Static Field is virtually a mindset unto its own. You don't have to aim it, the range can cover MORE than the entire screen, the skill scales its damage to the health of the target, making it much more effective against the hardiest opponents, and the skill (up through v1.03) scales with number of players in the game. Whether or not you opt for lots, little, or none, is up to you. But one thing to understand about the Fire Tree is that it has no skills even remotely like SF in application. SF is universal. You can apply it to any situation with success, and there really are no "tactics" for it. The tactics for SF come in your item selections, your other skill choices (finishers), and in how much range you choose to pursue.

By contrast, the Fire Skills are very situational. Each skill has its place, its possibilities, its shining moments, its achilles heels. To work the Fire Tree with success, you will need to rely on more than one primary attack skill, you MUST have a much more complete understanding of the opponents and the terrain, and you must have (or develop) a thoughtful strategy.

The Cold Tree is virtually a mindset unto its own. You have at your disposal the ability to dramatically slow, or even freeze, the enemy. This offers players the luxury of a generally stationary approach. One can make a stand and continuously fire off attack spells. Strategy can vary to some degree, particularly with blizzard, but generally this tree is point-and-click. So like Static Field, the Cold Tree is not particularly demanding on the player when it comes to battlefield tactics.

By contrast, the Fire Tree requires you to be much more mobile. You will have to use speed, maneuvers, terrain features, raw damage, and area of effect skills, to prevent opponents from closing to melee range -- something the Cold skills can do automatically, to a large degree. You will need to be less wasteful in your attacks, and to know exactly how much firepower you need to get the job done. Enemy resistance is a real concern that will affect you in combat. Skill development and distrubution involves tradeoffs along the way, until you reach very high levels where you can have it all. So you will have to prioritize.

So in conclusion, if it's raw power you seek, where the skills do the thinking for you and all you have to do is repeatedly push the attack button, stick to SF and the Cold Tree. However, if you want a more artful playing experience, where strategy can make you but lack of it can break you, the Fire Tree comes closest out of all the Diablo 2 spellcasting experiences, to what it was like to play the Diablo 1 Sorcerer: you have to be familiar with the game, the monsters, and the dangers, to succeed -- and you can do so in style. :)

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