Intro
Back by popular demand! With all of the madness ensuing, it's been brought to my attention that this build has become more easily obtainable. It's now V1.14D and Anya (glitch) has been fixed! That's right, anya! Thus allowing us to obtain our resists much easier. So here we go again, V1.14D Cold Pierce Build. Most of you know me as Stories, and everyone knows I Love Svs. With that being said I have played every build imaginable, from Fire to Light to Cold. Pure vitality, vitality with max block, Energy Shield, Es MB, and more. After testing several different builds, I knew I wanted to make a Cold Sorceress capable of standing up with the rest in Gm Sorc Vs Sorc. So with with a significant amount of trial and error, I devised my own build. I’m not some self proclaimed genius, nor do I claim that I am the best Cold Sorceress on East. I have simply discovered a Cold Sorceress build that works wonderfully for Gm Svs and Pvp alike. However I will not be giving budget options, simply put, this is not a budget build.
Section I: Stats
Strength: Enough str to wear your Gear (In all setups)
Dexterity: None
Vitality: Everything
Energy: None
Section II: Skills
Fire Skills:
Warmth – 1 point
Lightning Skills:
Telekinesis – 1 point
Teleport – 1 point
Cold Skills:
Ice Bolt – 20 points
Ice Blast – 20 points
Frost Nova – 1 point
Glacial Spike – 1 points (Max this last!)
Blizzard – 20 points
Frozen Orb – 20 point
Cold Mastery – 20 points
Section III: Equipment
Regardless of what equipment you decide to use, you must always hit 105% Faster Cast Rate and 86% Faster Hit Recovery. Depending on the gear you use, your damage will vary, as well as your life, mana, and resistances. As I stated in the introduction, This is not meant to be a budget build. Sarah has all 100% perfect gear, but I understand that most players can't afford such commodities. While some say Facets are unnecessary, this does not hold true for the impeccable Cold Sorceress, as piercing an enemies resistances is her primary means of taking down even the most resilient opponents. One should note that while resistances may have no bearing on a 95% Energy Shield Sorceress, they are crucial to your survival if you choose to utilize this build. When it comes to Sorc Vs Sorc and Gm rules you are allowed to stack up to 450 Cold Resistance, for us this is quite a problem, so with this guide we will be trying to break that 450 Cold Resistance, so we can actually do some damage to these other sorceress. So, lets begin with the setups we will be using for Gm Sorc vs Sorc.
Diadems
3Cold/100life/2os, 2x 5/-5 Cold Die - Vs Fire
3Cold/20fcr/2'os, 2x 5/-5 Cold Die - Vs Light
3Cold/100life/2'os, 2x 7fhr/8str/4rep/30Cr Red - Vs Cold
Weapons
3Cold (or 2 sorc)/20fcr/3Cmastery/3Blizz/2'os (2x 5/-5 Cold Die) - Vs Fire/Light/Cold
Shields
SoP Mon (35% Fcr) - Vs Fire
(x2) Ethereal Spirit Mon (35% Fcr) - Vs Cold/Light/Bo
Amulet
2sorc/20fcr/life/20@res - Vs Fire/Light/Cold
Armor
100 Life/4'os Armor, 4x 5/-5 Cold Die Red - vs Fire/Light
100 Life/4'os Armor, 4x 7fhr/8str/4rep/30Cr - Vs Cold
Gloves
Bfists - Vs Fire/Light
Trangs - Vs Cold
Belt
Arach - Vs Fire/Cold
Tgods - Vs Light
Boots
30/10/life/rep/30+ Fr/30+ Lr - Vs Fire/Light
30/10/Life/rep/40Cr Boots - vs Cold
Rings (Square Blue)
10fcr/str/life/20+ Lr/20+ Fr - Vs Fire/Light
1x Perf Bk - vs Fire/Light/Cold
1x Perfect Raven - Vs Cold
Inventory
9x 40+ Life Cold Gcs
20/20/x Anni
20/20/x Torch
9x 17+/5, Scs
1x 5/5 Sc
Section IV: Dueling Strategies
It is vital to note that while this is in fact, a Cold Sorceress, the Blizzard skill is by no means your primary means of taking down opponents. Ice Blast is the cold version of Fire Bolt. It can deal immense damage, and also has the advantage of stunning opponents. It is widely beneficial when stomping opponents (discussed later on), and is basically your main offensive attack. Frozen Orb is helpful as well. When dueling, if you find yourself chasing down an opponent with low life, Frozen Orb may be your best option in finishing them off. Blizzard is highly injurious, though it is not always your chief assault. It can be used both offensively and defensively. Telekinesis is your version of Mindblast, though sadly, it isn’t nearly as annoying. Versus opponents with low Faster Hit Recovery, it can be immeasurably profitable.
Hotkeys
Hotkeys are essential. If you are still using the “F” keys as your hotkeys while facing adversaries, it may be time for a change. In this section, I will provide you with a functional hotkey set-up, and an overview of your individual attack methods and their uses.The following is Sarah's hotkey set-up. This is what works for me, and should not be considered your only option. Any variation of this set-up would work fine. It depends on what you are comfortable with. For Sarah, Orb is always on left click. The right click hotkeys are as follows.
Q – Battle Commands
W – Battle Orders
A – Chilling armor
S – Thunder Storm
Z – Teleport
X - Blizzard
C - Ice Blast
V - Telekinesis
Space Bar - Weapon Switch
Attack and Defense Methods
These are some attack methods that many players either use improperly or do not know how to use at all. I will explain how they are done, some of them are difficult to perfect, though with time and practice, they become second nature.
Weapon Switch is important when on the defensive. I will discuss why in this section.
Invisible Blizzard – This is similar to the Paladin’s Desynch, which allows him to seemingly disappear from your map and then reappear unnoticed. Invisible Blizzard is achieved quite simply. While immobile, cast Blizzard in any of the four corners of your Diablo 2 screen. After casting Blizzard, quickly switch to Teleport and move in the opposite direction as quickly as possible. That is to say, if you cast Blizzard in the upper right hand corner, teleport towards the bottom left hand corner. This will not only make your Blizzards invisible on your opponents screen, but also invisible on their Maphack if they use one.
Namelocking – This is done by placing your mouse over your opponents character. Once you have a hold on them and their character name is visible, left or right click and their name will remain in your casting array. Especially with attacks like Blizzard, namelocking will have opponents thinking you are using an Auto Aim hack.
Stomping – This is probably the most useful method of taking down other casters. Stomping is done by namelocking an opponent and teleporting onto their character. Once you have teleported directly onto your opponent, left click for Ice Blast while keeping your mouse steady on their toon. If you lose the namelock while switching to left click, it is probable that your Ice Blasts will hit them anyway, so long as you are facing them. For example, if you stomp an opponent and your Sorceress appears to their left, Ice Blasting to the right (regardless of having them namelocked) will knock them out in a few short seconds. Ice Blast has the benefit of stunning opponents, so once you have your adversary stomped, it’s pretty much game over.
Self Blizzard – Self explanatory, really. Put your mouse over your character and cast Blizzard. Casting Blizzard on yourself, self Blizzard. Duh.
Trailing – Trailing is easy. All you do is Self Blizzard, teleport once in any direction, and repeat. It’s called trailing because you leave a trail of Blizzards in your wake. Again, self explanatory.
Telekinesis Switch – This is just what it sounds like. As I stated, Telekinesis is the Sorceress’s version of Mindblast. If you namelock an opponent, use Telekinesis to stun them. Then, switch to Blizzard while remaining namelocked and the Blizzard will cast directly on top of them.
Weapon Switch Glitch (WSG) – This can be hard to master, but it’s vital to your survival while facing Trapper Assassins and speedy Bowazons. If you find yourself trapped in an Assassin’s Mindblast, press your weapon switch hotkey rapidly while walking or running away. You will quickly be out of your Faster Hit Recovery lock and able to Teleport to safer ground.
Now that I’ve discussed the necessary dueling techniques, it’s time to move on. This is the closing of my guide, there are a variety of ways to deal with individual opponents, However Everyone plays differently, so these may not always work; you must practice using your Sorceress and find the methods that best suit you.
Closing
First and foremost, I would like to thank all the readers for taking the time to look through it in its entirety; I know it’s lengthy, but I was trying to be as thorough as possible. While some of you may disagree, I believe that if you try this build you will find it quite effective. Your satisfaction is important to me! If you have any questions, comments, or observations that you’d like to share, please don’t be afraid to send me a Personal Message. I think you will find I am quite friendly, and awfully forgiving. If you need help with anything, whether it be gear set-ups, dueling strategies, or simple tips, I will be there to assist you.
I wish you the best of luck in building your Cold Sorceress.
Best regards, Stories