Quick LM question

[nameless noob]

Quick Question that is probably in a FAQ someplace:

Does Lightning Mastery (or Fire Mastery I suppose) work on damage delivered with ranged weapons?

Everyone knows (?) that the masteries work on (the correct elemental) damage delivered by swords and orbs and staves (etc) and other melee weapons. But does anyone know if it works when such damage is delivered by ranged weapons (thrown daggers in my case, but bows or javs also)?

-nameless noob

[Wyrm]

I'm about 80% sure that it does.

[adeyke]

Does Lightning Mastery (or Fire Mastery I suppose) work on damage delivered with ranged weapons?

No, it doesn't.

[Bun-Bun]

I'm about 90% sure you're about 80% off. :P The masteries were nerfed in 1.10 to not work with ranged weapons. My bowsorcs were vastly peeved.

On the upside, you still get Fire Mastery when using Enchant. You just don't get the FM bonus again when you shoot something, like you do when hitting in melee.

[nameless noob]

Is there any good way to CHECK this ingame without burning too many skillpoints?

-nameless noob

[adeyke]

Almost all tests I've done were with modded SP games. With a mod, you can just make a cube recipe that gives you +400% lightning skill damage, or you can mod lightning mastery to give insane bonuses. If you have a lightning mastery stat in the thousands, it's quite noticeable if it's working or not.

(And I am completely sure that it doesn't work at range).

[pharaoh]

Does Lightning Mastery (or Fire Mastery I suppose) work on damage delivered with ranged weapons?

Everyone knows (?) that the masteries work on (the correct elemental) damage delivered by swords and orbs and staves (etc) and other melee weapons. But does anyone know if it works when such damage is delivered by ranged weapons (thrown daggers in my case, but bows or javs also)?

As others have said, it won't work with ranged attacks (Cold Mastery probably will, though, as it doesn't actually affect the damage dealt). Still, if you're keen on making a sorcy who shoots stuff other than spells, I have a suggestion. Grab yourself a Demon Machine crossbow and Razortail belt, and max Enchant, Fire Mastery, and Warmth. The Enchant damage will get the bonus of Fire Mastery when cast, and though it won't be additionally boosted on the hit (as melee Enchant damage would be), the Enchant damage will stack with the splash damage of the exploding bolts. Think of this as piercing Fireballs that cost no mana.

I actually had a sorcy like this doing around 5-6k damage per bolt, but I'm rebuilding her now (I originally had her use Thunderstorm as a backup for FI baddies, but that was too slow, so I'm now using Frozen Orb). The bolts are devastating against non-FI mobs, as the explosion is usually triggered several times in close proximity. Each target hit by a bolt takes phys damage + Enchant damage + Enchant-boosted splash damage (usually several splashes), and everything else takes the splash damage. If I ever find a Widowmaker, I'm going to be so happy- think heat-seeking Fireballs. :)

A sorcy like this is also pretty party-friendly; giving any physical attackers in your party an additional 500+ fire damage is nothing to sneeze at.

[adeyke]

I actually had a sorcy like this doing around 5-6k damage per bolt,

Is that your listed damage or your calculated damage? The LCS does multiply your ranged damage by your lightning/fire mastery, even though the actual game doesn't.

If I ever find a Widowmaker, I'm going to be so happy- think heat-seeking Fireballs.

Widowmaker dosen't shoot exploding arrows. And if it did, that would apply only to normal attack, not guided arrow. Demon Machine is a far superior choice for a sorceress.

A sorcy like this is also pretty party-friendly; giving any physical attackers in your party an additional 500+ fire damage is nothing to sneeze at.

They tend to be even happier about the AR bonus. +191% for slvl 20 enchant, with an extra +9% for every slvl past that (from +skills gear).