Build Introduction
The Incinerate Hydra Sorcerer is the best leveling build for a new character in Season 9. 
Incinerate excels at clearing groups of enemies when lined up, and it can be channeled to ramp up devastating damage against bosses. 
Hydra creates a turret to deal additional single-target damage, while allowing you to continue moving or channeling.
Depending on your luck with finding 
Flamethrower’s Aspect or Serpentine Aspect, you can build more towards Incinerate or Hydra to deal the majority of the damage output. Your preference on playstyle can also determine which Skill you rely on more.
Another similar leveling build featuring Hydra is the Firewall Hydra Sorcerer. Check the Sorcerer Leveling Guide Overview for a comparison of all the starter builds on Icy Veins.
Once your character reaches Level 60, switch to the Endgame Build Guide for the Hydra Sorcerer.
Quick Navigation
Want to skip ahead? Use the table below to jump to sections.
Allocation of Skill Points
The following table shows the order in which to allocate your Skill Points while leveling with the Incinerate Hydra Sorcerer build. You gain 59 points at Level 60 and 12 points from Renown, for a total of 71.
Skill Bar and Skill Tree Points
IncinerateHydra
Inferno
Familiar
Teleport
Frost NovaIf you are unsure on how to use these Skills, read the Build Mechanics section after setting up your Skill Bar.
Wondering what comes after Level 60 or which Paragon boards to pick? Head to the Sorcerer Builds page and choose an endgame build to continue your character progression.
Sorcerer Class Mechanic — Enchantments
The Specialization of the Sorcerer can be unlocked at Level 15. Complete the Legacy of the Magi questline as soon as possible to gain access to your first Enchantment Slot, and then assign 
Fireball for group clearing. Once you unlock the second slot at Level 30, assign Hydra to it.
Gear, Stats, Gems, and Runes
The following sections cover the important systems that are essential to improving the power of your character during the leveling process. Higher Item Power generally indicates stronger gear, but you should also consider the affixes and effects that are relevant to your class and build.
Legendary Aspects
Serpentine Aspect and Flamethrower’s Aspect are the most beneficial Aspects that can randomly drop while leveling an Incinerate Hydra Sorcerer. Salvage any Legendary Item with these Aspects at the Blacksmith to add them to your Codex of Power, and then visit the Occultist to imprint them onto well-rolled Rare or Legendary Items.
An Amulet is recommended for imprinting important Aspects for a +50% bonus effect, because it does not need to be replaced as often as weapons. Imprint an Aspect onto a Staff for a +100% bonus effect. Check the in-depth Aspect and Codex of Power guide for more information.
Listed below are the Aspects found on Legendary Items that are beneficial for the build while leveling, in order of importance. Check the Endgame Build Guide for the Hydra Sorcerer for the best-in-slot Aspect setup.
| Aspect Name | Legendary Aspect Power | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Serpentine Aspect | Hydras deals x [0.5 – 1.50%] increased damage per Mana you had when Summoned. Casting Hydra Consumes all of your Mana. | Random Drop |
| Flamethrower’s Aspect | Incinerate splits into 3 beams, each dealing [70 – 85%] of normal damage. | Random Drop |
| Aspect of Engulfing Flames | You deal x6% increased Burning damage to enemies for each second they remain Burning, up to x30% after 5 seconds. Additionally, you deal x [10 – 30%] increased Burning damage to enemies that are not Healthy. | Random Drop |
| Aspect of Conflagration | While channeling Incinerate, your Burning damage is increased by x [25 – 40%]. Enemies hit by Incinerate explode, Burning all surrounding enemies for [X] over 3 seconds. This effect occurs once per 4 seconds. | Light’s Watch, Fractured Peaks |
| Aspect of Creeping Death | You deal x [5 – 20%] increased damage over time to enemies for each different Crowd Control effect they’re afflicted by. Unstoppable enemies and Staggered Bosses take x [10 – 40%] increased damage over time from you instead. | Random Drop |
| Edgemaster’s Aspect | Skills deal up to [10 – 20%] increased damage based on your available Primary Resource when cast, receiving the maximum benefit while you have full Primary Resource. | Oldstones, Scosglen |
| Conceited Aspect | Deal [15 – 25%] increased damage while you have a Barrier active. | Random Drop |
| Aspect of Control | You deal [20 – 35%] more damage to Immobilized, Stunned, or Frozen enemies. | Sunken Library, Kehjistan |
| Battle Caster’s Aspect | Lucky Hit: When your Conjuration Skills hit you have up to a [25 – 45%] chance to gain +1 Rank to your Conjuration skills for 12 seconds. This can stack up to 10 times. | Random Drop |
 Aspect of the Bounding Conduit | Gain [25 – 30%] Movement Speed for 3 seconds after Teleporting. | Komdor Temple, Dry Steppes |
Stat Priority and Tempering Affixes
Listed below are the affixes to prioritize on gear for Incinerate Hydra Sorcerers during the early leveling process, 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.
When comparing weapons with similar item levels, Two-Handed Staves are preferred over One-Handed Weapons for higher damage while leveling.
The most beneficial tempering affixes while leveling are included below. The best-in-slot tempering affixes are available in the Endgame Build Guide for the Hydra Sorcerer. Check the Tempering Guide for more information on this system.
| Slot | Gear Affixes | Tempering Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | 1. Damage Over Damage 2. Maximum Life, Dexterity | 1. Weapon —  Conjuration Augments: Casted Hydras Have Additional Heads, or Pyromancy Augments — Fiery: Chance for Incinerate to do Double Damage2. Offensive — Conjuration Finesse: Hydra Damage, or Pyromancy Finesse: Fire Damage |
| Focus (optional) | 1. Cooldown Reduction, Resource Cost Reduction 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Weapon — Conjuration Augments: Casted Hydras Have Additional Heads, or Pyromancy Augments — Fiery: Chance for Incinerate to do Double Damage 2. Offensive — Conjuration Finesse: Hydra Damage, or Pyromancy Finesse: Fire Damage |
| Helm | 1. Mana per Second, Cooldown Reduction 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor |
| Chest | 1. Mana per Second, Ranks to Defensive Skills 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor |
| Gloves | 1. Ranks to Incinerate, Resource Cost Reduction 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Damage, Over Time, Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Offensive — Conjuration Finesse: Hydra Damage, or Pyromancy Finesse: Fire Damage |
| Pants | 1. Resistances, Armor 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Worldly Endurance (Defensive): Armor |
| Boots | 1. Mana per Second, Movement Speed 2. Resistances, Armor 3. Maximum Life, Intelligence | 1. Natural Motion (Mobility): Movement Speed, or any available Movement Speed temper |
| Amulet | 1. Ranks to Primordial Binding, Endless Pyre, Hoarfrost, and Inner Flames 2. Intelligence, Cooldown Reduction, Resource Cost Reduction, Movement Speed 3. Resistances, Armor | 1. Worldly Stability (Resource): Resource Generation or Resource Cost Reduction 2. Offensive — Conjuration Finesse: Hydra Damage, or Pyromancy Finesse: Fire Damage |
| Rings | 1. Resource Cost Reduction 2. Maximum Life, Intelligence, Damage Over Time, Vulnerable Damage, Critical Strike Damage | Worldly Stability (Resource): Resource Generation or Resource Cost Reduction 2. Offensive — Conjuration Finesse: Hydra Damage, or Pyromancy Finesse: Fire Damage |
↑ Back to Legendary Gear Table
Gems and Runewords
Listed below are the best Gems and Runes to socket into gear for each item type.
Gems
| Weapon Gems | Armor Gems | Jewelry Gems |
|---|---|---|
 Amethyst for increased Damage Over Time. |  Topaz for Intelligence. | Any Resistance Gems needed or  Skull for Armor (up to the 1,000 Armor cap). |
Runewords
Runes are drop after unlocking them during the Vessel of Hatred campaign. A Rune of Offering and a Rune of Invocation can be combined by inserting them into equipment with 2 available sockets, creating a Runeword. A limit of 2 Runewords can be equipped.
Listed below are the best Runewords utilizing Magic and Rare Runes that are beneficial for this build. The best-in-slot Runewords utilizing Legendary Runes are in the Endgame Guide for the Hydra Sorcerer.
| Runewords | Effects |
|---|---|
 Neo Ceh | Gain: 200 Offering — Deal damage after not taking any within 2 seconds. (Resets if Invulnerable.) Requires: 100 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Summon a Spirit Wolf to attack enemies for 8 seconds. |
 Cir Qua | Gain: 300 Offering — Cast 5 Skills then become exhausted for 3 seconds. Requires: 50 Offering, Cooldown: 1 Second — Gain 10% Movement Speed for 5 seconds, up to 50%. |
Horadric Spells and Jewels (Season 9)
Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim offers seasonal powers that can be utilized to enhance this build. Access Horadic Spells from the Powers tab in the character sheet, and place Horadic Jewels into Jewelry slots.
Unlocking specific powers for a build is challenging due to their random appearance, so utilize any that provide the most damage. Check the Endgame Guide for the Hydra Sorcerer for the best-in-slot setup.
Mercenaries
Once the Den is unlocked during the main questline in the Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4, complete the Mercenary key quests to acquire them. Hire a Mercenary and enlist a Reinforcement in the following setup.
- Hired Mercenary: Raheir
- Skills:
Ground Slam, 
Raheir’s Aegis, 
Bastion, 
Inspiration
- Skills:
- Reinforcement: Varyana
- Skill:
Bloodthirst - Opportunity: Cast when the player casts Inferno
- Skill:
Build Mechanics
The Incinerate Hydra Sorcerer is a hybrid build utilizing multiple Skills to apply Burning damage. Hydra and Familiar can be cast before channeling Incinerate to deal maximum damage.
Primordial Binding gains stacks through casts of Hydra and Familiar, and Ceh if you happen to have it.
Rotation and Playstyle
Engage battles at range with the following rotation.
- Cast Familiar every 8 seconds. Ensure that the previous Skill cast was a Pyromancy Skill to summon a Fire Familiar. All 3 charges of Familiar can be cast against bosses and tough elites.
- Cast Hydra up to 2 times to spit fire at enemies.
- Cast
Frost Nova near enemies to apply Vulnerable from Mystical Frost Nova. - Cast Inferno to Pull groups of enemies together.
- Channel Incinerate while above 50 Mana to utilize
Elemental Dominance for optimal DPS.
Elixirs
Visit the Alchemist in any main town to craft helpful Elixirs that increase stats and experience gain for 30 minutes. Make sure to forage plants for 
Bundled Herbs during your adventures; they randomly spawn around the world. Elixirs can also drop randomly from enemies and chests during many activities in Diablo 4.
Listed below are the best Elixirs to consume while leveling the Incinerate Sorcerer, ranked by importance.
Elixir of Resource helps with Mana issues, if you do not already have the appropriate Mana gear. This elixir is highly recommended for starting characters to maintain constant channeling of Incinerate.
Elixir of Advantage provides the highest damage increase for Hydra.
Return to the Alchemist every 10 Levels to upgrade your potion. The extra healing is essential to survival.
Season 9 Updates
A brief summary of the seasonal changes is provided below. For a complete overview of Season 9, take a look at the comprehensive season guide.
- Incinerate
- Starting damage increased from 120% to 150%.
- Maximum ramp up damage increased from 162% to 203%.
- Hydra
- No longer has a Mana cost.
- Damage increased from 23% to 35%.
- Lucky Hit Chance increased from 2.5% to 5%.
- Inferno: Damage increased from 354% to 425%.
Combustion - Previously: Your Burning effects deal 60%[x] increased damage, and an additional 25%[x] of your Burning Damage and Damage to Burning target bonuses.
- Now: Your Burning effects deal 50%[x] increased damage, and an additional 20%[x] of your Burning Damage and Damage to Burning target bonuses, up to 100%[x].
- Serpentine Aspect
- Previously: You may have 1 additional Hydra active, and Hydra’s duration is increased by 10-30%.
- Now: Casting Hydra Consumes all your Mana to increase its damage by 0.5-2.5% per Mana spent.
- Battle Caster’s Aspect: Maximum stacks increased from 5 to 10.
Changelog
- June 27, 2025: Guide updated for Season 9 (Patch 2.3.0)
- April 26, 2025: Guide updated for Season 8 (Patch 2.2.0).
- January 19, 2025: Guide updated for Season 7 (Patch 2.1.0).
- 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 created for Season 4 (Patch 1.4.0).
