I still haven’t done the Cow Level with my sorceress… she’s level 36, so it’s not like I’m afraid of dying. I just don’t want to re-randomize all the Nightmare maps yet. Maybe when I reach the next waypoint…
I’m curious… has anyone found any regular (that is, non-set, non-rare, non-unique) rings or necklaces that cost more than 1000-2000 gold? I remember, in Diablo I, whenever you found a ring or amulet, you KNEW that it was gonna fetch a pretty penny, no matter what enchantments are on them.
I found that auto-imbue program and tried it on my two characters that are just starting out. Run the program on any saved game and it will imbue any viable item in that character’s pack. It’s not very useful for characters which have just been created, so one would need to go out to collect stuff first. It gave my sorceress a nice staff, but since it’s the same staff she started out with, it’s only worth 1 gold piece. Of course, so is fixing it no matter how badly damaged it is. The program is also a good way to increase funds by selling unwanted imbued items. I am not going to use this on any of my main characters, and will probably stop using it on my replacement barbarian once he gets to Lut Gholein. I figure a lone sorceress needs all the help she can get.
Actually, a sorceress doesn’t need all that much help. The trick is simply to stay out of arm’s reach of any monster she comes across.
And a staff is the last thing you should ever imbue for her! A weapon of any sort, no matter how good, is going to be next to useless in the hands of a sorceress (she’s too slow, too weak, and doesn’t have enough life to mix it up in a melee). Imbuing armor (any of the various pieces, depending on the quality of stuff she already has) is the best way to go. If you must use a staff (and about the only time you wouldn’t use one is if you can get hold of a weapon such as Culwen’s Point [a unique war sword that gives +1 to all skills] and / or Sigon’s Tower [a Set tower shield that gives +1 to all skills], use one which enhances commonly used spells. Or, find an Arcanna’s Deathwand (+1 to all sorceress skills) or Cathan’s Rule (+1 to all Fire Skills, +10 to minimum fire damage).
I just started playing a sorceress the other night, and have brought her (DaggerGirl) up to eleventh level. As far as point allocation goes, I have given nearly all of her attribute points to strength. I am still in the middle of Act I, but I know I will be able to wear whatever suit of armor I find. My warmth is high enough that I don’t need a ton of mana yet, so I have been increasing energy more slowly. Daggergirl’s strength and energy are about the same now.
As for weapon selection, it’s a damned shame that sorceress skill weapons are staves. There is just no call whatsoever for a sorceress to be using a two handed weapon. Get yourself a solid shield. Keep a socketed large one in reserve for the bosses. There is nothing like slapping a big fat ruby in a large shield before you dish out death to the bosses. It’s useful to be poison resistant against Andariel, etc.
MR
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Actually, a sorceress doesn’t need all that much help. The trick is simply to stay out of arm’s reach of any monster she comes across.
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Easier said than done. My reflexes aren’t always quick enough when going up against unique monsters.
As I said, I was merely trying out this auto-imbue program to see what it would give me. My sorcoeress has yet to even face Blood Raven!
From Maeglin:
Atcually, something that I find more useful than poison resistance is poison length reduction. You can usually find any number of 25%, 50% or 75% reduction items, and they do stack. I’ve had a number of characters with over 100% reduction and little if any resistance. They wind up taking no damage from poison, and at worst blink green for about half of a second, even from the likes of Andariel or the maggot boss from the Maggot Lair in Act II.
And I fully agree about the staff thing. I would much rather go with a shield (one of my characters found Wall of the Eyeless, a unique bone shield that gives +5(!) mana after each kill - 'twould be very handy for a sorceress!) and either a weapon such as Culwen’s Point, or at least a Triumphant item to help with mana recovery. However, it is pretty hard to give something like Arcanna’s Deathwand 
Arcanna’s Deathwand? You mean… the weapon I have?