Introduction
The Lighting Warp Conduit Sorceress build features an engaging two-button playstyle. A Ball Lightning and
Lightning Warp skill combo creates explosions to destroy groups of enemies while mapping.
Lightning Conduit deals even greater damage to one-shot any elites or bosses.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Insane starting damage with low investment
- Lightning Warp clears entire groups of enemies with huge area of effect explosions
- Lightning Conduit is automatically triggered to finish off elites
- Minimum 2-button skill rotation for mapping
- Aggressive playstyle that fights close to enemies
- Moderate survivability
Build Mechanics
Ball Lightning fires three projectiles, and then
Lightning Warp is cast onto them to teleport and cause highly damaging explosions.
Lightning Conduit is automatically triggered from Cast on Freeze to deal even higher damaging hits than
Lightning Warp. The damage is scaled by the Shock effect on enemies, which is applied by the Shocked Ground created by Lightning Warp.
Against bosses, a self-casted Lightning Conduit is capable of one-shotting them with moderate investment into the build. The Boss Kill Skill Rotation sets up multiple buffs and debuffs while the boss takes time to spawn. If the full rotation cannot be executed, the
Ball Lightning and
Lightning Warp combo can Stun or Freeze the boss to allow Lightning Conduit to land.
Skill Rotations
Follow the basic skill rotation below to progress through the campaign and clear groups of enemies in maps.
- Cast
Ball Lightning to fire three projectiles through
Scattershot.
- Cast
Lightning Warp up to three times on
Ball Lightning projectiles.
Execute the steps below to optimize damage against bosses. All the steps can be completed before a boss spawns if time permits, ending with Lightning Conduit finishing its cast time right as the Life bar of the boss appears.
- Cast
Sigil of Power (Weapon Set 2) to buff damage.
- Cast
Conductivity (Weapon Set 1) to reduce the Lightning Resistance of the boss. Conductivity can be pre-cast before a boss spawns if supported by
Cursed Ground.
- Against bosses that take an extended amount of time to spawn, like Pinnacle bosses, buff stages of
Sigil of Power can be ramped up to 4 by spamming
Conductivity to spend Mana.
- Cast
Ball Lightning once to fire three projectiles through
Scattershot.
- Cast
Lightning Warp twice on
Ball Lightning projectiles to create two overlapping Shocked Ground effects.
- (Optional) Cast
Mana Tempest for an additional buff to maximize damage. Be careful using Mana Tempest as draining Mana reduces your survivability.
- Cast
Lightning Conduit, preferably timed a second before the boss becomes attackable. Keep casting Lightning Conduit if the attack fails to kill. You may need to dodge incoming attacks to find an opening for the cast time.
Video Guide
Skill and Support Gems
The Lightning Warp Conduit Sorceress utilizes the following Skill Gems and Support Gems, listed in order of socket priority.
Skill Gems | Support Gem 1 | Support Gem 2 | Support Gem 3 | Support Gem 4 | Support Gem 5 |
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Spirit Gems
The Spirit Gem setup requires 160-170 total Spirit. Defeat The King in the Mists (Act 1, Normal Difficulty) and Ignagduk (Act 3, Normal and Cruel Difficulty) for 100 base Spirit. Obtain the remaining 60-70 Spirit from a Body Armor and Amulet.
Clarity is optional if you have 170 total Spirit.
Blink is an optional weapon swap tech that can be activated only for Weapon Set 2. Swap weapons to access Blink when needed. Set
Ball Lightning and
Lightning Warp to only be used with Weapon Set 1 to automatically swap back when they are cast. Ensure
Cast on Freeze is only active for Weapon Set 1 to enable this setup.
Skill Gems | Support Gem 1 | Support Gem 2 | Support Gem 3 | Support Gem 4 | Support Gem 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ascendancy
Stormweaver is the recommended Ascendancy for the Lightning Warp Conduit Sorceress. Select your first Ascendancy after completing the Trial of the Sekhemas in Act 2. The trial is not difficult, so complete it within the level range of 20-30. During the early access of Path of Exile 2, you have the option between Stormweaver and Chronomancer. This choice is permanent so choose carefully!
Stormweaver
The Stormweaver is the best Ascendancy choice due to the Mana Regen and damage increases within its nodes. Allocate the Ascendancy nodes in the following order:
- Constant Gale and Force of Will — The Arcane Surge nodes are highly beneficial for more Mana Regen and more Cast Speed. The separate multiplier to Mana Regen is needed to sustain the increased Mana costs from
Archmage. Both effects become more potent as Maximum Mana is increased.
- Strike Twice — The extra Shock effect applied to enemies provides a massive increase in damage output. The benefit of the node becomes more effective as Shock/Ailment magnitude is increased.
- Scouring Winds — The final damage increase from the Stormweaver Ascendancy causes Exposure to reduce resistances by a base 40% instead of 20%, before any increased Exposure Effect is applied.
Chronomancer
The Chronomancer is not usually recommended due to the lack of any Mana Regen or damage increases. The benefits are instead based on survivability. Allocate the Ascendancy nodes in the following order:
- Footprints in the Sand and Ultimate Command — Time Freeze is especially useful against bosses to deal uninterrupted damage without risk.
- Apex of the Moment — Slow provides an additional layer of survivability.
- Circular Heartbeat — Damage taken Recouped as Life provides some sustainability.
Passive Skill Tree
Path of Building is a build planner with helpful theorycrafting tools. Use the following URL for advanced details and calculations on the Lightning Warp Conduit Sorceress:
For more instructions on downloading the app, check the guide on Path of Building 2.
Gear
The preferred gear for the Lightning Conduit Sorceress is listed below with affixes and socketables ranked in order of importance. Prioritize gear with the correct base stats and beneficial explicit affixes.
A Shield is recommended over a Focus if you are having trouble surviving.
Equipment Slot and Base Stats | Prefixes | Suffixes | Sockets |
---|---|---|---|
Wand | 3. Maximum Mana 4. Spell Damage 5. Extra Lightning Damage | 1. Level of all Lightning Spell Skills 2. Critical Hit Chance for Spells 3. Mana Regeneration Rate | – |
Focus | 3. Maximum Energy Shield 3. Increased Energy Shield 4. Maximum Mana | 1. Level of all Spell Skills 2. Critical Hit Chance for Spells 3. Mana Regen Rate | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Iron Rune |
Shield (Armor and Energy Shield hybrid) | 1. Increased Block Chance 2. Maximum Life | 1. Resistances 3. Attributes | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Helmet (Energy Shield) | 1. Maximum Mana 1. Maximum Energy Shield 1. Increased Energy Shield | 1. Resistances 2. Attributes | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Iron Rune |
Body Armor (Energy Shield) | 1. Spirirt 2. Maximum Energy Shield 2. Increased Energy Shield | 2. Resistances 3. Attributes | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Iron Rune |
Gloves (Energy Shield) | Maligaro’s Virtuosity | Maligaro’s Virtuosity | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Boots (Energy Shield) | 1. Movement Speed 2. Maximum Mana 2. Maximum LIfe | 2. Resistances 3. Attributes | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Amulet | 1. Spirit 3. Maximum Mana 3. Maximum Energy Shield 4. Maximum Life | 2. Level of all Spell Skills 3. Mana Regeneration Rate 4. Attributes | – |
Left Ring Slot | Snakepit | Snakepit | – |
Right Ring Slot | 1. Maximum Mana 2. Maximum Life 3. Rarity of Items Found | 1. Mana Regeneration Rate 2. Resistances 3. Attributes | – |
Belt (replaced by Ingenuity) | 1. Maximum Mana 1. Maximum Life 4. Flask Life Recovery Rate | 1. Resistances 2. Attributes 3. Stun Threshold | – |
Jewels
The beneficial affixes for Jewels are listed below, ranked in order of importance. Prioritize Rare Jewels with two prefix and two suffix.
- Prefixes
- Magnitude of Shock
- Area of Effect
- Elemental Damage or Spell Damage
- Suffixes
- Mana is taken from Mana before Life (up to 70%)
- Recover Mana on Kill (1 affix of 2%)
- Cast Speed
Campaign Buffs
Quest rewards during the campaign offer a selection of buffs to your character. Choose the following buffs for the build:
- Valley of the Titans Altar
- 15% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks
- 15% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
- Venom Draught
- 25% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
- 10% Chaos Resistance
For more details, check the guide on Campaign Difficulties and Permanent Stat Bonuses.
Flasks and Charms
Prioritize the following Flasks and Charms:
- Health and Mana Flasks
- Prefix: Increased Amount Recovered
- Suffix: Increased Charges or Increased Charges Gained
- Charm: Stone Charm or Thawing Charm.
Changelog
March 28th, 2025: Guide created for Path of Exile II, Early Access