Lightning Tendrils

Has anyone been theorycrafting a 3.1 build for Lightning Tendrils? I am excited to try out the updated version. Thinking of Cast While Channeling with either Arc or Spark most likely, will probably test out every lightning spell.

I hope it still have it's 6% crit chance, i was hoping to make a staff-Inquisitor.

I am also planning to try out Lightning Tendrils again this league. Already did a build in Harbinger but it just didn't feel too good playing. Two of the main issues were the small base AoE and the relatively long animation time, especially with Spell Echo linked. Another issue was that the real AoE was difficult to estimate based on the skill animation, but that should be adresse in the skill overhaul, which i am really happy about!

One thing I am still a bit disappointed is that the AoE apparently didn't receive a buff. A slightly better range progression from leveling would be great on many skills since it increases the feeling of progress when you level a gem.

Another potentially problematic thing is the "more damage every 4th hit" in my opinion. Depending on how this is implemented, it would feel just as bad as before the overhaul in mechanical bossfights - if one always needs to cast atleast 4 times to deal any meaningful damage.

The important question here is how the "every 4th" is coded:

[*]starts counting from 1 on every skill activation and always deals more damage on hits 4,8,12...[newline

What is the purpose of 50% more Ailment damage every 4 pulse on a lightning spell?

3.1 Targeting would be a lot better if it fallowed other channel skills, namely you cast in the direction of your cursor rather than on the area it is on. Currently instead of casting the skill at an incoming group of mobs i walk into it if the cursor is further away than the aoe of the skill. It would be a lot better if it would be casted the same way as Blight.

So I started out with this skill in Abyss... and with 26% AoE it still seems to be the smallest AoE skill ever.. Need to be literally in the face of mobs to hit them.. my Orb of Storms benefits way more from the AoE it seems.. guess I will change to something else..

I started with Lightning Tendrils this league and below is some early game feedback. Judging from the skill description and its pre 3.1 implemention, LT scales well in the lategame but has a difficult start. However, since it is a lvl 1 gem, I want to describe my experience leveling with it as my main skill from early on.



Visual Effect:
Awesome! with the seeker Armour set and Breach weapon and footprints, my Inquisitor looks like Imperator Palpatine. If GGG ever decides to introduce a skill MTX with some more purple, it would probably sell like crazy. That is, if the skill balancing is being looked at, especially at earlier levels.

A slightly weird effect is caused by the AoE being centered around the character while the visual effect centers around the orb held in front of the character while channeling. This makes the AoE to appear even shorter to the front and makes it look like the AoE was not a half circle but a wider parabola.
I would imagine that this is much less noticeable in late game when most builds should have ~40 range. But in the beginning, the 10 or so units the orb is held in front of the character make it look like the AoE was almost twice as wide compared to its range.



AoE:
The base AoE is tiny! Well, technically speaking it is still slightly bigger than Cleave but it feels even smaller. This might be due to Cleave being used mainly with either twohanded weapons or when dualwielding, which gives it high frontloaded per hit damage. In comparison, Lightning Tendrils needs to be in range for an extended duration to deal its damage, which makes its small AoE much more noticeable.



Early Game Damage:
The early game damage still feels incredibly low. Flat +elemental spell damage rolls on the weapon are pretty much mandatory but still not efficient due to the low damage effectiveness. The risk-vs-reward for the skill in early levels is just way off without twink gear. Damage scaling seems inefficent in the first few levels sice it takes about +100% damage to turn a minimum damage of 1 --> 2.
Therefore, there are many times when attacking even a lowest level zomby when the skill apparently refuses to do any damage. The feeling of impact in the first few levels is even smaller than with Blight, especially since the minimum damage stays at 1 way too long.



Leveling Progression:
lvl 1-20
The beautiful animation and ease of destroying barrels unfortunately cannot fully compensate for the lackluster risk-vs-reward when using LT due to the tiny starting AoE and damage. From my personal experince I would rate it among the lowest progression speeds of all skills in the first act of the game. Tiny AoE, tiny damage, long facetime, slow clearspeed, lots of incoming damage from monsters, namelocking on a channeling skill.

lvl 20-30
When I finally got a 4L setup and the two AoE clusters in the Templar and Witch starting areas, the skill started to feel much better. Judging from the tooltip, the damage output isn't that bad but it still feels too low. The AoE turns from melee to short ranged, meaning it is possible to deal atleast a little damage before melee monsters get into the range to attack you.
Overall impression: it starts to get better but is still one of the weakest leveling skills.

lvl 30-40
The minimum damage of LT finally gets to the point, where taking an increased damage node will affect it with almost every node, which gives a much better sense of progression. I was extremely lucky to find a very powerful wand and a Tabula from one of the Corvian Knight skeleton Abyss rares (praise the Dark Souls reference and mighty drops! \o/ ).
The damage now in a 6L is pretty solid and i am looking forward to getting the increased AoE gem in the next 30 min! A 6L @ lvl 37 is of course way over the top and somewhat inefficient but LT still needs all the support it can get at this stage in the game.


UPDATE 10.12: getting to the midgame

lvl 40-55
The ascendacy class and the increased AoE support make a huge difference in turning the range from small to medium sized and the damage is decent now - in a 6L Tabula that is. Still, the risk-vs-reward feels off compared to some of the comparable skills. Having played each of these to endgame recently, both Cleave and Blight feel much more well rounded. The threshold jewels have, of course, a big part in this.
Both can get higher AoE and damage output in endgame, although the AoE bonus for Cleave is somewhat inconsistent since it depends on monsters nearby, while the high DpS of Blight requires a somewhat long rampup. But another major difference here is the defensive options that both of the other skills have:

Cleave grants fortify on hit and Blight has a potent hinder effect that will keep most melee mobs from ever hitting you in the fist place. LT's damage and AoE both need a buff in my opinion, especially at the lowest levels. But what it really needs to be a viable option for endgame is some sort of defensive mechanism.

My personal favourite here would be a chance to blind on the strong hits. I believe that this could achieve a similar effect in terms of increasing the melee 'tankiness' and the 'blinded by lightning' theme seems like a natural fit for both the skill animation and mechanics.

lvl 55-70
Once I got some crit scaling and around 35% critchance, I bought a Call of the Brotherhood. Together with the merciless ascendacy, both damage and survivability went up quite a bit. With the 6L setup, it allows for a decent clearspeed and most white mobs get annihilated before they can deal much damage. However, the AoE is still rather mediocre, even with heavy investment in the form of passives and the support gem.
A Stibnite Flask is still mandatory for any more difficult encounters and although it's going well at the moment, i am starting to fear that LT just may not be that viable for endgame in its current state.


UPDATE 28.12: lategame to yellow tier maps

lvl 70-85: lategame and white tier maps
I don't think I have died nearly as many times in any of my last 10 characters. I almost gave up around lvl 80 but when I finally found the last trial and finally got the last ascendacy (as well as most of the crit and AoE scaling!) things got a lot better. @ 110% increased AoE and 60% critchance, both the clearspeed and boss killing speed is decent, although i have to switch Inc. AoE for Conc. Effect against more powerful bosses, But I don't consider a problem. Replaced the Tabula with a rare 6L with a ton of life and some defensive stats, which also helped quite a bit in terms of survivability.

lvl 85+: endgame, currently at yellow tier maps
Rare maps can be tough and so are the elder guardians and Elder, even in tier 6-7 maps. The build is pretty much completed as is the gear. Although it is going OK at the moment, there are still situations where i just don't see the build being able to hold its own in red tier maps or Guardians/Shaper. The ~13% DpS buff it got with the skill overhaul make up for having to replace Spell Echo with another support but LT's effective endgame damage output feels pretty much the same as before.
Hopefully, one of the 5 or so LT gems I am leveling with quality will eventually vaal to 21/20. There are still some upgrades possible in terms of jewels and jewellery etc, therefore there is still some hope left!
...to be continued...



[TL;DR]
Sweet visual overhaul! I still have the hope that the skill will be viable in endgame but the leveling process from lvl 1 (or rather lvl 2) is painful. Risk vs. reward seems off for this skill since it requires a lot of facetime on mobs with no real defensive options.
My current verdict would be to either move the skillgem to a higher level or drastically buff its early game damage and AoE. In its curent implementation it just requires too many passives and support gems to be somewhat effective.


edit: lvl 40-55 getting to the midgame and [TL;DR] update
edit+: lvl 55-70 mid- to lategame
edit++: lvl 70-87 late- to endgame

How do you sustain yourself? Lightning Tendrils has short range, you have to stand there and face tank monsters with no vaal pact.

I made a witch and I am trying to play LT + ES builds.. Its absolutely terrible so far, Even with + lvl of gem (around lvl 40 so far)
I had to switch to lightning ball, cause it feels 3 times stronger and has actual range.

My biggest fear about this skill in lategame is absolutely garbage aoe. Even with old aoe scaling you had to have everything to make this skill feel good in terms of range.

It would also be nice if we got buff for every stage in buff bar, similar tu blade flurry, so I actualy knew when is the 4th hit happening.. now its just impossible to tell.