Incinerate – Sorcerer Build for Diablo 4 (Season 7)

Build Introduction

The Incinerate Sorcerer build features a straightforward playstyle with minimum requirements, making it the perfect starter build for new players. Incinerate pierces through all enemies to kill entire packs, while Flamethrower’s Aspect shotguns tougher elites and bosses with 3 beams at once. This build is highly recommended to start Season 7 of Diablo 4!

If your character has not reached Level 60, follow the Leveling Guide for the Incinerate Sorcerer.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Check the build tier lists to see how this build compares to others on Icy Veins.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

Skill Bar Setup for the Incinerate Sorcerer (order does not matter)

IncinerateFlame ShieldTeleportFrost NovaInfernoIce Armor

The Skill Tree above shows the full allocation of 71 Skill Points for the Incinerate Sorceress build. Make sure you obtain the 12 Skill Points available from Renown.

Fire Bolt is only allocated as a prerequisite to unlock the next Skill cluster. Do not equip it on the Skill Bar.

Hoarfrost is activated by Frost Nova. The damage increase is automatically applied to Staggered Bosses, as they count as being affected by all types of crowd controls.

Enchantment Slots

Non-Ultimate Skills can be equipped in two available Enchantment Slots. 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.

Slot Fireball in the first Enchantment Slot for explosions to help against groups of enemies.

Slot Teleport in the second Enchantment Slot to enable an Evade Teleport. Follow the Telestomp setup to further increase mobility to efficiently speed-farm content.

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 Incinerate 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.

Gear Slot	Aspect Name	Legendary Aspect Power
Staff	Flamethrower’s Aspect	Incinerate splits into 3 beams, each dealing [70 – 85%] of normal damage.
Amulet	Aspect of Engulfing Flames	You deal x6% increased Burning damage to enemies for each second they remain Burning, up to x30% after 5 seconds. Additionally, you deal x [10 – 30%] increased Burning damage to enemies that are not Healthy.
Ring Slot #1 (replaced by Ring of Starless Skies	Storm Swell Aspect	You deal x [15 – 35%] increased damage while Ice Armor is active. This amount is increased by another 15% against Frozen enemies.
Ring Slot #2 (replaced by Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop)	Conceited Aspect	Deal [15 – 25%] increased damage while you have a Barrier active.
Gloves	Aspect of Conflagration	While channeling Incinerate, your Burning damage is increased by x [25 – 40%]. Enemies damaged by Incinerate explode, Burning all surrounding enemies for [X] over 6 seconds. This effect occurs once per 3 seconds.
Chest (replaced by Raiment of the Infinite)	Aspect of Disobedience	You gain [0.4 – 0.7%] increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to [25 – 40%].
Helm (replaced by Heir of Perdition)	Snowveiled Aspect	Ice armor makes you unstoppable and grants you 25% Damage Reduction for [3.5 – 5.0] seconds.
Pants	Everliving Aspect	You take [20 – 25%] less damage from Crowd Controlled or Vulnerable enemies.
Boots	Aspect of the Bounding Conduit	Teleport’s Cooldown is reduced by [1.0 – 2.5] seconds. After Teleporting, Crackling Energy hits 2 additional enemies for 5 seconds.

Gems and Runewords

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

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Grand Amethyst for increased Damage Over Time.	Grand Topaz for Intelligence or Grand Amethyst for increased Barrier Generation.	Any Resistance Gems needed or Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap).

If you are playing the Season of Witchcraft (Season 7), visit Gelena at the Tree of Whispers to craft Occult Gems. Socketing 3 of the following Occult Gems into your jewelry, listed in order of importance.

1. Vulture Talon — While you have an Aura active, you deal Damage Over Time 50% faster.
2. Witching Hour — While you have three or more Eldritch Witch Powers slotted, every 1 second, the next Core Skill you cast gains the Eldritch tag.
3. Moonlight Ward — For each rank in your slotted Unique Witchcraft Power, you gain 3% Damage Reduction and 0.5% Maximum Resistance to All Elements.
4. Dust Stone — For each of your Auras and Hexes an enemy is afflicted by, they take 2.5% increased damage from you.
5. Friend of the Bog — While you have three or more Growth and Decay Witch Powers slotted, you gain 10% primary stat, 10% Maximum Life and you are always Unhindered.
6. Killing Wind — While you have three or more Eldritch Witch Powers slotted, gain 25% Movement Speed and 15% Critical Strike Chance.
7. Hungering Void — While you have an Aura active, pull Nearby enemies toward you every 8 seconds.

Runes are unlocked during the Vessel of Hatred campaign and then start dropping during various activities. A Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation can be combined by inserting them into equipment with two available sockets, creating a Runeword. A limit of two Runewords can be equipped.

Insert one of the following Runewords, consisting of a Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation, into your equipped Staff. The other Runeword can be inserted into any equipped Helm, Chest, or Pants item. Add sockets to your equipment at the Jeweler if necessary.

Runewords	Effects
Lith Ohm	Gain: 25 Offering — Stand still for 0.3 seconds. Requires: 600 Offering, Cooldown: 2 Seconds — Invoke the Barbarian’s War Cry, increasing your damage dealt by x15% for 6 seconds.
Igni Zec	Gain: 25 Offering — Stores offering every 0.3 seconds. Cast a non-Basic Skill to gain the stored offering. Requires: 100 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Reduce your active Ultimate Cooldown by 1 second.

Elixirs

Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs, or find Elixirs by killing enemies or opening chests during various activities in Diablo 4. Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume for the Incinerate Sorcerer, ranked by importance.

1. Elixir of Resource helps with Mana issues, if you do not already have the appropriate Mana gear. This elixir is highly recommended for starting characters to maintain constant channeling of Incinerate.
2. Elixir of Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Incinerate Sorcerers. Each line of affixes is 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. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades.

A Staff is selected for the highest weapon damage and 2x bonus effect for Flamethrower’s Aspect.

Critical Strike Damage is beneficial for Burning Instinct until the damage bonus is capped.

The priority order of Resistances is Lightning > Poison > Fire > Cold > Shadow. Maximum Resistance is 70% by default for each element and can be increased to 85% by various sources.

Armor is only needed until capped at 1,000.

If you are using a speed setup with Teleport Enchantment, temper the Evade Cooldown Reduction affix from the Natural Motion Manual onto your Boots and Amulet. Otherwise, temper the Movement Speed or Teleport Cooldown Reduction affixes.

Check the Tempering and Masterworking section for more details on Blacksmith upgrading.

Slot	Gear Affixes	Tempering Affixes
Staff	1. Maximum Life, Intelligence, Resource Cost Reduction 2. Damage Over Time	Pyromancy Augments —  Fiery (Weapon): Chance for Incinerate to do Double Damage up to 100% cap Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies
Focus	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Resource Cost Reduction 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Pyromancy Augments —  Fiery (Weapon): Chance for Incinerate to do Double Damage up to 100% cap Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Mana per Second, Maximum Life, Intelligence	Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Frost Cage: Ice Armor Duration
Chest	1. Ranks to Defensive Skills 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Mana per Second, Maximum Life, Intelligence	Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Frost Cage: Ice Armor Duration
Gloves	1. Ranks to Incinerate 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Resource Cost Reduction, Maximum Life, Intelligence	Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration
Pants	1. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Frost Cage: Ice Armor Duration
Boots	Implicit Stat: Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown 1. Movement Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Mana per Second, Maximum Life, Intelligence	Natural Motion (Mobility): Evade Cooldown Reduction Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration
Amulet	1. Ranks to Endless Pyre, Glass Cannon, or Elemental Dominance 2. Cooldown Reduction 3. Resource Cost Reduction, Movement Speed	Natural Motion (Mobility): Evade Cooldown Reduction Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies
Rings	1. Resource Cost Reduction 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence 3. Damage Over Time	Worldly Stability (Resource): Resource Generation or Resource Cost Reduction Natural Finesse (Offensive): Damage to Close Enemies

Rotation and Playstyle

Optimize DPS with the following rotation.

1. If you have Raiment of the Infinite, cast Teleport on enemies to group and stun them.
2. Cast Frost Nova to Freeze and apply Vulnerable to groups of enemies.
3. Cast Inferno to boost damage.
4. Channel Incinerate as long as possible to ramp up damage.
5. Cast Flame Shield or Ice Armor for protection and Unstoppable when needed.

Unique and Mythic Items

Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique Items for the Incinerate Sorcerer build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades. Check the Mythic Unique Farming guide for information on target-farming them.

• Raiment of the Infinite (highly recommended) enables the Telestomp playstyle to group and Stun enemies.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks of the Glass Cannon Passive
• Tyrael’s Might (optional) is the best defensive option for a Chest Armor, although this Mythic Unique Item can be difficult to obtain. The divine barrage does not contribute a significant portion of the total damage in this build.
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction
• Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop (recommended) provides up to a 75% damage multiplier with 3 elemental stacks.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Ring of Starless Skies (recommended) is the best Mythic Unique Item for the Incinerate Sorcerer. The unique effect provides a 1.5x damage multiplier and solves any Mana issues.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Core Skills
• Heir of Perdition (highly recommended) grants the highest damage increase for the slot.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Core Skills
• Harlequin Crest (optional) is helpful for additional Ranks to Incinerate, 20% Damage Reduction, and a boosted Cooldown Reduction affix.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction

Paragon Board

After Character Level 60, experience gains are applied to Paragon up to Level 300. A maximum of 228 Paragon Points can be obtained through Paragon Levels, Renown, and Altars of Lilith. Follow the Paragon setup designed for the Incinerate Sorcerer to gain a considerable amount of progression for your character.

Glyphs are inserted into sockets on each Paragon board and can be found during various activities in Diablo 4. Level up the Glyphs included in the Paragon setup by completing The Pit. Clearing higher tiers of The Pit allows Glyphs to reach higher levels.

Important Notes:

• Make sure you select the correct Legendary Boards and rotate them into the proper orientation.
• Attach Legendary Boards in the order shown, as bonus requirements of Rare Nodes increase with their placement order.
• Prioritize leveling each of your equipped Glyphs to 15 to gain the increased radius, which can be required to meet additional bonus requirements. Afterward, level each Glyph to 46 to unlock its Legendary Bonus and gain another radius increase.
• 2 Paragon setup tabs are available! The Base Setup is designed to quickly unlock the essential Glyph sockets and Legendary Nodes at a moderate Paragon Level. The Full Setup additionally includes the remaining beneficial nodes.

Witchcraft Powers

In the Season of Witchcraft (Season 7), earn seasonal reputation to unlock Witchcraft Powers. Equip the following Witchcraft Powers to enhance this build.

1. The Cycle: Growth and Decay Power
   • Dealing any damage with your skills has a 15% chance to grow a flower from the ground. When an enemy is near, the flower deals [X] Poison damage to that enemy over 5 seconds. If an ally is near, the flower heals for [9.9%] maximum Life. The flower withers away after use. A flower may grow once every 2 seconds per enemy.
   • At Rank 5: The damage and healing affects all enemies or allies near the flower.
2. Aura of Siphoning: Growth and Decay Power
   • Conjure an aura of decay that deals [X] Poison damage to enemies every second.
   • At Rank 10: Each time Aura of Siphoning deals damage, you are healed for 1% of Maximum Life.
3. Aura Specialization: Lost Power
   • The size of your Aura Effects are increased by [79%].
   • At Rank 10: Increase the Critical Strike Damage by 50% against enemies inside your Aura Effects.
4. Purging Touch: Eldritch Power
   • Eldritch Effects deal [39.9%] increased damage against Headrotten.
   • At Rank 10: This damage bonus now extends to all monsters.
5. Hex of Shattering: Psyche Power
   • Damage done by your Witchcraft Effects afflicts enemies with Hex of Shattering causing them to deal [20%] reduced damage for 5 seconds.
   • At Rank 8: When any Hex Effect is applied to Headrotten, all damage will be guaranteed Critical Strikes for 5 seconds.
6. Hex of Whispers: Growth and Decay Power
   • Dealing damage to an enemy afflicts them with Hex of Whispers that deals [X] Shadow damage the next time damage is dealt. Afterwards, Hex of Whispers will jump to another enemy up to a maximum of 6 times. Hex of Whispers may only be applied once every 5 seconds.
   • At Rank 7: After bouncing onto 6 enemies, the hex bounces back to you granting [X] Fortify and removing all crowd control and negative status effects.

Mercenaries

Once the Den is unlocked during the main questline in the Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4, complete Mercenary key quests to acquire them. Hire a Mercenary and enlist a Reinforcement in the following setup.

• Hired Mercenary: Raheir
  • Skills: Ground Slam, Raheir’s Aegis, Bastion, Inspiration
• Reinforcement: Varyana
  • Skill: Ancient Harpoons
  • Opportunity: Ice Armor

Advanced Information

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

Build Mechanics

Incinerate deals high Fire Damage Over Time by Burning enemies with a beam that ramps up damage over 2 seconds. The piercing beam makes it easy to clear groups of enemies that are lined up. Flamethrower’s Aspect is important to enable the Incinerate Sorcerer to deal high single-target damage against bosses. All 3 beams can shotgun an individual target, outputting some of the highest damage possible for a Sorcerer in the early stages of the game.

Vulnerable status is applied to groups of enemies with Mystical Frost Nova.

Critical Strike Damage is applied to Burning Damage with Burning Instinct from Paragon. This allows us to benefit from Critical Strike Damage on gear.

Telestomp with Raiment of the Infinite

Raiment of the Infinite allows the Incinerate 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, and The Pit!

Use the following setup for the Telestomp 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.
• Slot Teleport into an Enchantment Slot.
• Equip Boots with the implicit effect, Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown, which work with the Evade Teleport.

Changelog

• January 21, 2025: Guide updated for Season 7 (Patch 2.1.0).
• October 16, 2024: New Paragon tool added.
• October 4, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
• August 6, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
• May 18, 2024: Guide created for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).