Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant Sorcerer build tier list

Diablo 4 offers tremendous flexibility in terms of crafting your own builds by leveraging the plethora of skills associated with each class. You have the option to select from the five interesting classes in the form of Rogue, Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, and Sorcerer. If you enjoy using the elements like fire, ice, or lightning to unleash devastating spells, then Sorcerer is the best class to opt for.

Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant offers additional content for you to partake in, along with new enemy types. Thus, it is ideal to have a clear idea of which Sorcerer builds are worth crafting to tackle the seasonal content. This tiered list of builds will enable you to differentiate the best ones from the least effective builds.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective, and the tier list reflects the writer’s opinions.

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Which are the most effective Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant Sorcerer builds?

Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant is currently the major highlight of the game, along with the upcoming patch 1.1.1. While many avid fans have been concerned about the nerfs pertaining to this class, the next patch is set to overhaul many aspects to increase the Sorcerer’s survivability.

You can refer to this article which delves into the details of all the class balances expected in patch 1.1.1, which releases on August 8, 2023.

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S-Tier

Ice Shards build is most effective in this season (Image via Diablo 4)

The following build is the most effective in Season of the Malignant:

• Ice Shards Sorcerer

This build is dependent on the Ice Shards skill for offense and Frost Nova as the defensive tactic. If you feel sluggish in movement, then it is ideal to invest some points in Teleport.

This is the most effective build to deal massive damage to single targets, and it also enables you to keep a safe distance while unleashing your spells.

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A-Tier

Ball Lightning build has robust defense (Image via Diablo 4)

These builds are also viable options for this season:

• Blizzard Sorcerer
• Ball Lightning Sorcerer

As the name implies, Blizzard build involves the use of Blizzard skill that not only damages foes but also inflicts the chill debuff on them. You can refer to this guide for another alternative build for tackling both PvP and PvE activities.

You can also try out Ball Lightning build for this season since it slightly improves the survivability of this class. While your Sorcerer will be quite agile, you will need to rely a lot on Mana as most of the skills consume this resource.

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B-Tier

Chain Lightning skill for Sorcerer (Image via Diablo 4)

The following builds belong to this tier:

• Chain Lightning Sorcerer
• Arc Lash Sorcerer

You can try out Chain Lightning build to tackle the end-game content, especially due to the fact that Chain Lightning skill will be overhauled in patch 1.1.1. Despite this alteration, survivability takes a hit which will pose a grave challenge for enduring the tougher dungeons.

The next build in this tier relies on Arc Lash, and you can supplement it with Unstable Currents. It enables you to inflict significant area-of-effect damage. You can check out this article highlighting the five best Legendary Aspects for the Sorcerer in Season of the Malignant.

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C-Tier

Hydra Sorcerer build lacks survivability (Image via Diablo 4)

These are the least effective builds for this class in Season of the Malignant:

• Meteor Sorcerer
• Hydra Sorcerer

Meteor Sorcerer can be useful in the early to mid-game sections, especially due to the visual flare of the Meteor skill. However, this build cannot deal significant damage to elite foes, and you will also face difficulties in tackling adversaries with high agility.

Hydra build requires investing points in the skill by the same name that summons a three-headed Hydra that unleashes fire at foes in the vicinity. You will be prone to defeat in a majority of the instances, which makes it a poor build option for Sorcerer when completing end-game content.

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Diablo 4 encourages you to constantly experiment with builds and adopt different approaches to deal with myriad enemy types. Feel free to peruse this guide on the best Barbarian builds tier list for Season of the Malignant.