Electrocute: You launch an arc of electricity at the target location. If it hits a target there or before reaching there, it deals 80% weapon damage as lightning damage to that enemy and then may ‘jump’ up to two times to additional targets in sequence for the same damage.
A treat for those accustomed to the Diablo II Chain Lightning spell, Electrocute is a very nice ranged option for Wizards who want a Primary skill capable of damaging groups without running up into melee reach. The wording of the skill is a little deceptive- Electrocute will always arc to new targets if it can, with one exception- it is possible to get Electrocute to ‘jump’ to a target it just ‘jumped’ from, but it won’t always do so. While the damage isn’t staggering, nor really comparable with Spectral Blade, it’s a far better option for raw damage at range than Magic Missile, as long as there are multiple targets. Runes can mess with that a bit, but generally speaking you’re going to find Electrocute to be more useful.
Chain Lightning: You launch an arc of electricity at the target location. If it hits a target there or before reaching there, it deals 80% weapon damage as lightning damage to that enemy and then may ‘jump’ up to five times to additional targets in sequence for the same damage.
Chain Lightning enhances Electrocute by letting it hit more times- very important if you have three targets, as while Electrocute will rarely arc to a target it just hit, it will happily course in a ring between three targets with no issue. Adding the targets not only makes it devastating against small groups, it allows it to arc over large distances via interspersed enemies, meaning that on occasion you can enjoy the amusing sight of hitting something and also striking a target on a completely different side of you from the one you were aiming at.
Forked Lightning: You launch an arc of electricity at the target location. If it hits a target there or before reaching there, it deals 80% weapon damage as lightning damage to that enemy and then may ‘jump’ up to two times to additional targets in sequence for the same damage. Whenever Electrocute scores a critical hit, it releases a set of four Shock Pulse bolts in random directions, which deal 46% weapon damage as Electric damage to enemies they hit.
The form of Electrocute most useful to those who invest in critical hits, Forked Lightning can do devastating things to groups of enemies when your equipment is properly chosen. With Electrocute’s ability to be accurate at any range, Forked Lightning will often beat out Explosive Bolts for explosive death effects, though Spectral Blade will always deal more damage. The range means a lot, though.
Lightning Blast: You throw a line of lightning in the target direction, dealing 80% weapon damage as Lightning damage to all enemies it passes through.
One of two runes that completely change the function of Electrocute, Lightning Blast turns the skill into a simple line of damage. While this is fairly impressive visually and can be very handy when you need to hit things near and far at the same time, the overall utility of the spell goes down- it can hit more targets, but one of the advantages of Electrocute is hitting targets that aren’t in close proximity to one another. In the end, choosing to use this rune or not depends more on what you find enemies doing around you as you play than on the spell being more or less powerful while runed.
Surge of Power: You launch an arc of electricity at the target location. If it hits a target there or before reaching there, it deals 80% weapon damage as lightning damage to that enemy and then may ‘jump’ up to two times to additional targets in sequence for the same damage. Each time you use this skill, you gain 1 Arcane Power for each enemy it hits.
This rune simply doesn’t match up. Siphoning Blade will generate more Arcane Power when used right at closer range, and Attunement always gets you more than the most Surge of Power can- comparing 4 to 3. Plus, if only one or two targets are available, the disparity only grows. If you need to rune your Primary skill for Arcane Power generation, you don’t want to use Electrocute- Surge of Power just doesn’t cut it for resource generating.
Arc Lightning: You project a short (10-15 yard) cone of lightning that deals 80% weapon damage as Lightning damage to all enemies in its area.
This simply doesn’t compare to Spectral Blade. While the range is slightly greater, the damage is far worse, the cone is narrower, and in order to get Arc Lightning, you’re already using a rune. Despite the interesting area and effect, there’s really very little reason to use Arc Lightning. If you want to deal a cone of damage, Thrown Blade has a bigger, wider area of effect and deals more damage.
