[3.18] Disco Inferno: A Stormbind Thought Experiment

This is where things get interesting, and how Stormbind stands out as a skill in comparison to other, similar channeling skills.

First of all, I would not recommend Stormbind as a hit-based damage skill. The long channel times, and lack of intermittent damage between bursts makes it vastly inferior to most other skills in the game in this regard. In my opinion, it this inherent clunkiness that is responsible for its abhorrent reputation.

But what if the problem wasn't the skill, but how we played it?

With that in mind, let us examine some of the key mechanics of Stormbind.

1) Rune Placement/Duration/Detonation
Unlike other channeled skills, Stormbind has the unique property of leaving behind artifacts - Runes - which linger for a Base Duration of 12.00s.
Additionally, these Runes propagate off one another when the main skill is channeled to form a grid like pattern.

In other words, the effective range of the skill is based on the duration of the runes and effective render distance of the game itself.

This allow us to drastically change the way we play in comparison to normal channeling skills and provides us with excellent clear by stutter stepping to layout a grid of Runes across a wide span of the map area.

Coupled with the 50% Hinderance afflicted on enemies standing on what I affectionately call, 'the dance floor,' this allows us to gather large swaths of enemies and kill them all simultaneously.

Furthermore, when any Rune is detonated all Runes are detonated, allowing us to briskly traverse maps without necessitating we link all Runes placed. This is important, because even with Stormbind's absurd cast speed (which can let us practically draw lines with a flick of the mouse) we can still leave behind uncovered patches of ground in our grid.

This large AoE, and unique detonation behavior allows us to not run Ignite Prolif while still reliably clearing.

Notably, we typically DO NOT improve runes when clearing in this manner.

2) Rune Improvement
Rune Blast can be used to improve Runes laid down as explained above. However, the rate at which Runes improve is a function of: Cast Speed, Mana Cost of Rune Blast, and Number of Adjacent Runes. Verily, targeting a cluster of interconnected Runes with Rune Blast will improve the targeted Rune by one stage, and then improve all adjacent Runes by one stage before improving the targeted Rune again.

In short, the most important thing to consider here is that the improvement rate for a single Rune is substantially quicker than improving a single Rune connect to other Runes.

This behavior is why we do not typically improve runes while clear large mobs, as the time cost to do so is extremely prohibitive, and ultimately very dangerous. It is better to first wipe the board clean - killing trash in the process - and then focus on empowered enemies.

Unfortunately, due to its very high cast speed, it can at times be difficult to place a single Rune.

Basic Links:
Stormbind + Inspiration + Deadly Ailments + Added Lightning Damage + Burning Damage + Swift Affliction

* Shaper of Flame Ascendency
Obviously, this is an ignite build. Thus, Elementalist is a MUST. We utilize Stormbind's decently high base damage, coupled with it's 100% More Damage with Hits and Ailments per stage to create spicy, lightning damage ignites. Consequently, added Lightning Damage is a significant contributor to Ignite DPS when gearing.

* Improved Runes
Stormbind is broken in to separate abilities, the second of which is called Rune Blast. Rune Blast can be used to improve runes up to 3 times, ultimately resulting in a x4 damage multiplier on our single target ignites

* Curses
Flammability & Elemental Weakness hooked up to Bane for ease of use.

* Wave of Conviction
WoC + Added Fire Damage** for Fire Exposure, which is further buffed by the Mastermind of Discord ascendancy.
** The Added Fire Damage gem may be necessary to guarantee Fire Exposure as you accrue sources of added Lightning Damage.


* Elemental Overload
A little crit chance goes a long way to help keep this consistent, given our infrequent hit rate - hence Inspiration and a crit notable on the passive tree.