Path of Exile previews Storm Burst changes coming with next league

It seems like only yesterday that Path of Exile’s Betrayal league began, but its time has come and gone, and it’s almost time for another expansion to set players on a new adventure. Although we don’t know exactly what the new expansion will be just yet — though Grinding Gear Games is revealing it soon — we do know that it will bring balance changes to a number of spells and abilities. Of those abilities, the one being given the most drastic changes is Storm Burst, according to a recent dev blog, which delves into the skill’s new mechanics:

“While you channel Storm Burst, orbs of lightning are created around your target. While you channel, they jump towards your target and release bursts of damage. By moving where you target while you channel, you can direct them to enemies to create a swarm of electric death.”

Nothing too shocking (sorry) perhaps, but that’s not all that’s being tweaked under the hood.

One of the most major changes from the way the spell currently works is that the new version will no longer be projectile based, thus “removing the requirement of additional projectiles supports” and changing the spell’s focus to “being an area and duration skill.” In addition, the spell will now deal physical damage with half converted to lightning “to fit with its new divine aesthetic.” To check all the fine details, and to see the reworked spell in action, check out the full dev blog on the game’s official site.