Help needed, Choosing a build

[Huplet]

I have a clean level 80 sorc, no skills/stats, and I can't decide which build to make. I've narrowed it down to a few builds, and I would appreciate some advice/debate/input of any kind. I plan to play PvP as I get comfortable with the style of play.

My choices are a pure Blizz Sorc, FB/Meteor (primarily FB), and a FO sorc.

I am going to go with 1 point in ES, 20 in TK, but the the rest of the build I'm still unsure of. My gear:

Shako
Maras
CoH
Hoto
Spirit
Arach
Magefist/Frosties (Which is better?)
SoJs/FCR-Str Rings depending on gloves
Treks
(Switch CTA, Spirit, stash 9ES Memory/pre-buff gear)

Pretty standard gear. Anyway, I'm having some serious trouble deciding, and I would appreciate some help. Thanks.

[Littlewoodenboy]

hi being around the sorc forum alot i kind of got a varitey of information that might be useful to you. i see your making an ES build. first of all ur gear. COH is a decent choice but in PVM enigma is the way to go with the cause 15%dmg goes to mana 14 to life are keys for pvm not to mention all the other +'s it offers. if u can get to 117% FCR go for it. i know what ur think im gonna have low resist but ES Sorc's dont need much resistanc dmg is going to mana so +30 res in hell is good. so plus mana in this build is vital. try and get ur mana above 2500. Life is good but around 1000k life is all you need for this build u want more with gcs ect.. more power to you. eth treks are perfect they the best for ES build giveing u +stats and str also the 70 to poison resisetance good choice. along witht aracnids cant get beter than those 2. shako i would recommend chagining for a nightwings griffs or a godley sorc fcr circlet. like i said 117fcr is well worth it. frosties or magefist heres what i think if u can reach 117fcr without mages than go frosties for the 40%more mana. ES cant have too much mana. if ur using hoto then np getting it and having frosties on. 2sojs would be best. a godley sorc ammy with skills life fcr life res would be the best but maras will do. if ur using hoto than probably maras would be good if u hit that 117fcr. hope this helps.

as for merc act 2 freeze
infinity i think is best or u can get ensight if u chose to but u will have plenty
eth fort
eth ral'd andys for that 10LL

hope this helps and good luck

[Littlewoodenboy]

dueling is another story a different set up is probably better for dueling.

[Huplet]

Excellent advice, thanks very much.

[Borje]

Littlewoodenboy has covered most of it, but a few adds. About life you should try to find yourself a good amount you are satisfied with - it's a bout a comfort level, if you are going to heavily prebuff your mana to get it up to, or at least close to, 95% sorb it's best to get your mana up all the way. If you are taking constant damage (so that your mana gets minimum regen) and your life runs out before your mana, all that mana ain't gonna help you (Getting worried I made LWB get too low life, hope this isn't the case :hide:). A small correction, LWB, damage to mana aint gonna help much 'cause it's applied after energy shield so only 14% of the mana that passes through your ES will be going to mana.

One more think to consider when making a Chaos running sorc is that the merc will die a lot from IM so you should consider carrying the Infinity yourself unless you are prepared to do some serious baby sitting. If you let your merc carry it I'd say you should give him a Treachery armour to get fade and the curse length reduction.

[Huplet]

I appreciate the help. Which build do you think I should go with?

[Borje]

Lol, I missread Choosing form Chaosing, but what I said is still right, perhaps not that usefull ;)

I'd say build an Orb/Baller, they work very well in all areas. Also, since I missread the title I read through a bit more careful. If you are going to use heavy prebuff you might as well consider putting a few extra points in ES to get it to level 40 with your prebuff (with maximum prebuff gear it only takes 5 hard points). If you do this you can keep her vit at base, and that's something to tell your grandchildren ;)

I really suck at pvp, so I can't help you there however. So you could probably strike pretty much all I have written so far. Sorry, I have been studying all day and I'm pretty tired...

thought it through a little more.. you will loose out prety much Fire Ball damage if you go ES, I haven't tried an ES/Ball/Orb build but since the synergy gets you +14% damage you loose out on quite a bit of fire damage!

[Huplet]

=) You're being a bit hard on yourself.

The only reason I decided on ES was for PvP...It seems as though it's almost required for a good PvP sorc. Assuming I can get a +30 prebuff, would you advise spending 10 points into ES, or sticking with 5 and adding some vitality?

Also, Orb/Ballers are FO/FB? Is there a guide to them? I would prefer your recommendation.

[Borje]

yes, orb/baller=Frozen Orb/Fire Ball. However since there are no immunes in PvP you would better focus on getting one damage really high. The reason to get Frozen Orb/Fire Ball is to have a way to deal with immunes. Since I haven't playd any sorcs in PvP I can't really say, but I have been a bit interrested in building a FB sorc for PvP, you'd best check out the stickied thread called The Sorceress Guide & Knowledge Library [2nd Edition] (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=427018), there you will find many good guides.

Yes, the way I have come to understand it, for PvP ES is a must, so by all means, don't loose even more damage by getting multiple elements :wink3:. For the reason mentioned earlier I couldn't say if it would be worth spending those extra points in ES either. One thing worth considering is that unless you use the Lightning skills you could save a few points by not spending any points in ES but only using your prebuff staff!