5 – Firewall
Prepare to unleash devastation upon the world as you ignite a blazing inferno, revelling in the awe-inspiring spectacle of its relentless demise. With its unparalleled capacity for widespread annihilation, this build reigns supreme in decimating hordes of adversaries, although it encounters challenges when pitted against formidable Bosses. While it may not claim the crown for the swiftest build to conquer Nightmare Dungeons, time becomes an inconsequential companion, allowing you to leisurely relish in the gradual immolation of sinister entities. As long as you stand resolute, they shall inevitably succumb to the searing clutches of their fiery fate.
What Firewall Excels in:
- Viable for up to NM 45
- Great starting build
- Most Aspects come from Codex
- Good clearing
Choose Firewall if you Like:
- Burning enemies into a crisp
- Play out your fantasies of Pyromancer
- DoT Builds
Firewall full details:
- This particular build primarily focuses on close-quarters combat, as straying away from monsters would result in their swift escape from your Firewalls. The typical gameplay loop revolves around constructing a massive funeral pyre, then encircling it in a frenzied dance while reciting ritual incantations and/or indulging in maniacal laughter.
- The Firewall Sorcerer boasts two distinct fighting styles. The first is employed against feeble adversaries encountered in the open world and standard dungeons. Simply deploy a few Firewalls, perhaps interspersed with Frost Nova or Inferno spells, and continue forging ahead as everything detonates in your wake. It is crucial not to look back during this phase!
- And if you have a Raiment of the Infinite, the unique item alters how you utilize Teleport. It becomes integral to your damage rotation immediately following the initial Firewall. Thanks to this item, you can execute complete rotations without relying on Inferno, although it remains on your skill bar since there’s no better alternative.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/firewall-sorcerer-guide
4 – Chain Lightning
When it comes to levelling, this build is a heavyweight champion, regardless of the class you choose. By synergizing the incredible area-of-effect potential of Chain Lightning with the devastating power of Arc Lash, we unleash a relentless onslaught that annihilates our foes without mercy.
And as you reach the endgame, you have the choice to either continue with the same build with minimal modifications or transition to one of the numerous potent endgame alternatives at your disposal.
What Chain Lightning Excels in:
- Great clearing
- Perfect for levelling new Sorcerers
- Good single target
- Not as reliant on Unstable Currents for dealing with trash mobs like pure Arc Lash.
Pick Chain Lightning if you Like:
- Feeling like Thor by charging the whole screen with Lightning and thunder!
- Reliable and easy-to-play builds
- Nicher builds that people aren’t familiar with.
Chain Lightning full details:
- In this build, we rely on Frost Nova, Ice Armor, and Teleport as our primary defensive skills. Teleport allows us to swiftly escape danger, Frost Nova freezes enemies and applies the Vulnerable debuff through Mystical Frost Nova, while Ice Armor acts as a protective barrier and grants mana regeneration with Enhanced Ice Armor. These essential tools ensure your survival as you unleash thunderous torment upon your adversaries.
- One challenge this build encounters is the lengthy 70-second cooldown of Unstable Currents. Unfortunately, there is no optimal solution within our levelling setup. Thus, it is advisable to reserve the use of Unstable Currents for significant Elite packs and Boss encounters.
- Reduce your foes to charred remnants using the scorching force of Chain Lightning, reserving Arc Lash for moments when your Mana dwindles. Employ the nimble art of Teleport to swiftly escape imminent danger while utilizing Mystical Frost Nova to afflict Vulnerable status upon your adversaries. When confronted with formidable opponents, unleash the electrifying might of Unstable Currents, invoking the Lightning Apocalypse. Evade, elude, sidestep, dive, and evade once more, employing agile manoeuvres to preserve your existence as a skilled Sorcerer.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/chain-lightning-sorcerer-leveling-guide
3 – Arc Lash
The foundation of this build revolves around rapidly unleashing devastating assaults with Arc Lash, resulting in a plethora of Unstable Currents and Ball Lightning Enchantment procs. As a significant portion of our damage stems from Lucky Hit procs, the potential for devastation naturally increases as we engage in battles against larger groups of enemies. Even when facing formidable Bosses, the damage output remains formidable, assuming they do not consistently evade the onslaught of Balls Lightning.
What Arc Lash Excels in:
- Strongest Lightning-based Sorcerer build
- Can do all content up to NM 70
- Simple to play, with a single button for all your damage.
- Tankiest Sorcerer build at the moment.
Pick Arc Lash if you like:
- Feel like a battle mage, hitting your enemies with melee attacks while summoning Lightning from the skies
- Zipping around the battlefield and unleashing havoc upon your enemies.
- Kill everything that comes inside your personal zone.
Arc Lash full details:
- Equipped with all four Defensive Skills and benefiting from additional Cooldown Reduction granted by Glinting Arc Lash, this build attains a level of resilience that rivals the sturdiness achievable by a Sorcerer. Nevertheless, surviving within close proximity to enemies in high-tier Nightmare Dungeons poses a formidable challenge, necessitating careful and strategic employment of your abilities.
- The build does not rely heavily on specific Legendary Aspects to reach its full potential. Each Aspect provides a modest bonus, and missing one or two will not cause the build to crumble. Instead of prioritizing Aspects, this build fervently seeks out favourable statistics. Amassing substantial amounts of Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed, and Critical Strike Chance is essential to harmonizing all the components. Consequently, you will need to adapt your build and accept a slightly weakened version until you acquire these necessary stats.
- As you progress to higher difficulties, survival becomes increasingly challenging. Eventually, your primary focus must shift towards evading or preemptively countering enemy attacks. A straightforward approach to bolster your resilience in Nightmare Dungeons involves sacrificing Raiment of the Infinite and opting for a Legendary Chest with favourable attributes combined with Aspect of Might. This modification will significantly enhance your durability, albeit at the expense of reducing your damage output.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/arc-lash-sorcerer-guide
2 – Ice Shards
This build turns your Sorcerer into an ice-powered machine gun, firing Ice Shards at an incredible rate of around 1000 Rounds Per Minute. It excels in dealing high single-target damage and boasts a decent range, making it a strong contender for Nightmare Dungeons. While its area-of-effect damage may be lacking, you can rely on Shatter, along with the pulling abilities of Inferno or Raiment of the Infinite, to handle multiple enemies.
Although you can technically play this build at a distance, the real excitement for Sorcerers happens up close with abilities like Frost Nova and Raiment of the Infinite. However, during Boss fights, you can retreat to a safe distance and rain icy havoc on the Boss from there. You can even run so far away that it feels like you’ve reached Narnia and still keep shooting at the Boss.
What Ice Shards Excels in:
- Nuking enemies from afar
- Best build for pushing 80~100 NM dungeons
- Glass Cannon build
- Can do all content
- Highly mechanic intensive
Pick Ice Shards if you like:
- Aiming.
- Melting enemies within the blink of an eye
- Clearing whole screens with a single cast of Ice Shards
Ice Shards full details:
- Use Frost Nova to quickly eliminate groups of small enemies and freeze them in place. Combine Inferno with Frost Nova to initiate fights and freeze multiple enemies together.
- Let the Ice Shards Enchantment deal damage to frozen enemies and contribute to the chaos by shooting your own Ice Shards. Continuously unleash Ice Shards on surviving enemies while utilizing defensive abilities like Ice Armor and Flame Shield to protect yourself.
- Against Bosses, maintain a safe distance, evade their attacks, and rain down Ice Shards from afar. Alternatively, engage Bosses closely, use Frost Nova to stagger them, and amplify your damage output. Be mindful of mana consumption; avoid letting it drop below 70% to ensure continuous Ice Shards usage. If Ice Shards do not trigger desired effects, wait for mana regeneration or skill cooldowns before casting again to maintain efficiency.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/ice-shards-sorcerer-guide
1 – Blizzard/Ice Shard
This build centers around the potent Cold spell Blizzard, bolstered by the Glacial Aspect, to unleash a devastating onslaught of Ice Spikes erupting from the ground. It excels in single target and area-of-effect damage, allowing you to venture deep into Nightmare Dungeons. However, the build’s weakness lies in Blizzard’s damage over time nature and its lengthy duration, which can be a double-edged sword. We incorporate Ice Shards into the build to mitigate this, providing additional damage and versatility.
What Blizzard/Ice Shards Excels in:
- Best ‘feels’ overall build
- Good for levelling (through cold routes) and fantastic at endgame
- Can do all content, even Uber Lilith.
- Strongest ‘all-around’ build for Sorcerer at the moment.
Pick Blizzard/Ice Shards if you Like:
- Freezing everything in your path
- Playing from afar or from melee, whatever tickles your fancy
- Feeling like a true mage, controlling the elements to do your bidding.
Blizzard Ice Shards full details:
- Unlike many other skills, Blizzard does not scale based on the DPS of your weapons. Instead, it relies on the level of the Glacial Aspect, making the build somewhat challenging for leveling as you need to continuously find higher-level Glacial Aspects to keep up with stronger monsters. Alongside Blizzard, the Ice Shards Sorcerer build incorporates the standard array of Defensive Skills to maintain high safety and resilience during your journey through Nightmare Dungeons. However, as you delve deeper into these dungeons, most threats can eliminate you in a single strike. To counter this, you must prioritize avoiding enemy attacks and rely heavily on the defensive capabilities of Flame Shield to survive.
- Mana management is crucial in this build as we constantly spam Blizzard, aiming to keep our Mana above 50 for the Mage’s Blizzard upgrade. We rely on the Prodigy’s Resource Aspect to make our life easier, which generates Mana through Cooldown-based skill activations. It’s crucial to prioritize casting a couple of Blizzard spells first to avoid wasting Mana and strategically use our skills without exhausting all Cooldowns simultaneously, ensuring effective Mana conservation. By mastering Mana management, we can unleash the full potential of this build and wreak icy havoc upon our foes.
- The Blizzard Ice Shards Sorcerer build utilizes two powerful Enchantments to enhance our abilities. Fire Bolt is essential in nearly all build versions, granting access to Devouring Blaze and other valuable burning-related bonuses. Since Blizzard itself cannot apply Burning, we rely on Teleport to activate this Enchantment and benefit from its effects. And Ice Shards, too, in order to auto-cast Ice Shards at any frozen enemies around you!
For more information, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUwDCOU6zOE&ab_channel=Tenkiei
