To find out more general information about leveling as a Sorcerer in Diablo 4, you can check out our main Leveling Guide.
Leveling GuideBuild Introduction
This Shock Sorceress build is highly effective for leveling up a new, alt, or seasonal character. It excels in dealing significant frontal area-of-effect (AoE) damage through the use of 
Arc Lash, while also providing solid single-target damage with 
Charged Bolts to take down bosses in melee range, and has improved mobility thanks to Flickering Arc Lash. The new 
Familiar conjuration skill will also support the build providing additional range damage.
Once your character reaches Level 60 or is ready for Torment 1 difficulty, pick one of our Endgame Builds to continue your Sorcerer journey.
For information on Season 7: Season of Witchcraft, you can check out our Season Hub. Furthermore, the Season 7 Journey will reward you with a set of gear intended to help with your leveling journey. You can check out our endgame build for it here.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
Unstable Currents
Ice Armor
TeleportFamiliar
Arc Lash
Charged BoltsThe table presented below outlines the recommended order for allocating your Skill Points. At Level 60, you will have a total of 71 points available, if you have completed the respective Renown stages in each zone.
Enchantment Slots
The Specialization of the Sorceress Class becomes available at Level 15. It is recommended to complete the Legacy of The Magi questline, within the Fractured Peaks, as soon as possible to unlock the first Enhancement Slot. The second slot will become available upon reaching Level 30. In the Eternal Realm, you only need to do this questline once per class.
Each Non-Ultimate Skill is associated with an Enchantment effect, and any Non-Ultimate Skill can be equipped in an Enchantment Slot. However, a skill must have at least one skill point allocated to it in order to be used in the Enchantment Slot. Skill points that have been granted through gear work as well.
Fireball is slotted in the first Enchantment Slot once you unlock it at Level 15. It helps clear groups of enemies early on.- Arc Lash is slotted in the second Enchantment Slot once you unlock it at Level 30. It simply provides more Crowd Control for surrounding enemies.
Witchcraft Powers
During Season 7, you can equip and rank up 6 Witchcraft Powers as you progress. These powers can be acquired at the Coven’s Altars near the Tree of Whispers. To purchase them, you will need Restless Rot, a currency earned naturally through doing Headhunts.
These Witchcraft Powers provide unique ways to strengthen your build. As you progress through the above leveling journey, consider prioritizing the following powers:
| Witchcraft Power & Type | Effect |
|---|---|
 Doom Orb (Unique, Eldritch) | An ominous orb of pure Eldritch energy circles you damaging any enemy it touches for 400% Fire damage. Doom orb may launch itself at distant enemies before returning. At Rank 5 and above: Kills or damage to bosses empower the orb’s damage by 5%. After 100%, the Orb explodes, dealing 5200 damage to nearby enemies before reforming 3 seconds later. |
 Firebat Servants (Eldritch) | A deadly swarm of Firebats swarm enemies every 3 seconds, inflicting 20% total Fire damage over 1 total attacks. At Rank 6 and above: Enemies are stunned for 3 seconds after being hit 5 times by your Firebat Servants. |
 Abyssal Resonance (Eldritch) | Every 250 Resource spent, release an explosion dealing 400% Shadow damage. Each explosion triggered within 10 seconds of the last increases the size and damage by 130%. Stacking up to 3 times. At Rank 10 and above: The 3rd explosion pulls enemies towards you before detonating. |
 Wave of Woe (Eldritch) | Release a Wave of Woe when damaging an enemy with your skills. Wave of Woe deals an additional x Shadow damage and echoes this damage to all other nearby enemies of the same type. At Rank 5 and above: Damage is increased by 15% each time damage is echoed and is guaranteed to echo at least 5 times. May strike the same target multiple times. |
 Purging Touch (Eldritch) | Eldritch Effects deal x% increased damage against Headrotten. At Rank 10 and above: This damage bonus now extends to all monsters. |
 Twilight Warding (Psyche) | Every x seconds, gain a Barrier for 5 seconds absorbing 100 damage. At Rank 12 and above: Twilight Warding reflects enemy projectiles while active. |
Mercenaries
During the Vessel of Hatred campaign, you will unlock different NPC Mercenaries who join you on your travels. As you level up, you can generally pick any mercenary you like, as they will not play an essential role until you optimize your build in the endgame. However, if you would prefer to get a recommendation, we would advise selecting Raheir as your main companion, for the added survivability he provides, and Varyana as Reinforcement.
Raheir Skill Tree choices:
- Core Skill:
Ground Slam - Core Passive:
Raheir’s Aegis - Iconic Skill:
Bastion - Iconic Passive:
Inspiration
Varyana Reinforcement choices:
- Opportunity Skill: Ice Armor
- Reinforcement Skill:
Shockwave, then switch 
Bloodthirst as soon as you unlock it, for increased Attack Speed.
Mechanics and Playstyle
The core damage-dealing abilities in this build are Arc Lash and Charged Bolts. Arc Lash delivers impressive frontal area-of-effect damage and can Stun enemies it touches. The Charged Bolts Skill, on the other hand, excels in single target damage and is particularly effective against elites and bosses when used at melee range.
Additionally, the 
Unstable Currents ultimate skill enhances damage output by randomly casting an additional shock spell whenever a shock skill is used. This synergizes well with Arc Lash, as you can spam the skill during Unstable Currents, and use Charged Bolts when sufficient Mana has been accumulated.
The Shock Sorceress excels at controlling crowds. With increased movement speed through Flickering Arc Lash, as well as 
Teleport, you can easily move around or even through enemies, while Stunning or Freezing them through 
Frost Nova. This provides control and mobility during the fight.
When combined with a fully upgraded Familiar, enemies will remain Stunned indefinitely, allowing your Arc Lash to deal much more damage. The Familiar also assists with Crowd Control and does a significant amount of damage. Even if you are Stunned or Frozen, the Familiar will be able to help you by defeating the enemies around you.
Damage Rotation
Please note that this build will be especially fun for players who prefer melee combat, featuring a rotation that emphasizes melee-focused Skills:
- (Optional) Activate Unstable Currents against tough elites and bosses.
- Cast Familiar to stun the surrounding enemies.
- Cast Charged Bolts up close against tougher enemies to shotgun them with multiple bolt projectiles.
- Use
Ice Armor to protect against incoming damage and regenerate Mana. - Spam Arc Lash to finish off weaker groups of enemies.
Repeat the above steps until all enemies are defeated.
Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats
When picking your gear, higher Item Power generally indicates stronger gear, but you should also consider the affixes and effects that are relevant to your class and build. When making gear decisions, keep an eye on both Item Power and the specific attributes that complement the build.
Legendary Aspects
For general information on how to unlock the Codex of Power, head to our dedicated Aspects and Codex of Power guide. You can imprint Apsects onto items by visiting the Occultist.
Listed below are all the Aspects that are important for the Arc Lash leveling build. Equip any aspect from this list in the slot it drops for, as they are all useful while leveling an Arc Lash Sorceress. However, if you need a specific pointer as to which aspect to get first, the 
Rapid Aspect would be the most beneficial as you level with Arc Lash. You can unlock this aspect by completing the Burried Halls dungeon within the Dry Steppes.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect of the Moonrise (Offensive) | Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill grants you 4% Attack Speed for 10 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Upon reaching maximum stacks, you enter a Vampiric Bloodrage, gaining {#}% Basic Skill damage and 15% Movement Speed for 10 seconds. | Random Drop / Obols Gambling |
| Aspect of Piercing Static (Offensive) | Charged Bolts pierce, but deal {#}% less damage to targets hit after the first. | Wretched Delve, Scosglen |
| Jolting Aspect (Offensive) | Every {#} seconds, a single arc of lightning zaps a nearby enemy for {#} damage. This damage counts as a Shock Skill. | Random Drop |
| Aspect of Control (Offensive) | You deal % more damage to Immobilized, Stunned, or Frozen enemies. | Sunken Library, Kehjistan |
| Rapid Aspect (Offensive) | Basic Skills gain {#}% Attack Speed. | Buried Halls, Dry Steppes |
 Aspect of Might (Defensive) | Basic Skills grant % Damage Reduction for 4.0 seconds. | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
| Aspect of Charged Flash (Offensive) | After Charged Bolts hits enemies 50 times, your next 3 casts of Charged Bolts becomes waves that pierce and deal (200-240% Weapon Damage) Critical Shock Damage. | |
 Aspect of the Orange Herald (Utility) | Lucky Hit: Up to a [5 – 10%] Chance when you damage an enemy with a Skill to reduce the Cooldown of your Ultimate Skill by 2 seconds. Can only happen once per Skill cast. | Random Drop |
| Aspect of Disobedience (Defensive) | You gain {#}% increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to {#}%. | Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan |
| Stable Aspect (Offensive) | While Unstable Currents is not active, your Shock Skills have a [6.5 – 114%] chance to trigger a free cast from it. | Random Drop |
 Aspect of the Bounding Conduit (Mobility) | Gain % Movement Speed for 3 seconds after using Teleport. | Komdor Temple, Dry Stepps |
Gems
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.
If you find one of the Runes listed below, you can equip them as a Runeword on your Chest or Pants.
| Runeword Combination | Runeword Effects |
|---|---|
| Tam Ohm |  Tam – Gain: 25 Offering — ast a non-Channeled Core Skill. Ohm – Requires: 500 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds — Evoke the Barbarian’s War Cry, increasing your Movement Speed and damage dealt. |
| Lith Wat |  Lith – Gain: 25 Offering — Stand still for 0.3 seconds. Wat – Requires: 100 Offering, Cooldown: 1 second — Evoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify, Slowing enemies, reducing their damage, and letting you Execute them. |
Which Elixirs Should You Use?
Head to the Alchemist in any main town and craft Elixirs to boost your stats and experience gain for 30 minutes! Remember to gather the necessary crafting materials by foraging plants (to get 
Bundled Herbs)
Listed below are Elixirs that will be useful for you while leveling as an Arc Lash Sorcerer:
Elixir of Advantage to boost Attack Speed.
Elixir of Momentum for increased Movement Speed.
Elixir of Iron Barbs or 
Elixir of Fortitude to increase your defense a little bit until other options become available.
Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 5, 10, 15, 22, 30, 35, 40, and 50, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival!
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
During your leveling journey, you may stumble across items with very good affixes. Tempering these items can provide you with a significant boost in character power, so make sure you understand how it works.
Tempering is only possible if you have already found a few Tempering Manuals while leveling!
Keep an eye out for the following stats and modifiers that are particularly beneficial for this build (listed in order of importance):
| Gear Slot | Important Affixes (ranked by priority) | Tempering Recipes and Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Weapons | 1. Intelligence 2. Basic Skill Damage 3. Critical Strike Damage |  Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Crowd Controlled EnemiesShock Augments — Discharge (Weapon): Chance for Arc Lash to Swipe Twice |
| Focus | 1. Basic Skill Attack Speed, Attack Speed 2. Cooldown Reduction 3. Resource Generation | Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close EnemiesShock Augments — Discharge (Weapon): Chance for Arc Lash to Swipe Twice |
| Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Maximum Life 3. Resistances | Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control DurationWorldly Endurance (Defensive): Maximum Life |
| Chest | 1. Intelligence, Ranks to All Defensive Skills 2. Resistances 3. Barrier Generation | Sorcerer Control (Utility): Stun DurationWorldly Endurance (Defensive): Total Armor |
| Gloves | 1. Attack Speed 2. Critical Strike Chance 3. Maximum Life | Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close EnemiesWorldly Fortune (Utility): Chance to Stun |
| Pants | 1. Ranks of Arc Lash 2. Intelligence 3. Resistances | Natural Resistance (Defensive): Any ResistanceSorcerer Control (Utility): Stun Duration |
| Boots | 1. Movement Speed 2. Intelligence 3. Maximum Life | Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control DurationSorcerer Motion (Mobility): Teleport Cooldown Reduction |
| Amulet | 1. Ranks to Glass Canon 2. Movement Speed 3. Resistances | Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement SpeedShock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage |
| Rings | 1. Attack Speed 2. Intelligence 3. Crowd Control Damage | Ultimate Efficiency — Sorcerer (Resource): Unstable Currents Cooldown ReductionShock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage |
Season 7 Changes
The following list details the changes in the Season 7 Patch Update that may pertain to leveling an Arc Lash Sorceress.
Skills and Passives
- Unstable Currents:
- Rank 4 and 5 were added to the Skill Tree.
- Rank 5: Casting Unstable Currents Stuns surrounding enemies for 3 seconds.
- Enhanced Familiar:
- Damage will now scale up with increased Skill Ranks of the base skill.
Devouring Blaze: - Previous: You deal 7% Critical Strike damage against Burning Enemies. If they’re Crowd Controlled this increases to 10%.
- Now: Your Pyromancy Skills deal an additional 10% increased Critical Strike Damage.
Shocking Impact: - Previous: Every time you Stun an enemy, you deal x% Lightning Damage to them.
- Now: Every time you Stun an enemy or attempt to Stun a Boss, you deal x% Lightning Damage to them.
Inner Flames: - Previous: Your Pyromancy Skills deal 4% increased damage while you are Healthy.
- Now: You deal 4% increased damage while Healthy.
Conjuration Mastery: - Renamed to Primordial Binding.
- Previous: Gain a stacking bonus for each active Conjuration, up to 30 stacks. 1% damage, 1% movement speed, 2% Mana Regeneration.
- Now: Gain a stacking bonus for each active Summon, up to 10 Summons. 2% Summoning damage, 2% movement speed, 4% Mana Regeneration.
- Renamed to
Changelog
- January 17th, 2025: Guide updated for Vessel of Hatred Season 7.
- Added Unstable Currents ranks 4 and 5.
- Renamed Conjuration Mastery passive as Primordial Binding.
- Removed Inner Flames and Devouring Blaze passives.
- Added Witchcraft Powers recommendations.
- Updated Season 7 change list.
- October 3rd, 2024: Guide updated for Vessel of Hatred and Season 6.
- Switched out Frost Nova for Familiar.
- Updated Passives.
- Updated Legendary Aspects.
- Updated Tempering Affixes.
- Updated Season 6 change list.
- August 2nd, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5.
- Updated Tempering Affixes.
- Updated recommended Legendary Aspects.
- Added Season 5 change list.
- May 10th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4.
- Skill points 57 + 58 were modified.
- Added Tempering Affixes.
- Updated Legendary Aspects.
- Added three Paragon Boards with basic glyph recommendations.
- Added Season 4 change list.
- March 5th, 2024: Updated for Patch 1.3.3.
- January 22nd, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3.
- October 17th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2.
- August 7th, 2023: Moved this build to its own separate page.
- August 4th, 2023: Updated for Patch 1.1.1.
- July 18th, 2023: Updated for Season 1.
