Iceplosion Diablo IV Sorcerer Build

Iceplosion Sorcerer BUILD for Diablo IV

(chill then freeze your enemies to shatter their frozen selves into an icy explosion)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV’s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Sorcerer Class called Iceplosion.

The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the builds instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Iceplosion) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Some of the skill icon images you see could be outdated & different from what is seen in the Full release version. I plan to replace them once the Beta ends or after the full launch.

Minor Destruction / Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active) Frost Bolt – Throw a bolt of frost at an enemy, dealing 39.00% (X- ?) damage and Chilling them for 13%. Damage: Cold Tags: Basic, Frost
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Bolt Frost Bolt has a 10% chance to explode on Chilled targets, hitting nearby enemies. Chance increased by 100% against Frozen targets.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Glinting Frost Bolt Frost Bolt generates 4 Mana when hitting Chilled or Frozen.

Major Destruction / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Ice Shards Launch 5 shards that deal 25.00% (X-?) damage each. Deals 25% (Multiplicative) increased damage to Frozen enemies. Mana Cost: 30 Damage: Cold Tags: Core, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ice Shards Ice Shards have 15% chance to ricochet to another enemy.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Greater Ice Shards While you have a Barrier active, Ice Shards treats enemies as if they were Frozen.
  • (passive) Potent Warding Your non-Physical Damage and Resistances are increased by 2%.
  • (passive) did not pick other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) I picked two Defensive skills for this build

  • (active) Frost Nova Unleash a torrent of frost, Freezing enemies around you for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 14.7 Tags: Defensive, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Nova Frost Nova’s radius is increased by 25%.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Shimmering Frost Nova Frost Nova generates 4 Mana per enemy hit.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points
  • (active) Teleport Transform into lightning becoming Unstoppable and surging to the target location dealing 25.00% (X -?) damage around you upon arrival. Cooldown: 10.8 Damage: Lightning Tags: Defensive, Shock
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Teleport After Teleporting, take 30% less damage for 5 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Shimmering Teleport Teleport’s cooldown is decreased by 0.5 seconds per enemy hit, up to 3 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Conjuration Skills (Required Points: 11 ) I DID NOT pick a Conjuration skill but you can remove 1 of the defensive skills and add Ice Blades

  • (active) Ice Blades Conjure ice blades for 6.0 seconds that rapidly slashes enemies for 30.67% (X – ?) damage and has a 20% chance to make them Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 11.8 Damage: Cold Tags: Conjuration, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ice Blades Ice Blades has a 10% increased chance to make enemies Vulnerable.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Summoned Ice Blades Every time Ice Blades hits a Vulnerable enemy, it gains 25% Attack Speed, up to 100%.
  • (passive) Align the Elements You gain 5% Damage reduction against Elites for each second you don’t take damage from any of these sources, up to 50%.  
    • (1st upgrade) Mana Shield – Every time you spend 100 Mana, you gain 5% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade) Protection Using a skill with cooldown grants 10% of your maximum Life as a Barrier for 5 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any more Conjuration passives to save points

Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active) Blizzard Summon a frigid blizzard that deals 120.00% (X) damage and continually Chills enemies for 18% over 5 seconds. Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Cold Tags: Mastery, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blizzard Blizzard’s duration is increased by 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mage’s Blizzard Every second an enemy is in Blizzard, they take 2.5% (multiplicative) increased damage from you, up to 20% (multiplicative).
  • (passive I ONLY invested ONE point hereto unlock the upgrade ) Ice Veil – Your Barriers have a 5% increased duration. Barriers absorb damage from all sourced up to a specified amount.
    • (upgrade 1) Hoarfrost – You deal more damage to enemies the more Chilled they are, up 6% (multiplicative) while they are Frozen.
    • (upgrade 2 – did get this to save points) Cold Front – While you have a Barrier active, you apply 8% more Chill.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Deep Freeze Encase yourself in ice, becoming Immune for 4 seconds, continually Chilling enemies for 20%. When Deep Freeze ends, Frozen enemies shatter for 200.00% (X- ?). Casting Deep Freeze again ends the effect early. Cooldown: 58.8 Damage: Cold Tags: Ultimate, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Deep Freeze Gain 5% of your Life as a Barrier for 6 seconds for each enemy shattered by Deep Freeze.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Deep Freeze When Deep Freeze ends, your active cooldowns are reduced by 50%.
  • (passive) Frostbite You deal 3% (multiplicative) more damage to Frozen or Vulnerable enemies, and 6% (multiplicative) more damage to enemies who are both Frozen and Vulnerable.
    • (upgrade) Icy Touch You deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
    • (upgrade) Permafrost Frost Skills deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Snap Freeze Lucky Hit: Frost Skills have up to a 3% chance to instantly Freeze.

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Shatter After Freeze expires, enemies explode for 25% of the damage you dealt to them while Frozen.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much info regarding sacrificing skills as “Enchantments” and if it even is still a part of the game so I’ll leave this empty for now.

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Iceplosion) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Amulet: Aspect of Control
  • Chest: Aspect of Might
  • Pants: Snowguard’s Aspect
  • Gloves: Aspect of Biting Cold
  • Boots: Aspect of Shared Misery
  • Ring 1: Aspect of Retribution
  • Ring 2: Prodigy’s Aspect
  • 1H Weapon: Aspect of Pummeling
  • Off-hand: Aspect of Piercing Cold
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Aspect of Pummeling

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Iceplosion Sorcerer Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Starfall Diablo IV Sorcerer Build

Starfall Sorcerer BUILD for Diablo IV

(make the Stars fall to scorch the earth, setting your enemies ablaze, while your Hydras finish them off)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV’s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Sorcerer Class called Starfall.

The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the builds instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Starfall) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Some of the skill icon images you see could be outdated & different from what is seen in the Full release version. I plan to replace them once the Beta ends or after the full launch.

Minor Destruction / Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active) Fire Bolt – Hurl a flaming bolt, dealing 10.00% (X – ?) damage and Burning for 135.00% (X-?) over 8 seconds. Damage: Fire Tags: Basic, Pyromancy
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Fire Bolt Fire Bolt pierces Burning enemies
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Glinting Fire Bolt Critical Strikes with Fire Bolt increase the burning damage the target takes by 20% (multiplicative) for 4 seconds

Major Destruction / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Fireball Hurl an exploding ball of fire, dealing 66.00% (X- ?) damage to nearby enemies. Mana Cost: 50 Damage: Fire Tags: Core, Pyromancy
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Fireball Fireball costs 10 less Mana.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Greater Fireball When you cast Fireball while Healthy, it has a 50% increased radius and deals 20% increased Critical Strike Damage.
  • (passive) Potent Warding Your non-Physical Damage and Resistances are increased by 2%.
  • (passive) did not pick other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 ) pick one of the two

  • (active) Flame Shield Engulf yourself in flames for 2 seconds, Burning nearby enemies for 6.50% (X) per second. While Flame Shield is active, you are Immune. Cooldown: 19.6 Damage: Fire Tags: Defensive, Pyromancy
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Flame Shield Flame Shield grants 25% Movement Speed while active.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mystical Flame Shield Enemies continue Burning for 3 additional seconds after being hit by Flame Shield.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points
  • (active) Teleport Transform into lightning becoming Unstoppable and surging to the target location dealing 25.00% (X -?) damage around you upon arrival. Cooldown: 10.8 Damage: Lightning Tags: Defensive, Shock
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Teleport After Teleporting, take 30% less damage for 5 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Shimmering Teleport Teleport’s cooldown is decreased by 0.5 seconds per enemy hit, up to 3 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Conjuration Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active) Hydra Summon a 3 headed hydra for 8.0 seconds. Each head spits fire at a nearby enemy, dealing 30.00% (X – ?) damage. Mana Cost: 20 Damage: Fire Tags: Conjuration, Pyromancy
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Hydra Hydras last for an additional 4 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Summoned Hydra Hydra also Burns enemies for an additional 12% of its base damage dealt over 6 seconds.
  • (passive) Align the Elements You gain 5% Damage reduction against Elites for each second you don’t take damage from any of these sources, up to 50%.  
    • (1st upgrade) Mana Shield – Every time you spend 100 Mana, you gain 5% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade) Protection – Using a skill with cooldown grants 10% of your maximum Life as a Barrier for 5 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any more Conjuration passives to save points

Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active) Meteor Summon a meteor that strikes the target location, dealing 50.00% (X – ?) damage and Burning the ground for 35.00% (X) damage over 3 seconds. Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Fire Tags: Mastery, Pyromancy
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Meteor If Meteor hits 3 or more enemies, there is a 30% chance an additional Meteor falls on the same location.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mage’s Meteor Meteor falls 30% faster and costs 6 less Mana.
  • (passive) Inner Flames Your Pyromancy Skills deal 8% (multiplicative) increased damage after you haven’t taken damage for 3 seconds.
    • (upgrade 1 – did not take this one) Soulfire Fireball and Meteor have an 1.5% increased chance to Critically Strike per enemy hit.
    • (upgrade 2) Devouring Flames Your Pyromancy Skills deal 1% (multiplicative) increased direct damage for each source of Burning on an enemy, up to 4% (multiplicative).

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Inferno Ignite a roaring inferno that pulses in and out of the target area, Burning enemies for 295.00% (X) damage over 8 seconds, and then explodes, dealing 50.00% (X- ?) damage to enemies on the outer edge. Cooldown: 44.1 Damage: Fire Tags: Ultimate, Pyromancy
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Inferno Enemies inside of Inferno’s final explosion are Immobilized for 4 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Inferno Killing a Burning enemy reduces Inferno’s cooldown by 1 second.
  • (passive) Immolated Flesh Burning enemies deal 4.5% reduced damage.
    • (upgrade 1) Fiery Surge Killing a Burning enemy grants 3% Attack Speed for 3 seconds.
    • (upgrade 2 – did not take this one) Endless Pyre Burning effects last 6% longer.
    • (upgrade 3) Endless Pyre Burning effects last 6% longer.
    • (upgrade 4) Pyromania You deal 3% (multiplicative) increased Critical Strike Damage per nearby Burning enemy, up to 50% (multiplicative).

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Esu’s Ferocity You deal 25% (multiplicative) increased Burning damage to enemies over 50% Life and 25% (multiplicative) increased Pyromancy Skill Direct Damage to enemies under 50% Life.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much info regarding sacrificing skills as “Enchantments” and if it even is still a part of the game so I’ll leave this empty for now.

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Starfall) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Incendiary Aspect
  • Amulet: Aspect of Three Curses
  • Chest: Aspect of Seared Flesh
  • Pants: Aspect of Might
  • Gloves: Aspect of Seared Flesh
  • Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect
  • Ring 1: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Ring 2: Prodigy’s Aspect
  • 1H Weapon: Aspect of Control
  • Off-hand: Rapid Aspect
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Aspect of Control

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Starfall Sorcerer Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Snowballer Diablo IV Sorcerer Build

Snowballer Sorcerer BUILD for Diablo IV

(Snowballers Chill enemies until Frozen, then exploit their vulnerability by casting Icy Balls & Shards)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV’s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Sorcerer Class called Snowballer.

The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the builds instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Snowballer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Some of the skill icon images you see could be outdated & different from what is seen in the Full release version. I plan to replace them once the Beta ends or after the full launch.

Minor Destruction / Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active) Frost Bolt – Throw a bolt of frost at an enemy, dealing 39.00% (X- ?) damage and Chilling them for 13%. Damage: Cold Tags: Basic, Frost
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frost Bolt Frost Bolt has a 10% chance to explode on Chilled targets, hitting nearby enemies. Chance increased by 100% against Frozen targets.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Glinting Frost Bolt Frost Bolt generates 4 Mana when hitting Chilled or Frozen.

Major Destruction / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Frozen Orb Unleash an orb that Chills for 34% and expels piercing shards dealing a total of 31.69% (X- ?) damage. Upon expiration, Frozen Orb explodes, dealing 29.25% (X- ?) damage. and Chilling enemies for 9%. Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Cold Tags: Core, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Frozen Orb When cast above 50 Mana, Frozen Orb’s explosion damage is increased by 30% (multiplicative).
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Destructive Frozen Orb Frozen Orb’s explosion restores 5 Mana when hitting a Frozen enemy.
  • (passive) Potent Warding Your non-Physical Damage and Resistances are increased by 2%.
  • (passive) did not pick other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

  • (active) Ice Armor A Barrier of ice forms around you for 6 seconds, absorbing X damage. While Ice Armor is active, 10% of your Cold Damage dealt is added to its Barrier. Barriers absorb damage from all sources up to a specified amount. Cooldown: 19.6 Tags: Defensive, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ice Armor While Ice Armor is active, your Mana Regeneration is increased by 25%.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mystical Ice Armor While Ice Armor’s Barrier is at or above its original amount, you deal 30% (multiplicative) increased damage.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Conjuration Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active) Ice Blades Conjure ice blades for 6.0 seconds that rapidly slashes enemies for 30.67% (X – ?) damage and has a 20% chance to make them Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 11.8 Damage: Cold Tags: Conjuration, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Ice Blades Ice Blades has a 10% increased chance to make enemies Vulnerable.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Summoned Ice Blades Every time Ice Blades hits a Vulnerable enemy, it gains 25% Attack Speed, up to 100%.
  • (passive) Align the Elements You gain 5% Damage reduction against Elites for each second you don’t take damage from any of these sources, up to 50%.  
    • (1st upgrade) Mana Shield – Every time you spend 100 Mana, you gain 5% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade) Protection Using a skill with cooldown grants 10% of your maximum Life as a Barrier for 5 seconds.
  • (passive) did not pick any more Conjuration passives to save points

Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active) Blizzard Summon a frigid blizzard that deals 120.00% (X) damage and continually Chills enemies for 18% over 5 seconds. Mana Cost: 40 Damage: Cold Tags: Mastery, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Blizzard Blizzard’s duration is increased by 2 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mage’s Blizzard Every second an enemy is in Blizzard, they take 2.5% (multiplicative) increased damage from you, up to 20% (multiplicative).
  • (passive to consider FOR LATER. DID NOT invest for it yet to save points ) Ice Veil – Your Barriers have a 5% increased duration. Barriers absorb damage from all sourced up to a specified amount.
    • (upgrade) Hoarfrost – You deal more damage to enemies the more Chilled they are, up 6% (multiplicative) while they are Frozen.
    • (upgrade) Cold Front – While you have a Barrier active, you apply 8% more Chill.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Deep Freeze Encase yourself in ice, becoming Immune for 4 seconds, continually Chilling enemies for 20%. When Deep Freeze ends, Frozen enemies shatter for 200.00% (X- ?). Casting Deep Freeze again ends the effect early. Cooldown: 58.8 Damage: Cold Tags: Ultimate, Frost
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Deep Freeze Gain 5% of your Life as a Barrier for 6 seconds for each enemy shattered by Deep Freeze.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Deep Freeze When Deep Freeze ends, your active cooldowns are reduced by 50%.
  • (passive) Frostbite You deal 3% (multiplicative) more damage to Frozen or Vulnerable enemies, and 6% (multiplicative) more damage to enemies who are both Frozen and Vulnerable.
    • (upgrade) Icy Touch You deal 4% (multiplicative) increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
    • (upgrade) Permafrost Frost Skills deal 5% (multiplicative) increased damage to Elites.
    • (upgrade) Snap Freeze Lucky Hit: Frost Skills have up to a 3% chance to instantly Freeze.

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Icefall Lucky Hit: Your Frost Skills have up to a 10% chance to make your next Ice Shards, Frozen Orb, or Blizzard consume no Mana and deal 40% (multiplicative) more damage. Chance is doubled against Vulnerable enemies.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much info regarding sacrificing skills as “Enchantments” and if it even is still a part of the game so I’ll leave this empty for now.

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Snowballer) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Amulet: Aspect of Control
  • Chest: Aspect of Shared Misery
  • Pants: Snowguard’s Aspect
  • Gloves: Aspect of Biting Cold
  • Boots: Ghostwalker Aspect
  • Ring 1: Aspect of Retribution
  • Ring 2: Prodigy’s Aspect
  • 1H Weapon: Aspect of Pummeling
  • Off-hand: Rapid Aspect
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Aspect of Pummeling

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Snowballer Sorcerer Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website

Chaining Thunder Diablo IV Sorcerer Build

Chaining Thunder Sorcerer BUILD for Diablo IV

(be the Master of Thunder & Storms that shocks & electrifies enemies while zapping around the map)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

Diablo IV launches on June 6th, 2023 for PC (Battle.Net), XBOX, & PlayStation with a 4 days Early Access (no wipe) for pre-orders (so kind of really launching June 2nd).

Diablo IV’s Open Beta Tests are almost here and I felt motivated to make some Pre-Launch theorycrafted semi-builds that should be good for ‘fresh-into-endgame’ characters when the game launches. I also plan to evolve them into FULL builds when the game is released & keep them updated when we get rebalance updates. This is one such build for the Sorcerer Class called Chaining Thunder.

The Beta tests will only let us reach lvl 25 and only let us play in the first Act/Zone (Fractured Peaks) so those builds will be more useful for the actual game launch and ideally for characters around lvl 50+ or 60+. I’ve used 50+ and 60+ skill points when making the builds instead of the full 100 so that they can be used to jumpstart a player’s post-story endgame grind.

I’ve also made spreadsheets for those builds (see the links below) that have shortlisted the active and passive skills + legendary aspect that work well with the build so one can spend the extra skill points on the way to lvl 100 into those other skills.

This build will be updated post-launch to a new & expanded version when I have actual in-game information as reference.

Video Version:

Skill Trees

Below you’ll see ONLY the Active & Passive skills that were selected for this build. For additional skills that can be taken on the way to lvl 100 + alternative skill options, you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Chaining Thunder) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

Some of the skill icon images you see could be outdated & different from what is seen in the Full release version. I plan to replace them once the Beta ends or after the full launch.

Minor Destruction / Basic Skill (Resource Generator/Builder) (Required Points: 0 )

  • (active) Arc Lash Unleash arcing lightning that shocks enemies in front of you for 30.00% (X- ?). Every 10 times Arc Lash swipes, it stuns all enemies hit for 2 seconds. Damage: Lightning Tags: Basic, Shock
    • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Arc Lash If Arc Lash’s initial swipe Critically Strikes, it swipes and additional time.
    • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Glinting Arc Lash Hitting a Stunned enemy with Arc Lash reduces your cooldowns by 0.25 seconds.

Major Destruction / Core Skill(s) (Resource Spender) (Required Points: 2 )

  • (active) Chain Lightning Unleash lightning that deals 42.00% (X-?) damage and chains up to 4 times. Mana Cost: 35 Damage: Lightning Tags: Core, Shock
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Chain Lightning Chain Lightning bounces to 1 additional enemy.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Greater Chain Lightning When Chain Lightning Critically Strikes, it has a 25% chance to spawn a Crackling Energy.
  • (passive) Potent Warding Your non-Physical Damage and Resistances are increased by 2%.
  • (passive) did not pick other Core passives to save points

Defensive Skills (Required Points: 6 )

  • (active) Teleport Transform into lightning becoming Unstoppable and surging to the target location dealing 25.00% (X -?) damage around you upon arrival. Cooldown: 10.8 Damage: Lightning Tags: Defensive, Shock
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Teleport After Teleporting, take 30% less damage for 5 seconds.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Mystical Teleport For 4 seconds after Teleporting, Crackling Energy deals 40% (multiplicative) more damage.
  • (passive) did not pick any Defensive passives to save points

Conjuration Skills (Required Points: 11 )

  • (active) Lightning Spear Conjure a crackling spear of lightning that seeks out enemies for 6.0 seconds, dealing 15.00% (X – ?) damage per hit. Mana Cost: 19.6 Damage: Lightning Tags: Conjuration, Shock
  • (1st upgrade) Enhanced Lightning Spear Lightning Spear has a 10% increased chance to critically strike against Stunned enemies.
  • (2nd upgrade – my pick of the 2) Invoked Lightning Spear After critically striking, Lightning Spear has a 5% increased stacking critical strike chance for its duration.
  • (passive) Align the Elements You gain 5% Damage reduction against Elites for each second you don’t take damage from any of these sources, up to 50%.  
    • (1st upgrade) Mana Shield – Every time you spend 100 Mana, you gain 5% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.
    • (2nd upgrade) did not pick it to save points
  • (passive) did not pick any more Conjuration passives to save points

Mastery Skills (Required Points: 16 )

  • (active – did not invest points into it YET but good to have later) Ball Lightning Conjure a ball of lightning that slowly moves forward, continually zapping enemies for 15.00% (X -?) damage. Mana Cost: 50 Damage: Lightning Tags: Mastery, Shock
  • (1st upgrade for later) Enhanced Ball Lightning Ball Lightning deals damage 30% more frequently.
  • (2nd upgrade for later – my pick of the 2)Wizard’s Ball Lightning If an enemy is hit at least 4 times by a cast of Ball Lightning, a Crackling Energy is formed.
  • (passive) Regenerative Conduit Crackling Energy restores 4 Mana upon pickup.
    • (upgrade) Shocking Impact – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points
    • (upgrade) Static Discharge – Critical Strikes with Shock Skills have a 5% chance to form a Crackling Energy.

Ultimate Skills (Required Points: 23 )

  • (active) Unstable Currents Lightning surges within you for 10 seconds. Whenever you cast a Lightning Skill, another random Lightning Skill is also cast. Cooldown: 68.5 Damage: Lightning Tags: Ultimate, Shock
  • (1st upgrade) Prime Unstable Currents – Unstable Currents increases Attack Speed by 25% while active.
  • (2nd upgrade) Supreme Unstable Currents While Unstable Currents is active, collecting Crackling Energy increases its duration by 0.25 seconds.
  • (passive) Coursing Currents – Hitting enemies with Shock Skills increases your Critical Strike Chance by 1%. Resets upon getting a Critical Strike.
    • (upgrade) Conduction Critical Strikes with Shock Skills increase your Attack Speed by 5% for 2 seconds.
    • (upgrade) Electrocution – Enemies deal 5% less damage for 5 seconds after being Critically Struck by your Shock Skills.
    • (upgrade) Convulsions – Lucky Hit: Shock Skills have up to a 3% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds.
  • (passive) Bonded in Essence – Your Minions gain 15% of your Resistances.
    • (upgrade) Death’s Defense – DID NOT INVEST in this to save points

Specializations (Required Points: 33 )

  • (passive) Vyr’s Mastery – Close enemies take 10% (multiplicative) more damage from your Shock skills and deal 20% (multiplicative) less damage to you.

Class Mechanic:

I don’t have much info regarding sacrificing skills as “Enchantments” and if it even is still a part of the game so I’ll leave this empty for now.

Legendary Aspects / Powers

I will only list the Legendary Aspects that have been selected for the build and the slots in which I advise putting those. For in-depth information you can check my pre-launch builds spreadsheet on this link. This build (Chaining Thunder) is one of the builds on that spreadsheet.

  • Helm: Aspect of The Umbral
  • Amulet: Aspect of Shared Misery
  • Chest: Aspect of Might
  • Pants: Aspect of The Unwavering
  • Gloves: Edgemaster’s Aspect
  • Boots: Charged Aspect
  • Ring 1: Aspect of Splintering Energy
  • Ring 2: Prodigy’s Aspect
  • 1H Weapon: Elementalist’s Aspect
  • Off-hand: Aspect of Retribution
  • 2-H Weapon (if you decide to use one): Elementalist’s Aspect

Useful Links (Spreadsheets & more):

For all of my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Theorycrafts/Builds: This Spreadsheet

For my Diablo IV Pre-Launch Class Skill Trees (can be used as mini-calculator): This Spreadsheet

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

This concludes the Chaining Thunder Sorcerer Build for Diablo IV. If you’re interested in the game below are links to the various platforms where one can buy it (you can just click the links to open a new tab):

PC (Battle.Net)

XBOX

PlayStation

Official Website