The Ultimate Firewall Sorcerer Build Guide for Diablo 4 (Season 1)

Introduction

Are you ready to unleash the power of fire in Diablo 4? The Firewall Sorceress build is designed for those who crave the fiery destruction that only a seasoned sorcerer can bring. With high Mana Regeneration and the ability to deal significant Burning Damage over time, this build is perfect for melting enemies both in AoE and single target encounters. It also offers self-defense options like Flame Shield and Frost Nova.

However, it’s important to note that this build may not be as viable as the Ice Shards or Blizzard Sorcerer builds for endgame content. With that caution in mind, let’s dive into the details of this powerful build.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Before we delve into the build specifics, let’s take a quick look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Firewall Sorcerer build. To see how it compares to other builds, you can check out our build tier list.

Season of the Malignant

Season 1 Patch Updates

The Season 1 Patch Update brings some changes specific to the Firewall build. Here’s a summary:

• Devouring Blaze bonus Critical Strike damage reduced from 10/20/30% to 7/14/21%.
• Devouring Blaze bonus Critical Strike damage to Immobilized reduced from 25/50/75% to 10/20/30%.
• Aspect of Retribution bonus damage to Stunned reduced from 20-40% to 10-20%.
• Aspect of Disobedience maximum stacks reduced from 100 to 60, reducing maximum Bonus Armor % from 25%-50% to 15%-30%.
• Protection Barrier duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
• Mana Shield Damage Reduction increased from 5/10/15% to 7/14/21%.
• Fiery Surge Mana Regeneration increased from 10/20/30% to 15/30/45%.
• Elemental Dominance now also affects Mastery Skills instead of just Core Skills.
• Destruction Glyph now affects all damage instead of just Core Skills.
• Fixed an issue where Aspect of Control was applying its damage bonus 3 times for Staggered bosses.

These changes result in a decrease in damage output for the Firewall Sorcerer due to the nerf to Devouring Blaze and the fix to Aspect of Control. However, buffs to Elemental Dominance and Destruction improve the synergy with Firewall. Together with the Creeping Death Malignant Heart, this may elevate the Firewall build to a top pick for Sorcerers in Season 1.

Patch 1.1.1

The second major update for Season 1, Patch 1.1.1, brings some much-needed buffs to Sorcerers. The notable change directly affecting the Firewall build is:

• Combustion: Your Burning effects deal x20% increased damage, plus an additional x2% increased damage per unique source of Burning you have applied to the enemy.

Best Malignant Hearts Tier List for Firewall Sorcerer

The Season 1 theme introduces Malignant Hearts that provide build-altering bonuses. These hearts are divided into four categories, each with a corresponding color that needs to be socketed in the respective Malignant Socket on equipped jewelry. Wrathful Hearts are a special case due to their rarity and can be placed in any Socket.

Always prioritize socketing Malignant Hearts over Skulls in jewelry, as they provide an Armor bonus that scales with their Item Power.

Here’s the Malignant Heart Tier List for the Firewall build, ranked by importance. The listed stats reflect what a level 20 character would receive as a drop.

1. Caged Heart of Creeping Death (Wrathful, Super): Your damage over time effects are increased by 30-40% for each different Crowd Control effect on the target. Unstoppable monsters and Staggered bosses instead take 110-130% increased damage from your damage over time effects.
2. Caged Heart of Tal’Rasha (Vicious, Offensive): For each unique element you deal damage with, you deal 7-12% increased damage for 3-10 seconds. – Fixed in Patch 1.1.2 to be correctly calculated as multiplicative instead of additive.
3. Caged Heart of Revenge (Brutal, Defensive-World Tier III): 10-20% of incoming damage is instead suppressed. When you use a Defensive, Subterfuge, or a Macabre skill, all suppressed damage is amplified by 250% and explodes, dealing up to 1360-2040 Fire damage to nearby enemies.
4. Caged Heart of Spellbreaking (Brutal, Defensive): Upon taking Elemental Damage, gain 10-20% Damage Reduction for 5 seconds. – Buffed in Patch 1.1.1 to reduce all damage taken, instead of providing resistances to individual elements.
5. Caged Heart of Determination (Devious, Utility): Resource draining effects are 40-50% less effective. In addition, gain 3.0-8.0% increased Resource Generation.

Skill Tree Points and Skill Bar

To maximize the potential of the Firewall Sorcerer build, it’s crucial to allocate Skill Points effectively. The following tables show the full allocation of Skill Points:

[Skill Tree Points Table]

[Skill Bar Table]

Enchantment Slots

In the first Enchantment Slot, equip Firewall, as it has a chance to trigger two additional Firewalls underneath enemies when they take burning damage. For the second Enchantment Slot, equip Meteor. This skill immobilizes enemies and applies another Burning damage source when the Lucky Hit procs.

Paragon

The Paragon progression system unlocks after reaching Level 50 and offers a considerable boost to character power. Here are the most beneficial nodes for the Firewall Sorcerer build, sorted in the order obtained in Paragon:

[Paragon Nodes Table]

Mechanics and Playstyle

The Firewall build revolves around unleashing devastating Damage Over Time (DoT) effects with Firewall. Combustion enhances the damage by applying other sources of Burning damage from Fire Bolt, Meteor, Flame Shield, and Inferno.

Burning Instinct from the Paragon system allows Critical Strike Damage to be applied to Burning Damage, effectively benefiting from Devouring Blaze and Critical Strike Damage on gear.

With nearly impenetrable defense and unmatched burning damage, the Fire Sorceress can remain relatively stationary during combat. The Flame Shield skill provides excellent protection and heals the character.

Meteor is not equipped on the Skill Bar but procs through Meteor Enhancement, providing an additional source of Burning damage and Aspect of Control. During Inferno, enemies are drawn together, making it easier to burn multiple targets simultaneously. Notably, Pyromancy Skills have no Mana cost during Inferno.

Damage Rotation

To optimize DPS, follow the rotation below:

1. If you have Raiment of the Infinite, teleport onto enemies to group and stun them.
2. Cast Firewall under enemies.
3. Cast Flame Shield and run through enemies to Immobilize them.
4. Cast Frost Nova to Freeze enemies.
5. Use Inferno to group enemies up and freely spam Firewall if needed.
6. Spam Fire Bolt to regenerate Mana.

Gear Choice and Stat Priority in the Endgame

While adventuring through Sanctuary, be on the lookout for Rare Items that may serve as upgrades. Additionally, save Legendary Items with useful aspects in your stash for later use or extraction onto well-rolled Rare Items.

When comparing weapons of similar item levels, Two-Handed Weapons are generally favored over One-Hand Weapons paired with a Focus, as they benefit from the 100% bonus of the equipped aspect and higher damage per hit.

The following stat priority list will help you make informed gear choices:

[Stat Priority List]

Legendary Aspects and Codex of Power

These Legendary Aspects found on specific items are vital for the Firewall build:

[Legendary Aspects Table]

Unique Items

The Raiment of the Infinite plays a vital role in this build:

Raiment of the Infinite: After using Teleport, close enemies are pulled to you and stunned for [2 – 3] seconds, but Teleport’s cooldown is increased by 20%. This Unique Chest Armor groups enemies up and stuns them so Firewall can hit all of them.

Gems

Socket the following Gems into your gear:

• Weapon: Royal Sapphire for Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled enemies.
• Armor: Royal Ruby for Maximum Life or Royal Topaz to prevent deaths from chain Crowd Controls.
• Jewelry: Malignant Hearts if playing Season 1. Otherwise, Royal Skull for Armor.

Elixirs and Health Potions

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 and gather the necessary crafting materials during your adventures.

For potions, upgrade your health potion at the Alchemist when you reach significant milestones.

Changelog

• August 15th, 2023: Caged Heart of Tal’Rasha fixed in Patch 1.1.2 to be correctly calculated as multiplicative instead of additive. Malignant Heart Tier List adjusted accordingly.
• August 9th, 2023: Malignant Heart rankings reevaluated for Patch 1.1.1 changes.
• August 2nd, 2023: Patch 1.1.1 section added with a buff to Combustion.
• July 18th, 2023: Guide updated for Season 1.
• July 2nd, 2023: Paragon setup optimized.

With this comprehensive Firewall Sorcerer build guide, you’re ready to unleash the flames and conquer Diablo 4. Prepare for a fiery adventure unlike any other!