Melee Sorceress [1.3]

[Neyhanis]

My defs at 330k (42% dr) around level 120, did all lv105 110 115 ubers and only one 120 so far
Worth noting that im using a shield of hakan II (high def), though body isnt huge (6.6k, set piece). Head is witchunters, for its +2 maxres/dr/20% dex (with the hakan shield, thats a toal of +4% maxres from gear and +2% from asmo charm, i feel it helps quite a bit, and cant wait to have a good kabraxis charm on top)

[Fenrils]

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.

Mine's ~130k with MF gear, 160K with real gear but it's been a weak point on my side as well. I'd love to have closer to 250k but I'm not sure exactly how I'd do that.

[Fenrils]

My defs at 330k (42% dr) around level 120, did all lv105 110 115 ubers and only one 120 so far
Worth noting that im using a shield of hakan II (high def), though body isnt huge (6.6k, set piece). Head is witchunters, for its +2 maxres/dr/20% dex (with the hakan shield, thats a toal of +4% maxres from gear and +2% from asmo charm, i feel it helps quite a bit, and cant wait to have a good kabraxis charm on top)

Are you Cold + Lightning or something to hit this defense? Even in my "real" gear, I'm at 160k with Poison + Fire. Mind posting your full gear?

[Neyhanis]

Sure, and i am indeed cold+light, or i couldnt reach that at all.
DR% comes from belt vith (11%) + body (10%) + witchhunter helm (5%) + shield (5%) + sword (10%) + a lucky recipe somewhere (1%)

I'm too lazy to screenshot but the defense comes froms 9.7k shield of hakan II. The rest is 6.6k (body), 2.3k (helm), 1.2k (gloves), 1k (boots), 3k(belt), and 500 per ring (MOs). And of course snow queen passive, lv40 right now, 11.6k

edit : current hp 8.4k, 11kish when moonstriking

edit2 : im heavely thinking of crafting a good Sur body armor. Ive got a decent eth base so it'd end up something 13 to 15k def (not the best but Sur is only (+58-86% def) for the +21% DR. That'd put me to 53%, so i could even drop one of my 5% dr pieces, 48 being enough. I would however lose +41 allstats/3skill evels/25-50 dmg, so quite uncertain about it

[Gzeno]

New

Stormflyer

Stormflyer
Kite Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (4190 - 4737) to (4889 - 5527)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 550
Required Dexterity: 559
Item Level: 120
25% Chance to cast level 60 Forked Lightning on Melee Attack
1% Base Block Chance
+(30 to 40)% to Lightning Spell Damage
-(15 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+(130 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
(11 to 15)% to Dexterity
(31 to 40)% to Energy
Lightning Absorb 5%
25% Weapon Damage Taken Restores Mana
Socketed (4)

seem to be pretty insane. 25% lvl 60 forked lightning proc on melee, 15% dex, 1% block, lightning spell/pierce.
Mana on damage received too.

Ill give it a shot honestly.

[Neyhanis]

I was thinking the same, and i'm wondering what other good unique would have lightning proc(s) and/or light pierce to go along with that

[Solfege]

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.

Flat damage mods (including flat Elemental damage) only apply to weapon attacks, not spells.

In the past, Fire/Lightning was fine for a Bladestorm/Wraithsword build, but not a Fusillade build b/c you didn't have enough skill points to max all the skills you wanted. Now that max clvl is 140, it may be an option. Will have to test (depending on how much of a pita getting to clvl 140 is).

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

Lightning/Cold is generally the safest build for most areas, and was what I used for the M2017 1.0-1.2 version of the guide. So it's perfectly viable.

Wind Runner

Wind Runner
Boots
'SilElqSilGul'
Runeword Level: 100
+(0 to 1) to All Skills
50% Attack Speed
10% Movement Speed
Adds 25-68 Damage
250% Bonus to Attack Rating
(12 to 15)% Life stolen per Hit
+(171 to 200)% Enhanced Defense

is a really bad choice for boots b/c of the Phase Bomb proc. If you hit a phased enemy with any weapon damage attack, you'll die instantly.

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.

I'm currently working on the 115 Ubers and I'll be recommending some upgrades. Right now, my testing setup is

Khany

,

Erawan

Erawan
Body Armors
'LemKoCham'
Runeword Level: 83
15% Combat Speeds
5% Chance of Crushing Blow
+(144 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
(27 to 30)% to Strength
(27 to 30)% to Vitality
Physical Resist (13 to 15)%
(15 to 20)% Bonus to Defense

,

Truce

Truce
Belts
'Jah'
Runeword Level: 80
5% Combat Speeds
Stun Attack
Slows Attacker by 5%
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
Physical Resist 10%

,

Toorc's Gift

Toorc's Gift
Chain Gloves (4)
Defense: (26 - 30) to (47 - 54)
Required Level: 5
Required Strength: 28
Item Level: 10
2% Chance to cast level 1 Glacial Nova on Melee Attack
5% Attack Speed
Stun Attack
+(12 to 29)% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +(11 to 15)%
Socketed (1)
Defense: (155 - 172) to (211 - 234)
Required Level: 22
Required Strength: 57
Item Level: 31
3% Chance to cast level 2 Glacial Nova on Melee Attack
15% Attack Speed
Adds (11 to 15)-(16 to 25) Cold Damage
Stun Attack
+(47 to 63)% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +(21 to 25)%
Socketed (2)
Defense: (434 - 472) to (573 - 624)
Required Level: 40
Required Strength: 201
Item Level: 51
4% Chance to cast level 3 Glacial Nova on Melee Attack
25% Attack Speed
Adds (36 to 45)-(46 to 63) Cold Damage
Stun Attack
+(81 to 97)% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +(31 to 35)%
Socketed (3)
Defense: (657 - 710) to (859 - 928)
Required Level: 48
Required Strength: 402
Item Level: 77
5% Chance to cast level 3 Glacial Nova on Melee Attack
30% Attack Speed
Adds (81 to 100)-(101 to 125) Cold Damage
Stun Attack
+(98 to 114)% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +(36 to 40)%
Socketed (4)

, and

Bogspitter

Bogspitter
Helms
'BerUm'
Runeword Level: 78
20% Chance to cast level 11 Miasma on Melee Attack
+1 to All Skills
Adds 60-179 Poison Damage over 1 seconds
Slows Attacker by (10 to 15)%
+(115 to 143)% Enhanced Defense
Elemental Resists +10%

(not sure about this helm yet). Keep TU Spiked Shield and TU Chain Boots.

My defs at 330k (42% dr) around level 120, did all lv105 110 115 ubers and only one 120 so far
Worth noting that im using a shield of hakan II (high def), though body isnt huge (6.6k, set piece). Head is witchunters, for its +2 maxres/dr/20% dex (with the hakan shield, thats a toal of +4% maxres from gear and +2% from asmo charm, i feel it helps quite a bit, and cant wait to have a good kabraxis charm on top)

Are you Cold + Lightning or something to hit this defense? Even in my "real" gear, I'm at 160k with Poison + Fire. Mind posting your full gear?

Armor Class Defense isn't a Poison/Fire build's primary defensive mod, so don't worry about not having huge ACD numbers.

New

Stormflyer

Stormflyer
Kite Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (4190 - 4737) to (4889 - 5527)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 550
Required Dexterity: 559
Item Level: 120
25% Chance to cast level 60 Forked Lightning on Melee Attack
1% Base Block Chance
+(30 to 40)% to Lightning Spell Damage
-(15 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+(130 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
(11 to 15)% to Dexterity
(31 to 40)% to Energy
Lightning Absorb 5%
25% Weapon Damage Taken Restores Mana
Socketed (4)

seem to be pretty insane. 25% lvl 60 forked lightning proc on melee, 15% dex, 1% block, lightning spell/pierce.
Mana on damage received too.

Ill give it a shot honestly.

Yeah, as I said in a previous post, I get the feeling the devs want to revive the old Elemental Melee Sorc build from many years ago, which was basically:

Starhawk

Starhawk
Warp Blade (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: 49 to 86
(Sorceress Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 400
Item Level: 105
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.13 per Dexterity)%
Innate Tri-Elemental Damage: (45.0% of Dexterity)
Area Effect Attack
25% Chance to cast level 50 Magic Missiles on Melee Attack
+(3 to 5) to Sorceress Skill Levels
50% Attack Speed
Adds 400-500 Magic Damage
-(25 to 35)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
10% Chance to Avoid Damage
Socketed (6)

+

Armor of the Old Religion

Armor of the Old Religion
Ceremonial Armor (Sacred)
Defense: (8437 - 9306) to (10452 - 11529)
(Sorceress Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 722
Item Level: 105
+(4 to 5) to Sorceress Skill Levels
+200 Spell Focus
50% Hit Recovery
+(35 to 50)% to Fire Spell Damage
+(35 to 50)% to Lightning Spell Damage
+(35 to 50)% to Cold Spell Damage
+(9 to 12) to Sacrifices
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
Elemental Resists +25%
10% Chance to Avoid Damage
+(101 to 150) Life after each Kill
Socketed (6)

+

Stormflyer

Stormflyer
Kite Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (4190 - 4737) to (4889 - 5527)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 550
Required Dexterity: 559
Item Level: 120
25% Chance to cast level 60 Forked Lightning on Melee Attack
1% Base Block Chance
+(30 to 40)% to Lightning Spell Damage
-(15 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+(130 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
(11 to 15)% to Dexterity
(31 to 40)% to Energy
Lightning Absorb 5%
25% Weapon Damage Taken Restores Mana
Socketed (4)

+

Metalhead

Metalhead
Great Helm (Sacred)
Defense: 2420 to 3551
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 1250
Item Level: 105
3% Chance to cast level 10 Stormblast on Melee Attack
3% Chance to cast level 10 Shower of Rocks on Melee Attack
Adds 250-500 Lightning Damage
+(1000 to 2000) Defense
Maximum Elemental Resists +(1 to 2)%
+2 Life on Striking
-5 to Light Radius
Requirements +100%
Socketed (4)

. Can't remember the rest of the gear, but pretty sure belt was

Nero

and maybe gloves and boots were Abandoned-crafts.

[Neyhanis]

Wind Runner is a really bad choice for boots b/c of the Phase Bomb proc. If you hit a phased enemy with any weapon damage attack, you'll die instantly.

But that's the point ! They removed the PB proc from Wind Runner, making it downright awesome ^^ great def value, great leech, great phys damage, great ATR (and then maybe +1sk on top)

[Fenrils]

Armor Class Defense isn't a Poison/Fire build's primary defensive mod, so don't worry about not having huge ACD numbers.

What's our defensive advantage then? With Hive and Fire Dance, we certainly do more damage than Cold/Lightning but especially in areas like Tran Athula, I feel like being as fat as possible would be more advantageous than the bit of extra damage we'd get otherwise. If we can nearly cap out Phys Resist without the poison tree, it seems like a pretty easy drop in favor of the avoidance we'd get in Lightning, I think.

Not looking to be adversarial, just curious to see your thoughts on the topic.

[Solfege]

But that's the point ! They removed the PB proc from Wind Runner, making it downright awesome ^^ great def value, great leech, great phys damage, great ATR (and then maybe +1sk on top)

Oh, they sure did. They mentioned previously that RWs wouldn't change, so I never bothered looking at them for changes. Oops. lol

What's our defensive advantage then? With Hive and Fire Dance, we certainly do more damage than Cold/Lightning but especially in areas like Tran Athula, I feel like being as fat as possible would be more advantageous than the bit of extra damage we'd get otherwise. If we can nearly cap out Phys Resist without the poison tree, it seems like a pretty easy drop in favor of the avoidance we'd get in Lightning, I think.

Not looking to be adversarial, just curious to see your thoughts on the topic.

No worries. Didn't take your comment as adversarial. ^^

Poison/Fire uses a complex, multi-layered defense system that consists of Life, Life regen, Life sustain, Phys Res, and CtB. Basically, the point of Poison/Fire isn't to avoid getting hit, it's to reduce incoming damage to a point where you're replenishing Life faster than you're losing it. This is why a highly aggressive playstyle is so important for this build. You need to constantly attack to keep yourself healthy. Obviously, some ACD is still helpful, but it's not the focus of Poison/Fire.

Any passive combo is viable, they just have different playstyles. So you can choose whatever combo you like to suit your own playstyle. I've mentioned this before, but many people prefer Poison/Lightning over Poison/Fire b/c they feel safer with it.