Melee Sorceress [1.3]

[jollestroger]

Hi,

How about two pieces of the set "Curse of the Zakarum" wich gives wolf stance.
Wolf stance gives speed (walking and FHR), damage and CB.

For example gloves and boots wich also grants wolf companion.

[Solfege]

Hi,

How about two pieces of the set "Curse of the Zakarum" wich gives wolf stance.
Wolf stance gives speed (walking and FHR), damage and CB.

For example gloves and boots wich also grants wolf companion.

The attack speed, hit recovery, block rate, and velocity boosts from Wolf Stance aren't much, but they could be useful. As for the Physical damage boost, by the start of end-game, you'll already have +1145% Physical damage (+750% Moonstrike and +395% from Baneblade); another 20% won't make much difference. The only thing that really looks worthwhile is the 10% CB.

Old Community Set boots (iirc) offered Wolf Companion, and TBH, I wasn't impressed by it when I tested it in the old patch.

If you wanted to try Wolf Stance though, using the set's gloves and boots are probably the best option, since those gear slots are probably the least crucial for a Melee Sorc.

[veneti]

Is

Beads of the Snake Queen

Beads of the Snake Queen
Amulet
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
4% Chance to cast level 33 Scorpion Blade on Kill
Adds 5-10 Damage
Stun Attack
+(200 to 500) Defense
(20 to 25)% to Strength
(20 to 25)% to Dexterity
+100 Life after each Kill

amazing due to venomous spirit (what does it do if so?) or %dex/%Str/Def?

[Solfege]

Is

Beads of the Snake Queen

Beads of the Snake Queen
Amulet
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
4% Chance to cast level 33 Scorpion Blade on Kill
Adds 5-10 Damage
Stun Attack
+(200 to 500) Defense
(20 to 25)% to Strength
(20 to 25)% to Dexterity
+100 Life after each Kill

amazing due to venomous spirit (what does it do if so?) or %dex/%Str/Def?

Venomous Spirit is that slow-moving poison spell used Dark Counselors (those Radamant-looking things in A4 River of Flame).

The proc is useful, but BotSQ is mostly used for the +%DEX/STR bonuses and LaeK.

[franckyj]

that might be a stupid question but why, in the mid / end game must you focus on an element?

also, for someone clvl 40 ish looking to create the uniques of the early game, is hatred mephisto the best spot to get uniques to create arcane crystals?

edit: nvm the mephisto question, you answered it in the gameplay section!

great guide btw

[SwineFlu]

that might be a stupid question but why, in the mid / end game must you focus on an element?

Heroic shields was removed in the current version and it's not that easy to stack a good amount of -all enemy resistance now. So using rainbow damage with many sources is not that great than it used to be and it might be better to focus on a single element.


As you can see, endgame section of this guide is still WIP, author may change his mind about using one dedicated element per build.

[Solfege]

that might be a stupid question but why, in the mid / end game must you focus on an element?

Heroic shields was removed in the current version and it's not that easy to stack a good amount of -all enemy resistance now. So using rainbow damage with many sources is not that great than it used to be and it might be better to focus on a single element. As you can see, endgame section of this guide is still WIP.

Nah, franckyj, it's actually a good question. SwineFlu is correct about the old standard multi-element build, but to elaborate on why single-element specializations are recommended...

By the end of mid-game/beginning of end-game, your damage from skills/weapons alone will basically top out. But that damage won't be enough for many of the later Ubers, so the idea is to further augment your damage output by choosing a specialization--either a single element setup with proc-boosting gear, or a setup with gear devoted primarily to boosting Physical damage via EWD. As I said in the end-game gear section, those setups listed were ones I tested in XVI with various degrees of success. In theory, they should work even better in M2017, but many of the individual gear pieces are still untested and some specific pieces in each setup may be tweaked or replaced, depending on how well they perform.

[veneti]

Playing Ymir, finally got enough signets I am gaining in Dex. Almost to max block (but the number is much higher than you have stated in the guide of 3k w/ 3% shield), did the calculation for block change or am I missing something?

It is finally feeling stronger... Damage is decent and with the higher dex/CTB it is much more survivable. Will say, destro early on is very rough and do not attempt to do most ubers until you get that dex/CTB because it will be very painful.

I would like to do some testing with -res, for example replacing frozen heart with something else (Warriors Robes possibly?) later on as it seems it would be so good (-15%DR + %Dex/%STR), but I am assuming you believe the damage drop off will be too great? Giving up -20 res is hard.

[Jampula]

The attack speed, hit recovery, block rate, and velocity boosts from Wolf Stance aren't much, but they could be useful.

Old post but this caught my eye. Speeds WS grants are very much as they are skill speeds and are counted differently. For example even 30 skill FHR makes it a joke to reach 3 frame hit recovery with a sorc, saving jewel/mo/item or whatever space.


Anyway, it's nice to see a melee sorc guide that doesn't just say "get Starhawk + AotOR and go whack stuff."

[Solfege]

Playing Ymir, finally got enough signets I am gaining in Dex. Almost to max block (but the number is much higher than you have stated in the guide of 3k w/ 3% shield), did the calculation for block change or am I missing something?

It is finally feeling stronger... Damage is decent and with the higher dex/CTB it is much more survivable. Will say, destro early on is very rough and do not attempt to do most ubers until you get that dex/CTB because it will be very painful.

I would like to do some testing with -res, for example replacing frozen heart with something else (Warriors Robes possibly?) later on as it seems it would be so good (-15%DR + %Dex/%STR), but I am assuming you believe the damage drop off will be too great? Giving up -20 res is hard.

Yes, Destruction Ubers can be tough, which is why I have minimum gear requirements listed for both mid-game and end-game before attempting them.

Frozen Heart

Frozen Heart
Lamellar Armor (Sacred)
Defense: 7746 to 8400
(Sorceress Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 499
Item Level: 120
+(3 to 4) to Sorceress Skill Levels
+(9 to 12) to Ice Elementals (Sorceress Only)
+(50 to 75)% to Summoned Minion Life
+(50 to 75)% to Summoned Minion Damage
+(25 to 30)% to Summoned Minion Resistances
+200% Enhanced Defense
Physical Resist 10%
100% Bonus to Defense
Socketed (6)

was used for the Bane oskill, the -ECR and minion stats were just bonuses.

Warrior's Robe

isn't necessarily bad, but if you're using it mostly for the %DR, it's not worth it IMO, since most of the enemies in Ubers do some sort of Elemental or Magic damage. But if you have it and want to test it, I'd appreciate if you'd let me know how it worked out for you (I haven't found it yet, so I haven't tested it myself). You can use

Chalice of Horrors

to make up for the loss of -ECR from Frozen Heart.

Remember, those setups were meant as temporary and theoretical solutions for late end-game, since you'll need to have eaten nearly 500 sigs to use them effectively. I've listed a "transitional" gear setup that I've been using until I decide on final gear options. It's made up of stuff you can easily find/farm for and It works well. I've been able to do all but the hardest Ubers fairly comfortably with it so far (the rest I just haven't got around to yet).

As for the dex thing, 3015 is the total dex you need for max block with Baneblade active (+1% CtB) and a shield with +2% CtB. You'll need more dex if the shield you're using has less CtB. I can't find in my notes where I wrote those other numbers rn, and I haven't eaten enough sigs yet to test them, which is why they're not listed yet.

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