UPDATED: Hardcore Orb/TELEPORT/TK

Blind-Teleporting Budget MF Sorceress

DISCLAIMER: Huge read. The Hardcore Orb/TELEPORT/(tk) Blind-Teleporting Budget MF Sorceress is
formed from the collective knowledge of the good folks at the DII.net and AB Hardcore forums. I didn't
invent it; I just put it together. -By Socialism / Sunforge

Introduction
This is for poor/new-ladder legit players wanting an efficient and durable MFer.
Assumptions: untwinked, no-trade, solo hardcore play (softcore too). Shako, COH/HOTO/CTA,
torches etc. are shiny but unnecessary. This text is laid out to help you understand the
delicate underpinnings of this super-efficient magic finder.

NOTE: Already an expert? Never die teleporting? Skip to the build in the next post.
Then again, if youre already 1337, why are you reading a guide? Nooblet.

Blind-Teleporting
Correct teleporting means holding down teleport and watching the mini-map, ignoring all else.
Blind-Teleporting is the absolute fastest way to travel. With adequate faster cast rate (FCR),
faster hit recovery (FHR), faster block rate (FBR), and mana cost-to-regeneration ratio, it's also
the safest way.

Basic MF tenets
I hate MFing, so I maximized efficiency and minimized boredom, best expressed by my
super-aggressive playstyle. I blind-teleport exclusively in hardcore and have never lost an
MFer to it. Tenets:

Profit
Survival
Speed

Kill fast, live, and get drops worth the time invested.

1. Profit

Don't run Pits/Tunnels if you want volume finds. Great stuff drops, but very rarely. The Pits
may have the same arealvl as WSK, but Baal and minions drop exponentially better. I don't
recommend solo Baals unless you're an Enigma-din or Infinity user. If you have this stuff; stop
reading. Why do you still MF? Untwinked dual-element casters can Baal, but lack optimal safety.

that said.
 Hell Mephisto dies easily, doesn't need much MF for AWESOME drops, and has excellent
TC categories. Major deterrent? The journey from Durance 2 to Durance 3.

Note: "Glitching" bosses is very profitable. Make games with a character that's already
killed the boss for quest; kill the boss with a character that hasn't. This yields an enhanced
quest drop every time. Guaranteed.

2. Survival & 3. Speed (these go hand-in-hand)

a. Teleporting
*Barebones, a well-equipped teleporter has:
4-6 mana cost Teleport, 63% FCR, 30% FHR, 27% FBR, decent resistances, 75% block
*Ideally, a well-equipped teleporter has:
2-4 mana cost Teleport, 105% FCR, 60% FHR, 27% FBR, stacked resistances, 75% block

b. Mephisto
You only need cold/light resistance to run Hell Mephisto. Specialize. Don't fight every
monster
in the game. Fire/Poison resists aren't useful for teleporting through Durance 2.

c. Why most die to (a), some to (b), and what to learn from their mistakes

i. Section c. Part 1
Most die teleporting due to lag or "teleport lock," i.e. when something stops
you from teleporting.
You're swarmed by fanatic/extra strong/cursed dolls, RIP.

Teleport lock is caused by:

1. getting hit and going into recovery animation
2. blocking hits and going into recovery animation
3. getting hit and manaburned (stuck!)
4. running out of mana (see above)
5. teleporting on an item (corpse, well, chest, whatever)

Surviving/avoiding Teleport lock requires (in order of importance):

1. 9-frame cast rate or faster

2. 30%+ faster hit recovery
3. low (2-6 mana) Teleport cost (infinicast - keep reading)
4. good faster block recovery (27%+) and blocking (75%)
5. decent nerves
6. enough life to take 3-4 hits
7. 16-slot belt (row setup: purple, purple, red, blue)
Rationale

Teleport lock causes #1: getting hit and #2: blocking hits

Faster Cast Rate

Frame 13 12 11 10 9 8 7
FCR 0% 9% 20% 37% 63% 105% 200%

At 63% (9-frame) or 105% (8-frame) casting, most enemies won't complete their
attack animation before you've teleported away. I hold down teleport, watch
the mini map, and keep an eye on life/mana. 99% of the time, nothing hits me
because I don't stop to chat. If I do get hit, fine. Tap '2' or '3' for life. Don't panic.
If manaburned, tap '4' for mana and dont break stride.

Faster Hit Recovery

Frame 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6
FHR 0% 5% 9% 14% 20% 30% 42% 60% 86% 142%

If hit, you'll need 30%+ FHR to avoid teleport lock (#1). Higher is better. This
speeds up your hit recovery animation when hit for a certain % of life.
Match/beat your teleport cast rate to prevent hiccups. Think Bloodfist and rare
FHR boots/belts.

Faster Block Rate

Frame 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
FBR 0% 7% 15% 27% 48% 86% 200%

With a slow block rate and multiple fast-hitting/high AR monsters, you're likely
to get stuck in block animation from all the hits, aka "block lock." To avoid this,
you need a shield with FBR. Rhyme's ok, but upgraded Mosers
Circle/Visceratuant or Whitstan's Guard are superior. In a bind, a bone shield of
deflection (30% FBR / 20% increased blocking) with resists will do.

Teleport lock causes #3: getting hit, manaburn and #4: running out of mana

Invest in teleport (points in teleport > warmth; invest at a 4 or 3:1 ratio only if
you have to). The Orb/TK build can do this without losing too much efficiency.
With a 2-6 mana cost teleport, decent (100%+ish) mana regen, and 4-600 mana
from base energy (use charms if needed), you'll regenerate fast enough to
teleport indefinitely - even if manaburned. Still, chug blues just in case.
 Teleport lock cause #5: clicking on an item

Hold spacebar ("show items" key) while teleporting. This disables the cursor
from registering items. Alternatively, type /nopickup in the chatbox (great for
anyone killing Baals minions!).

ii. Section c. Part 2

75% blocking is key. Moat trick is slow and a ninja council member might kill
you. Teleport right up to Mephisto, Orb once to chill, then jam out Static Fields.
Ideally, your merc has 50/75% slow and tanks - walk back so Orbs are
sweetspotting (last Orb explodes inside Mephistos graphic). Repeat
until dead. Your A2 normal Defiance merc should use Kelpie Snare, Reapers
Toll, or Woestave.

Running Debates

Max Block vs. Vita

Why get hit if you don't have to? Max block has 75% chance of deflecting all
Mephisto's attacks excluding lightning/poison - which he won't use in melee.
Read: the 'Cold Ball' is blockable.

For a teleporter, max block > max vita because:

Faster Hit Recovery

Frame 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6
FHR 0% 5% 9% 14% 20% 30% 42% 60% 86% 142%

Realistically, with starting gear, you'll have 10 or 9-frame hit recovery, max.

Faster Block Rate

Frame 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
FBR 0% 7% 15% 27% 48% 86% 200%

With an easily acquired Whitstan's Guard or Visceratuant, you hit 6-frame

blocking.

What this means:

* Get hit while teleporting, teleport away in 10 or 9 frames.
* Block while teleporting, teleport away in 6 frames. That's a 75% chance to
escape 50% faster.
 Max vita: you can take ~10 hits, but are hit 80-85% of the time
(factoring in mediocre blocking from base dexterity). A stitch of lag
and you're dead.
Max block: you can take ~7 hits, but are hit only 25% of the time.
Argument's done for me; max block over max vita on a Meph MF
sorceress any day.

Frozen Armor vs. Shiver Armor

Shiver Armor apparently chills enemies when they begin their attack animation,
while Frozen Armor only kicks in after you take an unblocked hit. Go with Shiver
Armor; it's nice to escape unscathed.

63 vs. 105 FCR

Orb is on a timer. FCR is only used for Static/Teleport. You can teleport fine at 9
frames, but faster is better. Hit 105% if you can afford to, but don't stress if you
only hit 63% FCR.

Insight vs. Kelpie Snare vs. Teleport vs. Energy Shield vs. Ice Bolt
First off, I don't like being dependent on a mercenary for survival. If you rely on
Insight and don't invest in Teleport, fast-hitting manaburn mobs will kill you.
With 2-6 mana cost Teleports and decent mana regen, manaburn is a joke, even
without a mercenary.

Second, unless he's very well-dressed, Emilio will die vs. Andariel without a
source of slow or decrepify. With Kelpie Snare, he has a much better chance of
survival, so tack on another boss you can easily MF. Kelpie Snare + Blackhorn's
Face = 95% slow. Wow.

Energy Shield, like blocking, is just a buffer between damage and life. 55%
absorb coupled with fast mana regen/cheap teleports is enough to save you
from most teleport lock scenarios. Truth be told, Energy Shield is unnecessary -
but if you're untwinked... don't chance it. You'll end up whining.

>>> Let me be clear: I don't use Energy Shield on any sorceress I make (I only
play hardcore). Its mechanics scream "kill me" for a small handful of scenarios.
Not common, but prevalent. Thus.

The ONLY instance I will ever recommend the use of Energy Shield is for this
sorceress. This penniless, built-to-get-gear-for-other-characters, "I wear what I
found" sorceress. And only for teleporting through Durance 2. And only for
less-than-regen-mana-cost-cast teleport. And only with maxxed Telekinesis.
And perhaps if you have a less-than-broadband internet connection (~150++
ping).
Regarding Ice Bolt debates, here's an old (slightly modified) post of mine from
long ago:

Hell Mephisto has 94,320 life in a 1 player game. Assume he has

~50,000 life after Static Fielding, your merc tanks, and youre usually
sweetspotting (orb explosion inside Mephisto's graphic).

1) 20 Frozen Orb/Cold Mastery minimum band: 267 dmg

-115% cold resist modifier vs. Mephistos 75% cold resist: 372 dmg
imperfect 12-shard sweetspot hit: 4,469 dmg
50,000 / 4,469 = ~11.18 casts to kill

2) 20 Frozen Orb/Ice Bolt/Cold Mastery, minimum band: 366 dmg

-115% cold resist modifier vs. Mephistos 75% cold resist: 512 dmg
imperfect 12-shard sweetspot hit: 6,149 dmg
50,000 / 6,149 = ~8.13 casts to kill

You waste 19 points in Ice Bolt to save yourself 3-4 casts of Frozen Orb
to kill Mephisto.

Note that the analysis above is based on low-to-no +skill Frozen Orbs. I
absolutely recommend putting points into Ice Bolt: but only when you're filthy
stinking rich enough to make it worthwhile. Increasing 300 damage by 40%
(+120 damage) isn't much to brag about; increasing 600 damage by 40% (+240!
damage) is. Recap: points in Ice Bolt only "worth it" with a ton of +skills and +%
cold damage gear. Read this to see what 40% damage can help you get to.

Points into Energy Shield and prereqs vs. Memory staff

Memory's great, but finding a nice 4 os staff with +eshield or +shiver is tedious
and time consuming. Also, stash-switch prebuffing is irritating. I'd rather invest
the 4-5 points into energy shield so I can use Gull + Rhyme (125% MF) or Ali
Baba + Rhyme (~100% MF) on switch. More MF means more loot!
NEW! Rich jerk section!
Ok. For the irritating, deviant bastards out there who just won't let up, here's the 'legendary' (ha)
Socialism super-twink massive-damage full-game-Baal-teleporter pure Orber setup.

20 Ice Bolt
01 Frost Nova, Ice Blast, Spike, Blizzard, Frozen Armor, Shiver Armor
20 Frozen Orb
20 Cold Mastery
20 Warmth
10 Teleport
01 Telekinesis
01 Static Field

98 Done at level 87.

Q: "Por que no tiene Energy Shield?"

A: I'm not poor and I have a decent broadband connection.

Q: Skills?
A: 14 or 17, depending on gear setup. 15 or 18 with Battle Command.

Q: Gieb gear piece by piece equipment plz? lol

A: No.

Hints!
-----
- 8-frame cast rate
- no dupewords
- lightning absorb
- around 1.1k-1.25k damage per shard
- meets or exceeds all breakpoints save for [B]one[/B] glaring omission!

Now that's all covered, finally, the build/setup.

Stat Setup
STR: 45 is safe, or enough for gear (perfectionism discouraged if untwinked)
DEX: enough for max (75%) block
VIT: everything else
ENE: 0

Skill Setup
1 Ice Bolt, Frost Nova, Ice Blast, Spike, Blizzard, Frozen Armor, Shiver Armor
20 Frozen Orb
20 Cold Mastery
20 Telekinesis
1-5 Static Field (untwinked, this knocks out levels 6-30 *fast*)
10-20 Teleport (enough for ~2-6 mana cost)
1 Charged Bolt, Lightning, Chain Lightning
1-5 Energy Shield (~55% after +skills)
1-5 Warmth

Skill Point Progression

1 all cold prerequisites ASAP
1 Warmth, Frozen Armor
1 Static Field (storebought +3 Static staff, Frost Nova, & merc gets to level 24 fast)
1 Telekinesis
10 Teleport
12 Frozen Orb and Cold Mastery simultaneously
max Frozen Orb
add to Teleport to balance with mana regen (close in on infinicast* manacost)
max Cold Mastery
1-5 into Energy Shield (~50-60% with endgame +skills)
max Telekinesis- rest Warmth/whatever

Build done ~level 72 - 94, depending on the awesomeness of your end-game gear
*Note: Infinicast = able to cast ad infinitum without losing mana.

Early Untwinked Levels

This character does fine solo/untwinked without any external help. 12-24 takes patience. Rely
on Emilio, a sapphire/topaz Hunter's Bow, and static field - you'll get there in 2-3 hours,
depending on drop luck. A storebought +3 static staff takes you to A4 easily.

Pick up and sell anything worth more than 400 gold (throwing weapons for the win) and
FILL YOUR INVENTORY WITH MANA POTIONS. I cannot stress this enough. It'll make you a
decent caster early on. Don't be lazy.
Random Dirt-Cheap Equipment Suggestions (superior | inferior)
Weapon:.... Wizardspike (huge FCR, huge res) | Spirit | Spectral Shard
Shield:*.... Upgraded Mosers Circle/Visceratuant | Whitstan's Guard
Switch:.... Gull + "Rhyme" Shield (MF) | Ali Baba + Milabrega's Shield
Head:*.... Rockstopper (Shael it!) | Tarnhelm | 3 p-topaz mask | Rare**
Armor:*.... Vipermagi (skill, FCR, res - hands down best) | Smoke Armor | "Stealth" Armor
Hands:.... Magefist (FCR) | Bloodfist (FHR) | FHR/res rare
Belt:.... Bladebuckle (FHR) | Tal's belt | 16-slot FHR dual/tri-res Rare**
Amulet:.... +skill/fcr/res | Tancred Amulet/Boots combo | Nokozan Relic | MF/FCR/res Rare**
Rings 1/2:.... MF/mana/life/res Rare (get what you can; I used FCR/Mana)**
Feet:.... Hotspur | FHR/FRW/MF dual/tri-res Rare** | Tancred Amulet/Boots combo

* Perfect diamonds in shield, ruby/topaz elsewhere; resist jewel in Wizardspike

** FHR, resistances, life, mana - get what you can, really

Inventory:
Life/mana charms, FHR/resistances to reach breakpoints. Torch/annihilus are great but unnecessary.
Untwinked/no-trade folks shouldnt plan around notoriously hard to get items since the build
functions just fine without them anyway.

Side note: Ive soloed the Diablo Clone with this build at least 5 times its a long test of potions and
patience. Half-hour kill, anyone? Spawn him in the Den of Evil to avoid surprises. This character isn't
built for clone-killing; avoid unless you're reckless like me.

Normal A2 Defiance (Defensive) Mercenary

My ultimate not-quite-budget Hell Meph merc setup:

Weapon:.... Kelpie Snare (Shael | Eth | Tal*)

Armor:.... Eth "Duress" glitched Armor ~1k base def (FHR, OW, CB, Res)
Helm:.... Eth Blackhorn's Face (Shael) | Eth Vampire Gaze** (Cham) (bahahaha)

Reasonable Alternative (armor/helm preferably ethereal):

Weapon:.... Kelpie Snare (Shael | Eth)

Armor:.... Treachery | Duriel's Shell
Helm:.... Blackhorn's Face | Rockstopper (Shael it!) | Tal Rasha's Mask**

*Poison negates enemy healing. Ignore if using Treachery [Venom cancels duration]

**Mercenaries can't lifesteal from Mephisto without Life Tap

Mercenary vs. damage vs. exploding dolls
Assumptions:

Normal A2 Defiance merc, level 95, perfect hit, perfect %ed Kelpie Snare and perfect 20%ed
Duress Armor
Bone Fetish (exploder) types have 27896249 life in 1-player hell games

Kelpie Type Max Damage*

Upgraded Ethereal 2943 (4% chance of 1-hit kill)
Upgraded 2037
Ethereal 1319
Regular 690
*Obviously, significantly less for lower-level mercs using less-than-perfect equipment.

A 1-hit killed monster (~2900 life) exploding for 100% life vs. a 55% energy shield 75% fire-resist sorc
does 1595 mana damage and 815 life damage. Moral: Don't use Up'd Eth Perfect Kelpie Snare unless
you have a ton of HP (1000++) to spare.

Note: Ironically, this build gets safer with more players in game. More players in the game makes it
impossible for your merc to 1-hit kill anything. If you have someone to BO/split drops with or an extra set
of CDkeys, congratulations. Youve got it made.

Addendum: Mercenary Survival

There have been many inquiries about how to keep your mercenary alive vs. Mephisto/Andariel/Act
Bosses in general. Before we dip in to survival techniques, there are three things to understand.

1. Mercenaries take increased damage from Act Bosses. From the Arreat Summit:

Hirelings vs. Bosses

Hireling damage is 50% against Bosses in Normal, 35% in Nightmare, and 25% in
Hell difficulties. Additionally, Hirelings takes(sic) 10 times more damage from End Act
Bosses.

2. There are four variables in the chance to hit of an attack. Attacker Level, Attacker
Attack Rating, Defender Level, and Defender Defense Rating. The formula heavily
weighs in attacker/defender level variation. Outside a certain range, if attacker level is
higher than defender level, the attacker's chance to hit (and conversely, defender's
chance to avoid being hit) skyrockets.
 From diabloii.net's Facts & Formulae Archive:

Chance to Hit
100 * AR / (AR + DR) * 2 * alvl / (alvl + dlvl)
AR = Attack Rating; alvl = Level of Attacker; dlvl = Level of Defender; DR = Defense
Rating

3. The longer it takes you to kill Mephisto, the more likely your mercenary will die.

Mercenary Survival Tactics

1. Reduce attack damage and/or frequency
a. reduce damage of enemy attacks
Dumb. Through gear damage reduction %. Mephisto does 1000% (10x) damage to
Emilio.
Shaftstop reduces received damage by 35%.
1000% - 35% = 965%. Whoop tee doo. Yes, that's the correct calculation.

Smart. Through curses; i.e. Decrepify from Reaper's Toll. This reduces dealt damage by
50%
so it's really 'only' 500% damage.

b. diminish frequency of enemy attacks

Awesome. Blackhorn's Face + Kelpie Snare = 95% slow target
(I've found this safer than using Reaper's Toll for decrepify)

2. Dilute target pool by helping to tank

Only Emilio takes 10x damage from Mephisto, not you. Teleport directly onto Mephisto and take
some of the heat off while staticking.

3. Normalize attack/defense ratings by matching levels

The most significant way to simultaneously diminish your merc's number of landed hits
and increase his number of landed attacks is to raise his level closer to Mephisto's (mlvl 87).

4. Work on your aim

A direct sweet-spot Orb explosion will do significantly more damage than a slightly off 'sweet
spot' Orb. Kill Mephisto in 10 seconds vs. 16 seconds; each additional second gets you closer to
losing 50k gold.
Hotkey setup
QWERT
ASDF
Z_C
Shift
Spacebar

Q: Shiver Armor prep

W: Energy Shield prep
E: Frozen Orb
R: Glacial Spike
T: Telekinesis my favorite; speeds up potion fetching, chests, portals/wps, etc.
A: Teleport
S: Frost Nova
D: --
F: Static Field
Z: Tome of Town Portal never TP from the inventory again!
C: Character Screen Im a sucker for compulsive checking
Shift: Stand Still
Spacebar: Show Items - easy thumb rest, prevents hitting the Windows key

Weapon switch on a third mouse button.

General Killing
Put Orb on the left mouse button (LMB) and leave it there. Use shift (stand still) to stationary-cast.
Hotkey everything else to the right mouse button (RMB). When you can afford the mana cost, dont
walk or run only teleport. Its faster and safer: it accurately indicates lag and maintains 75% block all
the time. Make this a habit. Orb first, talk later. Cast Static Field between Orbs until its useless, then
cast Glacial Spikes to freeze enemies for increased safety while 'sweetspotting'.

A safe rudimentary hardcore MFer progression

1. Get to nightmare (NM) ~level 35, quickly get Den/Rhadament skill quests
2. Run normal Travincal/Mephisto/Shenk/Eldritch/Crystalline/Ancient's/Baal until ~level 50 with
50%+ fire/cold/light resist in NM, 48% FCR, 50%+ block, maybe some life/mana charms; move
on to NM Mephisto
3. Run NM Mephisto until ~level 55 with 75% cold/light res in NM, 63% FCR, 75% block, and 30%
FHR; add NM Andariel and Baal to the kill list
4. Run NM Andariel/Mephisto/Baal until ~level 75 with 50%+ fire 75% cold/light res in Hell, 27%
FBR, Woestave (50% slow) or Kelpie Snare (75% slow) for your mercenary; move on to Hell
Mephisto
5. Tack on Hell Andariel to the kill list if youre confidently running Hell Mephisto
Okay, thats the lot. Thanks to the dii.net and AB crews for everything! Special mention goes to
temporary unemployment for driving me to write this.

Enjoy!

Now go get rich so you can tell me all about it.

- Socialism / Sunforge

Last edited: Oct. 18, 2011