-Revisiting 09 Nova, the 1.1 way-
These sorcs make excellent pvm chars, as well as rare sights in pvp - but which is not to say they will be weak at any rate. Excellent anti-sorcs, and they look so damn cool =)
and So, here we go!
1] Stats/Skills/Quests outline
2] Gear options
3] PvM Strat
4] PvP Strat
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1] Stats - Skills - Quests - Basic stuff!
Setting level 85 as the initial target, that grants us 84 skill points + 420 charpoints as a base.
Desired Quests:
Normal, Nm, Hell
Act1: Den of Evil, Search for Cain
Act2: Radament's Lair
Act3: Golden Bird, Lam Esen's Tome
Act4: Fallen Angel
Act5: Siege on Harrogath, Prison of Ice
From Quests, 30 Resists, 12 skill points, 15 charpoints, 60 Life, 3 sockets
For a total of 96 skill points, 435 char points @ lvl 85
�Stats�
StR: Depending on Gear, StR enough to reach the lowest str req item, AFTER +str from rings, ammys, charms are applied, including anni+torch. Base Str is 10.
DeX: Base. Blocking isn't applied to eshield, and you'll be using a polearm, so dex is moot.
Vita: Up to personal choice, but I will be going with 100 vitality base.
NrG: Rest into here!
Since eshield doesn't absorb everything, you will still require some life. If you get manaburned, you will also be able to recover a lot better, if you have a solid life pool to rely on. 100vita + gear/charms allows for over 1k life after BO.
�Skills�
Fiyah - Warmth........1pt
Cold - Chilling Armor..1pt (prereqs icebolt, iceblast, frozen armor, shiver armor [4pts]) - see gear, this isn't necessary
Light
- Charged bolt..........Prereq 1pt
- Static Field............Prereq 1pt
- Lightning...............Prereq 1pt
- Chain Lightning.......Prereq 1pt
- Telekinesis.............Main Skill, 20 Pts
- Nova....................Main Skill, 20 Pts
- Thunderstorm.........Main Skill, Rest into Here
- Lightning Mastery...Main Skill, 20 Pts
- Energy Shield.........Main Skill, 20 Pts
Also, instead of boosting Thunderstorm, or alternating pts with it, boosting warmth isn't a bad idea, after the other 4 are maxed.
2] Gear options
Target FC is 105, FhR will depend upon your preferences mostly - but don't neglect this. Aiming for 60% (8 frames) or 86% (7 frames) would be recommended. Additional sorci data can be viewed here.
Sockets will be discussed after gear options
Helms - Griffons Eye - There's almost no room for argument, on this one. 3/20/2os Circs work as well, or Rare 2/20/Mass Mana/Life/Str/2os Tiaras but then you will need to pick up 5% FC elsewheres.
Belts - Arachnid Mesh - 1 skill, 20 FC, 5% max mana ~ whats not to like?
Gloves - Magefist, or Trang's - Unless you're vs a cold sorci (in which case, the extra 30% Cres wont really make much of a difference unless you're stacked elsewheres), Magefist is prolly the better option. +1 fire increases your warmth, and the natural managen on the gloves will be helpful.
Boots - eth Sandstorm Treks, or classic dupes (varying per realm) - The +STR isn't really a factor, as eTreks have a req of 81 str, which will be your 2nd highest Req. even +10's will be sufficient, as your target is 88 on the ideal setup. Xstr/15vita/65+ Psn Res. That, and 20% FHR. There are better options, in terms of the duped boots with 20fhr, res, stats etc, but they vary per realm and I will not be going into detail regarding those. If you have em, use em :P
Armor - Upped Vipermagi - 35/13mdr would be ideal. MDR reduces the magical damage you take, after eshield's damage absorption is taken into account. Def doesn't really matter, but 1k+ has a nice resale value. The 30 FC is crucial here, and is why it is being chosen over CoH. Speed > slight damage increase.
Weap Switch 1 - Infinity Scythe or other Polearm - Scythes look coolest imo, but it's a matter of personal taste mostly. But whatever you do, don't use Merc infinities. Make your own, or buy one in a low-req Scythe. Damage is irrelevant, -light res and conviction are its main attractions for you. Really. There's no point getting 200 str for that eCv. Ranges -45 to -55 Light.
Weap Switch 2 - ah options. CTA Staff or CTA 1hand + Lidless- Your target Str is 88, so an additional 58 str for 1 more BO lvl ala Spirit Monarch is a no-no. This means you, tool. DONT DO THIS ><. CTA 1hands (flail, double axe, crystal sword) + Lidless yields a higher lvl BO by 1pt than the Staff would, however: By using a CTA in a staff, you enhance innate coolness, and allow yourself to save 5 skill points. By getting +Chilling armor, you null the need for putting points into the cold tree. +Thunderstorm on this would be great too.
A note about Thunderstorm: While +TS enhances your damage as a prebuff if you have skill points into TS to begin with, It will not function if your only source of Thunderstorm is from a +TS Prebuff. It will appear on your character, but the moment you switch off from the prebuff item, it will fail to attack.
Amulets- Depending on your Gear (target 105 fc), Amulet options change - As it stands right now, If you go with the recommended gear earlier, you will have 95 FC at this point. Leaves 10 more from ammy/rings. A leet crafted ammy would be ideal, +2sorc, 10fc, StR, Res, Life, mana, PSN Duration -%, however +3/10fc magical amulets (powered of the apprentice) will work just as well. Or Maras - if you plan on using 1 fc ring. Keep in mind the ring slots will normally be Sojs, and you will be effectively cutting down 1 +skill, and your mana pool.
Rings- Sojs or FC ring/s if less than 10 fc on ammy - Keep in mind, +STR on rings isn't necessarily what you want. 30 Life on a ring is the equivalent of 15 vita, or 15 pts that can be saved from vita and used in str. FC, str, 10+Res all, 75+mana, 30+Life rings are ideal - IF you need the extra FC. Otherwise just slap on your sojs.
Sockets - Depends on your FHR (should have 20% at this point). Do you want Resists, over FHR? While eshield will take the brunt of incoming damage, resists still factor in when the remaining damage is applied to you. In an eshield guide I was reading earlier, it mentioned that resists were indeed applied to eshield, but this was contrary to what I've been told for some time - and experienced - so I am leaving this open to choice. Shaels for 20%, 15resAll/7FHR jewels, or plain 15resAll / UMs. Your choice. I went with 2x 15/7s. 1 in Griffs, 1 in Viper. 2x Shaels would hit the 8frame FHR target however.
Charms - 9xLight/Life GC, Torch, Anni, 10x Life/Mana scs - Depending on your FHR Target. It is more efficient to gain FHR off GCs, than it is scs. 12% per GC (in place of up to 45Life) vs 3x scs (in place of up to 60life & 51mana). Assuming ideal setup, we will require 3x FhR Light gcs to hit 8frame FhR @ 60% (we'll end up with 62%). Rest of the Light gcs ought be Lifers, but depends on your budget mostly. +6 StR Light GCs are also a no-no. 6str = 12 life. Unless you want a crippled pvp sorci, do not use these. It's all a matter of efficiency. SCs, mana/life (max @ 20/17), or 15/70s. The higher the anni + Torch you get, the less base str will be required. Should go without saying. 1x Life/Res all LC, or 20/5 scs also work, as you will be ~20 res all short of 75.
In PvM, you can stash most of your lite gcs, and leave ~ 20 or 16 slots open for picking up stuff. The damage decrease will only mean an xtra Nova to kill stuff.
I'm illiterate / unable to complete simple addition-subtraction/ plain ol' lazy. Plz gi� stats!?
Assuming Ideal setup - (based uSeast), Pts as follow:
STR> Torch +20, Anni +20, eTreks +10 after 81 str (i told u, this is moot), Ammy +18, = +58, +10 after 81. Since only 1 item depends on str > 81 (upped viper), 81 is now the max str target. 81-58 (z�mg the difficulty!) = 23 str.
Final charscreen Before items~ (lvl 85)
STR: 23
Dex: 25
Vita: 100
Nrg: 322
Which is not to say you should stop at lvl 85. It's just a reasonable target. This sorc will only become more efficient the higher you level her. Aiming for 95 would be much more practical.
Total Res after Ideal gear: 158 - including anya q's. Charms to fill up the rest, if desired.
Total +Skills: (+6 all, +5 sorc, +9 Lightning) - +20 Light, +21 After Battle command
Since you'll be relying on eshield, should also consider anti-psn gear. Poison length reduction mods were mentioned briefly as something to look for on crafted amulets - remedy (25%), amelioration (50%), defiance (75%), as eshield won't stop you from being poisoned.
Merc Gear
The reason we stick the infinity on the sorc, is because scythes pwn. In addition, they get the extra -(45-55) light res, cyclone armor charges, run/walk, and all that coolness. n When your merc dies in chaos, its Ok! You can keep going without running to town cos suddenly, a Lot more is immune + pwning you. Good mercs are still great though. There's 2 approaches to this merc.
Pvp oriented/ high damage - eCV or eCA insight. eth Fort armor, eth Dream, or eth upped Gaze. I prefer the gaze, for DR and Lifeleech, but LL doesn't really matter in pvp. While rushing, Gaze would prolly be the better helm. Tal's masks, Crown of Thieves work too though. You'll prolly be a lot poorer after making the sorc ~.^
Stay-alive-in-Chaos oriented - Yeah. IM sucks. At least when its on your merc =/ Low damage insights! In a scythe / regular class polearm - or even exceptional if you want a compromise. Basically, you're looking for a weap that will still provide you with your managen, but not conk out the merc in 1-3 hits. The downside is, when you do encounter immunes (even after conviction), he'll have a harder time of killing it. Usually only applies to unique stormcasters in chaos. If you're rushing elsewheres, use the high damage setup.
Or you could just use that silly a3 fire merc. I haven't tried it, and don't intend to. But if it's efficiency you're after, reh, whatever.
PVM Strat
In terms of leveling this char, getting a grush and chaosing/baaling is prolly the most efficient way of lvling her. Nova costs insane amounts of mana in the early lvls, and until lvl 18 you'll be setting up pre-reqs and putting pts into Kinesis, or just storing them. Unless you cart around a full invent of mana pots, she isn't exactly the most playable thing in the early levels.
In PVM, once geared (all gear cept arach will probably be equippable by lvl 75 - torch), this sorc is capable of running Countess, Andariel, Pits, Summoner, Cows, Chaos, Eldritch/Shenk, Pindle, Nihl, Baals, as well as rushing throughout Hell unaided. What you can't kill, your merc will. Lightning/Phys immunes are the only thing to watch out for, but they can just be avoided. Tele past em :P
PVP Strat
Infinity has Cyclone armor charges. feel free to use them
VS Sorcis~!
Fireball/bolt - They'll have range on you, and will either play very defensively, or try and lock + tele on top of you. Can either approach it by teleing around them, waiting for TS, or by teleing on top of them, in the same manner and rapid-spamming nova. They will most likely get 1 or 2 hits in, but their mana will be burnt soon enough if eshield, and be forced to tele away, if they can escape the fhr lock.
Blizzard - Depends on your opponent mostly. If they run, it makes it easier, since they won't be thinking about self-blizzing, or iceblasting you when you close. If they're offensive, and try and lock/spam you, use hit + Run tactics. If they self-blizz, stay out of its area of effect, and clip them with the edge of nova - watching out for iceblast. If its a weak blizz, tanking them's easy enough.
Charged Boltresses - Will probably be running infinity too, on a similar build to yours. Which means its a race to break the eshield. Don't tele on top of these, but to the side of them. 1/2 a Nova-length away from them. This ensures you won't take all the CBs, and keeps you within decent range for nova.
Lightning Sorcis - Approach these like you would a Fireball/bolt sorc. For they are essentially the same thing, but with a stronger eshield.
Trapsins - Not one of your best duels =/ If they play defensively, it pretty much means, you have to tele into the middle of their traps ontop of the sin. Teleing around the outskirts first, to get the conviction on the sin helps sometimes, but they will also use the chance to Mindblast / lock you. If they're the sort that casts them, and runs it makes it easier, since there'll be open sides, free of traps you can approach from. Tele on top and spam.
WWsins - clawblock is annoying. Approach like you would a wW barb, but be cautious since hits won't be guaranteed, and venom + open wounds will shred you.
Windies - play defensively. If their cyclone armor is good, this will be annoying, since they will invariably recast it. TS won't always hit them either, if using minions. Tele behind the side they're casting to, spam nova, and tele behind / to the side of them again when they switch to attack you. If you see the tele-flash, move immediately. The smartest thing for them to do, would be tele on top of you, and they will try.
Fury/Rabies/Melee Druids - Ew. These're just WW babas without WW. Tele beside (not on top), and spam. They do tend to have a lot of life though, so back off, or tele behind them every 3-4 hits If they start moving. Your TS should take out the oak sages on approach, if It doesn't, make sure you do. Some become distracted, and waste time recasting the sages.
Barbs! Anything cept BvA/BvC - Get them in range of conviction, and either tele around waiting for TS to hit, or clip them on the side with Nova. Shouldn't try to tank them, or get too close - openwounds passes through eshield.
BvCs - will tele/Namelock/land on top of you. As soon as you see the tele-flash, tele upwards on downwards, 1/2 a screen from where you were and spam nova. They'll be landing in your nova 50% of the time. If they WW, tele in front of the WW - in front of where you think they'll end, spam nova, move to safe distance. vs Leap, just try and stay out of range until they stop. Not much else you can do.
Hammerdins - The tele on top of you type - Soon as you see the tele flash, tele downwards or to the Right and spam nova. They'll land in a nova field, try to tele on top of you again, rinse and repeat. Don't tank these :l They'll have superior resists, compared to other classes, and superior life. Just wear them down.
Hammerdins - The lets charge around the map desynching kind - Wait till they give up that foolishness. Or, tele parallel to them, about 1/2 a screen to 1 screen length away, and Try to get in front of them. But chances are they won't be where you see them to be. Don't chase directly behind them, or directly to the side of them, as you'll run into invisible hammer fields.
Smiters - Can be difficult, can be easy. Like hammerdins, this class has the potential to use lots of stacked resist, and sorb without affecting its damage output that much. Grief hurts too. If they stack, play defensively. Tele 2 screens away to break name lock, and do strafe runs across the sides wearing them down. If they don't stack, you can usually get away with Teleing past them (until conviction sticks), and landing about 1/2 a nova-length away and spamming. If they charge you, back off and repeat.
Bowzons - lightning fodder. Tele on top of them, and spam. Nova will send them into dodge-lock, or just kill immediately, if TS doesnt on your approach.
CS/Jab Zons - A little more dangerous, but you should be able to tank at least 2 CS. Send into dodge lock asap, and TS will get them if nova doesnt. Either tele on top, or tele around them 1/2 a nova length away. If they farcast, tele on top of them.
Bone necs - Treat the same as Fireball / Bolt sorcis. They won't have eshield, but may have summons. If they dont minion stack, its the same duel as vs fire sorcs. If they do, tele away from them, and wait for the minions to spread out, or tele around them spamming nova - killing off as many as you can. Crappy necs will continue to spam bspirit no matter what. Other necs will switch to bspear or teeth and attempt to lock you. If they use teeth, either move out of range, or tele behind them and cast.
Poison necs - Tele on top and kill. They'll be butter under your welding arc. Hybrid summon/psn necs - try to break their minions without getting hit, and close for kill. They prolly won't stay put, but backwards tele + spam. Can either wait for them to stop running, or tele parallel to them, waiting for opening.
Most of these are fairly general strategies, and it's hard to clearly outline an approach because Most of it will come from basic instinct after you've played your nova sorc for a while.|||=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X
Q+A
Q: How about putting enigma to gain that huge str bonus?
A: By taking enigma, you lose a major source of resist (50% potentially) and 30% FC. In order to make this up elsewheres, you would require 2x FC rings, and a 20% FC ammy. The massive mana loss, and lack of flexibility in gear choices would cripple you far more.
Q: But I don't have the perfect charms mentioned... what do i do?
A: Pvp's based on gear mostly. I listed ideal conditions, because it would produce the ideal result. If you're missing strength, just use base points. An extra 10-20 points into strength will not seriously cripple this char. It's just inefficient, in the grand scheme
Q: Well. This one's not really a Q. DONT use str Scs/LCs/GCs.
A: Cos base points >. A light GC with 6STR is the equivalent of a Light GC with 12 Life. Ewww. a Str Sc, with +2, is the equivalent of a 4 life Sc. 20 Life scs are easy enough to get your hands on, and the ideal charms for this sorc would be 20/17s or 15/70s, or 20/5 resAlls.
Q: how does this sorc handle in large multiplayer games? Is she able to kill things?
A: Yup. As mentioned earlier:
Quote:
This sorc is capable of running Countess, Andariel, Pits, Summoner, Cows, Chaos, Eldritch/Shenk, Pindle, Nihl, Baals, as well as rushing throughout Hell unaided.
Ancients are also possible too, but there are lightning/phys immunes there sometimes, which take disgustingly long -.-
Q: why going all the way to the chilling armour? Isn't it better to stay at Frozen Armour?
A: Frozen armor improves your def, which is going to be somewhat craptacular anyway. Chilling repels missiles occasionally. Which is a huge help, as you don't have any blocking. By using the +Chilling CTA staff, you save 5 skill points, and unlike TS, once you cast it, it stays on, regardless of whether you have base points in it or not.
Q: I'd choose Frozen for it's freezing mod, not the def bonus actually. Those 4 skill points could be sunk in the Thunder then.
A:
Quote:
Cold Lengths are reduced by 1/2 in Nightmare, and 3/4 in Hell difficulty.
If you have a sorc already, get a friend with a zon + guided, or sorc with firebolt/ball or missile spell. Cast chilling armor, and have him shoot you 1 shot at a time until u die. Heal, cast frozen armor this time. You will die in a lot less shots =/
Essentially, each time chilling deflects a hit, it's saving you that much mana + life. Compare that to what would be gained from otherwise investing those 5 skill points in Lightning on your TS. It's quite a bonus on its own if you go with a CTA staff, with base +chilling.
Q: wOops. Nother non-Question one. Ethereal Infinities vs Regular ones
A: The main attraction of ethereal ones, is the coolness factor. However, since the bulk of your str will be coming from Torch / anni / fc rings or ammys, Your infinity most likely won't appear on your opponents' screens. Only on yours. In addition, you won't be able to recharge the Cyclone armor charges - and every bit helps in PvP. And it means no needless whacking of Fallen with your scythe
The 10 less str Reqs won't be important either, as the whole point of making it in a Scythe / Low req weapon is to actually Make it in a Low-req weapon as planned, thus negating the need for 10 less reqs -.-
Zoing.
enJoy!
=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X=X-�-X|||hmm i've got a suggestion to make against pvping windy druids
that 1 point into CL could come into handy here. since conviction and all that -resists gear(griffons and infinity) adds nicely to your overall TS/CL damage, it should bring down the druid's cyclone armour nicely with one CL strike.
this will probably leave the druid "naked" and if he's an average player, he probably would retreat to recast minions and all that.
if he's a good player, he'll just keep chasing and that's when TS breaks the cyclone armour and simultaneous novaing puts him out of business.
well if he retreats to recast he's armour/minions, it's like a CS player reloading a Para machine gun - you go for him asap.
hope this helps, since i used to pwn quite a lot of wind druids with a lite sorc last time
|||your CL damage would be like 1-800 or so, before Pvp reduction. Plus, you'd only be casting at 105 FC , which for lightning is the same as 63FC bp. Nova'ing out the minions is much more efficient, and you won't trip up as much switching skills :undecided: I suggest you try that strategy before recommending it =/|||welldone
stickied and added to library|||erm, with conviction? -resists?
not like it's a guarantee 1 hit to kill all minions and c-armour lmao.|||While it may work well for your lightning based sorci, it'd be completely inefficient for this build =/|||i remember my light sorc doing about 3500 nova damage, i dont see how this is viable to kill in pvp, are you solely relaying on infinity to lower thier resist? because i think if they stack your screwed.|||Just because it *can* be stacked, doesnt mean it will be. Any elemental char can be stacked / sorbed; and I wouldn't rely on this for tournaments or duels vs any gosu players. It's just a fun build - which tends to work well in pubs, in addition to pvm.|||Question:
Is the Higher STr Req for an UP'd Viper worth it?
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