LLD Sorceress- Es viability Question

[Reticent Drappa]

Hello all,
Recently I made my first low level dueler, and I found it MUCH more enjoyable then high level dueling for various reasons.
The character I decided to make was a sorceress, as they are one of my favorite classes, and I am also quite adept at using them.
I chose to use the cold skill tree, to be able to slow and cut down the
oppositions cold resistance. Because of this I leveled her to 30, and had her glitched to hell mode in order to get her the extra skill quests available.
:shocked:
My question is whether anyone knows if energy shield could/would be viable at such a low lvl, while still retaining enough damage. I would of course need to put into telekinesis to make it effective...
I understand that with enough 15 to life scs (possibly with other mods) she could potentially have as much life as she does now, while also having energy shield to protect her further. She uses 2 sojs, which would ofc be much more helpful if she had energy shield, along with the use of frostburns,...

I was considering putting nothing into energy shield itself, and putting about 10 points into telekinesis. This way I could save points on pre-reqs, and could use a +3 es orb to cast es before dueling.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, ; }

[NewForumBloke]

Well, really you only need to invest 1 pt into tk for lld sorc, otherwise the dmg sacrifice is much too great. In order to get a high lvl es though your going to have to really prebuff imo, +4-5 es orb, visc, viper, +2 lite ammy, +2 light helm, etc. The biggest part though for lld ES sorcs are that they need mana charms and most aim for a bare minimum of 1.3kish mana. Theyre very powerful when made right, and with insight, they can last for nearly forever.

Glad to hear your enjoying lld so far :D

-BLoke :smug:

[SmittySixTen]

Honestly, I've tried to use ES on my LLD Fireball sorc, and I found that attacks cut through my mana much too quickly. However, for a Blizzer or Orber I think it can work. The reason is because you likely will not be constantly casting, even if you choose to fire Ice Blast while you wait on your timer. Lit and Fire sorces constantly are casting in LLD, making ES more of a crippling skill than a crutch.

I'd suggest getting ES on a staff that you can turn into an Insight, then put it on your switch. If you're lucky you can get shiver or frozen armor on it as well. Right now I actually have two staffs that I switch between, one with Frozen and the other with Chilling. The other reason is that it will allow you to test it out, without actually investing points. As it is, you'll need at very least 700 mana to make it worthwhile (unless you plan on constantly potting--I don't use any pots when I duel, so it makes that much more useless to me personally).

Investing hard points into ES is a complete waste, as it will reduce your damage by quite a bit. I just tried to check the damage difference, but the skill calculator is down at the moment. Regardless, six points that you can't use on your attack skills are not worth the investment.

[Reticent Drappa]

Thank you for the replies, I suspected as you have both confirmed that hard points into es would be much too costly. As for the 1 point into telekinesis, will it really suffice? I was thinking 5-10 points into tk would be necessary, but if not, then that is definately a big relief. I will work on finding an orb/staff with at least +3 to es on it for prebuffing, and I do not plan on using mana pots during duels. Right now she has +7 to skills (working on getting a nice amulet to help her with prebuff and one ofc for dueling).
I was able to trade for a low strength Insight. If it isn't considered bm, ( I can imagine much worse) then that may fare useful in certain duels on switch, if my mana bulb gets drained. ; }

[SmittySixTen]

Honestly, I wouldn't put a single point into telekinesis beyond what is needed for teleport, let alone 5-10. You only have 41 skill points to work with. Granted it would take a lot longer to kill you, but not much longer.

The difference between level 1 and level 5 telekinesis is less than .3 mana per point of damage absorbed (1.68 instead of 1.93). However, your damage will drop by more than 100 (from a max of 1087 to a max of ~970). If you were to put telekinesis to level 10 your damage will decrease to 891, while your absorb multiplier chances to 1.37.

To me, the damage is more wanted than the absorb.

[NewForumBloke]

Do not do lld orb! Seriously! Mdr ruins the whole skill of orb. I think it was Fed or maybe Queen that tried a LLD orber and they went all out trying to equip it before testing it, only to find that after penalties, you barely do like 50 pvp dmg and thats if your lucky.

Blizz is indeed the best reaper of use for ES in LLD for the exact reasons that Smitty said, they dont spend that much mana as a FBer does. And yes, dont spend a hard point into ES, get it all from orb+shield, and make sure you get a very high medi staff with at least one point in shiver armor to prevent any more unnecessary points.

if i can find the thread later about the orber sorc, ill link it back here, but right now ive got to get to class lol.

-BLoke :smug:

[Reticent Drappa]

Honestly, I wouldn't put a single point into telekinesis beyond what is needed for teleport, let alone 5-10. You only have 41 skill points to work with. Granted it would take a lot longer to kill you, but not much longer.

The difference between level 1 and level 5 telekinesis is less than .3 mana per point of damage absorbed (1.68 instead of 1.93). However, your damage will drop by more than 100 (from a max of 1087 to a max of ~970). If you were to put telekinesis to level 10 your damage will decrease to 891, while your absorb multiplier chances to 1.37.

To me, the damage is more wanted than the absorb.

Thank you, I agree that damage would be more helpful then absorb, as she will also have around the same amount of hitpoints (if not more -- aquiring more charms and socketing her crown with a pruby). :smiley:
This information was very helpful, I will heed your advice, and only put the one hard point into tk.

As for Frozen Orb, I honestly never considered it, simply because I have made a high lvl Fo/Es sorceress, and, generally, she barely scratches the enemies PvP... With Mdr, I could see a low lvl orber doing next to nothing, as Bloke has confirmed. ; }

[SmittySixTen]

...and make sure you get a very high medi staff with at least one point in shiver armor ...

I'd suggest Chilling over Shiver, simply because Chilling will eat about 1/3 of the missile attacks that come your way. Shiver will eat melee attacks, but I've found that it tends not to have a huge impact. A melee character is either going to kill me, or not kill me, and Chilling is going to boost my defense enough to make it hard for them to do that anyway.

Basically, I notice a difference between Chilling and Shiver for ranged duels, but I don't really notice one for melee duels. Plus, most melee characters won't want to duel you anyway.

Again, just my two cents.

[inanefedaykin]

Unless you go full out with very good life/mana charms and a full prebuff ES isn't worth it.

[Reticent Drappa]

Unless you go full out with very good life/mana charms and a full prebuff ES isn't worth it.

Hmm, I was thinking that sorceresses don't get much as far as hps go for points spent into vita anyhow (2 hp per point spent), and so therefore with charms alone (14/15 life with other mods--preferably mana), she'd have around the same hitpoints as she has now (non-es atm, planning on remaking), but with easily boostable mana (ie frosties, sojs). So far as a 'full prebuff ES' goes, she has +7 to skills right now, it would be +5 when I remove the spirit sword in order to equip an orb with +3 to es or more on it.
If I gave her a +2 light amulet and possibly a circlet, she'd have even more absorbtion rate:
+1 pcrown
+1 vipermagi
+2 2x sojs
+1 Visceratuant shield
Add:
+3--or more Es orb
+2 Light amulet
--- +2 Light circlet <---possiblity
Then her Es could be boosted to lvl 10 (not including the optional +2 light circlet and assuming the orb I gave her only had +3 es). At level 10 the listed absorbtion rate is 59%. Is that not sufficient?
If we assume she has 600 hps, and 1000 mana (just rounded relatively realistic numbers), would that not suffice?

If I DID give her an orb with +4 (+1 sorc/3 es-if possible), and added a cirlet with +2, her es could potentially be boosted further to 65% (slvl 13). Would I really need to go that far to make es viable? Or is 59% still workable until I can obtain more prebuffing gear?

[brokensvt]

The higher the level of ES, the faster your mana goes bye-bye. Strive for a balance unless you love frustration.

[DayDream]

Tanking is nice and all but your fcr will have problems?

[dainbramage]

Use an es/chilling armour staff on switch, and turn it into an insight. ~50% reduction is a pretty decent balance, depending on your circlet/ammy/charms.

Do not, however, bother with a full prebuff setup, or putting more than 1pt into telekinesis.

[Rabbitz]

Es/Blizz soso:

Tried it, and I simply LUVED her, I'm still sad I had to sell her =/

I was using a 2light/3 es stick + visc if I felt the need to prebuff, but I usually was running with the "Insight" Es/chilling stick.

I would say reaching 65% es is PLENTY, more and you'll be a sitting duck if you get hit. Generally 45/50% is decent against casters who can hit you rather fast!

Balance life mana accordingly, 600 life/ 2.3k mana or 800 life with/ 1.9k. Have fun crunching the numbers =D

[Josiphos]

I concur W/ Rabbitz.

I have one now and she is amazing. I love her. I can show her to you if you want (in game, *vernphos2)

She basically runs:

pcrown (pruby)
viper (ruby)
nightsmoke (50% damage to mana!)
2 x soj
frosties
whistans w eth (15% damage to mana!)
random boots (need to fix these...they suck)

One point in tk, and prebuff es w +3orb/visc

I split vit/mana like 1/3.

Only think that beats me is hella stacking hdins.

Cs zons can hurt too, until I don't use Es.

[Reticent Drappa]

I am relieved to hear that lvl 10 or so es will suffice. :laugh:
I am looking forward to either crafting or finding a decent belt for her. If not it will be the bladebuckle~! haha. It shouldn't be too bad of a choice, considering the dex/fhr/and dr/mdr on it. Although I am sure I could find/craft one with fhr/life/mana/etc on it. ; )
:grin:
She will just have 63% fcr to hit that bp, which I feel will be sufficient.
I was at first going to put amethysts into sockets to save on strength, but of course after thinking about this I realized that I'd get more life out of her by putting into strength and utilizing prubies instead :rolleyes:.
Anyhow thank you all so much for all of the responses and info. It's been very helpful~!

[phool]

nightsmoke is extremely good with lower levels of ES. I'd say ES between 30 and 70% would definitely benefit a lot from DTM.

[TheBigClown]

I know this is an old thread, but Im kinda interrested in knowing your thoughts about fcr for this es blizz build. Is 105% fcr a must?

[crawlingdeadman]

no, a lot of blizz sorcs go with 63%.

[NewForumBloke]

63 works for most of the time (usually means bigger dmg) 105 is for people who just want extra mobility in their teleporting.