take the phys off storm calling and give shock 15% like the piercing cold passive

kojou wrote: »

I would like to have a way to change the damage type of any skill. I would settle for the developers to eradicate “magic damage” from the game entirely, but my preference would be to be able to change class and weapon skills like what we can do with the spell scribing system for those skills.

would be great if we were able to aply focus scripts to existing abilities. at least for the damage type they do.
also would be great to have a station/npc that offers recolor of spells, to fit them in one theme.

@ZOS_Kevin Could you move this to the general section please? I feel like this topic would be more appropriate there.
Thank you 🙏

Vaqual wrote: »

Shock procs one of the strongest statuses, as concussed has pretty much the most direct uncapped DPS scaling. Of course the value is diminished if there is already a source for minor vuln. It is ok the way it is designed, sometimes the pros and cons don't apply equally in all content or group configurations. The damage types are already way more balanced than they used to be, since the last status proc update.

You're right that Concussed is a solid status effect, especially for triggering Minor Vulnerability. But that’s actually part of the issue. Shock damage is almost always seen only as a utility tool, not as a core damage identity.

My frustration isn't with the Concussed status itself. It's with how underdeveloped shock damage is overall. Fire and ice damage both have broad support across classes, skills, item sets, and passive synergies. They can form the core of a build. Shock damage can't. Outside of the Sorcerer’s Storm Calling line, there is almost no meaningful access to shock damage or its scaling.

This becomes even more obvious in Infinite Archive, where fire and ice both get major damage bonuses and transformation identities. Shock damage gets a small 3 percent boost and no transformation at all. That’s not just an oversight, it reflects a larger pattern where shock is consistently left behind.

Even within Sorcerer itself, the lightning identity feels stale. Monolith of Storms should have been a big moment to define and empower shock-themed builds. Instead, it adds nothing new, has no synergy, and doesn't feel impactful to use. It's a missed opportunity, like many others before it.

With subclassing becoming part of the game and more systemic changes on the way, this is the perfect moment to revisit neglected damage types like shock. Right now there is no meaningful gear ecosystem, no cross-class integration, and no unique identity for lightning-focused builds. That limits creativity and variety for players who want to explore something different.

Concussed is good, yes. But one status effect does not make a build viable. Shock damage needs better tools, more synergy, and stronger thematic presence to stand alongside fire and ice as a real option, not just a niche utility.

Vaqual wrote: »

To me it seems that shock damage in this game is intended to be played as a "death by a thousand cuts" type of damage type, but the burst options are still decent. Lets look at some key aspects (not mentioning Scribing, as it is mostly identical for all damage types; not repeating the benefits of concussed):

1) Has a dedicated Weapon for the damage type with Lightning Destruction Staff. Heavy attack has multiple ticks, splash, supports direct damage and channels and has built-in status proc support. Crushing shock and wall of elements additionally have a high tick density.
2) The status proc damage is multiplicatively stronger when overwriting an existing concussed proc, supporting both high status chance and high tick density builds.
3) Sets like Storm-Cursed additionally put an emphasis on tick density and scale up on cleave without downtimes.
4) Storm Calling got a massive buff through the Lightning Flood autosynergy. Good sustained AoE DPS with delayed burst option on a completely flexible timer off GCD (!!!).
5) Many sets exist that can fill gaps, you can go full nuke with Vandorallen, get 1/s tick-sets in with Overhwelming Surge or Aurorans to play with a Draugrkin-type build, etc. It is effectively offering reasonable pressure and burst options to match your playstyle.

This all might not be able to match the overtuned frost support that Winter's Embrace has, but it is actually quite plentiful. Disease for example has no dedicated Weapon, no fully fledged class skill line and no force multiplier sets like Storm Cursed (since AB and PB nerfs at least, which are only situationally functional anymore). I am not saying Monolith is fun or good. The change to Mage's Wrath was definitely not ideal. I am not against adding more options. But it is quite versatile and, thematically speaking, most of the abilities and sets are rather nice.

I don’t disagree that shock damage can be made functional with the right sets and setup. But that’s actually the core of my frustration. Shock technically works, but it doesn’t have a real ecosystem or identity behind it, especially when compared to fire and ice.

Yes, tick density and status uptime can produce solid theoretical damage. But there’s no real synergy or thematic payoff. The sets you mentioned, like Overwhelming Surge or Draugrkin, don’t feel like lightning sets. They just happen to interact well with rapid hits. That’s very different from what we see with fire or frost builds, which are supported by class skills, monster sets, passives, and visual identity.

The lightning staff helps a little, but it’s not enough on its own. Outside of Sorcerer, there are almost no class-integrated shock abilities. Meanwhile, fire shows up in Dragonknight, Templar, Arcanist, Warden, and Necromancer. Frost has gained a ton of support recently, including crowd control, shields, taunts, and real damage pressure. Shock remains almost entirely locked into one class.

Even within Sorcerer, the lightning fantasy feels underwhelming. The Monolith of Storms set was the perfect chance to deepen that identity, but it doesn’t do anything exciting. It adds no synergy, no burst, and nothing that expands shock as a theme. Mage’s Wrath also lost impact after the recent change.

Also, while these sets might visually use lightning, the damage scaling is never actually competitive compared to others. People don’t run these sets in serious content for a reason. The numbers are just too low to justify the slot. That’s the part that really kills creativity.

The Infinite Archive bonuses drive the point home. Fire and ice both get meaningful boosts and full avatar transformations. Shock gets a tiny flat buff and nothing else. That’s not just a balance issue. It shows how little design focus has gone into this element.

Shock has tools if you really try, but it still lacks narrative, synergy, and flexibility. It feels like a mechanic that got left behind. With subclassing and new systems on the way, now is the perfect time to finally make shock damage a real part of the game. Not just in name, but in power, support, and identity.

Shock and Disease (though Disease more than Shock) are like the pre-Princess Cinderella of damage types these days. The step-mother lavishes all of the attention and expense of Flame, Frost, Magic, etc. and leaves them wearing burlap sacks.

I don't think that we're going to see Shock introduced to currently existing class lines, though they did do that for DK and Flame so it is perhaps not impossible, but rather we need to ask for more Shock within Sorcerer, more Shock Scribing options, and better tuning for Shock sets (and, for the love of Talos, not stapling Heavy Attacks onto basically every Shock set).

But we also need the same for Disease because it is somehow even less represented in the game and in Scribing and sets.

I too would love to see more love on the shock line and sorc overall, but they’re committed too hard to making sorcs play with their pets they won’t rework anything else, they just keep buffing DKs and Nightblades.