How should I improve my Meteorb sorc's gear?

Hello there.

I just started playing Diablo again, and decided to make a Sorceress. I chose to be a Meteorb, and it worked great until Hell. I still managed to become a Matriarch, but I feel weak, and most of the times I fail to kill Mephisto in Hell.

The skill and stat points are spent perfectly, I have almost every important skill maxed at level 79. I got an Act2 Defiance merc from Normal, and he also dies a lot in Hell.



My gear:

-HotO + Spirit Monarch / CtA + Spirit Monarch (left and right hand)

-Vipermagi (chest)

-Harlequin Crest (head)

-Eye of Etlitch / SoJ + (10%FCR +20 Str Rare Ring) (jewellery)

-Frostburn (gloves)

-War Travellers (boots)

-Snowclash (belt)

Merc's gear:

-Tal Rasha's Mask (head)

-Insight (left and right hand)

-Duriel's Shell (chest)

Runes I have:

-Everything under Um

-3x Lo

-7x Gul

-1x Um

-1x Ist

-1x Ber

-1x Sur

-3x Vex

I am planning to get another SoJ and a Mara's but I am afraid they will not make me much stronger. I'd appreciate some advice on how to upgrade both mine and my merc's gear to make it more Hell viable.



Looking forward for your answers,

Daed.|||

what is the base ur insight is made in?

try to make on in an eth CA or something like that

then give him a rockstopper (no wait..what was the armor called with the huge dr?) or eth duri

but first thing to do is change ur amu and get a CtA, those are the things u�d benefit the most from|||I made it in a non-eth Partizan, I have found like 2 CAs since then but none of them were eth. Did you mean Shaftstop? I'll try to get one, but I guess it can only drop in Hell (so does Mara's?), which I am unable to farm. I am already working on getting runes for CtA, LK runs are going perfect.

Thanks for your answer!|||If you are making the 105 breakpoint with the viper/hoto/spirit then I'd recommend crafting some caster gloves. If you're not I'd recommend crafting a caster amulet and/or belt or ditching the nagel for a fcr ring.



You need to gain more levels for your merc is giving away too many levels to be dependable for the time it takes to drop the boss.|||I am making the 105 breakpoint, only missing Magefists, which will also boost my Fire skills.

I didn't understand your last sentence, I'd be glad if someone could explain it to me..|||Your merc setup is more or less what i use normally. I think what Tarantella said is that your merc should survive more when he gets to lvl 85. Lvls are important when the game defines what hits what. A level 79 merc has less chance to hit a lvl 85 monster that a level 85 merc with the same atack rating. The chance to be hit is the same. Being of higher level will make your merc be less hit, score more hits and have more resists and life. If he's dying to Mephisto though, there is not much to do. Meph is not leechable, so your only chance of surviving merc is killing him very fast. Your equipment is above average, if your dying a lot I may wonder if your life or resists are lacking. Your killing speed should be Ok if you have maxed FB, Meteor and FO. Other alternative is your playing skills. How do you die more, teleporting? Or simply getting hit ko'ed easily?|||I have 900 life, and all my resist are +30 with the exception of Fire, which is at 0.



FO deals 415-435 damage at level 30, CM reduces Cold Resistance by 150 at level 27.

FB deals 2,5k-2,8k damage at level 30, Meteor deals 6k damage on impact and 750 damage per second at level 27.

Not satisfied with these numbers..



Some Cold Enchanted monsters 1-hit me with their Nova on death, and also Nihlathak kills me with one Corpse explosion. I rarely die while teleporting and questing. The problem comes when I get crowded and can't get away (lack of FHR), or kill monsters fast enough. But still, I haven't died more than 10 times with this sorc so far, I just have to retreat a lot and tp back to town and resurrect mercenary.|||with those resis i mind, um (or 15 @ jool) either ur shako or vipermagi (or both) and switch the war travelers to aldurs boots or natalyas. while using spirit u have decent fhr, but needing only 1% more fhr for the next bp. that should be achievable with one sc.

with a non block sorc u should reach the 105 fcr for safe teleporting and at least max out fire + light resis (those are the most important ones! fire > light > cold > poison usually). when u�r facing monsters that deal cold dmg u can temporarily increase ur cold res by drinking thawing pots. one lasts 30 seconds and by drinking more of them the duration stacks

are u playing single player or in bnet? with ur runes u could easily buy mages (worth 5 pgs maybe) and a CtA|||Your resists are very low. Your life is low, too. Have you completed the anya, +20 life and tome quests? They will greatly help your life and resists.

You can Um your shako, go with full tal's and make ethereal fortitude for your merc. Your frozen orb damage is fine i think, especially with that level of cold mastery.

//edit: also try to get a low sorceress torch or a random one with the highest stats possible.|||I guess your resists are the main cause of demise. If you don't have wealth do to the changes poeple above suggested, you may consider even changing Chance Gloves and Nagelring for something with more resists. Switching Eye of Etlich for a better Amulet with +1 sorc and resists or life should be much of a problem. There is no point in carrying tons of MF if you can kill things properly. Cheaper than everything suggested above though, is to find an Elite Polearm to make another Insight. More damage will result in ore life leech and better survivability. Nihlatak's CE can oftne be fatal for a sorc. i recommend you don't run him for now. Cold enchanted monsters will stop killing you if you have better resists.