Best PvE Sorcerer Build (Patch 1.0.3)
Spell casting in Diablo 4 feels fantastic and it’s doubly effective at sending waves of monsters or baddies on a single target. As a wizard in PvE situations, gamers must be prepared to deal with crowds of opponents as well as damage to a single target.
If that damage isn’t equal or better than any other class, it’s time to change strategy. Gamers can also get a lot of power out of the class, but the best PvE builds for the Sorcerer in Diablo 4 reaching heights in damage can only be dreamed of, so it’s a wise idea to focus on those aspects of the class.
Updated June 29, 2023 by Hodey Johns: This guide has been updated for the massive rebalance patch in 1.0.3. Many guides have been left untouched as most of the skills have been given a simple numerical enhancement or nerf to bring them into line with the rest of the skills in the game. Especially with Vulnerable builds getting so powerful, this was a fitting rebalancing. However, not every skill got a small buff or nerf. Some of these were important enough for me to switch builds and this build was one of them. Some of these buffs were not intended to deal damage, but to cool down or reduce resources, which completely changes the skill rotation. The old build may still be better than before, but this new guide gets the most out of the class.
Skill tree
|
Skill |
Points |
|
Bow Lash |
5 |
|
Improved Arc Lash |
1 |
|
Glittering Arc Lash |
1 |
|
Necklace Lightning |
5 |
|
Improved chain lightning |
1 |
|
Lightning of the Greater Chain |
1 |
|
Charged bolts |
5 |
|
Improved charged bolts |
1 |
|
Larger loaded bolts |
1 |
|
Glass gun |
3 |
|
Lightning spear |
5 |
|
Improved lightning spear |
1 |
|
Lightning spear invoked |
1 |
|
Spell mastery |
3 |
|
Precision magic |
2 |
|
Ball Lightning |
5 |
|
Improved ball lightning |
1 |
|
Mage’s Ball Lightning |
1 |
|
Static discharge |
1 |
|
Shocking impact |
3 |
|
Unstable currents |
1 |
|
First unstable currents |
1 |
|
Supreme unstable currents |
1 |
|
Curving currents |
3 |
|
electrocution |
1 |
|
Convulsions |
3 |
|
Vyr’s magic |
1 |
At the max level and with all the fame gained, players have 58 skill points to invest. The shock build generally has to choose between skill enhancing nodes or cracking energy. Crackling Energy is a good build and better for a pure Shock damage, but the stuns are better for PvE.
The brilliance of this build is in its simplicity; skip the defensive skills and double down on the core skills. That means every cast under the influence of Unstable Currents has incredible ability. Arc Lash is scary to use in the early game as a melee ability, but with how trapped enemies will be from endgame stun attacks, it has a much higher damage ceiling than Spark plus a bit more stun.
Paragon Signs
|
Plate |
Paragon/legendary nodes |
Glyph |
|
Get started |
Elementalist, Elemental Balance, Erudite |
Adept |
|
Static peak |
Overwhelming, static wave, incapacitating, electro, paralyzing |
wizard |
|
Enchanting master |
Elemental Balance, Erudite, Ruinous, Elementalist, Enchantment Master |
Devastation |
|
Elementary caller |
Elementary summoner, quick magician, magician, erudite |
Magician |
|
Continuous leadership |
Electro, Galvanic Catalyst, Conduit |
electrocute |
The paragon signs and glyphs can be a little hard to figure out. It’s a matter of adjusting the boards so that they swing properly. Few players reach the maximum 200 paragon points, but those who do will find their powers greatly enhanced.
Listing all the nodes would be tedious and impossible to read, but if gamers move between the main nodes listed, it shouldn’t be a problem. Make sure to buy all relevant stat bonus nodes within the designated glyph areas. This build has quite a bit of freedom to “chase” nodes that most other builds can’t find, as many of the legendary and paragon nodes aren’t essential to the build itself.
Gear
|
Slot |
aspect/piece |
|
Stir |
Harlequin Crest |
|
Chest |
Protect aspect |
|
Gloves |
Aspect of overwhelming currents |
|
Pair of trousers |
Aspect of disobedience |
|
Boots |
Aspect of shared misery |
|
Amulet |
aspect of control |
|
Ring |
Aspect of splintering energy |
|
Ring |
Aspect of the unbroken chain |
|
Writing hand |
Gravity aspect |
|
Unprepared |
Stable aspect |
With the new aspect system, gamers have a lot of freedom to grab the piece of gear they find with the best stats and then add their favorite effect to it. Increasing the efficiency of potions helps a bit, but these aspects change the game. Note that some of these aspects can be turned on and off on other gear.
The idea here is to emphasize the wizard’s stun abilities. While bosses can’t be stunned on a regular basis, anything that would stun builds up that wobbly meter. For this reason, the PvE Sorcerer build is one of the best against world and dungeon bosses in the game.
Gravitational Aspect reduces Ball Lightning’s damage, but causes it to revolve around the Sorcerer. This is definitely worth it, as players can better check the location for the stun imparted by Mage’s Ball Lightning. With Arc Lash, the build will be in melee range anyway.
Enchantments
- Charged bolts
- Ball Lightning
World levels can get out of hand when it comes to difficulty. Fortunately, enchantments are an easy way to keep up with the escalating challenge. This build uses five different skills, but the build only gains an advantage from two of them, so the choice is easy.
The Ball Lightning buff can be a huge upgrade to the build as it creates stationary balls of lightning. If they are already knocked into the battlefield and stunned, they will remain stuck on top of a Ball Lightning. The Charged Bolts spell gives players a 40% chance to cast Charged Bolts off an opponent when they are stunned; this will happen constantly.
Diablo 4 is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.