// Useful Abbreviations:
// clvl - Character Level
// SC - Small Charm
// Res - Resistance
// Fcr - Faster Cast Rate
// Fhr - Faster Hit Recovery
// Bp - Breaking Point
// Fcr bps for FB sorc - 105/200
// Fhr bps for FB sorc - 86/1421. IntroductionFire sorcs are not that popular nowadays as they were back in 2008 when I used to play a lot, though I think we needs a refreshed guide for 2.4 and D2r.
There are lots of PvP ES guides in
Sticky Sorceress Guides though, there isn't a pure vita, which is actually quite cheap and fast to build compared to the ES builds, also very fun to play. It doesn't require any trophy rare diadems or amulets unlike my 71% ES Sorc build from US East
In this guide I'll give you the optimum items to aim for and some dueling techniques, that I use to win most of my Sorc vs Caster duels, which are actually very easy!
This sorceress has 75 FHR and 105 FCR, while the new changes in FHR in D2r make that 86fhr breakpoint obsolete, so we stick with the lower one, and toss out that 12fhr Fire Skiller
Enjoy.
2. Skills:~ Cold None
~ Lightning1 - Telekinesis
1 - Teleport
~ Fire1- Warmth
1- Enchant
1- Inferno
1- Blaze
1- Fire Wall
20 - Fire Bolt
20 - Fire Ball
20 - Meteor
20 - Fire Mastery
20 - Hydra
Skill Hydra last, we maxed out on skills at clvl 96.3. Stats:Strength - 146*
Dexterity - 0
Vitality - Rest
Energy - 0
Wearing Ethereal Spirit lets us allocate additional 10 pts into Vitality, which is another ~36hp, if you paly a lot of duels vs Barbs and Bowazons it will still take a while to break, and now an old trick - you can repair eth items once at Anya by personalizing it 
On another note, how expensive it will cost you to find eth base and roll a new one?4. Items:Main Hand: Hoto 40
Off Hand: ETH* Spirit 35fcr
Head:Shako /w Jah
Chest: Enigma (mine is Breast Plate for the yellowish look in D2r, also with such a low str req on Enigma you I've put only 6 pts into Strength)
Amulet: Mara 30
Hands: Magefist
Rings: 2x SoJ
Belt: Arachnid Mesh
Boots: Sandstorm Trek 15/15
SWAP: Cta 6/6/x + ETH Spirit
Total of 3 Runewords and 7 Unique items, pretty easy to build!5. Inventory40+ Life Fire Skillers x9
20Life/11 Fire Res SC x5
20Life/11 Lightning Res SC x2
20Life/11 Cold Res SC x3
Annih 20/20/x
Torch 20/20
Just find yourself a 9x Skiller pack and the rest can't b easier.6. Problems to focus on for budget gearWith current max roll gear we are missing 40 Fire Res and some Light Res, that's why we use 20 Life + resist small charms, so focus on max res when you calculating cheaper gear
Also the Shako can have a Perfect Ruby, the difference is just a few points
7. Dueling Strategies:I'm not gonna go deep into the dueling strats here, if you just wanna join a pub game and smash, your first choice of duel is casters - easy and straightforward.
7.1 Say "g" and start throwing fireballs at your opponent while your focus is at the minimap.
Try to to find a pattern in the enemy (trust me, most of them go clockwise teleporting or counter clockwise) so you can throw several fireballs in a line that will catch them by surprise, you have no idea how often this will work. Once you shoot a train of fireballs, teleport straight into them and repeat, this will create a double train and will
almost always guarantee you a kill.
7.2 Use Hydra! Hydra in 2.4 is very very strong, and absolutely a nightmare to play against. We use it instead of Meteor to zone players from their conform zones on the map. use your imagination, combined with the basic strategy you learn in 7.1
7.3 Name Lock - now this is hard, but will practice you will learn. It is the main concept and skill with every character that uses Enigma. There are plenty of guides and videos on this so Google it
But you can win duels as a newbie even with the main strategy
7.4 Meteor - I use this mainly with ghost sins and Barbarians, those are the classes that usually go full blown ape charging any sorc, so don't hesitate to Teleport yourself into a falling Meteor while the enemy melee hero is trying to jump on your head. 45k Damage hurts!
7.5 Practice makes the skill. Practice your duels, shouldn't take more than 2-3 weeks to fully master the main concepts and develop your own playstyle. You have unlimited Teleports and Mana, use it to stall a duel when need to or to piss off a barbarian. Playing defensive is not Bad Manners, unless you exploit it.
8. Energy Shield vs Vita Build:Pros : Lots of damage, affordable and easy to build, hydra
Cons :You can tank one hit less in specific situations
Let me explain, first thing's first - sorcs in general are a bad pvp class, there are better caster that can tank more, do more damage with the same build (ex. Elemental druid) but it's far more rewarding when you win an uphill battle, right?
Every sorc matchup is in favor of the opponent, same could be said for the skill bracket - if you practice enough you can even beat trappers!
ES won't make you exceptionally tanky, ES will just make every enemy necro crying to put Infernos, only benefit is that you can soak up some damage and regen it faster, but at the cost of 40 Skills points which means no hydra, which is also a main part of this 2.4 build.
Now since you have ES you need 20/17s charms, so it gets far more complicated.
If you want to get a pvp char that's hella fun in no time - go vita. If you want to bang your head and read 10 guides on ES and still be confused then do it. In my signature I have my grail sorc from US East - 71%ES 200fcr 17k dmg, if you want to take a look at that also.
9. End Result:TL:DR: Vita gives us Hydra and tons of damage, a PvP Character that you can build in just one day. No rares or crafts required.115 fcr
75 fhr (you don’t need more in 2.4)
3700 Life (4450 with Oak Sage) (with 45 Lifers and clvl 99 comes to 3937 Life and 4800 with Oak Sage)
18% Physical dmg reduction
20 Life Replenish
24k dmg Fireball
25k dmg Firebolt
5.5k dmg Hydra
44k dmg Meteor
P.S: If this build gets on the sticky page I'll create videos with the several dueling techniques I personally use and put them here in this guide!
This post was edited by emptyfolder on Jun 4 2022 08:50am
D2:R