Is there a viable alternative to LMP for Lightning Strike?

I play a level 60 shadow, currently act 2 merciless. My main source of area damage is as follows:

- Fire Trap
- Lightning Strike (LMP + Life Leech + Life Gain on Hit)

This has been working extremely well for me so far. Fire Trap is great area damage and Lightning Strike with LMP complements it really well, and with the two different life steal gems attached keeps me healed even through intense damage. But there is trouble in paradise.

I have done literally everything in my ability to maximize my framerate. You name it, I've done it. There are no suggestions left to be given on this matter. The game runs smooth (60 fps) most of the time, but Lightning Strike with LMP and Fire Traps on the ground cause my frame rate to plummet into into the 20's and low 30's. It's completely fine without LMP. With no LMP I can drop 3 Fire Traps and spam Lightning Strike and remain in the 50's. But for some reason the two extra projectiles from LMP make all the difference in the world where my frame rate is concerned.

Problem is, Lightning Strike just doesn't seem viable without LMP. I've tried using it with Faster Attacks, which might be fine aside from the fact that I tend to use LS from a ranged distance (to avoid damage while mobs focus on my Decoy Totem) and without LMP, only the middle projectile ever hits anything. The other two projectiles just seem to travel outward too far and not hit anything. I've also tried Fork with underwhelming results. I haven't tried Chain yet, and it seems my last option. Due to the high price of Chain I wanted to get some input from you guys first. Even if Chain is 20% less effective than LMP, it's worth it to me if I can get another 10 fps over LMP.

I'd consider switching to another ability if LS is only viable with LMP, but I've looked at every skill gem in the game and nothing really seems to match my build. I like to use a 1-hand sword or dagger with shield (and have no spell damage passives) so Freezing Pulse is pretty much out of the question, though Freezing Pulse with LMP does not affect my frame rate at all, even with Fire Traps. Like I said, Lightning Strike with no LMP = fine. Lightning Strike with LMP and Fire Traps = bad. I can't just not use Fire Traps, they do the bulk of my AoE damage.

Are there any decent alternatives to LMP for Lightning Strike, to fit my unique playstyle? I'm pretty desperate, if anyone can give some really good advice that will fix my issue and allow me to play the game with a decent framerate, do good area damage and keep myself healed, I'd be more than willing to reward you with some in-game items. Something along the lines of 5 chaos orbs? I would be that grateful. Thanks for taking the time to read, and good luck in Wraeclast. <3

I sadly don't have an answer for you, but out of curiosity, what video card do you have?

Add a spork totem to your character. Also Arc is a nice backup too if you find lightning strike tricky to target with.

On lightning strike you can combine LMP and Fork, but then the mana cost is too high.

Chain is probably the only other alternative that gives what you want from the projectiles. But, most of the other alternative skills will still tax your GPU to a similar degree.

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bhavv wrote:

Add a spork totem to your character. Also Arc is a nice backup too if you find lightning strike tricky to target with.

On lightning strike you can combine LMP and Fork, but then the mana cost is too high.

Lol did you even read what I wrote?

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tgcid9999 wrote:

I sadly don't have an answer for you, but out of curiosity, what video card do you have?

GeForce GTS 250 1GB. Not the best, but should be capable of rendering the particle effects from this game. And it usually does. For some reason only lightning strike with LMP plus additional effects drop my frame rate. There needs to be an option to lower spell detail.

Well I kind of read what you meant.

Only other thing I could think of adding to Lightning Strike is GMP and / or pierce / faster projectiles.

I assumed you have some elemental damage and maybe lightning passives on this build too? If so you could try swapping lightning strike with a spork totem and use that to supplement your fire traps. Its just an alternate skill suggestion, though you can still use all three together.

Chain and Fork are both viable alternatives to LMP. LMP isn't actually that strong on Lightning Strike, since LS already produces 3 projectiles. (Compare with say Lightning Arrow, where LMP/GMP is almost mandatory.)

But it seems what you're really asking is this: Is there a good way to use Lightning Strike without producing masses of projectiles? Here I think your best options are Weapon Elemental Damage and added elemental damage gems. I don't think you can achieve the maximum potential of a skill like LS without projectile spam, but it could still be viable.

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Incompetent wrote:

Chain and Fork are both viable alternatives to LMP. LMP isn't actually that strong on Lightning Strike, since LS already produces 3 projectiles. (Compare with say Lightning Arrow, where LMP/GMP is almost mandatory.)

But it seems what you're really asking is this: Is there a good way to use Lightning Strike without producing masses of projectiles? Here I think your best options are Weapon Elemental Damage and added elemental damage gems. I don't think you can achieve the maximum potential of a skill like LS without projectile spam, but it could still be viable.

Well the problem with using Lightning Strike without LMP or GMP is that only one of the projectiles is likely to hit anything if you're attacking from far away, like I do. One of them travels in front of you, and the other two sort of go out at a 90 degree angle.

However, I decided to give Chain a try. I really like it :) I get much better framerate with Chain than I did with LMP. And to be honest, I like the way Chain works a little bit more as well. It keeps things interesting. Thanks for the suggestions!

You could try pierce, it is not guaranteed that you'll hit more enemies, but you'll have less projectiles and IIRC pierce also won't lower the damage of the projectiles and pierce is really cheap.

Though it sadly won't help with the outermost projectiles missing. though if the middle one pierces you should still get something from it...

You are far better off using the weapon elemental damage support gem with lightning strike than you are using LMP. this should reduce the effects and increase overall damage. Another option to consider is other AOE melee Effects such as cleave, sweep or ground slam. These effects can be somewhat less intensive.
Or for some real fun you could try lightning strike supported with both LMP and GMP with fork or chain added in. The mana cost are insane but on the upside you can use your PC as a toaster oven to warm snacks while you play. :)