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Hydra Orb

The Hydra Orb guide

Written by MrLlamaSC for Icy Veins, shown here with his permission. Read the original on Icy Veins· Skills and items link to their pages.

›Introduction

Utilizing Hydra and Frozen Orb, this Sorceress aims to solve the Immunity problems faced by single Element Characters. Due to its low synergy count, Frozen Orb is a strong skill that leaves enough Skill Points available to achieve powerful Hydra damage.

›Hydra Orb Sorceress Skill Build

  • 1 point to all prerequisites

  • 20 points to Frozen Orb — max immediately, required

  • Enough points in Cold Mastery to reach -150% Enemy Cold Resist

  • 1+ points to Ice Bolt — synergy for Frozen Orb, required

  • 1 point to Frozen Armor — invest when starting to teleport, required

  • 1 point to Teleport — invest immediately at level 18, required

  • 1 point to Static Field — invested at level 6, let the rest of your plus skills increase its range, required

  • Secondary Element

  • 20 points to Hydra — one of the main damage dealers, required

  • 20 points to Fire Ball — Synergy for Hydra, required

  • 20 points to Fire Mastery — Boosted Damage for Fire Skills , required

  • 1+ points to Fire Bolt — Synergy for Hydra, required

›Hydra Orb Sorceress Stats Discussion

The following section discusses how many attribute points should be allocated to each of the primary stats.

How much Strength Does a Hydra Orb Sorceress Need?

Enough for gear — for a Character using a Spirit Monarch Shield this will be 156 Strength as that is usually the highest Strength requirement for commonly used gear. If choosing to use another shield with lower Strength requirements, then adjust to that value. This number constantly changes based on the equipment you are using, so make sure to double-check the Strength requirements of each piece of gear you have and how much Strength each piece will provide once equipped.

How much Dexterity Does a Hydra Orb Sorceress Need?

Enough for gear. Dexterity is great for increasing Block Chance but if you are not planning to invest points to max that out, it is often not worth adding any additional points. This Sorceress will not use Attack Rating so extra points in Dexterity does not help.

How much Vitality Does a Hydra Orb Sorceress Need?

Everything else into Vitality — 250+ Vitality. Every excess attribute point should be allocated to Vitality, as long as you can meet the Strength requirements of your items by the time you wish to equip them. Not only does this increase your Life total, but it also increases the chance for Health Potions to double the healing provided. On top of that, the more Life you have, the less chance you have to be put into Hit Recovery, helping your character out even more!

How much Energy Does a Hydra Orb Sorceress Need?

Nothing — allocating stat points to Energy in a final build is universally considered sub-par for almost every character due to the widespread availability of Mana Potions. While leveling, if you find your character struggling with Mana, you can allocate a few points to Energy that you can then remove with a respec later in the game.

›Hydra Orb Sorceress Mercenary

You can either choose a Defensive ( Holy Freeze) or Offensive ( Might) Act 2 Nightmare Mercenary here depending on if you want a slower and safer pace, or want your Mercenary to have added damage.