Hi all! I'm looking to setup a max block swap for my ES Cold sorc and I'm debating between stormshield and whitstans (Luna).

Now that we can upgrade Whitstans, I can hit 74-75% block without any points in dex! (19 from circlet, 16 from amulet, 15 + 15 from two FCR rings, 25 from shadow dancers, eld or ko rune in whitstans both give the same % block). However, I would only have 8% DR from COH alone.

If I run stormshield I can get around 54% block without any points in dex, but I get 43% total DR from SS + COH which is really nice as well! I'm curious what the general consensus is for an ES sorc build (70% ES). Would it be better to run 75% block with no DR or to run 54% block with 43% DR?

Math wise tells me:
1 - (1-% block) * (1-%DR) * (1-%Energy Shield) = total damage reduction

1 - (.25)*(.92)*(.30) = 92.5% total damage reduction*

1 - (.46)*(.57)*(.30) = 92.1% total damage reduction*

Which seems to suggest whitstans is superior by a tiny margin, but I'm also curious to see if there are any other factors I'm not account for that would be important. I feel like 75% block also helps a ton with regards to getting hit by poison which then will tick dmg but not sure how poison dmg stacks from barb whirlwinds and zon arrows. If I get hit by two shots that would apply poison dmg does the length just double or does it tick twice as fast? Any input appreciated!

If you can get 20 from Anni and another 20 from a Torch, that's 40 more dex. Run a Hoto, it'll give you +10 dex. Lose FCR on Circlet, but run a 20 dex Ko'd or Faceted NW instead (Ko for 30). 40 + 10 + 11 (30 - 19 from Circlet) = 61 more dex. Could buy a few Cold GCs with 3-6 dex if you needed, or just dump a few points cause why not?

Depending on what you have for an amulet, you could try to craft for a 2 Sorc/10 fcr/10 chance to block/ safety amulet with dex/mana mods. Between 60 dex and another 5-10% CTB, I think you could hit max block with SS. Such an amulet would be hard to land, and likely impossible to find in the market since hardly anyone crafts Safety Amulets.

This post was edited by eric1014153 on May 28 2022 07:20pm

Yeah my anni and torch are 20/20 and 20/19 so I'm already capped there. I do run a fathom right now and have a hard time dropping since its just soooo much dmg for cold. Do you think its worth dropping fathom for hoto on a MB setup? My circlet is 19 dex base, so its only one less dex than a perfect nightwings but I might consider a ko or 9 dex jewel instead of a cold facet for the circlet I'm using right now.

whistanssave the points u would put into strength and put into vitality

It just largely depends if you're doing high or low player games & if you're SC or HC. I would say if you're comfortable using Fathom and Facets at the cost of 25% MB, then stick with that and just use SS since you're already running ES. Hoto would just make it easier if you're strictly wanting Max Block on top of ES (which largely feels redundant in it of itself), but the damage Fathom is too good for kill speed. Hoto also has 20 replenish life, which is substantially better with ES builds due to the percentage it restores relative to max hp, but not needed.

Nightwing would give you 15% CD on top of 1 dex, so it's just a matter of what the rest of the stats are from the Circlet, FCR and Res mainly. Your damage would increase by a considerable amount though since even without a facet you're doing 5-10% more damage depending on the circlet socket roll (-res shouldn't matter since your CM is probably peaked anyway). So you could Ko it instead of Facet, have more dex, and still have more raw damage. 2 all skills would boost your CTA by a bit too.

I already invest the strength for my regular spirit setup though so that won't be any extra points of strength I need to worry about.

do not use block on es sorc
do not use fcr ring on es sorc
do not max fire skills on blizz sorc


if you have any other question lmk

Wait you don’t think it’s a good idea to have a Mac block swap just in case for zons? I was dueling one zon in game and they told me I should definitely have a Mac block setup ready for the hard matchups

OP bowas
Chargers
Kicksins
Throwbarbs
If they fix ww.
Hammerdins.

Nothing wrong with mb on sorc.

The things u needed the most mana for was when stunned by assassins, stun got nerfed.
FB sorc tank you anyway, u must outplay them nomatter what mana you have.
So you drop mana and is slightly less effective vs nec/sorc etc, but u gain epic defense vs many meta chars.

Ill try to find nice mb build later, had inzane mb sorc on d2lod. But that one used 4 bugged items, so aint possible on d2r.

This post was edited by gel87 on May 29 2022 12:14am

Did a fb mb with inzane psn res.
https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/f10106pg

Ill do cold after. As you can see it has inzane pr and plr.
13 mdr.
Max block.
Awsome for tournements as an example. Should have more dmg based gear, and snakecord can be swapped easy with arach or strings depening on needs.

Cold sorc is a bit harder due to 20fcr DF and should be using facets.

Here it is without focus on psn, but more on dr and even more mdr.
https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/6k0106b1

This post was edited by gel87 on May 29 2022 01:31am