[Sorc] AoE Builds Discussion

[TreefAM]

For pure dps I honestly think that Piercing shadows > 40feet Surging Pain though
Though I could be wrong, never really ran Lengthening Shadows in any meaningful fights unlike Piercing Shadows.

[Caduceus]

I wasn't sold on Piercing Shadows personally. The 375 pure damage isn't bad, but I find it hard to get a workable rotation (especially on the move) without incorporating Surging Pain, which cannot trigger backlash. Also DC can only trigger backlash once.

[TreefAM]

On the move when aoe bombing I often pop a single tick of PoS a single tick of SK, obviously IW on cd, if you're lucky you just get free dmg out of those spells.

[dwyur]

Your spells hit far enough as it is for Lenghtening Shadows to be worth it, unless you are for some reason not with the melee blob but bombing from range which doesn't make sense anyhow.
You never want to replace Frozen Fury it's just too strong and Glorious Carnage only matters if you have more than 3 sorcs in the wb running it. What's the point of having 1 m2 faster than the rest when you have to wait for a morale drop anyhow?
At that point better take infernal gift and just buff the choppa in your party.

About the morale tactic, yeah I have seem that suggested like just above your post for more Shatter spam but in my opinion Focused Mind -> Shattered Shadows spam on a squishy target within blob can do a lot of damage/usually clears out an area. I guess it's all situational/preference- I'm not sure how quickly the morale tactic gives x amount more Shatters but I would think Piercing Shadows or Tapping the Dark would be better than the morale tactic.

Endless Knowledge/Neverending Agony/Frozen Fury/______, with 4th being Piercing Shadows / Lengthening Shadows / Tapping the Dark possibly would be best.

[SepticDisaster]

Is alt sov worthwhile beyond mixing 2–3 pieces with offensive sov? The set bonuses seem appealing for an AoE bombing playstyle, I’m wondering if the loss of offensive set bonuses is worth it?

[Caduceus]

Is alt sov worthwhile beyond mixing 2–3 pieces with offensive sov? The set bonuses seem appealing for an AoE bombing playstyle, I’m wondering if the loss of offensive set bonuses is worth it?

I've experimented with 8/8 alt sov a lot and found it to be excellent in situations where you're lacking group support, or where raw damage output isn't paramount.

In a organized warband vs. organized warband engagement, max damage output is probably your best bet.


Basically, when you're in a pug or when you're in an organized warband versus mostly pugs, there are good arguments for running with alt sov instead:

- The extra defenses are useful when you're strapped for heals / guard, or taking on superior numbers and thus having to soak higher damage spikes.
- The snare proc is extremely punishing, making it hard for other warbands to flee, especially with Lengthening Shadows IW. Very strong to force warbands into combat.
- The extra radius alt sov ability is amazing, working on IW, Ice Spikes and Surging Pain (and some other abilities I forgot, doesn't include PoS and Shadow Knives though). This allows you to hit entire lord rooms at once, and the potential damage output is just incredible. On a 2 min cooldown the uptime is fair. You'll have it on most important engagements. It also combines well with the snare proc - your IW will hit up to 130 yards iirc.

All in all, alt sov is a very strong addition to your toolkit. However, I would probably prioritize an offensive set/build first, unless you're playing exclusively pugs.

[SepticDisaster]

Excellent info, thanks.