The prodigal daughter returns! Long has it been since the Nova Sorceress has been considered as one of the stronger builds, but now she is back - with a vengeance! In the before times, Nova was used to strike down hordes of cows. With Patch 2.4 it gains access to a Synergy from Static Field, drastically increasing its damage to a competitive Level.

The low amount of Skill Points required makes Nova a superb candidate for hybrid builds in combination with Cold or Fire Skills. The Pure Nova Sorceress becomes very tanky with Energy Shield and a massive Mana pool to negate large amounts of damage. This version deals well with the intense Mana cost Nova has.

Ideal Standard Setup

Nova

Static Field

Teleport

Energy Shield

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.

Very Tanky ✔
Beginner Friendly ✔
Fast Paced Playstyle ✔
Flexible Hybrid Versions ✔

❌ Very High Mana Costs
❌ Heavy Item Dependency
❌ Complicated Item Mechanics
❌ Non-Hybrid Bad For Act Bosses

Sunder Charm Setup

Patch 2.5 introduces a new way of breaking Immunities: Sunder Charms. Any enemy that would be Immune to your damage type is insted reduced to 95% Resistance, before any other Resistance reductions apply. (e.g. Conviction, Lower Resist) The Charm also reduces YOUR Resistance against the sundered damage type! Check out our post on Sunder Charms to learn more about these new Charms. The following setup uses Crack of the Heavens, allowing you to farm anywhere you want.

Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

To make optimal use of the Sunder Charm, equip as much -% Enemy Lightning Resistance as possible. Equip Infinity Scythe and Griffon's Eye for maximum damage. Make sure to keep at least 105% Faster Cast Rate!

Counteract the negative effect of Crack of the Heavens with Skin of the Vipermagi (Um Rune), Caster Crafted Amulet, and some Amber Small Charm of Good Luck.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic combined with Sunder Charms open up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build on the Starter setup. With the Sunder Charm Setup, more Terror Zones become accessible. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

✔ The Tower Cellar - High Density, Quick Access, Many Elite Groups, SKIP Archers!
✔ Dark Wood - Quick Access, Elite Groups, No Immunities
✔ Tristram - High Density, Many Elite Groups, SKIP Night Clans!
✔ Arcane Sanctuary - Quick Access, Bosses, Super Chests
✔ Blood Moor ONLY - No Immunities, Quick Access

Worst

❌ Chaos Sanctuary - Immunities, Tanky enemies
❌ Travincal - Immunities, High Elemental Damage, Tanky enemies
❌ Burial Grounds + Crypt + Mausoleum - Immunities
❌ River of Flame + City of the Damned - Immunities, Tanky enemies
❌ Ancients' Way + Icy Cellar - Immunities, Tanky enemies, High Physical Damage, High Elemental Damage

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Frozen Armor
2. Warmth
3. Telekinesis
4. Teleport
5. Energy Shield (maxed out later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Nova
2. Lightning Mastery
3. Static Field
4. Telekinesis
5. Energy Shield
6. Remaining points into Warmth

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 can require a different allocation!

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

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Energy to fully utilize Energy Shield, which requires large amounts of Mana.

Essentials

Gear Options

While every Stat in the Desirable Stats column is useful for this build, we highlighted the Priority Stats in Teal so you can easily identify the Most Important Stats on them.

Hover over any Item to see a pop-out with the full Item description.

Gear/Base Notes: Any Items with specialized or niche uses have a superscript that refers here.
1) Put Memory in your Horadric Cube to re-buff yourself whenever necessary.

Slot	Item Options	Desirable Stats
Weapon	Eschuta's Temper (Rainbow Facet) Eschuta's Temper (ist rune) The Oculus Heart of the Oak Flail Crescent Moon Crystal Sword Infinity Scythe	+x to All Skills +x to Sorceress Skills +x% Faster Cast Rate -x% to Enemy Lightning Resistance +x% to Lightning Skill Damage +x% to Fire Skill Damage +x to Energy All Resistances +x x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Off-Hand	Spirit Monarch Stormshield (eld rune)	+x to All Skills +x% Faster Cast Rate +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Faster Block Rate x% Increased Chance of Blocking +x to Mana X Resist +x%
Weapon-Swap	Call to Arms Crystal Sword Memory¹	+x to All Skills +x to Energy Shield [Sorceress Only] +x to battlecommand +x to battleorders
Off-Hand-Swap	Spirit Monarch	+x to All Skills
Helmets	Griffon's Eye (Rainbow Facet) Harlequin Crest (Um rune) Rare Diadem (Rainbow Facet) Temper Ground	+x to All Skills +x to Sorceress Skills +x to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only) +x% Faster Cast Rate -x% to Enemy Lightning Resistance +x to Strength +x to Life +x to Mana X Resist +x% All Resistances +x x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Socketed [2]
Body Armor	Ormus' Robes (Rainbow Facet) Skin of the Vipermagi (Ber rune) Skin of the Vipermagi (Um rune) Skin of the Vipermagi (Ist rune) Tal Rasha's Guardianship (Ist rune) Chains of Honor Dusk Shroud	+x to All Skills +x% Faster Cast Rate +x to Nova (Sorceress Only) +x% to Lightning Skill Damage +x% to Fire Skill Damage +x% to Cold Skill Damage X Resist +x% All Resistances +x Damage Reduced by x%
Gloves	Trang-Oul's Claws Magefist Frostburn Chance Guards	+x to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only) +x% Faster Cast Rate Increased Maximum Mana x% Regenerate Mana x% X Resist +x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Belts	Arachnid Mesh Goldwrap Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth Verdungo's Hearty Cord String of Ears	+x to All Skills +x% Faster Cast Rate X Resist +x% Damage Reduced by x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Boots	Silkweave War Traveler Sandstorm Trek Waterwalk Crafted Caster Boots Rare Boots	+x% Faster Run/Walk +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x Mana Increased Maximum Mana x% Regenerate Mana x% X Resist +x% +x to Mana after each Kill x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Amulets	Mara's Kaleidoscope Tal Rasha's Adjudication Caster Crafted Amulet	+x to All Skills +x to Sorceress Skills +x to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only) +x% Faster Cast Rate +x to Strength +x to all Attributes +x to Life +x to Mana X Resist +x% All Resistances +x x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Rings	The Stone of Jordan Nagelring Rare Ring	+x to All Skills +x% Faster Cast Rate +x to Strength +x to Life +x to Mana Increased Maximum Mana x% X Resist +x% All Resistances +x x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Charms	Grand Charm Large Charm Small Charm	+x to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only) +x% Faster Run / Walk +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x to Attribute +x to Life +x to Mana X Resist +x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Unique Charms	Crack of the Heavens Gheed's Fortune Hellfire Torch Annihilus	Monster Lightning Immunity is sundered +x to Sorceress Skill Levels +x to all Attributes All Resistances +xx% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Reduces all Vendor Prices x%

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Your Mercenary serves an incredibly important role to the overall success of your build. They can be a front line tank, provide a pivotal Aura, and/or deal Physical Damage to kill enemies with Immunity to your Skill set.

Act 2 Desert Mercenary

The Act 2 Desert Mercenary is hired from Greiz.
He can be equipped with a Spear or a Polearm, a Body Armor and a Helmet.
Every Act 2 Mercenary has access to an Aura and uses Jab as his base Attack. The Aura activates once the Mercenary has engaged in combat and remains active between traveling to and from town. The Auras available are based on what difficulty you hire the Mercenary from.

Holy Freeze, Infinity

Infinity, Holy Freeze

Use a Desert Mercenary with Holy Freeze Aura for its powerful Crowd Control. A Mercenary with Might Aura isn’t used, since we don’t rely on his damage or benefit from the Physical Damage increase.
Equip him with Infinity to reduce enemy Resistances and Defense with Conviction Aura, drastically boosting damage. This Aura is also capable of breaking some Immunities.

Mercenary Gear Options

Your Mercenary needs maximum Resistances, Life Leech, a high damage Weapon, and high Defense and/or Damage Reduction to stay alive reliably. Cannot Be Frozen is also a great stat for maintaining Mercenary DPS and leech. Ethereal gear is preferred since it doesn't lose durability.

Slot	Early-Game	Mid-Game	End-Game
Weapon	Insight	Insight	Infinity Plague
Body Armor	Smoke Lionheart Rockfleece	Treachery Duress Shaftstop Duriel's Shell	Fortitude Treachery
Helmet	Bulwark Undead Crown Temper Ground Cure	Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest Vampire Gaze Crown of Thieves Stealskull Kira's Guardian Rockstopper	Andariel's Visage Vampire Gaze

The Mercenary is hard to keep alive until you have the minimum gear recommended in this guide. Remember you can drag Healing Potions onto the portrait, or shift + 1/2/3/4 to directly feed them a Healing Potion from your Belt. The Mercenary also gains bonus Resistances from Thawing Potions and Antidote Potions.

If your Mercenary dies in battle, you can revive them from any of the Mercenary NPCs in each Act. This does come with an increasing cost, capping at 50,000 Gold. Keep that in mind and decide if the Mercenary is currently worth the cost.

Playstyle

General

Equip yourself with Memory and buff yourself with Frozen Armor and Energy Shield before you start your farming session.
Note: If you run out of Mana completely, the Energy Shield is removed. Make sure to recast it asap! This is your lifeline!
Teleport to your farming spot. Position yourself to cast the screen-wide Static Field 2-5 times, depending on the farming spot.
Nova deals damage in a relatively small area around your Character. Reposition yourself with Teleport to hit as many enemies as possible. Be aggressive! Nova puts most monsters into Hit Recovery, slowing them down while they approach you!

Hybrid-Builds

Hybrid builds generally allow for a wider range of areas that you can farm in.

Use Frozen Orb or spawn your 6 Hydras to fight enemies that are Immune to your Nova. Also use them in addition to Static Field in places you don't plan to Teleport to. This increases your over-all damage output and can net you some additional loot!
The Hydra-variant destroys Act Bosses. Make sure to utilize this Skill to farm them!

Immunities

Playing around with a Wand of Lower Resistance or an Act 5 Mercenary with plague allows you to deal with some Immune to Lightning monsters. Avoiding areas with Immune to Lightning monsters entirely until you have access to Infinity is the better call. The Nova Sorceress doesn't deal well with monsters that still have high Resistances after their immunity has been broken.
When you are playing one of the Hybrid-version, you and your Mercenary are able to deal with any Immune monster you encounter!
With the addition of Crack of the Heavens, all Immunities are broken and our combined -xx% Enemy Lightning Resistance gear brings monster's Resistances low enough to deal damage!

Late-Game

Start runs by buffing yourself with Battle Command 2 times and afterwards with Battle Orders from Call to Arms.
Switch to Memory from your Horadric Cube and buff yourself with Frozen Armor and Energy Shield as well.
Keep your Mercenary close to apply his Conviction Aura to your enemies.

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Budget

Standard

Magic Find

Infinity Self Use

Hydra Hybrid

Hardcore

Setup

This variant combines as much +x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Magic Find), exceeding 600% in total, while keeping as much damage as possible. Going down to the 105% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint allows the addition of Chance Guards and the 3-Set-piece combination of Tal Rasha's Adjudication, Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth, and Tal Rasha's Guardianship. Exchanging the Sparking Grand Charm of Vita for Charms with Magic Find and Resistances or Mana round out the build. Play around with this change and put back some Skillers if your damage or life feels too low. Use war Traveler for max Magic Find or any Rare Boots or Caster Crafted Boots with Magic Find and Resistances if necessary.

Mercenary

The Mercenary is clear-cut across all variants. Use the Might (Damage) or Holy Freeze (Crowd Control) version, depending on your preference. Use Infinity Giant Thresher, Fortitude Sacred Armor, and Andariel's Visage socketed with Ruby Jewel of Fervor to keep him alive permanently.

Skills

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Energy.

Mechanics

Teleport

Static Field

Summary

Always buff yourself with everything that you got! Energy Shield is removed when your Mana reaches 0, make sure the golden ball is always above your head! Keep an eye on your Mana - It is your lifeline!
Use your screen-wide Static Field to weaken your enemies before you close the gap to slaughter them!
Be aggressive! Nova deals damage around your Character, and most monster are stunned when they get hit by it. Being defensive reduces your efficiency!
Don't farm in areas when you can't break monsters' Immunity to Lightning and reduce their Resistances beyond that. Nova doesn't deal well with high Resistant monsters.
Play around with the Hybrid-variants. They are a lot of fun and open up a wide range of areas to farm in!

The Nova Sorceress is a very rewarding close up Lightning build that can destroy everything in the game. Enjoy jumping into your enemies and zap them to death!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by MacroBioBoi

Changelog

3 February 2023
Updated to Patch 2.6 - Added Ground and Temper to Gear Options - Added Gear Options to Mercenary section - Minor adjustments to Hardcore section
3 October 2022
Added Infinity Self Use setup
18 September 2022
Updated to Patch 2.5 Added Sunder Charms and Terror Zones Updated the Standard Variant
16 March 2022
Published with Patch 2.4

Area	Starter	Rewards
The Countess	✔	Runes Key of Terror
The Pit	-	All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling
Andariel	✔	Uniques Sets Jewelry
The Secret Cow Level	✔	Runes Runeword Bases Charms / Gems / Jewels

Area	Starter	Rewards
Arcane Sanctuary (Specters/Super Chests)	✔	Runes Charms / Gems / Jewels Jewelry
Summoner	✔	Key of Hate

Area		Starter	Rewards
Mephisto		✔	Uniques Sets

Area	Starter	Rewards
River of Flame	-	All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling
Chaos Sanctuary	-	All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling
Diablo	-	Uniques Sets

Area	Starter	Rewards
Eldritch the Rectifier	✔	Gearing Gold Leveling
Shenk the Overseer	✔	Gearing Gold Leveling
Pindleskin	✔	Gearing Gold Leveling
Drifter Cavern	-	All Item Types
Nihlathak	✔	Key of Destruction Leveling
Worldstone Keep / Throne of Destruction	-	All Item Types Max Area Level Leveling
Baal / Waves	-	Uniques Sets Max Area Level Leveling

Frames	13	12	11	10	9	8	7
FCR	0	9	20	37	63	105	200

Frames	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5
FHR	0	5	9	14	20	30	42	60	86	142	280

Nova Sorceress Guide

Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

Terror Zones

Best

Worst

Skills

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Strength

Dexterity

Vitality

Energy

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4

Act 5

Mercenary

Act 2 Desert Mercenary

Infinity, Holy Freeze

Mercenary Gear Options

Playstyle

General

Hybrid-Builds

Immunities

Late-Game

Breakpoints

Faster Cast Rate (FCR)

Faster Hit Recovery (FHR)

Hardcore

Stat Point Changes

Item Changes

Build Variants

Setup

Mercenary

Skills

Attributes

Setup

Mercenary

Skills

Attributes

Setup

Mercenary

Skills

Attributes

Setup

Mercenary

Skills

Attributes

Setup

Mercenary

Skills

Attributes

Setup

Mercenary

Skills

Attributes

Mechanics

Teleport

Static Field

Summary

Credits

Changelog