I have a shaman which is a lot of fun to play. But there is one thing that bothers me. That chain lightning doesn’t appear to do a lot of damage. I understand that the spell was meant to be an aoe ability and to build up for other spells, but I just feel it’s too weak period.
Chain lightning has one of the best visual effects in the game. Every time I use it I feel like Emperor Palpatine “Power, unlimited power!” But it just doesn’t do the damage it looks like it should do. Visually the spell looks fantastic. I hope someday the spell is made to be as powerful as it looks. As a primary dps/aoe spell.
I would at least expect Chain lightning to stun the mobs. I mean, they are getting electrocuted.
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I get what you’re saying it just wouldn’t work mechanically.
And if it hit harder it would also have to hit fewer times. So you’d be seeing it less frequently.
If you enjoy the feeling of buffers Chain Lightnings though you could spec into Stormkeeper.
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Or the power would be taken from elsewhere, like Earthquake.
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I very much like playing Shaman…it was my first character in this game, but they always seem to be perpetually underpowered.
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Shaman especially suffers from many iconic abilities doing pathetic damage.
Stormstrike for enhance right now is something you cast like 6373782 times and it does 0.01% of your damage. Then lightning bolt is routinely enhancements highest damage spell.
It’s pretty bad.
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as a shaman main for 8+ years the way i would have like to have seen chain lightning be done is that the main target of the chain gets a hit equivalent to a regular lightning bolt and lesser effect after main target. I loved the way shaman played when we had maelstrom and chain lightning would fill that bar rather quick. Deleted my shaman a while ago and probably wont go back until shaman opens up for more races. Loved the way chain lightning and chain heal paired up in shadowlands too, cast one get a free cast of the other and keep the loop going. yes it wasn’t as good as a direct lightning bolt or healing surge but it kept things flowing and was a great way to build maelstrom for bigger combos.
Doesn’t Stormkeeper do that, or has that been nerfed?
Chain lightning is spammable.
It won’t be a hard hitting ability.
You have a point. Chain lightning is instant cast, with little bite. I would then suggest that perhaps chain lightning could be converted into a channeled spell with greater bite. Would that make sense?
I remember Shadow Priests had a aoe spell which was fun to cast called Mind Sear. Last I heard Bizz nerfed that into the ground.
I wouldn’t mind that. Because with a stronger chain lightning there wouldn’t be a need for earthquake. At least for me anyway.
Lightning Lasso is that. I take it on Spiteful week.
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Should make them more durable first. I swear your average DPS Shaman has the life expectancy of a wet roll of toilet paper in low 20s keys. 
Yeah shammy survivability is HP based and the Earth Ele has a 5 minute CD, wayyyy too long, it lasts a while though but it can get blown up if the tank actually lets it tank.
Blizzard wants them to press like 4 buttons in a row just to survive, it’s dumb. You also get massive DR inside of Ghostwolf but can’t DPS inside of it lol.
But its not instant cast.
Its an AE spell for building MS for using EQ.
But that takes away a core aspect of the class.
They aren’t going to change ele sham to “spam only chain lighting for AE”
It should be more powerful yes. So should paladin Divine Storm.
Youd really think being hit by lightning would… you know… DO something other than tickle.
I don’t see them making Chain Lightning a stun given that it has no CD. We have capacitor totem for stun. My favorite thing about shaman (I play resto) is the various CCs, a stun with capacitor totem, a knock up with thunderstorm and thundershock, a slow with earthbind, and more that I don’t spec into. Then there’s the ranged short CD interrupt, I love it, I just need to get better at not overlapping.
Lightning Lasso also stuns. I’m starting to think Shammy players don’t even know it exists. It does share a node with a mandatory talent for M+, that’s prolly why.
I do know it exists, it’s not one I use because as you noted, it’s a choice node with a talent really good for M+, Thundershock. Lightning Lasso feels like a talent better suited for PvP, at least to me it does.
I was doing a key with a shaman friend not too long ago, I think we only had one pug DPS, but shaman friend takes Lightning Lasso (I think I remember seeing him use it in the key) and loves using Thunderstorm when all the trash finally gets grouped up. Felt like he was using it on CD. It was certainly a key that happened.
In bfa stormstrike was top damage. Then they remade enhance back to its prior version. Now it plays like a classic spec that never evolved
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The problem with chain lightning is that lightning bolt exists. Pick one, blizz. Cause there ain’t enough room for both as a filler spammable ability.
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