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Fire Ball Nova Sorceress Guide

Season 8A

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

Magic Find The Pit like a pro with the Fire Ball Nova Sorceress. With Nova for the Devilkins and Fire Immune Unique monsters, and Fire Ball for everything else, this hybrid Sorceress is unstoppable in this top-tier Max Level Area.

When it comes to Solo-farming, this build has little competition. High mobility, high Magic Find, strong Damage options, and smooth transitions make this build both exciting and effective. Even though she specializes in Elite Hunting in The Pit, this Sorceress can hold her own in almost any of the top tier Farming Spots, including most Terror Zones. With a few tweaks to the Standard Build, and strategic use of Static Field, the Fire Ball Nova Sorceress is even capable of beasting down monsters in Max Player Count games. Swapping between two different types of Elemental Damage, this build truly comes online once acquiring Infinity for the Mercenary. She's Electric...she's Fire...this is the Fire Ball Nova Sorceress!

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup


Fire Ball


Nova


Static Field


Teleport

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Sorceress Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.


Strong Solo Farmer
Fast-Paced Playstyle ✔
Two Primary Damage Types ✔


Low Top-End Damage
❌ Bad Early-Game Starter
Requires GG Gear For True Potential

Sunder Charm Setup

The Fire Ball Nova Sorceress does not benefit much from the new Sunder Charms because she can already deal with most Immunities by using the Skill the monsters are not Immune to (Fire Ball for Immune to Lightning mobs and Nova for Immune to Fire mobs). At best this build can use Flame Rift to deal with Uniques that are Immune to both Fire and Lightning.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic opens up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build. Since this build deals both Fire and Lightning Damage, it farms most Terror Zones efficiently on the Standard setup. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

Pit - High Density, Easy Mobility, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access
Underground Passage + Dark Wood - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access
Stony Field - High Density, Easy Mobility, Quick Access
Tristram - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility, Quick Access
Black Marsh + The Hole - Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility, Quick Access

Worst

Travincal - High Elemental Damage, Tanky Enemies, Immunities
Chaos Sanctuary - High Physical Damage, High Elemental Damage, Tanky Enemies, Immunities
Outer Steppes + Plains of Despair - High Elemental Damage, Tanky Enemies, Immunities
River of Flame + City of the Damned - High Physical Damage, High Elemental Damage Tanky Enemies, Immunities
Act 2 Sewers - High Elemental Damage, Immunities

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Telekinesis
2. Teleport
3. Static Field
4. Lightning Mastery
5. Frozen Armor
6. Warmth

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Fire Ball
2. Nova
3. Meteor
4. Fire Bolt
5. Fire Mastery

Put anywhere from 5-10 additional Skill Points into Static Field for a stronger Nova.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants may require different allocations!

Strength

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Dexterity your gear provides when equipped.

Vitality

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Don't allocate any Stat Points into Energy. This build gets enough Mana from gear, buffs, Charms, and Mana Potions.

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Standard
Flexible
Damage
Hardcore

Setup

This is the Standard Best in Slot (BiS) Fire Ball Nova Sorceress featured in the beginning of the guide. This Sorceress is designed for maximum Solo-farming efficiency in The Pit (/Players1 on Single Player). Swapping between using Fire Ball and Nova allows this build to quickly target and destroy all Elite Monsters in this optimal Farming Spot. Extremely high Magic Find and mobility make this Sorceress one of the overall top builds for farming rare Unique and Set items. This setup achieves the 105% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint.

Mercenary

The Standard Fire Ball Nova Sorceress uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity for -85% to Enemy Fire Resistance and -85% to Enemy Lightning Resistance from its Conviction Aura. Fortitude and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor maximize this Mercenary's damage and survivability.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Telekinesis
2. Teleport
3. Static Field
4. Lightning Mastery
5. Frozen Armor
6. Warmth

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Fire Ball
2. Nova
3. Meteor
4. Fire Bolt
5. Fire Mastery

Put anywhere from 5-10 additional Skill Points into Static Field for a stronger Nova.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This variant makes clever use of 4-Piece Tal Rasha's Set to increase the Fire Ball Nova Sorceress' versatility. Using every Tal Rasha's Set item except for Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest allows this build to maintain extremely high Magic Find while having both -x% Enemy Fire Resistance and -x% Enemy Lightning Resistance. This setup also achieves the 86% Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoint. Magefist allows this variant to maintain 105% Faster Cast Rate while also improving Fire Ball damage. The Flexible variant performs better than the Standard Build in a greater variety of Farming Spots, including several Terror Zones. Solo-farming The Pit is almost just as optimal with this setup as the Standard setup due to its high effectiveness against Elite Monsters Resistant or Immune to Fire or Lightning. However, this variant has slightly less Magic Find and Damage compared to the Standard Fire Ball Nova Sorceress.

Mercenary

All Fire Ball Nova Sorceress variants use an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity, Fortitude, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Telekinesis
2. Teleport
3. Static Field
4. Frozen Armor
5. Warmth

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Fire Ball
2. Nova
3. Meteor
4. Fire Bolt
5. Fire Mastery

Put anywhere from 5-10 additional Skill Points into Static Field for a stronger Nova.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear Spirit. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This variant focuses much more on Damage than Magic Find for better performance/faster kills in High Player Count games or /Players5-8 on Single Player. Griffon's Eye socketed with a 5/5 Fire Rainbow Facet provides increased damage for both Nova and Fire Ball. An Eschuta's Temper also achieves this purpose. + to Skill gear such as Enigma, Mara's Kaleidoscope, Arachnid Mesh and The Stone of Jordan further increase this variant's damage (see "Gear Options" above for more ideas). + to Fire or Lightning Skill Grand Charms replace Magic Find Charms for even more damage! Static Field is often used on the Damage variant to quickly train down high monster Life, especially before using Nova. This setup achieves the 105% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint.

Mercenary

All Fire Ball Nova Sorceress variants use an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity, Fortitude, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Telekinesis
2. Teleport
3. Static Field
4. Lightning Mastery
5. Frozen Armor
6. Warmth

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Fire Ball
2. Nova
3. Meteor
4. Fire Bolt
5. Fire Mastery

Put anywhere from 5-10 additional Skill Points into Static Field for a stronger Nova and increased Static Field range.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear Spirit. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

For the Hardcore mode variant, aim for near 50% Damage Reduction and maximum Chance to Block (75%) to guard against taking extreme amounts of Physical Damage. Additionally, overcap Resistances beyond the natural cap of 75% if possible to counteract hostile Conviction or Lower Resist. This setup maintains high Magic Find and the 105% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint so that it can still dominate The Pit. Consult the "Hardcore" section for more detailed information.

Mercenary

All Fire Ball Nova Sorceress variants use an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity, Fortitude, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor. Alternatively, a Defiance Aura Mercenary may be used here for the massive Defense boost that it provides.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Telekinesis
2. Teleport
3. Static Field
4. Lightning Mastery
5. Frozen Armor
6. Warmth

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Fire Ball
2. Nova
3. Meteor
4. Fire Bolt
5. Fire Mastery

Put anywhere from 5-10 additional Skill Points into Static Field for a stronger Nova.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Video Guide

Video Guide by DarkHumility

Summary

  • The Fire Ball Nova Sorceress is a hybrid Sorceress build that specializes in Solo-farming The Pit.
  • Use Nova to kill Fire Immune monsters such as the Devilkins in The Pit, and use Fire Ball to kill everything else. Use your Mercenary to kill monsters that are Immune to both Fire and Lightning.
  • While The Pit is her best Farming Spot, this Sorceress can comfortably Solo farm most areas including Terror Zones.
  • With adjustments to gear and playstyle, this build is even viable in a full game (/Players8) and in Hardcore.

We hope you enjoy this build! With both Fire and Lightning, this build is sizzling hot. Dominate The Pit and find all the GG loot!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by DarkHumility
Reviewed by Teo1904
Inspired by Enpherno

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