due to the lack of mobility, getting interrupted can be a problem. Try to make it hard as possible for monsters to reach you. Hide behind mercs or other players and let them tank for you if possible. Also, use any gaps in terrain available to separate you from the bad guys. Inferno is relatively weak. Even with max Inferno, Warmth, and Fire Mastery, the damage is not very high compared to most other fire skills with similar skill point investment. It is high enough to kill (slowly) in Hell. Unless you are serious in using Inferno, you are better off developing more effective fire attacks such as Fire Ball and/or Meteor. Recommended Points: 20 if this as a main attack. 1 if you only need it to access Firewall or Meteor. * Blaze (clvl 12) In-game Description: "Creates a wall of fire in your wake to scorch your enemies." Duration = how long the sorceress will lay down fire. Fire Duration = how long the flames will burn. ============================================= Average Fire slvl Duration Fire Damage Duration Mana ============================================= 1 4.6 18- 37 4.6 11.0 2 5.6 28- 46 6.8 11.5 3 6.6 37- 56 8.4 12.0 4 7.6 46- 65 9.9 12.5 5 8.6 56- 75 11.0 13.0 6 9.6 65- 84 11.8 13.5 7 10.6 75- 93 12.6 14.0 8 11.6 84- 103 13.1 14.5 9 12.6 98- 117 13.8 15.0 10 13.6 112- 131 14.2 15.5 11 14.6 126- 145 14.7 16.0 12 15.6 140- 159 15.1 16.5 13 16.6 154- 173 15.4 17.0 14 17.6 168- 187 15.8 17.5 15 18.6 182- 201 16.0 18.0 16 19.6 196- 215 16.4 18.5 17 20.6 215- 234 16.5 19.0 18 21.6 234- 253 16.7 19.5 19 22.6 253- 271 16.9 20.0 20 23.6 271- 290 17.1 20.5 21 24.6 290- 309 17.2 21.0 22 25.6 309- 328 17.4 21.5 23 26.6 332- 351 17.6 22.0 24 27.6 356- 375 17.8 22.5 25 28.6 379- 398 17.8 23.0 26 29.6 403- 421 18.0 23.5 27 30.6 426- 445 18.2 24.0 28 31.6 450- 468 18.2 24.5 29 32.6 478- 496 18.3 25.0 30 33.6 506- 525 18.3 25.5 31 34.6 534- 553 18.5 26.0 32 35.6 562- 581 18.5 26.5 33 36.6 590- 609 18.7 27.0 34 37.6 618- 637 18.7 27.5 35 38.6 646- 665 18.7 28.0 36 39.6 675- 693 18.9 28.5 37 40.6 703- 721 18.9 29.0 38 41.6 731- 750 19.0 29.5 39 42.6 759- 778 19.0 30.0 40 43.6 787- 865 19.0 30.5 41 44.6 815- 834 19.0 31.0 42 45.6 843- 862 19.2 31.5 43 46.6 871- 890 19.2 32.0 44 47.6 900- 918 19.2 32.5 45 48.6 928- 946 19.4 33.0 46 49.6 956- 975 19.4 33.5 47 50.6 984-1003 19.4 34.0 48 51.6 1012-1031 19.4 34.5 49 52.6 1040-1059 19.6 35.0 50 53.6 1068-1087 19.6 35.5 ============================================= Summary: + Enemies that follow you will take damage from walking into the fire left behind. + Flames are stackable. - Ineffective against stationary enemies. - Relatively low damage. Comments: This is only useful for destroying the act bosses Andariel and Duriel in Normal. Cast Blaze then let them chase you. They will take damage then die. You can stack flames to make a patch of fire more damaging by running (or walking) over an area multiple times. However, Blaze does low damage, and every other fire attack is stronger. Recommended Points: 1 if you need it to access Firewall or Meteor. * Fire Ball (clvl 12) In-game Description: "Creates an explosive sphere of fiery death to engulf your enemies." ================================================== = Radius: 1 yard. ================================================== = slvl Fire Damage Mana | slvl Fire Damage Mana =========================|======================== = 1 6- 14 5.0 | 26 293-326 17.5 2 12- 21 5.5 | 27 310-344 18.0 3 19- 29 6.0 | 28 326-361 18.5 4 25- 36 6.5 | 29 345-381 19.0 5 32- 44 7.0 | 30 364-401 19.5 6 38- 51 7.5 | 31 383-421 20.0 7 45- 59 8.0 | 32 402-441 20.5 8 51- 66 8.5 | 33 421-461 21.0 9 63- 79 9.0 | 34 440-481 21.5 10 74- 91 9.5 | 35 459-501 22.0 11 86- 99 10.0 | 36 478-521 22.5 12 97-116 10.5 | 37 497-541 23.0 13 109-129 11.0 | 38 516-561 23.5 14 120-141 11.5 | 39 535-581 24.0 15 132-154 12.0 | 40 554-601 24.5 16 143-166 12.5 | 41 573-621 25.0 17 157-181 13.0 | 42 592-641 25.5 18 171-196 13.5 | 43 611-661 26.0 19 185-211 14.0 | 44 630-681 26.5 20 199-226 14.5 | 45 649-701 27.0 21 213-241 15.0 | 46 668-721 27.5 22 227-256 15.5 | 47 687-741 28.0 23 244-274 16.0 | 48 706-761 28.5 24 260-291 16.5 | 49 725-781 29.0 25 277-309 17.0 | 50 744-801 29.5 ================================================== = Receives Bonuses From: Fire Bolt: +14% Fire Damage per Level Meteor: +14% Fire Damage per Level ================================================== = Summary: + Strongest non-timered fire spell. + No real weaknesses compared to other fire skills. + Synergizes well with Meteor. Comments: Like Fire Bolt, only it looks bigger and it explodes on contact. The explosion can hit multiple monsters that are packed into a tight group. The damage Fire Ball can do ranges from medium to very high depending how many points you invest in Fire Mastery, Fire Ball, and its synergies. With Fire Ball, mastery, and synergies, Fire Ball becomes the best fire skill the sorceress has. Such specialization requires 80+ skill points, forcing the sorceress into a single tree build that will have trouble in Hell. However, Fire Ball does not need that many points to be effective. With max Fire Ball, and some points in Fire Mastery and one synergy skill, Fire Ball can still inflict good damage; or at least enough to kill monsters in Hell. Recommended Points: 20 if this is a main attack. Up to 20 if you use Meteor or Hydra. 1 if you only need it to gain access to Enchant. * Firewall (clvl 18) In-game Description: "Creates a wall of flame that blocks or burns your enemies." ================================================== ================= Casting Delay: 1.4 sec. Duration: 3.6 sec. ================================================== ================= Average Wall | Average Wall slvl Fire Damage Radius Mana | slvl Fire Damage Radius Mana =================================|================ ================= 1 70- 93 4.6 22 | 26 1875-1898 38.0 47 2 112- 135 6.0 23 | 27 1973-1996 39.3 48 3 154- 178 7.3 24 | 28 2071-2095 40.6 49 4 196- 220 8.6 25 | 29 2170-2193 42.0 50 5 239- 262 10.0 26 | 30 2268-2292 43.3 51 6 281- 304 11.3 27 | 31 2367-2390 44.6 52 7 323- 346 12.6 28 | 32 2465-2489 46.0 53 8 365- 389 14.0 29 | 33 2564-2587 47.3 54 9 431- 454 15.3 30 | 34 2662-2685 48.6 55 10 496- 520 16.6 31 | 35 2760-2784 50.0 56 11 562- 585 18.0 32 | 36 2859-2882 51.3 57 12 628- 651 19.3 33 | 37 2957-2981 52.6 58 13 693- 717 20.6 34 | 38 3056-3079 54.0 59 14 759- 782 22.0 35 | 39 3154-3178 55.3 60 15 825- 848 23.3 36 | 40 3253-3276 56.6 61 16 890- 914 24.6 37 | 41 3351-3375 58.0 62 17 989-1012 26.0 38 | 42 3450-3473 59.3 63 18 1087-1110 27.3 39 | 43 3548-3571 60.6 64 19 1185-1209 28.6 40 | 44 3646-3670 62.0 65 20 1284-1307 30.0 41 | 45 3745-3768 63.3 66 21 1382-1406 31.3 42 | 46 3843-3867 64.6 67 22 1481-1504 32.6 43 | 47 3942-3965 66.0 68 23 1579-1603 34.0 44 | 48 4040-4064 67.3 69 24 1678-1701 35.3 45 | 49 4139-4162 68.6 70 25 1776-1800 36.6 46 | 50 4237-4260 70.0 71 ================================================== ================= Summary: + Instant, high damage. + Very effective against slow or stationary targets. + The firewall's length is very long at higher skill levels. - Cannot target places with no ground below. - Hard to keep mobile enemies in the line of fire without tanking or freezing. - High mana cost at higher skill levels. - Moderate casting delay. - Does not benefit from synergies. Comments: Point, click, and a wall of fire perpendicular to the sorceress instantly flares up. The wall of fire is thin, but those caught in the flames are in for a world of hurt. More points into Firewall will add a significant increase in damage, an increase of the wall's length, and an increase to the mana cost. At higher levels, the firewall is so long you can easily run along the wall to lure monsters into it ala Blaze. The key to making Firewall effective is keeping the enemies in the flames as long as possible. For stationary enemies like traps and many ranged attackers, this isn't a problem. For moving targets, you need to find a way to impair their mobility. One way to do this is to chill or freeze targets with cold spells. Slowed enemies have a harder time avoiding the flames, and frozen enemies are helpless. Another way to keep enemies still is to offer them a meat shield so they will stop to attack it. For the sorceress, a melee merc is an excellent meat shield. As the monsters attack, raise a firewall under their feet, and monsters will take damage where they stand. In multiplayer, other players or their minions can act as meat shields. If the sorceress has no one to take the hits, she can setup herself as a meat shield provided she is durable enough to survive the attacks. Although Firewall is no longer the strongest fire skill, it can still do a lot of damage even with minimum skill point investment. Just max Firewall and any Fire Mastery is enough to kill many Hell monsters, making it a good secondary attack. Recommended Points: 20 if this is a main attack. 1 if you don't want Firewall, but need it to access Meteor. * Enchant (clvl 18) In-game Description: "Enchants equipped weapon of targeted character or minion. Adds fire damage to melee weapons. Adds one-third damage to ranged weapons." ================================================= slvl Duration Fire Damage Attack Bonus Mana ================================================= 1 144 8- 10 20% 25 2 168 9- 12 29% 26 3 192 11- 15 38% 27 4 216 12- 17 47% 28 5 240 14- 20 56% 29 6 264 15- 22 65% 30 7 288 17- 25 74% 31 8 312 18- 27 83% 32 9 336 22- 32 92% 33 10 360 25- 36 101% 34 11 384 29- 41 110% 35 12 408 32- 45 119% 36 13 432 36- 50 128% 37 14 456 39- 54 137% 38 15 480 43- 59 146% 39 16 504 46- 63 155% 40 17 528 52- 70 164% 41 18 552 57- 76 173% 42 19 576 63- 83 182% 43 20 600 68- 89 191% 44 21 624 74- 96 200% 45 22 648 79-102 209% 46 23 672 87-111 218% 47 24 696 94-119 227% 48 25 720 102-128 236% 49 26 744 109-136 245% 50 27 768 117-145 254% 51 28 792 124-153 263% 52 29 816 134-164 272% 53 30 840 143-174 281% 54 31 864 153-185 290% 55 32 888 162-195 299% 56 33 912 172-206 308% 57 34 936 181-216 317% 58 35 960 191-227 326% 59 36 984 200-237 335% 60 37 1008 210-248 344% 61 38 1032 219-258 353% 62 39 1056 229-269 362% 63 40 1080 238-279 371% 64 41 1104 248-290 380% 65 42 1128 257-300 389% 66 43 1152 267-311 398% 67 44 1176 276-321 407% 68 45 1200 286-332 416% 69 46 1224 295-342 425% 70 47 1248 305-353 434% 71 48 1272 314-363 443% 72 49 1296 324-374 452% 73 50 1320 333-384 461% 74 ================================================= Receives Bonuses From: Warmth: +9% Fire Damage per Level ================================================= Summary: + Boosts attack rating and weapon damage. + One of the sorceress's few party-friendly skills. - Relatively low damage. Comments: For the sorceress herself, this is useful for boosting damage in Normal Acts 2 and 3 where the sorceress may still rely on weapons to kill monsters. After that, the damage is too low without heavy point investment into Enchant, Warmth, and Fire Mastery. In any case, Enchant boosts attack rating. This is very useful for any sorceress who uses weapons to strike monsters. Even a medium level Enchant (i.e., one point plus skill boosts from items) can greatly increase the sorceress's chance to hit targets in Hell. Enchant can be cast on your merc or, in multiplayer, other party members. If you use Enchant, cast it on anyone who needs it. The AR boost can really come in handy. Recommended Points: 20 for dedicated weapon-using (melee or bow) sorceresses. 1 if you use weapons only to kill dual-immune bosses, or if you need it to access Hydra. * Meteor (clvl 24) In-game Description: "Summons a meteor from the heavens to crush and incinerate your enemies." ================================================ Casting Delay: 1.2 sec. Radius: 4 yards. ================================================ Average Fire slvl Fire Damage Fire Damage Duration Mana ================================================ 1 80- 100 35- 58 1.2 17.0 2 103- 125 44- 67 1.8 17.5 3 126- 150 53- 77 2.4 18.0 4 149- 175 63- 86 3.0 18.5 5 172- 200 72- 96 3.6 19.0 6 195- 220 82-105 4.2 19.5 7 218- 244 91-114 4.8 20.0 8 241- 268 100-124 5.4 20.5 9 280- 308 112-135 6.0 21.0 10 319- 348 124-147 6.6 21.5 11 358- 398 135-159 7.2 22.0 12 397- 439 147-171 7.8 22.5 13 436- 480 159-182 8.4 23.0 14 475- 521 171-194 9.0 23.5 15 514- 562 182-206 9.6 24.0 16 553- 603 194-217 10.2 24.5 17 632- 684 208-232 10.8 25.0 18 711- 765 222-246 11.4 25.5 19 790- 846 236-260 12.0 26.0 20 869- 927 250-274 12.6 26.5 21 948-1008 264-288 13.2 27.0 22 1027-1089 278-302 13.8 27.5 23 1108-1172 292-316 14.4 28.0 24 1189-1255 307-330 15.0 28.5 25 1270-1338 321-344 15.6 29.0 26 1351-1421 335-358 16.2 29.5 27 1432-1504 349-372 16.8 30.0 28 1513-1587 363-386 17.4 30.5 29 1596-1672 377-400 18.0 31.0 30 1679-1757 391-414 18.6 31.5 31 1762-1842 405-428 19.2 32.0 32 1845-1927 419-442 19.8 32.5 33 1928-2012 433-457 20.4 33.0 34 2011-2097 447-471 21.0 33.5 35 2094-2182 461-485 21.6 34.0 36 2177-2267 475-499 22.2 34.5 37 2260-2352 489-513 22.8 35.0 38 2343-2437 503-527 23.4 35.5 39 2426-2522 517-541 24.0 36.0 40 2509-2607 532-555 24.6 36.5 41 2592-2692 546-569 25.2 37.0 42 2675-2777 560-583 25.8 37.5 43 2758-2862 576-597 26.4 38.0 44 2841-2947 588-611 27.0 38.5 45 2924-3032 602-625 27.6 39.0 46 3007-3117 616-639 28.2 39.5 47 3090-3202 630-653 28.8 40.0 48 3173-3287 644-667 29.4 40.5 49 3256-3372 658-682 30.0 41.0 50 3339-3457 672-696 30.6 41.5 ================================================ Receives Bonuses From: Fire Bolt: +5% Fire Damage per Level Fire Ball: +5% Fire Damage per Level Inferno: +3% Average Fire Damage per Level per Second ================================================= Summary: + Extremely damaging. + Flames burn longer at higher skill levels. + Wide area of effect. + Synergizes well with Fire Ball. - Meteor takes about 2.4 seconds to strike after casting. - Cannot target places with no ground below. - Has a fairly short casting delay. - Numerous prerequisite skills needed to access Meteor. Comments: When you cast this, a red pulsating circle will appear at your targeted point. About 2.4 seconds later, a meteor will slam on the ground, explode, and leave behind a large patch of fire. The initial blast is highly damaging and has a sizable blast radius. When you add that with the potential damage from the flames, Meteor can be the single most damaging fire skill and one of the best crowd killing spells in the sorceress' arsenal. The damage from the flames is nothing to ignore as flames from a high level Meteor can burn for a long time and inflict more damage over time than the blast itself. Targets that don't move like many ranged attackers are perfect fodder for Meteor. For other mobile targets, you can predict where they will go and aim Meteors there, or you can make them stop by using meat shields or freezing then aim. If Meteor is at a high level, you can even drop Meteors to create patches of fire, then lure the enemies over the fire. The flames will stack so you can drop several Meteors on a single point to create an extremely damaging patch of fire. As with Firewall, Meteor is very damaging even with minimal skill investment. Max Meteor and any Fire Mastery will kill decently in Hell. Unlike Firewall, Meteor can be boosted further by syngeries, which turns Meteor from a moderately damaging spell into a superpowered killer. Recommended Points: None or 20. * Fire Mastery (clvl 30) In-game Description: "Passive -- increases all damage caused by your fire spells." ===================================== slvl Percentage | slvl Percentage ==================|================== 1 +30% | 26 +205% 2 +37% | 27 +212% 3 +44% | 28 +219% 4 +51% | 29 +226% 5 +58% | 30 +233% 6 +65% | 31 +240% 7 +72% | 32 +247% 8 +79% | 33 +254% 9 +86% | 34 +261% 10 +93% | 35 +268% 11 +100% | 36 +275% 12 +107% | 37 +282% 13 +114% | 38 +289% 14 +121% | 39 +296% 15 +128% | 40 +303% 16 +135% | 41 +310% 17 +142% | 42 +317% 18 +149% | 43 +324% 19 +156% | 44 +331% 20 +163% | 45 +338% 21 +170% | 46 +345% 22 +177% | 47 +352% 23 +184% | 48 +359% 24 +191% | 49 +366% 25 +198% | 50 +373% ===================================== Summary: + Passive -- always active. + More damage to fire attacks. Damage is king. - Some synergies boost damage more than this. Comments: If you use any fire attacks, put a skill point into this as soon as you reach level 30. Depending on the fire attacks you use, maxing Fire Mastery may or may not be a no-brainer. Some skills such as Firewall or Hydra have no or poor synergies, so maxing mastery is best. For skills that receives high synergy bonuses, such as Fire Ball, it gets a bit tricky. Max synergy will provide more damage than max mastery. However, the bonuses from synergies and masteries are multiplicative, not additive. In other words, a skill's damage is multiplied by the synergy bonus. Then the resulting damage is multiplied by the mastery bonus. Total Damage = skill damage * synergy bonus * mastery bonus Recommended Points: 20 if you have fire attacks. However, a lightning or cold sorceress can get by with just 1 point if Firewall or Meteor is used only to kill lightning and/or cold immune monsters. * Hydra (clvl 30) In-game Description: "Summons a multi-headed beast of flame to reduce your enemies to ashes." ================================================== = Casting Delay: 2 sec. Duration: 10 sec. ================================================== = slvl Fire Damage Mana | slvl Fire Damage Mana =========================|======================== = 1 12- 17 20 | 26 188-218 32 2 16- 22 20 | 27 199-230 33 3 21- 28 21 | 28 209-241 33 4 25- 33 21 | 29 222-255 34 5 30- 39 22 | 30 234-268 34 6 34- 44 22 | 31 247-282 35 7 39- 50 23 | 32 259-295 35 8 43- 55 23 | 33 272-309 36 9 50- 63 24 | 34 284-322 36 10 56- 70 24 | 35 297-336 37 11 63- 78 25 | 36 309-349 37 12 69- 85 25 | 37 322-363 38 13 76- 93 26 | 38 334-376 38 14 82-100 26 | 39 347-390 39 15 89-108 27 | 40 359-403 39 16 95-115 27 | 41 372-417 40 17 104-125 28 | 42 384-430 40 18 112-134 28 | 43 397-444 41 19 121-144 29 | 44 409-457 41 20 129-153 29 | 45 422-471 42 21 138-163 30 | 46 434-484 42 22 146-172 30 | 47 447-498 43 23 157-184 31 | 48 459-511 43 24 167-195 31 | 49 472-525 44 25 178-207 32 | 50 484-538 44 ================================================== = Receives Bonuses From: Fire Bolt: +3% Fire Damage per Level Fire Ball: +3% Fire Damage per Level ================================================== = Summary: + You can attack and kill targets remotely via Hydra. - Long casting delay. - Hydras do not attack for about a second after they are summoned. - You cannot control what targets the Hydra will attack. Comments: When cast, three flaming dragons pop out of the ground. The dragon heads will wait for about a second before they attack. During the rest of the duration, each of the flaming heads will launch powerful fire bolts at enemies within a screen away from them. Together they can shoot on average, sometimes more or less, 20 fire bolts before the heads vanish. What makes Hydra useful is they extend your attack range while possibly keeping the sorceress out of the harm's way. In other words, they can be used as scouts. Just cast them ahead of you and if an enemy is nearby, the Hydra will fire at its direction. For example, to attack an enemy two screens away, place a hydra at the edge of the screen; or to attack an enemy around a corner, place a hydra at the corner. In both cases, the hydra will find the enemy and attack, and often the enemy is unable to retaliate because the sorceress is too far away and/or hiding behind a wall. Ex. corner Ex. two screens +------------+ +------------------------+ | X | Legend | | | | | --------- | X | | | | O = you | * | | ---+ | X = enemy | O | | O * | * = Hydra | | +------------+ +------------------------+ As an offensive spell, Hydra is not very strong, and needs at least maxed Fire Mastery to be useful. The damage is not as high as Fire Ball, Firewall, or Meteor. If fast killing speed is what you want, Hydra is not for you. On the other hand, if you need a safe, long-distance killer, Hydra will get the job done. Recommended Points: 20 if this is a main attack spell. 1 if you need it only to scout ahead and detect enemies. ---------------------- - Lightning Skills - ---------------------- Charged Bolt | Static | Telekinesis Field | | | | | Nova Lightning | | | | | | | | Chain Teleport | Lightning | | / \ | Thunder Energy Shield storm Lightning Mastery * Charged Bolt (clvl 1) In-game Description: "Creates multiple, randomly directed bolts of electrical energy." ================================================== =============== slvl Bolts Lit. Damage Mana | slvl Bolts Lit. Damage Mana ================================|================= =============== 1 3 2- 4 3.0 | 26 28 19-21 15.5 2 4 2- 4 3.5 | 27 29 20-22 16.0 3 5 3- 5 4.0 | 28 30 21-23 16.5 4 6 3- 5 4.5 | 29 31 22-25 17.0 5 7 4- 6 5.0 | 30 32 23-26 17.5 6 8 4- 6 5.5 | 31 33 24-28 18.0 7 9 5- 7 6.0 | 32 34 25-29 18.5 8 10 5- 7 6.5 | 33 35 26-31 19.0 9 11 6- 8 7.0 | 34 36 27-32 19.5 10 12 6- 8 7.5 | 35 37 28-34 20.0 11 13 7- 9 8.0 | 36 38 29-35 20.5 12 14 7- 9 8.5 | 37 39 30-37 21.0 13 15 8-10 9.0 | 38 40 31-38 21.5 14 16 8-10 9.5 | 39 41 32-40 22.0 15 17 9-11 10.0 | 40 42 33-41 22.5 16 18 9-11 10.5 | 41 43 34-43 23.0 17 19 10-12 11.0 | 42 44 35-44 23.5 18 20 11-13 11.5 | 43 45 36-46 24.0 19 21 12-14 12.0 | 44 46 37-47 24.5 20 22 13-15 12.5 | 45 47 38-49 25.0 21 23 14-16 13.0 | 46 48 39-50 25.5 22 24 15-17 13.5 | 47 49 40-52 26.0 23 25 16-18 14.0 | 48 50 41-53 26.5 24 26 17-19 14.5 | 49 51 42-55 27.0 25 27 18-20 15.0 | 50 52 43-56 27.5 ================================================== =============== Receives Bonuses From: Lightning: +6% Lightning Damage per Level ================================================== =============== Summary: + Multiple bolts can hit a single target (unlike Necro's Teeth). + Total damage is great when powered up by max Lightning and Lightning Mastery. - Individual bolts inflict low damage. - You need to stand very close to your target(s) if you want to inflict maximum damage per cast. Comments: Casting Charged Bolt discharges a spray of shots similar to other multishot attacks, and can be used to blanket an area to hit several targets. The flight path of a charged bolt is a steady zigzag, not random drunken flight as the description might lead you to believe. Individually, a charged bolt inflicts minor damage, but unlike other characters' multishot skills, multiple charged bolts can hit a single target. Thus, the sorceress can fire off bolts at a target at point-blank range, and have the majority of them hit for high damage. For a low level skill, Charged Bolt has the potential to become a very good monster killing skill once it and its passive damage booster skills are developed to extremely high levels. Each point added to Charged Bolt adds more damage and one more bolt per cast. Thus, Charged Bolt has increasing returns, and it becomes increasingly more destructive as you increase its skill level. The main downside of this skill is that you have to stand dangerously close to some monsters to inflict maximum damage. Recommended Points: 20 if you use Charged Bolt and/or Lightning as primary attacks. 1 if you need it as a prerequisite to other skills. * Static Field In-game Description: "Creates an electrical field that reduces life of all nearby enemies." ============================= Weakens enemies by 25%. Mana Cost: 9 ============================= slvl Radius | slvl Radius ==============|============== 1 3.3 | 26 20.0 2 4.0 | 27 20.6 3 4.6 | 28 21.3 4 5.3 | 29 22.0 5 6.0 | 30 22.6 6 6.6 | 31 23.3 7 7.3 | 32 24.0 8 8.0 | 33 24.6 9 8.6 | 34 25.3 10 9.3 | 35 26.0 11 10.0 | 36 26.6 12 10.6 | 37 27.3 13 11.3 | 38 28.0 14 12.0 | 39 28.6 15 12.6 | 40 29.3 16 13.3 | 41 30.0 17 14.0 | 42 30.6 18 14.6 | 43 31.3 19 15.3 | 44 32.0 20 16.0 | 45 32.6 21 16.6 | 46 33.3 22 17.3 | 47 34.0 23 18.0 | 48 34.6 24 18.6 | 49 35.3 25 19.3 | 50 36.0 ============================= Summary: + Instantly removes 25% of monster's current life. + Low mana cost of 9 stays constant. + One of the best party support skills. Non-spellcasters will love you for this in boss fights. - Extra skill points only add range. - Low level static field has poor range. - Cannot hit monsters whose life is below the health cap. (Normal = 0%, Nightmare = 33%, Hell = 50%.) Comments: When hit by static, monsters instantly lose 25% of their current life. For low life monsters such as Fallen, this is insignificant. For high life monsters such as Diablo or other bosses, this is highly damaging. In multiplayer games where monster life scales up, 25% life can mean a huge amount of life; and in parties with a sorceress, other members may even request static to help weaken tough monsters. As a monster takes damage, its current life drops, and static will inflict less damage with each successive casting. Below is a small chart that lists how much life a monster will have after hit by successive castings of Static Field. Casts | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 -------+-------------------------------------------------------- Life% | 100.0 75.0 56.3 42.2 31.6 23.7 17.8 13.3 10.0 The idea here is to weaken the enemy with static first, then finish off the enemy with a powerful, decisive attack. Because of damage is a percentange regardless of the amount of life, static field is one the most useful skills a sorceress has, and every sorceress should have points invested in this skill. At level 1, Static Field has very little range -- just beyond melee range. More points to Static Field add to the field's range. At level 10, the field can reach the cardinal points at the edge of the screen. At level 18, the field will affect targets anywhere on the screen, including the corners, and it can affect targets a short distance off the screen. Damage taken from Static Field is affected by resistances. Lightning resistant targets take less than 25% of their current life, and lightning immunes do not take any damage at all. On the other hand, items that lower enemy lightning resistance will cause the target to take more damage. Unfortunately for you, Static Field has a limited effect in Nightmare and Hell. Static Field will automatically miss monsters whose life is below a certain point. In Nightmare, the cutoff is 33% life; in Hell, it is 50%. If a monster heals and regains enough life to exceed the health cap, it is vulnerable to static again until its life falls below the health cap once more. Recommended Points: 1 to 5 points. * Telekinesis (clvl 6) In-game Description: "Uses the power of your mind to pick up items, use objects, and knock back enemies." ======================================= Chance of knockback/stun: 35% Range: 16.6 yards. Mana Cost: 7 ======================================= slvl Lit. Damage | slvl Lit. Damage ===================|=================== 1 1- 2 | 26 26-27 2 2- 3 | 27 27-28 3 3- 4 | 28 28-29 4 4- 5 | 29 29-30 5 5- 6 | 30 30-31 6 6- 7 | 31 31-32 7 7- 8 | 32 32-33 8 8- 9 | 33 33-34 9 9-10 | 34 34-35 10 10-11 | 35 35-36 11 11-12 | 36 36-37 12 12-13 | 37 37-38 13 13-14 | 38 38-39 14 14-15 | 39 39-40 15 15-16 | 40 40-41 16 16-17 | 41 41-42 17 17-18 | 42 42-43 18 18-19 | 43 43-44 19 19-20 | 44 44-45 20 20-21 | 45 45-46 21 21-22 | 46 46-47 22 22-23 | 47 47-48 23 23-24 | 48 48-49 24 24-25 | 49 49-50 25 25-26 | 50 50-51 ======================================= Summary: + Can interact with objects from a distance. + Provides a useful synergy bonus to Energy Shield. - Cannot pick up most items. - Damage is minimal, and knockback is not guaranteed. Comments: With Telekinesis, you click on an object and the sorceress tries to use the object from a distance, even through walls. Thus, you can pick up items or search stashes remotely. TK is limited in item retrieval, for it can only pick up the most common items -- namely gold, keys, potions, scrolls, and ammunition. You can use TK to attack a monster, but it is not worth it since the damage is very low. TK can stun a monster, but the chance of that happening is 35% per cast, so trying to stunlock an enemy with TK, though possible, is not reliable. What Telekinesis can do: * Pick up gold, keys, potions, scrolls (not tomes), and ammunition. * Search barrels, bookshelves, coffins, dead bodies, racks, stashes, urns, and the like. * Open chests. Locked chests still need keys. * Open and close doors. * Activate and use shrines and waypoints. * Access your private stash in town. * Access town portals while in town. * Attack monsters. * Use or destroy quest objects. For objects that require a weapon to smash them (e.g., Khalim's Will for Compelling Orb), you must have that weapon equipped. What Telekinesis cannot do: * Pick up any weapons, armor, jewelry, gems, runes, charms, tomes, or quest items. In other words, all the really good stuff. * Recover your corpse. * Talk to NPCs from a distance. Telekinesis has one other use: it increases Energy Shield absorption efficiency. The more base points you have in Telekinesis, the less mana is used when Energy Shield takes a hit. See Energy Shield below for more details. Recommended Points: If you use Energy Shield, up to 8 points. Otherwise, 1 point -- you will need it to access Teleport! |
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