Creates a lightning storm for a duration, which repeatedly strikes enemies in its area with shocking bolts.
Deal 1 to 19 Lightning Damage
Base duration is 10.00 seconds
25% chance to Shock enemies
Base radius is 1.8 metres
Shocks Enemies as though dealing 400% more Damage
Hits one target every 0.05 seconds
Can Hit each enemy only once every 0.40 seconds
Maximum 1 Lightning Storm at a time
Skills can be managed in the Skills Panel.
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Lightning Storm is a spell-based AoE skill in Path of Exile 2 that harnesses the power of the storm to repeatedly strike enemies with lightning bolts. This skill is designed for Sorceress players who want to deal high lightning damage over a duration, especially when combined with shock mechanics and critical strike scaling.
Key Details of Lightning Storm
Gem Type: Skill Gem
Skill Type: Spell, AoE, Duration, Lightning
Tier: 13 (Sorceress)
Level Requirement: 12
Mana Cost: 44
Cast Time: 0.90 seconds
Critical Strike Chance: 9.00%
Requires: Level 42, 96 Intelligence
Key Features:
Base Duration: 10.00 seconds
Base Radius: 1.8 meters
25% Chance to Shock enemies
Maximum Hits: 1 target every 0.05 seconds
Damage Scaling: Shocks enemies as though dealing 400% more damage.
How Lightning Storm Works
Lightning Storm creates an ongoing storm that strikes enemies within its area of effect with repeated lightning bolts over time. The skill offers both high sustained damage and significant utility, particularly for builds focusing on shock effects and critical strikes.
1. Repeated Lightning Strikes
Once activated, Lightning Storm continuously strikes enemies within its area of effect every 0.05 seconds, dealing lightning damage each time. This ensures sustained damage over a longer period, making it ideal for clearing groups of enemies or applying consistent pressure on tougher foes.
2. Shock Mechanic
Lightning Storm has a 25% chance to Shock enemies with each hit. The shock effect amplifies the damage enemies take by 400%, making this skill extremely effective for damage amplification when combined with shock-based builds.
3. Duration and Area of Effect
The storm lasts for 10 seconds, giving it a substantial duration to deal damage. With a radius of 1.8 meters, the skill is effective for dealing damage in small-to-medium clusters, though you may need to position yourself carefully to maximize the storm’s coverage.
4. Damage Scaling and Critical Strikes
Lightning Storm benefits greatly from critical strike chance and lightning damage scaling. With its 9% critical strike chance and the ability to deal lightning damage repeatedly, you can build a high-damage, crit-heavy lightning build. Additionally, hits are guaranteed to deal shocking damage that deals 400% more damage as long as enemies are affected by shock.
Synergies with Other Skills and Builds
Lightning Storm works best in lightning damage or shock-based builds. Here’s how to make the most of its potential:
1. Shock and Critical Strike Scaling
Use Lightning Storm in builds that focus on shock mechanics to amplify the damage you deal to affected enemies. Combining it with other lightning-based skills or shock-effect enhancing passive skills will allow you to exploit the 400% increased damage from shock effectively.
Build around critical strike chance and lightning damage modifiers to further enhance the damage potential of the storm.
2. Support Gems
Enhance Lightning Storm with support gems that boost its lightning damage or shock effects:
Elemental Focus: Amplifies lightning damage while disabling elemental status effects (useful if not focusing on other elemental status effects).
Controlled Destruction: Increases elemental damage at the cost of critical strike chance. This can be useful if you want to prioritize sustained damage over crit-based scaling.
Hypothermia: While not directly related to shock, if your build is capable of chill or freeze, this gem can amplify cold and lightning synergy.
Increased AoE: To increase the storm’s effectiveness in covering more enemies, this support gem extends the storm’s radius.
Faster Casting: While Lightning Storm has a fixed cast time of 0.90 seconds, this support gem will increase the speed of the skill’s casting, which is particularly helpful in boss fights or map clear scenarios where speed is crucial.
3. Other Synergies
Combine with Orb of Storms to provide a source of lightning damage that works alongside Lightning Storm, allowing your enemies to take heavy damage while they are shocked by the orb and the storm.
Utilize Lightning Penetration support to reduce enemy lightning resistance, ensuring that Lightning Storm hits harder and more effectively.
Pair Lightning Storm with Storm Call for massive area damage and frequent lightning effects on enemies.
Pros and Cons of Lightning Storm
Pros:
Sustained Damage: The duration and repeated strikes ensure that Lightning Storm deals consistent damage over time.
Shock Amplification: Deals 400% more damage to shocked enemies, making it ideal for shock-focused builds.
AoE Coverage: The 1.8-meter radius allows it to affect multiple enemies in close proximity, making it useful for crowd control.
High Scaling: Can be significantly boosted with critical strike chance, lightning damage increases, and shock damage modifiers.
Single Target and AoE Utility: Ideal for both group clearing and applying sustained pressure on bosses.
Cons:
Limited Range: The 1.8-meter radius means that Lightning Storm is less effective at hitting distant enemies or in larger areas.
Mana Cost: With a 44 mana cost, using this skill in rapid succession may require substantial mana regeneration.
Chance to Shock: The 25% chance to shock may feel inconsistent, especially for high-end scaling builds focused on shock damage.
Maximum 1 Lightning Storm: You can only have one active Lightning Storm at a time, meaning that you cannot stack multiple storms for increased coverage or damage.
Tips for Using Lightning Storm
Maximize Shock:
Invest in passives, items, and gear that increase shock chance or shock effectiveness to get the most out of the 400% more damage modifier.
Positioning is Key:
Ensure you place Lightning Storm in areas where enemies are likely to stay within the skill’s radius for the full 10-second duration.
Manage Mana Efficiently:
The skill has a high mana cost of 44. To keep casting Lightning Storm frequently, invest in mana regeneration or mana leech to maintain a constant barrage of lightning strikes.
Combine with High DPS:
Use Lightning Storm in combination with other high-DPS lightning skills like Arc, Storm Call, or Ball Lightning to overwhelm enemies with lightning effects.
Conclusion
Lightning Storm is a highly effective AoE lightning skill that offers sustained damage and shock amplification over a 10-second duration. It excels in builds focused on lightning damage scaling, shock effects, and critical strikes. While it does have limitations in terms of radius and mana cost, its potential for dealing high burst damage to shocked enemies makes it a strong option for clearing mobs or applying consistent pressure in both boss fights and map clearing. With the right synergy and scaling, Lightning Storm can become a devastating skill in any Sorceress build.