Paralysis

Paralysis

Paralysis gives your lightning spells a chance to briefly stun the targets they hit. It is therefore a pure synergy passive that only makes sense in builds dealing their damage through lightning, whether via native lightning spells or runes that switch the damage type to lightning.

In such a setup the passive provides free, self-triggering control: the more enemies you zap and the higher your attack frequency, the more often the stuns land, which keeps noticeable pressure off you in dense packs. Against durable single enemies and bosses the benefit shrinks, as the stun usually doesn't apply there or barely matters. For pure lightning builds that hit many enemies at once, Paralysis is a cheap gain in passive control; in all other cases it is a wasted slot.

Electrocute and other lightning sources

Paralysis only works with lightning spells. Electrocute is one by default and, as a Signature spell, costs nothing, so you can cast it nonstop and get plenty of chances for the stun. With the Chain Lightning rune it jumps to far more enemies, Lightning Blast fires piercing streaks through whole lines, and Arc Lightning catches every enemy in a cone, all three still dealing Lightning damage. Runes can bring Lightning damage into play as well, such as Static Discharge for Arcane Torrent, which splits every missile into bolts dealing Lightning damage. Lightning Storm for Blizzard, by contrast, only raises Lightning damage against affected enemies without turning Blizzard itself into a lightning spell.

What a 15% chance and 1.5 seconds mean

When the effect triggers, all targets hit are stunned for 1.5 seconds. Spells that hit many enemies at once therefore get more out of a successful trigger than single-target spells. The passive unlocks at level 37.

by eRnstl