Meteorb Guide (3rd ed)

[sasja]

I'll probably try to get a Archon Plate 524 (103). If only for the reason it sounds cool :clap:
-Xoddoza

Heh, good luck with it

[Atomium]

Hi Sasja,
Thank you very much for your great guide :clap: . I followed it to create a sorc at the beginning of the second ladder season, and I must say that she is very easy and fun to play with. At the beginning, she was an MFer, but now she mainly does rushes. And she is good at both.
She is now at level 92, and I wonder what to do with the last 2 skillpoints.
She uses complete Tal + PDiamond Lidless, Sandstorm Trek, Magefist, Ravenfrost and Stone of Jordan. I socketed 3 Rainbow Facets Fire 5/5. All res are maxed.
She deals 500 dmg with Frozen Orb (Cold Mastery is at 19 with the bonuses, -110% enemies cold resist), 6.500 dmg with Fireball, and 15.000 dmg with Meteor.
In your guide, you propose Cold Mastery (that would give me a further 10% reduction on enemy cold res), or Fire Bolt (+28% Fire Ball dmg and +10% Meteor dmg). I am wondering which one would have the greater effect. And what about using those points to get Shiver armor (with the bonuses, it would rise around lvl 10, last for almost 4 minutes, and give me +100% Def). My merc is strong, but still dies quickly when facing Baal minions for example. When I rush or solo, I could use more def and freeze attackers.
Thanks for telling me what you think. :xsmile4:

[melianor]

Hi Sasja,
Thank you very much for your great guide :clap: . I followed it to create a sorc at the beginning of the second ladder season, and I must say that she is very easy and fun to play with. At the beginning, she was an MFer, but now she mainly does rushes. And she is good at both.
She is now at level 92, and I wonder what to do with the last 2 skillpoints.
She uses complete Tal + PDiamond Lidless, Sandstorm Trek, Magefist, Ravenfrost and Stone of Jordan. I socketed 3 Rainbow Facets Fire 5/5. All res are maxed.
She deals 500 dmg with Frozen Orb (Cold Mastery is at 19 with the bonuses, -110% enemies cold resist), 6.500 dmg with Fireball, and 15.000 dmg with Meteor.
In your guide, you propose Cold Mastery (that would give me a further 10% reduction on enemy cold res), or Fire Bolt (+28% Fire Ball dmg and +10% Meteor dmg). I am wondering which one would have the greater effect. And what about using those points to get Shiver armor (with the bonuses, it would rise around lvl 10, last for almost 4 minutes, and give me +100% Def). My merc is strong, but still dies quickly when facing Baal minions for example. When I rush or solo, I could use more def and freeze attackers.
Thanks for telling me what you think. :xsmile4:

Atomium, i think your killing skills are doing just fine.
I would opt for getting Shiver Armor. That skill has proven valueable across all my builds since it chills monsters when they decide to attack and not when you get hit. The DEF bonus is nice, but the chilling on attack is actually alot more useful. Gives you another edge in escaping hairy situations.

[sasja]

Thanks, and congratulations on a successful sorc

You know your sorc and playing style better than I do, so you probably already know the answer! What's her biggest problem - slow killing (fire or cold)? Or getting punched and dying? It depends on the size of your rushing games and your playing style. If you rush a nearly full game, you'll enjoy upping your attacks (if you use Fireball more than Meteor, go with Firebolt - otherwise Cold Mastery). On the other hand, if you have a very aggressive playing style and get hit a lot, you'll benefit from the extra defense of the Shiver Armor (note that Shiver Armor won't freeze the attacker, it'll only chill them - only Frozen Armor freezes).

I must say that I put a point in Frozen Armor on my first Meteorb, and I didn't notice any difference at all - but I had max block and used Stormshield, so I was already quite resistant to physical damage. It's very likely that a cold armor will help your build a lot more! If it were me, I think I'd look at my merc's setup very carefully so he'd survive better - does he have enough leech? A high damage weapon? Pdr? fhr? Max res? Is his level the same as yours? - and put the points in my attacks. One exception - if you die to physical damage during tele, get the armor. Nothing as annoying as dying.

Good luck :xsmile3:

[Atomium]

Heya, thanks for the fast answers
I used the points for Shiver Armor, and it makes not a huge but a noticeable change. I am quite happy about that choice.
My merc is lvl 91. He is wearing Eth Bonehew [2xAmn], upped Guardian Angel (I will Um it), and Rockstopper (for max res). I will replace the Rockstopper with an Um'ed upped Stealskull, or with an Um'ed perfect Vampire Gaze (I am not sure whether it is the best choice or not, but I kind of like it). I don't think I can do much better than that. When you're fighting the last waves of Baal minions and the bosses are are fire/cold immune, you cannot help your merc, and there's no miracle...
Best whishes :xrein:

[sasja]

Heya, thanks for the fast answers
I used the points for Shiver Armor, and it makes not a huge but a noticeable change. I am quite happy about that choice.
My merc is lvl 91. He is wearing Eth Bonehew [2xAmn], upped Guardian Angel (I will Um it), and Rockstopper (for max res). I will replace the Rockstopper with an Um'ed upped Stealskull, or with an Um'ed perfect Vampire Gaze (I am not sure whether it is the best choice or not, but I kind of like it). I don't think I can do much better than that. When you're fighting the last waves of Baal minions and the bosses are are fire/cold immune, you cannot help your merc, and there's no miracle...
Best whishes :xrein:

Good choice, then

About your merc - Nice damage and leech! I'd think Vampire Gaze and Shaftstop (upped or eth, if possible) would be better choices than Rockstopper and GA. The 50% pdr is really noticable. You could also benefit from some fhr, as in Crown of the Ages (pdr, fhr, res) and Stone armor (fhr, str, res). If you have any of those, I suggest you try them out. My Meteorb mercs very rarely die, and I've never had resistances higher than 75%, so perhaps you'll also prefer pdr?

[spunkymonkey]

Just an FYI.

Ive started a Meteororb sorc whos going to quest througgh normal/nightmare (I did leech till level 12 to wear twinking gear) I dumped the "saved" skill points into Fireball (level 12 after +skills)

Im currently level 25 in act3. Ive found that if I herd monsters good enough I can take down entire packs with 1-2 Fireballs and melee the rest. Seems to be working pretty well for me.

Question:
Since I strayed from the "save points" strategy should I pump Meteor, Fireball or orb once I hit 30?

Skills at level 30: (after +skills)
Fireball 12
Meteor 7
Fire M. 3
Orb 3
Cold M. 3

[melianor]

Just an FYI.

Ive started a Meteororb sorc whos going to quest througgh normal/nightmare (I did leech till level 12 to wear twinking gear) I dumped the "saved" skill points into Fireball (level 12 after +skills)

Im currently level 25 in act3. Ive found that if I herd monsters good enough I can take down entire packs with 1-2 Fireballs and melee the rest. Seems to be working pretty well for me.

Question:
Since I strayed from the "save points" strategy should I pump Meteor, Fireball or orb once I hit 30?

Skills at level 30: (after +skills)
Fireball 12
Meteor 7
Fire M. 3
Orb 3
Cold M. 3

I think you should max Orb first, just like sasja suggested.

[melianor]

Updated the guide according to sasjas submitted information. The whole equipment section has been updated now.

[Brotherhood]

Hi sasja !

I'm new to DII and Sorceress. Your guide inspired me (along with many others I'm sure) to create a Meteorb Sorc and so far so good. However, I was wondering if any of the new runewords could replace some of your "top" gear suggestions? Alot of players are arguing over the effectiveness of Spirit in a shield for a Sorceress. So, I'm debating whether to go for max block with either Sanctuary, Mossers or Rhyme.. or base block with Spirit.

Any thoughts?

edit: On a side note, I play HC exclusively and therefore safety is very important aswell as killing power.