The PvP Light/Es Sorc
This is my first attempt at a guide, so bear with me.
I-Intro
What is an ES sorc? An ES sorc is a sorc that uses Energy Shield and relies on her mana pool to keep her alive. This guide attempts to show how to build an ES sorc that uses lightning as her primary attack.
II-Essential ES Info.
Q. So what does Energy Shield do for us?
A. Energy Shield redirects a % of damage taken to mana instead of life. The % absorb reaches its peak at 95% at skill level (slvl.) 40.
Q. Does Energy Shield have any synergies?
A. Energy Shield has one synergy, telekinesis (TK).
Q. How does TK help energy shield?
A. Without TK the damage taken while using ES will be 2 points of mana for every 1 point of damage. Every point in TK lowers damage to mana that is taken by 6.25%. With 20 points invested into TK the factor at which damage is taken to mana is 0.75 for every one point lost. This of course is much better than our previous 2:1 ratio.
Q. So if I put more points into TK I can lower the damage I take even more?
A. No, only actual points placed in TK will lower the damage. So after slvl. 20 extra points don’t mean anything.
Q. Does Energy Shield redirect all attacks?
A. No, open wounds as well as poison bypass Energy Shield.
Q. Does Energy Shield redirect damage after resistances are applied?
A. No, Energy Shield redirects damage before resistances are applied. That means resistances are only applies after your mana is damaged and only to the 5% that reached your life.
Q. Do I need to have damage reduce when using Energy Shield?
A. Having Damage Reduced by X and Magic Damage Reduced by X can be very useful to have because it is applied after Energy Shield redirects damage. So, it reduces and can possibly negates the minimal 5% damage that gets through.
Q. Will I be able to absorb with X% absorb/+X absorb items?
A. No, since X% absorb/+X absorb is taken into affect after Energy Shield redirects damage it is only applied to the 5% damage that gets through making it of little use.
Q. How does FHR work with Energy Shield?
A. “When something that hits you deals more than 1/12 of your overall life than you will become stunned, and the amount of FHR that you have will effect the amount of time that you are stunned for, the more FHR the better. In my experience though stun with Energy Shield is measured not by total life lost, but is worked by damage alone, and not the actually felt.†In other words, it is important and I would go for a descent amount of FHR.
III-General Sorc. Info.
Faster Cast Rate Breakpoints:
Frame 13 12 11 10 9 8 7
FCR Needed 0% 9% 20% 37% 63% 105% 200%
Casts/sec 1.92 2.08 2.27 2.50 2.78 3.13 3.57
Lightning/Chain Lightning Faster Cast Rate Breakpoints:
Frame 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
FCR Needed 0% 7% 15% 23% 37% 52% 78% 117%
Casts/sec 1.92 2.08 2.27 2.50 2.78 3.13 3.57 3.57
Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoints:
Frame 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6
FHR 0% 5% 9% 14% 20% 30% 42% 60% 86% 142%
IV-Stats
Starting Stats:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 10
Energy: 35
Each point in:
Vitality gives +2 life
Energy gives +2 mana
Stat Placement:
Strength: Enough to use your gear. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to wear before you start putting points into this in order to have as little strength as possible to wear all your equipment.
Dexterity: Dex. Can go two ways. You can either put enough for max block or enough to use your items. Not going max block will result in more mana, but being able to block melee attacks 75% of the time really comes in handy. It’s your call on this one.
Vitality: None, that’s right nothing at all, mana is our life in this build.
Energy: Everything else, the more mana the better.
V-Skills
Synergy Information:
Energy Shield-
• Telekinesis: Reduces mana loss
Lightning-
• Charged Bolt: 8% damage/level
• Chain Lightning: 8% damage/level
• Nova: 8% damage/level
Chain Lightning-
• Charged Bolt: 4% damage/level
• Nova: 4% damage/level
• Lightning: 4% damage/level
Charged Bolt-
• Lightning: 6% damage/level
Skill Placement:
Lightning Spells:
Lightning: 20
Lightning Mastery: 20
Telekinesis: 20
*Chain Lightning: 20 or see below
*Charged Bolt: 20 or see below
**Energy Shield: 7+
Fire Spells:
Warmth: 1
Cold Spells:
No points in the cold tree.
*Regarding Chain Lightning and Charged Bolt you can go one of two ways. You can either max Charged Bolt and continue adding to Chain Lightning as you level
up or you can max Chain Lightning and continue adding to Charged bolt as you level up. I find that Charged Bolt is a much more useful skill in PvP. Either way one will be left unmaxed, its your call.
**Energy Shield must be at slvl. 40 to reach max 95% absorb. So, we want as few points into Energy Shield as possible in order to better synergize our attacks. The minimum number of points that can be placed into Energy Shield while still obtaining 95% damage redirection is 7 with perfect prebuffing gear (see Gear Selection). However, you can put more into this if you cannot get all of the prebuff gear.
VI-Gear Selection
Helm:
Harlequin Crest- +2 skills, +2 all attributes, 50 magic find, +life/mana based on level, 10% damage reduction.
The best helm for this build. What’s not to like? It gives skills, attributes life and most importantly mana.
Rare Circlet- +2 sorceress/light skills, 20% FCR, +mana, +energy, +str., +dex. damage reduced by X.
A good choice if you happen to get your hands on a circlet that has the mods listed above, hard to find though.
Armor:
Skin of the Vipermagi- +1 all skills, 30% faster cast, +20-35 all resists, magic damage reduced by 9-15
This armor is perfect for our build; FCR, +skills and magic damage reduce. Not much reason to use anything else.
Amulet:
Wraith Collar- +2 sorceress skills, 10 faster cast, +18 dex, +21 life, cold resist 18%, light resist 16%, fire resist 22%, poison resist 50%
A great amulet with the most important mods for us being the skills, and FCR. The dex is useful if you trying to get max block.
Crafted Caster Amulet- +2 sorceress/light skills, 10-20% FCR, +mana, +energy, damage reduced by X.
Could possibly spawn with the above mods, if you happen to get one with the mods listed above it would be a great choice to use.
Rings:
The Stone of Jordan- +1 To All Skill Levels, Increase Maximum Mana 25%, +20 To Mana, Adds 1-12 Lightning Damage
These give skills and a huge boost to mana not much else to say.
Shield:
Lidless Wall- +1 To All Skills, Increase Maximum Mana 10%, 20% Faster Cast Rate, +3-5 To Mana After Each Kill, +10 To Energy, +1 To Light Radius
+skills, an increase in maximum mana, FCR, and +energy, enough said.
Whitstan's Guard- Half Freeze Duration, 40% Faster Block Rate, +55% Increased Chance Of Blocking, +5 To Light Radius
This is the shield to use of you have decided to go the max block rout. An 87% chance to block and a low str. requirement is why we like this, because it allows us to put very few points in strength and dexterity while still maintaining max block. Slap an eld rune in this and it lowers the dex. requirement for 75% block even more.
Boots:
Imp Shank- 30% faster run/walk, 20% faster hit recovery, +18 strength, light resist 22%, poison resist 22% fire resist 35%
Rare boots with good mods for us like FHR and +strength, can get a bit expensive though.
Silkweave- 30% faster run/walk, +5 mana after kill, increase mana 10%, +200 defense vs. missiles
Only really useful mod here is the increase in mana, but it gives a nice boost that cannot be ignored.
Gloves:
Frostburn- increase Maximum Mana 40%, other unimportant mods.
The mana that these babies give is insane and is a must for this build.
Belts:
Arachnid Mesh- +1 all skills, 20% faster cast, 5% maximum mana.
Faster cast, more mana, and skills, what more could you want?
Weapon:
Heart of the Oak- +3 To All Skills, +40% Faster Cast Rate, +75% Damage To Demons, +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons, Adds 3-14 Cold Damage, 3 sec. Duration (Normal), 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit, +10 To Dexterity, Replenish Life +20, Increase Maximum Mana 15%, All Resistances +30-40 (varies), Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges), Level 14 Raven (60 Charges), +50% Damage To Undead
This gives us skills, faster cast rate, +dexterity, life replenish, and a nice little increase in mana which are all mods that we love.
Eschuta's Temper- +1-3 To Sorceress Skill Levels, 40% Faster Cast Rate, 10-20% To Fire Skill Damage, 10-20% To Lightning Skill Damage, 20-30 To Energy
Find one with +3 sorceress skills and a good amount of light skill damage and you have got a nice little weapon there. The increase in energy further sweetens the deal.
On Switch:
Call to Arms: +1 To All Skills, +40% Increased Attack Speed, +250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies), Adds 5-30 Fire Damage, 7% Life Stolen Per Hit, +2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*, +1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*, +1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*, Prevent Monster Heal, Replenish Life +12, 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Get one with the highest + to battle orders you can get….obviously.
Lidless Wall- +1 To All Skills, Increase Maximum Mana 10%, 20% Faster Cast Rate, +3-5 To Mana After Each Kill, +10 To Energy, +1 To Light Radius
The +1 skills further adds to your battle orders.
Energy Shield Prebuffing Gear:
+9 Energy Shield Memory Staff
+3 Light Skills Circlet
+3 Energy Shield Ormus’ Robes
+3 Light Skills Amulet
With a base slvl. 7 Energy Shield, switching to those before casting Energy Shield and along with you 2xsoj’s, Arachnids’ Mesh, 10xlight GC’s, annihilus, and the +1 from Battle Command will give you a level 40 energy shield which will allow you to achieve 95% mana redirection.
This is my first attempt at a guide, so bear with me.
I-Intro
What is an ES sorc? An ES sorc is a sorc that uses Energy Shield and relies on her mana pool to keep her alive. This guide attempts to show how to build an ES sorc that uses lightning as her primary attack.
II-Essential ES Info.
Q. So what does Energy Shield do for us?
A. Energy Shield redirects a % of damage taken to mana instead of life. The % absorb reaches its peak at 95% at skill level (slvl.) 40.
Q. Does Energy Shield have any synergies?
A. Energy Shield has one synergy, telekinesis (TK).
Q. How does TK help energy shield?
A. Without TK the damage taken while using ES will be 2 points of mana for every 1 point of damage. Every point in TK lowers damage to mana that is taken by 6.25%. With 20 points invested into TK the factor at which damage is taken to mana is 0.75 for every one point lost. This of course is much better than our previous 2:1 ratio.
Q. So if I put more points into TK I can lower the damage I take even more?
A. No, only actual points placed in TK will lower the damage. So after slvl. 20 extra points don’t mean anything.
Q. Does Energy Shield redirect all attacks?
A. No, open wounds as well as poison bypass Energy Shield.
Q. Does Energy Shield redirect damage after resistances are applied?
A. No, Energy Shield redirects damage before resistances are applied. That means resistances are only applies after your mana is damaged and only to the 5% that reached your life.
Q. Do I need to have damage reduce when using Energy Shield?
A. Having Damage Reduced by X and Magic Damage Reduced by X can be very useful to have because it is applied after Energy Shield redirects damage. So, it reduces and can possibly negates the minimal 5% damage that gets through.
Q. Will I be able to absorb with X% absorb/+X absorb items?
A. No, since X% absorb/+X absorb is taken into affect after Energy Shield redirects damage it is only applied to the 5% damage that gets through making it of little use.
Q. How does FHR work with Energy Shield?
A. “When something that hits you deals more than 1/12 of your overall life than you will become stunned, and the amount of FHR that you have will effect the amount of time that you are stunned for, the more FHR the better. In my experience though stun with Energy Shield is measured not by total life lost, but is worked by damage alone, and not the actually felt.†In other words, it is important and I would go for a descent amount of FHR.
III-General Sorc. Info.
Faster Cast Rate Breakpoints:
Frame 13 12 11 10 9 8 7
FCR Needed 0% 9% 20% 37% 63% 105% 200%
Casts/sec 1.92 2.08 2.27 2.50 2.78 3.13 3.57
Lightning/Chain Lightning Faster Cast Rate Breakpoints:
Frame 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
FCR Needed 0% 7% 15% 23% 37% 52% 78% 117%
Casts/sec 1.92 2.08 2.27 2.50 2.78 3.13 3.57 3.57
Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoints:
Frame 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6
FHR 0% 5% 9% 14% 20% 30% 42% 60% 86% 142%
IV-Stats
Starting Stats:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 10
Energy: 35
Each point in:
Vitality gives +2 life
Energy gives +2 mana
Stat Placement:
Strength: Enough to use your gear. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to wear before you start putting points into this in order to have as little strength as possible to wear all your equipment.
Dexterity: Dex. Can go two ways. You can either put enough for max block or enough to use your items. Not going max block will result in more mana, but being able to block melee attacks 75% of the time really comes in handy. It’s your call on this one.
Vitality: None, that’s right nothing at all, mana is our life in this build.
Energy: Everything else, the more mana the better.
V-Skills
Synergy Information:
Energy Shield-
• Telekinesis: Reduces mana loss
Lightning-
• Charged Bolt: 8% damage/level
• Chain Lightning: 8% damage/level
• Nova: 8% damage/level
Chain Lightning-
• Charged Bolt: 4% damage/level
• Nova: 4% damage/level
• Lightning: 4% damage/level
Charged Bolt-
• Lightning: 6% damage/level
Skill Placement:
Lightning Spells:
Lightning: 20
Lightning Mastery: 20
Telekinesis: 20
*Chain Lightning: 20 or see below
*Charged Bolt: 20 or see below
**Energy Shield: 7+
Fire Spells:
Warmth: 1
Cold Spells:
No points in the cold tree.
*Regarding Chain Lightning and Charged Bolt you can go one of two ways. You can either max Charged Bolt and continue adding to Chain Lightning as you level
up or you can max Chain Lightning and continue adding to Charged bolt as you level up. I find that Charged Bolt is a much more useful skill in PvP. Either way one will be left unmaxed, its your call.
**Energy Shield must be at slvl. 40 to reach max 95% absorb. So, we want as few points into Energy Shield as possible in order to better synergize our attacks. The minimum number of points that can be placed into Energy Shield while still obtaining 95% damage redirection is 7 with perfect prebuffing gear (see Gear Selection). However, you can put more into this if you cannot get all of the prebuff gear.
VI-Gear Selection
Helm:
Harlequin Crest- +2 skills, +2 all attributes, 50 magic find, +life/mana based on level, 10% damage reduction.
The best helm for this build. What’s not to like? It gives skills, attributes life and most importantly mana.
Rare Circlet- +2 sorceress/light skills, 20% FCR, +mana, +energy, +str., +dex. damage reduced by X.
A good choice if you happen to get your hands on a circlet that has the mods listed above, hard to find though.
Armor:
Skin of the Vipermagi- +1 all skills, 30% faster cast, +20-35 all resists, magic damage reduced by 9-15
This armor is perfect for our build; FCR, +skills and magic damage reduce. Not much reason to use anything else.
Amulet:
Wraith Collar- +2 sorceress skills, 10 faster cast, +18 dex, +21 life, cold resist 18%, light resist 16%, fire resist 22%, poison resist 50%
A great amulet with the most important mods for us being the skills, and FCR. The dex is useful if you trying to get max block.
Crafted Caster Amulet- +2 sorceress/light skills, 10-20% FCR, +mana, +energy, damage reduced by X.
Could possibly spawn with the above mods, if you happen to get one with the mods listed above it would be a great choice to use.
Rings:
The Stone of Jordan- +1 To All Skill Levels, Increase Maximum Mana 25%, +20 To Mana, Adds 1-12 Lightning Damage
These give skills and a huge boost to mana not much else to say.
Shield:
Lidless Wall- +1 To All Skills, Increase Maximum Mana 10%, 20% Faster Cast Rate, +3-5 To Mana After Each Kill, +10 To Energy, +1 To Light Radius
+skills, an increase in maximum mana, FCR, and +energy, enough said.
Whitstan's Guard- Half Freeze Duration, 40% Faster Block Rate, +55% Increased Chance Of Blocking, +5 To Light Radius
This is the shield to use of you have decided to go the max block rout. An 87% chance to block and a low str. requirement is why we like this, because it allows us to put very few points in strength and dexterity while still maintaining max block. Slap an eld rune in this and it lowers the dex. requirement for 75% block even more.
Boots:
Imp Shank- 30% faster run/walk, 20% faster hit recovery, +18 strength, light resist 22%, poison resist 22% fire resist 35%
Rare boots with good mods for us like FHR and +strength, can get a bit expensive though.
Silkweave- 30% faster run/walk, +5 mana after kill, increase mana 10%, +200 defense vs. missiles
Only really useful mod here is the increase in mana, but it gives a nice boost that cannot be ignored.
Gloves:
Frostburn- increase Maximum Mana 40%, other unimportant mods.
The mana that these babies give is insane and is a must for this build.
Belts:
Arachnid Mesh- +1 all skills, 20% faster cast, 5% maximum mana.
Faster cast, more mana, and skills, what more could you want?
Weapon:
Heart of the Oak- +3 To All Skills, +40% Faster Cast Rate, +75% Damage To Demons, +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons, Adds 3-14 Cold Damage, 3 sec. Duration (Normal), 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit, +10 To Dexterity, Replenish Life +20, Increase Maximum Mana 15%, All Resistances +30-40 (varies), Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges), Level 14 Raven (60 Charges), +50% Damage To Undead
This gives us skills, faster cast rate, +dexterity, life replenish, and a nice little increase in mana which are all mods that we love.
Eschuta's Temper- +1-3 To Sorceress Skill Levels, 40% Faster Cast Rate, 10-20% To Fire Skill Damage, 10-20% To Lightning Skill Damage, 20-30 To Energy
Find one with +3 sorceress skills and a good amount of light skill damage and you have got a nice little weapon there. The increase in energy further sweetens the deal.
On Switch:
Call to Arms: +1 To All Skills, +40% Increased Attack Speed, +250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies), Adds 5-30 Fire Damage, 7% Life Stolen Per Hit, +2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*, +1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*, +1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*, Prevent Monster Heal, Replenish Life +12, 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Get one with the highest + to battle orders you can get….obviously.
Lidless Wall- +1 To All Skills, Increase Maximum Mana 10%, 20% Faster Cast Rate, +3-5 To Mana After Each Kill, +10 To Energy, +1 To Light Radius
The +1 skills further adds to your battle orders.
Energy Shield Prebuffing Gear:
+9 Energy Shield Memory Staff
+3 Light Skills Circlet
+3 Energy Shield Ormus’ Robes
+3 Light Skills Amulet
With a base slvl. 7 Energy Shield, switching to those before casting Energy Shield and along with you 2xsoj’s, Arachnids’ Mesh, 10xlight GC’s, annihilus, and the +1 from Battle Command will give you a level 40 energy shield which will allow you to achieve 95% mana redirection.
