LizardIRL has been playing Last Epoch at a high level for years. He has invested a huge amount of time learning the game, theory crafting builds and making educational content. By the time LE Multiplayer launched, he already had thousands of hours driven by his competitive nature and desire to improve. His builds and min/maxing rules have shaped the meta, establishing him as a top build maker and theory crafter. LizardIRL livestreams his Rank 1 Arena pushes and has dominated both SC and HC ladders. Learn how to scale your Damage and Defense with the Elemental Nova Sorcerer Build to reach the different Endgame Activities like the Monolith, Dungeons and Arena.
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.
Recommended End Game Activities
Last Epoch has multiple end game activities with completely different roles and rewards. All the builds in Maxroll.gg have been tested and are designed to complete all available content. However, not all builds excel at doing the same activities. Make sure you are familiar with the end game strengths and weaknesses of your character.
The Monolith of Fate is the main end game system. Most of your character gear upgrades are found here. Once you get all of your desired Empowered Blessings, you can start pushing Corruption to increase your chances at finding incredible Exalted Items. The Monolith of Fate rewards speedy builds that are able to target farm Echo Reward Nodes or stack Timeline Stability as fast as possible.
This Sorcerer is an insane Monolith of Fate farmer. It's very safe, has great AoE and single target. It can rush objectives and it's great for farming difficult content in high Corruption.
Monolith Goals
Your goals in the Monolith of Fate will differ greatly depending on what build you play and what stage your character progression is at. Here are the objectives you should aim at when playing this build:
- Reach Empowered Monolith as fast as possible.
- Farm your Combat Empowered Blessings. Prioritize gaining Timeline Stability and fight the Timeline Bosses as often as possible. Once you are done with one Timeline, move to the next one. Reach 200 Corruption to farm your desired Blessings faster, as it unlocks a 5th option to choose from after you defeat a Timeline Boss. Defeat the Shade of Orobyss to gain and transfer Corruption between Timelines.
- Get your Drop Rate Empowered Blessings.
- Farm for key Uniques.
- As you farm for Uniques, stack Corruption as high as your gear can handle. The higher Corruption you do, the more Items you find. Get your character ready for the other end game activities.
Monolith Modifiers
Every time you choose an Echo a Modifier comes attached with it, adding difficulty and changing how enemies behave. These Modifiers stay active for a maximum of 6 Echoes and stack with each other. Some Modifiers can handicap your build immensely while others can almost be ignored. Monolith Modifiers scale with Corruption and increase the Item Rarity of Echoes. Ideally you want to do the hardest content possible, without delaying your clear times. Keep up Item Rarity as high as you can without it slowing you down.
Easy Modifiers
- Enemy Critical Strike Chance (Once you have 100% Critical Strike Avoidance).
- Enemies heal if they have not been damaged recently.
- Rare enemies have high speed and crit chance until approached.
- Rare enemies regenerate health.
Avoid these Modifiers
- Enemy chance to receive a Glancing Blow.
- Enemy Critical Strike Avoidance.
- Enemy chance to Dodge.
- High health enemies take less damage.
- High health enemies deal increased damage.
- Increased enemy Movement Speed.
- While bossing: enemies Enrage at half health and enemies gain Frenzy and Haste when hit.
Learn more about the Monolith of Fate with our Empowered Monolith Guide.
Dungeons are another important end game activity. All of them have an unique reward system attached that can only be accessed by defatting the Boss guarding it. They are divided by 4 Tiers of difficulty; it might take you some time to have a character strong enough to defeat Tier 4. Remember, Dungeons require specific Keys to enter them.
This Sorcerer is a great Dungeon farmer and an amazing Boss killer. It requires Boss knowledge to know when to use Flame Ward and Teleport. Overall it has an easy time with all the Dungeons.
Dungeon Tips
When it comes to Dungeons, each build has different needs and should focus on the ones that fulfill them. Remember, each Dungeon comes with an unique Dungeon Skill. Make sure you are familiar with the different Dungeon Skills, Boss fights and Rewards before you attempt them.
Recommended Dungeons for this build:
- Temporal Sanctum: Since its a Unique heavy build, it requires to interact with the Eternity Cache often in order to upgrade any desirable Uniques you find with Legendary Potential. The Boss fight against Chronomancer Julra is very easy for any Sorcerer, as many of her telegraphed attacks can be tanked with Flame Ward or juked with Teleport.
- Lightless Arbour: While the gold sink in the Vault of Uncertain Fate is not necessary for this build to progress, it has a great time dealing with The Mountain Beneath and, thanks to Flame Ward, his most dangerous attacks can be trivialized. The Stone Titan's Heart is also easy, just make sure to use Teleport to go over its moving lasers. Run this Dungeon when you have some excess Gold, be careful as it gets expensive really fast!
- Soulfire Bastion: Make sure you pay attention to the Damage type on the floor while fighting Fire Lich Cremorus and save Flame Ward to tank the big telegraphed attacks. Overall this Dungeon and the Soul Gambler are low priority as nothing attached to them is relevant for the build.
Remember, if you struggle to do a particular Dungeon you can always dedicate a different character that shines against it to earn its reward. This is not possible if you play in any of the Solo Game Modes.
Check all of our Dungeon Guides if you want to learn more about their Bosses and rewards systems.
Use everything explained in the Gameplay and Build Scaling sections of this Build Guide to defeat them.
The Endless Arena is the main competitive game mode. It's all about the Ladder! While you might get some upgrades, the other end game activities are far superior for gearing up. The Endless Arena is not for everyone and only the best builds and players can reach the top. You need an Arena Key or an Arena Key of Memory to enter.
This Sorcerer build is one of the best builds for competing in the Endless Arena. However, it does require good game knowledge and mechanics to reach the top of the Ladder.
Endless Arena Tips
Adjusting your playstyle to the build you are playing is mandatory to reach high waves. Use the easy early waves as a practice tool; learning about wave management, developing good habits and limit testing your build are very important things to become a better Endless Arena player.
Tips for playing this build in Arena:
- Make sure you always keep track of all 4 enemy packs. New waves do not spawn as long as there are two enemies of the current wave alive. Finish them up at the right time!
- Fight 1 spawn at a time, manipulate the enemy pathing with your positioning and engage on your terms.
- As a ranged build it is crucial to be far away from the spawns and the enemies. Find a safe spot!
- Enemy homing projectiles are really dangerous for this build. Use Flame Ward or hide behind terrain.
- Keep track of your Mana; if you go out of Mana at the wrong time it's certain death!
- Target dangerous mobs first and finish them fast with Lightning Blast.
- Keep Lightning Aegis up at all times for the Damage Reduction.
- Hold one charge of Flame Ward for emergency situations.
Eager to get competitive? Check our Arena Guide!
