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EnergyShield Lightning sorc's (or ESLight's), are regarded as the weakest of the LLD sorc's @ 30. The huge variance in Lightning damage at this level (2-3167) compared to the consistent damage dealt by either a *ESFB (2176-2403) or a *Blizz (Mastery +[Ice Blast 1172-1213] / [Blizzard 1065-1178]) makes the build rather unreliable in certain situations. However, they are easy to equip ( the gear is typically cheaper then ESFB or ESBlizz) and they are still quite strong vs non-teleporting opponents owing to the attack mechanic and mobility (teleport). They have relatively few anti-chars' with only a Trapper being an extreme anti-char.

*Above figures based on Spirit builds.
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Break Points:

Faster Cast Rate (FCR): Always have 105% FCR. I only advocate 117 FCR ( faster Lightning Breakpoint ) in matches where max block is not required.
Faster Hit Recovery (FHR): Always have 86% FHR.

A word on FCR - some people prefer 117FCR (a higher attack breakpoint exclusive to Light sorc's) vs All, however from practice I find that this is not needed and prefer not switching out Frostburns for Magefist.
However, some people would advocate just that. Treat this as user preference.
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Stat Placement:

Strength: 50 (Eth Frostburns should be your highest strength requirement Item)
Dex for max block: 90 (with Visceratuant Shield)
Vita: None, you are ES build
Energy: Everything else.

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Gear:

Unlike some classes, Sorc's don't need much stash gear. This allows you to join and duel vs everything. Typical stash items would be Magefist (20% FCR), Wall of the Eyeless Shield (20% FCR) and a FCR Belt with at least 2% FCR (i.e. 2FCR 24 FHR 5 Replenish Life) for the 117% FCR setup, as well as various types of boots (Max Mana, Blood Craft, Rare).

A Note on Replenish Life – On Europe we Cap Replenish life @ 10 for Sorc's on the basis that you are the aggressor. It is recommended that you always have some replenish life as, especially vs Trappers, it is quite useful. In the absense of Replenish Life from an Item, it is advisable to Pskull either your Circlet Or Viper (or both). I use 1 Pskull and Replenish Life from the 117% setup belt but I continue to look for a 10fcr 24 fhr replenish life belt (cant have enough of them!).

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A quick word on Circlet and Amulet – Light Sorc's are are typically not rated well in terms of results, noting that they are the weakest Sorc Type at this level. Therefore if you do decide to make one, the better the gear, the better the reward (play time).

Circlet:

Starter: 2 Light 20 FCR
Intermediate: Aim for one with Mana, Like: 2 Light 20 FCR 80 Mana
End Goal: 2 Light 20 FCR 30 FRW 60 Life 90 Mana + Adds (2 Sox / Repl / Str / Dex / All Res)

Typically players only consider making a Light sorc if they find a GG Circlet or Amulet, they tend to skip the Starter and Intermediate gear.

Amulet:

Starter: 2 Light 10 FCR 70 + Mana
Intermediate: 2 Light 10 FCR Str/Dex/Repl 70 + Mana
End Goal: 2 Light 10 FCR 60 Life 10 Replenish Life 90 Mana + Adds

Weapon:

Spirit. The standard Weapon is a Spirit Crystal, Long Sword or BroadSword. Eth for Style. Perfect Spirit is 35 FCR 112 Mana and 8 Absorb (cheaper to make one yourself then to buy a perfect one).

You dont want or need an Orb weapon, but they are viable on Vita Setup. [ example: 2 Light 20FCR 3 Lightning 3 Lightning Mastery, if it had Thunderstorm as well..]. Its hard to not use Spirit to be honest noting it brings so much to the table.

Shield:

Visceratuant(Visc) – You dont need to socket the one on switch but the one on the Spirit side would ideally have the following jewel: 6 str 9 dex 15 mana + Damage to Mana (DTM) or Life. Other Jewels would be: 9 Dex 20 mana or 9 Dex 15 All Res or 9 dex 30 Cold Res.

Alternative Shield : Whitstans.

Switch

Starter: any Orb with +3 Energy Shield + Visc
End Goal: Orb 2 Light 3 Energy Shield and + X Cold/Shiver Armor + Visc

Armor:

ViperMagi- Can be socketed with a Pskull if you dont have any replenish quantity from your gear otherwise a 6 str 9 dex 15 mana + Life/Res/DTM Jewel.

No Other Armor Options.

Gloves:

Frostburns. Getting an Eth pair of Frostburns means you save 10 stat points. We are ES build, we want as much + % mana as we can get.
if looking to play 117% FCR breakpoint, you can switch out Frostburns for Magefist.

Belt:

The only viable belts for our build are Crafted Caster Belts noting we want 86 FHR and 105% FCR and that Crafted Belts at Level 30 can grant up to 24 FHR and 10 FCR. These belts are made with the Horadric Cube Recipe : Magic Light Belt + Ith Rune + Perfect Amethyst + Any Jewel.

Kuk's all things crafting: https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=37146632&f=143
Belarathon's fine tuning: https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=83872358&f=143

The Basic Requirement is 24 FHR and 10 FCR

End Goal :

24 FHR 10 FCR 40 Mana 10 Regen Mana
24 FHR 10 FCR 20 Life 20 Mana 10 Regen Mana
24 FHR 10 FCR 20 Life 5 Replenish Life 10 Regen Mana

and for 117% setup:

24FHR 2FCR 40 Mana or 20/20 or 5 Replen. << such belts are relatively easy to make noting you dont need perfect (10) FCR to spawn.

Replenish Life is the highest desired mod once you have 24 FHR and 10 FCR. This allows you to ditch using Pskulls (optional) and replace with a juicy 6str 9 dex 15 mana + add Jewel.

Rings:

x2 Stones of Jordan - We are ES build, we want as much + % mana as we can get.

No other Ring Options.

Boots:

There are actually quite a few boot options, and depending on playstyle / realm, a sorc can really have a wide variety of boots.

Cow King Boots/Sanders Boots
Rare (30FRW/10FHR/Dex/Mana/Res)
Mana Craft Boots
Blood Craft (Replenish Life) Boots

Cow Kings don't grant FHR thus you need to replace x2 Small Charms 15/12 with 5 FHR / 12 Mana if you want to maintain the 86 FHR Breakpoint.
Rare Boots can give you (stacked) resistances if you cant get it elsewhere, and similar to Cow Kings they also grant up to 30 FRW (craft boots cant grant that at 30).
In terms of Rare Boots - With Anya and Viper you already have 65 All Resistance, so its really the FRW that makes these attractive (more so on East where almost every class teleports). In such a scenario - East Boots would look like: 30 FRW 10 FHR 5 Dex 20 Mana + Adds.

Back to Cow Kings - You lose 30 Life and 19 Mana but gain 30 frw with Cow Kings vs Basic Basic Mana Craft Boots (10 FHR 20 Mana 5% Increased Mana). Note that Mana Craft Boots can also spawn with additional mods (including FRW, Res and PLR) which should be considered when determining what boots to use.

All Sorc's should have a source of Replenish Life. Most will start with a Pskull in Viper/Circlet (or both) until such time as they acquire it in Circlet/Amulet/Belt or Boots. In this regard you can craft Blood Craft Boots similar to Basic Mana Boots, i.e. 10 FHR 20 life 10 Replenish Life which would free up a socket for a nice jewel (such as 6 Str 9 Dex 15 Mana 30 Cold Res).

In stash you should also have a pair of Inferno Stride boots (vs Fire Sorc's). These boots grant +Max Resistances. The idea is you wear these, and don't cast Energy Shield (The Alternative is Mana Burned + Dead) - Remember now, Fire Sorc's are strong!

In Summary, If you dont have FRW from your circlet, or if you like 60/70 FRW, Cow Kings or Sanders Boots (or Rares) are a very strong choice for boots.

With Resistances not really being an issue, and the cap on Replenish Life on EU, and with really only sorc's teleporting around, my Light Sorc's typically use Max Mana Boots vs all.

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Invent:

x40 15 Life 12 Mana small charms.

You need 86 FHR at all times, so if you are missing FHR from Boots or Belt, get FHR there. If you have lovely boots missing FHR, use 2 charms 5 FHR 12 Mana. If you are missing a bit Res, get a Jewel with res, try to maintain x40 15/12's.

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Skills:

1 Point Teleport
1 Point Thunderstorm
1 Point Warmth
1 Point Light Mastery
Max Lightning
All remaining points into Charged Bolt

The utility of Thunderstorm offsets the loss of damage in skilling it. Note that if you have an Orb with Thunderstorm, Thunderstorm will only do damage if the Orb in on the attack switch side.

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After all this you should be aiming to perfect your gear (this may take a long time) to get to 800+ Life, 2100+ Mana, 5+ Replenish Life, 86 FHR and 105% Faster Cast with the option of going 117% FCR.
You get bonus points for making the weakest Sorc Element, whilst still being a nightmare to certain classes

Your Character should look something like this:

My Ladder ESLight:



also some non-ladder Items (thx to Frank for screens):



and ofc an Orb ( would consider this on Vita Setup ):




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East vs Euro

East allows higher levels of Replenish Life, FRW limits and the use of tele-staff on everything. Therefore there will be differences in builds / gearing and dueling strategies. There is no right or wrong here, its just different. This guide is based on Euro LLD but can also apply on other realms. I would completely agree that rare 30frw boots are probably best where your opponents have the availability of teleport via Skill or Tele-Stick.

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Dueling Strategies:

I will be quite brief here. Broadly, Learn to namelock if you have not already, Practice makes perfect. Light sorc's typically attack from middle distance, the trick being to jump around your opponent repeatedly. Try not to be predictable, unless predictable = you winning. While you can Stomp some builds (I perma Stomp Bowa's) with other builds you have to mix it up or wittle them down before trying to finnish players off with a stomp.

Bowa

Namelock Telestomp until the amazon is dead or, if you take a big hit, repl your mana and then stomp again. While some players prefer to advocate middle distance vs amazons, I dont subscribe to this. Either strategy can work however.

PlagueZons

Attack from Middle Distance (in screen if you are good enough), dodging the plague's thrown at you. You can try Stomping after a Plague has been thrown as there is a cast delay

A word on Sorc v Sorc Duels

Learn to Namelock. A ESFB will chase you whereas you will usually chase a Blizz (even if they out damage you, they cant help it, its their playstyle). Note that Northshooting is not optimal with a Light Sorc (Northshoot is where you fire up in the knowledge that you are about to be telestomped) due to the attack mechanic of Lightning (as well as its varied damage, vs your opponents damage). ESBlizz and ESFB are both superior in terms of consistent and total damage output so you need to get a couple of hits before even considering to tank (to burn their mana). If they are playing Vita (or simply not casting energyshield, you probably in for a rough time but as always player skill will ultimately be the deciding factor, even if your build is not favourable.

Blizzard Sorc's

This is a chasing matchup. Be sure you have Stacked Resistances (but you can win without, Energy Shield and high warmth is your friend here). Try to catch them with a namelock telestomp else learn to aim well. Cold Sorc's suffer from really slow mana regen so its quite easy to mana burn them. If you get a couple of hits in you should chase them regardless of your mana levels. Be mindful of the tricky ones that cast Blizzards in the locations you teleport to while chasing.

Light Sorc's (Mirror)

Use everything you have learned. The better player (not the better equipped) usually wins these.

ESFB

Put on Infernostride and don't cast Energy Shield for this match. try to burn their mana. if they are Vita Build, good luck.

Assassin – Trapper

This can be considered one of the more difficult match-ups noting traps are auto targetting, eat up your mana pool and Lightning only goes so far. Try to tele arround, find an opening to jump on them and be patient at all times. Expect to lose alot of these.

Necro

Attacking middle distance, stomp when you see them move, teleport away when they stop to spam spirits on you. Its similar to dueling vs a Bowa (except your shield does not block his spirits and his spirits are not as fast as guided arrow).

Tele Druid

These can be quite tricky, chase when you kill the zoo, snipe when you know the the direction they are coming from and stomp when the chance comes along. They have high life and can recast cyclone armor so these duels take a while.

Barbarian

Regarded as the worst Match Up in terms of fun. On EU the Barbs dont use teleport (telestaff) so instead they run around with Str Bug to mask their true location. Try to be ahead of them and firing into them (works for me). This duel takes a long time and is an exercise in both patiance and aim.

Libby

This one requires patiance, you can utilise running as opposed to teleporting, i have had mixed results. Try not to stomp them unless you are feeling really brave/strong.

Finally, telekinesis can be quite handy at times, so try to include it in your repertoire in both 1v1 and Team matches, vs all builds.

Special thanks to Chum with some fine tuning and Belarathon for the crafting topic and the discussion on Boot options.

This post was edited by ferdia on Apr 23 2021 03:38pm

Again these guides are in advance of D2r with a view to doing all the legwork now sothat a lift and shift can apply with the new version of the game. (we want as many new blood as possible and having guides up and ready asap is aimed at assisting with this.

I feel obliged to post Belarathon's Rare Boots. you can consider these as good as it gets:



Also worth mentioning is Yeawhatup's Circlet, again, probably the best ever:



reminder to self: For later in the year, incorperate (if/where applicable) that the character is Normal to Hell Rushed to avail of the + Skills/Stats/Res available from Normal, Nightmare and Hell.

This post was edited by ferdia on Apr 23 2021 03:50pm

Tele druid can recast cyclone?

Depends on who you ask. I think its your only shot at beating a trapper, and even then, its really rough.

This post was edited by lld_mayhem on Apr 23 2021 03:36pm

Yea I tested it out and read some of the East discussions on it and changed that particular rule on EU, in line with East (at the time!)

A note on Vita Build and duels where its not recommended to cast Energy Shield:

With the advent of Tokens its not much of a problem to switch to Vita. You still use 105%(or 115%) FCR and 86 FHR (unless using an Orb). In playing Vita you no longer need Frostburns (Magefist instead) and there is an option therefore to use an Orb (like the one screened above). Note that Spirit can still be used, which free's up FCR requirements elsewhere. As you are Vita build, you no longer need the expensive 15/12 charms (plain 15 life charms will do) or the expensive items with life+mana. So, if godly sorc players are giving you trouble, try switching to Vita. You have enough stash space to switch out Mana or Life/Mana gear for Life gear.

The Pro's to a Vita Sorc would be as follows:

1. You can use plain 15 life charms (i.e. the char is super cheap to build early ladder).
2. You will probably have better results vs Sorc's. (But your still lightning so its not easy).

The Con's would be as follows:

While certain match-ups will be easier (vs ESFB in particular), conversely, certain match-ups will be more difficult.

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Stat Placement for Vita Build:

Strength: 50 (Eth Frostburns should be your highest strength requirement Item)
Dex for max block: 90 (with Visceratuant Shield) On Euro we only allow up to 65% Block (80 Dex) as ESFB is considered super strong.
Vita: Everything else.
Energy: None, Vita Build.

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Gear for Vita:

Basic Vita Gear ISO would look like:

Circlet: 2 Light 20 FCR 30 FRW 60 Life PSkull.
Amulet: 2 Light 10 FCR 60 Life.
Armor: ViperMagi Pskull.
Weapon: Orb 2/20/3/3 or Spirit
Shield: Visc (or Whitstans Guard)
Switch: Insight (+Ca)
Gloves: Magefist
Belt: 24 FHR Rare or String of Ears or 10/24 Belt
Rings: x2 SOJ (+ Skills)
Boots: CowKings / Rare 30frw / Blood Craft

Invent:

x40 15 Life Small Charms

You do need to ensure you have the relevant resistances, including cold resistance, noting energy shield is not here to help you vs pesky Blizzards. (get it via charms)

This post was edited by ferdia on Apr 23 2021 03:56pm

Wsg is so broken since like ~2018 that cyclone is op af imo

Recast cyclone is the only thing euro rules got right.

I would say that 70 fcr orb build is > 117 fcr spirit for light sorc

Check sig

Don’t make me log on west and —

n1 guide though, covered legit everything