Spellcasting in Diablo 4 feels fantastic and it's doubly effective at dispatching waves of monsters or single-target baddies. As the Sorcerer in PvE situations, gamers will have to be prepared to handle both mobs of opponents and single target damage.
If that damage isn't on par or better than any other class, then it's time to change strategies. Gamers can get a ton of utility power out of the class as well but the best PvE builds for the Sorcerer in Diablo 4 reach heights in damage can only dream of so it's a wise idea to focus on those aspects of the class.
Updated on June 29th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: This guide has been updated for the huge rebalance patch in 1.0.3. Many guides have remained untouched because most skills got a simple numerical buff or nerf to bring them in line with the rest of the skills in the game. Especially with Vulnerable builds becoming so powerful, this was an appropriate rebalance. However, not every skill received a small buff or nerf. Some of these were significant enough to change builds for and this build was one of those. Some of these buffs weren't to damage but to cooldown or resource reduction which alters the skill rotation entirely. The old build might still be better than it was before but this new guide gets the absolute most out of the class.
Skill Tree
Skill | Points |
Arc Lash | 5 |
Enhanced Arc Lash | 1 |
Glinting Arc Lash | 1 |
Chain Lightning | 5 |
Enhanced Chain Lightning | 1 |
Greater Chain Lightning | 1 |
Charged Bolts | 5 |
Enhanced Charged Bolts | 1 |
Greater Charged Bolts | 1 |
Glass Cannon | 3 |
Lightning Spear | 5 |
Enhanced Lightning Spear | 1 |
Invoked Lightning Spear | 1 |
Conjuration Mastery | 3 |
Precision Magic | 2 |
Ball Lightning | 5 |
Enhanced Ball Lightning | 1 |
Mage's Ball Lightning | 1 |
Static Discharge | 1 |
Shocking Impact | 3 |
Unstable Currents | 1 |
Prime Unstable Currents | 1 |
Supreme Unstable Currents | 1 |
Coursing Currents | 3 |
Electrocution | 1 |
Convulsions | 3 |
Vyr's Magic | 1 |
At the maximum level and with all the Renown gathered, players will have 58 skill points to invest. The shock build generally has to choose between nodes that enhance abilities or Crackling Energy. Crackling Energy is a good build and better for a pure Shock damage build but the stuns are better for PvE.
The brilliance of this build is in its simplicity; skip the defensive abilities and double up on Core abilities. That means that every cast under the effects of Unstable Currents casts an incredible ability. Arc Lash is scary to use in the early game as a melee skill but with how locked down enemies will be from stun attacks by the endgame, it has a much higher damage ceiling than Spark plus some more stun.
Paragon Boards
Board | Paragon/Legendary Nodes | Glyph |
Start | Elementalist, Elemental Balance, Erudite | Adept |
Static Surge | Overwhelming, Static Surge, Incapacitation, Electro, Paralyzing | Enchanter |
Enchantment Master | Elemental Balance, Erudite, Ruinous, Elementalist, Enchantment Master | Destruction |
Elemental Summoner | Elemental Summoner, Swift Conjurer, Conjurer, Erudite | Conjurer |
Ceaseless Conduit | Electro, Galvanic Catalyst, Conduit | Electrocute |
The paragon boards and glyphs can be a bit tough to figure out. It's a matter of adjusting the boards so that they snake properly. Few players will get to the maximum 200 paragon points but those that do will find that their powers are enhanced by enormous magnitudes.
Listing all nodes would be tedious and impossible to read, but if gamers move between the major nodes listed, it shouldn't be an issue. Make sure to purchase all relevant stat bonus nodes inside the designated glyph areas. This build has quite a bit of freedom to "chase" down nodes that most other builds can't afford to find since many of the legendary and paragon nodes aren't critical to the build itself.
Gear
Slot | Aspect/Piece |
Helm | Harlequin Crest |
Chest | Protecting Aspect |
Gloves | Aspect of Overwhelming Currents |
Pants | Aspect of Disobedience |
Boots | Aspect of Shared Misery |
Amulet | Aspect of Control |
Ring | Aspect of Splintering Energy |
Ring | Aspect of the Unbroken Tether |
Main Hand | Gravitational Aspect |
Off-Hand | Stable Aspect |
With the new aspect system, gamers have a ton of freedom to take the piece of gear they find with the best stats and then add their favorite effect to it. Increasing potion efficiency helps out a bit but these aspects are game-changing. Note that some of these aspects can be swapped in and out on other pieces of gear.
The idea here is to emphasize the Sorcerer's stun abilities. Although bosses can't be regularly stunned, anything that would stun builds up that stagger meter. For this reason, the PvE Sorcerer build is one of the best against world and dungeon bosses in the game.
Gravitational Aspect decreases the damage from Ball Lightning but makes it orbit around the Sorcerer. This is absolutely worth the trade since players can better control its location for the stun granted from Mage's Ball Lightning. With Arc Lash, the build will be in melee range anyhow.
Enchantments
- Charged Bolts
- Ball Lightning
World Tiers can get out of control when it comes to difficulty. Thankfully, enchantments are a simple way to keep pace with the escalating challenge. This build utilizes five different skills but the build only gets a benefit from two of them so the choice is a simple one.
The Ball Lightning enhancement can be a huge upgrade for the build as it creates stationary balls of lightning. If they're already getting smacked around and stunned in melee range, they'll be stuck on top of a Ball Lightning. The Charged Bolts enchantment gives players a 40% chance of casting Charged Bolts from an opponent when they get stunned; this will be happening constantly.
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.