Sorceress - what to improve?

[gbullit]

Hi!
I haven't played that long. Have Diablo 2 + expansion, both patched to v.1.11, I got one Sorceress killed by Duriel. Started on another one. Act 2 now, merc defence lvl 24. My stats: lvl 25, str 44, dex 28, vit 60 and ene 82. Def 170, stam 166, life 193, mana 246. Fres 58, CR 42, Lres 48, Pres 56. Thanks to armor and some other stuff. Lightning: CB 12, Lightn 3, CL 2, SF 2, Nova 1, TK 1, TP 1, ES 1. Cold: Ice bolt 1, IB 1. Fire: Blaze 1 (item). I am trying to follow a guide I found here, but don't know what is most important to improve. Any help would be much appreciated :smiley: And what to do with all the money got 150 k in stash, carrying another 150 k :grin:

[melianor]

Hi!
I haven't played that long. Have Diablo 2 + expansion, both patched to v.1.11, I got one Sorceress killed by Duriel. Started on another one. Act 2 now, merc defence lvl 24. My stats: lvl 25, str 44, dex 28, vit 60 and ene 82. Def 170, stam 166, life 193, mana 246. Fres 58, CR 42, Lres 48, Pres 56. Thanks to armor and some other stuff. Lightning: CB 12, Lightn 3, CL 2, SF 2, Nova 1, TK 1, TP 1, ES 1. Cold: Ice bolt 1, IB 1. Fire: Blaze 1 (item). I am trying to follow a guide I found here, but don't know what is most important to improve. Any help would be much appreciated :smiley: And what to do with all the money got 150 k in stash, carrying another 150 k :grin:

Which guide is that? That would be important to know! Welcome Diablo 2 and welcome to the Sorceress forum! :grin:

[gbullit]

Hi again!
I think the guide is called: CL/FO - Chain Lightning/Frozen Orb Sorceress 1.0 (m0nk)
How do you do "runeword" .. read your other reply about Duriel? :smiley:

[melianor]

Hi again!
I think the guide is called: CL/FO - Chain Lightning/Frozen Orb Sorceress 1.0 (m0nk)
How do you do "runeword" .. read your other reply about Duriel? :smiley:

CL/FO is a nice build. Without alot of good items that you get from running bosses you might straggle a bit in your later levels, but when you get into 60-80 levels it should be all fine again. Remember to stock alot of mana potions!

I would suggest that you when you get Frozen Orb at lvl30, you keep putting points into Frozen Orb until it is maxed and also some points into Cold Mastery. After that continue with the Lightning tree. Frozen Orb simple rules as a killing spell in Normal and Nightmare difficulty.

Here you will find alot of basic information: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/ and here you will find information about runes and runewords and how to make them.

http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runes.shtml
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runewords.shtml
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/cube.shtml

[gbullit]

HI again!
Thanks melianor for the tips, I am going to read the stuff about runes and runeworld. I got a staff 3-socketed with Firewall +1 and Lightning +1. Now I will try to get the runes :smiley: Is it possible to go back to Act 1 and try that Countess a few times or will I be punished in any way for going back. Can my merc accompany me or do I have to get rid of him?

[melianor]

HI again!
Thanks melianor for the tips, I am going to read the stuff about runes and runeworld. I got a staff 3-socketed with Firewall +1 and Lightning +1. Now I will try to get the runes :smiley: Is it possible to go back to Act 1 and try that Countess a few times or will I be punished in any way for going back. Can my merc accompany me or do I have to get rid of him?

You can try as often as you want, no penalty. But you need a staff with exactly 2 sockets and the name at the top needs to be grey. If it is blue, that means it is magic and you cannot make a runeword in such an item.

Take your Merc whereever you want, he will follow you to his death. Then just resurrect him ;)

[gbullit]

Hi melianor, thanks for the links. Luckily I was wrong about the staff :grin: It says "long staff" in grey letters, 2 to teleport, 1 to firewall, 1 to lightning. I hope this staff is ok :smiley: The staff is 2-socket. On my way back to the Countess again, to see if I can get the runes.

[MageChick]

Yep, just do the coutess a few times to get the runes. You probably won't get lucky enought to get both of them on the first try.

Remember to equip your merc with some equipment too. If he can stay alive in front of durial for a while then that will make your job much easier. Merc stays in front of him and tanks him, while you sit back and cast your most damageing spells. If your merc is holding him still, then firwall can be great. Even if he's chasing you in circles around the chamber, then keep casting firewalls and trying to get him to run through them.

[gbullit]

I found the runes and have made the staff "Leaf staff". I am lvl 28 now and to get 4 FM I guess I have to be lvl 30. So I will try to make 2 lvls more. Is there much difference when I also have 4 FM? :)

[Noite Escura]

I found Duriel to be a pain in normal depending on the sorc build I have. I always try to have 50% or more block and tank him myself instead of letting the merc do it. With a decent armor, decent block, a cold armor(got from item on switch if needed) and defiance aura maybe I can tank him enough to Static Field his life to sliver. If the merc tanks he always dies quickly leaving me alone. If you are used to changing skills fast try to have him always frozen. That cripples his attack a lot.
On Nightmare and Hell he'll be a cakewalk with Frozen Orb. Just keep running and Orbing him. He can't charge you while frozen.
[Edit] I see now that you did already beat the bugger...