*OG Sorc is back
Foreword*
*Old introduction from the time of when Ashes of Malmouth monsters were introduced in Crucible and on the cusp of DA meta
With the introduction of the Ashes of Malmouth waves in Crucible a lot of players just gave up on this game mod in Single Player, especially on playing waves 150-170 in Gladiator. And let’s be honest, it’s not that fun to play. Some builds cannot even come close to being viable there (despite being decent in pre-aom 130-150 Crucible Gladiator), some builds need very specific monster infrequent items in order to be able to play it. And then there is a great divide and even disparity between mastery combos. Spellbinders, everything Soldier, Mage Hunters, dominate the meta some due to permanent invulnerability, some because of, you know, shields.
I wanted to make my old Sorcerer an ultimate caster build. Yes, it’s the same character that used to be a People’s Gunslinger long before Ashes of Malmouth, then it became a furious melee CT Sorc. It’s time for her to ascend into the rank which only few legendary elite casters achieved: Archmage.
The Build
[1.1.4.2] Update
Reworked the build completely. Build is still a tanky caster, but damage output went thru the roof compared to the previous iteration. Unfortunately, Cataclysm set and Warpfire had to go.
[1.1.1.1] Shattered Realm Update
Managed to close 70-71 rifts with this build. 75 is possible with a lucky draw. Overall, build is a solid choice to farm 65-66 consistently. Added videos from Shattered Realm and updated Grimtools link.
[1.0.6.1] Update
Since Crucible is softer nowadays I ditched a good chunk of DA on this build in favour of more offensive setup devotion wise. I also took people’s favourite Meteor Shower since Warpfire’s burn duration has been nerfed. Overall, better performance across the board, still very safe to play (I would definitely recommend it for Hardcore) and now killing times are even faster. Uploaded a 150-170 4 buffs/no banner run.
Decided to buff build’s Spirit to get even more damage for our spells. Plus reassigned devotions.
<<<< GRIMTOOLS >>>>*
*Craft for Stun resist
<<<< GRIMTOOLS FOR SR >>>>*
**Courtesy of @John_Smith
Gear
I’ve tested quite few item combinations for this build. The one that is in the Grim Tools is by far the superior one. We craft all our gear for Stun resist. Try to get 6% DA Chestguard of Justice. It goes without saying that high cdr on off-hand is optimal.
Skills and Devotions
Again, everything has been tested thru and thru, trust me on this. Everything is self-explantory. We do need Vindictive Flame and Ulzuin’s Wrath to proc our procs. We do need 12/12 Blast Shield to be able to take a stand during its duration no matter who we face. And Cannister Bomb is a better performer than Devastation for this build, because it has Burn damage, lower cooldown and higher single target damage and spreads Eldritch Fire devotion amazingly well.
Leveling and Attribute points distribution
Leveling as Arcanist is pretty easy, granted skill from Searing Ember or from Flintcore bolts coupled with Olexra’s Flash Freeze can take us very far (to the point where we can start equipping mythical gears).
Put all attribute points into physique or you can put ~20-25 points into spirit for another damage boost since we have such a great spirit scaling on this build.
The Showdown
How to play
In Main Campaign it’s pretty straightforward all out offensive style. We teleport, throw BWC/Flashbang, pop CT, reset cooldowns with Cannister Bomb, charge to our next target (all while bombarding everything that didn’t burn alive with Stormfire from weapon component). Everything melts very fast, everything is facetankable except Gargabol. Use mines when you come across cluster of heroes, or against purple bosses. You can choose to use mirror or not to use it, it’s very hard to die in Campaign either way. This build would be great for Hardcore fast farming, very swift and very safe. Against Kuba, pop mines, pop BWC, usual routine, use mirror more often to facetank him, don’t stand in puddles, not because it’s dangerous, but because he heals thru them and it makes the fight longer. Against Grava’Thul: kiting is prefered, but try to kite around your own cluster of mines, take stands when you have mirror or blast shield up, watch out for his nullification projectile, it can kill you thru mirror. Overall, not an easy fight, can’t get critted, but can get whacked by nullification, so watch out for that. Stay close to him during your mirror/blast shield uptime so he doesn’t cast nullification. As long as he casts it, start kiting, and keep that nullification projectile in sight. As soon as it disappears, charge him and unload everything you have.
In Crucible, watch out for Fabius/Iron Maiden combo, for some reason those two basterds together can give you hard time when you are playing without buffs/banner, so don’t facetank them, just take stands when mirror/blast shield is up (pop mines when you mirror cooldown is nearly up). When kiting, don’t forget to throw flashbangs/BWC’s and pop CT while mobs are chasing you. Even against 4 big bosses, you have to take a stand when your mirror or blast shield is up, to burst them. Your weak spot is aether resistance overcap (just 25%), so play safe against Anasteria, she can kill you even thru Blast Shield. Just surrond her with mines/bwc, and run around her, dodging her Devastation and popping your offensive skills, always use mirror with her when possible. Reaper is surprisingly easy with this build, he dies pretty fast chasing you and his OA seems to be insufficient to do you any real harm. Watch out for Ben’Jahr + Iron Maiden combos, always seperate Ben’Jahr from other Nemeses, his DA shred is pretty dangerous.
Stats
General
Magical
Videos
John Smith’s Shards 75-76 runs (w/Elem. res. mutator)
John Smith’s Shards 75-76 runs 2(w/Elem. res. mutator AGAIN)
Shard 71 OLD
Shard 70 OLD
Crucible Gladiator 4 buffs/no banners 150-170 10:40 run OLD
Crucible Gladiator 130-150 extra spawn no buffs/no banners OLD
Kubacabra OLD
Ancient Grove (boss fight is very sloppy) OLD
Mad Queen OLD
Grava’Thul OLD
In Conclusion
Want to thank everyone who posts original and non-conventional builds to this forum, got inspired by few of them, especially by the Chinese DA meta.
