Hi folks, it seems I reached the point when I really need to respec my FO + FB sorc into something lightning based.
The problem is that countless is cold+fire immune and this is my very first character I was hoping to use for Pit / Countess farming. I don’t have any other good gear and my merc can’t do any damage to countess either.
I have tried chained lightning before and it was the reason I respeced into fire I really hate how chain lightning work, just HATE it It take hours to clear some areas and damage is well… something I don’t know how to play.
What are you skill allocations and general advices for FO + some lightning skills for Sorc? I have only one respec remaining and that was it.
People say that this is end-game build with best gear possible to work, but hey… I need to find this gear first
im playin Light / Frost Hybrid and farmin is not a big deal if u are going for Trash Areas and im wearin 400 MF, so there would be room for Gear Adjustments to make farmin easier.
Max ChainLightning, Lightning Bolt and Lightning Mastery, Max Frozen Orb. Some Points here and there, thats it. The Pit or Areas like that are np. U can easily farm Countess, almost everything in Act 2, Meph, Andariel, Pindle and lots more.
currently 89. but i played this build since lvl1. Started with lots of Runewords. Spirit MH and OH. But like mentioned, im wearin lots of MF Items. I started with Chest and Head with perfect Topazes and a gambled blank +2 Sorc Skills Neck. So no need for endgame Gear. Actually im wearin some A and S-Tir Stuff i would say. Tschako, Tals Amor / Neck, Occu. But u can easily start with lower Items. Just play a little bit less offensive.
I’m on lvl 76 at the moment. What is “Chest and Head” if I may ask? I have also found just found Tresher in a first Pit run and thinking to try “Insight” for my merc, probably he can deal with Countess this way, idk
I have killed Countess several times with my FO + FB Sorc on Hell, at level 70. Only she is immune to your elements; you can wipe the room of her adds very quickly (or just kite them out the room and kill them out there, as Countess rarely follows). Once she is alone, Static Field her a few times (till 50% health) and then your Merc can just kill her. My Merc’s equipment is total garbage (he has an Insight topping at 300 damage, and a Treachery with 280 Defence + random rare helmet). He kills Countess easy. Feed him pots while he whales on her if you need to.
Footnote: Immunity is a terrible mechanic. If Immunities start to wear you down and make you feel inclined to give up the game, I recommend trying a build that is “Immunity-proof”. Basically you either go for a build that deals Magic damage, since Immunity to Magic is very very rare in D2, OR one that deals an unusual combination of damage types that you will rarely encounter dual Immunity to. Examples:
Bone Necro (deals Magic damage, with Physical + Fire backup)
Hammerdin (deals Magic damage - though beware this build is an absolute bore to level and play)
Wind Druid: Deals Cold + Physical damage
Trap Assassin: Deals Lightning + Fire + Physical backup
Bow Amazon: Several possibilities here to use either Magic Arrow for Magic Damage or an elemental Arrow + your basic Physical damage - needs a good bow though)
Would your Blizzard not be useless on Hell with no synergy? When doing an elemental Sorc, I always pick one skill that needs little to no synergy. That would be FOrb or Fire Wall (if still viable since patch). Not saying you’re advice is wrong, I have simply avoided dual element builds that require 2 skills with a lot of synergies, and would be delighted to be contradicted on that. Blizz + Fireball would be my dream Sorc build.
My merc can’t help me Countess is casting some lightning spikes or how it is called once hit and merc dies in 2-3 second having like 1100 armor Black Hades I posted in another thread.
I don’t know how to explain but when I played classics it was way easier and smoother then this new cool D2r. I don’t know what is the reason but I clearly remember, these times there were no such a problems or it was way easier to play somehow
try Runewords treachery or Duress to push ur Merc a litte bit. Insight is great with a Sorc, u will love it. But u will hate it when ur Merc dies
With lvl70 i would just run some Baal Runs to get to lvl80, not much to do there, just leech and watch ur XP bar.
The Chest and Head i mentioned where just 3 or 4 OS Items where i put MF Gems in. So no Stats excpet MF. I wanted to show u how bad my Gear was. I died several times to Archers on my way to countess, but thats all. Just dodge them by teleporting and thats it. Kill Goblins, Ghosts, etc with ChainLightning, teleport to Stage 5, kill Countess and repeat. Slow and steady, u can do it. Insight helps a lot here.
I play ES/nova sorceress from the start. Very easy game after reaching 1200 mana capacity and lvl 35 energy shield. Also very good for key hunting. The only one expensive item you need - good base for memory staff (to get +9 or +8 to energy shield).
By the way, sorceress is not a very newbie-friendly character. You could try paladin, amazon or necro to get more experience with the game.
You’re gonna struggle with lighning build in Hell without some top tier gear, I’ve tested it.
Best thing you can do is getting better gear for your Merc, because later on you’re gonna need him to take some hits for you and provide mana regen from the Insight, and that’s a rule pretty much for any character moving to Hell.
You can get decent rune bases for Insight and Treachery on Nighmare Cow Level. A life leech helmet is also required but not for the Countess, she doesn’t hit hard and dies fast.
You can also help your Merc killing immunes by using Static Field (even 1 point in it is enough).
The pit is the worst place in the game to farm with a Sorc unless you are god-tier Lightning with a very strong merc etc. Just farm any other place with FO+FB. There won’t be many fire/cold immunes outside of the pit and you can skip them if there are. And/or you can upgrade your merc so he can deal with them or max lightning to help him when you have enough levels.
you are not alone hating the light sorc. lightning is a cumbersome skill and if you want to do p1 games, there are much more fun skills to play.
i would reroll on a paladin. shop a staff with teleport charges and make some cs runs. its much more fun than playing sorc and the drops are better.
If you just want to farm Countess, Orb/Fireball is completely fine. The countess is fire/cold immune, but her minions are only cold immune. You can kill her minions with fireball and let your merc kill countess. Countess has very little health. If your merc has an ok weapon(like exceptional/elite base Insight) , she’ll die in 5 seconds.
I really hate how chain lightning work, just HATE it 
