The Best Way To Level ~ Fire Sorcerer Build

[darkniteyogi]

Honestly, I laugh at every build that Strim puts on these forums... So many mistakes are made... Those who can't teach, teach; Where as those who can teach, are too busy learning more.

I agree.

no empower - im guessing playstyle totally disregards SLAs

No heighten - wasting DCs, but min maxes stats. This is a minimum reflex build.

Haggle

2 points in bluff

Mental toughness - logically, 2nd spell focus evocation would be a replacement

[jetpac]

I looked at this build how would to compensate for the lack Racial AP I don't have 9 spare racial points. I am wanting my completionist then Ill focus on racial.

[HuneyMunster]

I agree.

no empower - im guessing playstyle totally disregards SLAs

No heighten - wasting DCs, but min maxes stats. This is a minimum reflex build.

Haggle

2 points in bluff

Mental toughness - logically, 2nd spell focus evocation would be a replacement

I would take Empower and Intensity for a nuker build. The SLA's are not that useful compared to DBF and Meteor Swarm. DBF you lose 2 DC not taking Heighten while 1 DC from another Evocation feat is feels of more value. Mass Hold Monster and Burst of Glacial Wrath doesn't get effected Heighten. The same is true for Energy Burst and Dragon Breath from Draconic. Scorch I would think is to strip immunities only and the SLA is not worth 6 action points.

[yannakis]

So after reading several threads on forums and reddit I came up with this!!
What do you think about feat choices etc?
Feats
Quicken
Extend
empower
maximize
heighten
evocation
greater evocation

Skill points
Umd
Conc
Diplo
Spellcraft
Jump
Balance


Stats
8
8
18
12
8
20

[janave]

I looked at this build how would to compensate for the lack Racial AP I don't have 9 spare racial points. I am wanting my completionist then Ill focus on racial.

IMO; that is a larger generic problem with builds posted by players,

a) a good build uses as little as possible of feats/action points to get the most of the function + effectiveness and allows the rest of it to be spent on customization ( !without large power gap!)
b) progression is a separate layer, a good build will not include progress, see a). ie: adding spell power and charisma... for more race aps is "duh", does not help defining a build.

If we can get 85% of the power and function for 60ap and 5 feats, yeah thats amazing for a build, when struggling for another 12% and we need a completionist( of any kind) for it... yahhh not a shiny build

[HungarianRhapsody]

IMO; that is a larger generic problem with builds posted by players,

a) a good build uses as little as possible of feats/action points to get the most of the function + effectiveness and allows the rest of it to be spent on customization ( !without large power gap!)
b) progression is a separate layer, a good build will not include progress, see a). ie: adding spell power and charisma... for more race aps is "duh", does not help defining a build.

If we can get 85% of the power and function for 60ap and 5 feats, yeah thats amazing for a build, when struggling for another 12% and we need a completionist( of any kind) for it... yahhh not a shiny build

Depends on the build. Some builds are going to have 95% of their power on the first life. Some builds really benefit from the extra 16 AP you can get from Racial and Universal and the +lots stats/skills from Completionist and Tomes.

[janave]

Depends on the build. Some builds are going to have 95% of their power on the first life. Some builds really benefit from the extra 16 AP you can get from Racial and Universal and the +lots stats/skills from Completionist and Tomes.

IMO, yup, that is the problem, especially as a new or returning player; it is hard to judge "how much exactly a specific build benefits from progression" and also from uberlootz, and so I prefer builds displaying what the build does, how it plays, and sure why not how to progress it later for better stats. Including progress also makes it impossibly harder to compare build to build on the forums.

Kind of also hides information about "how much time after i cap this" will it be as good as the post advertises its goodness (as progress is relative to the players time, resources, focus), which drives me to my last input "The Best..." is going to be false advertising like most of the time .

I know for a fact that i level other builds faster than this fire savant, including my own build of fire savant ( not saying "it is better", just levels faster in my hands).

[Dmitrythewizzy]

Sooo I am a kinda total noob and have played this build (or close to it) 4 times now and I love it. It makes leveling pretty fun. Is there any consensus on how it should change with all the new additions to and changes to the game? It's a certainly great build once you gear it up. It's fast in heroics and with the boom aoe makes leveling pretty fun. I just frankly don't understand the game well enough to know if I am missing something.

[Discpsycho]

Is there any consensus on how it should change with all the new additions to and changes to the game?

Any in particular you're thinking of? What recency of changes are you thinking of; the 15 months since the build was posted, or the X months since you last ran this build?

Overall, my answer is "not especially", both in my personal opinion and from the lack of recent discussion about Sorcs. Tiefling and Sorc haven't changed significantly in the last few updates. Neither Shifter nor the new universal tree offers anything particularly good for this build, though the latter can give you Cha to hit (EK has damage covered) if you plan on attacking physically at all.

Loot-wise, Feywild will shake things up in a few weeks, mostly for cap gear. I haven't gear-tetrised at all, but unless you've got LGS gear you'll want a 7-piece Feywild for the extra spell crit damage. The remainder of your gear can fill up with either the new tanky set (who doesn't like more hp?) or some new augment sets. Heroic gear will change a bit, but IMO the benefits will only slightly outweigh the Chronoscope Abishai set + Ring of Elemental Essence (or the Red Fens version) + Cannith Crafted gear.

[Dmitrythewizzy]

Any in particular you're thinking of? What recency of changes are you thinking of; the 15 months since the build was posted, or the X months since you last ran this build?

Since the build was posted. I have tinkered with it each life I have run but only a little bit. It still seems really good but I was reading the above thread and while i did not understand the details, it does seem like people are suggesting there are better approaches.

[supps2]

What's the current gear layout with this build? Are there any Fey gear worth getting?

[LightBear]

Thx for putting this out here.
I'm on the first of a set of the thiefling racial tr lives right now and plan on doing three of them as a fire sorc.

Could you expand on what gear you used during leveling?

[LightBear]

So after reading several threads on forums and reddit I came up with this!!
What do you think about feat choices etc?
Feats
Quicken
Extend
empower
maximize
heighten
evocation
greater evocation

Skill points
Umd
Conc
Diplo
Spellcraft
Jump
Balance


Stats
8
8
18
12
8
20

Feats
maximize
completionist
empower
evocation
spell penetration
greater evocation
greater spell penetration

Skill points (for off class skills put it in setts of 2)
Spellcraft - maxed
Concentration - maxed
Umd - maxed
Jump - with first available points
Balance - later on when the int tomes does more for you

Stats for a tiefling sorc:
Cha 20
Con 18
Int 12

[PrinceOfAsphodel]

Thx for putting this out here.
I'm on the first of a set of the thiefling racial tr lives right now and plan on doing three of them as a fire sorc.

Could you expand on what gear you used during leveling?

Sorcerers have level gearing pretty easy since Feywild. At level 5, put together a good Seasons set and it will carry you up to level 10 (or higher) where you can switch to Ravenloft gear. I would recommend to build the Beacon of Magic set (Regalia, Burnscar, Blurfingered) along with 5 pieces of Adherent gear to shore up your other stats. At level 15 you can switch to one of Sharn's caster sets, either Esoteric or Flamecleansed. I think Flamecleansed set is a little better but note that it requires you to drop your medium armor arcane failure chance. Other Sharn gear is used to shore up your stats. You can mix and match stuff from Borderlands at lv21 but I honestly just stay in Sharn gear until cap where I run the legendary versions of everything I had. I would spend my first Fire Sorc life collecting all the gear while not pushing reaper skulls too high. Sharn and Soul Splitter mobs in particular dodge your meteors like they're Neo from the frickin matrix. Once you're in second and third life with more complete gear sets, you will be more capable.

[PrinceOfAsphodel]

What's the current gear layout with this build? Are there any Fey gear worth getting?

I've seen many good players claim that the caster set (Autumn) from Feywild is pretty lackluster. You need so many pieces just to add up to what you mostly get from Sharn sets with just 3 pieces. Things might be different if a future piece of raid gear is really good but for now, casters look pretty similar to pre-Feywild in terms of gear. In my opinion, a good contender for the best Fire Sorcerer gear set right now is the following: Wild Flame, LGS Weapon (Ash effect), LGS Helm (x3 fire crit damage), Collective Sight (x2 Con), Sigil of Regalport, Blessed Vestments, Hallowed Trail, Tattered Scrolls of the Broken One, Gloryborne Gloves, The Shattered Onyx (Cha), Clouded Dreams, Burnscar Sash, Sunken Slippers (Cha), and a Slave Lords Five Rings Trinket with something like (Wis/Dex, Resistance, Spell Focus, Quality Con). The one problem with this gear set is that it doesn't have a Profane Well Rounded Bonus to all stats but thanks to the new raid augments, you can fix this problem by making an Augment out of Epic Litany of the Dead.

[Smokewolf]

The nerf-bat be coming soon... check out the Lambda thread.

[Hurb]

The nerf-bat be coming soon... check out the Lambda thread.

I'd like to use this as a quick level 15 mule to pick up some bank space and favor for additional inventory slots. Think it still holds up in terms of being the best iconic to use for an instant lvl 15 sorc?

[BoneThrone]

I take Enlarge earlier, but don't enjoy Completionist.

If I had to guess, the OP is dumping Empower since he's not relying on SLA's as much, and doesn't need to double-boost combat spells. As for Heighten, with a Fire sorc, Web isn't as handy, but that's only the most obvious to benefit from Heighten.

Strimton isn't one to toss a build out lightly - but I'll wait for him to explain his choices.

I'm a new player and am enjoying the game thus far yet I cannot find a definitive guide for the strongest sorc build, though I'd prefer fire. I've scoured the forums and haven't really come with much besides banter between players. I viewed a thread where you and a few others were discussing with a fella who had 100+ TRs and he believed that Strimtoms build isn't viable so I'm at a stopping point with my character. With my experience in various mmos, there is always one build "with slight alterations" that supersedes the rest based upon the lates patch. Personally, I'd rather play with the most viable skills, feats and spells so I don't understand why I cannot find a guide that pertains to what I'm looking for. I got quicken spell because stromtom had it, and his guide and other players posts in the forums make me question whether or not I've goofed up on various things.

Any info or recommendations would be helpful.

[C-Dog]

...I cannot find a definitive guide for the strongest sorc build, though I'd prefer fire.

Pro'ly because there is not one - no single "strongest sorcerer build", much less any "definitive guide" to same.

Some variety of Tiefling Fire sorc would be the obvious candidate, but the details vary due to playstyle and past lives (and gear, that too).

First consideration, there is a serious debate re a balance between DPS and survivability - and that latter depends on many factors, player skill high among them. So it would have to be a "strongest build for me, my current character, my playstyle preference and my current gear set" - meaning a diff guide for each player on these boards.

Beyond that, there are several ways to do DPS, depending.

Here are some of the various debates...

o Quicken - Definitely not needed early (by most!), not until you have a "full" rotation of spells; no need to use a feat to hurry up just to then wait for everything to cooldown, when instead you can increase the damage and not wait. But even then - is it "necessary"? To some yes, to others no. (If you're doing high-Reaper, it is really handy for necessary quick-reaction kills.)

o Heighten - Only needed if you still rely on some lowbie spells at higher character levels. "Web" is a perfect example, but there are certainly others. For any other savant, Web is a crucial CC effect, but with a Fire sorc many flame effects will remove a Web, so... is it of any use here???

o SLA's - For most builds, SLA's are the bread and butter - cheaper to cast than spells from the start, and Meta-magicked for free - yes please! This build aims for more powerful effects in the rotation than the lower-tier fire SLA's - odd, but I guess it works? (Some SLA's have special effects, like Electric stun/cc effect that are core to a build - Fire SLA's do not.)

o +Evocation vs. +CC DC's (Web/Charm/Dancing/whatever) - better to do pure DPS or control and then kill? Part past-life and gear question (when are DC's high enough?), part playstyle (and see next).

o +(Greater) X-School (+DC) vs. (Greater) Mental Toughness (+spell power, +crits) - some builds go one route, some go the other - few have room for both. This gets back to past lives + gear - if your DC's are solid and you're landing everything, then MT, 100%. If mobs are saving left and right, you pro'ly need the DC's first (esp when Evasion is considered!).

o EK vs. 2nd Savant tree (& vs. other trees (e.g. Falconry/Feywild/etc)!) - better survivability vs. more flexible/effective DPS (esp vs. immune/etc.). With a Tiefling fire sorc, this really just comes down to early vs. late Heroics and simply respec'ing trees for a minimum 16 AP into the Racial tree for that goal; once Tiefling Improved Scorch is gained, any Fire-resist/immunity problem is solved. With non-Tiefling, I believe it comes down to defensive gear and tactical play - so long as you can stay alive, DPS is king, end of discussion.

And so on.

So, ultimately, each sorc player must answer these questions for themself. And, looking over the various threads, we can see many "good" players who disagree, all presenting strong arguments why "their" approach is best. But, ultimately, it's only best for them (and any like them) - but that last is unknowable except by experience. So... :/


Here are some links to peruse (some Tiefling/fire, some not) - only real answer is to take your pick, stick with it, and discover for yourself which does/not work for your play style and personal preference.

o Dec '19 summary https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6276949

o '22 comments https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6516987

o '22 u54 https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6520955

o Nov '21 Fire Sorc https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6469338
& alt AP split (@ bottom)
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6480116

o R10 cold sorc https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6517676

o June '22 Sorc Tank(!) https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6522078

[Whitering]

Prior to your cap stone don't be thrown off by different elements. Tiefling is the ultimate fire Sorc, but not truly necessary if you want to play some other race because at level 11 you can be throwing Caustic bolt, Flaming bolt, Shocking Bolt, all of them. But stick to the SLAs if you don't have the spell point past lives and reaper bonuses to SPs. Just feel free to grab whatever works from any tree, or level as a melee, sorc melees are fun and you have some nice touch based attacks anyway so are not super nerfed by Tensers, then swap to your elemental form at 20. You definitely do not need any special feats while getting to 20 on a meleer, but you can always go to Fred to fix it if you want to use some.