Single Player Sorceress Woes

[CoRnJuLiOx]

Single Player Sorceress Woes

Hey all, I've got a sorceress in Single Player mode right now, and I'm trying to take it all the way through Hell difficulty. I've beaten Nightmare now but I can't seem to make it past the second quest in Act 1 Hell. Killing the enemies is no problem for me, since I invested heavily in Frozen Orb and Chain Lightning, but I can't take more than a single hit without being brought close to death or being killed off entirely. I need a little advice as to how to proceed.

Here are my stats:
Strength: 125
Dexterity: 26
Vitality: 105
Energy: 155
Defense: 655
Health/Mana: 351/574

Equipment:
Nothing worth noting here, just an orb with +2 sorc skills, MF amulet, rings, boots, a crown with 2 topazes (flawless and perfect) and Frostburn Gauntlets. As a shield I'm using Ancient's Pledge in a 3 socket Kite Shield for the bonuses to resist.

Skills:
Frozen Orb: 17 + 2 = 19 (the +2 is from the orb)
Cold Mastery: 2 + 2 = 4 (cold mastery is worthless in PvM, isnt it?)
Chain Lightning: 20 + 2 = 22
Lightning Mastery: 9 + 2 = 11

Right now, i'm currently stuck pulling Cow Level runs in Nightmare for loot, but can't seem to find any. Is it just me or do the cows not drop anything good anymore?

 

[scottee]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

Hiya!

First of all, I'd suggest taking a stroll down to the Single Player Forum- there are a lot of resources available in that subforum for those of us who play single player.

Secondly, I do have a few comments on your sorceress. At the moment, it looks like you have more points invested into both strength and energy than are even close to necessary. Usually, by the time I hit Hell, I have well over 200 points invested into vitality, so my sorcs probably have around 300 hp more than yours. This helps survivability immensely. Walking around with less than 600 hp in Hell difficulty is an invitation to Death, to come on over and visit!

Also, what level is your character? It may be worthwhile to do some Baalruns to level up, if you're of a lower level than, say, 65 or so- especially because sorcs have such an easy time with Baalruns.

Two last comments: Cold mastery is awesome for pvm, try to get it to level 17 after +skills. Also, Baalruns are good for drops and XP, while running Meph is a dcent way to find items that will help you get through Hell- cows just aren't that good anymore.

Really, go check out the SPF, and read the stickies- there's tons of good info there. Also, don't forget to check out ATMA for single player, it changes the game (for the better, I think).

 

[stephan]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

Way to much energy and way too low life. Too many things can 1 or 2 hit kill you, especially when your resists aren't in order too.

If you want better items, farm NM Meph/Andy.

 

[Akse]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

Energy is ok but I guess you don't have energy shield.. when the extra mana doesn't really do anything else but keep you from drinking potions.

 

[CoRnJuLiOx]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

Hey all, thanks for the replies. I'm gonna rebuild the sorc (>_<) because I think its just too much of a hassle to try and fix it now. This time, i'll pay more attention to Vit, and less on str. Does 90 STR sound like enough?

 

[JSmoove]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

It's single player so you can't use spirit. I say 90-95 is enough

 

[alsa]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

Actually the Single Player Forum and trading forum do allow the use of the Runeword Mod (check the stickies).

It enables you to use Ladder only runewords (like Spirit) in a Single Player game.

 

[Dwhitney]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

Also stated above....only enough str to wear gear......rest into vitality some dex not much but its decent for block.......if you lack gear which you do run andy and meph in nm as much as you can till you have a few items to fill slots and then finish off baal a few times for a few levels then go back and hit em up.

 

[zrk]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

If youre too lazy to rebuild, there is always the easy alternative to change your stats to a prefered alternative with a character editor and saving quite a few hours of your life.

 

[Sacred Mercenary]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

I think 156(?) str is needed for a spirit monarch which if you're using the runeword mod are apparently a blessing to any sorceress. I don't think that much energy is needed. Apparently a lot of players leave it at base or only a little more. Dex amount depends on whether or not you want max block. There's a few guides on the forums regarding max block vs vit, and some have the req dex needed to max block with certain shields. That's all I can tell you, good luck.

Also, are character editors even legal?

 

[mrbll]

Re: Single Player Sorceress Woes

i personally would rebuild. your enegery is far too high and its killing your life. or imo stack mf and farm nm meph for bettter gear then rebuild.

stats:
str 156
dex base
life rest
energy NONE. you will get from gear. my sorc current has about 700 and insight. i hardly ever run out and if i do. i just pot.

btw sp forum allows red rune mod and runeword mord. i currently tun rune word mod but imo i wouldnt trade. any chance of getting a taint is too much and yes editors arent legal. (pardon my spelling im not on my comp. the keys are diff on this one) any editors would be concered a taint and you would probibly lose respect of most spers. i personally only use to test out wacky builds to see if they are viable