Art by Enaisiaion
Until recently, the Sorceresses only ventured out of their secret community when on recruitment missions. Their retreat into seclusion happened centuries ago, when the 14 most powerful covens of Esu witches merged to form the mage clan Zann Esu, before disappearing into the jungles to the east. From their secret home, the Zann Esu study mastery over what they deem the ‘perfect’ magic. To the Sorceresses, the perfect magic is elemental magic. They believe that by avoiding all other magic, which they deem dangerous and haphazard, they will become the most powerful Mage Clan. Elemental magic is also seen as being pure. Out of sight, the Sorceress gained a reputation for being a bookworm, however she is also likeable, athletic and skilled at inflicting damage upon enemies with her magic.
With the threat of the Prime Evils too great to ignore, the Sorceresses have declared it is the time of Emergency, and have begun appearing across Sanctuary to destroy the monsters that threaten the peace.
Sorceress Skills
All of the Sorceress’ spells fall into three categories:
| Cold Spells | Lightning Spells | Fire Spells | |
| Level 1 | Ice Bolt
Frozen Armor |
Charged Bolt | Fire Bolt
Warmth |
| Level 6 | Frost Nova
Ice Blast |
Static Field
Telekinesis |
Inferno |
| Level 12 | Shiver Armor | Nova
Lightning |
Blaze
Fire Ball |
| Level 18 | Glacial Spike | Chain Lightning
Teleport |
Fire Wall
Enchant |
| Level 24 | Blizzard
Chilling Armor |
Thunder Storm
Energy Shield |
Meteor |
| Level 30 | Frozen Orb
Cold Mastery |
Lightning Mastery | Fire Mastery
Hydra |
The Sorceress believes that melee battles are vulgar and so her skills focus on inflicting damage from afar. She is also very weak when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. She more than makes up for this with her spells as they inflict heavy damage to enemies. The Sorceress also begins with the largest mana pool to support her fighting style.
Sorceress Builds
There are a great number of ways to specialize the skills of a Sorceress, though all of these depend on mana. The most popular Sorceress builds in Diablo II are:
| Name | Focus |
| Blizzard Sorceress | Cold spells, with ‘Blizzard’ as the main skill. The most feared Enchantress build thanks to her ability to teleport and instantly cast death. |
| BlizzBall Sorceress | Focuses on fire and cold spells. The main skills are the Fireball and the Blizzard Spell. |
| Chain lightning Sorceress | Lightning Spells form this Build. The primary skill is the Chain Lightning. |
| Enchantress | The ‘Enchant’ spell, in combination with ‘Energy Shield’ or ‘Shiver Armor’. Deemed the best Enchantress build in Diablo II for hand to hand combat, when given the right gear. |
| Frozen Orb Sorceress | Cold spells, with ‘Frozen Orb’ as the main skill. The most common PvP Sorceress build thanks to ‘Frozen Orb’ and its huge area of effect. |
| Fire Ball Sorceress | The ‘Fire Ball’ and ‘Fire Mastery’ skill. Very powerful, unless the enemy has high levels of fire resistance. |
| FireWall Sorceress | Depends on the Fire Wall Spell in combination with lightning or cold spell as a secondary skill. |
| Melee Sorceress | Uses a combination of Enchant Spell and Lightning Mastery. |
| Meteorb Sorceress | Relies on both Cold and Fire Spells. The primary skills are the Meteor and the Frozen Orb. |
| Weatherwoman | Leveling up equally the three skills that strike from above, that is Blizzard, Thunder Storm, and Meteor. |
Trivia about the Sorceress in Diablo II
- There was much deliberation on the appearance of the Sorceress by the Diablo II Development team.
- Through her dialogue, the Sorceress is seen as an inquisitive character, eager to learn more about the things she sees.
