Introducing the FORTITUDE Nova Sorceress - New Unstoppable Energy Shield Build

Good Morning D2IO (Sanctuary)!

It has been a bit since my last D2R video with the release of Diablo IV. I am excited to unleash this into the wild today, bringing exposure to a contrarian build incepted by my friend Saggy. And boy does this deserve FAR MORE ATTENTION.

I have a question for you...

Blizzard wrote:

Are you tired of the traditional cookie-cutter Nova Sorc builds? Looking to challenge the norms and embark on an unorthodox adventure in Diablo 2 Resurrected?
Do you want to be Wonder Woman and fly past Hammerdins and Javazons in P8 terror zones, making them quit in frustration?
Do you want to be a golden goddess, who telestomps packs of Champion Fanatacism souls in Worldstone Keep, with 90 lit res and 20 absorb?
Do you want Dolls, Cows, and Might-buffed Archers to miss you with 12,000 defense? Or avoid getting cooked by Infector of Souls with up to 83 fire res?

Look no further!

The Fortitude

Nova Sorceress is here to satisfy your thirst for uniqueness and redefine your gameplay experience. Designed primarily as a lightning-fast

Terror Zone farming specialist, the Fortitude

Nova Sorceress is a force to be reckoned with, especially in Hardcore mode.



Whether you're seeking lightning-powered destruction or Hardcore resilience, the Fortitude

Nova Sorceress might just be your next Diablo 2 Resurrected adventure.

Cheers,

War

Man, that is an awesome thumbnail. I'll have a lookie-loo.

lscottl wrote: 8 months ago

Man, that is an awesome thumbnail. I'll have a lookie-loo.

Thank you my friend! About 1.5 hours of work on that one with a few beers in hand.

This is a very unique and fun build that is very contrarian to conventional wisdom. All credit goes to the inceptor Saggy - I wanted to bring his build to the surface awhile ago and finally got around do it.

I believe many will benefit from testing the Fortitude framework and rather enjoy it.

Man thank you so much for your efforts in bringing attention to this build, you did it justice

I'm gunna give this a go, thanks for your work!

ghostpos wrote: 8 months ago

I'm gunna give this a go, thanks for your work!

saggytits wrote: 8 months ago

Man thank you so much for your efforts in bringing attention to this build, you did it justice

Cheers, Saggy; was a pleasure bringing this to life on your behalf. So much more that could have been broken down...but then we are looking at 30 minute video!

Thank you, Ghost. Definitely give it a go.

More def is nice.

But Damage Taken Goes To Mana is almost useless because the life lost by ES sorc is already low.
A normal monster deals ~200 damage, ES absorb ~90% = 20 dmg.
DR 7 makes it 20-7 = 13 dmg.
12% of 13 is only 1 or 2 mana.

The disadvantage of forti is that it has only 25FCR.
To reach 105FCR (20 gloves, 20 arach or dual FCR ring, 25 griffon) you have to use a 15+ FCR amulet which is much harder to get than a 10 FCR with Skin of Viper.
Using Skin of Viper, you have 1os to put what ever you want and it has already 9-13 MDR.

mockingbirdreal wrote: 8 months ago

More def is nice.

But Damage Taken Goes To Mana is almost useless because the life lost by ES sorc is already low.
A normal monster deals ~200 damage, ES absorb ~90% = 20 dmg.
DR 7 makes it 20-7 = 13 dmg.
12% of 13 is only 1 or 2 mana.

The disadvantage of forti is that it has only 25FCR.
To reach 105FCR (20 gloves, 20 arach or dual FCR ring, 25 griffon) you have to use a 15+ FCR amulet which is much harder to get than a 10 FCR with Skin of Viper.
Using Skin of Viper, you have 1os to put what ever you want and it has already 9-13 MDR.

DTM isn't significant and certainly is not the main point for Fort. But as a nice to have especially in Hardcore when any mana upkeep helps in that final moment. Many folks also don't max ES; I never do - I've dialed in a 60-70% ES model that I prefer which stabilizes my mana pool with

Warmth Maxed. You also take much more significant hits than 200 in Hell from Elites & Bosses. Especially normal monsters in TZs. We have to remember that hits happen more than just once, so your example was a single hit, and you are going to take multiple blows, but when you have an Elite and or Aura/Special attack then it becomes a savior.

Understand your perspective on 5% FCR reduction, but you are focusing on a single Affix of 5% reduction trading off Defense +

Chilling Armor (no points into Frozen required), significant life (LPL), +5% Max Light Res etc.

I timed myself with a Viper/Arach setup vs. Fort and the clear speeds were nearly the same. I also could sit there and tank significantly more blows than on Vipermagi.

When evaluating all of the affixes end-to-end there are underrated quality value plays things like Replen Life +7 or DTM. Yet while not significant, all contribute in some way shape or form. But the Defense + CA is the major angle of course. And ~3K on Viper vs. ~6K on Fortitude is materially significant when you are talking about Might Archers, Dolls or any significant hit or chance for them to miss in that micro moment.

End of day it is always about personal preference and Softcore players may not want to leverage Fortitude. This is also an end-game build for obvious reasons due to Infinity, and the trading market on crafts is fairly healthy so it is not overly difficult to acquire a 2/15+ ammy.

@saggytits can chat more here, but he has mastered this.

Theory nailed the response I would've given

Th3ory wrote: 8 months ago

End of day it is always about personal preference and Softcore players may not want to leverage Fortitude.

I dare say that's really the main point here.

Fortitude is far from the best option offensively and in terms of defense is complete overkill 99.9% of the time. So for softcore, for me personally, I'd never even consider it. And yet, if I actually played hardcore, the odds of my going with fort would be fairly high, simply because unlike softcore, you do actually have to account for those .1% situations that may end up killing you if you're not running overkill defense.

Well, that and going with something more offensive doesn't necessarily actually make you better, depending on your overall gear and what you do/farm.
Simple example (with arbitrary numbers):
Say your

Nova in defensive gear does 2k dmg. Say that same

Nova in offensive gear does 2.5k dmg. Obviously, the offensive one would be "better".
But if you farm mobs with say 5.9k life, you would actually need 3 novas in either setup, making your offensive gear effectively the same offensively while being worse defensively.
The numbers are obviously arbitrary but the concept holds and happens more often than you'd think. Especially if you primarily play lower player counts. You often don't notice real gains until you focus on P8 or bosses/ubers.

Schnorki wrote: 8 months ago

Th3ory wrote: 8 months ago

End of day it is always about personal preference and Softcore players may not want to leverage Fortitude.

I dare say that's really the main point here.

Fortitude is far from the best option offensively and in terms of defense is complete overkill 99.9% of the time. So for softcore, for me personally, I'd never even consider it. And yet, if I actually played hardcore, the odds of my going with fort would be fairly high, simply because unlike softcore, you do actually have to account for those .1% situations that may end up killing you if you're not running overkill defense.

Well, that and going with something more offensive doesn't necessarily actually make you better, depending on your overall gear and what you do/farm.
Simple example (with arbitrary numbers):
Say your

Nova in defensive gear does 2k dmg. Say that same

Nova in offensive gear does 2.5k dmg. Obviously, the offensive one would be "better".
But if you farm mobs with say 5.9k life, you would actually need 3 novas in either setup, making your offensive gear effectively the same offensively while being worse defensively.
The numbers are obviously arbitrary but the concept holds and happens more often than you'd think. Especially if you primarily play lower player counts. You often don't notice real gains until you focus on P8 or bosses/ubers.

Right, and as I called out in the video, and as Saggy highlights in his guides, this is a Tailor-Made Hardcore build specifically.

I did a TON of timed runs using Viper vs. Fortitude across multiple primary zones, and the clear times were nearly negligible even at P8. So while you think on the surface Vipermagi is superior offensively, it wasn't meaningfully faster.

The trade off of survivability +Life & Defense [Less Hits] gives you the comfort you need to avoid getting sent to the Shadow realm on a bad

Teleport, dirty TP, or your favorite Might Spectral Extra Fast off screen archers in Pits.

But to be clear, I am not saying Fortitude is "better" as that is a VERY subjective word. However, with all of the testing (by which there was extensive amounts), this is a very viable build that should be considered.

Plus, who wants to run the cookie cutter conventional build all the time? Everyone loves a theory crafted alternative

Hey guys! Awesome guide and explanation, thank you. Another great side effect of this variant is that your mana pool is lower than your health pool so you don’t have to worry about Blood Mana.

As I play SSF hardcore, I’m looking for cheaper alternatives to Infinity. Do you think Crescent Moon + Gerke’s + Sunder Charm is a viable alternative?

Also I’m struggling to keep my merc alive without COH, which I also don’t have. Any tips?

Thanks

lezzard wrote: 8 months ago

Hey guys! Awesome guide and explanation, thank you. Another great side effect of this variant is that your mana pool is lower than your health pool so you don’t have to worry about Blood Mana.

As I play SSF hardcore, I’m looking for cheaper alternatives to Infinity. Do you think Crescent Moon + Gerke’s + Sunder Charm is a viable alternative?

Also I’m struggling to keep my merc alive without COH, which I also don’t have. Any tips?

Thanks

Spot on Lezzard. You absolutely want [need] your Health to be at a minimum slightly higher than your Mana Pool especially in Hardcore.

Crescent Moon + Gerke's is indeed a solid alternative progression. Integer Damage Reduction is overlooked on ES Builds. Having solid PDR/MDR can really elevate your survivability which is where Gerke's comes in.

As far as the Merc, I would sacrifice the Cure helm for a Bulwark as you continue to progress. That or you can always just drop a Tal's for 10% LL or Vampire Gaze if acquired. If you wanted to keep Cure, go with an Eth Treachery to enable faster IAS in hopes of packing down the monster fast enough while static is deployed to keep him alive.

Schnorki wrote: 8 months ago

Th3ory wrote: 8 months ago

End of day it is always about personal preference and Softcore players may not want to leverage Fortitude.

I dare say that's really the main point here.

Fortitude is far from the best option offensively and in terms of defense is complete overkill 99.9% of the time. So for softcore, for me personally, I'd never even consider it. And yet, if I actually played hardcore, the odds of my going with fort would be fairly high, simply because unlike softcore, you do actually have to account for those .1% situations that may end up killing you if you're not running overkill defense.

Well, that and going with something more offensive doesn't necessarily actually make you better, depending on your overall gear and what you do/farm.
Simple example (with arbitrary numbers):
Say your

Nova in defensive gear does 2k dmg. Say that same

Nova in offensive gear does 2.5k dmg. Obviously, the offensive one would be "better".
But if you farm mobs with say 5.9k life, you would actually need 3 novas in either setup, making your offensive gear effectively the same offensively while being worse defensively.
The numbers are obviously arbitrary but the concept holds and happens more often than you'd think. Especially if you primarily play lower player counts. You often don't notice real gains until you focus on P8 or bosses/ubers.

What I omitted from the video...and actually DARE I SAY is the actual main deciding factor is Aesthetics...
I rest my case!

How does fort compare to an ethereal upp’d

Zod vipermagi? I know you lose the life, dtm, and socket, but the def values are probably comparable with minimal investment.

Enjoyed the guide and aesthetic!

ExplodeSheep wrote: 8 months ago

How does fort compare to an ethereal upp’d

Zod vipermagi? I know you lose the life, dtm, and socket, but the def values are probably comparable with minimal investment.

Enjoyed the guide and aesthetic!

The def value will be close to your Fortitude armor, but without the

Chilling Armor

Schnorki wrote: 8 months ago

Th3ory wrote: 8 months ago

End of day it is always about personal preference and Softcore players may not want to leverage Fortitude.

I dare say that's really the main point here.

Fortitude is far from the best option offensively and in terms of defense is complete overkill 99.9% of the time. So for softcore, for me personally, I'd never even consider it. And yet, if I actually played hardcore, the odds of my going with fort would be fairly high, simply because unlike softcore, you do actually have to account for those .1% situations that may end up killing you if you're not running overkill defense.

Well, that and going with something more offensive doesn't necessarily actually make you better, depending on your overall gear and what you do/farm.
Simple example (with arbitrary numbers):
Say your

Nova in defensive gear does 2k dmg. Say that same

Nova in offensive gear does 2.5k dmg. Obviously, the offensive one would be "better".
But if you farm mobs with say 5.9k life, you would actually need 3 novas in either setup, making your offensive gear effectively the same offensively while being worse defensively.
The numbers are obviously arbitrary but the concept holds and happens more often than you'd think. Especially if you primarily play lower player counts. You often don't notice real gains until you focus on P8 or bosses/ubers.

This is definitely more of a hardcore build for sure. I'd like to add though, that 95+ in softcore is close to hardcore anyway. You really, really don't want to die if you're going for 99. The negligible difference in offense, I feel, is outweighed by the massive hit you take for dying.

ExplodeSheep wrote: 8 months ago

How does fort compare to an ethereal upp’d

Zod vipermagi? I know you lose the life, dtm, and socket, but the def values are probably comparable with minimal investment.

Enjoyed the guide and aesthetic!

Thanks Explode - appreciate you watching. And again Kudos to Saggy for incepting it back in late 2.4/early 2.5.

Saggy is spot on, the Level 15 CA is huge on Fort and cannot be understated. You need 3 points to work your way down the skill tree so leveraging Fortitude is the gift that keeps on giving as those are injected right back in to alternative skill slots as a result. Sure, you can put the standard 1 point into Frozen which is the standard build, but you get the point.

saggytits wrote: 8 months ago

Schnorki wrote: 8 months ago

Th3ory wrote: 8 months ago

End of day it is always about personal preference and Softcore players may not want to leverage Fortitude.

I dare say that's really the main point here.

Fortitude is far from the best option offensively and in terms of defense is complete overkill 99.9% of the time. So for softcore, for me personally, I'd never even consider it. And yet, if I actually played hardcore, the odds of my going with fort would be fairly high, simply because unlike softcore, you do actually have to account for those .1% situations that may end up killing you if you're not running overkill defense.

Well, that and going with something more offensive doesn't necessarily actually make you better, depending on your overall gear and what you do/farm.
Simple example (with arbitrary numbers):
Say your

Nova in defensive gear does 2k dmg. Say that same

Nova in offensive gear does 2.5k dmg. Obviously, the offensive one would be "better".
But if you farm mobs with say 5.9k life, you would actually need 3 novas in either setup, making your offensive gear effectively the same offensively while being worse defensively.
The numbers are obviously arbitrary but the concept holds and happens more often than you'd think. Especially if you primarily play lower player counts. You often don't notice real gains until you focus on P8 or bosses/ubers.

This is definitely more of a hardcore build for sure. I'd like to add though, that 95+ in softcore is close to hardcore anyway. You really, really don't want to die if you're going for 99. The negligible difference in offense, I feel, is outweighed by the massive hit you take for dying.

Generally true. Though I'd claim that any truly geared offensive build still won't die to the point where you don't care to 99 (at least I never did, back when I still chased 99s 20 years ago ^^). The difference is really in that "once in 3 years" insane affix combination in triple-packs or something that will one-shot you no matter what. That'd be so rare though that SC 95+, dropping even a hardly noticeable bit of offense for it won't be worth it. HC..different story as always.

Either way, solid HC/defense build choice.

Side note:
Agreed with Th3ory (as so often) - aesthetics make or break it! Though my preference wouldn't be the golden clunker.

Schnorki wrote: 8 months ago

Though my preference wouldn't be the golden clunker

I legit LOL'd. Cheers, my friend.

You nailed it @Schnorki - I enjoy passionate diplomatic discussions, debates, deliberations etc. Ton of mutual respect for you and always appreciate you providing your Insight and perspectives.

The core objective of bringing Saggy's build in the open was simply to provide a breath of fresh air, a stimulate, to encourage folks to try something new.