Elemental Nova Sorcerer Guide
Last Updated:July 2, 2024|Changelog
This Sorcerer turns into a Lightning Turret that channels Elemental Nova to decimate all enemies on sight. Additionally, Lightning Blast provides very high single target DPS that can quickly defeat dangerous threats. This build has been one of the signature Sorcerer setups since FoE came up with it during the Beta stages of the game.
Thanks to The Ashen Crown you are able to cast Lightning Elemental Nova where you aim your cursor. You need this Unique to play this build!
The Sorcerer stays away from threats while in combat but has plenty of tools to protect himself in case enemies get too close. Flame Ward is an incredible Defensive Skill with tons of Damage Reduction that can save him even from the most dangerous attacks. The build also has decent mobility thanks to Teleport. This Movement Skill grants great defensive buffs and casts 3 Elemental Novas on use.
Overall the Elemental Nova Sorcerer is an amazing build capable of defeating all the content in the game, even in Hardcore. If you are looking for an easy to play caster capable of dominating all enemies on screen in a matter of seconds, this build is perfect for you!
Flame Ward
Lightning Blast
Teleport
Focus
Elemental Nova
This article assumes you have a Level 70 Character.
Reach Level 70 with our Sorcerer Leveling Guide.
You need The Ashen Crown to play this build. Check our Unique Item Farming Guide for tips!
If you are looking for a different playstyle, check all our Build Guides!
Skills
Elemental Nova
Channelled Elemental Nova is your main Damage Skill. It has a huge AoE thanks to Elemental Expanse and great Damage Nodes like Spark Charges. Capping is Crit chance its easy with Lightning Nova and Charged Destruction.
- Get Comet Rush instead of Mana Tunnel and Rock Phase for Teleport while mapping for the Cooldown it provides for it.
Passives
Passives provide powerful effects that dictate the playstyle of a Class and its Masteries. Remember that you can allocate Passives on the first half of all Masteries regardless of the one you chose.
- Take all the Cast Speed, Spell Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Multiplier Nodes.
- Rift Bolt provides a bit of Leech and is crucial for sustain early on.
- Investing points into Elemental Affinity and Elemental Ascendance helps cap Elemental Resistances.
- Whirling Snow grants Chill chance to all your Spells.
- Calculated Destruction is crucial to raise your Spell Critical Strike Chance.
- The Spark Novas from Distant Spark are great for applying Ailments.
- Recollection and Archmage are a must have for most Sorcerers.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
This Sorcerer wants to position itself on a safe spot, far away from its enemies while channelling Elemental Nova. Make sure you are familiar with enemy mechanics to know when to use your Support Skills to stay alive. Pay attention to the telegraphed attacks of your enemies and stay out of their range.
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Buff yourself by casting Teleport.
- Cast Lightning Blast to gain Lightning Aegis.
- Choose a spot where it's safe to stand for a short duration.
- Aim at your enemies and start channelling Elemental Nova.
- Use Flame Ward defensively before you take Damage.
- Refresh your Teleport defensive buffs by casting it before they expire.
- Recast Lightning Blast when the Lightning Aegis buff expires.
- Use Focus to generate Mana.
Mapping
- Use Focus efficiently to gain Haste for the maximum duration possible.
- Get the Comet Rush Node for Teleport while mapping for the Cooldown it provides for it.
- DPS dangerous enemies and the Echo Bosses with Lightning Blast.
- Use the Elemental Novas from Teleport to clear trash mobs while mapping and rushing the objective.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your defensive buffs and keep them active.
- Use Lightning Blast as it does more single target DPS than Elemental Nova.
- Flame Ward can save you from incoming Damage. Time it against dangerous telegraphed Boss attacks.
- You are Stun Immune while channelling Elemental Nova and therefore it can't be interrupted that way.
- Target dangerous mobs first and finish them fast with Lightning Blast.
- Keep Lightning Aegis up at all times for the Damage Reduction.
- Always refresh the buffs provided by Teleport before they expire.
- Teleport is a blink and can be used to go over incoming attacks or terrain.
- You can use Flame Ward preventively before you engage dangerous enemies.
- Hold one charge of Flame Ward for emergency situations.
- When you are close to being out of Mana, use Elemental Nova or Teleport to intentionally reach negative values to then proc Null Infusion with Focus for a quick burst of Mana.
Learn more about how to maximize your gameplay in the Build Scaling section of this guide.
Gear
Gearing in Last Epoch revolves around finding Items and then using the powerful Crafting System to enhance them. As long as an Item has Forging Potential left, players can upgrade or modify their Affixes up to Tier 5. However, the powerful Exalted Tier Affixes are drop only and can't be modified by players.
Using the correct Item Bases allows you to make use of their amazing Implicits, this is fundamental for gearing efficiently. Combine Implicits, Passives, Idols and Blessings to cap your Resistances and other defensive layers, while fitting as much Health related Affixes or Endurance Threshold into your gear as possible. Plan ahead for your next upgrades and consider the final Empowered Blessings of your build while gearing. Finish up by farming Uniques with Legendary Potential and Sealing Affixes into Exalted Items to unleash all of your build's power!
Here are the Stat Goals for this build:
- Capped Resistances
- Capped Critical Strike Avoidance
- Capped Endurance
- 2000 - 3300 Health
- 45%+ Armour (while channelling)
- 300+ Mana
- 30 - 50+ Intelligence
- 600% - 1200%+ Increased Damage
- 300%+ Spell Critical Strike Multiplier
- 40% - 70%+ Movement Speed
Gear Progression
Milestone 1
Aim for good Item Bases with two valuable T5 Affixes. The Defensive rolls on T5 Suffixes are very important at this stage as they can easily cap all your Resistances when combined with Item Implicits, Idols, Blessings or Passives. Get a Weapon with double T5 offensive Prefixes as soon as possible.
Milestone 2
Make sure your Critical Strike Avoidance is capped. Remember that Woven Flesh is always an option early on. It can be farmed by killing the Abomination in the Fall of the Outcast Monolith Timeline.
Milestone 3
Reach 200 Mana to triple the effect of Archmage and fit as much Health into your gear as possible. Hybrid Health and Health are extremely valuable, but can be hard to find early on. Use regular flat Health until you find them.
Milestone 4
Make sure you have enough Chill and Shock chance to always benefit from Shattershock. T1 Flame Ward Charge and Added Ward is great to increase survivability.
Milestone 5
While you look for this basic set of gear, start farming your Empowered Blessings and look for any Idols that can help you cap all your Resistances momentarily or increase your Damage output. Make sure you have at least 300 Mana if you find Adorned Arcane Idols with Increased Lightning Damage (Doubled If You Have Over 300 Max Mana) to increase your DPS.
Milestone 1
Once you cover your Void Resistance with a well rolled Grand Echo of Solarum Blessing, replace your Crusader Gauntlets with Engraved Gauntlets for their Endurance Implicit.
Milestone 2
Get Chance to Apply Frailty on Hit to decrease the Damage enemies deal to you. This Ailment is really important and should always be kept in mind. Make sure you also have Chance to Slow on Hit Suffix on your Wand.
Milestone 3
When all your core Defenses are covered, start working on your Damage. Get Chance To Shred Armour on Hit on your Engraved Gauntlets and your Amulet. Critical Strike Multiplier is also amazing for this build.
Milestone 4
As you finish up your Empowered Blessings keep a decent Health pool, capped Resistances, Endurance and Critical Strike Avoidance. Your goal is to have items with 4 valuable T5 Affixes, also known as T20.
Milestone 5
Farm Prism Wraps. The Elemental Leech and Damage Reduction greatly increase the defenses of the build.
Milestone 1
Upgrade your T20 set up with Exalted items, high value Sealed Affixes or ideally both. Obtain the Affixes included in the Planner, but prioritize the indicated Item Bases for their Implicits. Make sure to Seal highly efficient low tier Affixes. Ward and Ailment Cleansing on Potion Use is a must have for Belts.
Milestone 2
Farm Prism Wraps and The Ashen Crown with Legendary Potential. Aim for the indicated Affixes in the Planner for each slot.
Milestone 3
Aurora's Time Glass is a great addition to this build for survivability. If you manage to get Necrotic Resistances on your Catalyst, the transition to this Unique from a Bone Amulet is way easier.
Milestone 4
Focus on finishing your Adorned Arcane Idols with Increased Lightning Damage While You Have Lightning Aegis and Increased Lightning Damage (Doubled If You Have Over 300 Max Mana). These Idols are great for increasing your DPS. Get them as well rolled as possible and make sure you have at least 300 Mana to double the effect of the Suffix.
Milestone 5
You can also farm Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros for your Relic slot. It drops from the Emperor of Corpses in the Reign of Dragons Monolith Timeline and can be deterministically farmed there. Its Ward generation can't be fully utilized due to the Channelled nature of the build, but it's still a solid option for the other stats.
Milestone 1
Keep upgrading your gear with Exalted Items with Sealed Affixes. Get every stat in the right place and in the correct Item Base. Min/Maxing your gear in Last Epoch can be pushed to the extreme as Items with multiple Exalted Affixes are technically possible.
Milestone 2
Get as close to perfect rolls for all your Empowered Blessings and find all your desired Idols with the best in slot Prefixes and Suffixes.
Milestone 3
Continue farming Prism Wraps, The Ashen Crown and Aurora's Time Glass with the maximum Legendary Potential you can find. Remember that some of these Items are extremely hard to get with multiple Legendary Potential. Good luck with the chase!
Milestone 4
Ravenous Void is also an option if you want to be even tankier. Orian's Eye can help you reach the 300 Mana threshold easily while allowing for an offensive Blessing option instead of the Grand Echo of Solarum.
Learn the basics for crafting gear with our Beginner Crafting Guide.
Check our Unique Item & Set Farming Guide and learn how to get them!
Want to know more about Legendary Items? Check our Legendary Guide!
Blessings
Completing a Timeline in the Monolith of Fate lets you choose one of several randomized Blessings from its unique pool. Their benefits are permanent and persist even outside of the Monolith of Fate.
Empowered Blessings are a fundamental part of all builds, so getting the correct ones for each is key.
The sooner you reach Empowered Monolith, the faster you can start farming your desired Blessings!
Normal Blessings are not important as they are eventually replaced by Empowered Blessings. However they can still be a great source of Resistances, Critical Strike Avoidance or Life Leech for your build early on.
Pick up these Normal Blessings on your way to Empowered:
- Echo of Solarum
- Hunger of the Void
- Mysteries of the Deep
- Survival of Might
- Persistance of Will
- Protection of Heorot
- Resolve of Grael
- Heart of the Caldera
- Embers of Immortality
Note: Don't target farm Normal Blessings. Get to Empowered Monolith as fast as you can.
Reaching Empowered Monolith unlocks all the level 100 Timelines and the ability to farm Empowered Blessings. Unlike Normal Blessings, these need to be farmed until you get the desired ones for your build. It is extremely important to get this set up as fast as possible to free up affix slots on your gear. Remember, the more value you get from your Blessings, the easier it is to craft efficient gear!
These are the core Combat Empowered Blessings for this build:
- If you don't have Prism Wraps start with Grand Hunger of the Void for the Spell Leech it provides.
- If you are lacking Critical Strike Avoidance, start with Grand Survival of Might. A high roll on this Empowered Blessing can be combined with a single high rolled T5 Critical Strike Avoidance to cap it.
- Once you get Prism Wraps work on Grand Echo of Solarum and Grand Resolve of Grael for their Resistances.
- Once your core Defenses are sorted, grab Grand Mysteries of the Deep for a huge Damage boost. Make sure you eventually get a high roll!
- Finish up by farming the best rolled Grand Patience of Herkir you can get. It grants an insane amount of Flat Armour while channelling that helps increase the survivability of the build. Grand Embers of Immortality is also good but not as efficient for Min/Maxing.
These Empowered Blessings are flexible and depend on your current needs and goals.
These are valuable Empowered Drop Rate Blessings for this build:
- Grand Mark of Agony is very valuable to help you find Adorned Arcane Idol with Increased Lightning Damage While You Have Lightning Aegis and Increased Lightning Damage (Doubled If You Have Over 300 Max Mana). Once you find all your Idols, you can switch to the Grand Winds of Fortune and focus on Uniques instead.
- Grand Cruelty of Formosus and Grand Reach of Flame help you find more Exalted Wands and Catalysts.
- Lastly, take Grand Embrace of Ice, Grand Arrogance of Argentus or Grand Vision of the Aurora depending on what type of Unique you are looking for.
Learn how to farm Blessings fast with our Advanced Monolith Strategies.
Idols
Idols grant your character bonuses when equipped in the dedicated Idol Container. Unlock all the slots of your Idol Container by completing the Campaign and some of its Side Quests. Remember that some Idols are Class specific and you won't be able to equip them with other non-compatible Classes.
These are the Idols recommended for this build:
- Farm 4 Adorned Arcane Idol with Increased Lightning Damage While You Have Lightning Aegis and Increased Lightning Damage (Doubled If You Have Over 300 Max Mana). These Idols are great for increasing your DPS. Get them as well rolled as possible and make sure you have at least 300 Mana to double the effect of the Suffix.
- Use the rest of your Idols slots to cap the rest of your Resistances. This is especially important to complement your high rolled Empowered Blessings.
- These Small Idols also provide useful prefixes like Armour, Mana and Increased Stun Chance.
- Health
- %Health
- Vitality
- Armour
- Mana And Armor
- Mana
- Elemental Resistance
- Lightning Resistance
- Fire Resistance
- Increased Stun Chance
- Void Resistance
- Physical Resistance
- Poison Resistance
- Ward Retention
- Critical Strike Chance With Lightning Skills
- Spell Damage Leeched While Channelling
- Increased Cast Speed While You Have Lightning Aegis
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Idol Slots.
Learn how to be efficient with Idols with our Advanced Idols Setups Guide.
Build Scaling
This build uses two powerful Damage Skills; Elemental Nova for AoE and Lightning Blast for single target. Both are Lightning Spells that scale with the same stats to deal big Crits to your enemies. This Sorcerer also has great survivability thanks to its multiple defensive layers and the Unique Items it can take advantage of.
- Adaptive Spell Damage: With the amount of Damage Multipliers this build has access to, you want to stack as much Flat Damage as possible. Nodes like Spell Slinger and Archmage grant raw Adaptive Spell Damage and are extremely valuable for DPS.
- Adorned Arcane Idol: Increased Lightning Damage While You Have Lightning Aegis and Increased Lightning Damage (Doubled If You Have Over 300 Max Mana) are great for increasing your DPS. Get these Idols as well rolled as possible and make sure you have at least 300 Mana to double the effect of the Suffix. They are a priority when it comes to scaling this build and its main source of Increased Damage.
- Intelligence: Elemental Nova and Lightning Blast gain 4% Damage per point or Intelligence. It also provides %Spell Critical Chance thanks to Calculated Destruction. Additionally it grants 4% Ward Retention per point.
- Spell Critical Strike Chance: It's easy to cap with a good Implicit on your Crystal Skull plus some Intelligence and %Spell Critical Strike Chance on your gear.
- Critical Strike Multiplier: Increases the Damage your Crits deal. Arcane Obliteration 50% on its own. Build as much as you can on your gear.
- Grand Mysteries of the Deep: Since the build attacks so fast and has so many hits, it is extremely easy to apply 10 stacks of Lightning Resistance Shred to your targets. 10 stacks increase the Damage enemies take by 50%. This Blessing plays a big part on your Damage output, so make sure you roll it nicely (45%+) and as early as possible.
- Chance To Shred Armour on Hit: Each stack of this Ailment reduces enemy Armour by 100 for 4 seconds and stacks infinitely. Enemies have 0 Armour by default and it can go into the negatives. At -1000 Armour a target takes 16.5% increased Lightning Damage, while at -4000 Armour it takes 40%. With the amount of hits the build has, the stacks ramp up quickly.
- Shock: This Ailment reduces Lightning Resistance by 5% per stack. Stacks up to 10 times, increasing the Lightning Damage enemies take by 50%
- Cast Speed: The faster you attack the more Spells you cast and Ailments you apply. While channelled Elemental Nova doesn't scale with it, Lightning Blast does. It's still valuable to trigger the Hypercharge Node.
- Stun: Thanks to its Damage output and the Shock Ailment the build is able to Stun most enemies.
- Lightning Attunement: Gain 25% Damage Reduction while Lighting Aegis is up.
- Flame Ward: The Damage Reduction is insane. While this Skill is active you are almost immortal! Get all the charges you can (3 max) and lower its CD as much as possible.
- Prism Wraps: Insane Elemental Damage Reduction and great synergy with Flame Ward.
- Ward: A shield above your Health that is generated by certain effects, rapidly decays over time and is protected by Armour Mitigation. Most of your Ward with this build is generated by casting Flame Ward.
- Ward Retention: Reduces the rate of Ward decay.
- Intelligence: Each point of Intelligence provides 4% Ward Retention.
- Channelling: This mechanic provides a great defensive advantage; you are Stun Immune while channelling Elemental Nova and therefore can't be interrupted that way. The build also gets a ton of Flat Armour from Grand Patience of Herkir and benefits from All Resistances While Channelling.
- Armour Mitigation: This build can get decent Armour. Just with the implicit Armour from your gear, Grand Patience of Herkir Blessing and Flat Armour from Teleport you reach 45%+ Mitigation.
- Aurora's Time Glass: This powerful Unique can save you from dangerous situations. Make sure its internal CD is ready before you engage your enemies.
- Health: This build can stack a decent Health pool for a range build. It's very effective when combined with all the other defensive layers the Sorcerer has access to.
- Endurance: A defensive mechanic that allows you to take up to 60% less Damage while below a certain Health threshold. Your Endurance Threshold is 20% of your total Health by default.
- Spell Leech: Rift Bolt and Prism Wraps provide insane Leech for the build.
- Chill and Slow: Are Ailments that greatly reduce the Action and Movement Speed of your enemies. They are must haves on most builds, especially once you reach hard content with insane speed modifiers.
- Frailty: This Ailment reduces the Damage dealt by enemies by 6% for 4 seconds. Stacks 3 times.
- Ward and Ailment Cleansing on Potion Use: Cleanse all Ailments on Potion use.
Our Damage Explained Article covers all you need to know to scale Damage.
Learn all you need to know to scale Defense with our Defense Explained Article.
Loot Filter
Loot Filters are critical in Last Epoch. Making sure you highlight all the related valuable Item Bases, Affixes, Uniques and Idols is crucial to ensure your character's progression. As your gear gets better, remember to hide the rules that are no longer useful to avoid screen clutter.
Here is the Endgame Loot Filter for this build:
Learn how to load and make Filters with our Loot Filter Guide.
Video Guide
COMING SOON!
Summary
Overall the Elemental Nova Sorcerer is a great build capable of completing all the content in the game. It has good AoE, amazing DPS and great survivability thanks to its multiple defensive layers and powerful Unique Items.
- This build requires The Ashen Crown to be played.
- Use Elemental Nova for AoE and Lightning Blast for single target DPS.
- While they are not mandatory, Prism Wraps and Aurora's Time Glass are great Uniques that you want to get to scale the build to its full potential.
- Teleport is an amazing Movement Skill that grants great defensive buffs on use.
- Flame Ward is an incredible Defensive Skill with tons of Damage Reduction that can save you from incoming Damage. Time it against dangerous telegraphed Boss attacks.
- Use Focus to generate Mana.
Credits
Written by Lizard_IRL.
Reviewed by Facefoot, McFluffin