Lightning Tether - what's the point?

Grim Dawn Ideas and Feedback
1

Been playing a character that uses Storm Box as one of its main skills. It’s a nice skill to fill the holes between casting Totems and Wind Devils and it synergizes well with two powerful on crit lightning devotion skills. Has some area of effect and can be cast every 1.5 seconds or so. Nothing wrong with that.

But the modifier Lightning Tether makes me wonder why I should invest more than one point. Mechanically it’s actually a good idea, making the skill more effective with good movement. Most of its damage is electrocute, I guess to encourage us to keep moving and that makes sense.

But the damage is mediocre, it doesn’t damage the main target (like Torrent in Primal Strike) and lightning builds are not exactly short on massive area of effect skills. Both Reckless Tempest and Hand of Ultos are such skills and are ideal to link to Storm Box to take advantage of the -120 or so DA the skill has (more with better gear). The area of effect on Storm Box itself is, at least in my experience, already plenty effective since mobs tend to bunch up instead of line up. Yes you can run away to get mobs to spread out a bit more to tag more with the tether at once but that runs the risk of outrunning the tether range and I have found that running in a (semi) circle is the best way to hit as many mobs as possible. But then the mobs bunch up and get hit by the main area of effect.

I suppose what I’m saying is, cool idea but in practice underwhelming and often useless. For my character I think I will put in just one point and use the left over points on something else, which I feel is much more effective. And that’s a shame.

2

The defense shred is what makes it good also.

3

I mentioned that and I agree, but it’s on the main skill not Tether.

4

Tether does damage the main target. It also strikes 3 times per second.

5

Neither of which is communicated in any way by the game. Had it done so I would not have made this thread.

6

Storm Box is pretty solid for Electrocute, Tether in particular seems to be tailor made for Electrocute

7

Now that I know it deals damage three times a second it suddenly looks good for both flat lightning and electrocute.

And I feel a bit silly for having brought up how bad I thought it was.

8

Would it be possible to make the Ligthtning Tethers linger on dead bodies? At least then you could actually see them more often and could actually use their full duration.

9

The idea to the skill is to tether to the strongest enemy on the screen. Trash is just trash, anything kills it (don’t waste your skill on minor enemies). I was amazed at how good this skill is when maxed against bosses. Works well when you have a few flesh hulks or abominations on screen. Always pick the enemy with the largest HP.