Smiting Bolt

Smiting Bolt is a lightning-elemental ability available to Damiane through her Health skill tree, releasing a concentrated bolt of electrical energy that travels to the targeted enemy at high speed, deals lightning damage, and applies a paralysis effect that briefly locks the target in place. Unlike Kliff's Lightning Surge, which is area-centered around himself, Smiting Bolt is a targeted directional ability — precisely aimed at a specific enemy rather than affecting everything in a radius.

The precision of Smiting Bolt makes it Damiane's most reliable single-target control tool. Against bosses, Smiting Bolt's paralysis effect interrupts attack animations in progress, functioning as a get-out-of-jail ability when Damiane's positioning has left her in a dangerous situation. Against ranged enemies who are disrupting a melee engagement, Smiting Bolt's speed and direct targeting allows her to stun them from the front line without breaking engagement with the primary target.

Smiting Bolt is recommended during the Lucian Bastier encounter alongside Shield Toss, serving a different tactical role. While Shield Toss provides sustained damage pressure during Bastier's guarded phases, Smiting Bolt handles his Phase 2 dash attacks — his mobility in Phase 2 makes him difficult to hit with the slower Shield Toss, but Smiting Bolt's speed makes it reliable against a fast-moving target and its paralysis interrupts the dash recovery.

Upgrading Smiting Bolt increases its damage, reduces its cast time, and at maximum upgrade adds a ground conduction effect — the lightning from the bolt travels along the floor from the impact point and strikes all enemies in a short radius around the primary target. This ground conduction upgrade gives Smiting Bolt limited crowd control capability beyond its primary precision application, particularly useful in phases where Bastier is surrounded by summoned adds.