Build Introduction
The Incinerate Sorcerer leveling build roasts foes with a penetrating beam of burning fire. 
Incinerate excels at clearing groups of enemies when lined up, and it can be channeled to ramp up devasting damage against bosses.
Check the Sorcerer Leveling Guide Overview for a comparison of all the starter builds on Icy Veins.
Once your Sorcerer character reaches Level 60, switch to the Endgame Guide for the Incinerate Sorcerer to continue this build.
Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar
Incinerate
Fire Bolt
Inferno
Teleport
Frost Nova
Ice ArmorThe following table shows the order in which to allocate your Skill Points while leveling with the Incinerate Sorcerer build. You gain 59 points at Level 60 and 12 points from Renown, for a total of 71.
Enchantment Slots
The Specialization of the Sorcerer can be unlocked at Level 15. Complete the Legacy of the Magi questline as soon as possible to gain access to your first Enchantment Slot, and then assign 
Fireball for group clearing. Once you unlock the second slot at Level 30, assign Incinerate to it.
Build Mechanics and Playstyle
The Incinerate Sorcerer leveling build is fairly simple to play due to the Core Skill doing the majority of the damage for both density clearing and single target fights. Drag and line up group of enemies to hit them all with the piercing beam of fire. Once Incinerate reaches level 5, its damage is further increased by many Passives in the Skill Tree.
Damage Rotation
Engage battles at range with the following rotation.
- Cast
Frost Nova near enemies to apply Vulnerable from Mystical Frost Nova - Cast Inferno to Pull groups of enemies together.
- Channel Incinerate while above 50 Mana to utilize
Elemental Dominance for optimal DPS. - Activate
Ice Armor for 25% Mana Regeneration. - Spam Fire Bolt to generate Mana and finish off weakened enemies.
Gear, Gems, Elixirs, and Stats
The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character during the leveling process.
Legendary Aspects
Aspect of Conflagration is the most beneficial Offensive Aspect while leveling an Incinerate Sorcerer. Unlock the Aspect in the Codex of Power by completing the Light’s Watch dungeon in Fractured Peaks. This dungeon is near the first main town of Kyovashad, so clear it as soon as possible. Afterwards, visit the Occultist to imprint Aspect of Conflagration onto a Rare Item. An Amulet is recommended for imprinting important Aspects for a +50% bonus effect, and it doesn’t need to be replaced as often as weapons.
Higher Tier Aspects with more potent effects can be found on dropped Legendary Items. Salvage unwanted Legendary Items at the Blacksmith to unlock these Aspects in the Codex of Power, and then imprint them onto well-rolled Rare or Legendary Items. Check the in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide for more information.
Aspect of Elemental Constellation is the most beneficial aspect that can be found on Legendary Item drops. If you are lucky enough to find the aspect with a decently rolled value, imprint it onto a Staff to double the dagger damage.
Listed below are the Aspects found on Legendary Items that are important for the Incinerate leveling build. They are listed in order of priority.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect of Elemental Constellation | Casting Pyromancy, Shock, and Frost Skills conjures a matching Elemental Dagger around you that pierces through enemies dealing [X] damage after 3 seconds. The damage increases by 100% per matching elemental skill you cast. | Random Drop |
| Flamethrower’s Aspect | Incinerate splits into 3 beams, each dealing [70 – 85%] of normal damage. | Random Drop |
| 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. | Random Drop |
| Aspect of Conflagration | While channeling Incinerate, your Burning damage is increased by x [25 – 40%]. Enemies hit by Incinerate explode, Burning all surrounding enemies for [X] over 3 seconds. This effect occurs once per 4 seconds. | Light’s Watch, Fractured Peaks |
| Aspect of Creeping Death | You deal x [5 – 20%] increased damage over time to enemies for each different Crowd Control effect they’re afflicted by. Unstoppable enemies and Staggered Bosses take x [10 – 40%] increased damage over time from you instead. | Random Drop |
| Edgemaster’s Aspect | Skills deal up to [10 – 20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
| Conceited Aspect | Deal [15 – 25%] increased damage while you have a Barrier active. | Random Drop |
| 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. | Onyx Hold, Dry Steppes |
| Aspect of Control | You deal [20 – 35%] more damage to Immobilized, Stunned, or Frozen enemies. | Sunken Library, Kehjistan |
| Aspect of the Expectant | Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by [5 – 10%], up to 30%. | Underroot, Scosglen |
| Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed. | Buried Halls, Dry Steppes |
 Aspect of Might | Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2.0 – 6.0] seconds. | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
 Aspect of the Bounding Conduit | Gain [25 – 30%] Movement Speed for 3 seconds after Teleporting. | Komdor Temple, Dry Steppes |
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each item type.
| Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
|---|---|---|
 Amethyst for increased Damage Over Time. |  Topaz for Intelligence. | Any Resistance Gems needed or  Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap). |
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.
Listed below are the best Runewords utilizing Magic and Rare Runes that are beneficial for this build. The best-in-slot Runewords utilizing Legendary Runes are in the Endgame Guide for the Incinerate Sorcerer.
| Runewords | Effects |
|---|---|
 Neo Ton | Gain: 200 Offering — Deal damage after not taking any within 2 seconds. (Resets if Invulnerable.) Requires: 20 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Evoke the Sorcerer’s Meteorites, dealing damage to enemies. |
 Feo Lac | Gain: 1000 Offering — Become Injured or Crowd Controlled (Cooldown: 10 seconds). Requires: 400 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Evoke the Barbarian’s Challenging Shout, reducing your damage taken for 3 seconds. |
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 for 
Bundled Herbs during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Elixirs can also drop randomly from enemies and chests during many activities in Diablo 4.
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. 
Elixir of Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability. Increased Maximum Life grants larger Barriers from 
Protection and Ice Armor.
Return to the Alchemist every 10 Levels 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 Incinerate Sorcerers during the early leveling process. 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 compared to other character stats.
When comparing weapons with similar item levels, Two-Handed Staves are preferred over One-Handed Weapons for higher damage while leveling.
Critical Strike Damage becomes beneficial once you obtain 
Burning Instinct in Paragon.
Tempering Manuals are randomly dropped while leveling, and they need to be found to unlock their usage at the Blacksmith. Each manual has Magic, Rare, and Legendary rarities that determine the range of values available. Rare Items can inherit 1 tempering affix, while Legendary Items can inherit 2 tempering affixes from different categories.
The most beneficial tempering affixes while leveling are included below. If tempering materials (
Iron Chunk and 
Veiled Crystal) are limited, prioritize the Resource, Weapon, and Offensive categories. The best-in-slot tempering affixes are available in the Endgame Guide for the Incinerate Sorcerer.
| Slot | Gear Affixes | Tempering Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | 1. Damage Over Damage 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1.  Pyromancy Augments — Fiery (Weapon): Chance for Incinerate to do Double Damage2. Pyromancy Finesse (Offensive): Fire Damage or your highest available damage increase temper |
| Focus (optional) | 1. Cooldown Reduction, Resource Cost Reduction 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Pyromancy Augments — Fiery (Weapon): Chance for Incinerate to do Double Damage 2. Pyromancy Finesse (Offensive): Fire Damage or your highest available damage increase temper |
| Helm | 1. Mana per Second, Cooldown Reduction 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor |
| Chest | 1. Mana per Second, Ranks to Defensive Skills 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor |
| Gloves | 1. Ranks to Incinerate, Resource Cost Reduction 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Damage, Over Time, Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Pyromancy Finesse (Offensive): Fire Damage or your highest available damage increase temper |
| Pants | 1. Resistances, Armor 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor |
| Boots | 1. Mana per Second, Movement Speed 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed or any available Movement Speed temper |
| Amulet | 1. Ranks to Endless Pyre or Glass Cannon, Cooldown Reduction 2. Resource Cost Reduction, Movement Speed 3. Resistances, Armor | 1. Worldly Stability (Resource): Resource Generation or Resource Cost Reduction 2. Pyromancy Finesse (Offensive): Fire Damage or your highest available damage increase temper |
| Rings | 1. Resource Cost Reduction 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence, Damage Over Time, Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage | Worldly Stability (Resource): Resource Generation or Resource Cost Reduction 2. Pyromancy Finesse (Offensive): Fire Damage or your highest available damage increase temper |
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
- Skills:
- Reinforcement: Varyana
- Skill:
Ancient Harpoons - Opportunity: Ice Armor
- Skill:
Paragon
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.
The Paragon setup displayed above focuses on quickly unlocking the essential Glyph sockets and Legendary Nodes at a moderate Paragon Level. Once the base setup is complete, allocate the remaining Paragon points in the following order.
- Obtain any remaining nodes providing a damage increase within the radius of Glyph sockets.
- Path to the remaining Rare and Magic nodes. Prioritize obtaining damage reduction, any needed Resistances/Armor, and damage increases.
Changelog
- October 16th, 2024: New Paragon tool added.
- October 4th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 6 (Patch 2.0.2).
- August 6th, 2024: Guide updated for Season 5 (Patch 1.5.0).
- May 14th, 2024: Guide created for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
