If you’ve been dabbling in the PoE 2 meta since 0.4 “The Last of the Druids,” you’ve probably seen people whispering about Goratha’s Entangle Sorceress. I tried it expecting another trendy caster and ended up re-learning how I move through a map. You aren’t lobbing spells from the back line all day. You’re laying down hazards, steering packs into them, and cashing out the burst when it matters. It also helps that gearing feels achievable if you’re already trading for poe 2 currencies and watching prices like a hawk.

How the Combo Actually Feels

The loop is simple on paper: Entangle first, Thunderstorm second. In practice, it’s got this “paint then flood” rhythm that clicks after a few runs. Entangle carpets the ground with vines, then Thunderstorm lands and starts proccing Accelerated Growth. The vines don’t just sit there ticking; they ramp, they overgrow, and then they pop into chunky physical bursts. You’ll notice it fast: clear speed comes from placement, not raw range. Drop vines at doorways, corners, choke points. Let monsters walk into the mess. When you do it right, the screen looks like a bad weather report and a botanical nightmare at the same time.

Scaling, Swaps, and the Boss Problem

What surprised me is how “non-Sorceress” the scaling is. Because the vines are physical, you get real value out of Impale and Armour Break, and that changes how you pick passives and gear. Then Thunderstorm brings Shock into the mix, so bosses aren’t just taking big hits, they’re taking bigger hits faster. Weapon swapping is where the build stops being brain-off. It can feel awkward early, yeah, but it’s also the skill check. Swap cleanly, keep shocks strong, keep growth rolling. Mess it up and the damage window feels late. Nail it and rares vanish before they even finish their animation.

Early Pain Points and Fixes

Leveling isn’t free. Mana goes first, then your patience. If you don’t grab regen and a bit of Intelligence, you’ll be staring at an empty pool while vines fizzle out. Cast speed is the other big one. Without it, the setup feels sticky, and that’s when you get clipped. The nice part is that the build stabilises once your Djinn summons are up and doing their job—blocking, distracting, buying you time. After that, you start prioritising +skill levels and physical modifiers, and suddenly you’ve got control: slows from vines, bodies in front, and a safer space to keep the cycle going.

Mapping Payoff and What to Avoid

When it comes together, it feels fresh in a way most meta builds don’t. Mapping turns into guiding enemies through your garden of pain, then popping storms where you know the pack will stack. Single-target isn’t some sad afterthought either; you get real burst, and it shows on tough encounters. The one thing you don’t gamble with is physical reflect. Don’t “maybe” it. Reroll it, skip it, whatever you have to do, even if it costs an exalted orb to keep your runs clean and your character alive.