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Sorceress Build Guide Diablo 2 Resurrected | Frozen Orb Sorc

Diablo 2 Resurrected Sorceress Build Guide for the Frozen Orb Sorceress. This is an End Game Sorceress Build that can get you through Nightmare and even Hell Difficulty in Diablo 2 Resurrected. If you are looking for an End Game Sorceress Build, then this Guide is for you.

  • Class: Sorceress
  • Skill Line Focus: Cold and Lightning
  • Build Focus: DPS
  • Main Attribute: Vitality
  • Difficulty Level: Nightmare/Hell
  • Level: 40 – 90+

Diablo 2 Resurrected Sorceress Build | Frozen Orb

The Frozen Orb Sorceress uses the Frozen Orb Spell to deal with both individual targets and groups enemies. You’ll be also using the Chain Lightning Spell to deal with Cold Immune enemies. While playing this Sorceress Build, you’ll conjure massive torrents of ice that deal damage in a large AoE.

This Diablo 2 Sorceress Build is intended to be used for Nightmare and Hell difficulties starting around around Lvl 40. You can start the game with this build, but I personally recommend you use our Fire Sorceress Beginner Build instead, and then respec into this one. If you are already playing and want to respec into this build though, the easiest way to do it is by claiming the Den of Evil reward from Akara at the Rogue Encampment. You’ll get 3 respecs (1 for each difficulty) and you’ll need to be on the same difficulty to reclaim them.

Sorceress Build Guide Stats | Bone Acolyte

Like most Builds in Diablo 2 Resurrected, our Stats distribution will focus on assigning enough points into Strength to meet equipment requirements, and then assigning everything else into Vitality to gain as much Life as possible.

  • Strength: Just enough to use your equipment. This will greatly depend on the gear that you are using, and the +Strength that you get from the rest of your equipment.
  • Dexterity: No points required
  • Vitality: All remaining points should be spent here.
  • Energy: No points required

Having a Hellfire Torch and an Annihilus will greatly reduce your stat investment into Strength. These unique charms provide between +10-20 to all Attributes and +10-20 to all Elemental Resistances. Having both in your inventory will save you between 20 and 40 stats points that you can spend into Vitality greatly increasing your health pool. The additional passive resistances will also allow you to depend less on +All Resistances equipment, opening up more options.

If you don’t have a Hellfire Torch or an Annihilus yet, I strongly recommend that you get them as soon as you can. Perfect rolled ones are very expensive, but you can get bad rolled ones for very affordable prices. Make sure to get a low roll when you are starting off and then upgrade it when you have enough money.

Sorceress Build Guide Skills | Frozen Orb

The Frozen Orb Sorceress focuses on the Cold Tree, but you’ll also be spending many points in the Lightning Tree to be able to deal with Cold Immune enemies. You’ll use the following Skills when playing this Diablo 2 Resurrected Sorceress Build:

frozen_orb_sorceress_skills_diablo_2_resurrected_wiki_guide_132pxFrozen Orb

This spell creates a floating orb that fires Ice Bolts in all directions while moving forward. Enemies can get hit by multiple Ice Bolts from the same Frozen Orb, making it great for both individual targets and groups of enemies. It’s important to notice that the damage displayed on the spell corresponds to each Ice Bolt, which can be misleading when you compare it to other spells, and Frozen Orb has a 1 second cooldown between casts, so make sure to correctly aim each to maximize efficiency.

cold_mastery_sorceress_skills_diablo_2_resurrected_wiki_guide_132pxCold Mastery

This skill greatly reduce enemy’s cold resistance, greatly increasing the damage of your Frozen Orb. Resistances can’t drop below -100%, so there’s a cap to how much you can increase your damage with Cold Mastery. For this reason I only recommend that you assign 15 points, as you’ll be getting a lot of +Skills from your equipment at which point you’ll max out efficiency. It’s also important to mention that Cold Mastery won’t affect Cold Immune enemies.

warmth_sorceress_skills_diablo_2_resurrected_wiki_guide_132pxWarmth

This Skill passively increases your mana regeneration which is great for any Sorceress build. Assigning only 1 point here is enough, as you’ll be boosting it with your equipment as well, and you will need to spend Skill Points in other places.

chain_lightning_sorceress_skills_diablo_2_resurrected_wiki_guide_132pxChain Lightning

Since Frozen Orb will deal 0 damage to immune enemies, you’ll need an alternative to get rid of them. Chain Lightning creates a bolt of lightning that arcs through enemies that are close to each other, allowing you to deal with all immune enemies at the same time. The damage fluctuates a lot, so you might need to use the spell many times if you get unlucky with the damage.

lightning_mastery_sorceress_skills_diablo_2_resurrected_wiki_guide_132pxLightning Mastery

This skill passively increases your Lightning Damage, and it’s the best way to increase the effectiveness of Chain Lightning. You’ll be spending a ton of points here to increase the damage, so don’t be shy.

static_field_sorceress_skills_diablo_2_resurrected_wiki_guide_132pxStatic Field

This skill reduces the current health of all enemies around you by 25% ignoring all types of Resistances. Since it takes into account enemies’ current health, you can cast it repeated times to drop enemy health to a very low percentage very fast. This is especially useful against Bosses and Cold Immune enemies. It’s important to note that it can’t take monster’s health below 33% during Nightmare Difficulty and 50% during Hell Difficulty, but even taking half of a health bar from a boss with only a couple of casts is very strong and a must have for all Sorceresses.

Level 40 Sorceress Skill Distribution

Since this guide is starting at Lvl 40, you’ll want to first focus on your Frozen Orb, Ice Bolt and Cold Mastery, and then work towards Chain Lightning to deal with immunes. You should have around 43 skill points at lvl 40 (39 from levels, and 4 from Quests). You should have your Skills placed in the following manner:

LEVEL 40 SORCERESS SKILLS
Skill Points Spent
 Ice Bolt  20
 Ice Blast (Pre-requisite)  1
 Frost Nova (Pre-requisite)  1
 Glacial Spike (Pre-requisite)  1
 Blizzard (Pre-requisite)  1
 Frozen Orb  11
 Cold Mastery  4
 Static Field  1
 Telekinesis (Pre-Requisite)  1
 Teleport  1
 Warmth  1

 

Level 90 Sorceress Skill Distribution

At level 90 you should have 101 skill points to distribute, 89 from Levels and 12 from Quests, and they should look like this:

LEVEL 90 SORCERESS SKILLS
Skill Points Spent
 Ice Bolt  20
 Ice Blast (Pre-requisite)  1
 Frost Nova (Pre-requisite)  1
 Glacial Spike (Pre-requisite)  1
 Blizzard (Pre-requisite)  1
 Frozen Orb  20
 Cold Mastery  15
 Static Field  1
 Telekinesis (Pre-Requisite)  1
 Teleport  1
 Warmth  1
 Charged Bolt (Pre-Requisite)  1
 Lightning (Pre-Requisite)  1
 Chain Lightning  20
 Lightning Mastery  16

 

Sorceress Build Guide Equipment | Frozen Orb

When it comes to equipment you’ll first want to get as much as +Skills as possible, as it’s the best way to increase your damage. You’ll also want to search for Faster Cast Rate and max out resistances. Once all of that is covered, you might want to look into Magic Find gear to increase your loot quality.

Budget Build

When you are starting off you’ll obviously have less gear, so here are some cheap Runewords and Unique items that you can use while you search for better gear.

Helmets

  1. Lore (Runeword): This helmet provides +1 to all Skills as well as +30% lightning resistance which is perfect for this build. You can farm the runes by completing Nightmare Countess.
  2. Uniques: Any helmet that provides +Skills works great here. For example Tarnhelm, Peasant Crown, Wormskull, etc.

Weapons

  1. Spirit (Runeword): This Runeword provides +2 To All Skills and +25-35% FCR. It also increases your defense, thanks to Faster Hit Recovery and Vitality. The additional mana is also great. Finding a 4 socketed weapon can be a little tricky, but stay on the lookout for Crystal Swords, Longswords and Broadswords. If you happen to play the Secret Cow Level, if you find any un-socketed of these types of Weapons, you can get a guaranteed 4 sockets from Larzuk by completing the Siege on Harrogath quest
  2. The Occulus (Unique): This weapon provides you with +3 to Sorceress Skills, 30% FCR, Resistances and Magic Find. The only downside here is that there’s a 25% chance to cast Teleport when you are hit, which can lead to very dangerous situations if you aren’t careful.

Shield

  1. Ancient’s Pledge (Runeword): This shield doesn’t provide +Skills, but compensates by grating a huge boost to Resistances allowing you to survive early Hell.

Armor

  1. Stealth (Runeword): This is by far the best armor that you can get early on. The 25% Faster Cast Rate is nice, while the poison resistance and Faster Hit Recovery (FHR) provides more survivability.
  2. Uniques: Any unique armor with +Skills is also great for this build, like for example The Spirit Shroud, Skin of the Vipermagi, Tal Rasha’s Guardianship, Que-Hegan’s Wisdom, etc.

Gloves

When it comes to gloves you’ll want to focus on defensive stats such as Life and Resistances.

Belt

For the belt you’ll want something with Life and Resistances. Tal Rasha’s Fine-Spun Cloth can also work great if you find more pieces of the set.

Boots

You’ll want to search for Faster Run/Walk speed on your boots as well as Resistances and Life.

Rings

You’ll want to search for rings that have life, stats and resistances as well as Faster Cast Rate.

Amulet

Try to find an amulet that provides +Sorceress Skills or +Sorceress Cold skills. Other than that, you’ll want to search for Stats, Health and resistances. Tal Rasha’s Adjudication is a great option as well.

Charms

For charm’s you’ll mainly want to look for +Life, +Mana and +Cold Skills or +Lightning Skills.

Sets

Tal Rasha’s Wrappings Set is a great option to use early on if you manage to get a couple of pieces.

Optimal Equipment

Once you are reaching max level you’ll want to start searching for the following equipment to complete your character.

Helmets

Harlequin Crest (Unique): This helmet provide +2 to all skills as well as Life, Mana and attributes. You can insert a Gem or Rune of your liking by adding a socket to it.

Weapon

Heart of the Oak (Runeword) – This weapon provides +3 to all skills as well as +All Resistances and Faster Cast Rate.

Shield

Spirit (Runeword): This shield provides +2 to all skills and +25-35% FCR. It also provides many defensive stats such as Elemental Resistances, Faster Hit Recovery and Vitality.

If you are having trouble finding a 4 slot shield, just find a Monarch Shield and take it to Larzuk after completing the Siege on Harrogath quest.

Offhand

Call To Arms (Runeword) + Spirit Shield (Runeword) – The Call to Arms Runeword provides you with the Battle Command and Battle Order shouts which are great buffs.

Armor

  1. Chains of Honor (Runeword): This armor provides +2 to all Skills and a massive +65 to all Resistances. Additionally, it provides Strength, Damage Reduction and Magic Find.
  2. Enigma (Runeword): This armor provides +2 to all Skills as well as a lot of Strength, Life and Magic Find. While Chains of Honor is a better option, you can use Enigma if you want to further increase your Magic Find. You’ll also be able to save the point into Teleport and use it elsewhere.

Gloves

Magefist (Unique): These gloves provide you with Faster Cast Rate. They also have a good amount of defense and increase your mana regeneration.

Belt

Arachnid Mesh (Unique): This belt provides +1 to all skills as well as providing +Faster Cast Rate and increasing your maximum mana.

Boots

Sandstorm: These boots provide +20% Faster Hit Recovery, Strength and Vitality. The FHR will help avoid getting Stun-locked by most enemies.

War Traveler (Unique): These boots provide +25% Faster Run/Walk Speed, Strength and increase your Magic Find by a massive 30-50%.

Rings

Here you have two different options, both providing +Skills:

More Survivability: 2x Bul-Kathos’ Wedding Band to increase your life.

More Mana: 2x Stone of Jordan to increase your mana.

Amulet

Mara’s Kaleidoscope: This amulet provide +2 to all Skills as well as +20-30 to all resistances and +5 to all attributes.

Crafted Amulet: You can search for a crafted amulet with +Skills and FCR, Stats, Life or Resistances.

Charms

For charm’s you’ll mainly want to look for +Life, +Mana and +Cold Skills or +Lightning Skills

What Mercenary to Select & Gear to Use

You’ll want to get the Act 2 Holy Freeze Mercenary (from Act 2 Nightmare) for this build. The Holy Freeze Aura is great for dealing with large crowds of enemies.

When it comes to equipment, you’ll want to get an Infinty Runeword for the weapon, a Fortitude Runeword for the Armor and Andarie’s Visage for the helmet. The Infinity Runeword Reduces enemy’s lightning resistances, allowing you to easily get rid of Cold Immune enemies.

Final Tips

Try to aim the Frozen Orb directly into your enemies. Ice bolts come out from the Orb, so if they touch an enemy it will get hit by all outgoing projectiles.

Remember that Static Field can be used on regular monsters as well. If you are dealing with many Cold Immunes and haven’t unlocked Chain Lightning yet, you can use Static Field to lower their health and let your mercenary finish the job.

Even if you are restricted by a 1 second cooldown, having an increased FCR will allow you to Teleport much quicker through the map and to kite enemies more effectively.


Stay tuned for more Diablo 2 Build Guides, and be sure to check out our Diablo 2 Resurrected Wiki for more information about the game!

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4 responses to “Sorceress Build Guide Diablo 2 Resurrected | Frozen Orb Sorc”


  1. >

    Hey man! I strongly suggest that you focus on finishing the Cold tree first, and then move into chain lightning. You can use your mercenary to deal with immunes while you level up and gear up your character. Remember that you can spam Static Field to reduce the HP of cold immunes so your Mercenary can finish them off.

  2. Hey, love your pages and videos, they’ve been a big help for a new player. How do you suggest moving from 40-90 with the points. Should I start immediately working on chain lightning at 40? Thanks for any help.

  3. Offline or Single Player now has the same exact access as Battle.net in Res; this includes Uber Trist, runewords, etc..

  4. How is any1 supposed to use this build if they play offline solo? Both charms required are unobtainable?

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