PvP ES Orber

[UberB]

There doesn't seem to be such a guide in the stickies, and I think the idea of an Energy Shield orber appeals to me. Not having to drink mana pots all the time during duels or have to worry about resists greatly appeals to me, plus you can tank. I will definitely make this sorc as soon as I get some more money.

What would be the gear for pvp? Max block or not? If so, with what shield? Which FCR/FHR breakpoint to shoot for? Is it possible to absorb the orb itself (not its shards)? And lastly, should I use Ormus's Robes? The FCR would help, and ES builds don't seem to need resists. What charms does an ES sorc use?

[Sechler]

I've built a few orb/es and I recommend going max block.
Fhr should be minimum 86 and fcr min 105.
With 95%ES my life has been about 1k with 2.5-3k mana.
My dmg was decent at 1.3 to 1.4k orb.
Also, don't disregard resists. I'd still shoot for max resists if possible.
My set ups have been roughly like this:
Faceted Nightwings
Shael'd Vmagi
Facet'd Fathom
Arachs
Magefists
15+ fcr Ammy
2xSoj's
Treks
Sanctuary Hyperion Shield (SS as alt.)
Cold GC's, Torch + Anni ofc
Rest of stash is full of Life/Mana small charms

[UberB]

I've built a few orb/es and I recommend going max block.
Fhr should be minimum 86 and fcr min 105.
With 95%ES my life has been about 1k with 2.5-3k mana.
My dmg was decent at 1.3 to 1.4k orb.
Also, don't disregard resists. I'd still shoot for max resists if possible.
My set ups have been roughly like this:
Faceted Nightwings
Shael'd Vmagi
Facet'd Fathom
Arachs
Magefists
15+ fcr Ammy
2xSoj's
Treks
Sanctuary Hyperion Shield (SS as alt.)
Cold GC's, Torch + Anni ofc
Rest of stash is full of Life/Mana small charms

Thanks for your input, answered pretty much all of my questions. The ammy in particular looks hard to find, it has to be a safety craft right? Also, maxing ES, TK, Orb, CM and ice bolt finishes at level 97. So which skill to max last? ES, CM, or ice bolt?

People say that ES only needs to be at level 40 after cast. Even if you use a spirit shield in conjuction with Fathom, that's +20 skills counting BC, meaning that you need to max it. Should I keep a memory staff in my stash? That would save me one point into ES, not too significant. Are there any other ways to achieve a level 40 ES without maxing the skill? It seems that maxing it is pretty much mandatory unless you're a light sorc.

[frums]

amulet needs to be a caster craft to get 10+ fcr
safety craft gives %chance to block

[Von Lazuli]

Also, memory can offer +9 to ES assuming it is in a +3 ES base staff. You could also use a +3 Light Amulet and a +3 Light Circlet when you are casting to reduce it a little more.

[Borje]

It is possible to get a max ES with only 5 points invested, IIRC. I'll try to list the prebuff gear:

Memory in a +3 ES staff = 9
ES Ormus robes = 3
3light skils ci+amu = 6
2*soj/BK = 2
Arach = 1
Battle Command = 1
sorc torch, ani and 9 light skillers = 13

that's a total of 35 skill points, add five and you have a max ES. However, prebuffing with 9 skillers could be a pain so skip them and you get a 26 prebuff so you only need to add 14 skill points..

[krajee]

Is it possible to absorb the orb itself (not its shards)? The actual orb does no damage.

[UberB]

The actual orb does no damage.

Can you elaborate a little on this?

[krajee]

The "orb" is what shoots out the shards. The shards do the damage.

[UberB]

Aren't there a bunch of shards "in" the orb, so when the orb itself hits an enemy, they take damage from a lot of the shards? As opposed to just getting hit by a few from the spray.

[synx]

If you're cheap, I suggest using Dual spirits (Crystal sword + monarch) for the 70 FCR and 110 FHR (not to mention a ton of mana).

[krajee]

Imagine having a water balloon thrown at you. The balloon itself does not get you wet. It's the water, that comes out of the balloon, that gets you wet.

(yea, that was pretty poor, but it's all I could think of)

[Sechler]

What kind of budget are you working with Uber? If you can get good lifers, I'd take a look at a balanced life/mana set up. I've always gone full bore 95% es on my sorces, but my latest fb'er is es/mb w/ 78% es from memory prebuff only and I'm liking it. I have 1800 life/2900 mana with max block, which is working well vs. psn and openwounds. Unfortunately there's a lot of bowas that go heavy on the psn scs, not to mention wwsins and bvcs.
Doing this would allow you to max your cold attack skills, telekensis and 1 pt in all cold armors and warmth. You could then dump the rest into the skill of ur choice.

Back to one or ur earlier questions, if you end up going 95 es, then max ice blast last imo.