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Firebird Meteor Wizard Guide

Last Updated: January 10th 2024

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Introduction

Firebird Comet Solo Push
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Firebird's Finery has been one of the weakest and most clunky sets in the game for quite some time, having to juggle between three Fire abilities to benefit from its set bonuses. Comically enough, the strongest Firebird build iterations have been using non-Fire abilities! Yet, Firebird's Finery had its glory days of dominating the META as a Trash Killer from Season 12 to 15 using Meteor Star Pact alongside channeling multipliers like Deathwish.

Patch 2.7.0 and Season 23, however, brought us a complete rework of this set. Firebird's Finery always had a strong fantasy around the Phoenix theme with the (2) Bonus "rising from the ashes" cheat death and the Fire element with an Ignite DoT. The set was successful with builds like Mirror Images or Flame Blades.

But with Season 27 rework to Tal Rasha's Elements around Meteors bringing two new items, The Smoldering Core and Mempo of Twilight, a new Firebird's Finery variant emerged. This build takes advantage of Meteor damage multipliers and unfortunately do not care about the Firebird Ignite DoT gimmick. With the heavy Tal'Rasha's Elements nerf in Season 30, this build now has a very similar if not higher potential than its Tal'Rasha Meteor counterpart.

This is an Area Damage (AD) build, since Meteors can proc it. The whole playstyle revolves around the precise use of Teleport and massive use of Meteor Comet, in order to wreak havoc onto the battlefield. This guide will show you the way to become a formidable Meteor Wizard!

Flavorful ✔
Caster Playstyle ✔
Smooth Gameplay ✔
Easy to Get Starter Gear ✔

❌ Boring Playstyle
❌ Random Meteor Landing
Vulnerable to Crowd Control
Conflicts with Firebird Set Spirit

Core Setup

Core Item Build

Items

  • The Firebird's Finery set provides 80% damage reduction to our character as well as a 5,000% damage multiplier. The Ignite DoT mechanic is irrelevant for this build.
  • The Grand Vizier provides us a 400% separate damage multiplier and reduce the Meteor Arcane Power cost by 50%.
  • The Smoldering Core grants us a stacking damage multiplier on consecutive hits on targets, up to 500%. It also lures normal monsters towards Meteor Impacts.
  • Mempo of Twilight grants us a 400% damage multiplier on top of the Meteor Shower rune effect, the latest only affecting selfcast Meteors.
  • Nilfur's Boast gives another huge 600% damage multiplier and even up to 900% when you hit only 3 targets or less.
  • Squirt's Necklace is a default inclusion for most Wizard builds due to their shield strength.
  • Halo of Karini is a core Wizard defensive item, providing us with a tremendous 80% damage reduction at the cost of using Storm Armor.
  • Convention of Elements is another separate damage multiplier, giving you triple damage during your Cold cycle.
  • Ring of Royal Grandeur allows us to complement our Firebird's FInery Set with another set, Guardian's Jeopardy.

Season 30 Soul Shards

Soul Shards are powerful socketable items that initially dropped during Season 25 but they are returning for Season 30! There are 4 available for Weapons based on the Lesser Evils, with another 3 for Helmets based on the Prime Evils. They drop at Rank 0 and be upgraded three times with the brand new Hellforge Embers to unlock additional powers, or be used in the Kanai's Cube as Augments. Here's how they progress:

  • Rank 0: Soul Shards begin with a unique static Legendary Power. Creates a Rank 50 Augment.
  • Rank 1: Gives all powers from the normal gems. Creates a Rank 75 Augment.
  • Rank 2: Grants one additional powerful stat. Creates a Rank 100 Augment.
  • Rank 3: Unlocks 1 of 3 bonus Legendary Powers unique to that Soul Shard. Creates a Rank 125 Augment.

Warning: Leoric's Crown and Broken Crown do not work with Soul Shards!

Read our Soul Shards Guide written by Chewingnom for full details on how they work. What you should prioritize on them for Solo Pushing is the following:

  1. The Correct Soul Shard & Rank 3 Power
    The best shards for Solo Pushing are:
    • Helmets: We want to use Shard of Hatred for the massive 50% damage buff when surrounded by a lot of monsters. For the Rank 3 power, take the additional damage per stack for a tremendous 100% damage buff in density!
    • Weapons: We want to use Essence of Anguish for the Movement Speed and Cooldown Reduction. For the Rank 3 power take the 50% increased Poison Damage, which actually applies to all damage done! Hint: Make sure to get a Poison Damage Range on your Weapon so it can proc the shard automatically.
  2. The Rank 2 Stat
    The stats that come from the second upgrade are not equal. Here's what we're looking for on them:
    • Helmets: We want either Main Stat for damage or Melee/Ranged Damage Reduction to survive. Avoid Armor and All Resistance as their stat ranges are far too low compared to the other options.
    • Weapons: We want either % Damage or Arcane Damage to boost our character's power the furthest.
  3. The Stat Ranges on the Rank 1 and 2 Powers
    This is just icing on the cake because the ranges will not make or break your build. Still, look for the Soul Shards with the best stat ranges, especially on the offensive stats.

For the other game modes, other Soul Shards can be used. Check the Variants below to see what's used there.

What about extra Soul Shards? Either salvage them for gems, or upgrade and use them in Kanai's Cube for Augments.

Global Stat Priorities

You want to stack damage stats wherever possible, especially Critical Hit Chance and Damage, Area Damage as well as Cold Damage and Meteor Damage. Some Resource Cost Reduction is welcome (Shoulders and Flawless Royal Topaz in Helmet). You do not care about Firebird's Finery Ignite DoT mechanic to deal damage.

Regarding toughness, like most Wizard builds, in some setups we take advantage of Galvanizing Ward and Diamond Skin Prism to generate Shields based on our HP pool. This means Vitality and Life % are very important as they double dip into Shields. This is the reason why you want to aim for a decent HP pool.

Crowd Control Reduction is an incredibly valuable secondary Affix to roll on both Rings, Amulet and Helmet as we are very sensitive to Hard Crowd Control effects and mitigating these will ease up our gameplay significantly. Make sure to get the Primary Affixes locked in before attempting to get CCR though.

Assembling the Build

Item Stat Priorities

Gems

Skills

Passives

Paragon Points

Altar of Rites

Follower

Gameplay

Hardcore

Variants

Nephalem Rifts
GR Solo Speeds
GR Solo Push
Firebird Solo T16

Concept
Like usual we utilize Boon of the Hoarder with Avarice Band (on follower) to become invincible and instantly vacuum the juicy Progression Orbs from Elites.

We focus more on mobility and utility like Teleport. The idea is to spam Thunder Crash on packs of monsters and Elites while running. We use Stone of Jordan and drop The Smoldering Core since its mechanics are not speed content friendly.

Gameplay
Teleport through the rift with Teleport while spamming Thunder Crash everywhere on the screen. Use Diamond Skin Prism on cooldown to ensure you never run into Arcane Power issues.

Setups
In groups, replace Warzechian Armguards with Nemesis Bracers and Ring of Royal Grandeur with Avarice Band while replacing Pride's Fall with Firebird's Plume. Swap The Witching Hour with Goldwrap if you want to be invulnerable.

Firebird Thunder Crash Solo Speeds

Concept
We focus more on mobility and utility like Teleport. The idea is to spam Thunder Crash on packs of monsters and Elites while running. We drop The Smoldering Core since its mechanics are not speed content friendly.

Gameplay
Teleport through the rift with Teleport while spamming Thunder Crash everywhere on the screen. For a step-by-step gameplay description on how you should sequence your skills, check out the "Gameplay" section above.

Setups
If incoming damage is an issue, swap out Bane of the Powerful for Esoteric Alteration or Molten Wildebeest's Gizzard instead. You can also replace Teleport Wormhole with Safe Passage for an additional 25% damage reduction. If you're comfortable with both your damage and toughness, go for Invigorating Gemstone instead of Bane of the Powerful for the Crowd Control Immunity. Furthermore, you can go back to a Dual Staves setup with The Smoldering Core similar to the Solo Push setup for higher but slower clears.

Firebird Comet Solo Push

Concept
We stack up as much damage as possible and take advantage of Teleport. The idea is to spam Comet during your Cold Convention of Elements cycle. Don't forget that Wizard shielding mechanics scale with your HP pool, so adding more Vitality and Life % is always a huge toughness boost.

Gameplay
Pull monsters all around using Teleport and Disintegrate. As your Cold CoE cycle is coming up, use Black Hole Absolute Zero to lock monsters and start nuke with Comet. For a step-by-step gameplay description on how you should sequence your skills, check out the "Gameplay" section above.

Setups
It is possible to play this build using Endless Walk instead of Squirt's Necklace and Convention of Elements. This setup has less damage but does not require you to keep Shields and rely on CoE cycles to deal damage if you do not lke that. Alternatively, it is possible to play this build with Star Pact.

If you're comfortable with toughness, go for the Enchantress as follower instead of the Templar. For more toughness, you can drop Zei's Stone of Vengeance for Esoteric Alteration (at the cost of massive damage loss) or swap Elemental Exposure with a defensive passive like Dominance or Unwavering Will.

Video Guide

Mechanics

Firebirds Finery

Wizard Shields

The Smoldering Core

Elemental Exposure

Summary

  • Put together the core items and acquire the full Firebird's Finery set.
  • Gather the Meteor related supporting items.
  • Channel Disintegrate at the start of every Rift for damage reduction and infinite Teleports.
  • Enjoy this flavorful Wizard spellcaster playstyle!
  • Hard Crowd Control Effects are now your worst nightmare!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by Chewingnom.
Reviewed by wudijo.

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