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Sorcerers are masters of elemental magic inDiablo 4,and they have plenty of ways to deal with the demonic hordes plaguing Sanctuary. Pyromancy is one of the schools of magic available to Sorcerers, and it’s the perfect choice for players who want to watch the world burn under their magical flamethrower.
The third season ofDiablo 4saw a major buff to the Incinerate skill, granting it a whopping 40% damage increase, a trend which has only continued into the Season of Witchcraft. Then, the addition of the Flamethrower’s Aspect greatly improves the AoE of the ability - making an Incinerate sorcerer one of the best builds in the late game.
Updated by Abigail Angell on the 24th of February 2025: Continued buffs to Incinerate in Season 7 have increased the Incinerate Sorcerer’s meta standing, and new Aspects introduced to the game since Diablo 4’s release have greatly impacted the Incinerator Sorcerer’s build path.
How The Incinerate Sorcerer Compares To Other Builds
The Incinerate Sorcerer is placed comfortably in Tier A by most Diablo 4 fans, although the Firebolt and Fireball Sorcerer are very similar in power. Recently,Diablo 4Fire Sorcererbuilds have dominated the meta. What makes the Incinerate playstyle more attractive is its' simplicity - players will rarely need to think about a set skill rotation. Instead, simply use Ice Nova and Inferno on Cooldown, and hold down Incinerate the rest of the time.
However, unlike other common Sorcerer builds, Incinerate deals primarily Burning Damage, and thus scales with Damage over time. This means the skill cannot Critically Strike, and investing in Critical Strike Chance or Critical Strike Damage is a waste of time. This changes the common BiS pretty dramatically and makes it difficult to instantly clear bosses.
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Align the Elements (1/3)
Combustion
This build puts points into several abilities, but only some go onto the action bar. These are:
Like most meta Sorcerer builds, the Defensive skills are an important part of the build’s survivability in the late game and should be used to mitigate as much damage as possible. They also provide the player with Unstoppable and activate the damage bonus from Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop. The main method of dealing damage with this build is Incinerate, which is maximized for damage and uptime. Frost Nova’s purpose is to freeze targets, increasing the damage they take via Icefall and Hoarfrost. Finally, Inferno increases the damage dealt by burning while active, inflictsVulnerable, and reduces the mana Incinerate consumes - players should cast this on cooldown.
Enchantment Slots For The Incinerate Sorcerer
The Enchantments used in this build areTeleport and Firewall. Teleport is a useful defensive tool and increases mobility. Firewall is a damage increase to Incinerate whenever it spawns, which should be happening often due to the constant burning damage this build deals.
Best In-Slot Aspects & Gear For The Incinerate Sorcerer
Stats marked with an*asteriskare most preferred for a Greater Affix. However, a Greater Affix on another stat from the list is still good when the most preferred isn’t available.
Equipment and Legendary Aspects
Preferred Stats
Helmet
Exploiter- Gain increased Crowd Control duration, and deal more damage to Unstoppable enemies.
Everliving- Take less damage from Vulnerable or Crowd Controlled enemies.
Leg Armor
Snowveiled- Ice Armor now makes you Unstoppable, and you take reduced damage while Unstoppable.
Gloves
Storm Swell- Deal more damage to Vulnerable enemies while you have Barrier.
Ring 1
Aspect of Engulfing Flames- Deal more damage to Burning targets for each second they Burn.
Tal Rasha’s Iridescent Loop (Ring 2)
Unique- Deal increased damage for each type of elemental damage you deal.
Weapon (2-handed)
Flamethrower- Incinerate splits into three beams
This is the most ideal gear and Legendary Aspects setup for this build. While the build will still work when this setup is not fully being used, getting as close as possible to it will ensure maximum power. Players will likely spend most of their time with the Exploiter and Ever-living Aspects equipped, Mythic Uniques are better in the Chest and Helm slot. Eventually,the goal is to replace each with the Heir of Perdition and Shroud of False Death Respectively.
Tempering
Temper slots for the Incinerate Sorcerer are somewhat flexible. Aim to reach these critical breakpoints:
Masterworking
When Masterworking, Crits are typically most preferred on the Greater Affix of the gear (see table above). However, it is most important to reach Masterworking level 12 on gear, as all affixes get a 5% increase per level. This will grant the player the most power-up for the least resources, allowing them to push Torment 4 Nightmare dungeons or Infernal Hordes. Here, they can farm much larger quantities of Obducite, which can then be used to reroll Masterworking as desired.
Icefall
Pyromaniac
There’s plenty of leeway when it comes tobuilding Paragon Boards, and players are free to progress through them however they’d like. This means that rearranging the order in which the boards appear is entirely up to the player, although it is generally best to pair the glyph and board shown together due to which nodes surround the glyph socket on each board.
Two of the boards shown here are particularly helpful for the Incinerate Sorcerer.
Level to 15
Level to 46
Runewords & Socketables For The Incinerate Sorcerer
The Incinerate Sorcerer focuses on stationary gameplay and Damage over Time, this means that they benefit greatly from a specific set of Runewords and Gems.
The Gems that most suit this build are:
Mercenaries & Reinforcement For The Incinerate Sorcerer
Mercenaries are only available to players with the Vessel of Hatred DLC and offer convenient bonuses. Each player can hire two total characters, one Mercenary who follows them around and a Reinforcement who occasionally appears.
Best Hired Mercenary
Because the Incinerate Sorcerer doesn’t massively benefit from any of the Mercenary abilities, taking Subo is clearly the best choice. His passive map vision gives the player the ability to seek out the largest enemy packs and increases farming efficiency. His exact skills aren’t crucial, but this suggested loadout is quite good:
Best Reinforcement
Raheir is by far the best Reinforcement for squishy characters like the Sorcerer because he tanks damage with nearly all abilities. When selecting him, choose the ability Bastion, and have it cast whenever the player uses Incinerate. This encourages the Reinforcement to cast as often as possible.
Seasonal Content Choices For The Incinerate Sorcerer
In Season 7, players have access to Witchcraft Powers and Occult Gems. These items add interesting and varied new abilities, which greatly impact character builds. The Incinerator Sorcerer takes some of the easiest powers to get in the game, so those who aren’t looking for another grind can rejoice.
Witchcraft Powers
This build relies on Eldritch, Growth, and Decay powers. It also uses a gem to grant bonuses from these powers to casts of Incinerate.
Occult Gems
The Incinerate Sorcerer needs to craft multiple Legendary Gems, so buckle in.
