Best Key Runner: Blizzard Sorceress Guide

The Best Destruction Key Runner (Blizzard Sorceress) Guide

Introduction

The Blizzard Sorceress is the best Sorceress for key runs like Keys of Destruction, Keys of Hate, and Keys of Terror. Sorceress is recommended for key runs because they have the fastest Teleport speed out of all the classes and most of the time spent running keys is spent teleporting to the boss. Sorceresses can also stack high magic find which gives much better drops on key runs. Blizzard Sorceresses clear key runs including Nihlathak (Key of Destruction runs) the fastest out of all the builds in Diablo 2.

Blizzard Sorceress Skills

The top spot for a magic find key runner Sorceress goes to the Blizzard Sorceress which is even faster than the Lightning Sorceress for key runs on all key runs that don't have a Cold Enchanted boss.

Recommendation: Blizzard Sorceress (Blizz Sorc)

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, 0 Dexterity, all remaining points in Vitality, and 0 Energy.

Skill Points:

20 Blizzard

20 Ice Blast

20 Glacial Spike

20 Cold Mastery

20 Ice Bolt

1 Teleport

1 Warmth

Note: You can gain Chilling Armor from the Snowclash belt which saves you an extra skill point to spend on Blizzard's synergy skills.

Key Runner (Blizzard Sorceress) Gear

Main Weapons

The Oculus - Gives +3 to Sorceress skills, 30% faster cast rate, 20 to all resistances, 20 Vitality, 20 Energy, a 25% chance to cast Teleport when you are struck, and 50% magic find. It should be socketed with a Cold Facet or Protector's Frost jewel for more cold damage and magic find.

Shield

Spirit Monarch Shield (Tal Thul Ort Amn) - Gives +2 to all skills, up to 35% faster cast rate (it should have at least 33% faster cast rate to meet the 63% faster cast rate barrier with The Oculus weapon), Vitality, mana, and 35% cold, lightning, and poison resistance.

Weapon Switch

Call To Arms (Amn Ral Mal Ist Ohm) - Gives up to +1 to all skills, +6 to Battle Orders, and +6 to Battle Command. Battle Orders and Battle Command are important because they give greatly increased life and mana and +1 to all skills for a long duration. You should also use a Spirit (Tal Thul Ort Amn) for its +2 to all skills which increases the level of your Battle Orders.

Helmet

Harlequin Crest (aka Shako) - Gives +2 to all skills, 10% reduced physical damage taken, high life and mana, and 50% magic find. This helmet can be socketed with a cold facet or Protector's Frost jewel for more cold damage and magic find.

Body

Chains of Honor (Dol Um Ber Ist) - Gives +2 to all skills, all resistances +65%, 20 Strength, 25% magic find, 8% reduced physical damage taken, 8% life leech, 200% damage against demons, 100% damage against undead, and replenish life +7.

Gloves

Chance Guards - Gives up to 40% increased magic find and 200% extra gold.

Belt

Snowclash - Gives +2 to Blizzard, +3 to Glacial Spike, +2 to Chilling Armor, 15% to maximum cold resistances, and 15 cold absorb.

Feet

War Travelers - Gives 25% faster run walk, up to 50% magic find, 10 strength, 10 vitality, and 15-25 base weapon damage.

Amulet

Mara's Kaleidoscope - Gives +2 to all skills, 5 to all attributes, and 20-30 to all resistances.

Rings

Nagelring - Gives up to 30% increased magic find. You can also use a 40% increased magic find ring if you can afford it.

Nature's Peace - Gives level 5 Oak Sage (increases your life), Slain Monsters Rest In Peace, up to 30% poison resistance, damage taken reduced by 11, and Prevent Monster Heal. This ring is important for Oak Sage for increased life and Slain Monsters Rest In Peace which is important for preventing Nihlathak's high damage corpse explosion attack on Key of Destruction runs.

Charms

Hellfire Torch for +3 Sorceress Skills, Annihilus for +1 to all skills, Gheed's Fortune for 40% magic find, Renewed Cold Rupture to break cold immunities, and +1 Cold Skill (Sorceress) grand charms with life. Look for 20 life resistance small charms and once your resistances are capped you should use 7% small magic find charms to improve your drops from key runs.

Mercenary Type

Act 2 Holy Freeze Mercenary

Mercenary Weapon

Infinity Polearm (Ber Mal Ber Ist) - Gives up to a level 12 Conviction aura which greatly lowers enemies' resistances. The Nature's Peace ring modifier, Slain Monsters Rest In Peace, which prevents Nihlathak's corpse explosion attack, doesn't work if your mercenary gets the kill so a low damage Infinity is highly recommended. Infinity should be used instead of Insight because Cold Mastery only works at 1/3 its normal strength when the bosses' cold immunity is broken with a Cold Rupture grand charm.

Mercenary Armor

Ethereal Fortitude (El Sol Dol Lo) - Gives 300% enhanced damage, all resistances +30%, high life per level, 5% to maximum lightning resistance, and a 20% chance to cast level 15 Chilling Armor when struck.

Budget Mercenary Armor

Duriel's Shell - Gives all resistances +20%, 50% cold resistances, life per level, 15 strength, and cannot be frozen.

Mercenary Helm

Ethereal Andariel's Visage (Ral'd) - Gives +2 to all skills, 10% life leech, -30% fire resistance, and 30 strength. Ral gives 30% fire resistance but you can also use a 30% fire resistance jewel with other great modifiers.

Budget Mercenary Helmet

Tal Rasha's Helmet - Gives 10% life stolen per hit, all resistances +15%, and 60 life.

Key Farming Magic Find Runs

Sample Drops From 300 Nihlathak Runs - Time to Complete: About 1 Minute 15 Seconds

Key of Destruction x34 (worth Ist each or 11 for Jah rune)

Ars Tor'Baalos (perfect +skills and reduced physical damage taken) (worth about 8 Jah)

Tal's Amulet (worth Mal rune)

Crafted Caster Amulet w/ +2 Paladin Skills, 10% faster cast rate, 20 Dexterity, 20 life, and 19 magic find (worth about Ber rune)

Note: The Ars Tor'Baalos rolled perfect which is unusual but there's an idea of drops you can get from 300 Nihlathak runs.

The Countess & The Summoner (optional)

The best time to farm The Countess and The Summoner for keys is when they're in a terror zone which can majorly improve their drops. The Countess will on the average drop two runes between Ist and Pul every 100 runs. The Countess drops up to Ist on her rune table drops but, she also has a low chance of dropping up to Lo rune from her normal drops. The Summoner also has chests at the end of the pathways that don't lead to The Summoner that are nice for charms, gems, and rune drops.

And that's all for the Key Farm Blizzard Sorceress Guide. You can also view the Gold Find Barbarian Guide here Gold Find Barbarian.