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.
Check the build tier lists to see how this build compares to others on Icy Veins.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- High sustained damage
- Simple playstyle
- Multiple defensive skills and crowd controls for survivability
- Damage reliant on Lucky Hit procs
- Requires melee range
- Lacks survivability when Defensive Skills or crowd controls are inactive
Quick Navigation
Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to sections.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
Arc Lash
Unstable Currents
Teleport
Flame Shield
Ice Armor
FamiliarThe 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 always active against Staggered Bosses, as they count as being affected by all types of crowd controls.
Wondering what comes after Level 60? Head to the Paragon Board section to power up the build even further. If you want to see how everything plays out in combat, check out the Rotation and Playstyle section for a quick breakdown.
Sorcerer Class Mechanic – Enchantments
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, Stats, Gems, and Runes
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. For the best results, combine these Aspects with the ideal Stat Priorities.
| 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 by Flickerstep) | 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. |
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Arc Lash Sorcerers, ranked by importance. Affixes on the same line have equal value, so attempt to obtain all affixes in each line before moving on to the next. Bolded affixes are the most important targets for Masterworking upgrades. For more details, check the Tempering and Masterworking guides.
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.
↑ Back to Legendary Gear Table
| 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 TwiceShock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage |
| Helm | 1. Cooldown Reduction 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | Natural Schemes (Utility): Barrier GenerationWorldly 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 | Natural Schemes (Utility): Barrier GenerationWorldly 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 DamageNatural Schemes (Utility): Barrier Generation |
| Pants | 1. Ranks to Arc Lash 2. Any uncapped Resistances or Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | Natural Schemes (Utility): Barrier GenerationWorldly 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 ReductionNatural Schemes (Utility): Barrier Generation |
| Amulet | 1. Ranks to Hoarfrost and Inner Flames 2. Intelligence, Critical Strike Chance, Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed | Natural Motion (Mobility): Evade Cooldown ReductionShock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage |
| Rings | 1. Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence | Ultimate Efficiency — Sorcerer (Resource): Unstable Currents Cooldown ReductionShock Finesse (Offensive): Shock Critical Strike Damage |
Uniques and Mythic Uniques
Listed below are the recommended and optional Unique and Mythic Unique Items for the Arc Lash Sorcerer build. Each item description includes the most important affix to target for Masterworking upgrades. Check the Mythic Unique Items Guide for information on target-farming them.
- 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
- 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
- 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
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the recommended Gems and Runewords to socket into your gear.
Gems
| 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). |
Runewords
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. Check the Runewords Guide for more details.
| 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. |
Paragon Board
Use the following Paragon Boards, Legendary Nodes, and Glyphs for the Arc Lash Sorcerer.
Boss Powers (Season 8)
In the Season of Belial’s Return (Season 8), equip the following Boss Powers to enhance this build.
Main: 
Beast in the Ice’s Sleet — After casting 3 Skills which apply Crowd Control or Stagger effects, shoot out sleet spikes that deal [800%] Cold damage and Freeze enemies for 2 seconds.
Modifier:
Hatred’s Embrace’s Haste: Gain + [5%]Critical Strike Chance, increased by +0.5% for each 1% of Shadow Resistance you have, up to a maximum of + [50%].
Sinerat’s Flames: Gain x [5%] increased damage to all Elements. For each 1% of an Element’s Resistance from bonuses, gain x0.2% increased damage for that Element, up to a maximum of x [25%].
Flesh Reaper’s Disruption: Gain x [5%] Vulnerable Damage, increased by x0.5% for each 1% of Crowd Control Duration Bonus you have, up to a maximum of x [20%]. - Note: Use a Crowd Control Duration temper to increase this bonus.
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
- Skills:
- Reinforcement: Raheir
- Skill:
Bastion - Opportunity: Cast when the player becomes Injured
- Skill:
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.
Rotation and Playstyle
Use the following rotation to optimize damage.
- 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.
- Activate Unstable Currents often, as the Cooldown is reduced frequently.
- Spam Arc Lash to deal damage.
- Activate Ice Armor or Flame Shield for protection or to refresh the buff from
Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop.
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.
Elixir of Precision provides the highest damage output increase, if not already capped at 100% Critical Strike Chance.
Elixir of Advantage increases damage output, if not already capped at 100% Attack Speed bonus from gear and Paragon.
Elixir of Fortitude is the best general-purpose option for survivability.
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.
Season 8 Updates
A brief summary of the seasonal changes are provided below. For a complete overview of Season 8, take a look at the comprehensive season guide.
Fists of Fate no longer applies random crowd controls.- Worldly Fortune can no longer apply any crowd control tempers.
- Aspect of Concussive Strikes no longer provides increased damage.
Changelog
- May 4, 2025: Optimized Boss Powers.
- April 26, 2025: Guide updated for Season 8 (Patch 2.2.0)
- 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.
