Sorcerer: Difference between revisions

==Inherent Skill==

[[Image:D1-icon-staff-recharge.gif|left|frame]]

Unlike durability (Hidden Shrines in Diablo plus oils in Hellfire) there is no way to raise the maximum charges on a staff, so this skill should never be used on a staff you are using long term. However, if you find a staff of Fireball or Guardian or some other useful spell, and just want to have some fun with it and cast a lot of spells without using any mana, knock yourself out.

The formula for determining the recharge, from Jarulf's Guide:

# if CurChrg < MaxChrg, goto 3.

# CurChrg = MaxChrg

==Stats and Attributes==

===Getting Started===

Lightning is the first powerful spell for most Sorcerers, though Holy Bolt can be quite useful for Undead enemies since its damage scales up very quickly, and it can stun enemy targets.  Lightning's listed damage isn't that impressive, but  each bolt hits multiple times, and since it passes through monsters, a single Lightning Bolt can hit multiple enemies. Fire Wall can be obtained fairly early as well, and it boasts huge damage and can also be used as a sort of barrier, since monsters will not walk into it if they are not fire immune. Cast one Fire Wall, and then cast a second one a space back, when monsters line up just behind the wall.  

Once a Sorcerer gets Fireball his progress becomes exponentially faster, since the spell does far higher damage than anything else of a comparable level, and the splash damage allows it to damage multiple monsters at once, if they are tightly-packed.  Chain Lightning has a similar effect, once its been raised several levels and the number of bolts is beginning to grow impressive.

===Melee Combat===

The core debate about Sorcerer play style is Artillery vs. Battle.

Battle Mages play almost the same way as Arty mages, but they wear heavy plate armor and use one handed weapons and shields. This means their +spell equipment is generally limited to a Dreamflange, and perhaps a [[D1_Unique_Helms#Thinking_Cap|Thinking Cap]], if they choose that instead of a [[D1_Unique_Helms#Royal_Circlet|Royal Circlet]], giving them, at most, +3 to all spells. They might use a KSoH or Civerb's Cudgel instead of a Dreamflange, especially on levels with triple immune monsters.

The play differences come from the equipment. Battle mages can take hits and let monsters get very close to them, since they can block some attacks, and other attacks will miss, especially if they have high AC on their armor and shield. This lets them play much more aggressively, blasting spells at point blank range, in situations no Arty Mage would dare risk. However, they will often need to cast more spells thanks to their lower spell level, and they likely have less mana and must therefore drink more potions.

Artillery mages generally eschew heavy plate armor and shields, and prefer to go with [[D1_Unique_Armor#Naj.27s_Light_Plate|Naj's Light Plate]] and AA staves (Arch Angel's = +2 to spell levels). Those items give them +3 to spells, and if they go with a [[D1_Unique_Helms#Thinking_Cap|Thinking Cap]] as well, they're at the maximum +5 to skills and capable of devastating any non-fireproof enemy with their massive level 20 Fireballs.  Other equipment usually focuses on very high mana, turning these characters into the prototypical "glass cannons."

Arty mages are capable of dealing enormous damage very quickly, but with their negligible Armor Class and lack of a shield, anything that gets near them will hit them. They can be stun locked very easily, and death is always possible from a couple of fast hitting enemies. They are also weak against triple immunes, since staffs do poor melee damage.

A high level Sorcerer will have maxed out his Fireball skill, and is willing to deploy appropriate magics on a hair trigger. Sorcerers have very high mana and very little patience, and are known to teleport more than they walk. They also know that overkill with spell use is safer and actually mana-cheaper than being stingy with the spells and taking hits because of it, so they tend to spam their Fireballs and Chain Lightning until they're quite sure monsters are dead.  Expert Sorcerers dart through the Hell levels, teleporting from room to room, hugging the walls to optimize the performance of their Chain Lightning, making daring teleporting runs through large areas to draw all the monsters into killing zones, playing never more than an inch or two out of reach of the enemies, and drinking blue pots like water.

There's an amazing speed and fluidity and precision to play at that level, where players measure their success and skill by how quickly they can clear levels.

Hellfire changed nothing about Sorcerer performance in the Hell levels. The Hive is quite easy as well, but the Crypt is a very different kettle of fish. Nothing in Diablo is Immune to Fire/Lightning and resistant to Magic, and since Fireball and Chain Lightning are by far the most effective killing spells, and none of the magic-based spells were very effective ([[D1_Spellbooks#Flash|Flash]] lists quite high damage, but it's bugged and does much less in actuality.), most Sorcerers never deviated from those spells.  In Hellfire's Crypt, numerous monsters are immune to Fire and Lightning, while vulnerable to Magic. These beasts can simply be treated like triple immunes and Stoned and clubbed to rubble, but this is not the most efficient or speedy way to clear the levels. Blood Star, Bone Spirit, and Flash are effective magic type spells, but the fact that only 4 hotkeys are allowed makes it hard to keep a full assortment of attack spells at the ready, along with Teleport, Stone Curse, and perhaps Golem. On the whole, the Crypt is much more of a challenge to a Mage than any of the levels in Hell.

==Sorcerer Lore==

Sorcerers are mysterious mages from distant Eastern lands. Apprentices to their craft, they've come to test their might and seek out rare books of arcane knowledge in the demon-infested crypts beneath Tristram.