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| Diablo II |
| Sorceress Guide |
| Version 1.1 (7/26/2000) |
| Copyright 2000 Damneon |
| damneon@yahoo.com |
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Contents
-=-=-=-=-=-
1. Introduction
2. Starting a Sorceress
-Stats
-Level Exp chart
3. Spell Lists
-Fire
-Lightning
-Ice
4. Defeating Diablo and Beyond
5. Sticking Points (Small Spoilers)
-Boss guide for every quest
-Which monsters will give you the hardest time
6. Credits
7. Legalese
1. Introduction
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
So you want to be a Sorceress? The Sorceress is the weakest character
physically, but more than makes up for it in sheer fire power. Low hit
points and armor will cause many deaths, but you will get so many kills you
will not mind. Diablo II is very well balanced for the character classes,
but I've found that I prefer the finesse required to make a good Sorceress.
A Sorceress requires good planning on your skills, as many become obsolete
very quickly. You will need to accept the fact that you are not an up
close fighter and will need to avoid melee combat at all costs.
I've been playing Diablo II since it came out. My opinion is biased
towards the Cold spells because I think they are the best. I've had little
difficulty killing the monsters in Act II of Hell difficulty at level 43
with Cold spells.
I've used several game hacking utilities to try out all the spells, and
I've compared and compiled a list rating each of the spells and how
effective and useful they are throughout the game.
Feel free to contact me at damneon@yahoo.com if you have any questions or
comments about this FAQ. Or you can contact Lady Aelana on B.net USWest.
2. Starting a Sorceress
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It is important to plan out your Sorceresses spells early on. Choose two
or three primary attack spells and put all of your points into those.
I suggest:
Cold: Blizzard, Glacial Spike, and Frozen Orb.
Fire: Fire Ball and Blaze
Lightning: Static Field, Nova, Chain Lightning
Once you have chosen your primary attack spells, don't put more than a
single point into any spell that is a prerequisite for those spells, and
don't put any points into spells that you don't need. There are a few
exceptions. I wholeheartedly recommend you put as many points as you can
spare into Warmth and Static Field, as both are very helpful. I also
suggest putting a single point into these skills: Telekinesis/Teleport,
Frozen Armor and Frost Nova. All of them are very good even with a single
point in them.
Starting Stats:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 10
Energy: 35
Stamina: 74
Life: 40
Mana: 35
How stats affect your character:
Every 100 Strength = +1 to minimum damage with a weapon
Every 20 Strength = +1 to maximum damage with a weapon
Every point of Dexterity adds 4 to your attack rating
Every 4 points of Dexterity adds 1 to your armor
Every point of Vitality adds 1 stamina and 2 health
Every point of Energy adds 2 mana
If you find a piece of armor that you absolutely must wear, put some points
into the required stats until you are able to wear it. 50 strength should
be enough to wear just about anything you find that is worth wearing. If
you are concerned about having a low armor class, wait until you start
getting exceptional items in Nightmare and Hell difficulties. I've found
armor with 200 AC with a very low strength requirement. Mostly you will
want to put all of your available stat points into energy.
Level Chart 1-20
Level Exp
1 0
2 500
3 1,500
4 3,750
5 7,875
6 14,175
7 22,680
8 32,886
9 44,396
10 57,715
11 72,144
12 90,180
13 112,725
14 140,906
15 176,132
16 220,165
17 275,207
18 344,008
19 430,010
20 537,513
3. Spell Lists
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fire
Fire is by far the most damaging category of spells available. The main
drawback of the Fire spells is it's lack of direct attack spells. Most of
the spells involve casting them then running your fool head off until the
spells eventually kill your attackers. This is generally a good strategy,
but Lightning enchanted uniques will rip you apart if you use Inferno, Fire
Wall, Blaze, or Meteor against them since these spells will trigger the
Charged Bolt counter attack several times a second. With no defensive
skills available, you may find yourself getting killed if you aren't
careful about keeping your enemies away from you.
Suggested Primary Fire Path:
Level/Spell
1 Frozen Armor
2 Warmth
3 Warmth
4 Fire Bolt
5
6 Inferno and Frost Nova
7 Static Field
8 Static Field
9 Static Field
10 Warmth
11
12 Fire Ball and Blaze
13 Fire Ball
14 Blaze
15 Fire Ball
16 Blaze
17 Fire Ball
18 Fire Wall
19 Fire Ball
20 Blaze
21 Fire Ball
22 Blaze
23 Fire Ball
24 Meteor
25 Fire Ball
26 Fire Ball
27 Fire Ball
28 Enchant
29
30 Hydra and Fire Mastery
Fire Bolt Warmth
| |
| |
Inferno | |
| | |
| | |
Blaze Fire Ball |
| | \ |
| | \ |
Fire Wall | Enchant
\ | |
\ | |
Meteor |
|
|
Fire Mastery Hydra
*---- Fire Bolt Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 3-6 Damage: 31-34 Damage: +3/2-+3/2
Mana Cost: 2.5 Mana Cost: 2.5 Mana Cost: +0
Fire Bolt is the spell you start the game with. It does very
little extra damage with each additional point you add, and even at
level 20 it does pathetic damage. This spell will be able to get you
through Act I with just one level in it, but don't count on it doing
anything beyond that.
***** Warmth Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Mana Regen: +30% Mana Regen: +258% Mana Regen: +12%
Warmth improves your mana regen rate. You will naturally regen all
of your mana in two minutes. Warmth reduces the time it takes to
regen to full. At level 20 you will regen your full mana in about 30
seconds, regardless of how much mana you have. No matter what area
of magic you plan to focus on, put plenty of points into this skill.
**--- Inferno Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 12-25/sec Damage: 190-203/s Damage: +19/2-+19/2
Range: 3.3 yds Range: 12.6 yds Range: +2/4
Mana Cost: 7/sec Mana Cost: 21/sec Mana Cost: +3/4
Inferno shoots a stream of flame from you out to a distance equal
to the range. Holding down the right mouse button will keep this
spell going until you run out of mana. It does a good bit of damage,
but it requires you to stand still and usually you have to be fairly
close to the target to hit it. It is a great spell to use in Act I
to kill bosses/uniques, but beyond that it isn't very useful.
****- Blaze Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 18-37/sec Damage: 196-215/s Damage: +19/2-+19/2
Duration: 4.6 Duration: 23.6 Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 11 Mana Cost: 20 Mana Cost: +1/2
Blaze creates a trail of fire behind you as you walk/run. Blaze
doesn't do as much damage as Fire Wall, but lasts just as long,
costs less mana, allows you to dodge while laying down the fire, and
is generally easier to hit things with. Cast Blaze and run away from
a nasty unique, or run circles around/between a large group of nasty
monsters. For an added touch, lay a Blizzard or some Hydras on top
of the whole mess and you will have an easy time killing many things.
***** Fire Ball Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Radius: 2 yds Radius: 2 yds Radius: +0
Damage: 6-14 Damage: 139-147 Damage: +7-+7
Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: 14 Mana Cost: +0.5
Fire Ball is the most damaging attack spell in the game. A slvl 20
Fire Ball with slvl 20 Fire Mastery does nearly 300 damage per hit
and costs next to nothing in mana. With only one prerequisite spell,
you can learn Fire Ball even if you want to spend all your other
skill points in other categories. The only disadvantage to this
spell is that it's radius isn't quite as large as Glacial Spike or
Meteor.
***-- Fire Wall Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 32-42/sec Damage: 389-398/s Damage: +75/4-+75/4
Range: 4 yds Range: 30 yds Range: +4/3
Duration: 4.6 Duration: 23.6 Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 22 Mana Cost: 60 Mana Cost: +2
Fire Wall creates a line of fire wherever you click. The angle of
the wall is based on your position. Fire Wall does ridiculous
amounts of damage (800 with Fire Mastery), but I've found it
difficult to keep monsters within the fire. It's high mana cost can
prevent you from casting it too often.
Note: According to Geoff Frazier's posts on the Battle.net message
boards, his Sorceress' main tactic is to lay down some fire walls,
hydras, then throw some Meteors on top of the whole mess. I'm not
very fond of any of those spells, but he has had great success with
this tactic, so you may get more use out of these spell than I have.
**--- Enchant Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 8-10 Damage: 27-29 Damage: +1-+1
Duration: 144 Duration: 600 Duration: +24
Mana Cost: 25 Mana Cost: 120 Mana Cost: +5
Enchant adds fire damage to a weapon. Target the player/minion you
want to enchant, and all of their weapons will now do additional fire
damage. A purely multi-player spell, you will find little use for it
in single player (except to enchant your mercenaries).
***-- Meteor Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 40-50 Damage: 268-278 Damage: +12-+12
Fire Damage: Fire Damage: Fire Damage:
16-21/sec 150-154/sec +7-+7/sec
Range: 4 yds Range: 4 yds Range: +0
Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: 36 Mana Cost: +1
Meteor causes a big-ass flaming rock to fall out of the sky and
cause a world of hurt for anything it hits. The problem is the
"anything it hits" part. When you cast the spell, the ground starts
to glow where it will land, and a few seconds later the Meteor makes
it's appearance. There is plenty of time for your target to move out
of ground zero. With some practice, you can aim a meteor in front of
you and walk toward/through the landing zone so that it hits your
pursuers. It also leaves a small area of a Fire Wall-ish effect for
a few seconds after it hits. Meteor does do a lot of damage, but
it's difficulty aiming makes this one of my less favored spells.
***** Fire Mastery Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Increase damage Increase damage Diminishing returns.
for all fire for all fire First few levels provide
spells: 18% spells: 100% the largest bonus.
If you have any Fire spells, you need Fire Mastery. Fire Mastery
improves the damage done by all of your fire spells. At slvl 20 it
doubles the damage done, and even at level 1 it will greatly improve
your kill rate. As with all the Mastery skills, the first few levels
you put in the skill provide the largest bonuses.
***-- Hydra Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 6-12 Damage: 44-50 Damage: +2-+2
Duration: 12 Duration: 31 Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 21 Mana Cost: 59 Mana Cost: +2
Hydra opens a hole in the ground and three heads pop out. Each
head will shoot Fire Bolts at nearby targets for the duration of the
spell. My main complaint about this spell is that at level 30 when
you can first learn it, 6-12 damage isn't going to kill a lot, even
at clvl 50 when you can have this spell at slvl 20, 44-50 isn't going
to do much against what you are fighting. This isn't really a kill
spell, but more of a support spell. Throw a few Hydras in the middle
of a Fire Wall/Blaze field, or in a Blizzard and you will do much
better than if you didn't have Hydra. The greatest use I've had for
this spell is to kill lightning enchanted uniques. Throw a bunch of
Hydras at it and run around a corner. With strategic planning and a
good helping of Fire Mastery, Hydra is a very useful spell.
Lightning
Lightning can be a difficult path to follow. It has several attack
spells, but only Nova and Chain Lightning are worth anything. It lacks any
high level attack spells, and most of the spells available are utility
spells. Most Lightning spells have a very large range of damage (1-192 for
Lightning at slvl 20) so you can't count on a spell killing even the
smallest thing in one shot. The mana cost for most of the spells is quite
low, even more so with Lightning Mastery, so running out of mana shouldn't
be too much of an issue. Lightning seems to be mostly a multi-player
choice of spells. A large amount of Static Field will help your friends
kill everything while you keep at a safe distance.
Suggested Primary Lightning Path:
Level/Spell
1 Frozen Armor
2 Charged Bolt
3 Warmth
4 Warmth
5 Warmth
6 Frost Nova
7 Static Field
8 Static Field
9 Static Field
10 Static Field
11
12 Nova and Lightning
13 Warmth
14 Nova
15 Warmth
16 Telekinesis
17
18 Teleport and Chain Lightning
19 Chain Lightning
20 Chain Lightning
21 Chain Lightning
22 Chain Lightning
23
24 Thunder Storm and Energy Shield
25 Energy Shield
26 Energy Shield
27 Pick one: Warmth/Nova/Chain Lightning
28 Pick one: Warmth/Nova/Chain Lightning
29 Pick one: Warmth/Nova/Chain Lightning
30 Lightning Mastery
Charged Bolt
|
|
Static Field | Telekinesis
| | |
| | |
Nova Lightning |
| | |
| | |
| Chain Teleport
| Lightning |
| / \ |
Thunder Storm Energy Shield
Lightning Mastery
***-- Charged Bolt Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 2-4 Damage: 11-13 Damage: +1/2-+1/2
Bolts: 3 Bolts: 22 Bolts: +1
Mana Cost: 3 Mana Cost: 12 Mana Cost: +0.5
Charged Bolt fires several small lightning bolts that wander around
in front of you randomly. It's low mana cost and the potential to do
about 260 damage at slvl 20 makes this a fairly powerful spell.
Unlike in Diablo 1, if a Charged Bolt shot hits a wall, it will stop
instead of bouncing off it.
***** Static Field Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Range: 3.3 yds Range: 16 yds Range: +2/3
Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: +0
Static Field is another of the spells that every Sorceress should
know. It reduces a monsters current hit points by 25% with each
hit. After about four shots of this, a monster is about half dead,
and should be easy to finish off with your primary blasting spell.
At slvl 1, the range of this spell is barely large enough to hit
things before they can hit you, but each level in this skill
increases the range. By slvl 20, the range is well beyond the
dimensions of the screen. Another bonus of this spell is that it
will light up any enemies it hits, making it easy to see how many
monsters are in a dark room. The most important thing to note about
this spell is that it is just as effective in Normal mode as it is in
Nightmare and Hell. No matter where you choose to focus your skills,
get a healthy supply of Static Field.
*---- Telekinesis Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-2 Damage: 20-21 Damage: +1-+1
Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: +0
Telekinesis picks stuff up for you without having to walk to it
first. Whoopee. It does pathetic damage, and if you didn't need to
study it to get to Teleport, I wouldn't waste a single point in this
skill. It does have a use in a multi-player game if you are playing
with treasure hogs, or want to be a treasure hog yourself.
****- Nova Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-20 Damage: 134-153 Damage: +7-+7
Mana Cost: 15 Mana Cost: 34 Mana Cost: +1
Nova shoots a ring of lightning, hitting any nearby enemies. It
does decent damage, and is one of the few lightning spells that
increases it's minimum damage as well as maximum each slvl. The
damage is on par with the other lightning spells, and it can hit as
many targets as it can within the range of the blast.
***-- Lightning Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-40 Damage: 1-192 Damage: +0-+8
Mana Cost: 8 Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: +0.5
Lightning shoots a lightning bolt at the target, and the shot
continues on beyond the target to damage anything it passes through.
I'd suggest waiting another 6 levels to get Chain Lightning instead
of putting more points into this spell.
****- Chain Lightning Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-40 Damage: 1-230 Damage: +0-+10
Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: 28 Mana Cost: +1
Chain Lightning shoots a lightning bolt at the target, then the
bolt changes direction to hit another four targets. This will
probably be your primary attack spell if you get nothing but
lightning, and it isn't a bad spell except that it can do just a
single point of damage no matter how high you have it trained.
****- Teleport Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Mana Cost: 24 Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: -1
Teleport: You click there, you be there. Whether you use this
spell to escape from combat, or just to avoid walking around the
Arcane Sanctuary (mostly the latter), this is a very useful utility
spell. You won't get any kills from this spell, but the option to
escape from combat while surrounded will probably save you quite a
bit of experience in Nightmare/Hell difficulty. One level of this
spell is sufficient, and any additional points spent will only reduce
the mana cost.
**--- Thunder Storm Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 32 Duration: 184 Duration: +8
Damage: 1-100 Damage: 191-290 Damage: +10-+10
Mana Cost: 19 Mana Cost: 19 Mana Cost: +0
This defensive spell will give you a Paladin-ish aura that shoots
lightning bolts from the sky randomly at nearby monsters. The damage
is very high, but it doesn't fire very often. You may find this
spell helpful if you are in combat often, but if you avoid hand to
hand combat like the plague, you will probably not hit many things
with this spell. On the other hand, if you avoid hand to hand
combat, this spell will fry anything that tries to get close enough
to hit you. It isn't a *bad* spell, it just doesn't meet my
expectations of what a level 24 spell should do.
****- Energy Shield Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 144 Duration: 1056 Duration: +48
Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: +0
Percentage of Percentage of Diminishing returns.
damage is taken damage is taken First few levels provide
from mana: 23% from mana: 63% the largest bonus.
Energy shield takes a percentage of the damage you take from mana
instead of health. Since you should have much more mana than health,
this spell will help you stay alive longer. At slvl 20, 2/3 of the
damage you take will be taken out of mana, effectively giving you
three times the health you had before. The main drawback of this
spell is that it has five prerequisite skills you must learn before
getting this one. I recommend finding a staff with +3 in this skill
and using that instead of learning it the hard way.
**--- Lightning Mastery Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Reduce mana cost Reduce mana cost Diminishing returns.
for lightning for lightning First few levels provide
spells: 15% spells: 63% the largest bonus.
Lightning Mastery reduces the mana cost for all of your lightning
spells. At slvl 20, the cost for all your spells is 1/3 of the
original cost. Lightning Mastery combined with a healthy supply of
Warmth will keep you casting for a VERY long time. As with all the
Mastery skills, the first few levels you put in the skill provide the
largest bonuses.
Cold
Cold spells generally do less damage than their Lightning/Fire
counterparts, but the additional freezing/slowing effects make them
extremely powerful. Monsters that are slowed move and attack at half
speed, and frozen and slowed monsters tend to shatter when they die making
it impossible for them to be resurrected. Cold is generally a very safe
path to choose since you can slow and run away from anything, or simply
freeze it until it dies.
The main problem with choosing a full Cold path is the lack of a good
attack spell to use between levels 6 and 18. It would be a waste to put
more than one point into Ice Blast, so you will need to find a staff with
another spell to survive long enough to get Glacial Spike.
Suggested Primary Cold Path:
Level/Spell
1 Frozen Armor
2 Warmth
3 Warmth
4 Warmth
5 Ice Bolt
6 Ice Blast
7 Frost Nova
8 Static Field
9 Warmth
10 Static Field
11 Warmth
12 Static Field
13 Static Field
14
15
16
17
18 Glacial Spike
19 Glacial Spike
20 Glacial Spike
21 Glacial Spike
22 Glacial Spike
23 Glacial Spike
24 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
25 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
26 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
27 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
28 Blizzard
29
30 Frozen Orb and Cold Mastery
Ice Bolt Frozen Armor
| |
| |
Frost Nova Ice Blast |
| | \ |
| | \ |
| | Shiver Armor
| | |
| | |
| Glacial Spike |
| / |
| / |
Blizzard Chilling Armor
|
|
Frozen Cold Mastery
Orb
*---- Ice Bolt Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 3-5 Damage: 22-24 Damage: +1-+1
Cold 6 sec Cold 32.6 sec Cold +1.4 sec
Mana Cost: 3 Mana Cost: 3 Mana Cost: +0
Ice Bolt is your introduction to the Ice spells. It does decent
damage for most of Act I, so if you are going to go the all ice
route, you won't be stuck. The additional slowing effect of this
spell is very helpful and is the main reason this spell can keep you
alive long enough to level up and get a real blast.
***** Frozen Armor Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 120 Duration: 348 Duration: +12 sec
AC Bonus: 30% AC Bonus: 125% AC Bonus: +5%
Freeze 1.2 sec Freeze 3.4 sec Freeze +0.1 sec
Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: +0
Frozen Armor is one of the best spells you have available to keep
you alive. This spell will freeze any monster that hits you with a
melee weapon, and even some ranged weapon attacks up close. This is
an extremely important spell as you go into Act II and III as many of
the monsters attack rates prevent you from casting any spells while
you are being hit. The AC bonus it provides is minimally useful
since you will not have the strength to wear enough armor to make it
worth while.
***** Frost Nova Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 2-4 Damage: 40-42 Damage: +2-+2
Cold 8 sec Cold 27 sec Cold +1 sec
Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: 47 Mana Cost: +2
Frost Nova shoots a ring of coldness around you, slowing anything
it hits. When you are being attacked by a large group of enemies,
slowing them is often the best strategy. Whether you slow them so
you can run away, or so that they are easier to hit, Frost Nova will
be your best friend for quite a while.
***-- Ice Blast Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 10 Damage: 143 Damage: +7
Freeze 3 sec Freeze 6.8 sec Freeze +0.2
Mana Cost: 6 Mana Cost: 15 Mana Cost: +0.5
Ice Blast is a curious spell. The damage increases fast enough
that at skill level 20 it is on par with Fire Ball, Glacial Spike,
and Chain Lightning. The major disadvantage of this spell is that it
only hits a single target. I don't recommend training this spell
beyond the first level. Glacial Spike is just a few levels away and
is a much more effective spell.
*---- Shiver Armor Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 120 Duration: 348 Duration: +12 sec
AC Bonus: 45% AC Bonus: 159% AC Bonus: +6%
Damage: 6-8 Damage: 44-46 Damage: +2-+2
Cold 4 sec Cold 4 sec Cold +0 sec
Mana Cost: 11 Mana Cost: 11 Mana Cost: +0
Shiver Armor works the same way as Frozen Armor, except it slows
instead of freezes. When I first started playing a Sorceress, I
looked at this spell and thought "Wow! A defensive spell that will
kill my enemies!." After finishing Act I, I suddenly realized 1: if I
am hit I tend to die if I can't stop them from hitting me, and 2: 8
damage isn't going to save my ass. Even if you waste your next 20
skill levels in this spell, 46 damage isn't going to put a dent into
the things you will fight at level 32.
***** Glacial Spike Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Radius: 2.6 yds Radius: 2.6 yds Radius: +0
Damage: 16-24 Damage: 149-157 Damage: +7-+7
Freeze 2 sec Freeze 4.2 sec Freeze +0.1
Mana Cost: 10 Mana Cost: 19 Mana Cost: +0.5
Glacial Spike is your friend. It does large amounts of damage,
freezes, and has an area. Even at the highest character levels, this
spell will still do the job. This is the highest level spell that
will freeze your enemies. The damage it deals is about the same as
Fire Ball (without Fire Mastery), but when a big-nasty-thing is
coming at me, I like the feeling of safety freezing them provides.
***** Blizzard Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 16-24 Damage: 92-100 Damage: +4-+4
Duration: 4 sec Duration: 23 sec Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 23 Mana Cost: 42 Mana Cost: +1
Blizzard sends a shower of Ice Bolts from the sky for the duration
of the spell. Monsters will generally take one or two hits of this
spell per second, more or less depending on their size. While not
the most damaging spell in the game, this is one of the best "Fire
and forget" spells available. If you run into a large group of
monsters that you cannot take on, run away and fire a Blizzard ahead
of you. The Blizzard will thin out the numbers of your attackers.
*---- Chilling Armor Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 144 Duration: 258 Duration: +6 sec
AC Bonus: 45% AC Bonus: 140% AC Bonus: +5%
Damage: 6-8 Damage: 44-46 Damage: +1-+1
Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: +0
This spell is bad for the same reasons Shiver Armor is. At level
24 when you can first get this spell, 6-8 damage just doesn't cut it.
The fact that this spell hits ranged attackers is nice, but since it
doesn't do anything for the (more dangerous) up close attackers makes
this spell one of the worst available.
****- Frozen Orb Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 32-35 Damage: 146-149 Damage: +6-+6
Cold 8 sec Cold 27 sec Cold +1 sec
Mana Cost: 25 Mana Cost: 63 Mana Cost: +2
Frozen Orb is my favorite spell. It is a sphere of coldness that
launches dozens of Ice Bolts in all directions. A well-aimed Frozen
Orb can hit a monster 3 or 4 times. **CAUTION** There seems to be a
bug with this spell: if you fire a Frozen Orb directly at a monster,
either by clicking directly on one, or by a monster simply running
through the Orb itself, the ice shards coming from the orb after it
passes through the monster will not hit/slow/damage anything. Your
best strategy is to fire several orbs in a V formation around your
enemies. This spell would get 5 *'s if it weren't for this annoying
problem.
***-- Cold Mastery Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Reduce cold Reduce cold Diminishing returns.
resistance on resistance on First few levels provide
enemies: 23% enemies: 85% the largest bonus.
Cold Mastery reduces the cold resistance of a monster when you hit
it with a cold spell. This won't help other party members do damage
with their cold spells, but it is essential if you use only cold
spells. As with all the Mastery skills, the first few levels you put
in the skill provide the largest bonuses.
4. Defeating Diablo and Beyond
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Once you defeat Diablo on Normal difficulty, you will find that your
persistence with a Sorceress has paid off. Many of the posts on the Diablo
II message boards on Battle.net suggest waiting until you are level 40+
before venturing forth into Nightmare. By level 40 I had beaten Nightmare
with my Sorceress, and I ran into very few problems.
When you start your first Nightmare game, you will find that your Fire
Ball is acting more like Fire Bolt in terms of damage. Monsters in
Nightmare have several hundred hit points in Act I, so it will take several
shots of your best spell to kill them. Uniques will have more special
abilities, and the ones they have are more powerful. If you use the same
strategies you did when you first went through an area, you shouldn't have
much difficulty.
Some spells become more powerful in Nightmare than they were in Normal.
Static Field still does the same amount of damage, regardless of
difficulty, so your levels in it will start to pay off. Cold also has an
advantage here since all of the monsters will move a bit more quickly than
they did before.
In the higher difficulties, the fact that a Sorceress does not rely on
equipment will be a great advantage. If a Paladin or Amazon dies in the
middle a large group of monsters they will have a lot of trouble collecting
their bodies without their weapons. A Sorceress does not have any such
limitation (unless your only attack spell is in a staff, but that would be
silly).
5. Sticking Points
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING **
** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING **
I've done my best to be vague about who you will have to kill as the
game progresses, but for those of you that don't like even small hints at
the plot, don't read on.
Act I
-=-=-
Quest 1: You should have few problems here. A few uniques or champions
will drain your mana quickly, but you should be able to finish
this quest with only your staff.
Quest 2: Blood Raven is not very difficult to kill. Draw the zombies and
her other minions away from the graveyard and kill them if you
become greatly out numbered. Again, your staff should be able to
kill her if you run out of mana.
Quest 3: The Zombie boss for this quest is fast, strong, and will give
you a run for your money. Avoid going to the center of the area
and you should be able to kill all the Shamans and other little
things there before you try to tackle the boss. Keep a good
distance between you and him and you should be fine.
Quest 4: This quest isn't as difficult as the quests before it. Once you
enter her room, run back out and fire spells into the doorway to
kill her minions. Hire a rogue to help if you are still having
trouble.
Quest 5: The Smith is difficult for the same reasons the Zombie boss
was. Remember that monsters this early in the game cannot open
doors. Find a jail cell or other wall that you can shoot
through and lock yourself in there and peck him off from there.
Quest 6: When fighting Andariel, bring along plenty of antidote potions.
The poison she uses can quickly kill you if you don't have a lot
of health. Kill everything in the first two rooms before
opening the door to the third. A hired rogue can keep her
distracted long enough to finish her off.
Act II
-=-=-=-
Quest 1: This quest is fairly easy. Radament can raise the undead near
him, so Cold has a definite advantage here.
Quest 2: This quest has many parts, and won't be over until you are right
in front of the end boss. The three areas you must go to
collect the pieces of the Horadric Staff aren't very difficult,
except you should carry a few antidote potions (some of the
poisons will kill you in a few seconds if you aren't prepared).
The Claw Viper Temple is the most difficult area in the game in
my opinion. The boss at the bottom of the temple is lightning
enchanted and there is very little room to move down there. He
moves very fast and can kill you in one or two hits. Be
prepared to die on this one, probably many, many times. Use
Static Field to weaken him, then use Nova/Fire Wall/Blaze/
Blizzard and run around in panicked terror until he's dead.
Quest 3: This quest also takes place in the Claw Viper Temple, so see
above for strategies.
Quest 4: The Arcane Sanctuary is a pain in the ass. Narrow walkways,
M.C. Escher type architecture, and monsters with annoying
abilities (mana drain, flight, fire spells). The Ghoul Lords
cast Fire Wall and Fire Ball, but the levels of those spells is
quite low, so it isn't much of a problem. There are Goatmen
here as well, and will kill you with only a few blows.
Fortunately you can shoot them across gaps and finish them off
before they have a chance to strike back. The Ghosts in this
area are probably the most dangerous. They have mana drain, can
fly across the gaps, and cannot be frozen while they are
hovering in mid air (they can be slowed while floating,
however). Teleport will be your best friend in this area.
Frost Nova is also helpful to keep the Ghosts away long enough
to kill them.
Quest 5: At the end of the Arcane Sanctuary, this quest will pop up. The
Summoner is the boss of the Arcane Sanctuary. Ghoul Lords,
Ghosts, and Goatmen will appear randomly on his platform making
melee combat difficult. The good news is that Sorceresses don't
have to even see him to kill him. He has a low amount of
health, and mostly casts Glacial Spike, Fire Wall, and the Lower
Resist curse. Pick your favorite spell and launch it in his
general direction and he will fall quickly.
Quest 6: Stock up on Town Portal scrolls, because you will probably die
many times. Duriel is the single most difficult boss in the
game. He has the paladin aura that slows you, and if you don't
slow him back you will quickly be dead. He is resistant to
Cold, kills you in one or two hits, and is very fast. The first
time you enter his room you will probably die before it finishes
loading the area. The set item Deaths Guard is very helpful
here because it prevents you from being slowed, and I recommend
you gamble for sashes when you can to get one. Blaze, Fire
Wall, and Blizzard are very good for killing him if you are
fortunate enough to have them. The first time I defeated him I
used nothing but Frost Nova for about an hour, so it is possible
to kill him with a weak spell, I just don't recommend it. Hire
a mercenary each time you die so that you will have time to pick
up your corpse and hopefully do some damage to Duriel before
your mercenary dies.
Act III
-=-=-=-
Quest 1: The first unique monster you run across in this act will drop a
statue. It seems to be totally random which type of monster it
will be. In your first journey into the jungle, watch out for
midget Fetishes with big knives and blowguns. They are fast and
will quickly surround you, so Frozen armor will help a lot here.
Fetish Shamans will cast Inferno, so stay away from them if you
can.
Quest 2: Eventually you will find a group of Fetishes in a cute little
village (usually near a waypoint). Near the center of the
village is a dagger. Same rules as above apply to these
Fetishes.
Quest 3: This quest has several parts. None are particularly difficult
except for the last part which is also Quest 5. The Council
Members and most of the monsters near them can cast Lightning,
Blizzard, Meteor, Hydra, and there are three unique Council
Members that have other goodies to make your life hell. Proceed
slowly through Travincal so that you don't get the attention of
too many things at once and you should do fine.
Quest 4: After you collect each item for Quest 3, visit Alkor to activate
this quest. Nothing new on this quest, see above for strategies
for killing any individual type of monster you run across.
Quest 5: See Quest 3 notes.
Quest 6: When you finally work your way down to the bottom of the Durance
of Hate you will find Mephisto and several new unique Council
Members and Ghoul Lords. The Council Members will prove to be a
challenge since one of them is lightning enchanted, and will
cast Meteors, Fire Walls, and Hydras like no tomorrow. Mephisto
himself isn't very difficult, except that his attacks will hurt
you plenty if you can't dodge them.
Act IV
-=-=-=-
Quest 1: Nothing in the first two areas of Act IV is new. They have new
names and look different, but the same strategies you used in
previous Acts will get you through this area. Azrael is not
very difficult, and the same strategies for other bosses apply
here.
Quest 2: Through the last few areas of Act IV, you will start coming
across Abyss and Oblivion Knights. These are similar to the
other skeletal mages you've fought before, except they are much,
much stronger. A "fire and forget" spell such as Blizzard,
Hydra, Fire Wall and Chain Lightning will help against them.
Again, nothing new in boss strategy for this quest.
Quest 3: Diablo is very easy if you plan ahead. Three of the five seals
you must break will release monsters. If you've already broken
the three that spawn critters, save the last seal. Cover the
center of the pentagram with Blizzards, Fire Walls, or Hydras
and then run to the seal. If your duration on those spells is
long enough, Diablo will be severely damaged by the time you
even see him. Try and wear as much resistance equipment you
can. His primary attacks are sending out rings of fire,
shooting a giant lightning bolt, and creating several
Blaze-type trails of fire in random directions. Keep moving and
casting your favorite spell at him and he will eventually fall.
Good luck!
** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS **
** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS **
6. Credits
-=-=-=-=-=-
Thanks to
- Blizzard for making yet another addictive game
- Geoff Frazier for making me reconsider the usefulness of some
of the fire spells.
- My roommates for not beating me over the head with a stick for
hogging the computer
- DiabloII.net for lots of random bits of information
7. Legalese
-=-=-=-=-=-
Diablo II and pretty much all that I've written about in this FAQ is
probably a copyright or trademark of Blizzard Entertainment.
This FAQ cannot be modified without the consent of the author. If you take
any information from this FAQ for use in any other form, please give me
credit.
Feel free to post this FAQ anywhere you please, just give me proper credit
and mail me to let me know where you are putting it.
Copyright 2000 Damneon
EOF
| Diablo II |
| Sorceress Guide |
| Version 1.1 (7/26/2000) |
| Copyright 2000 Damneon |
| damneon@yahoo.com |
\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
Contents
-=-=-=-=-=-
1. Introduction
2. Starting a Sorceress
-Stats
-Level Exp chart
3. Spell Lists
-Fire
-Lightning
-Ice
4. Defeating Diablo and Beyond
5. Sticking Points (Small Spoilers)
-Boss guide for every quest
-Which monsters will give you the hardest time
6. Credits
7. Legalese
1. Introduction
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
So you want to be a Sorceress? The Sorceress is the weakest character
physically, but more than makes up for it in sheer fire power. Low hit
points and armor will cause many deaths, but you will get so many kills you
will not mind. Diablo II is very well balanced for the character classes,
but I've found that I prefer the finesse required to make a good Sorceress.
A Sorceress requires good planning on your skills, as many become obsolete
very quickly. You will need to accept the fact that you are not an up
close fighter and will need to avoid melee combat at all costs.
I've been playing Diablo II since it came out. My opinion is biased
towards the Cold spells because I think they are the best. I've had little
difficulty killing the monsters in Act II of Hell difficulty at level 43
with Cold spells.
I've used several game hacking utilities to try out all the spells, and
I've compared and compiled a list rating each of the spells and how
effective and useful they are throughout the game.
Feel free to contact me at damneon@yahoo.com if you have any questions or
comments about this FAQ. Or you can contact Lady Aelana on B.net USWest.
2. Starting a Sorceress
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It is important to plan out your Sorceresses spells early on. Choose two
or three primary attack spells and put all of your points into those.
I suggest:
Cold: Blizzard, Glacial Spike, and Frozen Orb.
Fire: Fire Ball and Blaze
Lightning: Static Field, Nova, Chain Lightning
Once you have chosen your primary attack spells, don't put more than a
single point into any spell that is a prerequisite for those spells, and
don't put any points into spells that you don't need. There are a few
exceptions. I wholeheartedly recommend you put as many points as you can
spare into Warmth and Static Field, as both are very helpful. I also
suggest putting a single point into these skills: Telekinesis/Teleport,
Frozen Armor and Frost Nova. All of them are very good even with a single
point in them.
Starting Stats:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 10
Energy: 35
Stamina: 74
Life: 40
Mana: 35
How stats affect your character:
Every 100 Strength = +1 to minimum damage with a weapon
Every 20 Strength = +1 to maximum damage with a weapon
Every point of Dexterity adds 4 to your attack rating
Every 4 points of Dexterity adds 1 to your armor
Every point of Vitality adds 1 stamina and 2 health
Every point of Energy adds 2 mana
If you find a piece of armor that you absolutely must wear, put some points
into the required stats until you are able to wear it. 50 strength should
be enough to wear just about anything you find that is worth wearing. If
you are concerned about having a low armor class, wait until you start
getting exceptional items in Nightmare and Hell difficulties. I've found
armor with 200 AC with a very low strength requirement. Mostly you will
want to put all of your available stat points into energy.
Level Chart 1-20
Level Exp
1 0
2 500
3 1,500
4 3,750
5 7,875
6 14,175
7 22,680
8 32,886
9 44,396
10 57,715
11 72,144
12 90,180
13 112,725
14 140,906
15 176,132
16 220,165
17 275,207
18 344,008
19 430,010
20 537,513
3. Spell Lists
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fire
Fire is by far the most damaging category of spells available. The main
drawback of the Fire spells is it's lack of direct attack spells. Most of
the spells involve casting them then running your fool head off until the
spells eventually kill your attackers. This is generally a good strategy,
but Lightning enchanted uniques will rip you apart if you use Inferno, Fire
Wall, Blaze, or Meteor against them since these spells will trigger the
Charged Bolt counter attack several times a second. With no defensive
skills available, you may find yourself getting killed if you aren't
careful about keeping your enemies away from you.
Suggested Primary Fire Path:
Level/Spell
1 Frozen Armor
2 Warmth
3 Warmth
4 Fire Bolt
5
6 Inferno and Frost Nova
7 Static Field
8 Static Field
9 Static Field
10 Warmth
11
12 Fire Ball and Blaze
13 Fire Ball
14 Blaze
15 Fire Ball
16 Blaze
17 Fire Ball
18 Fire Wall
19 Fire Ball
20 Blaze
21 Fire Ball
22 Blaze
23 Fire Ball
24 Meteor
25 Fire Ball
26 Fire Ball
27 Fire Ball
28 Enchant
29
30 Hydra and Fire Mastery
Fire Bolt Warmth
| |
| |
Inferno | |
| | |
| | |
Blaze Fire Ball |
| | \ |
| | \ |
Fire Wall | Enchant
\ | |
\ | |
Meteor |
|
|
Fire Mastery Hydra
*---- Fire Bolt Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 3-6 Damage: 31-34 Damage: +3/2-+3/2
Mana Cost: 2.5 Mana Cost: 2.5 Mana Cost: +0
Fire Bolt is the spell you start the game with. It does very
little extra damage with each additional point you add, and even at
level 20 it does pathetic damage. This spell will be able to get you
through Act I with just one level in it, but don't count on it doing
anything beyond that.
***** Warmth Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Mana Regen: +30% Mana Regen: +258% Mana Regen: +12%
Warmth improves your mana regen rate. You will naturally regen all
of your mana in two minutes. Warmth reduces the time it takes to
regen to full. At level 20 you will regen your full mana in about 30
seconds, regardless of how much mana you have. No matter what area
of magic you plan to focus on, put plenty of points into this skill.
**--- Inferno Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 12-25/sec Damage: 190-203/s Damage: +19/2-+19/2
Range: 3.3 yds Range: 12.6 yds Range: +2/4
Mana Cost: 7/sec Mana Cost: 21/sec Mana Cost: +3/4
Inferno shoots a stream of flame from you out to a distance equal
to the range. Holding down the right mouse button will keep this
spell going until you run out of mana. It does a good bit of damage,
but it requires you to stand still and usually you have to be fairly
close to the target to hit it. It is a great spell to use in Act I
to kill bosses/uniques, but beyond that it isn't very useful.
****- Blaze Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 18-37/sec Damage: 196-215/s Damage: +19/2-+19/2
Duration: 4.6 Duration: 23.6 Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 11 Mana Cost: 20 Mana Cost: +1/2
Blaze creates a trail of fire behind you as you walk/run. Blaze
doesn't do as much damage as Fire Wall, but lasts just as long,
costs less mana, allows you to dodge while laying down the fire, and
is generally easier to hit things with. Cast Blaze and run away from
a nasty unique, or run circles around/between a large group of nasty
monsters. For an added touch, lay a Blizzard or some Hydras on top
of the whole mess and you will have an easy time killing many things.
***** Fire Ball Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Radius: 2 yds Radius: 2 yds Radius: +0
Damage: 6-14 Damage: 139-147 Damage: +7-+7
Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: 14 Mana Cost: +0.5
Fire Ball is the most damaging attack spell in the game. A slvl 20
Fire Ball with slvl 20 Fire Mastery does nearly 300 damage per hit
and costs next to nothing in mana. With only one prerequisite spell,
you can learn Fire Ball even if you want to spend all your other
skill points in other categories. The only disadvantage to this
spell is that it's radius isn't quite as large as Glacial Spike or
Meteor.
***-- Fire Wall Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 32-42/sec Damage: 389-398/s Damage: +75/4-+75/4
Range: 4 yds Range: 30 yds Range: +4/3
Duration: 4.6 Duration: 23.6 Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 22 Mana Cost: 60 Mana Cost: +2
Fire Wall creates a line of fire wherever you click. The angle of
the wall is based on your position. Fire Wall does ridiculous
amounts of damage (800 with Fire Mastery), but I've found it
difficult to keep monsters within the fire. It's high mana cost can
prevent you from casting it too often.
Note: According to Geoff Frazier's posts on the Battle.net message
boards, his Sorceress' main tactic is to lay down some fire walls,
hydras, then throw some Meteors on top of the whole mess. I'm not
very fond of any of those spells, but he has had great success with
this tactic, so you may get more use out of these spell than I have.
**--- Enchant Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 8-10 Damage: 27-29 Damage: +1-+1
Duration: 144 Duration: 600 Duration: +24
Mana Cost: 25 Mana Cost: 120 Mana Cost: +5
Enchant adds fire damage to a weapon. Target the player/minion you
want to enchant, and all of their weapons will now do additional fire
damage. A purely multi-player spell, you will find little use for it
in single player (except to enchant your mercenaries).
***-- Meteor Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 40-50 Damage: 268-278 Damage: +12-+12
Fire Damage: Fire Damage: Fire Damage:
16-21/sec 150-154/sec +7-+7/sec
Range: 4 yds Range: 4 yds Range: +0
Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: 36 Mana Cost: +1
Meteor causes a big-ass flaming rock to fall out of the sky and
cause a world of hurt for anything it hits. The problem is the
"anything it hits" part. When you cast the spell, the ground starts
to glow where it will land, and a few seconds later the Meteor makes
it's appearance. There is plenty of time for your target to move out
of ground zero. With some practice, you can aim a meteor in front of
you and walk toward/through the landing zone so that it hits your
pursuers. It also leaves a small area of a Fire Wall-ish effect for
a few seconds after it hits. Meteor does do a lot of damage, but
it's difficulty aiming makes this one of my less favored spells.
***** Fire Mastery Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Increase damage Increase damage Diminishing returns.
for all fire for all fire First few levels provide
spells: 18% spells: 100% the largest bonus.
If you have any Fire spells, you need Fire Mastery. Fire Mastery
improves the damage done by all of your fire spells. At slvl 20 it
doubles the damage done, and even at level 1 it will greatly improve
your kill rate. As with all the Mastery skills, the first few levels
you put in the skill provide the largest bonuses.
***-- Hydra Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 6-12 Damage: 44-50 Damage: +2-+2
Duration: 12 Duration: 31 Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 21 Mana Cost: 59 Mana Cost: +2
Hydra opens a hole in the ground and three heads pop out. Each
head will shoot Fire Bolts at nearby targets for the duration of the
spell. My main complaint about this spell is that at level 30 when
you can first learn it, 6-12 damage isn't going to kill a lot, even
at clvl 50 when you can have this spell at slvl 20, 44-50 isn't going
to do much against what you are fighting. This isn't really a kill
spell, but more of a support spell. Throw a few Hydras in the middle
of a Fire Wall/Blaze field, or in a Blizzard and you will do much
better than if you didn't have Hydra. The greatest use I've had for
this spell is to kill lightning enchanted uniques. Throw a bunch of
Hydras at it and run around a corner. With strategic planning and a
good helping of Fire Mastery, Hydra is a very useful spell.
Lightning
Lightning can be a difficult path to follow. It has several attack
spells, but only Nova and Chain Lightning are worth anything. It lacks any
high level attack spells, and most of the spells available are utility
spells. Most Lightning spells have a very large range of damage (1-192 for
Lightning at slvl 20) so you can't count on a spell killing even the
smallest thing in one shot. The mana cost for most of the spells is quite
low, even more so with Lightning Mastery, so running out of mana shouldn't
be too much of an issue. Lightning seems to be mostly a multi-player
choice of spells. A large amount of Static Field will help your friends
kill everything while you keep at a safe distance.
Suggested Primary Lightning Path:
Level/Spell
1 Frozen Armor
2 Charged Bolt
3 Warmth
4 Warmth
5 Warmth
6 Frost Nova
7 Static Field
8 Static Field
9 Static Field
10 Static Field
11
12 Nova and Lightning
13 Warmth
14 Nova
15 Warmth
16 Telekinesis
17
18 Teleport and Chain Lightning
19 Chain Lightning
20 Chain Lightning
21 Chain Lightning
22 Chain Lightning
23
24 Thunder Storm and Energy Shield
25 Energy Shield
26 Energy Shield
27 Pick one: Warmth/Nova/Chain Lightning
28 Pick one: Warmth/Nova/Chain Lightning
29 Pick one: Warmth/Nova/Chain Lightning
30 Lightning Mastery
Charged Bolt
|
|
Static Field | Telekinesis
| | |
| | |
Nova Lightning |
| | |
| | |
| Chain Teleport
| Lightning |
| / \ |
Thunder Storm Energy Shield
Lightning Mastery
***-- Charged Bolt Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 2-4 Damage: 11-13 Damage: +1/2-+1/2
Bolts: 3 Bolts: 22 Bolts: +1
Mana Cost: 3 Mana Cost: 12 Mana Cost: +0.5
Charged Bolt fires several small lightning bolts that wander around
in front of you randomly. It's low mana cost and the potential to do
about 260 damage at slvl 20 makes this a fairly powerful spell.
Unlike in Diablo 1, if a Charged Bolt shot hits a wall, it will stop
instead of bouncing off it.
***** Static Field Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Range: 3.3 yds Range: 16 yds Range: +2/3
Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: +0
Static Field is another of the spells that every Sorceress should
know. It reduces a monsters current hit points by 25% with each
hit. After about four shots of this, a monster is about half dead,
and should be easy to finish off with your primary blasting spell.
At slvl 1, the range of this spell is barely large enough to hit
things before they can hit you, but each level in this skill
increases the range. By slvl 20, the range is well beyond the
dimensions of the screen. Another bonus of this spell is that it
will light up any enemies it hits, making it easy to see how many
monsters are in a dark room. The most important thing to note about
this spell is that it is just as effective in Normal mode as it is in
Nightmare and Hell. No matter where you choose to focus your skills,
get a healthy supply of Static Field.
*---- Telekinesis Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-2 Damage: 20-21 Damage: +1-+1
Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: +0
Telekinesis picks stuff up for you without having to walk to it
first. Whoopee. It does pathetic damage, and if you didn't need to
study it to get to Teleport, I wouldn't waste a single point in this
skill. It does have a use in a multi-player game if you are playing
with treasure hogs, or want to be a treasure hog yourself.
****- Nova Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-20 Damage: 134-153 Damage: +7-+7
Mana Cost: 15 Mana Cost: 34 Mana Cost: +1
Nova shoots a ring of lightning, hitting any nearby enemies. It
does decent damage, and is one of the few lightning spells that
increases it's minimum damage as well as maximum each slvl. The
damage is on par with the other lightning spells, and it can hit as
many targets as it can within the range of the blast.
***-- Lightning Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-40 Damage: 1-192 Damage: +0-+8
Mana Cost: 8 Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: +0.5
Lightning shoots a lightning bolt at the target, and the shot
continues on beyond the target to damage anything it passes through.
I'd suggest waiting another 6 levels to get Chain Lightning instead
of putting more points into this spell.
****- Chain Lightning Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 1-40 Damage: 1-230 Damage: +0-+10
Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: 28 Mana Cost: +1
Chain Lightning shoots a lightning bolt at the target, then the
bolt changes direction to hit another four targets. This will
probably be your primary attack spell if you get nothing but
lightning, and it isn't a bad spell except that it can do just a
single point of damage no matter how high you have it trained.
****- Teleport Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Mana Cost: 24 Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: -1
Teleport: You click there, you be there. Whether you use this
spell to escape from combat, or just to avoid walking around the
Arcane Sanctuary (mostly the latter), this is a very useful utility
spell. You won't get any kills from this spell, but the option to
escape from combat while surrounded will probably save you quite a
bit of experience in Nightmare/Hell difficulty. One level of this
spell is sufficient, and any additional points spent will only reduce
the mana cost.
**--- Thunder Storm Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 32 Duration: 184 Duration: +8
Damage: 1-100 Damage: 191-290 Damage: +10-+10
Mana Cost: 19 Mana Cost: 19 Mana Cost: +0
This defensive spell will give you a Paladin-ish aura that shoots
lightning bolts from the sky randomly at nearby monsters. The damage
is very high, but it doesn't fire very often. You may find this
spell helpful if you are in combat often, but if you avoid hand to
hand combat like the plague, you will probably not hit many things
with this spell. On the other hand, if you avoid hand to hand
combat, this spell will fry anything that tries to get close enough
to hit you. It isn't a *bad* spell, it just doesn't meet my
expectations of what a level 24 spell should do.
****- Energy Shield Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 144 Duration: 1056 Duration: +48
Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: 5 Mana Cost: +0
Percentage of Percentage of Diminishing returns.
damage is taken damage is taken First few levels provide
from mana: 23% from mana: 63% the largest bonus.
Energy shield takes a percentage of the damage you take from mana
instead of health. Since you should have much more mana than health,
this spell will help you stay alive longer. At slvl 20, 2/3 of the
damage you take will be taken out of mana, effectively giving you
three times the health you had before. The main drawback of this
spell is that it has five prerequisite skills you must learn before
getting this one. I recommend finding a staff with +3 in this skill
and using that instead of learning it the hard way.
**--- Lightning Mastery Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Reduce mana cost Reduce mana cost Diminishing returns.
for lightning for lightning First few levels provide
spells: 15% spells: 63% the largest bonus.
Lightning Mastery reduces the mana cost for all of your lightning
spells. At slvl 20, the cost for all your spells is 1/3 of the
original cost. Lightning Mastery combined with a healthy supply of
Warmth will keep you casting for a VERY long time. As with all the
Mastery skills, the first few levels you put in the skill provide the
largest bonuses.
Cold
Cold spells generally do less damage than their Lightning/Fire
counterparts, but the additional freezing/slowing effects make them
extremely powerful. Monsters that are slowed move and attack at half
speed, and frozen and slowed monsters tend to shatter when they die making
it impossible for them to be resurrected. Cold is generally a very safe
path to choose since you can slow and run away from anything, or simply
freeze it until it dies.
The main problem with choosing a full Cold path is the lack of a good
attack spell to use between levels 6 and 18. It would be a waste to put
more than one point into Ice Blast, so you will need to find a staff with
another spell to survive long enough to get Glacial Spike.
Suggested Primary Cold Path:
Level/Spell
1 Frozen Armor
2 Warmth
3 Warmth
4 Warmth
5 Ice Bolt
6 Ice Blast
7 Frost Nova
8 Static Field
9 Warmth
10 Static Field
11 Warmth
12 Static Field
13 Static Field
14
15
16
17
18 Glacial Spike
19 Glacial Spike
20 Glacial Spike
21 Glacial Spike
22 Glacial Spike
23 Glacial Spike
24 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
25 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
26 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
27 Glacial Spike and Blizzard
28 Blizzard
29
30 Frozen Orb and Cold Mastery
Ice Bolt Frozen Armor
| |
| |
Frost Nova Ice Blast |
| | \ |
| | \ |
| | Shiver Armor
| | |
| | |
| Glacial Spike |
| / |
| / |
Blizzard Chilling Armor
|
|
Frozen Cold Mastery
Orb
*---- Ice Bolt Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 3-5 Damage: 22-24 Damage: +1-+1
Cold 6 sec Cold 32.6 sec Cold +1.4 sec
Mana Cost: 3 Mana Cost: 3 Mana Cost: +0
Ice Bolt is your introduction to the Ice spells. It does decent
damage for most of Act I, so if you are going to go the all ice
route, you won't be stuck. The additional slowing effect of this
spell is very helpful and is the main reason this spell can keep you
alive long enough to level up and get a real blast.
***** Frozen Armor Lv 1
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 120 Duration: 348 Duration: +12 sec
AC Bonus: 30% AC Bonus: 125% AC Bonus: +5%
Freeze 1.2 sec Freeze 3.4 sec Freeze +0.1 sec
Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: 7 Mana Cost: +0
Frozen Armor is one of the best spells you have available to keep
you alive. This spell will freeze any monster that hits you with a
melee weapon, and even some ranged weapon attacks up close. This is
an extremely important spell as you go into Act II and III as many of
the monsters attack rates prevent you from casting any spells while
you are being hit. The AC bonus it provides is minimally useful
since you will not have the strength to wear enough armor to make it
worth while.
***** Frost Nova Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 2-4 Damage: 40-42 Damage: +2-+2
Cold 8 sec Cold 27 sec Cold +1 sec
Mana Cost: 9 Mana Cost: 47 Mana Cost: +2
Frost Nova shoots a ring of coldness around you, slowing anything
it hits. When you are being attacked by a large group of enemies,
slowing them is often the best strategy. Whether you slow them so
you can run away, or so that they are easier to hit, Frost Nova will
be your best friend for quite a while.
***-- Ice Blast Lv 6
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 10 Damage: 143 Damage: +7
Freeze 3 sec Freeze 6.8 sec Freeze +0.2
Mana Cost: 6 Mana Cost: 15 Mana Cost: +0.5
Ice Blast is a curious spell. The damage increases fast enough
that at skill level 20 it is on par with Fire Ball, Glacial Spike,
and Chain Lightning. The major disadvantage of this spell is that it
only hits a single target. I don't recommend training this spell
beyond the first level. Glacial Spike is just a few levels away and
is a much more effective spell.
*---- Shiver Armor Lv 12
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 120 Duration: 348 Duration: +12 sec
AC Bonus: 45% AC Bonus: 159% AC Bonus: +6%
Damage: 6-8 Damage: 44-46 Damage: +2-+2
Cold 4 sec Cold 4 sec Cold +0 sec
Mana Cost: 11 Mana Cost: 11 Mana Cost: +0
Shiver Armor works the same way as Frozen Armor, except it slows
instead of freezes. When I first started playing a Sorceress, I
looked at this spell and thought "Wow! A defensive spell that will
kill my enemies!." After finishing Act I, I suddenly realized 1: if I
am hit I tend to die if I can't stop them from hitting me, and 2: 8
damage isn't going to save my ass. Even if you waste your next 20
skill levels in this spell, 46 damage isn't going to put a dent into
the things you will fight at level 32.
***** Glacial Spike Lv 18
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Radius: 2.6 yds Radius: 2.6 yds Radius: +0
Damage: 16-24 Damage: 149-157 Damage: +7-+7
Freeze 2 sec Freeze 4.2 sec Freeze +0.1
Mana Cost: 10 Mana Cost: 19 Mana Cost: +0.5
Glacial Spike is your friend. It does large amounts of damage,
freezes, and has an area. Even at the highest character levels, this
spell will still do the job. This is the highest level spell that
will freeze your enemies. The damage it deals is about the same as
Fire Ball (without Fire Mastery), but when a big-nasty-thing is
coming at me, I like the feeling of safety freezing them provides.
***** Blizzard Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 16-24 Damage: 92-100 Damage: +4-+4
Duration: 4 sec Duration: 23 sec Duration: +1
Mana Cost: 23 Mana Cost: 42 Mana Cost: +1
Blizzard sends a shower of Ice Bolts from the sky for the duration
of the spell. Monsters will generally take one or two hits of this
spell per second, more or less depending on their size. While not
the most damaging spell in the game, this is one of the best "Fire
and forget" spells available. If you run into a large group of
monsters that you cannot take on, run away and fire a Blizzard ahead
of you. The Blizzard will thin out the numbers of your attackers.
*---- Chilling Armor Lv 24
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Duration: 144 Duration: 258 Duration: +6 sec
AC Bonus: 45% AC Bonus: 140% AC Bonus: +5%
Damage: 6-8 Damage: 44-46 Damage: +1-+1
Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: 17 Mana Cost: +0
This spell is bad for the same reasons Shiver Armor is. At level
24 when you can first get this spell, 6-8 damage just doesn't cut it.
The fact that this spell hits ranged attackers is nice, but since it
doesn't do anything for the (more dangerous) up close attackers makes
this spell one of the worst available.
****- Frozen Orb Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Damage: 32-35 Damage: 146-149 Damage: +6-+6
Cold 8 sec Cold 27 sec Cold +1 sec
Mana Cost: 25 Mana Cost: 63 Mana Cost: +2
Frozen Orb is my favorite spell. It is a sphere of coldness that
launches dozens of Ice Bolts in all directions. A well-aimed Frozen
Orb can hit a monster 3 or 4 times. **CAUTION** There seems to be a
bug with this spell: if you fire a Frozen Orb directly at a monster,
either by clicking directly on one, or by a monster simply running
through the Orb itself, the ice shards coming from the orb after it
passes through the monster will not hit/slow/damage anything. Your
best strategy is to fire several orbs in a V formation around your
enemies. This spell would get 5 *'s if it weren't for this annoying
problem.
***-- Cold Mastery Lv 30
Slvl 1 Slvl 20 Increment
Reduce cold Reduce cold Diminishing returns.
resistance on resistance on First few levels provide
enemies: 23% enemies: 85% the largest bonus.
Cold Mastery reduces the cold resistance of a monster when you hit
it with a cold spell. This won't help other party members do damage
with their cold spells, but it is essential if you use only cold
spells. As with all the Mastery skills, the first few levels you put
in the skill provide the largest bonuses.
4. Defeating Diablo and Beyond
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Once you defeat Diablo on Normal difficulty, you will find that your
persistence with a Sorceress has paid off. Many of the posts on the Diablo
II message boards on Battle.net suggest waiting until you are level 40+
before venturing forth into Nightmare. By level 40 I had beaten Nightmare
with my Sorceress, and I ran into very few problems.
When you start your first Nightmare game, you will find that your Fire
Ball is acting more like Fire Bolt in terms of damage. Monsters in
Nightmare have several hundred hit points in Act I, so it will take several
shots of your best spell to kill them. Uniques will have more special
abilities, and the ones they have are more powerful. If you use the same
strategies you did when you first went through an area, you shouldn't have
much difficulty.
Some spells become more powerful in Nightmare than they were in Normal.
Static Field still does the same amount of damage, regardless of
difficulty, so your levels in it will start to pay off. Cold also has an
advantage here since all of the monsters will move a bit more quickly than
they did before.
In the higher difficulties, the fact that a Sorceress does not rely on
equipment will be a great advantage. If a Paladin or Amazon dies in the
middle a large group of monsters they will have a lot of trouble collecting
their bodies without their weapons. A Sorceress does not have any such
limitation (unless your only attack spell is in a staff, but that would be
silly).
5. Sticking Points
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING **
** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING ** ** SPOILER WARNING **
I've done my best to be vague about who you will have to kill as the
game progresses, but for those of you that don't like even small hints at
the plot, don't read on.
Act I
-=-=-
Quest 1: You should have few problems here. A few uniques or champions
will drain your mana quickly, but you should be able to finish
this quest with only your staff.
Quest 2: Blood Raven is not very difficult to kill. Draw the zombies and
her other minions away from the graveyard and kill them if you
become greatly out numbered. Again, your staff should be able to
kill her if you run out of mana.
Quest 3: The Zombie boss for this quest is fast, strong, and will give
you a run for your money. Avoid going to the center of the area
and you should be able to kill all the Shamans and other little
things there before you try to tackle the boss. Keep a good
distance between you and him and you should be fine.
Quest 4: This quest isn't as difficult as the quests before it. Once you
enter her room, run back out and fire spells into the doorway to
kill her minions. Hire a rogue to help if you are still having
trouble.
Quest 5: The Smith is difficult for the same reasons the Zombie boss
was. Remember that monsters this early in the game cannot open
doors. Find a jail cell or other wall that you can shoot
through and lock yourself in there and peck him off from there.
Quest 6: When fighting Andariel, bring along plenty of antidote potions.
The poison she uses can quickly kill you if you don't have a lot
of health. Kill everything in the first two rooms before
opening the door to the third. A hired rogue can keep her
distracted long enough to finish her off.
Act II
-=-=-=-
Quest 1: This quest is fairly easy. Radament can raise the undead near
him, so Cold has a definite advantage here.
Quest 2: This quest has many parts, and won't be over until you are right
in front of the end boss. The three areas you must go to
collect the pieces of the Horadric Staff aren't very difficult,
except you should carry a few antidote potions (some of the
poisons will kill you in a few seconds if you aren't prepared).
The Claw Viper Temple is the most difficult area in the game in
my opinion. The boss at the bottom of the temple is lightning
enchanted and there is very little room to move down there. He
moves very fast and can kill you in one or two hits. Be
prepared to die on this one, probably many, many times. Use
Static Field to weaken him, then use Nova/Fire Wall/Blaze/
Blizzard and run around in panicked terror until he's dead.
Quest 3: This quest also takes place in the Claw Viper Temple, so see
above for strategies.
Quest 4: The Arcane Sanctuary is a pain in the ass. Narrow walkways,
M.C. Escher type architecture, and monsters with annoying
abilities (mana drain, flight, fire spells). The Ghoul Lords
cast Fire Wall and Fire Ball, but the levels of those spells is
quite low, so it isn't much of a problem. There are Goatmen
here as well, and will kill you with only a few blows.
Fortunately you can shoot them across gaps and finish them off
before they have a chance to strike back. The Ghosts in this
area are probably the most dangerous. They have mana drain, can
fly across the gaps, and cannot be frozen while they are
hovering in mid air (they can be slowed while floating,
however). Teleport will be your best friend in this area.
Frost Nova is also helpful to keep the Ghosts away long enough
to kill them.
Quest 5: At the end of the Arcane Sanctuary, this quest will pop up. The
Summoner is the boss of the Arcane Sanctuary. Ghoul Lords,
Ghosts, and Goatmen will appear randomly on his platform making
melee combat difficult. The good news is that Sorceresses don't
have to even see him to kill him. He has a low amount of
health, and mostly casts Glacial Spike, Fire Wall, and the Lower
Resist curse. Pick your favorite spell and launch it in his
general direction and he will fall quickly.
Quest 6: Stock up on Town Portal scrolls, because you will probably die
many times. Duriel is the single most difficult boss in the
game. He has the paladin aura that slows you, and if you don't
slow him back you will quickly be dead. He is resistant to
Cold, kills you in one or two hits, and is very fast. The first
time you enter his room you will probably die before it finishes
loading the area. The set item Deaths Guard is very helpful
here because it prevents you from being slowed, and I recommend
you gamble for sashes when you can to get one. Blaze, Fire
Wall, and Blizzard are very good for killing him if you are
fortunate enough to have them. The first time I defeated him I
used nothing but Frost Nova for about an hour, so it is possible
to kill him with a weak spell, I just don't recommend it. Hire
a mercenary each time you die so that you will have time to pick
up your corpse and hopefully do some damage to Duriel before
your mercenary dies.
Act III
-=-=-=-
Quest 1: The first unique monster you run across in this act will drop a
statue. It seems to be totally random which type of monster it
will be. In your first journey into the jungle, watch out for
midget Fetishes with big knives and blowguns. They are fast and
will quickly surround you, so Frozen armor will help a lot here.
Fetish Shamans will cast Inferno, so stay away from them if you
can.
Quest 2: Eventually you will find a group of Fetishes in a cute little
village (usually near a waypoint). Near the center of the
village is a dagger. Same rules as above apply to these
Fetishes.
Quest 3: This quest has several parts. None are particularly difficult
except for the last part which is also Quest 5. The Council
Members and most of the monsters near them can cast Lightning,
Blizzard, Meteor, Hydra, and there are three unique Council
Members that have other goodies to make your life hell. Proceed
slowly through Travincal so that you don't get the attention of
too many things at once and you should do fine.
Quest 4: After you collect each item for Quest 3, visit Alkor to activate
this quest. Nothing new on this quest, see above for strategies
for killing any individual type of monster you run across.
Quest 5: See Quest 3 notes.
Quest 6: When you finally work your way down to the bottom of the Durance
of Hate you will find Mephisto and several new unique Council
Members and Ghoul Lords. The Council Members will prove to be a
challenge since one of them is lightning enchanted, and will
cast Meteors, Fire Walls, and Hydras like no tomorrow. Mephisto
himself isn't very difficult, except that his attacks will hurt
you plenty if you can't dodge them.
Act IV
-=-=-=-
Quest 1: Nothing in the first two areas of Act IV is new. They have new
names and look different, but the same strategies you used in
previous Acts will get you through this area. Azrael is not
very difficult, and the same strategies for other bosses apply
here.
Quest 2: Through the last few areas of Act IV, you will start coming
across Abyss and Oblivion Knights. These are similar to the
other skeletal mages you've fought before, except they are much,
much stronger. A "fire and forget" spell such as Blizzard,
Hydra, Fire Wall and Chain Lightning will help against them.
Again, nothing new in boss strategy for this quest.
Quest 3: Diablo is very easy if you plan ahead. Three of the five seals
you must break will release monsters. If you've already broken
the three that spawn critters, save the last seal. Cover the
center of the pentagram with Blizzards, Fire Walls, or Hydras
and then run to the seal. If your duration on those spells is
long enough, Diablo will be severely damaged by the time you
even see him. Try and wear as much resistance equipment you
can. His primary attacks are sending out rings of fire,
shooting a giant lightning bolt, and creating several
Blaze-type trails of fire in random directions. Keep moving and
casting your favorite spell at him and he will eventually fall.
Good luck!
** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS **
** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS ** ** END SPOILERS **
6. Credits
-=-=-=-=-=-
Thanks to
- Blizzard for making yet another addictive game
- Geoff Frazier for making me reconsider the usefulness of some
of the fire spells.
- My roommates for not beating me over the head with a stick for
hogging the computer
- DiabloII.net for lots of random bits of information
7. Legalese
-=-=-=-=-=-
Diablo II and pretty much all that I've written about in this FAQ is
probably a copyright or trademark of Blizzard Entertainment.
This FAQ cannot be modified without the consent of the author. If you take
any information from this FAQ for use in any other form, please give me
credit.
Feel free to post this FAQ anywhere you please, just give me proper credit
and mail me to let me know where you are putting it.
Copyright 2000 Damneon
EOF