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EnergyShield FireBall sorc's (or ESFB's), kill just about every other 49 Build. They are easy to make, easy to equip, easy to play and do massive damage. They have no real weaknesses and with practice you can become unstoppable!
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Break Points:

FCR: always have 105 FCR.
FHR: always aim for 86fhr. If you are using an orb in certain matchups, you might not need as much fhr.

Maxblock with whitstans. Your freekill vs alot of builds if you don't have maxblock.
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Stat Placement:

Str for gear (70 for gothic armour build, 60 for frostburn build, 53 for eth frost + whitstans build)
Dex for max block
Energy everything else.
Vita none, you are ES build
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Gear:

When it comes to gear you really dont have to switch too many items. Whitstans for maxblock (vs Melee), Lidless for vs elemental (can also use damage armour vs elemental). A cold res setup is also a good thing to have (but you can win without it). Without further ado:
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Weapon(s):

1. Spirit 35fcr. Barbs's have Oath, Sorcs have spirit. The mods really speak for themselves.
2. 2fire 3fb 2sox + adds orb. Not many Sorcs will be teleporting around the bloodmoore with this.

Switch

1. Memory 9es + ca (+ench if you want to be fancy). You use the memory to cast Energy Shield, thereby saving points as you dont have to put any hard points into it. In short, your build is based on this item.

Armour

1. Vipermagi. can be socketed with a Pskull, a PSaphire or an IMBA jewel (stats + mana).
2. 4sox armour x4 facets (for a facet build when you are using a fcr ring).

There are not many reasonable alternatives here i have to admit.

Boots.

1. Craft 40mana 10fhr 5max mana 10regen + adds.
2. Waterwalks. 15dex, 65life, 5max fire res. all in all some very good mods here.
3. tri-res boots (useful in tvt).

Gloves.

1. Frostburns. We are ES build, we want as much + % mana as we can get.

Amulet.

1. 2fire 10fcr + 7x + mana + adds. the more good adds, the better, adds can me str/dex/life/res etc. you generally wont be swopping your amulet.

Rings.

1. 2 sojs

Shield.

1. Whitstans "Shael"
2. Lidless "PRuby", Lidless "PTopaz"
3. stash 3 sox cold res shield with 100+ cold res, for when you need it.
4. Sanctuary (optional). for all res (if your dueling in nightmare / hell)

Circlet.

1. 2fire 20fcr + adds
2. 3fire 20fcr 2 sox. The +1 fire and 2 sox, means that this magic circlet (with the right jewels) is the same as:2fire, 20fcr,7fhr,17str,17dex,30life,8 energy,66mana,all res 9
3. 3fire 100 life 2 sox (when using lidless and when you dont use gothic faceted.)

Belt.

1. 24fhr 10fcr + life + mana + res (+str). The better the belt, the better. Good belts are hard to get!
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My Sorc's current gear:

[img]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2074/pic3r.jpg]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2074/pic3r.jpg[/img]

some of the gear that I have waiting for her on ladder:

[img]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4228/pic1oj.jpg]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4228/pic1oj.jpg[/img]
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Invent:
x10 (orx9) 1 fire 30 life skillers
x10 20/17's (19/17's are good too!) if you used 9 skillers, you can add an additional 3 sc's.
The key here is damage and mana.
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Skills:
1 warmth
1 telekenesis
1 teleport
1 inferno
1 blaze
1 firewall
2 mastery
20 fireball
20 firebolt

The rest in meteor. Some will say put only 1 point into mastery. 2 points gives you slightly more damage. Some would also suggest maxing meteor in full and dropping the rest into firebolt.
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Your Sorc should now look similar to this:

[img]http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7645/soson.jpg]http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7645/soson.jpg[/img]

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"THE" Cross-Realms Best ESFB'er" (Alongcomesmary's character, europe non-ladder.) http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=27172733&f=103
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Congratulations! You have made a cookie cutter ESFB. Before going into detail for each class please note: when in doubt, NL telestomp. You have built a monster, therefore go forth and crush your opponents! However, All builds can be difficult to beat when used by an experienced player on a good (or itemlame) character. When in doubt, take your time vs your opponent, you have a massive mana pool and it regenerates pretty fast!

Amazons.

Bowazon, Medium-Hard.
Telestomp? Yes. Use 75% (max)block. In order to win this duel you should continually telestomp, with the occasional use of telekenesis to knock the amazon off balance. You can also mix it up by casting the occasional firewall. Def whoring is not the idea here and neither is dueling at mid or long range. Crush the amazon. If the amazon is firing more then 2 arrows at you at a time, without moving, it means you are not telestomping her enough. This duel is one of the main reasons why you want CA on your memory, it helps alot!

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtmmwzcvSCU
Alternate (better) Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TxOUfq-O_M
Note the use of telestomp in these duels and how attacking from a distance (last duel) is suicide.

PlagueZons, easy-medium

Treat a Plaguezon as if you would a Bowazon, but be mindful of their throw damage. One hit will reduce you to 1 life. Use your aim. Their goal is to hit you with one poison java, then just run around being defensive/trying to hit you with plague java/bow slot. Don't let them get the hit. Stay defensive and use your aim, be aware that plague java spreads out pretty far actually, so don't stand close to it when it's casted. One trick is in knowing that there is a cooling down period for Plague, therefore a quick telestomp might work.

Javazon. Easy-Medium

Telestomp? No. dont telestomp a java often as you can be killed nearly instantly (telestomp works sometimes though!). For dueling Java's, use the middle distance. Cast fireball trains but make sure the java does not get too close. If the Java is chasing you, make sure your teleport's are at a distance to allow you to remain safe while firing a fireball train. Fast Java's that sync, will be hard to catch; the important thing is to not chase them and play your own game. When in doubt, take your time with this duel. You dont need to namelock, or telestomp. Treat them the same as a barb or rabies druid.

VS (manual) FC'ers, stay out of their screen, or teleport in, spam, and then teleport quick 2 screens away.

Sorceress

Blizzard Sorcs' (es & vita) Medium-Hard*vita is hard*

Telestomp? Yes. But be sure to have enough cold resistance. Try to telestomp after the blizz sorc has just cast Blizzard at you, there is a timing delay - if you are quick enough you can attack the sorc before he can recast blizzard. If the Blizz has 85fire res he will survive your initial attack, which means that unless he's already low on life, it might be advisable to restomp or teleport away. If the blizz is very strong, or you have low cold res, mirroring your opponents play style (def whoring!) will also work but you must avoid namelocks. Spam x3 fb's at a time from afar, tele, repeat. This works pretty well vs alot of builds. If the blizz is def whoring you might be better off not telestomping, because thats what hes waiting for (he will cast blizzard over his character). Instead, teleport close to him, avoiding the blizzard, and fireball him.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oZ1rz1CLd0

(Note the amount of telestomps that the ESFB did in this duel. However, last duel is the better way to do it - teleport close to the Blizz and spam.)

ESFB (Mirror)

Namelock skills and experience will usually win these duels. Gear is of course an important factor in alot of duels though! (Especially if your opponent can tank 2-3 more fireballs then you can! Practice namelock telestomp vs as many different classes as you can (remember, dont try it vs a paladin or assassin!) to prepare you for dueling ESFB's. Use superior aim/dodging skills to snipe them from afar, telestomping when you feel safe.

If your opponent is simply better, all is not lost; When someone namelock stomps you, they spawn above you. Northface (firing fireballs up) to counter namelock is quite often very effective. Meteor can help in these instances as well. A quick teleport to the side and firing where you were a moment ago, can be quite effective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWrg2z-TXiU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwl24kvg3o

(Notice the namelock telestomps, 1st duel, 1st link. Notice the counter, northface firing at the end of the first duel, 2nd link.)

LightSorc,(vita) Hard-Very Hard

Light sorc's will use thunderstorm and it is very powerful vs you. Thunderstorm interupts your attacks, its auto-firing and auto-targeting. The only plus is that the range is not too far and lightning itself has a much lower range then fireball. Stay offscreen and use your aim to snipe them. Telestomp when you can, but don't stay on their screen for too long. 1 Lightning attack can drain your mana to zero. All they need to do is tele around you in circles and TS will drain your mana and kill you. Just stay off screen as much as you can, and telestomp if you get the chance, but remember, as with a Blizz sorc, if they can take your initial stomp, their counter attack is fatal for you.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me53QYoBI-Y

(remember: vita light sorcs' can tank more.)

Assassin

Note: When dueling all types of Assassin, the last thing you want them to do, is cast a trap and then DragonFlight you. Avoid this.

Lightning Sentry [LS] Assassin, Medium-Hard.

Lightning Sentry does crazy damage to your manapool. Keep your distance, spam, and avoid namelock. Also, be very careful where you teleport as the trap damage is crazy. Small teleports or knowing where your opponent has his traps, is advisable. Dont teleport in straight lines. If a trap triggers it fires in a straight line. You can actually treat LS-Assassins like Lightning sorcs: LS interupts your attacks, its auto-firing and auto-targeting and it has a good range vs you. Stay offscreen (or you will be LS+DF+MB'd) and use your aim to snipe them. You should know the range of your fireballs, use the range to your advantage. Telestomp when you can, but be very very careful when doing this. don't stay on their screen. Trap damage will drain you mana, stun and kill you very fast. WSG'ing out of Mindblast is advisable.

Wake of Fire [WoF] Assassin, Easy

Unlike a LS assassin, dueling a WoF sin is actually quite easy. Treat them like a LS assassin and you should have no serious problems. WoF is much weaker then LS and its range is limited. It is however, hard to spot and it is very good at stunning your character. The only way you will lose this match is if you get stunlocked by the assassin with Wof + Mindblast (or Wake of Inferno). Keep your distance, be careful where you teleport. You can afford to be a bit more offensive but dont stay in the assassins screen for long!

Kick Assassin, Easy-Medium

Assassins that use kicks have to DragonFlight you; Therefore, dont let them get close. Treat them as a Wofsin; they will likely cast WoF and then DF into you. Avoid this and you should be ok.

Necromancer

PNB Nec, Medium-Hard

The Necromancer will have alot of life and should also have decent FRW. If the Necromancer is using +maxres and % absorb, he wont be a pushover. The trick is to stay onscreen teleporting around him in an unpredictable pattern, while firing fireballs and not giving him any room to manouver. Avoid getting hit by spirits and spears, stay unpredictable. Telestomp will actually work - the trick is to do it as hes running the wrong way. Also, teleporting in front of a running necro can win you the match - casting a train of fireballs at a oncoming necro will hurt him alot! (remember, always stay inscreen). Dont attack from afar - if you allow the necro to play his game, you will be killed by invisible spirits. The duel is similar to dueling a bowa, but its also fundamentally different. You want to stay on your opponent, but you need to be careful with telestomping.

Druid

Rabies, Easy-Medium

Treat a Rabies Druid like a Java without FC but with double life. Telestomp? No. dont telestomp a rabies druid, unless he has absolutely no life left. For dueling Rabies, use the middle-long distance. Cast fireball trains but make sure the Druid does not get too close. If the Druid is chasing you, make sure your teleport's are at a distance to allow you to remain safe. Fast Druids's that sync, will be hard to hit - the important thing is to not chase them and play your own game. When in doubt, take your time with this duel. You dont need to namelock, or telestomp here.

You can survives only 1 hit from rabies (You will need to teleport far away in order to survive - death from rabies only occurs if the dudu is on the minimap).

Barbarian

WW barb, Easy-medium

Barbarians are at the bottom of the food chain vs you @ MLD. Play solid, be patiant and you wont have a problem here. Basically, keep your distance and treat them like a java or a rabies druid. Unlike the Java / Rabies, they usually wont drain all of your life in one second. However, dont try tanking WW's, thats bad play and is liable to get you killed. Like all ground based opponents, Barbarians can run into a well placed fireball train. One useful trick is to (meteor on yourself), wait for the barbarian to get really close, and then teleport away just as hes about to Whirlwind, and spam fireballs at him as he ww's towards you. If done right, this can really hurt your opponent (works vs several builds!). If maxblock is allowed, the barbarian really has little or no chance vs you. stay in screen, even if he his syncing, your superior mobility should give you the win. If maxblock is not allowed, just take your time and you should win. The key vs most of your opponents, is to take your time, and dont let melee get too close. if the barb keeps getting closer and closer, do longer teleports, and no matter what, dont get too close if you chase him.

Finally, in relation to Meteor; like telekenesis, its very underused @ pvp. Its very useful vs paladins, it can be used vs other sorcs, and it can also be used vs land based opponents. When dueling a barb, Meteor can (1) make the barbarian change or run in a different direction, (2) be used for defence as a safe avenue to retreat and (3) be used to litter an area. You can stack additional meteors which are sometimes hard to spot.

Paladin

Libby (hammerdin with Chargeslot),Hard.

Libby's are fast, have alot of life + mana, can sync (turn invisible), have rep life from skill (medi) and have an unabsorbable, unblockable attack (blessed hammer). On switch they have Oath which will hurt alot if it hits. In short, libby's are hard to kill. ESFB vs Libby Duels can sometimes last a very long time. Telestomping wont work in this duel and you really have to be very careful where you teleport. Namelock wont really help much either! Never chase the paladin if he is retreating as in all likelyhood you will be teleporting into a hammerfield. when in doubt, teleport around your opponent, but remember if you teleport in predictable patterns he will catch you. Try spamming fireballs at where you *think* your opponent is going to, chase him if you think hes low on mana, defend if he is all over you. dont stay too close to him for long and never stay in the one place.

Charger,Easy-Medium

Chargers have to get right on top of you to hurt you. Treat them a Java (but faster). Usually the Charger will Namelock charge you – this is a prime opportunity to cast a quick fireball train before teleporting back a screen and repeating. Good Chargers pack a huge punch, so be careful.
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Thanks to: Octogenarian, Belarathon, waramp, zspoonz, maximus_le_roi, bigspot_05, Jawn16, Dyl4nd0u and the LLD community on jsp / ingame.
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This post was edited by _Mork_ on Jan 16 2010 09:04am