Lightning Spear Sorcerer Endgame Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 5) - Icy Veins (2024)

Build Introduction

The Lightning Spear Sorcerer build seeks out every enemy on the battlefield with shocking damage. This is an S-Tier build with lightning speed for Nightmare Dungeons, Helltides, and Infernal Hordes. The insane damage is also capable of clearing the highest Tiers of The Pit. Storm through endgame activities with an endless swarm of Lightning Spears!

This endgame guide assumes your Sorcerer character is Level 100 and meets all the Build Requirements. Start a new Sorcerer character with the Chain Lightning Leveling Guide and then switch to this endgame guide when ready.

Strengths and Weaknesses

To see how this build compares to the other builds on our site, you can check out our build tier lists.

Build Requirements

The Lightning Spear Sorcerer is a highly specialized build for the late endgame of Diablo 4, and it does not function without the proper investment. Make sure you prepare the necessary list below before attempting this build.

• A Fractured Winterglass with the affix, Conjuration Cooldowns are Reduced by +0.3 seconds when a Frozen Orb Explodes. Target-farm Fractured Winterglass from Lord Zir.
• An Aspect of Splintering Energy with a high Rank unlocked in the Codex of Power.
• High-value Cooldown Reduction affixes, preferably with Greater Affixes and Masterworking bonuses, on a Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop and a Legendary Helm (or Harlequin Crest).

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

The Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 58 Skill Points for the Lightning Spear Sorceress build. Make sure you obtain the 10 Skill Points available from Renown.

Chain Lightning is not equipped on the Skill Bar. It is instead auto-casted through Unstable Currents to generate Crackling Energy with Destructive Chain Lightning.

Ice Blades is not equipped on the Skill Bar. It is instead auto-casted through Fractured Winterglass to reduce Cooldowns through Summoned Ice Blades.

Hoarfrost is activated through a Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze temper and also automatically against Staggered Bosses.

If Esu’s Heirloom is equipped with enough Evade Cooldown, Conduction is not needed and 3 Skill Points can be reallocated into Teleport instead.

Enchantment Slots

Non-Ultimate Skills can be equipped in two available Enchantment Slots. A skill must have at least one skill point allocated to be used in the Enchantment Slot. Skill points that have been granted through gear work as well.

Slot Fire Bolt in the first Enchantment Slot. This applies Burning to enemies for Devouring Blaze and Burning Effects from Paragon. Do not equip Fire Bolt on the Skill Bar.

There are a few options for the second Enchantment Slot:

• Slot Frozen Orb to generate additional procs from Fractured Winterglass.
• Slot Chain Lightning to generate additional Crackling Energy from Destructive Chain Lightning.
• Slot Teleport for the Telestomp build variant.

Paragon

Paragon unlocks after reaching Level 50, and the progression system offers a considerable boost to character power. The images below provide a visual of each Paragon Board setup for the Lightning Spear Sorcerer.

Important Notes:

• Make sure you select the correct Legendary Boards and rotate them into the correct orientation.
• Attach Legendary Boards in the correct order, as bonus requirements of Rare Nodes increase with their placement order.
• Additional bonus requirements on Rare Glyphs may not be obtainable until they gain increased radius range at Level 15.

1. Starting Board (Elementalist)

Socket Elementalist to boost the nearby nodes containing Non-Physical Damage and Resistance to All Elements. The additional bonus provides up to a 1.15x damage multiplier.

2. Frigid Fate (Exploit)

Attach the Frigid Fate board without any rotations. Immediately obtain the Legendary Node to gain up to a 1.6x times damage multiplier (bonus works with any type of damage against Vulnerable enemies). The maximum bonus damage is obtained through Non-Physical Damage from Paragon, Fractured Winterglass, and Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop. Socket Exploiter’s Aspect and prioritize leveling it to 15 for the increased radius to gain the additional bonus.

3. Burning Instinct (Reinforced)

Rotate the Burning Instinct board 3 times before attachment. Socket Reinforced to boost the Damage Reduction stat on Smoldering Embers. Prioritize leveling Reinforced to 15 to gain increased radius, as it is needed to obtain the Damage Reduction in the additional bonus. The Legendary Node on this board is not utilized. Path to the bottom Board Attachment Gate to continue.

4. Elemental Summoner (Conjurer)

Attach the Elemental Summoner board without any rotations. Socket Conjurer to extend the duration of Lightning Spear and Ice Blades. Obtain the Legendary Node for the 10% reduced Cooldown for Lightning Spear.

5. Enchantment Master (Flamefeeder)

Rotate the Enchantment Master board 1 time before attachment. Socket Flamefeeder and prioritize leveling it to 15 for the increased radius to gain the additional bonus. The Legendary Node on this board is not utilized.

6. Ceaseless Conduit (Destruction)

Rotate the Ceaseless Conduit board 3 times before attachment. Socket Destruction for Critical Strike Damage to scale the bonus on Aspect of Splintering Energy, and prioritize leveling it to 15 for the increased radius to gain the additional bonus. The Legendary Node on this board is not utilized.

7. Static Surge (Control)

Rotate the Static Surge board 3 times before attachment. Socket Control for a 1.2x damage multiplier (works against Staggered Bosses). The Legendary Node on this board is not utilized.

Paragon Board images courtesy of d4builds.gg. Click this link for the Paragon planner.

Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats

The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character in the endgame of Diablo 4.

Legendary Aspects

Listed below are all the best-in-slot Aspects for the Lightning Spear Sorcerer build. Salvage Legendary Items with higher Aspect values to unlock them in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto Legendary Items with the preferred affixes.

Gems

Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.

Elixirs

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants and pick up the necessary crafting materials during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Elixirs can also drop randomly from enemies and chests during many activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume, ranked by importance.

1. Elixir of Precision provides the highest damage output increase, if not already capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance.
2. Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
3. Elixir of Resource helps with Mana issues, if you do not already have the appropriate Mana gear.
4. Elixir of Fortitude is the best general purpose option for survivability. Increased Maximum Life grants larger Barriers from Protection and Ice Armor.
5. Elixir of Iron Barbs can provide a high amount of Physical Damage Reduction. Armor becomes more effective as you approach the Armor cap (9,320 against monster level 100 and above).
6. Specific Resistance Elixirs can be utilized to survive against Uber Bosses with elemental attacks.

Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Lightning Spear Sorcerers. Each line of affixes are listed in order of importance. Affixes on the same line are considered to be equally important, but their benefits may vary depending on how much is stacked or other character stats. Attempt to obtain all affixes in each line before moving to the next line. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades.

A Staff is selected for the +100% bonus effect for Aspect of Splintering Energy on a Two-Handed Weapon. Splintering Energy is the main source of damage for the Lighting Spear Sorcerer, and the imprint on a Two-Handed Weapon provides the build with a 2x damage multiplier.

If you are not capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance with Enhanced Lightning Spear, Esu’s Heirloom, and gear affixes, temper Shock Critical Strike Chance from Shock Finesse in the Offensive Slots.

The priority order of Resistances is Lightning > Poison > Fire > Cold > Shadow. Maximum Resistance is 70% by default for each element. Lightning and Fire Resistances are capped with Electro in Paragon and Keeper of Flames in the Paragon setup. Poison, Cold, and Shadow Resistances need to be capped through affixes on gear or gems in jewelry.

Armor is only needed until capped at 9,230.

Check out our Tempering Guide for more details on Blacksmith upgrading.

Unique and Mythic Items

Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique Items for the Lightning Spear Sorcerer build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades.

• Fractured Winterglass (required) reduces the Cooldown of Lightning Spear when Frozen Orb is cast to deal more damage and stack Conjuration Mastery.
  • Masterworking Priority: Conjuration Cooldowns are Reduced when a Frozen Orb Explodes
• Harlequin Crest (recommended) provides a boosted Cooldown Reduction affix that is important for this build, if you are lucky enough to find this Mythic Unique Item.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop (recommended) provides up to a 60% damage multiplier with 3 elemental stacks.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Esu’s Heirloom (recommended) provides up to +40% Critical Strike Chance to proc Aspect of Splintering Energy and a doubled duration on the Evade Movement Speed implicit compared Legendary Boots. Reallocate 3 Skill Points from Conduction to Teleport for this setup.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Damage or Movement Speed
• Raiment of the Infinite (optional) enables the Telestomp playstyle to vortex and Stun enemies.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Glass Cannon
• Fists of Fate (optional) provides 4 valuable affixes, most notably the mega-boosted Lucky Hit Chance. Unfortunately, the unique effect does not work with the damage proc from Aspect of Splintering Energy.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance or Lucky Hit Chance
• Ring of Starless Skies (optional) provides a 1.5x damage multiplier and solves any Mana issues. Imprint Aspect of Frozen Orbit onto Legendary Gloves for this setup. Fists of Fate should not be used together with Ring of Starless Skies, since Frozen Orb is too important to drop.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
• Tibault’s Will (optional) provides multiple bonuses not normally available on Legendary Pants, including Damage Reduction while Unstoppable, a damage multiplier, and Mana generation. Alternate activations of the unique effect with Teleport, Flame Shield, and Ice Armor (with Snowveiled Aspect).
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction while Unstoppable.

Advanced Information

Additional details are provided in the following sections for a more in-depth explanation of the Lightning Spear Sorcerer. Read this advanced information after understanding the basic overview of the build in the previous sections.

Build Mechanics

The Lightning Spear Sorcerer relies on Aspect of Splintering Energy to deal damage, and Critical Strike Damage is prioritized to scale its bonus damage. Conjuration Mastery provides the largest damage multiplier. Therefore, the build focuses on spawning Conjurations through Lightning Spear on the Skill Bar and Fractured Winterglass procs. Increased Attack Speed and Cooldown Reduction are important stats to maintain a high amount Conjuration Mastery stacks.

Overflowing Energy further reduces Shock Cooldowns with Crackling Energy generated from Destructive Chain Lightning and Static Discharge.

Critical Strike Chance can be capped at 100% through Enhanced Lightning Spear, Esu’s Heirloom, and gear affixes.

Damage Rotation

Use the following rotation to optimize damage.

1. If Raiment of the Infinite is equipped, cast Teleport to Stun and vortex enemies.
2. If Esu’s Heirloom is equipped, Evade for increased Critical Strike Chance.
3. (Optional) Activate Unstable Currents against tough Elites and Bosses.
4. Cast Flame Shield or Ice Armor for protection and Unstoppable when needed.
5. Repeat the following steps to deal damage:
   1. Cast Lightning Spear
   2. Spam Frozen Orb until the Cooldown of Lightning Spear is refreshed.

Telestomp with Raiment of the Infinite

Raiment of the Infinite allows the Lightning Spear Sorcerer to use 2 sources of Teleport offensively. Teleporting on top of enemies to Stun and group them up is called “Telestomping”. This playstyle can quickly clear groups of enemies and keep them Crowd Controlled (CC) for safety, perfect for speed-farming Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, Infernal Hordes, and The Pit!

Use the following setup for the Telestomp Lightning Spear Sorcerer.

• Equip Raiment of the Infinite to enable Telestomps. Target-farm Raiment of the Infinite from Varshan or Lord Zir for the best chances of it dropping.
• Replace Frozen Orb with Teleport in the Enchantment Slots.
• Equip Boots with the implicit effect, Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown, which works with the Evade Teleport. Flickerstep provides a boosted value of 2.5 seconds, while the value on Legendary Boots is 1.5 seconds.

Obol Gambling

Obol gambling is a great way to potentially find item upgrades or items missing from your build. Use Obols on your target equipment for a chance to receive Greater Affixes. Check out the new tool from Icy Veins for gambling Obols in the link below.

Season 5: Infernal Hordes

The following list details the changes in the Season 5 Update (Patch 1.5.0) that may pertain to Lightning Spear Sorcerers. Check the Changelog for all the other guide updates.

• Enhanced Lightning Spear
  • Previous: After Critically Striking, Lightning Spear gains a 5% increased stacking Critical Strike Chance for its duration.
  • Now: Casting Lightning Spear spawns an additional Lightning Spear and increases their Critical Strike Chance by 15%.
• Static Discharge
  • Chance to spawn Crackling Energy increased from 5% to 6%.
• Teleport
  • Cooldown increased from 11 to 14.
  • Base damage increased from 25% to 35%.
• Flame Shield
  • Cooldown begins when Invulnerability ends.
• Ice Armor
  • Max Life Base Shield amount increased from 25% to 40%.
  • No longer gains increased Shield based on damage.
• Mana Shield
  • Damage reduction Increased from 8% to 10%.
• Aspect of Splintering Energy
  • Previous: Casting Lightning Spear always spawns an additional Lightning Spear and increases your damage with Shock Skills by X for Y seconds.
  • Now: Critical Hits with Lightning Spear cause Lightning to arc from it dealing25%-55%damage to its target and up to 5 other enemies. This damage is increased by your Critical Strike Damage Bonus.
• Snowveiled Aspect
  • Previous: Ice armor makes you unstoppable and grants you 30% armor for 3.5-5 seconds.
  • Now: Ice armor makes you unstoppable and grants you 25% Damage Reduction for 3.5-5 seconds.
• Frigid Fate
  • Now caps its damage bonus at 60%[x].
  • Scaling from damage with Cold increased from 10% to 20%.

Changelog

• August 8th, 2024: Guide created for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).