Sorceress Options

[Dethseeker]

Just curious what others think since I can not seem to make up my own mind :P

Option 1:

Hydra - 20
Fire Mastery - 20
Warmth / Static - 5
Frozen Orb - 20
Cold Mastery - 10

Option 2:

Hydra - 20
Fire Mastery - 20
Warmth / Static - 5
Glacial Spike - 20
Blizzard - 20
Cold Mastery - 1

[Munkay]

For better, in depth opinions, I'd look at the Frozen Orb//Blizzard discussions that have happened on the lounge.

Check out these links:
MEAT's Post
Ravenvale's Post
Unrealshadow13's Post

My short answer is I adore Frozen Orb, much moreso than blizzard.

But read up! And ask more questions if you're still unsettled.

Note: There are more topics about fire/cold sorc's specifically at your searching disposal, if you want a broader advice pool to look at.

Cheers,

Munk

[Guest]

hmmm... In my opinion, I think option 1 is better because frozen orb dmg is good and you dont need glacial spike that much. But option 2 is also good.

[[wcip]Angel]

Not long ago (season 1) I made a hydra sorc aided by mastery and synergies - all maxed. The hydras did so little damage, that it took forever to kill things. There was one advantage to the spell, though, namely being able to position your own little agents of death wherever I deemed appropriate. It opened up a few windows for me, but the fact that it took so long to kill even a regular cold immune, makes me terribly biased against the use of Hydra.

I am currently playing a lvl 91 fire-sorc with fireball, firebolt, meteor maxed with fire mastery on the way. I also have 20 skill points in frozen orb and 1 in the appropriate synergies and mastery. The sorc is quite powerful, even when I'm solely using magic find gear (which should be somewhere around 670 by now), so I'm not concentrating on using +skill-gear. I imagine I could pump my skills up 10 points if I were to discard all my MF-gear, making the build even more powerful.

I'd advise against using Hydra as your primary attack though.

Just my two øre.

[Dethseeker]

Well, I made the Hydra sorc despite several people telling me otherwise. At level 42, I have to said I do not really like it. Probably my biggest problem is the time it takes the hydras to attack after being cast. There is a noticable delay when they are cast which creates a hugh problem at times. For example, I was attacked by some extra fast women (can't remember their names) in NM. Having hydra and blizzard as my main skills they ran right past my hydras and through a blizzard! Was a scarey moment I tell you. Luckily I have become proficient at teleport spamming!

With the holes in blizzard and the attack delay with hydra, I just don't think this is a very good combo for HC players (me) and will probably rebuild, using this guy as a mule...

[Wyrm]

Agreed. You should always have at least one spammable skill in your arsenal. Even Frozen Orb can be counted that way to an extent (normally, spammable = no timer). If you want to use "slow" skills like Hydra and Blizzard you have to move really slowly and cast ahead of where you're walking, into the darkness. That and you're going to need a really beefy merc, either an a2 Holy Freeze, or a Barb.

[Zingydex]

Speaking from personal experience, I'll point out that a Hydra/Orb sorceress, although not the game's fastest killer, can survive quite well in Hell as long as you have a tank/decoy of some description. Hydra's damage is comparable to Frozen Orb, which is not much until you consider the number of times that one Hydra shoots.

Keeping enemies busy with my merc and alternately casting Hydra and Orb as the situation warrants has allowed me to clear space for party members in the Throne of Destruction, so that they could retrieve their bodies after we were ambushed by a pack of Black Souls. Not bad considering my gear was pretty crummy by Bnet standards.

[Taem]

Just curious what others think since I can not seem to make up my own mind  :P

Option 1:

Hydra - 20
Fire Mastery - 20
Warmth / Static - 5
Frozen Orb - 20
Cold Mastery - 10

Option 2:

Hydra - 20
Fire Mastery - 20
Warmth / Static - 5
Glacial Spike - 20
Blizzard - 20
Cold Mastery - 1
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I was having trouble killing Cold Immunes in Hell mode, even with an act II merc with Brainhew, so I made a new cold sorcie with the following:

20 Ice Bolt
20 Orb
20 Cold Mastery
4 Prerequisites

1 Warmth

1 Static
1 Telekinesis
1 Teleport
20 Charged Bolt
20 Lightening Mastery

She's not complete yet (finished focusing on the cold part but now working on the lightening part) but thats 107 skill points used, subtract the 12 skill points I get from quests, she'll be complete at level 96 :lol: . The good news is that the little bit of lightening damage I do really helps kill cold immunes. Highly recommended and effective if you choose not to go with Hydra or Mana Shield.