Chain Lightningedit

From WoWWiki

Chain Lightning
  • Chain Lightning
  • 2 sec cast
  • 30 ydrange
  • 26% base mana Mana
  • Hurls a lightning bolt at the enemy, dealing X to Y Nature damage and then jumping to additional nearby enemies. Each jump reduces the damage by 30%. Affects 3 total targets.
Usable by
ClassShaman
Properties
TypeOffensive
SchoolNature
Cooldown6 sec
Talents
Improvement
talents
Convection, Concussion, Call of Thunder, Storm Reach, Elemental Focus, Elemental Fury, Elemental Precision, Elemental Mastery, Lightning Mastery, Lightning Overload, Stormstrike, Nature's Guidance, Tidal Mastery, Nature's Swiftness, Nature's Blessing, Storm, Earth and Fire
Other information
Ranks8

Chain Lightning is a shaman spell that deals direct damage to up to 3 targets. Each successive hit deals 30% less damage.

Contents

Rank table

Rank Mana Cost Damage Level Cost
1 26% base mana 191-217 32 72s
2 26% base mana 277-311 40 1g 8s
3 26% base mana 378-424 48 1g 98s
4 26% base mana 493-551 56 2g 70s
5 TBC 26% base mana 603-687 63 3g 78s
6 TBC 26% base mana 734-838 70 7g 92s
7 WotLK 26% base mana 806-920 74 18g
8 WotLK 26% base mana 973-1111 80 18g

Notes

  • Chain Lightning's initial hit deals 100% of the damage, its second hit 70% and its third hit 40%. In total, Chain Lightning can do up to 210% of its damage.
  • Chain Lightning's initial hit receives 71% of your spell damage. It is not affected by any AoE reduction.
  • All three hits are calculated individually. As such, it possible (and fairly common) that only one or two hits critically hit.

Talent improvement

  • Convection reduces the mana cost of Chain Lightning.
  • Stormstrike increases damage of your 2 next nature spells by 20%.
  • Lightning Overload gives your Chain Lightning spell a chance to cast a second, half damage spell of the same type, at no additional mana cost.
  • Elemental Mastery - this spell gives you 20% increased critical strike chance with Nature, Frost and Fire spells, and reduces mana cost by 20% for 30 seconds. 3 min cd.

Tips and tactics

  • Chain Lightning has a fairly high chance of triggering Elemental Focus due to hitting multiple targets.
  • Chain Lightning has a high mana cost considering other Elemental offensive spells, so be sure to cast it after Lava Burst when the Clearcasting buff is active.
  • Be careful when using this spell if more mobs are nearby that aren't meant to be aggroed. While Chain Lightning may be more tempting to use for its lower cast time and higher damage output, it can easily cause adds.

Patch changes

  • Patch 2.3 (2007-11-13): Cast time was reduced to 2.0 (from 2.5), mana costs reduced, benefit from spell damage reduced appropriately.