Base Str

[IGotSoul]

Im looking to make a meteorb sorc to MF so I can possibly start to get some good items. The thing is the guide is pretty vague about stat point distribution.

My question Is how much should I devote to Str. About what value should I shoot for base? I would really not like to have to start over due to bad point distribution. Getting to act 3 on level 1 skills was hard enough.....

[double]

generally enough strength to equip the gear you want to use,with a sorc(caster)dex isnt as important other than again enuff to equip your items.most ive heard from other posters is all into vitality none into mana(get this from charms and Gear)

[Odegebine]

Hello,
it is a very good idea to make a meteorb sorc for magic find runs.
Two of the most popular sorc items, the upped viper armour and the Tal armour, have a strength requirement of 84, so 84 points should be ok for the beginning.
You need 156 strenght for the very popular monarch shield class. Try to get 156 strength later in the game including the strength bonus from your equipment (e.g. the unique scarab boots) and your charms like the torch and maybe even the anni.
Try to get your end game gear before you stat the strength for the shield, especially if you plan to use some nearly unaffordable high end gear like the coh armour, which supports you with a strength bonus.

[stephan]

Stat point for a sorc really don't matter that much, especially if it's a start-up build. You can save 10 stat points here and 10 stat points there by waiting for the great gear (but investing too much in an MF sorc is counterproductive anyway). But in the end you are not going to save much more than a 100 life.

Just stat for what you need without counting on bonuses from gear. You'll obtain a Spirit monarch a lot faster than a torch and a CoH.

BTW there is not any sorc build that needs to get to act 3 on just level 1 skills.

[IGotSoul]

Ive been told its better to not invest in fireball right at the start. I hope things werent harder than they needed to be...

Thanks for the help though Ill aim for 84 ish but ill save some points as well.
Im also wondering how good this stormshield I have is?

[stephan]

Ive been told its better to not invest in fireball right at the start. I hope things werent harder than they needed to be...

If you are making a Meteorb, there is no reason to save up all of those points. At level 30 you get FO which will dominate till the end of NM. Also, even untwinked an act 2 merc can do most of normal for you if you help him a little.

Im also wondering how good this stormshield I have is?

While SS is a good shield, it is not the first shield I'd think of when I'm making an MF sorc.

[krischan]

Don't waste any time on building a MF character by being stingy with stat points. That will only cost time which can be used more effectively for more MF. You can think about stats as soon as you have found enough gear to make an endgame equipment plan in advance, but before that it's not worth the efforts. Regarding MF (and trading !), time is money ! Invest into stats whatever you need at any stage of the leveling/questing proces.

Regarding fireball investments, that's right. Better invest a little into synergies or fire mastery first. That will result in a lower damage increase, but the mana costs won't increase which will give you firepower over a longer time. At the end, your metorb sorc will have maxed fire mastery, fireball and meteor anyway. Don't invest anything into firebolt, except the one point for being a prereq. Invest into cold mastery at the very last, except for the first point at L30.

There's nothing wrong with a Stormshield if you currently don't have anything else at hand because your sorc will probably get a Spirit monarch sooner or later, but there are better shields for a MF/PvM sorc than a SS, like Lidless, Visceratuant or the Rhyme or Splendor runewords. Spirit is by far the best, of course. However, take care not to accidantally str-bug-equip your SS (it has a str bonus). Unequip any reequip it each time you remove something with a str bonus. If you cannot equip it anymore, invest into str or put on the +str gear again.

[IGotSoul]

what is this str bug youre talking about? Id rather not ruin my character.

[Gorny]

what is this str bug youre talking about? Id rather not ruin my character.

It's a visual/graphical bug.

It happens when you don't have the base strength required to equip something, but you get that strength from other sources like charms or worn items.

Say with armor, you dont have the strength needed to equip it as a base stat but with charms and strength from other worn items, you do.

What happens is that armor will look normal from your point of view, but to everyone else you will seem to not be wearing it and appear naked.

Hope that helps.

[krischan]

There are actually two str bugs. I meant this one:

The second str bug allows you to wear items because of its own str bonus. For example, Stormshield adds 20 str. As soon as you equipped it, you can remove other str gear, so your str store would be lower than the str req without the Stormshield, but high enough with it. The game doesn't notice that - unless you die and retrieve your corpse. Then you can't equip the Stormshield. As your inventory is normally full of potions after you died, the corpse will remain with the Stormshield on it. That's no problem so far, but if you die again before you can resolve the situation, there will be two corpses with equipment. If you leave the game now or if you get kicked out of it, one of the corpses and all of its equipment will be irrevocably gone.

I advise not to exploit that str bug, neither willingly not unwillingly.