Advice on my Fireball/Orb Sorc

[moop]

First off, here's my gear:
Helm: Shako
Ammy: Tals
Armour: Tals with PTopaz
Shield: Rhyme in a Troll Nest
Weapon: Occy
Belt: Tals
Gloves: Frosties
Ring 1: Dwarf
Ring 2: Raven
Boots: 36 War Travs

Merc: Holy Freeze
Helm: Gaze(Gonna try Andy's vs Andy)
Armour: Shaftstop(Non-upped)
Weapon: Insight in a Bill(I can't get a hold of a better 4os polearm)

My Level: 84
Fireball Damage: 3.2-3.6k(I think)
Orb damage: 369-388
Meteor Damage: 6.9-7.2k

I can't help but think that these damage values are absurdly low. My sorc does pretty well in Solo Act 1 games. I can do Countess no problem, it's really been my main source of income, albeit a slower one. Vs Andy, my merc has been getting really low if not dieing. I'm going to try and use Andys Visage to see if that solves his problem.

I can't do Hell Meph. If I try to get my merc to tank him, my merc dies. If I try to use the moat trick, my merc will mess it up by either moving meph or luring some council members/blood lords. If I do it without my merc, I usually can't find level 3 before my 700 mana runs out. I'd kinda like help on this issue :S

I tried my sorc in Hell Pits. In solo games, I did pretty well, but when I tried 8 player games, it didn't work well at all. Merc got owned and I managed to save exit before I had to pay gold for my demise.

Another thing I need help with, is FCR. I HATE the frame rate I'm casting at, it's just so ugly and boring to teleport with. I know the next frame rate isn't far off, as I have 50 FCR and the breakpoint is 63 I believe. However, I don't really want to change much of my gear. I don't have the strength to wear a Spirit Monarch(That was the first thing I thought of), and I enjoy the 75% block that my Rhyme gives me. I'm also not keen on the idea of rebuilding my sorc. The only spaces that I'm open to changing are my Dwarf and War Travs. I'll change my frosties if the solution will still give me a decent amount of mana(I hate my little blue ball being empty). I thought that you could get 20 FCR on a rare ring, but some people on B.net have told me otherwise.

Will upping my mercs shaftstop make a significant difference? I have the runes ready if it will, I just thought that the main usage of it was the DR O_o.

Another thing I'm after, is map finding strategies. The "go left" rule works perfectly for the Countess, but in the Durance, it's not true a quarter of the time and the Catacombs are just chaos. Advice on this?

Final question: Would I be able to run Pindle/Nithalak with this build?

Any advice or help you provide is greatly appreciated :)

Keep your suggestions to middle to lower class gear. Maybe a bit of high class, but no super high class lol

[Noite Escura]

If you need to hit 63 FCR for teleport try using Wizardspike with a blocking shield on switch for teleporting. It will grant you additional resists, mana and FCR. It's a temporary solution, though. I'd change Frosties for Magefist as 500 mana is enough with Insight. You Fireball damage is good for untwinked, Orb is a bit low, but you should be able to run Pits. Mind if I ask: are you teleing out to help keep your merc alive?

[moop]

If I see he's getting owned, I try and tele away to save him.

I tend to use orb mainly, as it's a lot easier and I don't have to aim, but I prefer fireball. Weird eh?

I tried running pits in 8 player games. Didn't work out. The second we ran into a pack of archers, he got killed before I could save him.

I'm not so much into pits though, as I am into boss running. There has to be something I'm doing wrong, as with that stuff, I can just BARELY kill hell meph, and that's using pots and having my merc die. I highly doubt I can run Nithalak, but I'm wondering if I could do Pindle as a good addition to my runs?

I started doing Hell Andy. I can do it without my merc dieing most times, although he sometimes dies.

I'll try mage fists.

Sidenote: When I tried pits, I think I did about 15-20 runs. I never got anything good, other than andys visage and a 5os flail. But these were in single player games. Does the loot dramatically increase in 8 player games?

[prion]

*quantity* of loot significantly increases in 8 player games. It affects pits alot more than bosses because bosses have a very small chance to drop nothing whereas in 1 player, ordinary monsters have a pretty good chance to drop nothing, which changes noticeably as more people enter the game.

Finding the boss:
I don't know if Hell is different from nightmare, but this has worked pretty well for me..
Cats 2: travel counterclockwise around the map edge (turn right)
Cats 3: uhhh....seems to be more often on the right half of the map somewhere. I can't figure this one out.
Durance: uhhh well having a rule is better than not having one and being totally random. Go left works pretty well for me, just stay on the outer edge of the map. of course if the waypoint spawns in the middle of the map (i have a screenshot) you're totally messed up.

[sirpoopsalot]

The Ravenfrost doesn't really do a lot for you (sorcs casting speed is not affected by being chilled, so CBF isn't very useful to a casting-sorc). The dex & cold absorb are helpful, but it seems like you could potentially find a better ring. Likewise, as you know, there are better choices for a caster than Dwarfstar. As a result, in your position, I would try to find two rare rings with FCR, resists, and potentially +dex (to help make up for the lost raven).

As for your mana problems, are you drinking potions? Sometimes it's a necessary evil, especially while teleporting. Some potions will help your merc against Meph too, but even more useful might be to buy a wand with LifeTap charges carry it on weapon switch, and use it at the start of a boss battle.

Finally, about the directions, there's a fair bit of reading, but: Left vs. Right (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=547324&highlight=left)... LprMan & Thyiad provide some fantastic links in their replies.

[lendial]

i would highly suggest going for 105 fcr and getting a storch if u dont already have one. your fire dmg is really low for your level and gear.

occy+magefist+20 from 3 piece tal+35 spirit is 105. at the very least have 63 but anything lower is just too slow. try vita too if u decide to remake.

if u do meph id recomend a kiras/shaft/insight ( resists are uneeded or he will die everytime to ice ball of death.)
for andy andy/shaft/insight