PvP Frozen Orb Sorceress Guide

Frozen Orb Sorceress Guide for PvP and PvM

PvP Rank: A Class / PvM Rank: B Class

Introduction

Frozen Orb Sorceresses are close in capability to Blizzard Sorceresses in PvP but Frozen Orb Sorceresses have different strengths. Frozen Orb has the advantage of being easier to aim and has screen wide coverage making it easier to hit moving enemies. When dueling a Frozen Orb Sorceress opponents can sometimes find it difficult to gear for high over stacked cold resistance because Cold Mastery can lower opponents' cold resistances by more than 200%. The damage of Frozen Orb, however, does split into a large number of cold shards which makes it much easier to absorb when compared to a Blizzard Sorceress. Ice Blast is the recommended secondary skill over Fire Ball because Ice Blast can be fully synergized with leftover skill points after maxing out Frozen Orb and its synergies. You can expect to two shot most opponents with Ice Blast even if they have very high cold resistances and cold absorb which is a major strength of this build. The A Class rating for PvP takes the screen wide coverage of Frozen Orb into account but also weighs in that Frozen Orb is much easier to absorb when compared to a Blizzard Sorceress.

Frozen Orb Sorceress Skills

This build can use Stormshield for 35% reduced physical damage taken, high resistances, and the ability to use a Cold Facet or a Protector's Frost jewel for increased cold damage but you can switch to a Spirit Monarch shield at any time. This build is built this way to be competitive vs physical builds while still having an advantage against elemental builds.

Recommendation: Frozen Orb Sorceress

Stats: 156 Strength (enough for Stormshield/Spirit Monarch), 0 Dexterity, all remaining points in Vitality, and 0 Energy.

Skill Points:

20 Frozen Orb

20 Cold Mastery

20 Ice Bolt (synergy for Frozen Orb and Ice Blast)

20 Ice Blast

20 Blizzard (synergy for Ice Blast)

1 Frozen Armor

1 Teleport

1 Warmth

1 Static Field (optional for PvM)

Your final points can be used to upgrade your Frozen Armor to Shiver Armor and then points can be spent in Chilling Armor.

Frozen Orb Sorceress Gear

Weapon

Death's Fathom (Protector's Frost) - Gives +3 to Sorceress Skills, 20% faster cast rate, up to 30% increased cold skill damage, up to 40% lightning resistance, and up to 40% fire resistance.

Shield

Stormshield (Cold Facet'd) / Spirit Monarch (Tal Thul Ort Amn) - Stormshield gives 35% reduced physical damage taken, 60% cold resistance, and 25% lightning resistance. Stormshield is recommended for PvM, for dueling cold damage builds that lower your cold resistance, and for fighting physical damage builds. You can switch to a Spirit Monarch (Tal Thul Ort Amn) for +2 to all skills, 55% faster hit recovery, vitality, magic absorb, 35% cold resistance, 35% lightning resistance, and 35% poison resistance when fighting builds that don't deal physical damage and for builds that don't require over stacked cold resistance.

Weapon Switch

Call to Arms (Amn Ral Mal Ist Ohm) - Used for up to +7 to Battle Orders with a Spirit (Tal Thul Ort Amn) for an extra +2 to all skills.

Helmet

Nightwing's Veil - Gives +2 to all skills, up to 15% increased cold skill damage, 20 dexterity, and 9 cold absorb. This helmet is recommended to increase your cold damage because it makes your Frozen Orb more difficult to absorb. This item should be socketed with a cold facet to increase your cold damage and lower your enemies' cold resistance.

Body

Chains of Honor Archon Plate (Dol Um Ber Ist) - Gives +2 to all skills, all resistances +65%, 8% physical damage taken reduction, 20 strength, 70% enhanced defense, replenish life, and a 25% better chance of getting magic items.

Gloves

Trang-Oul's Gloves - Gives 20% faster cast rate, 25% increased poison damage, and 30% cold resistance.

Belt

Arachnid Mesh - Gives +1 to all skills, 20% faster cast rate, and 5% increased mana. You should reach the 63% faster cast rate breakpoint with this belt, Death's Fathom Orb, Trang'Oul's Gloves, and at least 3% faster cast rate on your amulet.

Belt Vs. Lightning Builds (when using a Spirit Monarch shield)

Thundergod's Vigor - This belt should be used against lightning builds for +10% to maximum lightning resistance, 20 lightning absorb, 20 strength, 20 vitality, 1-50 lightning damage, and a 5% chance to cast level 7 Fist of the Heavens when struck.

Feet (Default)

Ethereal Sandstorm Trek - Gives up to 20% faster run walk, 20% faster hit recovery, up to 15 strength, up to 15 vitality, up to 70% poison resistance, and they repair their durability which allows them to be ethereal for higher defense and lower requirements.

Feet Vs. Magic Builds

Horazon's Legacy - Gives 30% faster run walk, strength, dexterity, cannot be frozen, and up to 30% magic resistance.

Feet Vs. Fire Builds

Hotspur - These boots should be used against fire builds for +15% to Maximum Fire Resistance, 15 life, and 45% fire resistance. Hotspur can be Up'd to Demonhide Boots in the Horadric Cube using a Perfect Diamond, Shael rune, and Tal rune. Hotspur can also be Up'd a second time to Wyrmhide Boots in the Horadric Cube using a Perfect Diamond, Lem rune, and Ko rune.

Amulet (when using a Spirit Monarch shield)

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

Amulet (when using a Stormshield)

Caster Amulet or Rare Amulet - Look for +2 to Sorceress Skills, at least 3%+ faster cast rate, all resistances, extra resists, and life.

Rings

Wisp Projector / Bul-Kathos's Wedding Band - Wisp Projector is recommended for PvM for up to 20% lightning absorb, magic find, and level 2 Oak Sage. In PvP when you don't need the lightning absorb you can switch to a Nature's Peace ring for level 5 Oak Sage, reduced damage taken, and up to 30% poison resistance. You should use a Bul-Kathos's Wedding Band ring in the second ring slot for +1 to all skills and life per level or an elemental absorb ring. You can use a 10% faster cast rate ring with all resistances as a budget option if you can't afford a strong +2 Sorceress Skills amulet with faster cast rate to reach the 63% faster cast rate barrier.

Rings (Absorb) - Your Bul-Kathos's Wedding Band ring should be switched to a Raven Frost for 20% cold absorb when dueling cold damage builds, a Dwarf Star should be switched to for 15% fire absorb and 40 life when fighting fire damage builds, and you should switch to one Wisp Projector for 20% lightning absorb when dueling lightning damage builds.

Charms

Hellfire Torch for +3 Sorceress Skills, Annihilus for +1 to all skills, one Renewed Cold Rupture Grand Charm with faster hit recovery should be used in PvM to break cold immunities, and an inventory full of +1 Cold Skills Grand Charms with life. The rest of your charms should be small charms with life and resistances especially cold resistances.

Mercenary Type

Act 2 Holy Freeze Mercenary - Gives an aura that slows the attack speed and movement speed of enemies.

Mercenary Weapon

Infinity Thresher (Ber Mal Ber Ist) - Gives a level 12 Conviction aura which lowers enemies' resistances. Infinity should be used because Cold Mastery only works at 1/3 its normal strength when an enemies' cold immunity is broken by a sunder 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.

Mercenary Helmet

Ethereal Andariel's Visage (Ral'd) - Gives +2 to all skills, 10% life stolen per hit, -30% fire resistance, and 30 strength. Ral gives 30% fire resistance but you can eventually upgrade to a 30% fire resistance jewel with 15% increased attack speed which is better.

Budget Mercenary Weapon

Insight (Ral Tir Tal Sol) - Gives up to level 17 Meditation which provides very high mana regeneration.

Budget Mercenary Armor

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

Budget Mercenary Helmet

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

Note: Ethereal items don't lose durability on mercenaries.

Frozen Orb Sorceress Strategy

Frozen Orb Sorceresses have screen wide damage which makes them great at dealing damage against fast moving builds. Even high life characters like Barbarians and Druids with absorb can be taken down with some patience. Necromancers of all varieties are typically an easy fight for this build but if a Necromancer is using absorb again it will just take patience. With the very fast Teleport speed of a Sorceress you should also try your best to never get attacked by melee builds while standing still.

Frozen Orb Sorceress Leveling Items

The Angelic Raiment set can be used as early as level 12 for high life, defense, and a significant amount of magic find as a great starter option. An Ancient's Pledge Large Shield (Ral Ort Tal) can be switched to at level 21 for high resistances. You should switch to a Spirit Crystal Sword (Tal Thul Ort Amn) at level 25 for +2 to all skills, up to 35% faster cast rate, 55% faster hit recovery, vitality, mana, and magic absorb. A Skin of the Vipermagi is a great early game armor option which can be used at level 29 for +1 to all skills, 30% faster cast rate, up to magic damage taken reduced by 13, and up to all resistances +35%. A Smoke runeword (Nef Lum) can also optionally be used as a budget option armor for 20% faster hit recovery and an easy all resistances +50%.

And that's all for the Frozen Orb Sorceress Guide. You can check out more guides in the menu at the top of this page. Good luck!