Arc Lash – Sorcerer Build for Diablo 4 (Season 7)

Build Introduction

The Arc Lash Sorcerer build is ideal for players wanting a simple, yet effective, melee playstyle. This is the fastest Sorcerer build in terms of mobility, and the build is extremely effective at speed-farming all endgame activities in Diablo 4.

Compared to similar Lightning Sorcerer endgame builds ranked high on the tier list, like the Chain Lightning Sorcerer, the Arc Lash Sorcerer has lower single-target damage.

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

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 Arc Lash Sorcerer (order does not matter)

Arc LashUnstable CurrentsTeleportFlame ShieldIce ArmorFamiliar

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

Hoarfrost is activated through a Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze temper. The bonus is always 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.

Select Charged Bolts in the first Enchantment Slot. It is activated by Stuns from Familiar and Raiment of the Infinite for additional damage to clear groups of enemies.

Equip Teleport in the second Enchantment Slot to enable the Telestomp playstyle.

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 Arc Lash 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
Amulet (+50% bonus effect)	Aspect of the Moonrise	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 [40 – 80%] Basic Skill damage and 15% Movement Speed for 10 seconds.
Dagger (replaced by Shard of Verathiel)	Aspect of Shredding Blades	Ice Blades’ chance to apply Vulnerable is increased by 20% and the Vulnerable duration is increased by 4 seconds. You gain x [15 – 30%] Vulnerable Damage. Note: Ice Blades are not required to gain the Vulnerable Damage.
Ring Slot #1 (replaced by Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop)	Rapid Aspect	Basic Skills gain [15 – 30%] Attack Speed.
Ring Slot #2 (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.
Focus	Aspect of Adaptability	When cast below 50% Maximum Resource, Basic Skills generate 3 of your Primary Resource, once per cast. When cast at or above 50% Maximum Resource, Basic Skills deal [40 – 80%] increased damage.
Gloves (replaced by Paingorger’s Gauntlets)	Conceited Aspect	Deal [15 – 25%] increased damage while you have a Barrier active.
Chest (replaced by Raiment of the Infinite)	Everliving Aspect	You take [20 – 25%] less damage from Crowd Controlled or Vulnerable enemies.
Helm (replaced by Heir of Perdition)	Aspect of Might	Basic Skills grant 20% Damage Reduction for [2.0 – 6.0] seconds.
Pants	Hectic Aspect	After casting 5 Basic Skills, one of your active Cooldowns is reduced by [1 – 2] seconds.
Boots (replaced byFlickerstep)	Aspect of the Orange Herald	Lucky Hit: Up to a [5 – 13%] 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.

Gems and Runewords

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

Weapon Gems	Armor Gems	Jewelry Gems
Grand Topaz for increased Basic Damage.	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. Friend of the Bog — While you have three or more Growth & Decay Witch Powers equipped: You gain x8% Primary Core Stat, x10% Maximum Life, and Unhindered.
2. Dust Stone — For each of your Auras and Hexes an enemy is afflicted by, they take 2.5% increased damage from you.
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. 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 each of the following Runewords, consisting of a Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation, into any equipped Helm, Chest, or Pants item. Add sockets to your equipment at the Jeweler if necessary.

Runewords	Effects
Cir Ohm	Gain: 300 Offering — Cast 5 Skills then become exhausted for 3 seconds. Requires: 25 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Gain 2.5% Critical Strike Chance for 5 seconds, up to 25%.
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 Arc Lash Sorcerer, 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 Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability.

Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes

Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Arc Lash 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 how much is stacked or other character stats. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades.

A One-handed Weapon and Focus setup is preferred over a Staff for more beneficial utility affixes and a faster Weapon Speed. A Dagger is selected for the fastest weapon speed and the Damage to Close Enemies implicit stat.

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
Dagger	1. Maximum Life, Intelligence, Vulnerable Damage	Discharge (Weapon): Chance for Arc Lash to Swipe Twice Shock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage
Focus	1. Critical Strike Chance, Cooldown Reduction 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Discharge (Weapon): Chance for Arc Lash to Swipe Twice Shock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage
Helm	1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Sorcerer Control (Utility): Stun 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. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Sorcerer Control (Utility): Stun Duration Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor up to 1,000 cap, otherwise Frost Cage: Ice Armor Duration
Gloves	1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Shock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage Natural Schemes (Utility): Crowd Control Duration
Pants	1. Ranks to Arc Lash 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Worldly Fortune (Utility): Lucky Hit Chance to Freeze 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. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Natural Motion (Mobility): Evade Cooldown Reduction Sorcerer Control (Utility): Stun Duration
Amulet	1. Ranks to Hoarfrost and Inner Flames 2. Intelligence, Critical Strike Chance, Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed	Natural Motion (Mobility): Evade Cooldown Reduction Shock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage
Rings	1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence	Ultimate Efficiency —  Sorcerer (Resource): Unstable Currents Cooldown Reduction Shock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage

Unique and Mythic Items

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

• Raiment of the Infinite (highly recommended) synergizes well with this build to group and Stun enemies. Check the Telestomp Build Variant section for more details.
  • 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
• Flickerstep (recommended) synergies well with the Telestomp setup, as the unique effect works with the Evade Teleport to provide more uptime on Unstable Currents. The Evade Cooldown reduction in the implicit effect has a higher 2.5 second value than the 1.5 second value available on Legendary Boots.
  • Masterworking Priority: Damage Reduction from Close Enemies
• Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop (recommended) provides up to a 75% damage multiplier with 3 elemental stacks.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Heir of Perdition (highly recommended) grants the highest damage increase for the slot.
  • Masterworking Priority: Critical Strike Chance
• Harlequin Crest (optional) is helpful for additional Ranks to Arc Lash, 20% Damage Reduction, and a boosted Cooldown Reduction affix.
  • Masterworking Priority: Cooldown Reduction
• Tibault’s Will (optional) can be utilized if additional Mana generation is needed. Alternate activations of the unique effect with Teleport, Flame Shield, and Ice Armor (with Snowveiled Aspect).
  • Masterworking Priority: Maximum Life, Maximum Resource, or Damage Reduction while Unstoppable
• Paingorger’s Gauntlets (recommended) enable Arc Lash to hit any enemies at a distance marked by other Shock skills auto-casted through Unstable Currents.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Basic Skills
• Fists of Fate (optional) increases overall damage by 50% with a perfect 300% value on the unique effect. Unfortunately, they are still a minor damage loss compared to well-rolled Legendary Gloves with +4 Ranks to Arc Lash, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance, and an Offensive Aspect.
  • Masterworking Priority: Any affix except Lucky Hit Chance to Restore Primary Resource
• Shard of Verathiel (recommended) provides a 3x multiplier for Fire Bolt, at the cost of 25 Primary Resource per cast. Only use this item in conjunction with Ring of Starless Skies.
  • Masterworking Priority: Ranks to Basic Skills
• Ring of Starless Skies (recommended) synergizes with Shard of Verathiel to reduce the Mana cost of Fire Bolt, while also providing a damage multiplier.
  • Masterworking Priority: Attack Speed

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 Arc Lash 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. Piranhado: Lost Power
   • When an enemy is afflicted by both a Hex and an Aura Effect, a Piranhado is summoned pulling enemies towards it and dealing [X] Physical damage over [22] seconds. Additionally, Piranhado will seek nearby enemies. You can only Summon one Piranhado every 20 seconds.
   • At Rank 5: Piranhado now seek enemies.
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. Soul Harvest: Growth and Decay Power
   • Whenever you use a Cooldown, you gain x1% Primary Core Stat per surrounding enemy. This bonus lasts for [15.5] seconds.
   • While there are surrounding enemies, Soul Harvest has infinite duration.
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: Varyana
  • Skills: Cleave, Hysteria, Bloodthirst, Bloodlust
• Reinforcement: Raheir
  • Skill: Bastion
  • Opportunity: Cast when the player becomes Injured

Advanced Information

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

Build Mechanics

Playing the Arc Lash Sorcerer is fairly simple, but requires careful management of Cooldowns. Arc Lash deals most of the overall damage output with multiple sources of increased Basic Skill damage, while rapidly activating other Shock Skills with Unstable Currents to supplement additional damage.

Skill Points are allocated into Destructive Charged Bolts, but not actually slotted into the Skill Bar. The 20% reduced enemy damage debuff is applied through auto-casted Charged Bolts through Unstable Currents and Charged Bolts Enchantment. Aspect of the Orange Herald on Legendary Boots (or Flickerstep) reduces Unstable Currents cooldown, so activate the Ultimate Skill often.

Lightning Spear is auto-cast through Unstable Currents to apply Vulnerable.

Damage Rotation

Use the following rotation to optimize damage.

1. Pre-cast Familiar immediately before engaging. Ensure that the previous cast was a Shock Skill to conjure a Shock Familiar. Cast Arc Lash or Teleport beforehand if needed.
2. Activate Unstable Currents often, as the Cooldown is reduced frequently.
3. Spam Arc Lash to deal damage.
4. Activate Ice Armor or Flame Shield for protection or to refresh the buff from Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop.

Telestomp with Raiment of the Infinite

Raiment of the Infinite allows the Arc Lash 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 Arc Lash 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.
• Make sure you have Teleport Enchantment.
• Equip Boots with the implicit effect, Attacks Reduce Evade’s Cooldown, which work with the Evade Teleport.

Changelog

• January 29, 2025: Witchcraft Powers and Occult Gems adjusted due to Purging Touch not working as expected.
• 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 14, 2024: Guide updated for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0)
• January 22, 2024: Guide updated for Season 3 (Patch 1.3.0).
• October 17, 2023: Guide updated for Season 2 (Patch 1.2.0).
• July 18, 2023: Guide updated for Season 1.