Melee Sorceress [1.3]

Waffle1209 wrote:Ah alright, I am still leveling to 115 to get into K3K. Guess it is jungles til then. Thanks.

Yes. 110 to 115 grind will probably be Torajan Jungles+D-Cows. Clearing both areas during a single game will net you at least 1 level.

Edit:
Since everyone is a lot further along than I am, I've been looking through the SU list at potential End-Game items for people to try. Sadly, it kinda looks like the devs are trying to shift things away from Phys-based Melee Sorcs and into Elemental-based setups, so I'm not sure what sort of long-term potential Phys-based Melee Sorcs will have. Regardless, here are some items that look promising (item tags haven't been updated yet, so check the docs for stats):

Weapons:
Starhawk (SU Warp Blade)
Steel Punisher (SSU Warp Blade)
Shark (TalXis) in a Sacred Warp Blade
Galeona's Lash (SSU Jared's Stone)
Abandoned-craft Warp Blade - maybe

Body Armors:
Dervish of Aranoch (SU Kazarghand)
Rebel (ElXis) in Sacred Ceremonial Armor
Wolverine Skin (SSU Plate Mail) - possibly
Strength Beyond Strength (SSU Gothic Plate)
Tyrael's Might (SSSU Ancient Armor) - probably requires a new build

Shields (not a lot of good choices here):
Lightforge (SU Kite Shield) socketed with 4x Auhe Runes, probably
Shield of Hakan II (SU Gothic Shield)
Abandoned-craft Spiked Shield - maybe

Helms:
Veil of Steel (SSU Great Helm)
Idol of Rygnar (SSU Mask)
Royal Circlet (SU Tiara)

Glovess:
Rogue Foresight (SSU Heavy Gloves)
Blind Anger (SU Light Gauntlets)

Boots:
Akarat's Trek (SSU Light Plated Boots)
Knight's Grace (SSU Greaves)

Belts:
Nero (Auhe) in a Sacred Plated Belt
Dementia (SSU Belt)
Black Void (SSU Heavy Belt)
Champion of the Triune (SSU Plated Belt)

And here are some specific gear combos that would likely work:
> Starhawk (SU Warp Blade) + Lachdanan's Visage (SSU Banded Plate) + Titan's Steps (SU Heavy Boots)
> Steel Punisher (SSU Warp Blade) + Dervish of Aranoch (SU Kazarghand) + Hammerfist (SU Heavy Gloves)

So why no vitality? Does it have really poor margins/returns? Is it just offense is the best defense?

Also I’m pretty brand new to median, but just by looking at itemization, it looks like a big part of our build should be -enemy res. Is there a cap?

Sorcs barely gain anything from VIT, so it's usually not worth it. But iirc, by late End-Game in the last patch, you had enough damage and CtB that you could divert about 100 points (maybe 200, can't remember) from DEX into VIT without any major drawbacks.

There's no cap on Elemental pierce afaik, but there is a point where it doesn't make sense to have more. Here are the Elemental pierce breakdowns:

Normal mobs in Hell = 35% Elemental res:
0 pierce = 65% dmg dealt,
65 pierce = 130% dmg dealt (x2 base dmg)
135 pierce = 200% dmg dealt. (x3 base dmg, x1,5 dmg gain)

Bosses in Hell = 70% Elemental res:
0 pierce = 30% dmg dealt.
30 pierce = 60% dmg dealt (x2 total dmg)
90 pierce = 120% dmg dealt (x4 total dmg, 2x total dmg gain)
170 pierce = 200% dmg dealt (x6,67 base dmg, x1,67 total dmg gain)

Source: viewtopic.php?f=40&t=22672

So there's little point in going over 170 Elemental pierce b/c the return on investment isn't worth it.

I started playing this server when a friend showed me the trailer of the sigma version and waited to this version to play this server, I've been playing "normal" diablo 2 servers and all this things that you are telling is basic chinese for me, is there a detailed guide of the features of the server to understand the different things that I can do from the very start of the game?

Yep. There are lots of sources of information.
There's Jaedong's Getting Started With Sigma Thread.
And Thraxis' Introduction to Mechanics Guide.
Of course, there's the Official Documentation.
And you can always ask general questions about the game in the Short Questions Thread.
Or join the Median XL Discord.

Do flat damage modifiers on gear like “add lightning 800-1000 damage” also apply to skills like Nova Charge?

Fire Lightning is looking pretty juicy while stacking flat modifiers and pen.

Hey there, ive been going a slightly different route using cold+lightning for the +def. Now cold I might switch out at some point, unsure, but lightning feels pretty much vital for the following : the increased energy (once you rack up enough base dex from sigs) is awesome to always force blast ennemies, and that helps SO MUCH with survivability ! (and then theres the 15 to 18% avoid and the def aswell, ofc).
As for armor I'm using the set's armor (even though its the only piece) for damage and DR but strongly considering to switch for a Dervish. That on striking poc.... (im using a steel punisher so with the ATMG sentries up the total amount of hits is bonkers, a good on striking proc would help tremendously).
As for boots, after the sets boots, definitely aiming for 4 Earth runes (erf thats gonna cost a bit ><), the 4xEa RW looks awesomely good

Neyhanis wrote:As for armor I'm using the set's armor (even though its the only piece) for damage and DR but strongly considering to switch for a Dervish. That on striking poc.... (im using a steel punisher so with the ATMG sentries up the total amount of hits is bonkers, a good on striking proc would help tremendously).

I'm currently using Steel Punisher + Dervish and can confirm that tornadoes are basically everywhere at all times and it feels pretty damn great. I'm still unsure of this route is the actual best way to run the build but it's worth somewhat well so far. With a few more upgrades (which hopefully I'll find soon as I'm farming with 317ish MF), I'll be looking to take down some 120 and 125 ubers.

When I hit 105 and 110 I was able to easily do each rift or dungeon (aside from cows).

After hitting 115 I seem to have hit a wall and ubers are a little more difficult. I must be lacking defence or something. What is everyone's defence at?

Good news is I am able to farm K3K so I will just do that for some upgrades.