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Ball LightningSpell, Projectile, AoE, Lightning
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (12-23) Mana
Cast Time: 0.70 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 50%
Projectile Speed: 400
Radius: 22
Requires Level 28Fires a slow-moving projectile that periodically damages enemies in an area around it with bolts of lightning.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Lightning Damage0.5% increased Cast SpeedProjectiles have 0.5% chance to be SuperchargedDeals (3-22) to (48-426) Lightning DamagePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
Ball Lightning skill iconBall Lightning inventory icon
Acquisition
Area level: 28
Vendor Prices
Normal1x Orb of Chance
Vendor Offer
1x Scroll Fragment
Metadata
Item class: Active Skill Gems
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemBallLightning

Ball Lightning skill screenshot


Ball Lightning is a lightning spell that creates a slow-moving projectile which periodically zaps nearby enemies.

Skill functions and interactions[]

  • Strike interval: Lightning bolts will strike nearby targets every 150 milliseconds while they are inside the area of effect of the ball. This restriction is shared between multiple balls fired on the same cast (such as when using Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support inventory iconLesser Multiple Projectiles SupportLesser Multiple Projectiles SupportSupport, Projectile
    Icon: l
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%
    Requires Level 8Supports projectile skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Attack Speed
    Supported Skills have 0.5% increased Cast Speed
    Supported Skills have 1% reduced Mana Cost
    Supported Skills have 0.5% increased Projectile Speed
    Projectiles Fired by Supported Skills have 1% increased Projectile spread
    Supported Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles
    Supported Skills deal (15-6)% less Projectile Damage
    This is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support inventory icon
    ).[1] Balls cast by Multiple Traps Support inventory iconMultiple Traps SupportMultiple Traps SupportSupport, Trap
    Icon: t
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 140%
    Requires Level 8Supports traps skills, making them throw extra traps in a line.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills have 1% increased Trap Trigger Area of EffectSupported Skills can have up to 0.1 additional Traps placed at a timeSupported Skills have 0.2% chance to throw an additional TrapSupported Skills throw up to 2 additional Traps
    Supported Skills can have up to 3 additional Traps placed at a time
    Supported Skills deal (50-31)% less Damage
    This is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Multiple Traps Support inventory icon
    do not share a 150 ms cooldown between each other because every trap is a separate cast. Likewise for Spell Echo Support inventory iconSpell Echo SupportSpell Echo SupportSpell, Support
    Icon: k
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 150%
    Requires Level 38Supports spell skills, making them repeat when cast. Cannot support Vaal skills, totem skills, channelling skills, triggered skills, instant skills, or skills which reserve mana.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Spell DamageSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Cast SpeedSupported Skills deal 1% less Damage
    Final Repeat of Supported Skills deals 3% more Damage
    Supported Skills Repeat an additional time
    Supported Skills have (40-54)% more Cast Speed
    Supported Skills deal 10% less Damage
    This is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Spell Echo Support inventory icon
    .
  • Projectile speed: The base projectile speed is roughly 48 units per second.[2] Reductions to projectile speed such as Slower Projectiles Support inventory iconSlower Projectiles SupportSlower Projectiles SupportSupport, Projectile
    Icon: J
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%
    Requires Level 31Supports projectile skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Projectile DamageSupported Skills deal 0.75% increased Projectile Damage to nearby EnemiesProjectiles Fired by Supported Skills have 3% chance not to Pierce EnemiesSupported Skills have (20-30)% less Projectile Speed
    Supported Skills deal (10-19)% more Projectile Damage
    This is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Slower Projectiles Support inventory icon
    can increase the amount of time an enemy spends within the ball's area of effect, resulting in a higher potential number of lightning strikes per cast.
  • Area of effect: Increases and reductions to area of effect will alter the range of the ball, making it hit enemies further away or closer. Modifiers to area damage (such as Concentrated Effect Support inventory iconConcentrated Effect SupportConcentrated Effect SupportSupport, AoE
    Icon: o
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 140%
    Requires Level 18Supports any skill with an area of effect, regardless of whether that skill deals damage.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Area DamageSupported Skills have 0.5% less Area of EffectSupported Skills have 0.5% reduced Enemy Stun ThresholdSupported Skills have 30% less Area of Effect
    Supported Skills deal (25-39)% more Area Damage
    This is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Concentrated Effect Support inventory icon
    ) do not apply.
  • Fork and Chain: Ball Lightning projectiles will always pierce, and therefore can never fork or chain.
  • Tooltip damage: The tooltip DPS assumes that the skill will only hit once per cast. A more accurate estimate can be obtained using the calculator on the following link (Updated for 3.15). It is worth noting that the calculation will not be precise for general use, as enemies will move around and the skill will not pass over them using its entire diameter. However, it should be fairly reliable when the skill is used on stationary targets.

Alternative quality[]

The alternative quality Divergent Ball Lightning granted Projectiles have 0.5% chance to be Supercharged per 1% gem quality.

Supercharged Projectiles have 50% more Area of effect and deal 50% more damage.

Gem level progression[]

LevelRequired LevelRequired IntelligenceMana
Cost
Lightning
Damage
Exp.Total Exp.
12867123 to 4800
23173133 to 57199345199345
33479144 to 68285815485160
43785154 to 81401344886504
54092155 to 955543791440883
64296166 to 1064774371918320
744100166 to 1185837862502106
846104177 to 1317103593212465
948109178 to 14513555114567976
1050113188 to 16111388775706853
1152117189 to 17813682337075086
12541211910 to 19716383388713424
13561251911 to 217195664810670072
14581302013 to 240365518414325256
15601342014 to 264301732717342583
16621382115 to 291775999525102578
17641422117 to 3211513819340240771
18661462219 to 3532608382566324596
19681512220 to 38862620247128944843
20701552322 to 426211708088340652931
21721592425 to 468N/AN/A
2274N/A2427 to 513N/AN/A
2376N/A2530 to 563N/AN/A
2478N/A2532 to 617N/AN/A
2580N/A2636 to 676N/AN/A
2682N/A2639 to 740N/AN/A
2784N/A2743 to 810N/AN/A
2886N/A2747 to 886N/AN/A
2988N/A2851 to 968N/AN/A
3090N/A2856 to 1058N/AN/A
3191N/A2858 to 1106N/AN/A
3292N/A2961 to 1156N/AN/A
3393N/A2964 to 1208N/AN/A
3494N/A2966 to 1263N/AN/A
3595N/A2969 to 1319N/AN/A
3696N/A3073 to 1378N/AN/A
3797N/A3076 to 1440N/AN/A
3898N/A3079 to 1504N/AN/A
3999N/A3083 to 1571N/AN/A
40100N/A3186 to 1641N/AN/A

Item acquisition
Questionmark

Upgrade paths

This item can be acquired through the following upgrade paths or vendor recipes:

AmountIngredientGeneral
Notes
Type
8Divination card inventory iconDying AnguishDying Anguish card artDivination card frameDying Anguish8Level 19 Gem
Alternative Quality: +19%
Moribund, he gazed upon the journey taken as blood trickled down his chin. His eye closed on the city ahead that he would never call home.
Divination card inventory icon
random level 19 gem with 19% alternative qualityAutomatic
1Gemcutter's Incubator inventory iconGemcutter's IncubatorGemcutter's IncubatorAdds an incubated Quality Gem item to an equippable item
Item drops after killing # monsters
Quality GemRight click this item then left click an item to apply it. The Incubated item drops after killing a specific number of monsters.
Gemcutter's Incubator inventory icon
random superior gemAutomatic
6Divination card inventory iconThe FoxThe Fox card artDivination card frameThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox."
- Ezomyte Proverb
Divination card inventory icon
random level 20 gemAutomatic
13Divination card inventory iconThe CataclysmThe Cataclysm card artDivination card frameThe Cataclysm13Level 21 Spell Gem
Corrupted
The mighty warriors traded in blows, the nimble archers in arrows, yet it was the brazen thaumaturgists who would bring catastrophe to all.
Divination card inventory icon
random corrupted level 21 Spell gemAutomatic
3Divination card inventory iconGemcutter's PromiseGemcutter's Promise card artDivination card frameGemcutter's Promise3Superior Gem
Quality: +20%
"I swore to use my position to help the people. What good is power when it just accumulates on the already-powerful?" - Erasmus, Imperial Gemcutter
Divination card inventory icon
random superior gem with 20% qualityAutomatic
1Divination card inventory iconThe VoidThe Void card artDivination card frameThe Void1Reach into the Void and claim your prize.Divination card inventory iconrandom divination card set exchangeAutomatic

Quest reward

This item is given as a quest reward for the following quests:

Class →WitchShadowRangerDuelistMarauderTemplarScion
Quest ↓
Sever the Right Hand
Act 3

Vendor reward

This item can be bought at the listed NPC vendors, after completing the following quests:

Class →WitchShadowRangerDuelistMarauderTemplarScion
Quest ↓
A Fixture of Fate
Act 3
Siosa
Sever the Right Hand
Act 3
Clarissa
Fallen from Grace
Act 6
Lilly Roth

Skill Video[]

Trivia[]

Ball Lightning was accidentally added to the game in an unfinished state in version 1.1.0 and was removed shortly afterwards.[3] It was officially added to the game in version 1.1.5. A history of the skill can be found in Supporter newsletter 73.

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect Ball Lightning.

NameFor generated item/monster modifiers the minimum item/monster level respectively. Some generation types may not require this condition to be met, however item level restrictions may be raised to 80% of this value.StatsSpawn Weighting
Enchantment Ball Lightning Additional Projectiles 175Ball Lightning fires an additional Projectilehelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Ball Lightning Damage 16625% increased Ball Lightning Damagehelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Ball Lightning Damage 27540% increased Ball Lightning Damagehelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Ball Lightning Area Of Effect 16616% increased Ball Lightning Area of Effecthelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Ball Lightning Area Of Effect 27524% increased Ball Lightning Area of Effecthelmet 100
default 0

Alternate skill effects

Ball Lightning has the following alternate skill effects:

ItemEffect(s)
Automaton Ball Lightning EffectAutomaton Ball Lightning Effect inventory iconAutomaton Ball Lightning EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Ball Lightning becomes a Automaton effect.Automaton Ball Lightning Effect inventory iconYour Ball Lightning becomes a Automaton effect.
Celestial Ball Lightning EffectCelestial Ball Lightning Effect inventory iconCelestial Ball Lightning EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Ball Lightning becomes a celestial effect.Celestial Ball Lightning Effect inventory iconYour Ball Lightning becomes a celestial effect.
Divine Ball Lightning EffectDivine Ball Lightning Effect inventory iconDivine Ball Lightning EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Ball Lightning becomes a divine effect.Divine Ball Lightning Effect inventory iconYour Ball Lightning becomes a divine effect.

Version history[]

Version Changes
3.12.0
  • Now has a base radius of 18 (from 22).
  • Now deals 3 to 48 lightning damage at gem level 1 (from 3 to 57), up to 22 to 426 lightning damage at gem level 20 (from 28 to 533).
  • Now has alternative quality.
3.11.0
  • Now deals 3 to 57 Lightning Damage at gem level 1 (from 3 to 48), to 28 to 533 Lightning Damage at gem level 20 (from 22 to 426).
  • Now has an added Damage effectiveness of 50% (from 40%).
  • Now costs 12 mana at gem level 1 (from 13), up to 23 mana at gem level 20 (from 25).
  • Now has a base cast time of 0.7 seconds (from 0.75).
3.6.0
  • Mana Cost at gem level 1 is now 13 (was 14).
  • Mana Cost at gem level 20 is now 25 (was 27).
  • Now has a cast time of 0.75 seconds (from 0.8).
  • Now deals 3 to 48 Lightning damage at gem level 1 (from 2 to 35) and 22 to 426 Lightning damage at gem level 20 (from 22 to 420).
  • Now has an added damage effectiveness of 40% (from 35%).
3.3.0
  • Now deals 2-35 lightning damage at gem level 1 (up from 2-32), up to 22-420 lightning damage at gem level 20 (up from 14-260). Now has an added damage effectiveness of 35% (up from 20%).
  • The projectile's base speed is now 33% faster. The projectile hits 33% more frequently to compensate. The base radius has increased by 10%.
  • Disabled the "Reduced Ball Lightning Projectile Speed" enchantment from appearing.
  • Ball Lightning no longer has a 10% damage boost against players.
2.6.0
  • Ball Lightning's radius has increased from 16 to 20 units.
2.1.0
  • Damage increased by around 20% higher at level 20.
2.0.0
  • Base radius increased by 33% (from 12 to 16). Damage reduced. At player level 68 it should deal approximately 24% less damage.
1.2.0
  • Damage has been increased by 30% at all levels. Critical chance increased to 5%.
1.1.5
  • Added to the game.

References[]

  1. Mark_GGG (July 4, 2014). "GGG devs, please give us some info on Ball Lightning mechanics - questions inside". Official Path of Exile Forums. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  2. Mark_GGG (July 16, 2014). "Ball Lightning". Official Path of Exile Forums. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  3. Chris (March 6, 2014). "GGG secretly released Ball Lightning skill". Official Path of Exile Forums. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
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