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Nova Sorceress Guide

Season 8S

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

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
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
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
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

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Budget
Standard
Magic Find
Infinity Self Use
Hydra Hybrid
Hardcore

Setup

While the Nova Sorceress excels at the early stages of Leveling, it struggles to come online in Hell. With a decent amount of +x to Skills, at least 105% Faster Cast Rate (FCR), and a ton of Mana, you can start using it in the easier to farm areas mentioned in the Farming Spots section. Frostburn and Spirit Monarch are easy to obtain sources of Mana. The Oculus, Skin of the Vipermagi and Spirit Monarch with 1-2 FCR Rings deal with the Cast Rate needs. Put on as many +x to Skills on the remaining gear slots and your Charms to increase your damage and make sure to cap out your Resistances!

Mercenary

The Mercenary in this variant ensures massive Mana Regeneration with Insight Thresher in an Elite Base. Treachery and a Helmet with x% Life stolen per hit such as Vampire Gaze keep your Mercenary alive. With Might he can get rid of monsters Immune to Lightning on low player counts.

Skills

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

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Nova
2. Lightning Mastery
3. Static Field
4. Telekinesis

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Energy. Note: If you don't have access to a bunch of +x to Life you should allocate around 100 Points into Vitality. Goal is to have 3x more Mana than Life.

Setup

The Standard variant uses the 105% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint with a massive Mana Pool for Energy Shield which allows her to spam Nova at will. Equip Skin of the Vipermagi, Spirit Monarch, Griffon's Eye, Arachnid Mesh, and a Caster Craft Amulet to achieve 105% FCR.

Frostburn and 2 Stone of Jordan Rings increase your Mana Pool by 90%.

Replacing gheed's fortune for Crack of the Heavens allows you to farm wherever you want.

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

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
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.

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. With Magefist and the 3-Set-piece combination of Tal Rasha's Adjudication, Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth, and Tal Rasha's Guardianship you increase your Magic Find significantly while retaining the 105% Faster Cast Rate breakpoint. 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

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
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.

Setup

This setup maximizes damage against monsters Immune to Lightning. It opens up the Mercenary to use insight for much better Mana Regeneration, making the Nova Sorceress much tankier against small damage hits, but reduces her ability to handle big damage hits due to a lower Mana Pool.

Equip Infinity Scythe instead of Crescent Moon Crystal Sword + Spirit Monarch and replace Frostburn for Magefist to keep the 105% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint.

Replace a Sparking Grand Charm of Vita for Crack of the Heavens to annihilate Immune to Lightning monsters.

Mercenary

Self using infinity opens up the Mercenaries' Weapon choice. Use the Might (Damage) or Holy Freeze (Crowd Control) version, depending on your preference. Equip Insight Giant Thresher for additional Mana Regeneration, Fortitude Sacred Armor, and Andariel's Visage socketed with Ruby Jewel of Fervor to keep him alive permanently.

Skills

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

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Nova
2. Lightning Mastery
3. Static Field
4. Hydra
5. Fire Mastery
6. Remaining Points into Fire Ball or Warmth

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 equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Energy.

Setup

The Hydra-Hybrid adds a source of Fire Damage to deal with monsters Immune to Lightning. Hydra is also an incredible damage boost to any Act Boss fight. Using Magefist instead of Trang-Oul's Claws is the only item change from the Standard Variant. This Fire Hybrid is Life-based because Hydra requires a lot more Skill Points to deal great amounts of damage, maxing out Fire Mastery. Eschuta's Temper maxes out the damage for both hydra, and nova.

Note: The Mana management is more difficult and this variant is less durable than any other version.

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

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

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Nova
2. Lightning Mastery
3. Static Field
4. Hydra
5. Fire Mastery
6. Remaining Points into Fire Ball or Warmth

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 equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Hardcore variant of this build increases the survivability drastically. Doing so sacrifices some damage for max Chance to Block and % Damage Reduction. Since the Nova Sorceress has to go where it hurts, these Stats are even more powerful than on other Sorceress builds. Using a Gerke's Sanctuary Pavise (Eld Rune), Skin of the Vipermagi (Ber Rune) gets you to 43% Damage Reduction. Use 2 The Stone of Jordan to keep as much damage as possible.

Mercenary

The Mercenary is clear-cut across all variants. Use the Holy Freeze for its Crowd Control. Use Infinity Giant Thresher, Fortitude Sacred Armor, and Andariel's Visage socketed with Ruby Jewel of Fervor to keep him alive permanently.

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
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip your gear and Dexterity to maintain 75% Chance to Block. 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

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