Hi guys I have a level 57 sorceress and from the end of act 3 of nightmare difficulty onwards the character is no longer able to move forward, she is too weak. it’s too fragile which is weird because I have all resistances at 75% and a defense of 1000 points. The attack is also too low despite having reached the fireball cap having 21 points and 17 points of fire bolt as a synergy. The equipment is Ancient’s Pledge in the shield and Lore in the helmet, I have everything I need for the runeword spirit even if I don’t understand its potential, should I do it? if you want to explain it to me I would be grateful. Having said that what to do now to be strong enough at least to end the nightmare difficulty? Thank you
Do not forget the most powerful skill of Sor ---- Teleport.
Actually you do not need to kill every monster you meet.
Kill if you can, ran if you not.
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are you trolling? that’s not how you fireball.
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and how do you do fireball?
apparently talk down to people and run away without saying anything helpful…
have a look at https://d2.maxroll.gg/guides/sorceress-leveling
oh and spirit is for +2 skills and fcr mostly but fhr and some other stuff also help. (you can get a crystal sword from normal cows and larzuk it for 4 sockets)
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Defense is not something to focus on for a Sorceress, neither is Fireball (arguably)
Focus on Faster Cast Rate (FCR) rather than defense, this will allow you to cast spells like fireball/lightning/ice bolts/blasts faster. It will not affect the stronger spells in her arsenal though (Blizzard, frozen orb, meteor, fire wall).
IIRC 63% FCR should be your minimum target. I run/teleport around with 86% - not sure if it’s a hidden breakpoint like I read somewhere or not but I couldn’t be bothered to go up to the next breakpoint which is 105%
For equipment:
Make a Stealth (Tal + Eth) runeword in an armor - it’ll help you. Other good options are Skin of the Vipermagi unique item and of course, Tal Rasha’s armor as endgame.
Lore is fine for now as headgear. Look for a Harlequin Crest as your target
Weapon should be Spirit sword or Occulus if you have it. Shield should be Spirit once you get to Hell and can find a 4 socket Monarch shield. So definitely make Spirit in a 4 socket sword if you can right now.
I’ll let you figure out the rest but the site which AnxiousDavid recommended is a good place to learn about D2 things
Get an Act 2 mercenary (either holy freeze or might aura) and give him an Insight runeword made in a 4 socket Polearm weapon - Ral + Tir + Tal + Sol. This will solve all your mana problems (should you have any)
Strength should be as high as you need to wear your equipment. Nothing in dexterity, nothing in Energy, and the rest in Vitality
Edited for clarity on favoring FCR / FHR instead of Defense + more equipment info
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FCR is a tricky one. If he’s in random yellow gear he might struggle for mana. I wonder if he’s trying to facetank.
A lot of surviving in this game is just being in position. I also wonder if he has teleport, frozen armor, etc… Fire as a spec is also liable to struggle with resistant monsters a little.
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ok i make it simple for Fireball sorc(while it may not be perfectly accurate…it should let you net near the best amount of fire dmg)
so first thing to lvl is capping Fireball to max lvl
afterward…for every 2 point added into synergy skills(Meteor//Fire Bolt) you want to put 1 point in Fire Mastery to balance the power up
1 point wonder in warmth for mana regen is a must…also 1 point wonder in teleport and static field(static to hard burn bosses hp…teleport for fast movement speed)
also unlike what green said…as a Sorc you want enough Dex for 50% block…Sorc cant afford 75% block but 50% is a pretty solid amount for a Sorc…going for 75% would mean a too large health pool sacrifice
Defense dont worry bout it untill like lvl 95-99…you need enough end gear for Defense to be noticable on a Sorc…1 point wonder into either Shiver or Chilling will cut it with enough +all skills gear…you dont wanna sacrifice offense for defense
for spirit sword…definetly get it…its super solid untill you can make Hoto runeword
faster hit recovery(FHR)(prevent you from being stunlock)
faster cast rate(FCR)…let you cast your spell at much highter speed(also mean less chance for mobs to hit you when u teleport)
mana//vitality self explanatory
+2 skill points mean your spells will do a lot more dmg
also be warn…Hell difficulty has a lots of Fire and Cold Immune(especially Fire)
…but the Fire build should let you farm Andariel for skills rings and a Shako helm(+2 all skills) with ease…Andariel is fire weak and its also the only farm spot for a Fire sorc :S
Cold tree has very solid farm spots for gear and is the best to farm gear
Cold sorc can hunt for Andy,Meph,Travincal,Diablo(the casters in chaos sanc can be annoying for cold sorc though)
the Lightning tree specialize in rushing ppl and Keys farming
edit: i may have a pair of spare Magefist to give away…let me logging and check something…edit 2: ya i got a spare with me atm…you play b-net or offline ?..edit 3:…appear your online…i’am in KoldRind room atm(Nightmare difficulty)…meet me there if u play online and could use the gloves for +1 fire skills…if offline play let me know here plz XD…edit 4:…ight…guess your not coming in…guess i go play enchant a few lvl 15-25 with my chant sorc b4 i head sleep
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You shouldnt have too much difficulty in NM at 57 with a sorc.
Spirit sword, ancient pledge or rhyme shield, Lore helm, Stealth armor, 10%fcr rings and ammy, res gloves/boots and a 4 slot belt…
Since Fire, you could go for a Leaf, but I find the sword shield is better for some.
A2 merc of course to help tank some mobs.
Go watch LLama’s sorc playthrough, itll help you with alot of gear and tactics to nav the game as a sorc.
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Fireball Sorc is going to be a bit harder I think than other builds, since it is slower projectiles that have to hit, rather than something like blizzard or orb. With that said, Nightmare should be very doable with the right setup. Make sure you have at least one point into Fire Mastery, make sure you have a decent mercenary that stays alive (life steal is great on mercs), use teleport and static field where necessary, make sure cast rate is a priority.
As someone else said above, Leaf is a fantastic rune word. Super easy to make and really strong. Find a two socketed staff with +3 to fireball if you can. Just run the shops, such as going to Akara, leaving town, going to Akara, leaving town, etc. Find a good white 2 socketed staff and socket with Tir Ral. This will give a big damage buff to you.
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Do you have trouble killing mobs or are they killing you already from afar? Can you describe your problem a little more?
Do you use a mercenary from act 2? it might help you a lot as he can tank for you. 1 Point in static helps a lot and you might want to dual spec (fire+ cold as example) for hell as there are a lot of fire resistant and fire immune mobs.
Spirit helps you a lot with
vita
fhr
mana
2 skills
fcr
So if you have an 4 sox crystal or broad sword, go for it.
How did you distribute your attributes? if you play selffound and don’t have lots of gear, try to stay at 60 str points max (belt) and everything else vita.
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you max fireball, meteor, and fire mastery. you will never be using fire bolt, so using it as a synergy is a waste… unless you don’t use meteor (which is crazy imo).
and hopefully you’re using frozen orb as a secondary spell…
i play hardcore and i tell you whut, fire / cold sorc can beat the entire game no problem.
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Farm NM Andy for loot. If you can, farm NM Meph too.
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I’m lvl 35 sorceress now and my chain lightning absolutely rapes everything instantly.
Don’t know if it works past act 2 nm since I haven’t got further than that, but it sounds like something is very wrong with your build.
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Thanks guys. It is very nice to see a thread where people honestly try and help a person without melting down to insults and attacks on each other 
Also, from your name I would guess you are a barb player…that could be a mind-set problem to some extent. I know my favorite chars are melee, barb specifically, and have a hell of a time keeping my sorc alive (and my zon, and my assasin )
I’m just too accustomed to whacking stuff
Honestly if you want to cakewalk nightmare as sorc just go Frozen Orb
How about not being rude to a new player?
@Horx, you are welcome here
level 57 in act 3 nightmare is about the right level for it - you are around equal with the monster levels.
Spirit Sword will make your character significantly stronger, you should definitely make it.
However you need to be more specific on what’s giving you trouble. Act 3 has many different things in it.
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you can go normal cows for it and socket, however since he’s already in act 3, I say look for the sword in act 1 or 2 nightmare - the sword can drop with 4 sockets without having to use the quest. Barracks or Tamoe Highland and usually not too difficult and have good density for it. Act 2 has lots of skeletons, but they kinda have high fire resist so it might be too hard.
Two things. First, get as much + to skills as you possibly can from gear and/or charms. Second, your build description sounds like you don’t have anything in fire mastery. You need to get at least a point or two in that. Just 1 point will substantially increase your fireball damage.
Do you still have respec? Skill points/attributes reset reward from Akara?