To find out more general information about leveling as a Sorcerer in Diablo 4, you can check out our main Leveling Guide. Or you can go to our Sorcerer Builds page for a list of other leveling and endgame Sorcerer builds for you to choose from.
In regard to leveling up on the seasonal realm, you might also want to check out our season checklist, as it will give you some useful tips and tricks for Season 1 of Diablo 4.
Season ChecklistThe recommended World Tier to level in is 1 (Adventurer). This will provide you with the smoothest and fastest leveling experience. If you like the added challenge, you can of course play in World Tier 2 (Veteran), but the 20% extra experience from monsters does not make up for the added time it takes to kill them, and this will generally result in a slower and clunkier leveling process.
Before you can engage in endgame activities like the Capstone Dungeon (which unlocks World Tier 3), Nightmare Dungeons, or the Tree of Whispers, you must complete the main storyline.
Getting a mount is an important step in your leveling journey, and we recommend generally saving your explorations of the world (such as for obtaining Altars of Lilith) until after you get it. For more details, read our mount guide.
Build Introduction
This Shock Sorceress build is highly effective for leveling up. 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.
With this build, the Sorceress gains improved mobility thanks to Flickering Arc Lash, which boosts movement speed, and Teleport. Additionally, the build incorporates defensive capabilities with 
Ice Armor and 
Frost Nova to stay safe even in close combat.
Season of the Malignant
Season 1 Patch Notes
The following list details the changes in the Season 1 Patch Update that may pertain to leveling an Arc Lash Sorcerer.
- Enhanced Charged Bolts damage increased from 24% to 30%, and now benefits from Skill Ranks.
- Destructive Charged Bolts Damage Reduction increased from 20% to 25%.
Align the Elements Damage Reduction per second increased from 1/2/3 to 3/6/9.
Protection Barrier duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
Mana Shield Damage Reduction increased from 5/10/15% to 7/14/21%.
Aspect of Retribution bonus damage to Stunned reduced from 20-40% to 10-20%.
Aspect of Disobedience maximum stacks reduced from 100 to 60, reducing maximum Bonus Armor % from 25%-50% to 15%-30%.- Fixed an issue where Aspect of Control was applying its damage bonus 3 times for Staggered bosses.
Patch 1.1.1
The second major update for Season 1 brings a few much needed buffs to Sorcerers in Patch 1.1.1 being released on August 8th, 2023. The changes directly affecting this build are listed below.
Vyr’s Mastery - Damage bonus increased from 10% to 15%.
Aspect of the Bounding Conduit - Bonus Movement Speed increased from 20-25% to 25-30%.
- (New Aspect!) Mage-Lord’s Aspect
- Increase Vyr’s Mastery Key Passive’s Damage Reduction by 6-9% for each Close enemy, up to 18-27%.
Malignant Hearts
The Season 1 theme introduces Malignant Hearts that provide build-altering bonuses. The hearts are divided into 4 categories, each with a color that needs to be socketed in the corresponding colored Malignant Socket on equipped jewelry. Wrathful Hearts are a special case due to their rarity, and can be placed in any Socket.
Always socket Malignant Hearts instead of a 
Skull in Jewelry. Malignant Hearts provide an Armor bonus that scales with its Item Power.
Listed below are the Malignant Hearts that are useful for leveling a Sorcerer, ranked by importance. Stats displayed reflect what a Level 20 character would receive as a drop.
Caged Heart of Tal’Rasha (Vicious, Offensive): For each unique element you deal damage with, you deal 7-12% increased damage for 3-10 seconds.
Caged Heart of Revenge (Brutal, Defensive-World Tier III): 10-20% of incoming damage is instead suppressed. When you use a Defensive, Subterfuge or a Macabre skill, all suppressed damage is amplified by 250% and explodes, dealing up to 1360-2040 Fire damage to Nearby enemies.
Caged Heart of The Barber (Wrathful, Super-World Tier III): Critical Strikes and all subsequent damage within 2.0-4.0 seconds is absorbed by your target. Then, the absorbed damage erupts onto surrounding enemies. Stored damage is increased by 10% per second.- Caged Heart of the Picana (Vicious, Offensive): Critical Strikes electrically charge the enemy for 0.75-2.50 seconds, causing lightning to arc between them and any other charged enemies dealing 68-136 Lightning damage.
- Caged Heart of Tempting Fate (Vicious, Offensive-World Tier III): You gain 40-60% Critical Strike Damage but your Non-Critical Strikes deal 20-15% less damage.
There are many other Malignant Hearts with different benefits, but these are the best ones to equip in jewelry during your leveling journey, as they will boost your power significantly. Additionally, each Malignant Heart will also provide an armor bonus, depending on its item power level.
For more information on Season 1 of Diablo 4, you can check out our guide here:
Season 1 GuideSkill Tree Points and Skill Bar
Ice Armor 
Teleport Frost Nova 
Unstable Currents Arc Lash Charged Bolts The table presented below outlines the recommended order for allocating your Skill Points. At Level 50, you will have a total of 48 points available, and an additional 10 points can be obtained upon completing Renown in each zone, resulting in a grand total of 58 points.
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.
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.
Fire Bolt is slotted in the second Enchantment Slot once you unlock it at level 30. It simply adds more DPS to all your damaging Skills.
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.
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 Frost Nova to apply Vulnerable.
- Cast Charged Bolts up close against tougher enemies to shotgun them with multiple bolt projectiles.
- Use Ice Armor to protect against incoming damage and regen Mana.
- Spam Arc Lash to finish off weaker groups of enemies.
Repeat the above steps until all enemies are defeated.
Gear Choice and Stat Priority while Leveling
When considering gear choices in Diablo 4, it is important to understand the concept of Item Power. Item Power, displayed beneath the item name and type, represents the strength of your gear and directly impacts the capabilities of your character. Higher Item Power generally indicates stronger gear, but it is important to also consider the affixes and effects that align with your class and build. In some cases, a lower Item Power item might outperform a higher one if it has a special stat that synergizes well with your skills or playstyle. So, when making gear decisions, keep an eye on both Item Power and the specific attributes that complement the build.
Make sure to pick up and sort every item, especially Rare equipment that may be an upgrade. Look out for gear that boosts skills or has useful modifiers, and save Legendary items with good aspects in the stash for later use. In the early levels, selling gear for gold is a good option, but in later levels, try to find a balance between selling and salvaging items, especially Rare gear, as it provides useful materials. Additionally, prioritize upgrading weapons and jewelry, as they affect combat performance the most.
Two-Handed Staves are preferred over Wands for higher damage per hit. Armor should only be upgraded if it has relevant stats or bonuses for the build.
Keep an eye out for the following stats and modifiers that are particularly beneficial for this build (listed in order of importance):
| Importance | Affixes |
|---|---|
| 1 | DPS value on Weapon(s) + Attack Speed + Cooldown Reduction + Intelligence + Rank to Charged Bolts |
| 2 | + All Damage + Damage to Close Enemies. + Lightning, Shock, Basic and Core Skill Damage |
| 3 | + Damage to Vulnerable, Frozen, Stunned, Crowd Controlled, Injured and Healthy enemies + Critical Hit Chance and Damage + % Crowd Control Duration |
| 4 | + Damage Reduction + Any Elemental Resistances + Armor + Movement Speed + All Stats |
Legendary Item Aspects
To unlock Aspects in the Codex of Power, you must complete the corresponding Dungeon where the specific Aspect drops. Visit the Occultist to imprint Aspects onto items.
Aspects found on dropped Legendary Items have stronger effects than those applied from the Codex of Power. Additionally, it is important to know that certain Aspects can only be obtained by finding them on a legendary item, and are not accessible through the Codex of Power. Extract Aspects from unusable Legendary Items to imprint them onto well-rolled Rare Items. Avoid imprinting valuable extracted Aspects onto weapons, because weapons they get replaced often while leveling.
We have a dedicated in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide that you can check out for more information.
Listed below are the Aspects that are important for the Arc Lash Sorcerer leveling build. They are listed in order of priority.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect of Static Cling | Your casts of Charged Bolts have a {#}% chance to be attracted to enemies and last 300% longer. | Wretched Delve, Scosglen |
| Aspect of Control | You deal % more damage to Immobilized, Stunned, or Frozen enemies. | Sunken Library, Kehjistan |
| Rapid Aspect | Basic Skills gain {#}% Attack Speed. | Buried Halls, Dry Steppes |
| Aspect of Might | Basic Skills grant % Damage Reduction for 4.0 seconds. | Dark Ravine, Dry Steppes |
| Aspect of Retribution | Distant enemies have a 8% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal {#}% increased damage to Stunned enemies. | Abandoned Mineworks, Kehjistan |
 Prodigy’s Aspect | Using a Cooldown restores 15 Mana. | Witchwater, Hawezar |
| Aspect of Efficiency | Casting a Basic Skill reduces the Mana cost of your next Core Skill by {#}%. | Domhainne Tunnels, Scosglen |
| Edgemaster’s Aspect | Skills deal up to {#}% increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
| Aspect of the Expectant | Attacking enemies with a Basic Skill increases the damage of your next Core Skill cast by {#}%, up to {#}%. | Underrot, Scosglen |
| Smiting Aspect | You have a {#}% increased Critical Strike Chance against Injured enemies. While you are Healthy, you gain {#}% increased Crowd Control Duration. | Random Drop Only |
| Accelerating Aspect | Critical Strikes with Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by {#}% for 3 seconds. | Random drop |
| Elementalist’s Aspect | Core or Mastery Skills cast at or above 100 Mana gain a {#}% increased Critical Strike Chance. | Pallid Delve, Dry Stepps |
| Mage-Lord’s Aspect | The Vyr’s Mastery Key Passive’s Damage Reduction is increased by {#}% for each Close enemy, up to {#}%. | Random Drop Only |
| Stable Aspect | While Unstable Currents is not active, your Shock Skills have a {#}% chance to trigger a free cast from it. | Random Drop Only |
| Aspect of Disobedience | You gain {#}% increased Armor for 4 seconds when you deal any form of damage, stacking up to {#}%. | Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan |
| Aspect of the Unwavering | Taking direct damage has a {#}% chance to reset the Cooldown of one of your Defensive Skills. | Putrid Aquifer, Kehjistan |
| Aspect of the Bounding Conduit | Gain % Movement Speed for 3 seconds after using Teleport. | Komdor Temple, Dry Stepps |
| Wind Striker Aspect | Critical Strikes grant % Movement Speed for 1 second, up to 6 seconds. | Shivta Ruins, Kehjistan |
Gems
Listed below are the best Gems to socket into gear for each slot type.
- Weapon:
Topaz for Basic Skill Damage or 
Sapphire Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled enemies. - Armor:
Ruby for Maximum Life. - Jewelry: Malignant Hearts if playing Season 1. Otherwise, Skull for Armor.
Elixirs and Health Potions
To gain an edge in your adventures, head to the Alchemist in any main town, and craft Elixirs that enhance your stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Remember to gather the necessary crafting materials by foraging plants. Craft an 
Assault Elixir to boost Attack Speed.
Return to the Alchemist again when you reach Level 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90, to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.
Changelog
- 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.
