Budget Lightning sorc for countessruns

[TheBigClown]

The last couple of days I've been running the countess with a 63% fcr pure blizz sorc. I really like running the countess, but I feel that I could improve alot! Now, I don't wanna retire my blizzsorc, so I'm wondering if it's possible to survive with a budget lightning sorc. She will be w/o Torch and Anni as my blizz sorc wants em. I don't have a griff and I won't try getting one - the same goes for the 20% fcr belt and I don't feel like putting all my economy into lightning skillers neither. But I guess countessruns is all about the speed and not so much about damage. I plan on creating a pure lightning sorc. This is what I got itemwise:

+2 lightning skills / 20% fcr rare circlet (I plan on putting a shael rune into this).
Wizardspike (with a hel).
Viper (what's a good socket for this?).
Magefist.
2 x 10% fcr rings with 12% res all and an extra 14% cr and a total of 114 mana.
10% fcr / 17% fhr belt.
Ww 62.

This leaves me with 150% fcr. So I need another 50% from spirit monarch (going all vita) and a crafted amu. Will this build be able to run the countess succesfully? My res won't be maxed, but it will be 50%+. My merc will be using an eth insight cv and some random armour and helm. A crafted +2 lightning skill amulet would give me a lightning damage of 1-11109 (at lvl 88). I know this is very low, but could it possible be succesfully knowing that the countessrun is all about the teleport speed?

[zallus]

Yes if you only plan on running countess then you will be fine. You don't need Godly gear to have a good char

[sirpoopsalot]

successful yes, optimal no...

Dark Archers are the most dangerous monsters in the Countess' tower. They're always LI. With the poor blocking from a Spirit shield, there will be times that those archers shoot you and your merc full of holes. Without an Infinity, and as a pure-lightning sorc, you won't have any method to counter them except relying upon your merc. He won't always succeed. FYI, he won't often succeed.


On a budget, I'd recommend that you go with 105 FCR and max-block. Without Infinity and/or good+ equipment, a pure lightning sorc will get spanked every 30-50 runs. Having a good block% will reduce that to every ~100+ runs. Viscerteratuant, Moser's Blessed Circle, and Whistan's Guard are all cheap, nice blocking shields - and in some cases (like this) they're as good as Spirit.

Another option is to throw a few points into a cold skill and use that to chill/slow/freeze/kill the archers. CL/FO sorcs are very viable untwinked, are solid builds, and you won't be sacraficing your kill-speed all that much.

[Sonic Whitesand]

Sorry for the semi-of topic post.. Blizz soso on Countess..!? I'm going to try that right now.. Guess my merc's going to have lots to do now.. :tongue:

[EquiLa]

successful yes, optimal no...

Dark Archers are the most dangerous monsters in the Countess' tower. They're always LI. With the poor blocking from a Spirit shield, there will be times that those archers shoot you and your merc full of holes. Without an Infinity, and as a pure-lightning sorc, you won't have any method to counter them except relying upon your merc. He won't always succeed. FYI, he won't often succeed.

I agree and I will go for maxblock if I ever rebuild that char.

I did a lot of countess runs on my lightsorc with spirit and max stamina (Ended up with around 1300 hp, some charms no Cta) and I didn't really have any problem with the archers. If you just plan ahead and tele your merc close to them you can most often take them out quite smoothly.

You always have the option of you teleing right up to the countess and kill her fast ignoring everything else which works out pretty well. Only problem then is if you tele right into a pack of them.

Another option is to throw a few points into a cold skill and use that to chill/slow/freeze/kill the archers. CL/FO sorcs are very viable untwinked, are solid builds, and you won't be sacraficing your kill-speed all that much.

The man speaks the truth again. A Meteo or FB / FO or Light/FO is probably the better choice for these kinds of runs.

[TheBigClown]

Okay, thx for input :thumbsup:

I said that I don't want to retire my blizzsorc - perhaps I will! I'm really hooked on countessruns :laugh:

If I do that, my countessrunner will have to be able run mf places, however. I would like an allround sorc that can run the countess fast and do "real" mfruns. I figure a lightning/cold sorc will be my best bet. I won't be able to get an infinity, however (it's way more expensive than I can affort).

I think I must be satisfies with 117% fcr taking into account that I want decent mf as well. This is what I think:

Holy freeze merc with high ed eth insight cv, upped eth duriel's and a gaze.

Griffon (just a random one for 25% fcr and ofc -res).
Crescent moon.
Tal's amu, armour (pt) and belt for good mf, res and fcr.
Magefist.
32%+ spirit.
2 x fcr rings.
Trek.
Torch.
Anni.
39% gheed's
12% fhr gc.

Switch: gull dagger + ryhme.

Fcr: 117%.
Mf: 231/356.
Res: Haven't figures that, but I believe my res should be good enough.

I got 3 cold skillers. Should I try converting em to lightskillers?

Skills lvl 90:

20 Orb.
1 CM. Along with the 3 coldskillers I will have + 12 to cold skills.
1 Warmth.
1 Tele.
20 Lightning.
20 CL.
20 LM.
9 CB.
1 TS.

Orb damage: 445-466 and -80 res.
CL damage: 4-4447.
Lightning damage: 4-8526.
TS damage: 442-923.

-light res: 53%+ (I have a low light facet to socket in griffon).

How does this allround sorc sounds to you guy's?

[TheBigClown]

I see that 4 skiller would fetch me 12k lightning. I surpose I should try converting thoose coldskillers into lightskillers. Btw, I'll hit the 86% fhr bp.

[sirpoopsalot]

either set of skillers will help - lightning for the Countess & her minions; cold for the archers. So, whatever you feel is best will work.

And your build & equipment will definitely work. As I said earlier, be cautious around the archers, but most times you'll be just fine.


And since you're enjoying Countess runs... The (Hopefully) Definitive Guide to Running the Countess - Draft (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=536471)... it's based mostly for single-player, and some of my opinions have evolved a little, but most of this is still pretty accurate.

[Dizzymjewu]

My pure lightning sorc does quite well in countessruns, with my a2 merc wielding reaper's toll, gladiator's bane and crown of thieves.

Her equip:
Rare circlet with 2 skills 20 fcr
Rare amu with 2 skills 10 fcr and resists
Upped and Umed Vipermagi
Whitstans Guard
Eschuta 3/18
Sandstorm Treks
Frostburn
Gloom's Trap
Raven Frost and Dwarf Star.

She's setup for max block so lots of dexterity, about 100 strength and rest 2/3 energy and 1/3 vitality.

Also, this is not by any means expensive!

With my merc killing the Archers and me killing Rangers i'll bash through in about 20 seconds (from tower level 5).

Hope this well help you :smiley:

[TheBigClown]

either set of skillers will help - lightning for the Countess & her minions; cold for the archers. So, whatever you feel is best will work.

And your build & equipment will definitely work. As I said earlier, be cautious around the archers, but most times you'll be just fine.


And since you're enjoying Countess runs... The (Hopefully) Definitive Guide to Running the Countess - Draft (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=536471)... it's based mostly for single-player, and some of my opinions have evolved a little, but most of this is still pretty accurate.

The guide is a very nice read :thumbsup: I have one question though: I see that you recommend the reaper's toll (which is a very nice polearm!), but how about the mana without an insight? How much mana does one needs to be "safe"? Another question: Would theachery rw be an option for the merc? Or is the 5% ctc fade too small? I do have a shaft, however. But I like the fade look :smiley:

[MassiveSin]

TheBigClown,
I run all 3 with my pure lit sorc and a necro wand in the stash with lower resistance charges. My mana is about 850-950 & full resistances.
She has 1 point in warmth and every other point in the lit tree.
She doesn't have a mana issue; I can constant (1 point) teleport the entire map looking for the tower and by the time entering only pot once on the worst case. Another 2 pots max to reach level 5 and countess dies consistantly to 2-3 lightning bolts for me on avg.
The gear I'm using is full Tal with a fcr ring, nature's peace, war trav, and magefist upped. Nothing socketed
I can run her and the other 2 key holders with no issue because I use an Act 5 merc that I lvled up from Normal. He wears glade bane, vamp gaze and an eth Flamebellow all not socketed.
Unless the archer pack down there has might aura he doesn't die at all.
So in terms of answering your question, you do not need expensive gear. The only thing that is going to speed up or slow you down is if you, full clear the tower, or full clear the countess room. I tele straight down (unless I see a huge wraith pack on the way) and tele right into the room shoot a few Lbolts to kill her and look to see for the runes and key(s) letting the archers shoot at my merc and me.
When the archers have might aura, I will lure them out of the room and go around and back into via tele.

[sirpoopsalot]

The guide is a very nice read :thumbsup: I have one question though: I see that you recommend the reaper's toll (which is a very nice polearm!), but how about the mana without an insight? How much mana does one needs to be "safe"? Another question: Would theachery rw be an option for the merc? Or is the 5% ctc fade too small? I do have a shaft, however. But I like the fade look :smiley:

Insight and/or Treachery are both viable.

I don't like to rely on the 5% ctc, but even without, it's still a decent armour. Although you're probably aware that Fade does come with a hidden DR%, so Treachery will make up some of the difference, but the outright benefit of Shaftstop is hard to beat.

For mana, I'd say somewhere in the 700-800 range is enough that your mana regeneration should be enough on its own (so Insight isn't as necessary if you can get that much mana). Of course, I'm not counting an active Energy Shield to eat into that.

[TheBigClown]

[QUOTE=MassiveSin;6117536]I use an Act 5 merc that I lvled up from Normal[QUOTE]

Does it matter if you buy a high lvl merc or lvl him up from low lvl?

I probably need some mana fcr rings if I don't use insight merc.

I'll probably end up upping a shaft, but the fade look is really nice though :sad2: but luckily I can allways chance my merc gear.

[sirpoopsalot]

Does it matter if you buy a high lvl merc or lvl him up from low lvl?


It matters the difficulty you buy them in. Earlier difficulties will have slightly better stats, skills, resists, etc. So a barbarian purchased in normal difficulty will be slightly better than one purchased in NM or Hell. This is true for every type of merc, not just barbs.

However, since 1.11 came out, it doesn't matter if you purchase them at level9 or at level90.

[TheBigClown]

A friend of mine suggested me to use full tal's. This will give me more + to skills along with some other nice mods, and make my orb alot better, but I will lack high -res (I do have more + to skills, however). This seams like a really strong option - taking into acc that it's alot cheaper to obtain. Any thoughts on this option?

[sirpoopsalot]

Full Tal's is pretty nice. It's got a lot of great stuff, but it's a little bit lacking in FCR. Using the full set, it's a good idea to find a perfect FCR Spirit shield and magefists to at least get you to 8-frame teleport. If you want to go for a good breakpoint on lightning/chain-lightning, you'll need another 12+ (on top of perfect Spirit and Magefists) from your rings (since rings only spawn with 10 FCR, you'd need two of them to surpass the CL/L breakpoint - if you pursue that, you now only need 27+ FCR on the Spirit).

If you can get a Griffon's Eye, then it's simply the best helm for a lightning-based sorc. If you can't get that, then full tal's is possibly the next-best setup.

[TheBigClown]

I think I'll go for full tal's as I'm gonna get orb. And I'll save runes :smiley:

And yes, I'll use magefist + 2 x 10% fcr rings (I got 2 decent ones) along with 27% spirit.

what should I socket in the 3 tal's? Keep in mind I want to do "real" mfruns as well. I guess topaz in helm and armour and a light facet in orb would be a good option?

[sirpoopsalot]

yeah, those are probably the cheapest options, and they're certainly reasonably useful too.

[TheBigClown]

Atm I have a lvl 19 CM (just 1 hard point). Would it be a good idea to pump it up to lvl 22 for -125%? I've heard that archers have 25% cold res. Or should I go for light synergies all the way?

Happy Christmas all! :smiley:

[sirpoopsalot]

I've tried both and I prefer the lightning synergies.

Since the archers only spawn ~30% of the time, and they're only dangerous ~3% of the runs, I like having the extra lightning damage that helps every run.