# Fireball vs lightning bolt



## blargney the second (Mar 31, 2008)

What's your poison?


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## Blackrat (Mar 31, 2008)

Argh. Can't decide. I'm the energy-substitution type and use Lightning-balls .


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## Angel Tarragon (Mar 31, 2008)

Blackrat said:
			
		

> Argh. Can't decide. I'm the energy-substitution type and use Lightning-balls .



Ditto, although I like Acid Bolts and Sonic Balls.


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## Blackrat (Mar 31, 2008)

Reveille said:
			
		

> Ditto, although I like Acid Bolts and Sonic Balls.



Oh I hate sonicballs. But Acidball is cool spell. After long debate with myself I voted Lightning Bolt. I just like electricity better.


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## Aus_Snow (Mar 31, 2008)

Both. 

Er. . . Fireball I guess. I've used it more often - just. AFAIK, anyway.

It's so iconic, classic, whatever. But actually, lightning bolt strikes me more that way, in terms of fantasy fiction. Hm.

Can I change my mind now?


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## Pinotage (Mar 31, 2008)

Reveille said:
			
		

> Ditto, although I like Acid Bolts and Sonic Balls.




I don't think you can do Sonic Balls in 3.5e. You used to be able to in 3e, though.

In any case, I like Lightning Bolt. I guess it's just easier to use in a crowded and small room (at least, IIRC, it doesn't bounce off the walls anymore).

Pinotage


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## Blackrat (Mar 31, 2008)

Pinotage said:
			
		

> (at least, IIRC, it doesn't bounce off the walls anymore).



And this is a shame. I liked the old lightning bolt better. Even if it required special tools to do correctly.


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## Silver Moon (Mar 31, 2008)

Gotta go with Fireball, it's more flashy and showy.

Lightning Bolt is only good when the foes are resistant to fire or when the enemies are all lined up single file.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Mar 31, 2008)

Lightning Bolt is a cool spell, but Fireball is in most cases more useful. There might be a few more monsters resistant to fire, but there are also a few more vulnerability to it. And the 20 ft radius burst is better then the line in most cases.

Still, I like Lightning Bolt and wished it was better. But I always had a soft spot for the weak.


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## Delta (Mar 31, 2008)

Yeah, the area of fireball tends to catch more enemies in it. The long-thin lightning bolt tends to catch one person in a line arrayed against you and waste the rest.


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## Felix (Mar 31, 2008)

Silver Moon said:
			
		

> Gotta go with Fireball, it's more flashy and showy.



You do not know the _power_ of the Dark Side.

_Fireball_ may be more practical, but you've gotta go with the flavor of that sweet bolt of lightning.


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## wingsandsword (Mar 31, 2008)

Fireball. . .for when you absolutely, positively must kill every orc in the room.  Accept no substitutes.


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## Lord Zardoz (Mar 31, 2008)

Lightningbolt. . .for when you absolutely, positively must kill whatever it was you heard on the other side of that door without actually opening it. Accept no substitutes.

END COMMUNICATION


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## Ambrus (Mar 31, 2008)

Lightning bolt has style even if it's tougher to use then fireball. Fire is only cool if you've got scales and are exhaling it onto your enemies. 

Oh, and it's not a "sonic ball"; it's _"thunder-ball"_.


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## Set (Mar 31, 2008)

I picked Fireball.  It's always felt more 'classical' to me.  Then again, it could just be too many hours spent playing Missile Command...

I haven't really liked Lightning Bolt since they got rid of the ability to bounce it off a wall and do double damage to someone.


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## kenobi65 (Mar 31, 2008)

Mustrum_Ridcully said:
			
		

> Lightning Bolt is a cool spell, but Fireball is in most cases more useful. There might be a few more monsters resistant to fire, but there are also a few more vulnerability to it. And the 20 ft radius burst is better then the line in most cases.




Agreed; LB was better in earlier editions, both for (a) the ability to bounce it off a wall and hit someone twice (I *loved* that), and (b) the ability to fork it, and make it 10' wide.

That said, I just about TPKed my party last night when they were all queued up in a hallway, and the BBEG mind flayer sorcerer shot an empowered LB down said hallway.  Schweet.


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## blargney the second (Mar 31, 2008)

Lightning bolt for me.  We tend to have a lot of melee guys in our parties, and LB is vastly easier to use without flambeing allies.


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## Evilhalfling (Mar 31, 2008)

Well I voted fireball despite my current sorcerer's lighting-breath-weapon conversion feat.

And one of my fav moments involved a 2ed vampire mage, a paladin, a 10x10 room, and a lighting bolt.  The vampire/mist drifted away, giggling. 

Fireballs are just more useful - in a lay-waste to hordes kind of way.


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## zypherillius (Mar 31, 2008)

*Lightning Bolt or Fireball, huh?*

Energy Substitution wins, as always, so ill go for firebolts and lightning balls!  or delay blast lightning balls...

and sonic balls are the best kind, because nothing in 3.5 has sonic resistance!  too bad there werent a way to learn all these as force type spells...


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## tzor (Mar 31, 2008)

Can't really vote, I like them both.  When everyone is lined up nothing says hurting like a lightning bolt.  When everyone is disbursed around an area a fireball is best.  Back in the really old days (early 1980's) our 1E gaming group had the "keyhole" fireball, which was a fireball centered on the caster except for a small keyhole area around the caster.  That's the caster's best friend.  (The stomatic component was pumping ones fist in the air.)


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## Lanefan (Mar 31, 2008)

In older editions, with expand-to-fill-the-space fireballs and bouncing lightning bolts, I like both - provided I'm the caster and have enough brains to do the volume-based math or the angular geometry, whichever I need so I don't get hit by my own spell.

Now, they're both far less fun.

Poll needs an option for "both".

Lanefan


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## Deekin (Mar 31, 2008)

It also needs an other option- Energy Ball+ Energist = Fire Ball, Ice Ball, Electricity Ball, Concussion Ball,  Rimefire Ball, Plasma Ball, Ash Ball, Thunder Ball, Frost Ball, and Gale Balls. 

I've got a Ball for every Critter!


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## kenobi65 (Mar 31, 2008)

zypherillius said:
			
		

> and sonic balls are the best kind, because nothing in 3.5 has sonic resistance!




Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Mr. Slaad.


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## Simm (Mar 31, 2008)

Gotta go with the bolt on this time. One of my most memorable spells was casting a lighting bolt while defending a castle after the enemies had swarmed one of the walls. I stood at the entrance to a tower and threw a bolt right down the parapet.


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## rgard (Mar 31, 2008)

Reveille said:
			
		

> Ditto, although I like Acid Bolts and Sonic Balls.




We call it 'Thunderball'


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## rgard (Mar 31, 2008)

Actually, 'Vile Lightning Bolt' is my favorite.


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## Elephant (Mar 31, 2008)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Mr. Slaad.




...in which case you blast him with ordinary Fireballs.


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## Darkwolf71 (Mar 31, 2008)

Expand-to-fill-cubic-volume-fireballs! 

I have vague memories of an incomplete fireball spell, a magic mouth set to complete said fireball, and a smallish cave complex full of goblins of some sort. Oh yeah, those were the days.


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## Drowbane (Mar 31, 2008)

Fireball + Energy Sub: sonic

Although my current PC is fond of Frostballs...

~~~

It is perhaps worth noting that under XPH's psionics E-Bolt is a 3rd level power and E-ball is a 4th lvl power.  Although, they did make E-Cone a 3rd lvl power for Kiniticists (normal Psi/Wilders can take it with a feat after they have access to 4th lvl powers).  

So are Balls considered more powerful than Bolts (I view cone as superior to both)?


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## billd91 (Mar 31, 2008)

blargney the second said:
			
		

> What's your poison?




Poison, duh. I'm playing an assassin, not a wizard or sorcerer.


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## Fallen Seraph (Apr 1, 2008)

Lightning bolt... Or my version of a fireball, where it is only a hazy wave of energy that speeds towards the target burning everything in its path with a blue and silver flame.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Apr 1, 2008)

Lightning Bolt for me...in fact, I've almost never run a PC with Fireball in 30+ years of gaming.

Even without the bouncing ability, it just has a certain wow factor.  All the kewl godz use Lightning- see Raiden, Shango, Thor, Taranis, Ukko, Zeus, etc.

And chalk me up for Energy Sub, while you're at it.


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## Felix (Apr 1, 2008)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> All the kewl godz use Lightning- see Raiden, Shango, Thor, Taranis, Ukko, Zeus, etc.



While I agree with you, there is also this guy who doesn't exactly help _Lightning Bolt_'s cause.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Apr 1, 2008)

I'll counter that guy with Nicola Tesla and Pikachu.


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## Stalker0 (Apr 1, 2008)

Fireball by a mile. I can never hit many people with l bolt, but fireball gets em roasting.



"Hey....is something burning?"


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## zypherillius (Apr 1, 2008)

*Sonic resistance*



			
				kenobi65 said:
			
		

> Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Mr. Slaad.




i meant acid resistance, my bad


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## zypherillius (Apr 1, 2008)

*vile lightning bolt sir?*



			
				rgard said:
			
		

> Actually, 'Vile Lightning Bolt' is my favorite.




how about after 7 levels of archmage, its a spell like ability with stacked metamagic feats?


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## frankthedm (Apr 1, 2008)

I prefer Lightning bolt, but the 3e ruleset really favored fireball


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## theskyfullofdust (Apr 1, 2008)

Fireball. It was the spell most used by my magic-user/mage/wizard, in the past three editions of the game.


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## Plane Sailing (Apr 1, 2008)

Lightning bolt, because you can bounce it off the walls and zap them twice.

Mind you, the ability of a fireball to fill 330,000ft^3 of space can be fantastic. Once roasted the entire first level of a dungeon with tiny corridors and tiny rooms with a single fireball. Roasted the part too, but hey - it was stylish!


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## Bargle (Apr 1, 2008)

I have always found that Fireball seperates the men from the boys.  Knowing exactly how fire expands in dungeon surroundings has helped me to clear entire dungeon floors of pesky female clerics with merely the use of one spell.

Lighting bolt, on the other hand, just shows everyone whether they can scam you at billiards or not.


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## Jack99 (Apr 1, 2008)

Plane Sailing said:
			
		

> Lightning bolt, because you can bounce it off the walls and zap them twice.




This.


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