The build I've been doing on Ina's current life (as of the writing of this post) has been an unusual one - but a fun one.
I've played a Fire Sorc before and while it was fun, it felt too one-trick for my tastes. Variety, after all, is the spice of life, and chaining together Delayed Blast Fireballs with Meteor Swarms was effective, but ultimately bland.
So I incorporated some aspects of the Fusion Reactor build into the archetypal Fire Sorc that's been wrecking Heroics and Legendary alike, and I've got a build with serious spice. This version is a Gnome because I'm doing Gnome racials.
New Build
Sorcerer 20
True Neutral Gnome
Stats
36pt Tome Level Up
---- ---- --------
Strength 10 +4 4: CHA
Dexterity 10 +5 8: CHA
Constitution 16 +5 12: CHA
Intelligence 14 +4 16: CHA
Wisdom 8 +5 20: CHA
Charisma 18 +5 24: CHA
28: CHA
Skills
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
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Concent 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Spellcr 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Heal 1½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
Search ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 11
UMD 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
Balance ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4
Perform 1 1
Bluff 1 1
Tumble 1 1
------------------------------------------------------------
16 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Feats
1 : Spell Focus: Evocation OR Eschew Materials
3 : Completionist OR Spell Focus: Evocation OR Past Life: Wizard
6 : Quicken Spell
9 : Knight's Training OR EWP: Khopesh
12 : Two Weapon Fighting
15 : Heighten Spell
18 : Improved Critical: Slashing
21 Epic : Past Life: Wizard OR Empower Spell
24 Epic : Maximize Spell
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic : Intensify Spell
28 Destiny: Hellball
29 Destiny: Arcane Warrior
30 Epic : Embolden Spell OR Empower Spell
30 Legend : Scion of: Plane of Air OR Plane of Fire OR Arborea
Spells
1. Fire Bolt (1), Sonic Blast (1), Acid Spray (2), Jump (3)
2. Scorch (4), Knock (5), Resist Energy (7), Gust of Wind (9)
3. Fireball (6), Acid Blast (7), Displacement (9), Haste (11)
4. Wall of Fire (8), Dimension Door (9), Phantasmal Killer (11), Fire Shield (13)
5. Prismatic Ray (10), Cyclonic Blast (11), Break Enchantment (13), Ball Lightning (15)
6. Circle of Death (12), Flesh to Stone (13), Chain Lightning (15)
7. Delayed Blast Fireball (14), Otto's Sphere of Dancing (15), Finger of Death (17)
8. Otto's Irresistible Dance (16), Incendiary Cloud (17), Sunburst (19)
9. Mass Hold Monster (18), Meteor Swarm (19), Wail of the Banshee (20)
Spell swaps: Acid Spray -> Merfolk's Blessing (14)
Enhancements (80+5 AP)
Fire Savant (41 AP)
• Fire Savant, Fire Affinity, Greater Fire Affinity, Immolation, Elemental Persistance, Elemental Apotheosis
1. One with the Inferno I, Spell Critical, Conflagration III
2. Efficient Quicken II, Spell Critical, Fanning the Flames III
3. Efficient Maximize II, Spell Penetration, Spell Critical, Charisma
4. Efficient Heighten I, Spell Critical, Charisma
5. Awaken Elemental Weakness, Evocation Focus
Eldritch Knight (Sorcerer) (27 AP)
• Eldritch Strike, Spellsword, Imbue the Blade, Subtle Force
1. Improved Mage Armor III, Toughness II
2. Improved Shield III, Spellpower Boost III
3. Eldritch Accuracy, Synergetic Magic, Charisma
4. Force's Point, Armored Arcana, Charisma
Harper Agent (12 AP)
• Agent of Good I, Charisma
1. Harper Enchantment, Traveler's Toughness II
2. Know the Angles III
3. Strategic Combat
Gnome (5 AP)
• Gnomish Perserverance
1. Wand and Scroll Mastery III, Awareness I
Destiny (24 AP)
Draconic Incarnation
1. Energy Sheath: Electricity III, Charisma
2. Out with bang: Fire III, Precise: Evocation II, Charisma
3. Dragon Heritage: Red III, Charisma
4. Energy Burst: Fire III, Spell Knowledge III
5. Dragon Breath
Twists of Fate (27 fate points)
1. Empyrean Magic (Tier 3 Crusader)
2. School Specialist: Evocation (Tier 2 Magister)
3. Flames of Purity (Tier 2 Crusader)
4. Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)
5. Endless Faith (Tier 1 Exalted)
Okay, so a few pointers:
* Season DEX and STR to taste. As long as you can hit 15 base DEX with tomes, you're fine. Reorder the feats if your race and tome situation would allow you to take TWF sooner or force you to take it later. While you use STR for weapon damage for much of Heroics, you don't have any feats that require a certain amount, so dump it if you have to in order to get your DEX right.
* Don't go in thinking you are primary melee DPS. You're not. You're far from it. You'd still be far from it even if you could get CHA to weapon damage. If you try to wade into melee on higher skulls, you will likely end up as a soulstone. The point of the melee ability on this build is mainly to charge Force's Point to get +20 USP. Be smart. Flank. Use crowd control, be it your own or that of others.
* Play like a midrange nuker. I don't take Knight's Transformation because I personally hate being confined to melee range to cast anything not named Meteor Swarm. That doesn't mean I'm nuking from across the map. I like having choice in the matter. Being close allows me to slap a mob with my swords to get back a Force's Point charge.
* Don't be afraid to take a hit. Medium armor and a few PRR/MRR past lives will aid your durability greatly. Mind you, you're not a tank. You are, however, able to survive a stray hit or two from side mobs while getting a FP charge or two.
* Know your enemy. Feel free to use a ranged mob or a caster to charge up Force's Point. It's safer than charging on a melee.
* Don't be afraid to offhand a caster stick. The Two Weapon Fighting feat is mainly there so you can attack without penalty while a weapon's in your offhand, because there are some caster weapons that outstrip orbs and other options, especially in certain gear layouts. Think of any melee damage from it as a bonus instead of something to be relied on. If said caster stick isn't a longsword/khopesh, but it benefits you, just use it. You'll be fine.
In Heroics, just blast things like any other Fire Sorcerer until you get TWF and Force's Point. Then you can show them what a hybrid can do. While I use longswords with Knight's Training, khopesh proficiency is also a valid option if you have a few of them laying around.
For enhancements, I went with enough in Fire Savant to get the Level 6 core first. Then I went EK up to Medium Armor, CHA to hit, Deflect Arrows, and Force's Point. Back to Fire Savant after that until my Tier 5s, then to Harper to get the extra melee damage from INT to damage (which will far outstrip your STR contribution by late heroics) and KtA. Finally, I wrap up by running Fire Savant to capstone.
In Epics, Draconic Incarnation is the destiny of choice, as it synergizes well with a close to mid range nuking style. The twists are chosen to add even more punch to your fire spells. You also start getting your metas in Epics, as they're too much of a SP drain in Heroics for my taste on a non-SLA build. Run in elemental form from the Sorc capstone always.
In Legendary, build your gearset around the Flamecleansed Fury set for that extra artifact Fire spellpower. Maximize your Charisma and Constitution, and make sure you have something boosting Intelligence.
