Selayna
10-03-2004, 15:57
Okay, I got tired of a popular build having no guide for it, so I wrote one. it's not perfect, so please feel free to make suggestions on how to improve it. I know that the gear section is imperfect, for example...
anyhow, here goes...
Selayna's 1.10 Blizard MF Sorc Guide 0.01a
Contents.
1. Intro
2. Stats
3. skills
4. Basic Stratigy
5. Gear Selection
6. Development Gear and Stratigy
7. Credits
Part 1. Introduction
Blizzard sorcs are a popular build. They are extremely effective "boss killers" because they focus on a single element, boosting all relivent synergies to the exclusion of any other abilitys except for 1 point in staic, warmth, and teleport. This means that they are able to kill mephisto very quickly, even compared to other sorc builds. They are likewise extremely fast pindle runners and a decent choice for andariel runs, as well.
For team play or solo MFing the blizzard sorc is perhaps the strongest character in the game. If you want to jsut play the game through solo, you will be sadly diaappointed, however, as there are numerous cold immunes in hell.
The majority of this guide assumes that you are a reasonably experienced diablo II player and that you can set up your own hot keys, understand how to lead your shots or use a merc to park monsters, and have access to some "good items." Still, as the blizzard sorc is an MF build, a section is included for players who have virtually no items at all, such as returning players or people who are just starting out on ladder or a new realm.
part 2: Stats
Strength: minimum needed for gear ( ie 71 for tal's armor)
Dex: none, minimum neded for gear ( wizspike msotly), or enough for max blocking with your shield of choice.
Vit: evrything else. Vit is life, literally.
Energy: none ( If you want to add 20-50 early on you won't be *TOO* sorry, but my personal reccomendation is to just group or quaff potions like mad in the early game. )
Part 3: Skills
Main skills and synergies (100)
blizzard 20
cold mastery 20
glacial spike 20
ice blast 20
ice bolt 20
1 shot wonders (3-4)
teleport 1
static field 1
warmth 1
frozen armor 1 ( it's my personal opinion here but a 50% or so defense bonus *AND* freezing melee eattackers solid is well worth a single skill point, especially as you will be teleporting through packs of monsters like a chiken with yoru head cut off.)
pre reqs
2 ( frost nova and telekenesis)
Total: 105-106, leaving you finished at level 94-95, although this character works just fine for most purpoes at level 80 with decent gear.
As for skill development, opinions vary. My opinion is this: take skills that will be useful early on early on. It doesnt' matter if you're less effficient at level 40-60 ( which lasts a whopping 2 hours anyhow :P ) if you can get through the first 25 levels faster. By level 75 or 80 you will have maxed all skills except for ice bolt, anyhow, so if you think that adding 5 points to ice blast will make level 22-25 go faster, go for it. I did, and I don't regret it.
part 4: Basic Stratigy
Blizzard Sorc stratigy is fairly simple. Group your way through all quests and up to the level of your choice, then do MF runs.
meph: take the durance 2 waypoint, teleport to durance 3, and use the moat trick. on nightmare this is simple. In hell it'll be a bit riskier, but also very rewarding.
pindle: teleport into the building he is in, drop blizzards on him and his pack. they usually drop quickly ( note that hell pindle is sometimes cold immune. if so just restart)
Andy: much like meph, but just kill the fallen around her and then kill her.
Part 5: Gear
For gear suggestions I will really only focus on MF related kits, as that is the primary purpose of his build. IF you want to use your blizardess for group play just sub out some mf for extra defense/ +skiles etc. Be aware that I've focused more on mf % then killing speed. Even naked a blizzard sorc can drop mephisto fairly quickly, so it's more important that he drop good things or that you reach him easily IMO
Note that it is very important to reach the magical 63% FCR breakpoint how you do it is to an extent up to you.
Very basically, though you want the following on your gear: 63%fcr, good resists, as much magic find as you can afford, and +skills. so, if you find a rare item ( such as a circlet with 30%mf, +2skills), and good resists and want to use it instead of a shako, go for it.
best/ acceptable / tolerable
Head: shako/ rare circlet with good stats; nightwings veil; good tarnhelm /3 socket ptopaz helm ; tal's head ( only with the rest of the set however)
Amulet: Maras; *tals ;good crafted or rare ammy( with +skills, resist, fcr, mf, etc) / +3 cold skill ammy/ +sorc skills, resist or mf ammy
Rings: personal taste: Soj and nagaling are good unique choices, but rare rigns with magic find FCR resists and other good mods are probably a better choice in many cases
left hand: HOTO; wizardspike ( for fcr, mana, and resists); Oculus ( mf, sills fcr); Deaths Fanthom/ tal's orb (with the rest of tals set); spectral shard ( fcr, resists); a good rare orb with FCR, resists, +2sills, etc; Eschuta's temper ( FCR/skills)/ the best orb you can manage;
lefthand (switch for final kill): gull dagger; isted ali babba; /any socketed weapon with junk %mf jewels stuck in it
shield: lidless ( if you go lidless and it's a good choice, don't bother with any dex); upgraded visceratuant; stormshield/ whistans (so little dex needed for it that it deserves mention); unupgraded visceratuant / the ward or rhyme
Shield ( switch for final kill): 4 ist monarch shield/ rhyme/ milbra's orb( toss in a cheap mf jewel for a litle extra even)
Armor: *tals; +blizzard ormus robe; / COH ; skulders; vipermagi/ wealth; 4 ptopax armor; smoke
belt: *tals; snowclash; goldwrap; arachnic mesh/ tgods; nightsmoke/ a good rare 4 socket belt
boots: wartravs or high mf rare boots with good mods. ( I've seen boots with decent res +30% run walk and almsot as much mf as low end war travs, so IMO teyr'e a very good second choice, especially if you're startign out( in otherwords, imbue soem sort of footwear and pray :P)
Gauntlets: chanceguards, frostburns, magefist, etc.
*note that it is best to include tal's ammy, armor, and belt togeather and not just in pieces due to their amazing partial set bonuses
Merc choice: an act 2 defiance ( defensive) merc is generally the best choice. They're sturdy and make you sturdier.
Outfit as usual: bonehew , duriel's shell , crown of theives, etc.
Note that there are superior kits ( by far) for a merc. I just chocise to list a fairly cheap, common, and effective option. If you have an etherial BOTD warpike for your merc, I'll asume that you can figure out what he needs to wear yoruself.
part 6: Development Gear and Stratigy
Since this is a magic finding build, some people may be taking it up with little or no gear to their names. Here's my suggested kit to go wth if you have virtually no items at all to your name. Note that this WILL entail manually switcing gear like crazy. deal :P I'll also assume that you're going to run nightmare meph with this kit usign the wel documented "moat trick"
head: tarnhelm (ptopaz) or 3 ptopaz headpiece/ no real switch
ammy: +sorc skil ammy +cold skilsl ammy, etc. +fcr and res is also an option / switch to the highest mf ammy you can get
rings: +FCR is good, so is resist / switch to the highest mf you can manage
orb: beg for a spectral shard/ swich to anythign you found with magic find... there are a few weird ones
shield: rhyme if you cna manage it. if not milbraga's orb. barring *that* find a socketed shield and toss some crappy MF jewels in it ( you know the ones +2 min damage +6% mf or similar stats)
armor: smoke, goldwrap, etc if you can. if not soemthign with lots of life... hell socket a breastplate with some rubys if nothing else/ switch to 4 ptopaz armor ( or 3... my first armor had 3 not 4 topazes in it. finding a 3 socket breastplate is easy :P )
boots: the highest mf boots youc an find. they actually sell these at charsi/anya/etc if you look.
merc gear: don't even bother with a merc just run NM mephisto for a while. till you have more stuff.
Part 7. Credits
The vast majority of this information was collected from various posts on the sorceress board.
anyhow, here goes...
Selayna's 1.10 Blizard MF Sorc Guide 0.01a
Contents.
1. Intro
2. Stats
3. skills
4. Basic Stratigy
5. Gear Selection
6. Development Gear and Stratigy
7. Credits
Part 1. Introduction
Blizzard sorcs are a popular build. They are extremely effective "boss killers" because they focus on a single element, boosting all relivent synergies to the exclusion of any other abilitys except for 1 point in staic, warmth, and teleport. This means that they are able to kill mephisto very quickly, even compared to other sorc builds. They are likewise extremely fast pindle runners and a decent choice for andariel runs, as well.
For team play or solo MFing the blizzard sorc is perhaps the strongest character in the game. If you want to jsut play the game through solo, you will be sadly diaappointed, however, as there are numerous cold immunes in hell.
The majority of this guide assumes that you are a reasonably experienced diablo II player and that you can set up your own hot keys, understand how to lead your shots or use a merc to park monsters, and have access to some "good items." Still, as the blizzard sorc is an MF build, a section is included for players who have virtually no items at all, such as returning players or people who are just starting out on ladder or a new realm.
part 2: Stats
Strength: minimum needed for gear ( ie 71 for tal's armor)
Dex: none, minimum neded for gear ( wizspike msotly), or enough for max blocking with your shield of choice.
Vit: evrything else. Vit is life, literally.
Energy: none ( If you want to add 20-50 early on you won't be *TOO* sorry, but my personal reccomendation is to just group or quaff potions like mad in the early game. )
Part 3: Skills
Main skills and synergies (100)
blizzard 20
cold mastery 20
glacial spike 20
ice blast 20
ice bolt 20
1 shot wonders (3-4)
teleport 1
static field 1
warmth 1
frozen armor 1 ( it's my personal opinion here but a 50% or so defense bonus *AND* freezing melee eattackers solid is well worth a single skill point, especially as you will be teleporting through packs of monsters like a chiken with yoru head cut off.)
pre reqs
2 ( frost nova and telekenesis)
Total: 105-106, leaving you finished at level 94-95, although this character works just fine for most purpoes at level 80 with decent gear.
As for skill development, opinions vary. My opinion is this: take skills that will be useful early on early on. It doesnt' matter if you're less effficient at level 40-60 ( which lasts a whopping 2 hours anyhow :P ) if you can get through the first 25 levels faster. By level 75 or 80 you will have maxed all skills except for ice bolt, anyhow, so if you think that adding 5 points to ice blast will make level 22-25 go faster, go for it. I did, and I don't regret it.
part 4: Basic Stratigy
Blizzard Sorc stratigy is fairly simple. Group your way through all quests and up to the level of your choice, then do MF runs.
meph: take the durance 2 waypoint, teleport to durance 3, and use the moat trick. on nightmare this is simple. In hell it'll be a bit riskier, but also very rewarding.
pindle: teleport into the building he is in, drop blizzards on him and his pack. they usually drop quickly ( note that hell pindle is sometimes cold immune. if so just restart)
Andy: much like meph, but just kill the fallen around her and then kill her.
Part 5: Gear
For gear suggestions I will really only focus on MF related kits, as that is the primary purpose of his build. IF you want to use your blizardess for group play just sub out some mf for extra defense/ +skiles etc. Be aware that I've focused more on mf % then killing speed. Even naked a blizzard sorc can drop mephisto fairly quickly, so it's more important that he drop good things or that you reach him easily IMO
Note that it is very important to reach the magical 63% FCR breakpoint how you do it is to an extent up to you.
Very basically, though you want the following on your gear: 63%fcr, good resists, as much magic find as you can afford, and +skills. so, if you find a rare item ( such as a circlet with 30%mf, +2skills), and good resists and want to use it instead of a shako, go for it.
best/ acceptable / tolerable
Head: shako/ rare circlet with good stats; nightwings veil; good tarnhelm /3 socket ptopaz helm ; tal's head ( only with the rest of the set however)
Amulet: Maras; *tals ;good crafted or rare ammy( with +skills, resist, fcr, mf, etc) / +3 cold skill ammy/ +sorc skills, resist or mf ammy
Rings: personal taste: Soj and nagaling are good unique choices, but rare rigns with magic find FCR resists and other good mods are probably a better choice in many cases
left hand: HOTO; wizardspike ( for fcr, mana, and resists); Oculus ( mf, sills fcr); Deaths Fanthom/ tal's orb (with the rest of tals set); spectral shard ( fcr, resists); a good rare orb with FCR, resists, +2sills, etc; Eschuta's temper ( FCR/skills)/ the best orb you can manage;
lefthand (switch for final kill): gull dagger; isted ali babba; /any socketed weapon with junk %mf jewels stuck in it
shield: lidless ( if you go lidless and it's a good choice, don't bother with any dex); upgraded visceratuant; stormshield/ whistans (so little dex needed for it that it deserves mention); unupgraded visceratuant / the ward or rhyme
Shield ( switch for final kill): 4 ist monarch shield/ rhyme/ milbra's orb( toss in a cheap mf jewel for a litle extra even)
Armor: *tals; +blizzard ormus robe; / COH ; skulders; vipermagi/ wealth; 4 ptopax armor; smoke
belt: *tals; snowclash; goldwrap; arachnic mesh/ tgods; nightsmoke/ a good rare 4 socket belt
boots: wartravs or high mf rare boots with good mods. ( I've seen boots with decent res +30% run walk and almsot as much mf as low end war travs, so IMO teyr'e a very good second choice, especially if you're startign out( in otherwords, imbue soem sort of footwear and pray :P)
Gauntlets: chanceguards, frostburns, magefist, etc.
*note that it is best to include tal's ammy, armor, and belt togeather and not just in pieces due to their amazing partial set bonuses
Merc choice: an act 2 defiance ( defensive) merc is generally the best choice. They're sturdy and make you sturdier.
Outfit as usual: bonehew , duriel's shell , crown of theives, etc.
Note that there are superior kits ( by far) for a merc. I just chocise to list a fairly cheap, common, and effective option. If you have an etherial BOTD warpike for your merc, I'll asume that you can figure out what he needs to wear yoruself.
part 6: Development Gear and Stratigy
Since this is a magic finding build, some people may be taking it up with little or no gear to their names. Here's my suggested kit to go wth if you have virtually no items at all to your name. Note that this WILL entail manually switcing gear like crazy. deal :P I'll also assume that you're going to run nightmare meph with this kit usign the wel documented "moat trick"
head: tarnhelm (ptopaz) or 3 ptopaz headpiece/ no real switch
ammy: +sorc skil ammy +cold skilsl ammy, etc. +fcr and res is also an option / switch to the highest mf ammy you can get
rings: +FCR is good, so is resist / switch to the highest mf you can manage
orb: beg for a spectral shard/ swich to anythign you found with magic find... there are a few weird ones
shield: rhyme if you cna manage it. if not milbraga's orb. barring *that* find a socketed shield and toss some crappy MF jewels in it ( you know the ones +2 min damage +6% mf or similar stats)
armor: smoke, goldwrap, etc if you can. if not soemthign with lots of life... hell socket a breastplate with some rubys if nothing else/ switch to 4 ptopaz armor ( or 3... my first armor had 3 not 4 topazes in it. finding a 3 socket breastplate is easy :P )
boots: the highest mf boots youc an find. they actually sell these at charsi/anya/etc if you look.
merc gear: don't even bother with a merc just run NM mephisto for a while. till you have more stuff.
Part 7. Credits
The vast majority of this information was collected from various posts on the sorceress board.