Another Blocking thread :)

[Matt]

I'm sorry, I'm sure this gets asked ALL the time, but my circumstances are slightly different... This is a Hardcore Orb sorceress designed to MF the ancient tunnels, Andy, Mephisto and the Mausoleum in Hell.

Gear (not exact, could change before all is said and done, shes still leveling at the moment)
Rubied Pcrown
90ish mana, 30ish MF ammy
Wizardspike
2x diamonded mosers
resist/mf boots (not too good)
Chance guards or Frostburns, if i need FCR, magefists
29resist Vipermagi
Tals belt
Ravenfrost
10 fcr, Mana, low mf, small resists rare ring

Switch:
Rhyme, Alibaba

Merc: (hell defiance, act2)
Shaftstop, Rubied
Rockstopper, Rubied
Ariocs needle OR 3x amn'd Hone Sudan, not sure which yet, have both.

Skills:
Max orb
Max ice blast
Max mastry
Max TK
1 Energy shield
1 teleport
1 warmth
1 prerequisites

My question: (keeping in mind this is a hardcore Sorc, how will I best stay alive?)
Is it worth maxing Blocking, when the obvious tradeoff is a bit less life? Im looking at max resists in hell with Anya done and a decent sized mana pool, which, coupled with TK and ES should do fairly well in keeping me alive. Should I spend the extra points in Dex to max it out or should I place the skills elsewhere?
Also, should I place points into Energy to add to my mana pool, making TK+ES more effective, or should I place them in vitality, to straight up add life?
Thank you very much for your help!

-Matt

[NeoHydragen]

Mosers has a block rate of 50 on a sorc and I believe 220 dex for max block at lvl70. I haven't been in the areas you mention lately, but if there are a lot of ranged attackers I would probably recommend getting max block, assuming you have enough charms to offset your extreemly low vitality.

This is comming from a HC player, where dieing matters, unlike SC where dieing is just a pain in the anal region.

[Matt]

Thanks Neo :) I think I will aim for max blocking, though that will leave my vitality stretched a little thin. The upside is that I'm not using a SS or anything, my highest str req will be 60ish, so that frees up a LOT of points over some other builds.
Resists:
75 (Wiz)
30(anya)
29 (Vipermagi)
19 (diamond in another shield)
-----
53% resist all in hell with a non mosers shield, though with Um or a %resist all jewel
I could use a whistans and more easily achieve max blocking.

Do I place points into energy to boost ES+TK or vitality to boost my life?

Thanks!
-Matt

[NeoHydragen]

My sorc (Lumletta, lvl79) Is doing pretty good right now with lvl17ish Telekinesis and 50% EShield and base mana. This may not be a very realistic option unless you have a second computer (Having a second computer gives me the advantage to have my BO barb with lvl39 BO in the game)

With enough +mana charms and gear, I would think that it would be alright

[Matt]

I DO have a second computer :) However, its in an adjacent room and I dont have a BO barb, so you are right, might not be such a viable idea. How much mana would a pure orber need for, say, a meph run?

-Matt

[C_Marfy]

I DO have a second computer :) However, its in an adjacent room and I dont have a BO barb, so you are right, might not be such a viable idea. How much mana would a pure orber need for, say, a meph run?

-Matt

Bring a pair of frostburns and 1-6 blue pots and you the trip will be smoooooth. I wouldn't use ES on the way down though as it could lead to some nasty situations.

[ConFusion]

I agree, I'm using the meteorb build stickied on top off this forum and it works great (with equipment compareable to yours). I run mef hell since lvl 78, with max all res and max block. Since the worst dmg is from Mephisto (elemental), you'll probably be best off without energy shield as it drains a lot of mana. You could try that build as well, giving you the advantage of having 2 elements (so you can kill everything except fire/cold immune... well, bring in the merc ;))

[Matt]

Hmmm... fill me in... whats so bad about using ES with elemental attacks? And i thought the main purpose of ES WAS for teleing... Hmm... glad I asked now, my lack of knowledge on sorcs is shining through ;)

-Matt

[sorcyone]

With ES, your elemental and physicals resistances are not counted, so your mana drains very fast. IMHO ES is not worth using in 1.10, but HC it might be worth it.

Mosers has a block of 57%. If upgrade this to elite it goes to 72% - well worth the upgrade, and the defense jumps to about 345, both help a lot against archers. You will need 100 Strength.

For your character, upgraded Mosers is probably the best shield, second best would be upgraded Viscerant (same block 72% but +1 skills, but no 25% resist all, and only 1 socket).

Whistans has slightly better block 87%, but cannot be upgraded. IMHO even an unupgraded Moser is better because of the 2 sockets and the 25% resist all.