All about skills, stats and equipment for the Diablo 2 Melee Sorceress build
The Melee Sorceress (or Meleeress) is a build that converts the traditional magic casting Sorceress into a melee fighter. The class isn’t designed for this kind of use, but surprisingly it can function as a very powerful build. It is performing even better as a ladder build because of the extreme amounts of damage that Dream Rune Word inflicts.
The purpose of this build is to focus on skills that can’t attack the enemy directly with magic. Some skills prerequisites or useful for their synergies though. One point to Frozen Armor can help you too.
In order to unlock the full potential of the build, you have to max out Enchant, Warmth, Energy Shield and Telekinesis.
Telekinesis may sound like a strange choice, but in fact, it is quite necessary to a Melee Sorceress. This is because Telekinesis contains a “hidden” synergy. It’s reducing by .0625 the mana points consumed per life point while using the Energy Shield. Without any reduction, the initial mana to life ratio is 2:1. After spending 16 points in Telekinesis, this amount falls down to 1:1 ratio.
Energy shield alongside with Telekinesis is mandatory to survive. Sorceress is a very fragile class, so these are the tools for your sustainability.
The main problem you have to deal with is versus elemental attacks. But Warmth can counter this weakness, by providing a non-stop replenishing life pool. Still, we recommend keeping your Rejuvenation potions in hand.
Enchant is a must-have skill, not only for its damage but also for its attack rating boost. Even with high Dexterity, Sorceress has a low attack rating, resulting in missing many attacks in melee. Enchant does an excellent job increasing your accuracy and the mana leeching ability too. When the skill is maxed out, it grants a great accuracy bonus of 15%.
Your Strength should have 106-115 points, just enough for the appropriate equipment.
In order to max out your block rate, you need to invest a lot of points in Dexterity. It should be approximately to 360 by reaching level 90.
Your actual Vitality is your Energy, so keep this at the base.
To improve the lifespan of the Energy Shield, you should drop at Energy all the points remained from Strength and Dexterity.
The gear of a Melee Sorceress is much more essential than her distribution of the skills. In the case your equipment provides elemental skills, the elemental masteries are a choice to consider.
The most common weapons for this build are Passion (due to Zeal skill) and Destruction Phase Blade for its decent damage.
The best shield is a Monarch with 4 Ith Runes. This is in combination with a maxed out Energy Shield means that 60% of the damage taken transfers to mana.
To increase further your ability to survive, use a Verdungo Hearty Cord belt.
The Zealess is a powerful type of the melee sorceress. It uses the Passion Rune Word in order to gain access to the Zeal skill, taking advantage of the sorceress’ Lightning power (Lightning Mastery). Also, the means of sustainability are the Energy Shield and Warmth.
The skill-points distribution is the same as the basic Melee Sorceress, but the Lightning Mastery is more important than Enchant. Thus, it’s better to max it out first.
Equipment
Weapon
Shield
Head
Chest
Belt
Gloves
Boots
Amulet
Rings