Sorceress
If magic is your thing, the Sorceress is for you. Just don't get caught in a melee battle.
Single player TIPS:
The Sorceress is Diablo II's answer to the Sorceror in the original Diablo.
(She's looking much better now after "the operation," too.) Unlike
the other characters in Diablo II, she really doesn't have much of an offensive
melee attack, so our strongest advice on playing her is step the hell back.
If a monster (or monsters) gets close enough to whomp on her, it's more than
past time to go. This doesn't mean she's totally weak in melee; in fact, because
her mana is relatively low at the start, she'll most likely be whipping out
the staff and administering a beating or two.
Her skills comprise a fairly wide variety of offensive and defensive spells,
but in practice, there really are only a few that you can concentrate on. First
and foremost, train Warmth. Train it now. Spend as many skill points on it as
you can afford. Why? Because mana is your ammo, soldier, and Warmth regenerates
mana at an accelerated rate. Also, be sure to spread out your skill points among
the three schools--some monsters are resistant to one (or more) of your elemental
attacks, and you want to be sure you have an attack that'll penetrate. The weapon
of choice in the Fire school is definitely Fireball--gotta love the blast radius
and the speed of the fireball itself. For Cold, Ice Blast is a solid choice;
remember, kiddies, monsters that have been turned into party ice can't be resurrected
by monster leaders. And for the Lightning school, Static Field and Chain Lightning
are fun in crowded rooms and corridors. Speaking of Lightning spells, you'll
save yourself a lot of health potions if you spend a single point in Telekinesis--exploding
barrels and trapped chests won't hurt you any more.
For skill points, because your focus is Energy, the bulk of your spending will
go there. Don't neglect the others completely, though. A bit of Strength will
help you wear decent protective gear; a bit of Dexterity will increase your
chance of evading an attack; and Vitality--well, even though the Sorceress attacks
at range, you really will need all the hit points you can get. And then some.
The Sorceress, more than any other class, needs to pick and choose her gear
wisely. Sometimes the heaviest armor isn't as good as armor that has an ability
you can really use, like adding points to your total health or increasing your
regeneration rate. And you should always have both ring slots and the amulet
slot filled with mana boosts or health boosts. The staff is the key to the Sorceress,
though. Because the right staff can both boost skills you've trained and give
you skills you don't, the right gear can save you skill points--and that's a
good thing
Multi player TIPS:
The Sorceress is clearly a support character. She won't be wading into battle
alongside the Barbarian and Paladin any time soon; in fact, the Necromancer
is better at fist-to-fist brawling than she is. Her best bet is to be at the
back of a flying wedge, dealing out mana-based pain to every opponent that moves.
Where she really shines is in fights with monsters that have a leader that can
resurrect the dead. Slap an Ice Blast on him to slow him down, then nail him
with some lightning or a well-placed Fireball while the Paladin and Barbarian
go to town on his minions. In fact, Cold spells are all-around winners due to
their stopping power--monsters that move, fight, and cast slower (or not at
all) are wonderful prey for your party members.
Although she doesn't really have the party-support magic that the Paladin or
Barbarian does, she has the ability to dish out incredible amounts of damage,
especially at higher levels--once you've trained the appropriate Mastery skill.
Have the fighters block the door and rain death on the masses with Meteor, Blizzard,
or Thunder Storm. Hydra is great for backup sentry duty, too. There's othing
like surprising a pack of sneaky monsters with groups of flaming, pissed-off,
fire-breathing snakes. They're also good for an early-warning system.
Latency can be a nightmare for the Sorceress, though. She doesn't have many
tracking spells, and a lag spike will pretty much end her career. The best defense
is a good offense, though, and nontargeted area-effect spells such as Nova and
Fire Wall will take the edge of any attacker. In a pinch, use Teleport to simply
go elsewhere--because most monsters can't go through solid walls, it'll give
you time to recuperate.