Vengeant Cascade meta breaking or meh?

With the changes to projectile mechanics Vengeant Cascade now reads "Attack Projectiles Return to you." Previously the node required you to hit something to proc the return behavior. On it's face that reads as a base double damage multiplier on your primary projectile provided it goes through the target via any projectile behavior and provided the mob is between you and the projectile when it returns. Seems like a very nice buff for non-shotgun projectile builds. It also seems like a very nice buff to fun.

This bit was also in the patch notes, however:

"

Projectiles which initially fire at a specific location rather than in a direction, such as Caustic Arrow, now ignore this when returning, so they will continue past you until they hit something.

This makes it seem like all the shotgunning AoE skills (vaal burning arrow, caustic arrow, splitting steel I guess, kinetic blast, probably more) were preemptively nerfed to prevent giving more than double-ish damage. When split projectiles return only 1 can actually hit and the rest will go past you if you're standing on top of the mob and that colossal AoE bomb will land way behind you.

There are probably weird exceptions waiting to be found. If you could get a sniper's markable mob to stand behind you and fire backwards into it at the correct distance, the shotgun would still hit a boss.

So is Vengeant Cascade OP, just ok, or useless? It's only 2 golden oils so it's basically free.

Nobody knows how Vengeant Cascade will work next league except maybe the devs (if they didn't just forget it exists), and if they do know they aren't saying (for some inexplicable reason).

Just one returning projectile? How difficult is it going to be to overlap all returning projectiles nicely on the boss? I'm curious to see how it works with an already mechanically powerful skill such as TS. Is it even possible, or restricted to secondary effects, such as those from Ele Hit and LA? Can't use Far Shot if want to shotgun. Less one anointment slot for Whispers of Doom. I'm also curious with it's interaction with Lightning Strike and Ancestral Call.

EDIT: Far Shot would, of course, work incredibly with returning projectiles but I mean our outgoing projectiles will be zdps because of how close we need to stand.

EDIT 2: Okay... secondary projectiles (e.g. TS) cannot return.

I don't know if it will work for TS, because secondary projectiles & limited range, but Barrage should be very good with it.

I guess we'll find out if there are any exceptions or bypasses to the "Projectiles which initially fire at a specific location rather than in a direction..." thing pretty quick. Shotgun mechanics don't stay quiet for long. On its face it seems like a massive nerf to Nimis attack builds from last league if only 1 returning projectile stops at you and the rest fly off behind you to nowhere.

But Vengeant Cascade is cheap as free so that kind of power available to everyone at league start would be busted.

its dogshit and always will be

Barrage or Barrage Support will cause each hit to be less chunkier individually and as a result, I won't be able to utilize Heatshiver unless I have mirror tier items or take the freeze duration nodes on witch zone.

Manaforged Arrows might be the solution by linking it deliver a single slow but meaty Ice Shot. It looks like the build will be very socket-starved.

Prismatic Burst is another one but is a spell so I must focus on elemental damage rather than attack damage, and has a relatively long cooldown.

Frost blades

i am playing with it on my old omni light strike champ on std and its pretty hilarious and it works with vaal light strike too

its getting gutted next league use it while you can

Does Vengeant Cascade work with builds like CoC Ice spear?:)