Magic users rejoiced after the news that the Sorceress class makes its return in Diablo 4 after being replaced by the Wizard class in Diablo 3. The key differences between the two are the Wizard's focus on general Arcane magic versus the Sorceress' more elemental-centered spell casting. This clear delineation between elemental types in magic (fire, lightning, ice) allows players to curate their build based on their play style and how they wish to utilize the Sorceress class. The Immortal Sorceress build in Diablo 4 is a lightning-focused build that will immobilize, render vulnerable, and then vaporize enemies.
As a close-range damage-dealing build, the Immortal Sorceress is one of the more viscerally satisfying of the magic-based class builds in Diablo 4. The general strategy for the Immortal Sorceress build is to use Teleport to launch into enemies, dealing damage as the Sorceress exits Teleport. Players will then freeze enemies using Frost Nova to immobilize them for 2 seconds and apply the Vulnerability debuff, followed by AoE lightning attacks using the Chain Lightning and Arc Lash skills while enemies cannot attack. Thanks to some secondary buffs to defense and damage, the Immortal Sorceress is one of the more viable builds for Diablo 4's pinnacle bosses and other overwhelming threats.
Skills to Prioritize for the Immortal Sorceress Build
The primary skills that players will need to spec for the Immortal Sorceress build are Teleport, Ice Armor, Chain Lightning, and Arc Lash. Additionally, players will want to allocate some skill points to both Frost Nova and Glass Cannon for immobilizing enemies and buffing spell damage at the cost of defense, respectively. The primary goal of the skill mapping for the Immortal Sorceress build is to negate the loss of defense at the cost of spell-casting power by buffing with Ice Armor prior to Teleporting into enemies, rendering Diablo 4's Sorceress pretty much immortal.
Teleport - The Teleport skill is essential to the Immortal Sorceress build as it allows players to transform the Sorceress in Diablo 4 into an unstoppable bolt of lightning that surges toward enemies and deals damage upon exit from the teleport. While players only need to initially invest 1 point into the skill to utilize it as the base ability of the Immortal Sorceress build, it is advised to continue allocating points into the skill past level 25 in order to reduce the necessary cooldown time.
Ice Armor - As a companion skill to Teleport for the Immortal Sorceress build, it is imperative that players invest points into Diablo 4's Ice Armor skill in order to buff defense before launching into enemies with Teleport. In addition to providing a barrier from damage, 10% of damage dealt to enemies with Ice Armor active is converted back into the barrier. With the defense sacrificed as part of this build in exchange for power with the Glass Cannon skill, Ice Armor is essential to providing the "Immortal" qualifier in Immortal Sorceress.
Chain Lightning - Chain Lightning is the primary offensive skill for the Immortal Sorceress build and will need to have priority in terms of skill point allocation. As players continue to invest points in the skill up to rank 5, the level of damage output increases, with the added bonus of automatically triggering the skill for every 100 mana spent as an Enchantment. Chain Lightning has great utility in transforming the Sorceress into an AoE mob-melting powerhouse and is a great skill for dealing with large groups of enemies or traversing challenging dungeons in Diablo 4.
Arc Lash - Arc Lash serves as the secondary offensive skill for the Immortal Sorceress build, not only dealing lightning damage to enemies in front of the player but also applying stun for every 10 swipes of the lash. When combined with Frost Arc, Arc Lash helps the Sorceress immobilize enemies that can then be targeted with Chain Lightning for massive AoE damage while they're vulnerable and unable to attack. The synergy between the frost and lightning elemental types helps to highlight the Sorceress' greater build customization over Diablo 3's Wizard.
How to Use the Immortal Sorceress Build Against Diablo 4's Enemies and Bosses
While the general strategy for the Immortal Sorceress build is similar for tackling either enemies or Diablo 4's powerful bosses, there are some key differences as well as a necessary secondary skill to apply when facing off against one powerful foe versus many. When taking on enemy mobs, players using the Immortal Sorceress build will want to first buff their character with Ice Armor prior to launching into enemies with Teleport. After teleporting into enemies and causing damage upon exit, players will want to activate Frost Nova to immobilize enemies before using Chain Lightning to deal AoE damage to up to 6 foes at once.
Where the strategy for bosses differs is in the need to change up the primary offensive skill as well as applying an offensive buff to allow for the Sorceress to deal more DPS. Instead of Chain Lightning, players will want to use Arc Lash when facing against one enemy to avoid receiving damage from outgoing attacks while also applying the Unstable Currents buff to double the amount of spells cast. With proper leveling of skills and focusing on elemental types with synergy, the Immortal Sorceress build is ideal for solo or co-op in Diablo 4 and showcases the versatility of the Sorceress class.
Diablo 4 will be available June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.