Best Diablo 4 Sorcerer build: Hydra Lightning for damage and mobility

The best Diablo 4 sorcerer build might seem impossible to pin down when you consider how many directions you can take the class. That said, they have a few high-damage skills hidden up their sleeves, such as Hydra and Chain Lightning, which you'll be utilizing early on. This ensures you'll be mowing down enemies with ease, even at lower levels.

As a ranged caster, you'd generally expect to have less survivability in close-quarters combat but the build below uses a buffed Teleport skill and Ice Armor to help shore up any potential weaknesses. Of course, you won't see the full benefit of any builds during the Diablo 4 beta as all characters are capped at level 25. But if you want to get a feel for the versatile spell-slinger ahead of the launch in June, here's the best Diablo 4 sorcerer build for your leveling needs.

Sorcerer: Hydra Lightning Sorcerer build 

• Skills: Spark, Chain Lightning, Hydra, Inferno, Ice Armor, Teleport 
• Enchantments: Fireball 
• Legendary Aspects: Recharging Aspect, Aspect of the Unbroken Tether, Aspect of the Bounding Conduit, Serpentine Aspect

This build relies on the high damage dealt by the Hydra summon and Chain Lightning while also focusing on high mobility and defense with Teleport and Ice Armor. You'll need to put two points into a basic skill to get to the good stuff, so I'd recommend Spark, though any of the others will serve you just as well. You also want to grab Chain Lightning as soon as possible as it has high single-target damage, thanks to its chain mechanic, meaning it will bounce between you and the enemy if only the two of you are present.

Hydra is another strong single-target spell, though this one is more set it and forget it. Once you've planted the fiery Hydra, it will get to work hurling fire at enemies within range, freeing you up to teleport around and fire off other skills. You also want at least one point in Fireball so you can activate its Enchantment, meaning enemies will explode for 50% of Fireball's damage when they die—and those explosions will soon add up on a busy battlefield.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

As far as defense goes—let's not forget you're a squishy caster—Teleport and its damage reduction passive is a solid option for getting out of trouble quickly. Ice Armor also helps in this department, allowing you to take a hit or two before taking any real damage. You can also add some crowd control into the mix by taking the passive that freezes enemies for three seconds, potentially giving you a few seconds of respite.

The Legendary Aspects are fairly straightforward for this build, and you can mix and match based on your needs. That said, there are a few you might want to consider: Recharging Aspect allows you to regain mana each time your Chain Lightning bounces off you, making it a fairly substantial mana gain in single-targe situations. Aspect of the Unbroken Tether should also amplify this effect, giving the spell a chance to chain an additional number of times. Meanwhile, Aspect of the Bounding Conduit gives you a short burst of speed after teleporting and if you really want to boost that damage, Serpentine Aspect will grant you an additional Hydra at the expense of overall duration.

This Sorcerer leveling build from D4builds.gg is a good reference for your passive abilities. However, as you play and level up, you should get a good idea of any shortcomings—if you can kill things super fast but find you're dying a lot, maybe pick something other than Glass Cannon. Basically, follow your gut and pick passives to help shore up those weaknesses.