PvP FO/TS build - Need suggestions, answers

[colojaro]

PvP FO/TS build - Need suggestions, answers

I am planning to make a Frozen Orb, Thunderstorm sorc for PvP strictly and I have some questions, first, here is my planned build.


Skills:
20 Frozen Orb - (922 damage)
20 Ice Bolt
20 Cold Mastery
1 Frozen Armor
--
20 Thunder Storm - (2000 damage )
9 Lit Mastery
1 Teleport
--
1 Warmth

Gear:
Doom (-60% cold res)
Spirit
Shako (um)
Mara's
Vipermagi (Die facet)
Trang gloves
2x SOJ
Spider
Sandstorm
Sorc Torch -- Anni -- 9Cold GCs

My first question is, how does -enemy cold resistance work? Is it capped off or can I put them to -225 cold resistance? Is it better than +skill damage? Some people say cold mastery isn't as good as the others.

Is energy shield that great? I don't wanna use it actually. Is that ok? If I don't use it do I still need to put points into energy?

Last question is, does Frozen orb still do enough damage in this patch? 900 damage isn't impressive to look at compared to 50k lightning damage. Does cold mastery help a lot? HOW MANY ICE BOLTS DOES IT SHOOT? What is your experience with PvP with Frozen Orb?

Thanks for your input - I'm not interested in gear suggestions so much so please focus more an the questions. Unless you have used Doom before.

C

 

[setju]

interesting idea, with doom, dunno if -res adds on to cold mast, but i think it does. never made a ice sorc but, after dueling yes, the cold mast pwns, if you can disperse a orb exactly on the target it will do tremendous damage.

 

[sorceressgod]

u can try this gear instead:

- doom low req axe
- guardian's angel(um runed)
- 35% spirit monarch
- fcr/str rings x2
- arachnids
- magefists
- 2skill/10fcr/mod amulet
- nightwings with facet
- trek boots.

 

[colojaro]

Thanks for the responses guys but I still have so many questions unanswered.

(One thought was that I don't think I need a low req Axe when spirit needs 156 Str and a Doom Zerk Axe needs 111. I will use Zerk so that it remains tradable and they are easier to find.)

 

[PapirovyCert]

I wonder why nobody mentioned Death´s Fathom? +% to cold skill damage is way better than -% to enemy cold resistance when used on cold (especially FO) sorc.
You should definitely use DF, has no str/dex req and adds tons of dmg.

 

[Jackson1]

"HOW MANY ICE BOLTS DOES IT SHOOT?

A lot. More than enough. I doubt anyone has ever sat down and counted. =)

-if you aren't going to use energy shield, I see no reason to put any extra points into Energy.

-Energy shield is great, but I think with your build, you will run into problems because you don't have enough skill points left over for it to be overly effective (can't max telekinesis/ ES).

-Some people say cold mastery isn't as good as "others", meaning that you can get a lot more -enemy cold% resistance from elsewhere, and the skill points can be used better elsewhere.

-Yes, orb is still very good, and yes cold mastery does help.


*I think your resistances are pretty poor right now if you plan on going against other sorcs*

 

[sorceressgod]

well actually fathoms > doom axe .

but keeping a low req doom in ur stash can be good against stackers.

otherwise, just use fathoms.

 

[Quietus]

My first question is, how does -enemy cold resistance work? Is it capped off or can I put them to -225 cold resistance? Is it better than +skill damage? Some people say cold mastery isn't as good as the others.

You can only reduce the enemy to -100% in any resist. However, most duelers stack resist, meaning they're running around with 200-250% resist to all.

Is energy shield that great? I don't wanna use it actually. Is that ok? If I don't use it do I still need to put points into energy?

It's a very nice move, but it's not necessary. By all means, if you don't want to use it, don't. And if you're not using Esheild, then there's no reason to invest in energy.

Last question is, does Frozen orb still do enough damage in this patch? 900 damage isn't impressive to look at compared to 50k lightning damage. Does cold mastery help a lot? HOW MANY ICE BOLTS DOES IT SHOOT? What is your experience with PvP with Frozen Orb?

That's 900 damage per bolt, with your opponent at low resists. Consider a 40k lightning bolt in pvp against an opponent with 200 resist all. After pvp penalties, resistances (still at 75%, since lightning mastery adds damage, not removes resists), and taking the AVERAGE damage, that's about 833 damage.

Now take a 900 damage frozen orb. After pvp penalties, resistances (at -100, thanks to cold mastery), and taking the average - which is the same, basically, since Frozen Orb has a tight damage range - you get 300 damage per bolt.

Now consider that Lightning casts slower than frozen orb, so with orb you are more mobile, able to do whatever you want faster. Lightning is incredibly difficult to hit with thanks to it being a straight line. And all you need to do is hit with THREE ice bolts to make up for every hit of Lightning. Three ice bolts isn't all that difficult, when you consider the difficulty Lightning gives in hitting things. People use lightning because of the massive top end damage, they completely ignore the full picture.

As far as how many bolts does it shoot, that's irrelevant. You get them going everywhere, so the number doesn't really matter, since half won't go anywhere near your target anyway. It's probably about 30 bolts, but that's meaningless.

And for PvP experiences... I have a PvM frozen orb/esheild sorceress with no cta or anything, and I find it entertaining to drag her sorry butt into pvp sometimes. I get killed fast if I get hit, but I've found that I can be annoying enough, even at about 400 damage per bolt. You've got double that and probably three times as much life.

 

[colojaro]

I know that Death's Fathom is good but I am in USwest Non-Ladder and that means it is expensive especially if it is near perfect.

I have a friend with a 6 perfect facet crystal sword. I would only lose +3 skills, and some res and i would gain -30% cold res.

The reason that I wanted doom was to keep melee attackers from having such an easy time with me if they catch me (freeze). Plus it would be a little more interesting to play. Iv'e been playing D2 for a long time and I'm getting bored.

I wish she could dual wield a facet sword and doom, that would be the best.

Tell me what you think about the facet alternative.

 

[inkanddagger]

in my experience, most obr sorcs max telekinesis and go with mana/life charms over anything else. i have seen good ones pretty much negate hammers and bone spirits. it works since orb doesnt require much in the way of synergies.