Spark Stormweaver Leveling Guide

Once you reach Act 3, kill Ignagduk, The Bog Witch for +30 Spirit, cut the Uncut Spirit Gem into Cast on Shock, to slot Arc for more single-target damage. At level 52, you can replace it with Lightning Conduit, a much more powerful spell. In Act 6, when you gain the last +30 Spirit, putting you at a total of 100, you can finally cut Archmage. However, it's not recommended to use Archmage until you have at least 1500 mana and some mana regeneration rolls on your equipment. The passive skill tree and gem progression suggested by this guide provides you with a setup for this, but remember that itemization is very important as if you lack the mana, it can be more detrimental to use it. Use the Cast on Shock setup and try, from time to time, to activate Archmage instead, to feel whether you can sustain the mana cost.

During boss encounters and tough enemies, keep your distance and focus on keeping a Flame Wall active while remaining near your Orb of Storms. Place down, and move out of your Mana Tempest on cooldown for maximum damage to mana consumed effectiveness. Use your first Lesser Jeweller's Orb on Spark and a second on Mana Tempest. Once you obtain your second Ascendancy, Strike Twice, prioritize shock chance on the passive skill tree and on your weapon to gain a huge damage increase.

Spells, especially when supported by Archmage, have high mana costs. Inspiration can be linked to Spark at any point to alleviate many of these issues. Make sure to use the best Mana Flask possible at your level and craft % increased Amount Recovered prefix for better recovery. If you often run out of Mana Flask charges, equip Attuned Wand in your 2nd Weapon Set and use Mana Drain.

Mind Over Matter is specced into at later stages in progression. It allows your mana pool to also serve as if it were your life. The downside is that your Mana regeneration is halved. To counteract this, you need to have around 1500 Mana and at least 1000 Energy Shield. You can then spec into Eldritch Battery, turning your Energy Shield into mana, which provides additional damage, defenses, and regeneration.

Skill Engraving Priority

Skill Rotation

1. Place down a Flame Wall and Orb of Storms in front of you.
2. Activate Mana Tempest.
3. Fire Spark until you start noticing your mana draining fast.
4. Step out of Mana Tempest and reactivate it.
5. Maintain Flame Wall and Orb of Storms

• You can change any travel node to an Attribute you need to equip an item/gem. Otherwise, prioritize Intelligence.
• Spec into Touch the Arcane once you have Constant Gale.
• Once you have some gear with flat mana and mana regeneration, spec into Eldritch Battery and Mind Over Matter simultaneously. If you find that you are draining your mana too quickly by casting Spark, link Inspiration to it. If it is still draining too much, unspec the nodes and try again once you have obtained some more Mana, Mana Regeneration, and Energy Shield.

• By far the best way to get better gear in the campaign is to check the Vendor in Town each time you level up! As vendors change their offerings based on your level this is an excellent way to find extra upgrades.
• Prioritize +#% to Fire, Cold and Lightning Resistance as well as +# to Maximum Life and Energy Shield on your gear.
• Most of the damage you take during the campaign outside of Boss/Rare encounters is Physical Damage. A small amount of strength allows you to equip some Armour based pieces of equipment for additional survivability.
• Look for a Staff or Wand with + Levels of Lightning Spell Skills or + Levels of All Spell Skills. You increase your DPS by looking for the following stats, sorted by order of importance:
  • + Levels of Lightning Spell Skills or + Levels of All Spell Skills
  • % increased Chance to Shock
  • % increased Maximum Mana
  • + to Maximum Mana
  • % increased Cast Speed
  • % increased Mana Regeneration
  • Gain % of Damage As Extra Cold Damage
  • Gain % of Damage As Extra Lightning or Fire Damage
• A great source is checking vendors occasionally for promising bases to craft on with Orbs of Transmutation, Orbs of Augmentation, Regal Orbs, Chaos Orb, Exalted Orb and Essences.
• Remember that if you are playing in a setting where you can trade, use that to your advantage. It is often much cheaper to search for and buy an item directly from other players using PoE Trade than crafting them yourself. A good Weapon and Body Armour can carry you through the entire campaign.
• To finish off your item use one or two Artificer's Orb and socket defensive Runes like Iron Rune or any rune which provides Resistances you are missing.
• As you get into Cruel and endgame, you take increasing amounts of damage from all sources. Bosses and monsters deal a ton of damage which cannot be easily mitigated yet by this point. A great way to deal with that is by equipping an Armor/Energy Shield Shield with as high Block Chance as possible. You need to either get Strength on an item or on the Passive Skill tree to fit this, but the added defense it provides is definitely worth it.
• Kitoko's Current is an amazing pair of gloves that makes lightning damage contribute to Electrocute buildup. After the bar fills, the monster becomes stunned for a duration, making it much safer and easier to defeat them. Depending on how expensive they are, they can be a great addition to your kit.
• If you are still struggling check out our Survival Guide for additional useful information!

Weapons

• + Levels of Lightning Spell Skills or + Levels of All Spell Skills
• % increased Chance to Shock
• + to Maximum Mana
• % increased Cast Speed
• % increased Mana Regeneration
• Gain % of Damage As Extra Cold Damage
• Gain % of Damage As Extra Lightning or Fire Damage

Shield

• #% increased Block Chance
• #% additional Physical Damage Reduction
• #% increased Armour/Energy Shield and +# to Armour/Energy Shield
• +# to Intelligence/Strength
• +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance 

Rings

• +# to Maximum Mana
• +# to Intelligence, +# to all Attributes and other attributes you may need
• % increased Mana Regeneration
• +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance 
• #% increased Rarity of Items found (Luxury stat, do not prioritize)

Amulet

• +# to Intelligence, +# to all Attributes and other attributes you may need
• +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance 
• + to Energy Shield
• +# to Maximum Mana
• +# to Spirit (When trying to fit Archmage + Cast on Shock)
• #% increased Rarity of Items found (Luxury stat, do not prioritize)

Belt

• +# to Maximum Mana
• +# to Strength, +# to all Attributes and other attributes you may need
• +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance 
• +# to Maximum Life

Boots

• +#% to Movement Speed
• +# to Intelligence
• +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance 
• +# to Maximum Life
• #% increased Energy Shield and +# to Energy Shield
• #% increased Rarity of Items found (Luxury stat, do not prioritize)

Gloves

• +# to Intelligence
• +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance 
• +# to Maximum Life
• % increased Energy Shield and +# to Energy Shield
• % increased Rarity of Items found (Luxury stat, do not prioritize)

When should I swap to Archmage

Once you have some gear with flat mana and mana regeneration, spec into Eldritch Battery and Mind Over Matter simultaneously. If you find that you are draining your mana too quickly by casting Spark, link Inspiration to it. If it is still draining too much, unspec the nodes and try again once you have obtained some more Mana, Mana Regeneration, and Energy Shield.

I struggle with my attributes, what should I do?

If you follow the build guide the attribute you need the most for your skills is intelligence. Pick it on your passive tree while traveling through the highway nodes and this should be enough to use all of your skills. If you want to equip some equipment that requires small amounts of strength or dexterity respec some of the attribute points. Make sure to still keep enough to be able to use all of your abilities. Using items with very high strength and dexterity is not recommended. Ingenuity provides 25 Intelligence and solves intelligence pressure on your build.

My damage is low, what could be the cause?

The most likely scenario is that you are not consistently Shocking. Strike Twice allows you to apply two Shocks, doubling the value of all shock nodes on the tree and stats on items. Make sure to spec into them, and get as much Shock Chance on your gear, when you mouse over a target you can see whether you are shocking them and how much % shock they are inflicted by. Use this as a means to measure whether you are lacking Shock Chance.

I keep dying! Is there any way to solve my defense?

On normal difficulty there is not that many defensive options for the Sorceress. Your best friend is scaling life and resistances. With some investment into strength you can use a hybrid Armour/Energy Shield bases for additional physical damage mitigation and Block. The dodge roll is an amazing tool for helping you recover your Energy Shield in the early game. You are able to dodge all non-AoE ground-targeted attacks, allowing for your energy shield to recover in dangerous situations. On bosses, however, you must use it more methodically. On Cruel difficulty start focusing on high energy shield equipment and a good Shield. Kitoko's Current can be a great layer of defence as it stuns your whole screen, purchase one if you can afford one.

The Spark Stormweaver utilizes spells like Flame Wall and Mana Tempest to buff her Sparks. This projectile shoots out in a semicircle, small erratic bolts of lightning that bounce on walls, creating a carpet of lightning damage.

This build provides a path towards gearing for Archmage, a very powerful endgame buff that provides one of the strongest scaling vectors in the game. The Stormweaver greatly synergizes with it as it is positioned ideally on the Passive Skill Tree and provides Force of Will, giving you an even greater reason to scale your Mana pool. High Mana investment enables Mind Over Matter to protect you from incoming damage and recover it through Mana's ability to recover much quicker than life.