Charged Strike
Amazon · Javelin and Spear
adds lightning damage to javelin and spear class weapons
and releases charged bolts upon impact
Required level18
Maximum level20
Base mana cost16
PREREQUISITES
RECEIVES BONUSES FROM
Power Strike14% per level
Lightning Bolt14% per level
Lightning Strike14% per level
BOOSTS THESE SKILLS
UNDOCUMENTED MECHANICS
No — the target does not eat one full bolt before the rest fly outward. What the tables say is this:
The javelin thrust resolves first as physical weapon damage. At the same time 3 + (level ÷ 5) bolts spawn at the point of impact and fly outward.
Two columns decide the rest. These bolts have Activate = 3, meaning they are inert for their first 3 frames and cannot damage anything, and CollideKill = 1, meaning a bolt is destroyed by its first hit and never hits twice.
So a bolt only lands on the target if the target is still in its path after those 3 frames. That is exactly why Charged Strike is devastating against large monsters (bosses, super uniques) and unremarkable against small ones: a big collision box is still under the bolt when it arms; a small one is not.
For contrast, the Sorceress's Charged Bolt uses the same missile parameters but has no Activate at all — it can hit the moment it spawns.