I just started my 3rd character, a Lightning Sorceress. In general, all the build guides (Icy Veins, Maxroll, etc) seem to be pretty good, but they all utilize an Infinity to break lightning immunity, which is not easy to come by. Can an Act II merc equipped with Insight do an enough damage to take out Lightning Immunes encountered in Hell? It is a foregone conclusion to me that at least one respec will eventually be necessary, so against all conventional wisdom, I am putting points into Mana early on to make Nova more effective. Most endgame builds utilize Energy Shield, I am kind of nervous to try that. The Sorceress needs a lot of mana for her spells, if it is being chewed up by ES damage, is there a danger of continually running out?
To be correct: nowadays you do not need infinity to break immunity, that was for old days (pre-sunder charms). Infinity is used to take light res further down after the mobs are sundered to 95% and it is generally one of the best weapons in the game.
Regarding insight… it depends how the merc is equipped, what level, etc. But generally, insight is for mana regen only, but can be used to get through the playthrough.
I definitely do not recommend lightning sorc for playthrough, it is extremely mana hungry and unless you are a pro, you will have hard time in act3/act5. The cheapest build (re mana) is fire/cold and most people will recommend those builds.
Nova has a big disadvantage: you are stationary while casting (unlike blizzard) and you need to be in close range to be able to hit mobs. Without energy shield, you will struggle to survive in hell. Even if you have pre-farmed gear, you will not have enough skill points to build an energy shield that is efficient since it starts from approx lvl92+
Energy shield is fantastic but it needs not only high character level but 2x SOJ to be efficient. Frostburn can be used to increase mana pool but 105fcr is very important for lightning builds and losing 20fcr on gloves can be difficult to maintain 105.
One thing I’ve discovered is that many to most leveling guides for lightning sorceress start with fire/ice , then respec to lightning. My goal is to end up either as a Nova or Lightning sorceress. In reviewing my mules, I just found that I had a Spire of Lazarus, so I anticipate being able to breeze through Normal with it as a Nova sorceress. I only have 2 other builds, so I can easily poach some high level equipment for when it comes time to respec, HOTO, 2 SOJs, Arachnid, Mara’s. I haven’t used a Sunder charm yet, but a Sunder charm with enough Lightning resistance charms sounds like it would allow me to use a Merc with Meditation for mana until I could build an Infinity.
Start with an hybrid sorc. When you get um rune and a lightsunder, make crescent moon on sword And you are good to go lightning.
For hybrid l like frozen orb + fireball
The diversity of builds/strategies for D2R, after all these years, continues to amaze me. On YouTube there are almost limitless videos promoting all kinds of build, I became intrigued with the Nova/Lightning Sorceress, but to be honest, most of these builds are high end, ultimate equipment, and they already have the Hellfire Torch and Annilihus. My goal is to get to level 75 when I can use the sunder charm as Infinity is a long term proposition. In any event, the damage and success of the Nova Sorceress intrigued me, and I felt that I could make my way well into Nightmare with the 2 hand Spire of Lazarus, and in fact I did with with not a lot of difficulty. Then last night, I noticed this. I tend to play late at night after my wife has gone to sleep, which is also a time I am a cross between half in the bag or half asleep, I have been playing at player level 7, a setting from a previous build. As such, I am early in NM Act II at level 52, which is a testament how powerful the Nova build is. At level 53 I will be able to equip a NM Act II merc with Insight, at level 55 equip the Sorceress with HOTO and a +1 Skill shield. At that point I will respec into an Energy Shield build.