I did a solo run through the Vaults of Madness on the PTS with my HA Magcro. I picked this dungeon because there are waves of trash MOB's that attack you stretched out in a line of sorts and they are interspersed throughout the Dungeon. Seemed like a great chance to check out the lightning staff changes. I did more single target damage ... not a lot more, but some. I probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for the logs but what I did notice, was the lack of Lightning Staff AOE while channeling. The difference is huge and I'm sure those trash MOB's are very happy with this change. Me? Not so much. I didn't include the logs because I feel it's a waste of time. The dev's have better information and far more accurate samples.
Making this change on Lightning Staff Heavy Attacks isn't a small change. It may seem that way reading the patch notes but it's really a large change that will affect the playstyle of everyone who uses Lightning Staff heavy attacks. I would ask the Dev's to jump on the PTS yourselves ... if you haven't already ... and check this out. We've been designing and refining our playstyles for years now, knowing the damage profile of Lightning Staff heavy attacks and we have a lot of time invested in this playstyle. While change is inevitable, it can be controlled and I would ask the Dev's to reconsider this change. I'm not sure what the problem this change was supposed to fix but in this case, the cure seems to do more damage than the disease.