Diablo 4 players worried Chain Lightning Sorcerer changes will be “DOA”

Impressions from the Season 5 PTR have Diablo 4 players convinced the Chain Lightning Sorcerer changes will be “DOA” – dead on arrival.

For months, Sorcerer players in Diablo 4 have lamented the class’ lack of meaningful buffs in balance updates.

Patch notes for the Season 5 PTR didn’t alleviate these woes, though many hoped that the addition of the Chain Lightning-centric Axial Conduit pants would help. After all, the Unique item promises massive amounts of Lightning damage after a bolt explodes under certain circumstances.

But impressions from players participating in the PTR have some Sorc mains convinced the upcoming changes will feel dead on arrival.

Diablo 4 content creator Lurkin shared their thoughts on the Axial Conduit pants in a video labeled, “My disappointment is immeasurable.”

According to the YouTuber, players should anticipate a new “Sorc struggle” because the pants’ primary source of damage output comes from Andariel’s Visage.

“If you take off Andariel’s, you really feel the struggle. The damage is not scaling well,” they wrote in the video description.

Diablo 4 players on Reddit are similarly unimpressed with the PTR’s Chain Lightning Sorcerer build.

In a thread citing the Lurkin footage, one person remarked, “New Chain Lightning unique DOA. Blizzard, please, actually and meaningfully buff Sorc.”

Redditor Tesdey echoed the sentiments shared by the YouTuber, saying the Axial Conduit Unique is just “okay” and too dependent on Andariel’s Visage.

Apparently, the pants suffer from a bug, too, with one issue cropping up because the Chain Lightning “you invoke extra chance with isn’t rotating around the character.”

Blizzard took feedback from the Season 4 PTR and vastly improved the experience in time for the season’s full release. As such, Season 5’s Chain Lightning Sorcerer may benefit from the same iterative process. For now, though, Sorc players remain skeptical.