Sorcerer Class Guide: Skills, Stats, and How to Play

This is a guide to the Sorcerer class in Diablo 4 (Diablo IV). Read on to learn everything about the Sorcerer class including the Sorcerer's class specialization, Sorcerer's skills, all the strengths and weaknesses of the Sorcerer, the best stats to increase for the Sorcerer, and how to play the Sorcerer!

All Sorcerer Guides
Class Guide	Best Builds	Enchantments

Sorcerer Overview and Rating

Stats Overview
Sorcerer
Main Stat	Intelligence	DMG Type (Primary)	Magic
Base STR	Base DEX	Base INT	Base WP
7	7	10	8
Core Stat Modifiers
・Critical Chance x+0.02% per point in DEX ・Skill Damage x+0.1% per point in INT ・Resource Generation x0.1% per point in WP

Sorcerer Strengths

Excellent Crowd Control and Area-Based Damage Plenty of Utility and Survivability Skills Well-Rounded Mobility

Excellent Crowd Control and Area-Based Damage

The Sorcerer's primary strength is in its ability to quickly lock down and decimate hordes of demons with potent crowd control and area-based damage. Skills like Frost Nova can instantly freeze groups of foes, making them easy to clean up with a few casts of Ice Shards or Chain Lightning.

Plenty of Utility and Survivability Skills

The Sorcerer also has access to potent Defensive skills that provide plenty of much-needed utility and survivability. Skills like Ice Armor and Flame Shield protect the Sorcerer from damage while providing additional benefits, such as Movement Speed or Mana Regeneration.

Well-Rounded Mobility

Another strong point of the Sorcerer is its well-rounded mobility, even in the early game. While in combat, the Teleport skill allows the Sorcerer to quickly dodge attacks and break crowd control effects, making it a great pair with the Evade mechanic.

Outside of combat, Teleport becomes an excellent movement tool, letting the Sorcerer move faster and quickly traverse past small gaps and walls.

Sorcerer Weaknesses

Requires Proper Mana Management Long Ability Cooldowns Fragile Compared to Other Classes

Requires Proper Mana Management

The Sorcerer's core damage skills consume large portions of their Mana reserve, making proper Mana management crucial when playing the class. To make the most of their Mana, Sorcerer players need to aim their skills carefully and position their character correctly at all times.

Long Ability Cooldowns

Most of the Sorcerer's skills also have long cooldowns compared to the rest of the classes. Managing cooldowns and accurately performing skill combos are essential when playing as a Sorcerer.

Fragile Compared to Other Classes

Compared to the other classes in Diablo 4, the Sorcerer is one of the most fragile. Despite having solid mobility and defensive skills, the Sorcerer's long ability cooldowns and low Strength investment mean they can quickly die when overwhelmed and caught out of position.

Sorcerer Class Specialization

Enchantment Slots

At Level 15, Sorcerers can begin and complete the Legacy of the Magi quest to unlock their unique class mechanic: Enchantment Slots. Once unlocked, players can insert skills into Enchantment Slots to gain unique and powerful passive bonuses based on the slotted skill.

For example, placing the Ice Shards skill into an Enchantment Slot provides a passive that automatically spawns Ice Shards and sends them flying toward nearby Frozen enemies, making it pair well with skills like Frost Nova and Blizzard.

To check the Enchantment Slot effect of a given skill, hover over the different skills in the Sorcerer tree. You can see the passive bonuses each skill provides under the Enchantment Effects section of the tooltip.

Sorcerer Enchantment Guide

Sorcerer Skill Tree

Sorcerer Basic Skills

Active Skills

Skill / Effect		Skill Upgrades
Frost Bolt Throw a bolt of frost at an enemy, dealing XX damage and Chilling them for 15%.
		1	Enhanced Frost Bolt Frost Bolt has a 15% chance to explode on Chilled enemies, hitting surrounding enemies. Chance increased to 100% against Frozen enemies.
		2a	Glinting Frost Bolt Frost Bolt generates 4 mana when hitting Chilled or Frozen enemies.
		2b	Flickering Frost Bolt Frost Bolt makes Frozen enemies Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
Fire Bolt Hurl a flaming bolt, dealing XX damage and Burning for YY additional damage over 8 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Fire Bolt Fire Bolt pierces through Burning enemies.
		2a	Glinting Fire Bolt Fire Bolt increases the Burning damage you deal to the enemy by 25% for 3 seconds.
		2b	Flickering Fire Bolt Fire Bolt generates 2 Mana when hitting a Burning enemy.
Arc Lash Unleash arcing lightning that deals XX damage to enemies in front of you. Every 10 times Arc Lash swipes, it Stuns all enemies hit for 2 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Arc Lash If Arc Lash's initial swipe Critically Strikes, it swipes an additional time.
		2a	Glinting Arc Lash Hitting a Stunned enemy with Arc Lash reduces your Cooldowns by 0.25 seconds.
		2b	Flickering Arc Lash Gain 6% movement speed for 5 seconds per enemy hit with Arc Lash, up to 18%.
Spark Launch a bolt of lightning that shocks an enemy 4 times, dealing XX damage each hit.
		1	Enhanced Spark Each time Spark hits its primary target, it has a 40% chance to hit up to 3 additional enemies, dealing 7% damage. If there are no other enemies to hit, Spark instead deals 20% increased damage to its primary target.
		2a	Glinting Spark Spark grants 2% increased Critical Strike Chance per cast for 5 seconds, up to 8%.
		2b	Flickering Spark Each time Spark hits an enemy it has a 4% chance to form a Crackling Energy.

Sorcerer Core Skills

Active Skills

Skill / Effect		Skill Upgrades
Frozen Orb Unleash an orb that Chills for 34% and expels piercing shards, dealing a total of XX damage. Upon expiration, Frozen Orb explodes, dealing YY damage and Chilling enemies for 9%.
		1	Enhanced Frozen Orb When cast above 40 mana, Frozen Orb's explosion damage is increased by 30%. Bonus explosion damage is increased to 45% against Elites.
		2a	Greater Frozen Orb Frozen Orb's explosion has a 30% chance to make all enemies hit Vulnerable for 2 seconds. Frozen Orb always makes Frozen enemies Vulnerable.
		2b	Destructive Frozen Orb Frozen Orb's explosion restores 5 Mana when hitting a Frozen enemy.
Ice Shards Launch 5 shards that deal XX damage each. Deals 25% increased damage to Frozen enemies.
		1	Enhanced Ice Shards Ice Shards have a 40% chance to ricochet to another enemy. Ice Shards always ricochet off of Frozen enemies.
		2a	Greater Ice Shards While you have a Barrier active, casts of Ice Shards treat enemies as if they were Frozen.
		2b	Destructive Ice Shards Hitting an enemy with 5 Ice Shards in a single cast makes them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
Fireball Hurl an exploding ball of fire, dealing XX damage to surrounding enemies.
		1	Enhanced Fireball Fireball's radius is increased based on distance traveled, up to 50%
		2a	Greater Fireball Fireball deals 10% of the Burning damage you've applied to enemies as additional direct damage.
		2b	Destructive Fireball Fireball's explosion's Critical Strike damage is increased by 10%. Each enemy it hits increases this bonus by 5%, up to 25% total.
Incinerate Channel a beam of fire, Burning enemies for (XX)% damage per second. Damage per second increases over 2 seconds, up to (YY)%.
		1	Enhanced Incinerate While channeling Incinerate, you Burn enemies around you for 15% of the damage per second.
		2a	Greater Incinerate Every 4 seconds an enemy has been hit by Incinerate, they are Immobilized for 1 second.
		2b	Destructive Incinerate Enemies deal 25% less damage while Burning from Incinerate.
Charged Bolts Release 5 bolts of lightning that course along the ground in an erratic pattern, dealing XX damage each.
		1	Enhanced Charged Bolts Hitting an enemy at least 3 times with same cast of Charged Bolts releases a lightning nova, dealing 30% damage to enemies around them.
		2a	Greater Charged Bolts Charged Bolts deals 25% increased damage to Stunned enemies.
		2b	Destructive Charged Bolts Hitting an enemy with Charged Bolts reduces their damage dealt by 25% for 3 seconds.
Chain Lightning Unleash a stream of lightning that deals XX damage and chains between Nearby enemies and you up to 5 times, prioritizing enemies.
		1	Enhanced Chain Lightning Chain Lightning gains a 3% increased Critical Strike Chance per bounce.
		2a	Greater Chain Lightning If Chain Lightning bounces off of you, its next hit deals 10% increased damage.
		2b	Destructive Chain Lightning When Chain Lightning Critically Strikes, it has a 25% chance to form a Crackling Energy.

Passive Skills

Skill	Effect
Potent Warding	After casting a Non-Basic Skill, you gain X% Resistance to All Elements and X% Maximum Resistance to that Skill's element for 9 seconds.
Devastation	Your maximum Mana is increased by X.
Elemental Dominance	Your Core and Mastery Skills deal XX% increased damage when cast above 50 Mana. Devastation required

Sorcerer Defensive Skills

Active Skills

Skill / Effect		Skill Upgrades
Flame Shield Engulf yourself in flames for 2 seconds, Burning surrounding enemies for XX damage per second. While Flame Shield is active, you are Immune.
		1	Enhanced Flame Shield Flame Shield grants 25% Movement Speed while active.
		2a	Mystical Flame Shield You gain 25% Mana Cost Reduction while Flame Shield is active.
		2b	Shimmering Flame Shield Flame Shield Heals you for 50% of your missing Life.
Teleport Transform into lightning, becoming Unstoppable and surging to the target location, dealing XX damage around you upon arrival.
		1	Enhanced Teleport Teleport's cooldown is decreased by 0.5 seconds per enemy hit, up to 3 seconds.
		2a	Mystical Teleport For 4 seconds after Teleporting, Crackling Energy hits 2 additional enemies.
		2b	Shimmering Teleport After Teleporting, you gain 30% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds.
Ice Armor A Barrier of ice forms around you for 6 seconds, absorbing XX% of your Base Life in damage. While Ice Armor is active, 5% of your damage dealt is added to its Barrier.
		1	Enhanced Ice Armor While Ice Armor is active, your Mana Regeneration is increased by 25%.
		2a	Mystical Ice Armor Damage against Vulnerable enemies contributes 50% more to Ice Armor's Barrier.
		2b	Shimmering Ice Armor Enemies that hit you while Ice Armor is active have a 15% chance to become Frozen for 3 seconds.
Frost Nova Unleash a torrent of frost, Freezing enemies around you for 2 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Frost Nova Killing enemies Frozen by Frost Nova reduces its Cooldown by 1 seconds, up to 4 seconds per cast.
		2a	Mystical Frost Nova Frost Nova makes enemies Vulnerable for 4 seconds, increased to 6 seconds against Bosses.
		2b	Shimmering Frost Nova Frost Nova generates 4 Mana per enemy hit.

Passive Skills

Skill	Effect
Glass Cannon	You deal XX% increased damage, but take YY% more damage.
Elemental Attunement	Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes have a XX% chance to reset the Cooldown of one of your Defensive Skills. Can only happen once every 10 seconds.

Sorcerer Conjuration Skills

Active Skills

Skill / Effect		Skill Upgrades
Ice Blades Conjure a pair of ice blades for 6.0 seconds that rapidly slash enemies for XX damage and have a 40% chance to make them Vulnerable for 2 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Ice Blades Ice Blades's Cooldown reduced by 0.5 seconds each time it hits a Vulnerable enemy.
		2a	Invoked Ice Blades Your Ice Blades gain 10% increased Attack Speed per active Ice Blades.
		2b	Summoned Ice Blades 20% of Enhanced Ice Blades's Cooldown reduction is applied to your other Skills.
Hydra Summon a 3-headed hydra for 10.0 seconds. Each head splits fire at enemies, dealing XX damage. Maximum YY active Hydras at a time.
		1	Enhanced Hydra While Healthy, your casts of Hydra gain 1 additional head.
		2a	Invoked Hydra After you Critically Strike, your Hydras gain 30% Critical Strike Chance for 3 seconds.
		2b	Summoned Hydra Hydra also Burns enemies for an additional 12% of its Base damage dealt over 6 seconds.
Lightning Spear Conjure a spear of lightning that seeks out enemies for 6.0 seconds, dealing XX damage per hit.
		1	Enhanced Lightning Spear After Critically Striking, Lightning Spear gains a 5% increased stacking Critical Hit Chance for its duration.
		2a	Summoned Lightning Spear Collecting Crackling Energy increases the damage of your next Lightning Spear cast by 20%, up to 100%.
		2b	Invoked Lightning Spear Lightning Spear Stuns enemies for 2 seconds when Critically Striking.

Passive Skills

Skill	Effect
Precision Magic	Your Lucky Hit Chance is increased by X%.
Align the Elements	You gain XX% Damage Reduction against Elites for each second you haven't taken damage from one, up to 40%. This bonus persists for 2 seconds after taking damage.
Mana Shield	Every time you spend 100 Mana, you gain XX% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds. Align the Elements required
Protection	Using a Cooldown grants XX% of your Maximum Life as a Barrier for 3 seconds. Align the Elements required
Conjuration Mastery	You deal XX% increased damage for each active Conjuration.

Sorcerer Mastery Skills

Active Skills

Skill / Effect		Skill Upgrades
Blizzard Summon a frigid blizzard that deals XX damage and continually Chills enemies for 18% over 8 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Blizzard Blizzard deals 25% increased damage to Frozen enemies.
		2a	Mage's Blizzard When cast above 50 Mana, Blizzard's duration is increased by 4 seconds.
		2b	Wizard's Blizzard While you have an active Blizzard, your Core Skills cost 20% less Mana.
Meteor Summon a meteor that strikes the target location, dealing XX damage and Burning the ground for YY damage over 3 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Meteor If a cast of Meteor hits 3 or more enemies, there is a 30% chance an additional Meteor falls on the same location.
		2a	Wizard's Meteor Meteor's impact immobilizes enemies for 2 seconds.
		2b	Mage's Meteor Meteor falls 30% faster.
Firewall Create a wall of flames that Burns enemies for XX damage over 8 seconds.
		1	Enhanced Firewall Enemies take 25% increased Burning damage from you while standing in Firewall.
		2a	Mage's Firewall Enemies continue Burning for 3 seconds after leaving Firewall.
		2b	Wizard's Firewall You gain 5% increased Mana Regeneration per active Firewall, up to 35%.
Ball Lightning Dscharge a balll of lightning that slowly moves forward, continually zapping enemies for XX% damage.
		1	Enhanced Ball Lightning Ball Lightning's damage rate is increased by 200% of your Attack Speed Bonus.
		2a	Wizard's Ball Lightning If an enemy is hit at least 4 times by a cast of Ball Lightning, 2 Crackling Energy is formed. Can only happen once per cast.
		2b	Mage's Ball Lightning After hitting Close enemies 50 times with Ball Lightning, your next cast of it Stuns enemies hit for 1 second.

Passive Skills

Skill	Effect
Inner Flames	Your Pyromancy Skills deal XX% increased damage while you are Healthy.
Devouring Blaze	You deal XX% increased Critical Strike Damage against Burning enemies. If they are also Immobilized, this bonus is increased to YY%. Inner Flames required
Crippling Flames	Lucky Hit: Your Pyromancy Skills have up to XX% chance to Immobilize enemies for 2 seconds. This chance is doubled while you are Healthy. Inner Flames required
Static Discharge	Lucky Hit: Critical Strikes with Shock Skills have up to a XX% chance to form a Crackling Energy.
Invigorating Conduit	Upon absorbing Crackling Energy, you gain XX Mana. Static Discharge required
Shocking Impact	Every time you Stun an enemy, you deal XX Lightning damage to them. Static Discharge required
Icy Veil	Your Barriers have a XX% increased duration.
Cold Front	While you have a Barrier active, you apply XX% more Chill. Icy Veil required
Snap Freeze	Lucky Hit: Frost Skills have a XX% chance to instantly Freeze. Icy Veil required

Sorcerer Ultimate Skills

Active Skills

Skill / Effect		Skill Upgrades
Deep Freeze Encase yourself in ice, becoming Immune for 4 seconds, continually dealing 25% damage, and Chilling enemies for 14%. When Deep Freeze expires, it deals an additional 100% damage. Casting Deep Freeze again ends the effect early.
		1	Prime Deep Freeze When Deep Freeze ends, gain 10% of your Base Life as a Barrier for 6 seconds for each enemy you Froze while it was active.
		2	Supreme Deep Freeze When Deep Freeze ends, your Non-Ultimate Cooldowns are reduced by 100%.
Inferno Summon a fiery serpent that continually constricts the target area, Burning enemies for 295% damage over 8 seconds.
		1	Prime Inferno Inferno rapidly Pulls enemies to its center.
		2	Supreme Inferno While Inferno is active, your Pyromancy Skills cost no Mana.
Unstable Currents Lightning surges within you for 10 seconds. Whenever you cast a Shock Skill, a random Core, Conjuration, or Mastery Shock Skill is also cast.
		1	Prime Unstable Currents Unstable Currents increases your Attack Speed by 25% while active.
		2	Supreme Unstable Currents While Unstable Currents is active, Crackling Energy continually pulses, consumes no charges, and pulses 25% faster.

Passive Skills

Skill	Effect
Permafrost	Frost Skills deal XX% increased damage to Elites.
Hoarfrost	You deal XX% increased damage to Chilled enemies, and YY% increased damage to Frozen enemies. Permafrost required
Icy Touch	You deal XX% increased Cold Damage to Vulnerable enemies. Permafrost required
Frigid Breeze	Lucky Hit: Cold Damage against Vulnerable enemies has a 20% chance to generate XX Mana. Hoarfrost or Icy Touch required
Fiery Surge	Killing a Burning enemy increases your Mana Regeneration by XX% for 3 seconds.
Soulfire	After standing still for 1.5 seconds, your Pyromancy Skills cost XX% less Mana. Fiery Surge required
Endless Pyre	You deal increased Burning damage to enemies for each second they remain Burning, up to XX% after 5 seconds. Fiery Surge required
Warmth	Every 1 second, you Heal for XX% of your Maximum Life for each Nearby Burning enemy. Healing increased to YY% from Bosses. Soulfire or Endless Pyre required
Coursing Currents	Hitting enemies with Shock Skills increases your Critical Strike Chance by X%. Resets upon getting a Critical Strike.
Conduction	Critical Strikes with Shock Skills increase your Movement Speed by XX% for 3 seconds. Coursing Currents required
Electrocution	Enemies deal XX% less damage for 5 seconds after being Critically Struck by your Shock Skills. Coursing Currents required
Convulsions	Lucky Hit: Shock Skills have a XX% chance to Stun enemies for 3 seconds. Conduction or Electrocution required

Sorcerer Key Passives

Passive Skills

Skill	Effect
Avalanche	Lucky Hit: Your Frost skills have up to a 10% chance to make your next cast of Ice Shards, Frozen Orb, or Blizzard consume no mana and deal 40% increased damage. Chance is doubled against Vulnerable enemies.
Shatter	After Freeze expires, enemies explode for 25% of the damage you dealt to them while Frozen.
Overflowing Energy	Crackling Energy hits 1 additional enemy. Each time Crackling Energy hits an enemy, your Shock Skill Cooldowns are reduced by 0.1 seconds, increased to 0.25 seconds against Elites.
Vyr's Mastery	Close enemies take 10% increased damage from Shock Skills and deal 20% less damage to you. Critical Strikes increase these bonuses by 25% for 3 seconds.
Esu's Ferocity	Your Fire Critical Strike Damage is increased by 25% against enemies above 50% Life. Your Fire Critical Strike Chance is increased by 5% against enemies below 50% Life. Killing an enemy with a Critical Strike grants both bonuses against all enemies for 3 seconds.
Combustion	Your Burning effects deal 2% increased damage per unique source of Burning you have applied to the enemy. If the enemy is Burning from 3 or more sources, this bonus is doubled.

How to Play the Sorcerer

Group Up Foes to Clear Them Quick Always Stay Mobile During Combat Wear Gear with Skill and Crowd Control Bonuses Be Creative When Using Teleport

Group Up Foes to Clear Them Quick

When playing as the Sorcerer, make it a habit to lead enemies around and group them up so you can take all of them down in a few spell casts. Learning proper kiting and ability positioning will allow you to quickly clear Dungeons, Cellars, and Strongholds with your crowd control and area-of-effect skills.

Always Stay Mobile During Combat

Since the Sorcerer is one of the most fragile classes in the game, stay mobile as much as possible during combat. Regularly strafe away from foes after casting a few spells and use your Evade and Teleport to reposition away from dangerous attacks.

Wear Gear with Skill and Crowd Control Bonuses

When choosing between gear for the Sorcerer, prioritize items that provide increased Skill ranks, bonuses revolving around crowd control, and effects that boost your damage output. We also recommend looking into and imprinting Legendary Aspects that enhance the skills of your current build.

Be Creative When Using Teleport

While you will mainly use Teleport to dodge attacks and break out of crowd control effects, remember that you can also use it to move past gaps and leap through thin walls. Regularly check for areas you think you can Teleport through to speed up how fast you go through Dungeons and the open world.

Sorcerer Stat Priorities

Diablo 4 Related Guides

Best Class Tier List and How to Play All Classes

All Classes
Barbarian		Druid		Sorcerer
Rogue			Necromancer