Looking for Hardcore expert opinions on which is the tankiest version of a Light Sorc, Nova or Lightning?

And, which build works best with max Telekenises / Energy Shield? Would you rely on ES at all for HC Sorc?

Lightning is not an ES build.

Nova is an ES build.

Nova sorc:
Sorc holds infininty
Merc holds insight

Thanks; can Lightning be made to be tanky enough with pure Vita and no ES? Or is it safer to just stick with ES Nova

I’ve never died on any pvm char once it is geared

Pvm is brain dead easy. Regardless of HC or SC.

How much are you going to spend on the char?

Both are fine if you build them out enough.

No character is ultra tanky in hc. No matter how great a build you have, with botted and duped gear and charms, you will die sooner or later if you play mindlessly and recklessly. The right monster pack can deal thousands of damage in quick session. So one has no other choice in hc than to play defensively. Only by being good at reading the game and being wary about possible packs can you be effective and survive. Of course, the more optimal your gear is, the more risks you can take if you are experienced and know where you can take risks and not.

But the terms tankiness and hardcore don't mix in diablo 2.

This post was edited by Taurean on Oct 28 2022 02:17pm

For hardcore... you want to use cheap but effective gear...

This is what i recommend for sorceress on hardcore (speaking LOD idk about d2r)

Wiz spike = #1 wep
tals armor or 13 mdr vipermagi (tals for mf % best)
Stormshield = YES on sorceress with max block
Griffons with facet
belt = tals belt
ammy = tals ammy
rings = natures peace perfect / dwarf star perfect
gloves = trangs
boots = hotspurs *Must have hotspurs on every hc char***

You should facet the wiz spike / tals armor / stormshield / griffons with -5% facets (+% doesn't matter as much)

Another option instead of griffons is shako with facet which would be good cuz it has mf
another option instead of tals armor or vipermagi is enigma cuz it has mf% and life per kill

either way your resists will need some charms for resists... buy single 10-11% resist sc until your maxed out of every category for resists ( don't spend money on 5@ charms if you broke, the 10-11% resists sc's work just as good )

SKILLS:
16-20 points telekenesis
1 pt energy shield
20 points lightning
20 points lightning mastery
20 points chain lightning
rest into charged bolt
1 pt warmth
1 pt all the cold shields (frozen armor shiver armor ect)
1 pt thunderstorm
1 pt teleport




merc = infinity / 15%ias/30fire res andy / ebug fort



that's what i used ... aim for 120% fcr (it's ok if you have less)

doing safe runs i've almost never rip'd a character...

if building NON sorceress these pieces of gear are essential to almost any character

Hotspur boots + Stormshield + shako + tals belt + resist sc's

Thats what keeps you alive...

Max block characters

Incorrect.

There are very tanky builds that don't give a shit about any pack.

My hammerdin back in the day could stand between mobs and pretty much yawn at them - with TG, raven, dwarf, max block (via holy shield ofc) and 34% dmg reduced, there was pretty much nothing that could REALLY hurt it.
My necro didn't give two shits about "incoming damage" because there was never any damage worth mentioning.

With certain builds, the only thing that can kill you is lag/disconnect. Granted, you won't be doing as much damage as you would on SC.

A few builds (absorbs/pdr/mdr) can withstand a disconnect as well, but nobody wants to play them because they're boring and have very low damage.

You don't need botted or duped gear, having a brain is enough.

Lightning can snipe from across the screen so you can play much safer than nova and kill much faster.