Ball Lightning

what enemies cannot be knocked back? map bosses are the easiest to knockback due to their size (and thus more hits). in fact i have to run around them so these dont end up stuck in a corner. the only enemies that are 'harder' to knock around are cycloners. leap slam'ers - like oak or few exiles are frequently slapped mid-flight and pined to the wall. piety is very easy to knock around etc etc

desyncs? not here. glacial hammer desyncs, melee skills+knockback desync, cyclone+multistrike desyncs. but this? not here.

i know that i shall not convince non-believers so ill leave you now and go do something more productive

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sidtherat wrote:

what enemies cannot be knocked back? map bosses are the easiest to knockback due to their size (and thus more hits). in fact i have to run around them so these dont end up stuck in a corner. the only enemies that are 'harder' to knock around are cycloners. leap slam'ers - like oak or few exiles are frequently slapped mid-flight and pined to the wall. piety is very easy to knock around etc etc

desyncs? not here. glacial hammer desyncs, melee skills+knockback desync, cyclone+multistrike desyncs. but this? not here.

i know that i shall not convince non-believers so ill leave you now and go do something more productive

Devouresrs and some bosses, I just don't like relying on mechanics an enemy can have 1-0 relationship with, either he's immune or he isn't, like stun.

As an owner of dual shockwave totemist I can testify knocback desyncs like hell if applied in large quantities, maps with a lot of debris on ground also complicate things, you have no idea where enemies really are and I don't like that when playing something squishier than the norm.

Nothing can be more productive than mobbing to buff a freshly-introduced disappointing skill :)

I just wanted to add that in the last State Of Exile episode Chris mentioned that Ball Lightning was voluntarely toned down a bit more than in some internal tests to favorise small little buffs instead of a huge dumb down of the skill in future patches, and that should probably be the way they will release new skills.

We'll see, still think it's a pretty good skill if you use it well.

Was convinced enough to actually lvl the 3Dragons crit BL temlar. So far at lvl 56 at the end of act 2 merciless - it works. Not spectacular, but works quite well.

The problems are low crit coupled with mechanic of crit per cast and not per zap, plus bad choice of quality bonus. Damage may need to be tweaked slightly too.

My setup BL + inc aoe + slower proj + PCoC + added cold + prolif. Because of the low crit I am forced to use added cold, because of the bad quality bonus (one like ice nova would be the best) I can't unsocket inc aoe and change it for penetration or added lightning.

Plus, as you can see at least a 5L is required for comfortable play. Mana cost is insane too. Still have to use searing bond (used to lvl) on swap to deal with some rares and bosses.



P.S. When it crits satifaction is great. Kinda like a crit of Arc + pack freeze from Glacial Hammer. Very nice indeed.

Is there any chance of a GGG reply with the ball's base radius and travel speed?

Trying to do some theorycrafting and cannot finish without these numbers. I'm attempting to back them out by analyzing videos, but it's really tough to get a good measurement.

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Smodab wrote:

Is there any chance of a GGG reply with the ball's base radius and travel speed?

Trying to do some theorycrafting and cannot finish without these numbers. I'm attempting to back them out by analyzing videos, but it's really tough to get a good measurement.

See a pic i posted some pages back,this will give you a good idea on its radious

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elwindakos wrote:

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Smodab wrote:

Is there any chance of a GGG reply with the ball's base radius and travel speed?

Trying to do some theorycrafting and cannot finish without these numbers. I'm attempting to back them out by analyzing videos, but it's really tough to get a good measurement.

See a pic i posted some pages back,this will give you a good idea on its radious

I appreciate the response, but I'm actually looking for a number in units. I'm trying to find the ratio of ball speed to ball radius so I can put some actual DPS numbers up to compare the affects of IAOE and slower proj. We know they are good, but I want to see exactly how good.

Without actual numbers, I can only make comparisons to the base, unsupported skill. For example, if we compare base BL with BL+IAOE+SP, the result is 100% more damage, given by (cross post from my post on reddit):

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me_on_reddit wrote:

v = ball velocity (units/s)
r = ball radius (units)
z = hit rate (hits/second) = 5

Using unsupported BL, the number of hits (N) on a stationary mob from a single BL, is given by:

N = (z * 2 * r) / v

Using supported BL with Lvl 20 increased AOE (33%) and Lvl 20 Slower projectiles (44% reduced), the number of hits (N2) on a stationary mob from a single BL, is given by:

N2 = (z * 2 * (r * 1.33)) / (v * 0.66) = 2.02 * ((z * 2 * r) / v) = 2.02 * N

So, a lvl 20 IAOE and Lvl 20 Slower projectiles functions as a 200% more modifier for BL damage. The basic formula for determining how much *more* damage you get from IAOE and Slower Projectiles is:

More Mod = (1 + IAOE) / (1 - Slower Projectiles)

From the example above, this is: more=(1 + 0.33) / (1 - 0.44) = 2.015 = 101.5 % more damage.

YAY MATH!

Using that formula and your 170% IAOE, you'l be getting 300% more damage than the base BL.

one question I have on this skill is how does one handle reflect ?
in the builds I've seen till now no one even addresses the problem

with a fire and forget skill like this my impression is reflect (or even worse lightning thorns) is a major issue since you cant just stop casting like you do with say incinerate or freezing pulse.

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Amiag wrote:

one question I have on this skill is how does one handle reflect ?
in the builds I've seen till now no one even addresses the problem

It doesn't do enough damage for reflect to become a problem, and people like using purity of lightning anyway as it's the most dangerous element of them all, you shouldn't even notice reflect with it.