Cold orb sorc dmg

[kevinmuff]

I am aware of the synergies and everything, but it seems like my cold orb dmg is not very much.
I just built this character after 2 years of not playing, and i coulda swore my last sorc had alot better dmg
at the moment, i do
505-529 dmg with a orb. am i doing something wrong? i thought b4, it got up to like 12k?

[sirpoopsalot]

~525 isn't too bad. ~750 is pretty solid. 1.2k is quite hefty, but not unheard of. But 12k? Umm... not gonna happen.

Perhaps you're remembering Blizzard's damage, which can often be in the 12k range. However, Blizzard and FO are completely different in how their damage accumulates, so don't just look at the pretty numbers and decide "Blizz is better because it's got more damage".


To get the most out of your orb:

1. Do you have points in Cold Mastery? If not, you need at least 1. After all of your +skills, you should have 17 as a minimum (though when I use Orb as my primary spell, I like for CM to be at level27).

2. Are you targeting the enemies so that the orb "explodes" right on top of them (about 2/3rd of the screen away). Each shard does the listed damage, so if you get 10 shards to hit, now you're doing ~5k+ damage (and cold mastery will increase that even further). This is called the "hitting the sweet spot", by the way.

Those are the two big ones. After that you can look for equipment with +Cold Skill damage - but some of the best pieces can be pretty hard to find or expensive trade for (Death's Fathom, Nightwings). There are cheaper options too though (Rainbow Facets, Full Tal's set, Ormus Robes), but even some of those might not be cheap enough if you're just starting out.

[kevinmuff]

~525 isn't too bad. ~750 is pretty solid. 1.2k is quite hefty, but not unheard of. But 12k? Umm... not gonna happen.

Perhaps you're remembering Blizzard's damage, which can often be in the 12k range. However, Blizzard and FO are completely different in how their damage accumulates, so don't just look at the pretty numbers and decide "Blizz is better because it's got more damage".


To get the most out of your orb:

1. Do you have points in Cold Mastery? If not, you need at least 1. After all of your +skills, you should have 17 as a minimum (though when I use Orb as my primary spell, I like for CM to be at level27).

2. Are you targeting the enemies so that the orb "explodes" right on top of them (about 2/3rd of the screen away). Each shard does the listed damage, so if you get 10 shards to hit, now you're doing ~5k+ damage (and cold mastery will increase that even further). This is called the "hitting the sweet spot", by the way.

Those are the two big ones. After that you can look for equipment with +Cold Skill damage - but some of the best pieces can be pretty hard to find or expensive trade for (Death's Fathom, Nightwings). There are cheaper options too though (Rainbow Facets, Full Tal's set, Ormus Robes), but even some of those might not be cheap enough if you're just starting out.

Wow, thanks for the reply, it was really helpfull :) Im just glad to hear i didnt screw up my sorc somehow lol. But, i do know how to do the sweetspot, and thats all good. I was just wondering if my numbers were a little low or not, thanks, you helped a ton. I made this character to magic find. I have all the gear i want at the moment, but i read it off a guide and got it, so maybe its not all the best, but what i have is:

War Traveler boots
Skullders Ire (Ethereal)
Arachnid Mesh
Chance Guards
2 x Stone of Jordans
Harlequin Crest Shako
The Oculus
Annihilus
Mara's Kaleidoscope
Lidless Wall
Sorceress Hellfire Torch