Lightning bolt spell

Olteron

Does anyone use this? Lol I've killed myself with it more times than I've killed my enemies. They should call the lightning wand "wand of last resort." Or "the butt clencher". Lol

Orangemoose

Just... don't fire it directly at a wall?

justfeelinathome

Actualy, I use it quite a lot on my Avenger Druid: It's a viable alternative to Call Lightning indoors, if the space is not too small. The "trick" is to give yourself enough time for reacting: Just don't cast it close to a wall, that way, once the spells bolts (pun intended), you can engage in evasive maneuvers. And yes, before I got more experienced with "the but clencher" it killed me numerous times.

On mage I wholeheartedly agree: Fireball and Skull trap do the same amount or more of damage and are easier for targeting.

magisensei

lol

Not the best of offensive spells/wands to use safely but if you can do a little geometry and get your team out of the possible ricochet path then it can work effectively or you can just buff up with 100% protection from electricity and watch the sparks fly - thats what I did once.

Or maybe just use it outside although it does bounce off trees and rocks to so be a little careful with your aim.

BelgarathMTH

I call mages who use Lightning Bolts in the game "suicide bombers". I've seen them kill themselves so many times, trying to take us with them (often successfully).

Tresset

The devs appear to have been trying to fix some of the many issues the lightning bolts have. I am not sure they are done yet, but as a result of their tinkering the bolts seem quite a bit safer now and much more effective as AoE spells, but a whole lot less bouncy. Definitely worth a try again.

00zim00

@Tresset
Wait... I liked the bounciness what are they changing do you know?

If its just smarter mage AI that's all right but changing the spell to much breaks the spirit of it imo!

JumboWheat01

I've made fair use of a wand version of it, I put those boots that give 50% lightning resistance on Khalid and got him to gather the enemies before using it. Though I usually have him do the same, but release my fire breath instead (there's a reason I give him so many resistance things!)

Tresset

@00zim00 I think they were having issues with the bolts bouncing off the targets they were hitting and also issues with the bolts not hitting targets directly behind the initial target of the spell. I am sure if you found an issue with the bolts not bouncing you could make a redmine report and it would be looked at.

Koyote

In 2.1 I had a lighting bolt bounce off of an Ogre directly in front of me and it ended up killing me as it bounced several time on top of me. This was in the wide open so no walls.

magisensei

Koyote said:

In 2.1 I had a lighting bolt bounce off of an Ogre directly in front of me and it ended up killing me as it bounced several time on top of me. This was in the wide open so no walls.

That has to be a bug - imagine a lightning proof ogre - ouch or maybe it had a mirror shield that 2.1 gave to ogres to give them some love - after all they get picked on by all these adventurers looking for xp.

DJKajuru

It's funny how even npc mages sometimes kill themseçves with it. I have learned to use it in outdoor areas only, or from a good distance.

jackjack

I hate this spell. I even sell the scroll(s) instead of memorizing it.

TheArtisan

Even Gorion can't aim the damn thing.

Edit: It looks like he misfired then tried to dodge his own lightning bolt lol

DJKajuru

Artemius_I said:

Even Gorion can't aim the damn thing.

Edit: It looks like he misfired then tried to dodge his own lightning bolt lol

HahahHAHhaha! What an amazing scene .

Quique

There's a room in the Cloakwook mines where this spell is amazing. It just requires a little trial and error but you can turn a somewhat though fight into a walk in the park by unleashing this with a trusty wand.

Jarrakul

My understanding is that the way to use lightning bolt is the make yourself immune to lightning and then fire it straight up or down. Then it'll bounce directly back at you, hitting any enemies in that line several times, while you're immune to lightning and therefore totally fine.

But yeah, if you're not immune to lightning, or if you fire it off at an angle, it tends to be some combination of underwhelming and suicidal.

Noon

Minor globe of invulnerability is also enough.

alceryes

I use lightning bolt all the time. It's extremely effective against all types of foes!

* * *

I plant lightning bolt scrolls all over Baldur's Gate so my magic using enemies pick them up, learn the spell, and try to use it against me - WINNING!

Ithual

I love lightning bolt. It's an awesome spell. Yes, sometimes you get it wrong and it tears through your whole party, but if you fire and run you should usually miss the rebound.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

mlnevese

Magic...

Lateralus

Olteron said:

Does anyone use this? Lol I've killed myself with it more times than I've killed my enemies. They should call the lightning wand "wand of last resort." Or "the butt clencher". Lol

Yeah I like it, relatively quick casting time with a potentially devastating payload and the chance to hurt multiple foes. It takes practice to use it right, timing and positioning are the key. if the target is too close it might kick back in your direction. I also try to use it in the wide open wilderness and almost never in close quarters.

Durenas

subtledoctor said:

I never understood the whole "bounce off walls" thing. Walls are grounded! They should absorb the electricity.

*squeek!*

"Boo asks, how can walls be grounded if you cannot walk on them?"

Ammar

They really do not seem to bounce on walls anymore. Shame.

I have fond memories of that spell in the Goldbox series. Since it was both turn- and tile-based you could use Lightning Bolt to great effect if you understood it mechanics. Many draconians learned that the hard way.

JumboWheat01

Amberion said:

subtledoctor said:

I never understood the whole "bounce off walls" thing. Walls are grounded! They should absorb the electricity.

*squeek!*

"Boo asks, how can walls be grounded if you cannot walk on them?"

I just had a mental image of Boo, Minsc and Deekin in one room/party. Gods...

Koyote

So I did a little testing on lightning bolt to see if there was any change to it. At range it is constantly double bouncing on mobs. I just one shotted both vampiric wolves on the temple map. Assuming this doesn't get patched, lightning bolt just became one of my favorite damage spells!!! (Also one of the scariest spells because it seems to consistently double bounc off of you)

OlvynChuru

Lightning Bolt is a great spell if you can hit enemies with it multiple times. If a level 10 mage or avenger casts it and hits an enemy with it twice, that enemy just got dealt 20d6 damage.

The best way to do this would be to gain immunity to electricity and cast the spell on enemies at point blank.

JumboWheat01

JumboWheat01 said:

Amberion said:

subtledoctor said:

I never understood the whole "bounce off walls" thing. Walls are grounded! They should absorb the electricity.

*squeek!*

"Boo asks, how can walls be grounded if you cannot walk on them?"

I just had a mental image of Boo, Minsc and Deekin in one room/party. Gods...

That would have either been the greatest or the worse thing ever. A pity Minsc never got a chance to meet Deekin before he "died." At least he can take a walk down Deekin Street now that he's "gotten better."

ThacoBell

Note to self, start practicing with lightning bolt.

Tresset

Well... Hmm... In my own games I have a modified lightning bolt projectile that has slightly different behavior when it is cast. Unlike the default version of the spell, it does not bounce off of the first target it hits, as in the Gorion video above. Initially I decided against putting this in my tweak pack because it didn't work as well as I wanted it to, but I suppose I should put it in there anyway.