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Lightning StrikeAttack, Projectile, Melee, Strike, Lightning
Level: (1-20)
Cost: 6 Mana
Attack Damage: (135-225)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (135-225)%
Requires Level 12Infuses your melee weapon with electrical energies as you swing. In addition to converting some of your physical damage to lightning damage, the stored energy is released from the weapon as projectiles as you strike, flying out to hit farther-away enemies. The projectiles cannot miss if the melee attack hits a target.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal1% increased Damage
1% increased Projectile Speed
Projectiles Pierce 0.1 additional TargetsFires 0.1 additional Projectiles1% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage
Deals (135-225)% of Base Attack Damage
50% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage
Fires (4-7) additional Projectiles
(1-9) to (13-179) Added Lightning Damage
Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
Lightning Strike skill iconLightning Strike inventory icon
Acquisition
Area level: 12
Vendor Prices
Normal1x Orb of Transmutation
Vendor Offer
1x Scroll Fragment
Metadata
Item class: Active Skill Gems
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemLightningStrike

Lightning Strike skill screenshot
For the Vaal-themed counterpart, see Vaal Lightning Strike.

Lightning Strike is a melee strike attack skill that converts physical damage to lightning damage. It has a secondary effect where it launches projectiles that deal damage based on the player character's weapon damage with each swing.

Skill functions and interactions[ | ]

An attack with Lightning Strike consists of two parts:

When the melee attack is made, a number of lightning projectiles (five at level one, increasing with gem level) will shoot out in a ~85 degree arc, traveling in a straight line until they strike an enemy. Unmodified projectiles will do 75% of full weapon damage, of which 50% of physical damage is converted to lightning damage (the bolts benefit from added damage, e.g. as from aura's), against any target struck. Linking a 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
or Greater Multiple Projectiles Support inventory iconGreater Multiple Projectiles SupportGreater Multiple Projectiles SupportSupport, Projectile
Icon: P
Level: (1-20)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 150%
Requires Level 38Supports projectile skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Projectile DamageSupported 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 4 additional Projectiles
Supported Skills deal (35-26)% 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.
Greater Multiple Projectiles Support inventory icon
support gem will multiplicatively reduce the damage of each projectile and spread further projectiles out within the 85 degree arc.

Cannot Miss: This applies only to the projectiles launched after you initiated the strike. Swinging in enemies' general direction will result in projectiles with a hit/miss chance equal to that of the skill itself. Projectiles that miss will be dissipated without doing damage.

Damage conversion: Like all converted damage, the lightning portion of Lightning Strike's damage will be modified by both lightning damage and physical damage increases. Furthermore, the damage done by the lightning bolts is considered projectile damage (instead of melee), therefore any Strength bonus does not apply.

It is important to note that despite the confusing wording of this skill, the projectile portion of this attack in no way scales off the melee portion of the attack - in essence, the Lightning Strike skill does two completely separate things simultaneously, a melee attack (which deals x% of the base damage, and of which 50% of the physical damage is converted to lightning damage), and a ranged attack (which shoots projectiles, which deal 75% of the attack damage of the attack each, and of which 50% of the physical damage is converted to lightning damage).

This means that increasing the melee portion of the hit through melee-exclusive means such as Melee Physical Damage Support inventory iconMelee Physical Damage SupportMelee Physical Damage SupportMelee, Physical, Support, Attack
Icon: M
Level: (1-20)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%
Requires Level 18Supports melee attack skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Melee Physical DamageSupported Skills have +0.1 to Melee Strike RangeSupported Skills Overwhelm 0.25% Physical Damage ReductionSupported Skills deal (30-49)% more Melee Physical Damage
Supported Skills deal (30-49)% more Damage with Bleeding and Poison caused by Melee Hits
Supported Skills have 10% less Attack Speed
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.
Melee Physical Damage Support inventory icon
will not actually increase the projectile damage; the projectile damage is not "converted melee damage", a common misconception. Do not be deceived by the tooltip DPS of this skill which will change if you apply a melee-exclusive modifier; the tooltip DPS only shows the DPS of the melee portion of the attack and things that modify that, but not the projectile part of the attack.

That said, passive points that grant Increased damage with one-handed melee weapons for example will in fact affect the projectile attack as well if one is using a one-handed weapon, since it is still an attack that is dealt with a melee weapon (though the damage you're dealing is not actually melee damage). However, Increased melee damage with one-handed weapons would only apply to the melee portion of the attack, as it increases melee damage.

Any flat elemental damage gains from gear, auras, weapons or any other source will apply to both the projectile and the melee portion of the attack.

  • Dual Wielding: Dual wielding attacks with Lightning Strike will alternate the weapon being swung.
  • Life on Hit: The stated amount of life on hit will be restored for the initial hit and each time a projectile strikes an enemy.
  • Piercing Projectiles: Lightning Strike projectiles which pierce an enemy and strike another will do the usual projectile damage to all enemies struck.
  • Point Blank: Projectiles are affected by Point Blank even though the melee attack is not.[1]
  • Iron Grip: Taking iron grip will apply Strength damage bonus to projectile portion of attack. Without iron grip only the melee portion of attack receives damage bonus from Strength.[2]
  • Reflect: Reflected attack damage (whether physical or elemental) can be evaded, blocked and dodged.[3]
  • Chain: Projectiles can chain (for example if linked with Chain Support inventory iconChain SupportChain SupportSupport, Chaining, Projectile
    Icon: c
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 150%
    Requires Level 38Supports projectile skills, and any other skills that chain.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills have 1% increased Chaining rangeSupported Skills have 1% increased Projectile SpeedProjectiles Fired by Supported Skills have 4% chance not to Pierce EnemiesSupported Skills Chain +2 times
    Supported Skills deal (30-11)% less Damage with Hits
    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.
    Chain Support inventory icon
    ), however they won't chain if they pierce.
  • The modifier x% of Physical Damage added as from things like Hatred and Added Fire Damage is based on physical damage before conversions. So it will be based on the full base damage, not just the 50% physical part. This applies to both - melee damage and projectile damage.
  • Ancestral Call Support: If there are additional targets within range, Ancestral Call will target and attempt to strike additional enemies; these strikes will release projectiles in the direction of the target struck. Without additional targets, Lightning Strike will not swing aside from the main strike and thus not produce extra projectiles. However, against single targets, you can benefit from additional strikes from Ancestral Call Support and other similar bonuses by attacking outside melee range. This will create two lightning strikes, one from Ancestral Call which hits the target, and one from your own attack which will fire projectiles that can also hit the target. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxiBvBzunj8

Gem level progression[ | ]

LevelRequired LevelRequired DexterityRequired IntelligenceDamage
Effectiveness
Attack
Damage
# ProjectilesLightning DamageExp.Total Exp.
1122114135%135%41 to 1300
2152517140%139.7%41 to 161524915249
3193021145%144.5%41 to 204151756766
4233524149%149.2%41 to 2581983138749
5274128154%153.9%42 to 31147968286717
6314632159%158.7%52 to 37250557537274
7355136163%163.4%52 to 45405086942360
8385538167%168.2%53 to 514477181390078
9415941173%172.9%53 to 596153182005396
10446344178%177.6%53 to 668346392840035
11476747182%182.4%64 to 7515707604410795
12507149187%187.1%64 to 8516339876044782
13537552192%191.8%65 to 9521510308195812
14567955197%196.6%66 to 107281218911008001
15598358201%201.3%66 to 120509936016107361
16628760206%206.1%77 to 134940073125508092
17649062211%210.8%78 to 1441527336640781458
18669264216%215.5%78 to 1552628658267068040
19689566220%220.3%79 to 16762890590129958630
20709868225%225%79 to 179212046017342004647
217210070230%229.7%810 to 192N/AN/A
2274N/AN/A235%234.5%811 to 206N/AN/A
2376N/AN/A239%239.2%812 to 221N/AN/A
2478N/AN/A244%243.9%812 to 237N/AN/A
2580N/AN/A249%248.7%813 to 254N/AN/A
2682N/AN/A253%253.4%914 to 272N/AN/A
2784N/AN/A258%258.2%915 to 291N/AN/A
2886N/AN/A263%262.9%916 to 311N/AN/A
2988N/AN/A268%267.6%918 to 333N/AN/A
3090N/AN/A272%272.4%919 to 355N/AN/A
3191N/AN/A275%274.7%919 to 367N/AN/A
3292N/AN/A277%277.1%1020 to 380N/AN/A
3393N/AN/A280%279.5%1021 to 392N/AN/A
3494N/AN/A282%281.8%1021 to 405N/AN/A
3595N/AN/A284%284.2%1022 to 419N/AN/A
3696N/AN/A287%286.6%1023 to 433N/AN/A
3797N/AN/A289%288.9%1024 to 447N/AN/A
3898N/AN/A291%291.3%1024 to 462N/AN/A
3999N/AN/A294%293.7%1025 to 477N/AN/A
40100N/AN/A296%296.1%1026 to 492N/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
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 ↓
The Siren's Cadence
Act 1

Vendor reward

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

Class →WitchShadowRangerDuelistMarauderTemplarScion
Quest ↓
The Siren's Cadence
Act 1
Nessa
A Fixture of Fate
Act 3
Siosa
Fallen from Grace
Act 6
Lilly Roth

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect Lightning Strike.

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 Lightning Strike Additional Pierce 166Lightning Strike pierces 2 additional Targetshelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Lightning Strike Additional Pierce 275Lightning Strike pierces 3 additional Targetshelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Lightning Strike Damage 16625% increased Lightning Strike Damagehelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Lightning Strike Damage 27540% increased Lightning Strike Damagehelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Lightning Strike Num Of Additional Projectiles 166Lightning Strike fires 2 additional Projectileshelmet 100
default 0
Enchantment Lightning Strike Num Of Additional Projectiles 275Lightning Strike fires 3 additional Projectileshelmet 100
default 0

Version history[ | ]

Version Changes
3.15.0
  • Now deals 225% of Base Damage, and has 225% Effectiveness of Added Damage at gem level 20 (previously 180%).
3.13.0
  • No longer causes projectiles to deal 25% less damage.
  • No longer causes damage over time from projectiles to deal 25% less damage.
3.12.0
  • Now has alternative gem quality: Anomalous, Divergent or Phantasmal.
3.7.0
  • Now deals base damage equal to, and has an added damage effectiveness of, 135% at gem level 1 (from 130%), up to 180% at gem level 20 (from 176%).
  • Now adds 1 to 13 lightning damage to attacks at gem level 1, up to 9 to 179 at gem level 20.
  • Now gains 1% increased projectile speed and 1% increased damage per 1% gem quality (previously gained 1% increased lightning damage per 1% gem quality).
3.1.2
  • Overhauled the visual effects and audio of Lightning Strike in order to improve performance.
2.4.0
  • 9% more damage at gem level 20.
2.1.0
  • Attack skills that have their damage based on the wielded weapon have their mana costs fixed in place from level 1 onwards.
  • Lightning Strike has been substantially reworked. It is now a Dexterity Gem that starts at player level 12. It shoots five projectiles at level 1, increasing as it levels. Its damage has been increased. It went from dealing 70% of base damage to 75% of base damage.
2.0.0
  • Now grants 2% chance to pierce per 1% quality (was 3% per 1% quality).
1.3.0
  • The mana costs of Elemental Hit inventory iconElemental HitElemental HitAttack, Projectile, Melee, Strike, Fire, Cold, Lightning, AoE, Prismatic, Bow
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: (7-11) Mana
    Radius: 10
    Requires Level 12Each attack with this skill will choose an element at random, and will only be able to deal damage of that element. If the attack hits an enemy, it will also deal damage in an area around them, with the radius being larger if that enemy is suffering from an ailment of the chosen element. It will avoid choosing the same element twice in a row.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Elemental Damage0.5% increased Area of Effect1% increased Effect of non-Damaging Ailments on Enemies(22-480) to (40-891) Added Fire Damage
    (18-392) to (33-729) Added Cold Damage
    (4-77) to (67-1465) Added Lightning Damage
    (30-49)% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite
    10% more Damage per Elemental Ailment on the Enemy
    80% more Area Radius against Enemies affected by an Ailment of the chosen Element
    Only Deals Damage of the chosen Element
    Deals no Damage of other Damage Types
    +(0-2) to Melee Strike Range
    Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Elemental Hit skill icon
    Elemental Hit inventory icon
    , Glacial Hammer inventory iconGlacial HammerGlacial HammerAttack, Melee, Strike, Cold
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: 5 Mana
    Attack Damage: (165-215)% of base
    Effectiveness of Added Damage: (165-215)%
    Hits enemies, converting some of your physical damage to cold damage. If an enemy is frozen and is on less than one third life, they will shatter when hit by Glacial Hammer. If striking three times in a row, the third strike will freeze enemies more easily. Requires a Mace, Sceptre or Staff.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent2% increased Duration of Cold Ailments0.5% increased Attack Speed1% increased Area of EffectDeals (165-269)% of Base Attack Damage
    60% of Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage
    25% chance to Freeze enemies
    35% increased Duration of Cold Ailments
    (10-29)% increased Effect of Cold Ailments
    +(2-4) to Melee Strike Range
    Every third successive strike Freezes enemies as though dealing (200-390)% more Damage
    Adds (2-75) to (3-113) Cold Damage against Chilled Enemies
    Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Glacial Hammer skill icon
    Glacial Hammer inventory icon
    , Infernal Blow inventory iconInfernal BlowInfernal BlowAttack, AoE, Melee, Strike, Fire, Duration
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: 6 Mana
    Attack Damage: (103-133)% of base
    Effectiveness of Added Damage: (104-133)%
    Radius: 15
    Requires Level 12Attacks with your weapon, applying a charged debuff to enemies hit by your strike, and an uncharged debuff to any other enemies hit. Upon reaching 6 charges, expiring, or the enemy's death, the charged debuff is removed, and it deals damage to that and other nearby enemies. Enemies with either debuff explode when they die, damaging other nearby enemies. Damage from this explosion cannot be reflected. Requires a Sword, Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal0.5% increased Area of EffectExplosion has 1% chance to apply Uncharged Debuff on Hit3% increased Burning Damage
    1% chance to Ignite enemies
    4% increased Skill Effect Duration
    Deals (103.9-133)% of Base Attack Damage
    60% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage
    Base duration is 0.8 seconds
    Explosion deals base Fire Damage equal to 6% of the corpse's Maximum Life
    Debuff deals 66% of Damage per Charge
    (5-75) to (8-113) Added Fire Damage
    +(0-2) to Melee Strike Range
    Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Infernal Blow skill icon
    Infernal Blow inventory icon
    and Lightning Strike inventory iconLightning StrikeLightning StrikeAttack, Projectile, Melee, Strike, Lightning
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: 6 Mana
    Attack Damage: (135-225)% of base
    Effectiveness of Added Damage: (135-225)%
    Requires Level 12Infuses your melee weapon with electrical energies as you swing. In addition to converting some of your physical damage to lightning damage, the stored energy is released from the weapon as projectiles as you strike, flying out to hit farther-away enemies. The projectiles cannot miss if the melee attack hits a target.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal1% increased Damage
    1% increased Projectile Speed
    Projectiles Pierce 0.1 additional TargetsFires 0.1 additional Projectiles1% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage
    Deals (135-225)% of Base Attack Damage
    50% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage
    Fires (4-7) additional Projectiles
    (1-9) to (13-179) Added Lightning Damage
    Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
    Lightning Strike skill icon
    Lightning Strike inventory icon
    have been reduced.
1.2.0
  • Base damage increased from 120% to 130%. Mana cost reduced.
0.10.0
  • Fixed a problem with evasion related to Lightning Strike.
0.9.12h
  • Fixed a bug where Lightning Strike's projectiles would always miss when you use it for the first time in a while.
0.9.12b
  • Fixed a crash with Lightning Strike that would occur with specific two-handed mauls.
0.9.11
  • The damage penalty on its projectiles is now 30% rather than 20%.
0.9.10b
  • Fixed a bug where Lightning Strike's melee attack would always hit.
  • Lightning Strike's projectiles now always hit if the melee attack hits, otherwise they perform an accuracy roll.
0.9.10
  • Fixed a client crash that could occur when using Lightning Strike while standing on a patch of fire.
0.9.9
  • Reduced damage penalty on projectiles from -50% to -20%.
0.9.6e
  • Fixed a client freeze that could occur if a nearby party member was using Lightning Strike.
0.9.6c
  • Fixed a bug where Lightning Strike's damage was displayed wrong.
0.9.6
  • Lightning Strike has been added to the game

References[ | ]

  1. Mark_GGG (December 3, 2012). "Mechanics Thread". Path of Exile Forum. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  2. Mark_GGG (December 4, 2012). "Mechanics Thread". Path of Exile Forum. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  3. Mark_GGG (December 4, 2012). "Mechanics Thread". Path of Exile Forum. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
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