PvM Tri Elemental Rush Sorc


I take this statment back.

This guide is an upgrade from my Frozen Orb Rush Sorc. While that build is still viable, it was really meant to be used in conjunction with another high-level PvM character that can handle Cold Immunes. I recommend using this build instead.

With some strategic TP placement and fancy maneuvering, it is possible to effectively complete a rush from Norm Act 1 to Hell Act 4 with just one Sorc.

Before You Read This Guide
This Sorc is designed for Softcore play. Please don't ask me how well it would do on Hardcore. I don't play HC, so I won't know.

Also, I highly recommend rushing only three characters at a time with this build.

Gear and Stats
Gear
Rare gear is obviously much better, but I'm going for the cheapest build possible. If you can trade or shell out the FG to obtain better Rares, go for it.

Helm: Iratha's Coil
Weapon: Spectral Shard
Shield: 3-Socket PDiamond Large Shield
Armor: Twitchthroe
Gloves: Iratha's Cuff
Boots: FHR 3x FR/LR/PR* or 2x FR/LR/PR* Boots (under 55 Str Req) OR Hotspur
Belt: Iratha's Cord
Left Ring: FCR 2x FR/LR/PR*
Right Ring: FCR 2x FR/LR/PR*
Amulet: Iratha's Collar

* Combination of any 2 or 3 Resists

Full Iratha's, Shard, and the 3-Socket PDiamond Large Shield alone give you 82 for all Res. The extra Res from your Boots and Rings isn't necessary, but they're still nice to have.

Stats
45 Base Str, Base Dex, Base Energy, Rest Vita

45 Base Str is what you need to wear all of the listed gear. Some people like to use The Ward for better blocking, but you'll need 50 Base Str or 5 Str from one of your Rings. You also have the option of using Tearhaunch when using The Ward if you want.

Also, some people like to stat Energy to 50-100 for some extra Mana, and that's okay. However, this Sorc is going to need all points into Vita it can get, so use FCR Mana Rings or Res Boots with Mana instead.

Skills (Level 80)
Cold Spells
20 Frozen Orb
20 Cold Mastery
01 Ice Bolt / Ice Blast / Frost Nova / Glacial Spike / Blizzard (Pre-Reqs)

Although Frozen Orb isn't synergized, this Sorc still does enough damage to get the job done.

As for Cold Mastery (CM), I personally like to max it out, but some people argue that this doesn't make sense on a purely PvM Sorc. There's a long-winded explanation in a later section that you can read while deciding what's best for you.

Lightning Spells
20 Teleport
10 Nova
01 Lightning Mastery
01 Static Field / Telekinesis (Pre-Reqs)

For those of you who don't already know, adding points to Teleport reduces the amount of Mana required for each Tele. Having maxed Tele means that you only use 5 Mana per Tele. This is convenient since you can Tele much longer without having to constantly use Mana Potions.

Nova is the first of two secondary attacks this Sorc can use. I chose Nova because it saves Skill Points, and it doesn't require any synergies to do a decent amount of damage. Add one point into Lightning Mastery to give it some more damage.

Lastly, although Static Field is a Pre-Req to Nova, it is the fastest way to knock down an Act Boss's life points. Additionally, it provides excellent support when trying to kill Cold Immunes, assuming they are not also Lightning Immune.

Fire Spells
10 Fire Wall
01 Fire Mastery
01 Inferno / Blaze (Pre-Reqs)

Fire Wall is the other secondary attack this Sorc uses. I recommend using this skill over other Fire Skills because like Nova, it doesn't require a synergy to do a decent amount of damage with just 10 points into it, and it also saves Skill Points. Add one point into Fire Mastery for more damage. Support Fire Wall with Static Field when you can.

Leveling
The Hard Way
Play with at least a five- or six-person group. You'll get more XP and support from your party.

From Norm Act 1, get to Level 12-13 via Trist and Andy Runs, and head into Act 2. Get to Level 20 via Arcane Sanctuary and Tomb Runs. From here, get to Act 4 and do CS Runs, or you can do Cow Runs. Either way, get to Level 25, and make sure you have one point into Static Field, Nova, Teleport, Fire Wall, and all of the Pre-Reqs.

At Level 25, you can stay in Norm and do CS and Cow Runs, or you can head to NM and do Trist and Andy Runs, or if possible, Cow Runs. Whichever way you choose, you need to get to Level 30 to obtain Frozen Orb and Cold Mastery. Also, put just one point each into Lightning Mastery and Fire Mastery

At Level 30, you should already be in NM. By playing through the game, you should hit Level 35-40 by the time you're in Act 4. From here, do CS and/or Cow Runs to get to Level 55-60. Make sure you max out Frozen Orb and Cold Mastery and start putting points into Teleport.

At Level 55-60, before heading into Hell Act 1, if you haven't already, complete all of the Stat and Skill Quests. When you're ready, go to Hell Act 1. Play through the game, and get to Hell Act 4, completing any Stat and Skill Quests along the way. At this point, you should be Level 67+. You should also have finished maxing out Teleport and started leveling one of your secondary spells. (I prefer alternating between Fire Wall and Nova.)

From here, do Hell CS Runs with a decent party. The rest of you Leveling should be done here, but if you can't find a decent CS Run, you can level by doing Cata/Andy Runs in Act 1, or Ancient Tunnel/Palace Cellar Runs in Act 2.

The Easy Way
You'll need to find someone with a Chanter and a Norm game with at least three or four people. For those of you who don't know, a Chanter is a Sorc that provides a high-level Enchant to enhance your weapon with Fire Damage.

Enter the game, buy a bow and some Arrows, grab an Enchant, and head off into Stoney Field or Dark Woods. Get to Level 8, and clear Cata until you get to Andy. At Level 12-13, go to Far Oasis, and clear out Maggot Lair. At Level 15, you're going to need a Raven Claw, which is a unique Long Bow that shoots Fire Arrows and does some major spread damage with Enchant. If you can't find one of these, stick with your current bow. Do Tomb Runs until you get to Level 20-21. From here, do Norm Cow Runs until you get to Level 25.

Now comes the really easy part. Find someone to rush you to Hell Act 4 so you can CS. At this time, you should be able to wear all or most of your rushing gear, so your resists shouldn't be a problem. Finish your leveling here.

Rushing Tips
One, and Only One
It's common knowledge that the characters you're rushing have to be in the area in order to complete the quest while you kill for them. But did you know that you only need just one person without the quest to be present? For example, if you're rushing three people, and you're killing Andy, only one person without the Andy quest needs to be in the immediate area while you kill. The other two can leech the quest from town. To my knowledge, this works for all quests in the game.

Getting Mobbed?
Although this Sorc can handle a rush by itself, you will eventually run into uncontrollable mobs. For example, you may encounter a mob of Ghoul Lords and/or Unravelers with a bunch of Blunderbores thrown in there when you're at the Orifice in Hell Act 2. In this case, it's just best to remake the rush game and pray you don't get the same result.

Another option is to try and lead away the mobs from your destination and Tele away or pick them off one-by-one. This will take a little more time and patience, but it can be done.

Strategic TP Placement
As I said in the beginning of this guide, some strategic TP placement will help you during the rush. The main thing to remember is to keep the surrounding area around the TP clear of monsters. The following are some screenshots of where I like to place my TPs for the rushees to sit while I complete the quest for them.

Catacombs Level 4 - Right wing of the throne room
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5842/andyq.jpg

Viper Claw Temple Level 2 - Directly on the altar
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1714/viperc.jpg

Arcane Sanctuary - Near the steps to the Summoner
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2534/summoner.jpg

Travincial - Behind the Council platform
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5845/trav.jpg

Durance of Hate Level 3 - Circular peninsula near the portal
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9338/mephh.jpg

Chaos Sanctuary - Behind the wall/statue while killing Diablo
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/473/diablo.jpg

If you're getting mobbed, place your TP close to the action and call your rushee. Tell him to die and stay dead while you complete the quest or clear the area.

Taking on Hell Travincial
Hell Travincial is the hardest battle you're going to encounter when rushing, but this build can handle it. It's best to go in with an inventory of Health and Mana Potions. Also, you will need to hit town two or three times to heal and restock on Potions.

Before you engage the Council, kill any Hierophants and Night Lords that could possibly attack you within the Council platform. If there are any on the Council platform, leave them alone. The mobs might sometimes be too big to deal with, so just remake the game.

Next, lead the Council Minions away from the main three, and take them out with Orb. Once you're finished, take on the main Council Members one by one.

Gelab Flamefinger is the easiest of the three because he is never Cold Immune, so Orb him from a distance until he dies. You can do the same with Ismail Vilehand, but if he spawns as Cold and Fire Immune, there's a good chance that you will have to face him and Toorc Icefist, who is always Cold and Fire Immune, at the same time. For both Council Members, get close, and Static them until they are down to a sliver of their life and use Nova until they die.

Other Issues
20 CM Vs. 17 CM
17 points into CM produces a 100% piercing effect to an enemy's Cold Resistance (CR) before damage is calculated. For example, if a monster's CR is 0, subtract 100 from it, and it would have -100 CR.

One thing to note is that the game caps all Elemental Resistance reduction to -100%. Using the monster's 0 CR example again, a maxed out CM produces a 115% piercing effect, but since the game caps Res reduction at -100, instead of -115 CR, it will still remain -100 CR. This is where the 17 points into CM argument wins.

However, not all monsters you come across have 0 CR. A quick example is Ismail Vilehand in Hell Difficulty. Assuming he isn't Cold Immune, he will always have 33% CR. From personal experience, I can tell you right now that the extra 15% from a maxed CM does make a significant difference, especially when facing the other Council Members.

With that said, 17 CM or 20 CM, the choice is completely up to you.

Breaking Elemental Immunities?
Speaking of immunities, if a monster has any elemental immunity, it is completely immune to that elemental attack. In this case, even if your CM is higher than the monster's CR, if it shows "Cold Immune," you will not do a single point of Cold Damage to it. The only ways to break elemental immunities are using a high-level Conviction aura from a Paladin or a high-level Lower Resistance curse from a Necromancer.

Conclusion
If there's anything significant I should include in this section, please PM me so I can include it in the next update.

Thanks for reading!

Excellent guide mate

I had a feeling it would include firewall but wasn't sure with nova although I makes alot of sence. Have you got an estimate on how long it usually takes to complete a rush this way? If so it will be easier for each individual to determine what method might work better for them. Some might prefer to rely on friends to help with the hard parts of a rush while others prefer to be able to do things themselves.

I have a feeling I will get to try one of these soon lol

viable tri-elemental build, for sure...
but if you need to reroll game in some situation, and if your purpose is only rushing, then i think a 2-element also do the job, more faster.
use basic build orb+firewall or orb+fb for that, reroll game some times at Hell travi and Hell Cs.
i like your 3-element build only to have fun in playing Hell alone !

yeah, definitly a solo sorz build alternative

very nice, will have to try this

Thanks, mate!

Obviously, working with friends to complete a rush will take a significantly shorter amount of time than if you did it alone, and it is much better doing it that way. However, the purpose of this guide is for people who don't have other characters that can handle the harder parts, Hell Travincial being the prime example.

As for the time it takes to rush, I can tell you that rushing from Norm Act 1 to Hell Act 2 will take a relatively normal amount of time to complete, whatever that means for each person. Where it begins to lag a bit is Hell Claw Viper Temple Level 2 or Arcane Sanctuary near The Summoner. Both places can be swarmed with Cold Immunes, and trying to clear the area of Cold Immunes and other clusters will take a bit of time. In these situations, I recommended remaking the game and praying for lesser or no crowding in these areas.

Hell Trav is where you notice a significant addition in time to the rush because you have to pick off the Council one-by-one. With a WW Barb or Hammerdin, you'll get through this part much faster, but again, this guide is for those who don't have that luxary.


I've already tried an Orb + Fire Wall build, but it fails miserably at Hell Trav when I'm trying to kill Toorc Icefist. He will always spawn as Cold and Fire Immune, and even though I have Static to knock his HP down and one point into Nova to try and finish him off, he heals too fast to kill with a weak Nova.

As for suggesting Orb + FBall, sure, you can aim, but a maxed out FBall with maxed Fire mastery doesn't do enough damage to effectively take out a small cluster of Cold Immunes.

i rlly like ur guide but um therse just 1 smallthing i dont agree with
i dont think u should use 10 pts nova or nova at all. besides being a beast on ur mana, its not as good as TS.
1 point in ts can do about 150 dmg. and against ne lightning immunes, this means that instead of um switching between static n nova, u just spam static until they are dead, not just until they are low. And nething that isnt light immune is gonna die from static alone anyway, so just static him down to 150 and let ts kill him. Nova is a bit of a waste since u cant static while novaing.

otherwise real cool guide

This works in theory, but have you tried using TS over Nova on your Rusher?

You'll get Toorc down to a sliver of his life by spamming Static, but he will heal fast enough even in a 2-player game before TS hits. You need to do enough constant damage in order to actually kill him before he heals.

um yes. I've been doing it in single player wit both 'shopped gear from charsi' and the full irathas set / shard
just walk 1 step, static, walk 1 step. Toorc died in /players 8 game in no time at all

i can c how it would be tough to keep up static spam if ur level of static is rly low. u gotta remember that static is really ur #1 killer vs bosses n stuff, and it really puts u in harms way at lvl 1. so 10 points is very much a good idea.

Okay, w/e floats your boat.

Also, I've received several PMs about including a Durimule mini-guide, so I may do this on my next update.