How the engine works
The Static Field upgrade turns Blizzard into a Shock skill that deals its damage over 1 second, costs only 15 Mana and periodically Stuns. Because the damage lands so quickly, you don't need to stack storms on every pack the way a normal Blizzard does. One or two casts and you move on, though Blizzards do stack on top of each other for tougher targets. The Seek upgrade makes each storm follow enemies, so you hardly aim. You run around casting Blizzard and refreshing Ice Armor, with a Hydra and Familiar out for cooldown reduction, and save Unstable Currents for bosses.
Who it's for
New level 70 characters, anyone without uniques, and players who want a ranged build that fills the screen. It farms all endgame content and is one of the best starts to early Torment. Its damage falls behind in the very highest Torment tiers.
- Rating
- A to B-Tier
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Key stat
- Damage Over Time multiplier
- Must have
- Nothing — works without uniques
The bar
The same six skills from your first day at 70 to the finished build. Static Field unlocks at level 38, so you can level with this bar too.
Rank 15 with Static Field, Seek and Duration Bonus, and Damage Bonus. Your damage. Seek makes it chase enemies and last 50% longer. Damage Bonus adds x30% against Crowd Controlled enemies, and Static Field's own Stuns supply that.
Hold — constantlyRank 15 with Cooldown Reduction, Damage Bonus and Thunder God. A big buff on a very long cooldown. While active, every cast triggers a random Shock skill.
ElitesRank 15 with Permafrost, Cooldown Reduction, and Duration Bonus and Barrier. Your main defence. Press it every time it is ready.
Keep it upRank 1 with Cooldown Reduction, Healing and Frigid Hydra. Very effective against crowds. Keep one out at all times to help Ice Armor's uptime.
Keep it upRank 1 with Duration Bonus and Prismatic Familiar. Its cooldown-reduction effect works with a Shock build even though you haven't picked that upgrade.
Press — on cooldownRank 1 with Wormhole, Ferocity and Movement Speed. Try to use it only when you hold an Overpower stack, so it doesn't go on cooldown.
Press — with OverpowerPassives
There is no Key Passive in the Season 15 tree. In the starting version, put 15 ranks into Frost Nova with Vulnerable, Size Bonus and Shatter and leave it off the bar. The Thul rune casts Frost Nova for you, and that is how you Freeze packs and make them Vulnerable. Don't put Charged Bolts, Lightning Spear or Ball Lightning on the bar, because Unstable Currents casts them by itself.
Enchantments
Run Hydra and Blizzard. The Blizzard Enchantment forms a Blizzard over you that follows you around, every 15 seconds at worst and as often as every 1.5 seconds depending on how much of your maximum Life you hold as Barrier. With Ice Armor near a full Barrier that is a second stream of storms for free. The Hydra Enchantment gives extra cooldown reduction, which keeps Ice Armor and Unstable Currents up even on early gear. The other way to run it is Ice Armor and Teleport: a potion triggers Ice Armor with no cooldown for Barrier and Resource Regeneration, and Evade becomes a Teleport. Take Hydra and Blizzard unless you keep running out of Mana.
| Pick | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Blizzard | A Blizzard forms over you and follows you every 15 seconds, down to every 1.5 seconds based on how much Barrier you have. More Barrier means more storms. |
| Hydra | Extra Hydras as you spend Mana. Cooldown reduction for Ice Armor and Unstable Currents, plus healing. |
| Ice Armor (option) | A potion activates Ice Armor with no cooldown and gives extra Resource Regeneration. The Mana-safe choice. |
| Teleport (option) | Evade becomes a Teleport. Pairs with the Ice Armor Enchantment. |
What to wear
Nothing here is required. The starting version simply fills every slot with a good offensive or defensive aspect, and the uniques make it stronger without changing how it plays. The standard setup is a one-handed weapon and a focus.
Uniques
| Item | What it does | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Raiment of the Sea | Chest. Blizzard's effects stay on enemies for an extra 120–156% of its duration, which works as a very large damage multiplier. Farm this first. Drops from Varshan. About 16% more as a Mythic. | Core |
| Orsivane | One-handed mace, or a charm. x25–32.5% damage for each Defensive skill not on your bar, and you gain that skill's Enchantment effect. Second on the farming list. Drops from Andariel. | Core |
| Galvanic Azurite | Ring. Shock skill damage leaves enemies Magnetized for 4 seconds. They take more Shock damage and give off Crackling Energy that pulls them together. Static Field makes Blizzard a Shock skill, so it applies. Drops from Duriel. | Core |
| Leoric's Crown | Helm. It counts as jewellery and increases the effect of any gem socketed in it by 65%. Put the Splinters of Hellfire and Pain in it. With maxed Splinters it is about 15% damage and some toughness, and the first Mythic to aim for. | Recommended |
| Tibault's Will | Pants. x20–26% damage and 25 Primary Resource Regeneration (your Mana) while Unstoppable and for 5 seconds after. About 5% as a Mythic upgrade. | Optional |
| Ring of Starless Skies | Ring. Spending Mana reduces the Resource cost of your skills and raises your damage. For most players it is a small comfort upgrade. If you run out of Mana, it is the cure. | Optional |
| Tal Rasha's Iridescent Loop | Sixth charm. Casting a Pyromancy, Shock or Frost skill gives x20–26% damage for 8 seconds, once per element. Drops from the Harbinger of Hatred. Wear one from the start if you find it. | Charm |
| Fists of Fate | Gloves, in place of the Iridescent Loop charm. Only better as a Mythic. A normal pair is bad. | Variant |
Before they drop
This is the build to play before anything drops. Wear ten legendary aspects: Disobedience on the helm, Arcane Ward on the chest, Arrogance on the gloves, Mage-Lord's on the pants, Shredding Blades on the boots, Conceited on the weapon, Storm Splitter's on the focus, Edgemaster's and Duelist's on the rings and Splintering Energy on the amulet. Elemental Attunement, Juggernaut's, Writhing and Snowveiled are all fine if you find them first. Use ordinary charms with Blizzard or Shock ranks, Splinters of Pain, the Black Soulstone and Hellfire, and the runewords Cir + Mot and Neo + Thul.
Legendary aspects
| Aspect | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| Splintering Energy | Amulet. Your Shock skills deal up to x270% more damage, reduced by 10% for each later hit. You can only use it because Static Field makes Blizzard a Shock skill, and its one-second storm suits a bonus that fades hit by hit. |
| Storm Splitter's | Focus. Non-Channeled Shock skills deal x45% more damage and have a 15% chance to trigger themselves on cast. Free extra Blizzards. |
| Arrogance | Gloves. Shock skills deal x45% more damage to Close or Stunned enemies. Static Field Stuns, so ranged targets count too. |
| Conceited | Weapon, early on. More damage while you have a Barrier, which Ice Armor keeps up. |
| Duelist's | Ring at the start, and one of the aspects you keep in the finished build. With a one-handed weapon, attacks raise your Weapon Damage by 6.5%, up to 10 times. |
| Mage-Lord's | Pants. Dealing Shock damage to Close enemies gives 45% Damage Reduction for 6 seconds. With Ice Armor and the Splinter of Pain, this is why the build is tougher than it looks. |
| Shredding Blades | Boots early on, then the amulet's second aspect. Conjuration damage makes enemies Vulnerable for 4 seconds and you deal more damage to Vulnerable enemies. |
| Great Storm | Boots, in the finished build. Lightning damage has up to a 15% chance to grant a stack of Ferocity, and you gain 15% Damage Reduction while you have Ferocity. |
One-hander and focus, or a staff: choose one
There are two ways to arm this build. A one-handed weapon with a focus uses Duelist's and Storm Splitter's and can wear Orsivane, and it is the setup everything on this page assumes. A two-handed staff uses the Shivering aspect, x90–120% this season, with Heavenly Strength on the chest. Both work. Don't mix them, because Duelist's does nothing on a staff.
Stats, gems and paragon
Roll and masterwork toward these, in this order.
| # | Stat | Where you roll it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damage Over Time multiplier | Weapon and focus (masterwork it), gloves, rings, amulet. Damage Over Time as the gloves temper. |
| 2 | Vulnerable damage multiplier | Gloves, amulet and rings. Masterwork it on those three. |
| 3 | Lightning or All Damage multiplier | Weapon, focus and jewellery. |
| 4 | Ranks to Blizzard | Boots, masterworked. Ranks to Shock or All Skills on the amulet, and Ranks to Core Skills on gloves. |
| 5 | Maximum Life, Armour, Resistances | Helm, chest, pants and boots. Masterwork Intelligence on chest and pants. Maximum Life as the defensive temper. |
| 6 | Cooldown Reduction | Helm, plus tempers on amulet and rings. Lower priority than damage, but it keeps Ice Armor up. |
| 7 | Attack Speed | Weapon temper, gloves, rings and amulet. Also lower priority. |
Hard targets
Critical Strike does nothing here, because the Splinter of Hellfire removes it in every version. With Duration Bonus and Barrier, Ice Armor at rank 17 gives a Barrier worth 99% of your maximum Life, and the Barrier can't go above 100%. That rank also speeds up the Blizzard Enchantment. The Attack Speed temper stops at 100%. With enough Cooldown Reduction and Shock ranks, Unstable Currents can be kept up permanently. Armour and resistances have no cap. They are ratings with diminishing returns, so more is always a little better.
Tempering & masterworking
Tempers: Attack Speed on the weapon, Damage Over Time on the gloves, Movement Speed on the boots, Cooldown Reduction on the amulet and both rings, and Maximum Life on every defensive piece. Masterwork the Damage Over Time multiplier on weapon and focus, the Vulnerable multiplier on gloves, amulet and rings, Ranks to Blizzard on the boots and Intelligence on chest and pants.
Gems, runewords & Splinters
- Talisman, early: until you can wear a full five-piece set, only the stats on your charms and Seal matter. Don't bother with two and three-piece bonuses. Shock skill ranks are the best charm stat because they also strengthen Unstable Currents, and +3 to Mastery skills beats +2 to Shock.
- Talisman, later: the full Tal Rasha's Threefold Way set is the top priority. It gives free Meteors, Blizzards and Ball Lightnings, 30% All Resistance per element, and with five pieces 100% increased damage to a rotating element. Then get a Seal with +1 Charm Slot for a unique charm: Tal Rasha's Iridescent Loop, or Orsivane, Tibault's Will or Rustbitten Dirk in charm form.
- Soul Splinters: Abyssal Hellfire and Pain first, both inside Leoric's Crown once you have it, then the Black Soulstone, Anguish and Sin. Hellfire is free damage because nothing here crits. Pain is 25% Damage Reduction for 30% Movement Speed.
- Gems: Topaz everywhere. It is a Lightning damage multiplier in the weapon and Intelligence in armour.
- Runewords: Igni + Thul and Cir + Mot in the finished build, and Cir + Mot with Neo + Thul at the start. Thul casts Frost Nova, which Freezes and makes enemies Vulnerable. A second option is Cir + Vex, which adds up to +3 to your skills in combat and lifts Ice Armor toward rank 17, with Noc + Thul, which Static Field's Stuns trigger very quickly.
Paragon
Five boards with every legendary node. Start board with Tactician. Static Surge with Exploit. Enchantment Master with Reinforced. Fundamental Release with Elementalist. Frigid Fate with Adept. Static Surge gives 30 Resource Regeneration and x50% damage for 2 seconds when you hit 8 times in a second with Shock skills, and a Static Field storm does that easily. Enchantment Master gives x60% damage with your Enchantments' elements when they differ, or x75% when they match. Take glyphs to 100, then 150. The Cold push variant replaces the Static Surge board with Icefall, which gives x60% Frost damage plus x15% against Frozen enemies and bosses, and swaps Reinforced for Control.
| Glyph | Where and why |
|---|---|
| Tactician | Start board. |
| Exploit | Static Surge board. Damage and Mana together. |
| Reinforced | Enchantment Master board. Control replaces it in the Cold push variant. |
| Elementalist | Fundamental Release board. |
| Adept | Frigid Fate board. |
Mercenary
Hire Subo for the map reveal and for Molotov with Scorched Earth, which makes enemies take more Damage Over Time from you. Take Raheir as reinforcement with Bastion set to trigger when you are Injured, so he absorbs the hit that would have killed you. Aldkin is the other reinforcement people use. Raheir is the safer choice for a build that can feel fragile.
From fresh 70 to finished
The bar never changes. You only swap legendaries for uniques and ordinary charms for the set.
This is the biggest power jump while levelling. Before it, Blizzard is a Frost skill with a fairly high Mana cost. After it, the cost drops to 15 and the storm deals its damage in a second. You can carry this bar straight into Torment.
Fill every slot with the aspects listed above. Use ordinary charms with Blizzard or Shock ranks, Splinters of Pain, the Black Soulstone and Hellfire, and 15 ranks of Frost Nova off the bar for the Thul rune.
Farm Varshan for it first. Then Orsivane from Andariel and Galvanic Azurite from Duriel. Leoric's Crown and Tibault's Will slot in as they drop.
Complete all five Tal Rasha's Threefold Way charms, then find a Seal with +1 Charm Slot and add Tal Rasha's Iridescent Loop from the Harbinger of Hatred.
Mythic order: Leoric's Crown, Raiment of the Sea, Orsivane, Galvanic Azurite, Tibault's Will. Ring of Starless Skies only if it rolls really well. The boots aspect becomes Great Storm. Glyphs to 150.
For high Pit tiers, drop Static Field and play Blizzard as a Frost skill with Hydra, Ball Lightning as your token Shock skill every 5 to 10 seconds, and Deep Freeze. It deals about the same damage over a much longer time, which suits a push where you wait for storms to stack. Use Deep Freeze to strip Unstoppable, and tap it again at once. There is no reason to stay inside it.
The rotation
Keep one Hydra out and press Familiar whenever it is ready. Both are there for cooldown reduction.
Cast Blizzard at the pack. Seek makes it chase them, so rough aim is enough. One or two casts on ordinary packs, several stacked on elites.
Refresh Ice Armor every time it comes up. The Barrier keeps you alive and speeds up the Blizzard Enchantment.
Several storms running at once pay you back in Resource Regeneration, which lets you cast more. Don't empty the whole pool on one weak enemy.
Teleport when you hold an Overpower stack so it doesn't go on cooldown. Hitting an enemy with it gives 2 Ferocity.
Save it for bosses and tough elites.
On bosses
Blizzards stack on top of each other, so on a boss you stand still and keep layering them. Open with Unstable Currents, keep Hydra and Familiar out, and refresh Ice Armor every time it is ready. The damage takes a moment to build up, so don't leave the fight to reposition unless you have to.
Strengths, weaknesses, mistakes
What it's good at
- Huge area. The storm covers half the screen and chases enemies.
- Low requirements. It works with no uniques, and every upgrade slots in without changing the bar.
- Strong and simple, with very high damage in early Torment.
- You can level with it from 38, so there is no respec at 70.
Where it struggles
- It can feel fragile until Mage-Lord's, Ice Armor ranks and the Splinter of Pain are all in place.
- The cast animation is clumsy, and the screen gets very cluttered.
- Damage falls behind other builds in the final Torment tiers.
- Some players run short of Mana without Ring of Starless Skies.
Mistakes that ruin it
- Chasing two and three-piece set bonuses. Before the full five, only the stats on your charms and Seal matter.
- Putting Unstable Currents' skills on the bar. Charged Bolts, Lightning Spear and Ball Lightning are cast for you. They waste a slot.
- Teleporting with no Overpower stack. It goes on cooldown and you lose your escape.
- Wearing a normal Fists of Fate. Only the Mythic version beats the charm it replaces.
- Standing inside Deep Freeze in the Cold push variant. It is there to strip Unstoppable. Double tap it and carry on.
Not for you? The other Sorcerer builds: Ring of Fire · Ball Lightning.