I assume it’s mandatory but it feels worse.
edit: prepatch, no tier set
You have to take it if you want lightning rod. It’s not good though and lightning builds are neither viable nor well designed so there’s pretty much no reason to ever take it.
I like my Lightning build very much and feel quite viable 100%.
Hero talents give you SK every 50 secs plus with cooldown benefit from casting Lb the spell is reduced from 60 Cd to about 45-50 secs. We get a nice storm elemental with each time it’s cast. I hope the storm Ele comes out when the hero talent procs too.
Storm keeper after a LvB or ES still has a ton of damage it produces. I always use it after one of those spell casts.
still needs a good CD to use under BL , the elemental one is redudant if u have BL
we need Lightning Ascendance , or change the storm ele to +dmg%
Almost all things lightning were buffed in latest beta tuning. Storm elemental included all its spells were buffed.
Sk took a big hit with the nerfs to overloads and ms nerfs, they need to revert the Ms nerfs partially at least, and buff overloads for lightning.
Also, change the stormbringer talent that gives you sk every 50 seconds to one that gives you stormkeeper after you spent a certain amount of maelstrom.
Also, merge flame and storm elemental to firestorm elemental, so elemental is not quite as divided between storm and fire, you can still specialize, but this would allow you to diversify a bit more easily.
I will probably always use it. Despite any nerfs, there’s nothing quite like a gigantic wave of lightning smoking a ton of adds to make you feel like an elemental god lol
Of all spells in game, casting 3 instant chain lightnings in a group of mobs is the most satisfying thing i have experienced.