Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

[agnidragon]

Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

So I...I haven't played this game in like...o...5 years? So I'm basically a newb that has to start from scratch. I have a pure summoning necromancer right now to help with MFing(though its a bit slow so I want something faster and can teleport around)...cuz they are easy, require no gear to be good, and fun as hell. I apologize in advance for the wall of text...

If there's an easy way to get teleport on my necro...MFing would be tons easier and faster....

I figured a Firewall Sorceress would be great so I looked up guides and stuff, and I didn't see much(firewall builds seem to be very rare)...I have a few questions to ask. Keep in mind I am not a ladder player, nor do I ever plan to PvP...pure PvM.

1)What would work better in terms of survival with Firewall? Max Block or Energy shield? I saw a guide that said for energy shield to be good it needs tons of points in energy, at least 15 points in telekinesis, and enough points in ES for 50 absorption% That's a lot of points to spend for just energy shield...Which leaves no room for a second element to help me vs fire immune monsters...

I kinda wanna know whether I should be shoving tons of points into dex or energy...my main concern here is survival.

2)To handle fire immune monsters and give me something else to do besides spam 1 spell(face it, spamming 1 spell is boring)...I wanted a second spell. I was considering Nova. Frozen Orb came to mind too. The only 2 skills that don't require like 40-60 synergy points...I was strongly favoring Nova because I noticed Nova has no casting delay, while frozen orb does. This means I can switch from Nova to Firewall much faster then firewall-frozen orb.

Problem here I've been seeing is...dual element sorceress leaves no room for enough points for a strong energy shield...which forces me into max block. I remember pre 1.10 days when I had a pure nova sorceress...Nova was murder on my mana pool..esp in NM and Hell. This means 200 dex for max block = less mana. That old sorceress of mine also had problems surviving since I had to be close enough to Nova.

So yea...I'd love some tips on how I could go about building this sorceress. Ideally I'd want a firewall/nova sorceress that uses energy shield(and 1 point in Shiver armor) for survival. I'd also throw in 1 point in glacial spike to freeze(for firewall)...This would give me tons of mana to spam nova AND absorb damage. There isn't enough points for dual element + that 15 points into telekinesis for ES tho...

My only concern with a max block firewall/nova sorceress is I might run into mana issues...and finding a good enough shield will be annoying too...

 

[Crowd Control]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

Such a build is more suitable for Classic imo. Firewall doesn't cut it damagewise on Hell. Nova could pull it off, but it would be rather weak (again on Hell).

Very limited dual spells can actually take out immunes fast, and the ones we know are already mentioned in the beginners guide.

As for ES, forget it. On Hell you need a ****load of good gear to get it to work and even then you'll be pretty vulnerable. Max block is ONLY viable if you have a high block shield like SS or Witsthan, otherwise you'll be spending waaaaaay too much points in there.

I really hate to tell you this, but the most viable dual element sorceresses are really already mentioned in the beginner guide.

Though + :thumbsup: for originality though. Really, that's a good attitude in my book.

 

[agnidragon]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

But I wanna do something thats not seen all over the place...seems to me a firewall doing like 5k dmg/sec at level 25 (with fire mastery) is pretty damn good. The casting delay of meteor is like 3 seconds...so that would be like 15k damage under a firewall...which does 11k full synergy(with firebolt, fireball, FM)... Thats assuming the meteor even hit to begin with. Thats why I hate meteor...

I had a screw up sorceress and firewall was guaranteed at least 2 seconds of damage on a mob when casted directly on top with cold spells(or holy freeze.)

Admittedly, nova does suck at only 700-1k damage @ level 25...i'd only use it vs fire immune mobs tho...

These numbers are all from the skill calculator @
*link deleted by Gorny* btw...

Seems like it would take some work and practice at aiming the firewall, but it could be good and decently fun too...

Sounds to me your saying max block would be the better thing to do since ES would require tons of gear? I dunno...

 

[Relona]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

I can help a little as this is exactly the build I have been using. When you max Firewall and Fire Mastery it does do some massive damage. With the plus skills I have now I'm doing ~8.5K/sec. The trick is learning to aim and to get the monsters to hold still. What works for me is a defiance merc, though holy freeze should work as well. The monsters all attack him, but with his massive defense rarely hit, and they hold still for the firewall. Two to three firewalls and a whole pack is dead.

I've never used energy shield, and max block isn't really necessary to survive hell either. I have kept my block between 45 and 50 which is enough to keep me alive against those damn archers. This of course leaves more points for vitality which is always good. Energy I bumped up to 50 in the start just cause I was sick of needing potions. If you can stand quaffing those then even that shouldn't be needed.

For a secondary I have to recommend frozen orb as that is what I use. Except for the cold immunes it will slow them down as they walk through the fire wall. Plus it's great crowd control. One thing to keep in mind is a build like this is very mana hungry. Mana plus items (frostburns were a godsend for me) are a necessity, and you'll want an Insight on your merc as soon as possible.

As for how doable it is... Well I soloed hell with her (although beating the ancients was very hard). Hope this helps.

 

[agnidragon]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

Thanks a lot Relona. So I can safely put enough dex to keep my block at around 50%? That would save quite a bit of points...

Another thing is, if a Firewall/Frozen Orb Build requires so much energy, why only put 50 points into energy? Seems like having at least 100 would be the better choice for a good sized mana pool. I don't really like potion chugging, and I have yet to find very many items that give a significant boost to mana...That's why I'm wanting to know how to get teleport on my necromancer ...without enigma...I don't have the runes for it...

Isn't the casting delay for frozen orb a bit annoying? I mean...I figured 1 point in glacial spike is all the slow I'll need...esp with holy freeze...I didn't see a point in getting frozen orb, esp when it doesn't do quite as much damage without the 20 synergy points from ice bolt. Tho...I think frozen orb would do more damage then nova...since nova does only like 700-1k at level 25...that's pretty pathetic...esp when I'd need to spam it to do lots of damage.

Seems a bit redundant to have both holy freeze merc AND frozen orb as my second spell.

How did u do skills? Cold mastery doesn't increase damage so much as it pierces resistance(which I saw from other friends- doesn't do a thing vs cold immunity)...so...I dunno. And without energy shield..do u use shiver armor or something? I'd like to know what yr build is....

Do u not like nova/firewall? lol. I kinda wanna find room for like 10 points in warmth...esp if whatever build I use...will be very mana intensive...and mages don't get the luxary of mana leech either...

 

[Relona]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

It's my pleasure to help. Enough dex for 50 block has worked for me. Of course you can't expect to be able to tank yourself. When those arrows/fire/cold/whatever come after you dodge.

For the energy issue, not really. I put mine up to 50. Various +energy items has me at 80. At level ** I've got 855 mana. It's very annoying to start, but I haven't drunk a mana potion since I was level 45. Look for items with increase mana by x%. This is why I swear by my Frostburns. +40% to mana. They aren't to hard to find either. The SOJ is another good one but harder to find. But the meditation aura from Insight bumps your mana regen to insane levels. Beter than warmth in my opinion.

The casting delay on frozen orb is annoying, but not enough to make me even consider using something else. Aim it right and you can hit something with six or seven bolts in a shot. Synergied that's between 3-3.5k I think. My mostly unsyergied (I think she had 4 in ice bolt before +skills) sorceress still had a little over 400dam per bolt. And the main advantage over nova I can think of is distance. You have to get too close for my comfort for nova to really clear a room.

Your right about the holy freeze merc. That's why I use defiance. Although the holy freeze merc will also slow cold immunes that cold spells will not.

For my current build (and I got advice from someone on-line whose name I can't remember anymore so the credit is not all mine) I've maxed out firewall, firemastery, ice bolt, and frozen orb. For one-hit wonders I've got frozen armor, warmth, static field and teleport. Everything else goes into cold mastery.

I don't have anything against nova/firewall. But all this has put a lightning sorceress in my head. Hmm... I think I may have to try one for the next ladder.

 

[Crowd Control]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

It sure does sound like a decent build. I might have to try that one day. Though I would think that maxing Cold Mastery before Icebolt might be a bit better (would mostly depend on gear and +1 to skills specific).

 

[Mursilis]

I'm not quite sure what the point is of putting points into dexterity to give 50% block. Either go max block or leave dexterity at it's base level. This way you'll actually have points to put into vitality that will allow you to have a decent life pool and won't get one-hit killed by half the monsters in Hell, especially if you're thinking of putting some points into energy to give yourself a decent mana pool. A single point in one of the cold armors should suffice instead defensewise.

The trouble with Firewall/Frozen Orb builds is that both skills are timer skills and therefore can't be spammed at all. It's definitely doable but it will be slow, as was mentioned before. While the timer is running down you may want to be spamming Static Field or Telekinesis to help out the mercenary as he'll be swarmed continuously.

 

[Hrus]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

I don't want to sound like someone who likes cookie-cutter builds, but I think that for beginners, it's better to start with a better build than Firewall-Nova.

Firewall's damage isn't great in comparison with other spells like Fireball, Frozen Orb, Blizzard, Lightning, Chain Lightning and it's hard to keep monsters in it, especially when you and your merc can't tank certain monsters (and be sure that those situations will be frequent later in hell difficulty, when you play your first character and don't have good gear). Fireball can be cast directly, more frequently, give much, much more damage per second and on top of it, it puts monsters in hit recovery (while Firewall's damage is applied every frame in smaller portions and doesn't do enough damage to monsters to get into hit recovery).

Nova is very mana-hungry spell which doesn't do much damage. You should have high +skills (uber gear), and lot of FCR (uber gear) to do some damage. Again other spells are better.

Frozen Orb on the other hand gives nice damage and it's very easy to use and the casting delay isn't that bad - I usually just reposition myself while using it. It also requires fewer investment in skillpoints to be effective than other skills, which is nice. In a Firewall/Orb hybrid, it will become primary spell immediatly while Firewall will be used only as secondary attack for cold immune monsters... And you will regret that you haven't chosen Fireball instead of Firewall - everytime you will meet a hard hitting cold immune monsters....

 

[Gorny]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

But I wanna do something thats not seen all over the place...seems to me a firewall doing like 5k dmg/sec at level 25 (with fire mastery) is pretty damn good. The casting delay of meteor is like 3 seconds...so that would be like 15k damage under a firewall...which does 11k full synergy(with firebolt, fireball, FM)... Thats assuming the meteor even hit to begin with. Thats why I hate meteor...

I had a screw up sorceress and firewall was guaranteed at least 2 seconds of damage on a mob when casted directly on top with cold spells(or holy freeze.)

Admittedly, nova does suck at only 700-1k damage @ level 25...i'd only use it vs fire immune mobs tho...

These numbers are all from the skill calculator @
*link deleted by Gorny* btw...

Seems like it would take some work and practice at aiming the firewall, but it could be good and decently fun too...

Sounds to me your saying max block would be the better thing to do since ES would require tons of gear? I dunno...

Please do not post links to item selling sites, even if they contain calculators or helpful guides.

Such item selling sites are against the forums rules and are grounds for a ban.

any questions, feel free to send a PM.

 

[agnidragon]

Re: Could use some advice on a Firewall Sorceress

Please do not post links to item selling sites, even if they contain calculators or helpful guides.

Such item selling sites are against the forums rules and are grounds for a ban.

any questions, feel free to send a PM.

Sorry about that . Honestly all I did was google a skill calculator, I didn't pay any attention at all to the rest of that site. I'll be more careful next time. If theres a better site for that, i'd love to use it .

 

[Mursilis]

This would be the one we are allowed to link to from this site.