Need experts advice on pure lightning sorc

[-=Slaye]2=-]

I'm in the progress of making a full lightning sorc based on the guides that are around about full lightning sorces. The sorc is gonna be used purely for keyruns and the occasional Andy, Meph, Pindle runs.

20 charged bolt
20 lightning
20 chain lightning
20 lightning mastery
20 nova (last synergie I'm going to max)
1 telekinisis
1 teleport
1 warmth
1 thunderstorm

Now the guides advice block or no block. I'm thinking of making it with no block cuz it leaves more room open for a nice shield with fcr, resists, skills etc. In my opinion a sorc doesn't need block cuz she has a very nice defense handy in the skill of teleport.

But I'm having serious doubts on what to do about armors and energy shield. Is it wise to get one point into shiver armor? Since I'm a full light sorc I don't have points to synergize energy shield. And what about energy? Should I leave it at base? If I leave it at base my sorc will be dependant on +mana items. Will an insight merc cure mana problems with sorc? Since light sorc drains mana like crazy even insight might not work?

I don't wanna screw this sorc up since I don't have that much time to start all over. I'm currently level 20 and haven't distributed too much points yet. Energy is still base. I need some advice on the energy and wether to put one point into energy shield or not? I'm thinkin of about 100 - 150 into energy and use one point into energy shield. But the mana drain will be higher cuz of no Telekinisis synergie. But the sorc is gonna be used in pvm only. For the rest base dex. Enough str for spirit monarch and all the rest in vitality. Am I making a big mistake with this idea? If so, can somone point me into the right direction? Many thx.

[kennz]

Hi,

I'm not an expert, but i have quite the same build you described. The only difference in skill distribution is that i already have that 1 point in mana shield (of course nova isn't maxed yet). I left dex at base, since with spirit monarch there is no use blocking.

I went on high energy build because:
- no block. No really damage reduction (only 10% from shako, but shako will go when i get griffon), so ranged physical damage would be a problem with a vita build.
- high level spells needs tons of mana. Better base mana means better mana regeneration. Now it's very ok with insight merc, but i'll swap to infinity asap.
- mana burn is not a deadly problem, since mana cost of teleport is very low, so i can tele away from them. I have 1 hard point in tele, but +skills from gear, torch, skillers made 1 mana teleport.

She is lvl90 now, ~700 life, ~1700 mana. With insight merc i can cast ~lvl45 chain lightning forever without mana lost. Key finding is easy, Nilhathak's vipers need some care (only merc can deal with them). Nilhathak himself is not a problem if you wear Nature's Peace and don't let you merc kill the minions (tele him back). Minions killed by your merc will be blown into your face... I can solo Baal with that sorc, the only thing that slows me down is ghouls in the Throne of Destruction - they are job for merc again.

One problem with mana > life is Blood Mana. I have Hoto and Prayer merc (Insight doubles his healing rate), so heal regeneration is quite fast, but i usually tp up to town healer.

So if you plan using infinity, i suggest energy build, i you stay with insight, it's all up to you, get some more advice, maybe a full vita build is good. I'm satisfied with my sorc right now.
I think ~1000 mana + insight will keep you mana high enough to drink rarely mana potions.

kennz

[Raistlin_Majere]

I have a full light sorc as well. I went the vita route (0 points in energy) and I don't have mana problems at all. My merc don't use Insight but I do have CtA which helps with mana.

You don't need shiver armor - the effect of the extra defence is negliable The chilling is nice but if you have enough fcr (you'll wan't 117+ anyway) you should do fine without it.

Unsynergized energy shield is not a good idea with a light sorc - you'll have a high level shield even with 1 point in it resulting in heavy mana loss.

[Tillya]

A small question here's that's maybe a bit offtopic but not totally.
A mod on 'infinity' says '-(45-55)% To Enemy Lightning Resistance'
I was wondering whether that effects every monsters that spawns in sight of the merc or only the monsters the merc actually hits. In the latter case it would be pretty useless since the merc only hits 1 monster a time and your CL doesn't really benefit from it.

[ChaoticOrb]

Infinity is used for the conviction.

[Tillya]

But the -% light res is only applied to the monster the merc actually hits?

[ChaoticOrb]

Only applied for the merc. Even if he hits it before you attack it.

I think.

[Raistlin_Majere]

Only applied for the merc. Even if he hits it before you attack it.

I think.

Correct - it only works for the merc (its the same with all other -res/+dmg items / facets) so it's the conviction aura which is beneficial.

[-=Slaye]2=-]

I have a full light sorc as well. I went the vita route (0 points in energy) and I don't have mana problems at all. My merc don't use Insight but I do have CtA which helps with mana.

You don't need shiver armor - the effect of the extra defence is negliable The chilling is nice but if you have enough fcr (you'll wan't 117+ anyway) you should do fine without it.

Unsynergized energy shield is not a good idea with a light sorc - you'll have a high level shield even with 1 point in it resulting in heavy mana loss.

So I should forgot the whole idea? What if I put all the points that normally go into vit in energy instead. Sorces get more mana then vita in the end if you put all points into energy because sorc get's more mana then life when lvling up. That should leave me with a huge manapool. Would using a point into energyshield still be useless?

[AnimeCraze]

A small question here's that's maybe a bit offtopic but not totally.
A mod on 'infinity' says '-(45-55)% To Enemy Lightning Resistance'
I was wondering whether that effects every monsters that spawns in sight of the merc or only the monsters the merc actually hits. In the latter case it would be pretty useless since the merc only hits 1 monster a time and your CL doesn't really benefit from it.That's not the reason people use infinity. Scroll down a little bit and you will see the 'Level 12 Conviction Aura When Equipped'. That will reduce the resistance of all the enemies in the range of conviction.

[Dennis_KoreanGuy]

1 in Frozen Armor for ezsafe tele to places.

[Raistlin_Majere]

2=-']So I should forgot the whole idea? What if I put all the points that normally go into vit in energy instead. Sorces get more mana then vita in the end if you put all points into energy because sorc get's more mana then life when lvling up. That should leave me with a huge manapool. Would using a point into energyshield still be useless?


Not useless - but my point is if you want to use energy shield (which CAN be a good idea - especially with a light sorc) you should max telekinesis.

Without telekinesis you will loose too much mana - especially from elemental attacks (even with max telekinesis it can get nasty).

You will obviously loose some damage as you cannot max all synergies - so whether you want it or not is a matter of "taste"

[Leohappy]

You will obviously loose some damage as you cannot max all synergies - so whether you want it or not is a matter of "taste"I've been playing around with various lightsorc combinations and I've found ES/light with max mana and some life scs/life skillers to be the most powerful. It really depends on what kind of gear you use, esp. +skills gear, since many skills benefit from +skill bonuses.

Generally with bad gear it's better to max all synergies and go all vit, but with good gear and infinity this is no longer necessary. For example, my lightsorc has 31k lightning damage but has no extra pts in nova. I rip apart everything regardless, and have never been killed in action thx to ES which can absorb crazy amounts of damage with high TK. It's very enjoyable when you don't need to watch your life cup all the time :p.

[MaesterWoody]

2=-']I'm in the progress of making a full lightning sorc based on the guides that are around about full lightning sorces. The sorc is gonna be used purely for keyruns and the occasional Andy, Meph, Pindle runs.

20 charged bolt
20 lightning
20 chain lightning
20 lightning mastery
20 nova (last synergie I'm going to max)
1 telekinisis
1 teleport
1 warmth
1 thunderstorm

Now the guides advice block or no block. I'm thinking of making it with no block cuz it leaves more room open for a nice shield with fcr, resists, skills etc. In my opinion a sorc doesn't need block cuz she has a very nice defense handy in the skill of teleport.

But I'm having serious doubts on what to do about armors and energy shield. Is it wise to get one point into shiver armor? Since I'm a full light sorc I don't have points to synergize energy shield. And what about energy? Should I leave it at base? If I leave it at base my sorc will be dependant on +mana items. Will an insight merc cure mana problems with sorc? Since light sorc drains mana like crazy even insight might not work?

I don't wanna screw this sorc up since I don't have that much time to start all over. I'm currently level 20 and haven't distributed too much points yet. Energy is still base. I need some advice on the energy and wether to put one point into energy shield or not? I'm thinkin of about 100 - 150 into energy and use one point into energy shield. But the mana drain will be higher cuz of no Telekinisis synergie. But the sorc is gonna be used in pvm only. For the rest base dex. Enough str for spirit monarch and all the rest in vitality. Am I making a big mistake with this idea? If so, can somone point me into the right direction? Many thx.

If i'm aint mistakin.. I think the skills are right, but you might need a little more energy, the lightning skills mana cost can get a little high.. im sure you want to have high skills..(at the cost of alot of energy).. talkin like 45 mana a shot for lightning maybe..

Just helpin a firiendly neighborhood forum member.. :clap:

[yelopen]

2=-']I'm in the progress of making a full lightning sorc based on the guides that are around about full lightning sorces. The sorc is gonna be used purely for keyruns and the occasional Andy, Meph, Pindle runs.

20 charged bolt
20 lightning
20 chain lightning
20 lightning mastery
20 nova (last synergie I'm going to max)
1 telekinisis
1 teleport
1 warmth
1 thunderstorm

Now the guides advice block or no block. I'm thinking of making it with no block cuz it leaves more room open for a nice shield with fcr, resists, skills etc. In my opinion a sorc doesn't need block cuz she has a very nice defense handy in the skill of teleport.

But I'm having serious doubts on what to do about armors and energy shield. Is it wise to get one point into shiver armor? Since I'm a full light sorc I don't have points to synergize energy shield. And what about energy? Should I leave it at base? If I leave it at base my sorc will be dependant on +mana items. Will an insight merc cure mana problems with sorc? Since light sorc drains mana like crazy even insight might not work?

I don't wanna screw this sorc up since I don't have that much time to start all over. I'm currently level 20 and haven't distributed too much points yet. Energy is still base. I need some advice on the energy and wether to put one point into energy shield or not? I'm thinkin of about 100 - 150 into energy and use one point into energy shield. But the mana drain will be higher cuz of no Telekinisis synergie. But the sorc is gonna be used in pvm only. For the rest base dex. Enough str for spirit monarch and all the rest in vitality. Am I making a big mistake with this idea? If so, can somone point me into the right direction? Many thx.

You don't really need to have ES on for key runs. It completely ruins your mana pool even with 150 energy and no telekinesis.

Anyways, I would advise against base energy, 100 should be enough, or like 60 if you have insight.

I say no to max block because I think it leaves too little room for vitality. For max block, you'll need ALOT of dex since Spirit Monarch has pretty bad blocking.

No Shiver Armor, thats too many points in the cold tree, leaving you with less skill points to max nova with. Frozen armor should be good, or even no armor.

[Taidan]

would this be viable with NO ladder gear?

[leeuwvvl]

You don't need shiver armor - the effect of the extra defence is negliable The chilling is nice but if you have enough fcr (you'll wan't 117+ anyway) you should do fine without it.

i disagree, with one point (and with +skills from items) in it my sorc receives 90% def bonus that's nearly dubbling my defence for 1 point!... pretty nice dont ya think... and i can go 2 or 3 skills up even...

cheers mates,

*leeuwvvl

[AnimeCraze]

Doubling a penny is still pretty worthless, IMO. I simply think that your sorc will not have enough defense where doubling it makes a difference.

[Rash]

There are some things to take into account when deciding what to built:

Vita only: Uses max synergies, spirit monarch. You have to decided here if you want cta second slot (recommended) or some staff giving you shiver/frost armor.

max block: No spirit monarch but some blocking shield (mosars...), can still max out synergies. Decide between cta or armor precast second slot or skip few points for putting points into armor. Think for max block armor makes the most sense...

ES sorc: Skip nova and put the points into TS (you need max TS here). Cta second slot recommended for more mana. Also needs some points in energy.

[Polara]

If you are playing through the game at a normal rate, no rushing, you will probably want some points into energy.

If you feel that you are sucking down potions faster than you should be throw a couple points into energy untill you feel comfortable. It isn't going to ruin your character.

Never tried a max block sorc , from what I have read it doesn't seem like a great idea.

You should probably have a merc equiped with insight until you have the runes for infinity, or make yourself an insight staff for playing through the lower levels of the game...