Hey all, saw people attempting to figure out how to gear a cold sorc, so I figured I would put in my input on it since I max leveled my sorc as a blizzer a few ladders ago. It's more of a fun build, especially since it was nerfed, so I assume people just want to optimise it for fun, because it is going to be the slowest sorc spec no matter how you tweak it. Cold sorc is mostly a pvp spec really. Anyway, my first advice to those wanting to play endgame coldsorc, is not to play it at all! Lightning sorcs and fire sorcs are faster, and coldsorcs are nothing more than a novelty at this point for pvm. Post-nerf cold sorc is also more difficult to gear, so it is mostly impractical at this point. I also won't be testing this char any further because I've already gotten max level, so I am just theorycrafting out of what I already know The only point of debate is whether to use Ormus+Doom or Faceted/Whale armor+Death's Fathom (the latter is actually the expensive option because you will have to start using JMOD and stuff for the -res. With Doom you are more flexible on the other gear choices). The rest don't need much deliberation.

https://maxroll.gg/d2/d2planner/wr01062a

Sorc skills/Cold skills fcr circlet faceted - already BIS over Nightwing's prior to nerf. Nightwing's is now even more redundant now that facets are mandatory
Trang's - BIS
Arach - BIS
JMOD faceted - only use for JMOD. This is only if you are going to spend tons on res/stat rings, ammy and inventory. The more realistic choice would be Stormshield, Sanctuary or Moser's faceted
Doom - Best choice by far with the CM nerf
Tri-res boots - Or shadow dancers if you can get the res from rings/ammy
Ormus faceted
Sorc skills/15+fcr/res/mana ammy
Fcr ring res/mana
soj or wisp for soul-infested areas

Inventory: Cold skillers and res all/single res small charms w/ life/fhr, torch, anni and sunder. Only LR/FR must be maxed.

Mercenary: Infinity ca/cv, Andariel ias/fr, Fortitude - COH+Flickering Flame is good for extra fr, but I don't like to rely on it for that


STATS AND SKILLS:

Mostly common sense. Some people get this wrong, however.

Skills:
Blizzard - max
Ice Blast - max
Ice Bolt - max
Teleport/Warmth/Frozen Armor/Frozen Orb - a point each
Static Field - add points until 13-15 yard radius
Glacial Spike - max this last
Cold Mastery - add until enough -cr, then start maxing GS

Stats:
Enough STR for all gear, DEX for MB, rest to vitality






To comment further on cold sorc in full game TZs:


-You will have to get maxed block to be efficient in TZs. It's not about skill or about working harder or w/e. It's just that character placement is important for this char. You want to be able to place your char correctly to keep the monsters walking to their deaths, while spamming Static Field and Ice Blast. If your char can't tank, you will be very inefficient

-You use Static not only to cut the health on everything in half, but also as a means of aggro. You are trying to get things to walk at you and into your attacks, because your main skill basically has a very crappy AOE. You will have to get a few points here for optimal use. I would recommend adding points until Static Field is about 14-15 yards

-Doom aura will slow you down. The clear speed on a cold sorc depends on how fast you can get a screen full of enemies to walk into your attacks. This is why doom aura will slow you down, because you will be too slow with the HF aura on them. It also does not contribute in the way of defense because it does not help with the initial volley from monster groups, where all the spike damage is coming from. Only MB will help against those, not Doom aura or w/e. Most good sorcs would have already killed the bulk of the monsters by the time the aura activates, anyway. There are almost no upsides to it, but only downsides. Basically we would want to stay away from using the freeze aura as much as possible, but people would probably just use Doom anyway

-I would recommend some swaps against TZs that are infested with Burning Souls. This was simple pre-nerf because all that was required was swapping in tgs+fcr circlet and swapping out arach+nightwing. Post-nerf swapping a wisp in place of SOJ would probably suffice, but I have not tested that yet

-Most of the non-immune groups are melee. Those will be very easy to kill because their movements are easy to predict, and also because when monsters are walking around under your blizz(s) they will take far more than the listed damage, because of overlapping hitboxes when they are walking around. The ranged units take much more time for a cold sorc to kill, and many of those are CI. This is why Doom will be BIS over Death's Fathom, if you are planning on using your sorc for anything more than cbaaling or grushing. In addition, a lot of the good TZs have a ton of immunes, so you will have to bring Doom there. Death's Fathom is ineffective for TZs

just make nova

saw jmod and dipped, like any sensible person would

Actually JMOD has a few uses for pvm. You need MB to minimise spike dmg, but you don't rely on DR for pvm because you are constantly amped anyway. So JMOD is a good choice here. It is irrelevant to talk about stats/res because the main priority for a pvmer is to increase dps. As for whether you require the dps or not, you are going to require the dps increase even more post-CM nerf. The cold immune monsters are some of the most slippery targets in the game (Oblivion Knights, Witches and Vampires), have to 1-2 shot kill them before they start scattering everywhere. You will have to be able to kill those quickly or you will be missing a ton of exp from TZs.



That's no fun. That would be too good!

I just want to make things as difficult for myself as possible, so that I have a game on my hands!