Ball Lightning

DefectAttackCommon
Deal 7 damage.
Channel 1 Lightning.

One hit for 7 damage, 10 upgraded, followed by Channeling a Lightning orb. The orb goes into your first empty slot; with no empty slot your leftmost orb is Evoked to make room. Lightning zaps a random enemy each turn and again when Evoked, and Focus raises both numbers.

Character
Defect
Type
Attack
Rarity
Common
Cost
1 Energy
Target
One enemy

When to take Ball Lightning

A solid Act 1 Common that keeps orbs flowing while dealing Strike-level damage. Take it in any Lightning or Focus deck, best once you already have extra orb slots.

Cards that synergize with Ball Lightning

Thunder
Power
1
Whenever you Evoke Lightning, deal 6 damage to each enemy hit.
Thunder pays extra damage whenever Lightning is Evoked.Whenever you Evoke Lightning, deal 6 damage to each enemy hit.
Loop
Power
1
At the start of your turn, trigger the passive ability of your rightmost Orb.
Loop triggers the orb again at turn start.At the start of your turn, trigger the passive ability of your rightmost Orb.
Tesla Coil
Attack
0
Deal 3 damage.
Trigger all Lightning against the enemy.
Tesla Coil fires all Lightning at one enemy.Deal 3 damage.
Trigger all Lightning against the enemy.
Voltaic
Skill
3
Channel Lightning equal to the Lightning already Channeled this combat.
Exhaust.
Voltaic doubles Lightning already channeled.Channel Lightning equal to the Lightning already Channeled this combat.
Exhaust.
Barrage
Attack
1
Deal 5 damage for each Channeled Orb.
Barrage counts the extra orb.Deal 5 damage for each Channeled Orb.
Darkness
Skill
1
Channel 1 Dark.
Trigger the passive ability of all Dark Orbs.
Darkness works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsChannel 1 Dark.
Trigger the passive ability of all Dark Orbs.
Hailstorm
Power
1
At the end of your turn, if you have Frost, deal 6 damage to ALL enemies.
Hailstorm works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsAt the end of your turn, if you have Frost, deal 6 damage to ALL enemies.
Shatter
Attack
1
Deal 7 damage to ALL enemies.
Evoke all of your Orbs twice.
Shatter works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsDeal 7 damage to ALL enemies.
Evoke all of your Orbs twice.
Biased Cognition
Power
1
Gain 4 Focus.
At the start of your turn, lose 1 Focus.
Biased Cognition works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsGain 4 Focus.
At the start of your turn, lose 1 Focus.
Quadcast
Skill
1
Evoke your rightmost Orb 4 times.
Quadcast works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsEvoke your rightmost Orb 4 times.
Multi-Cast
Skill
X
Evoke your rightmost Orb X times.
Multi-Cast works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsEvoke your rightmost Orb X times.
Capacitor
Power
1
Gain 2 Orb Slots.
Capacitor works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsGain 2 Orb Slots.
Coolant
Power
1
At the start of your turn, gain 2 Block for each unique Orb you have.
Coolant works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsAt the start of your turn, gain 2 Block for each unique Orb you have.
Hotfix
Skill
0
Gain 2 Focus this turn.
Exhaust.
Hotfix works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsGain 2 Focus this turn.
Exhaust.
Synchronize
Skill
1
Gain 2 Focus this turn for each unique Orb you have.
Exhaust.
Synchronize works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsGain 2 Focus this turn for each unique Orb you have.
Exhaust.
Compile Driver
Attack
1
Deal 7 damage.
Draw 1 card for each unique Orb you have.
Compile Driver works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsDeal 7 damage.
Draw 1 card for each unique Orb you have.
Consuming Shadow
Power
2
Channel 2 Dark.
At the end of your turn, Evoke your leftmost Orb.
Consuming Shadow works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsChannel 2 Dark.
At the end of your turn, Evoke your leftmost Orb.
Defragment
Power
1
Gain 1 Focus.
Defragment works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsGain 1 Focus.
Dualcast
Skill
1
Evoke your rightmost Orb twice.
Dualcast works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsEvoke your rightmost Orb twice.
Focused Strike
Attack
1
Deal 9 damage.
Gain 1 Focus this turn.
Focused Strike works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsDeal 9 damage.
Gain 1 Focus this turn.
Modded
Skill
0
Gain 1 Orb Slot.
Draw 1 card. Increase this card's cost by 1.
Modded works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsGain 1 Orb Slot.
Draw 1 card. Increase this card's cost by 1.
Hibernate
Skill
2
This turn, your Frost grants ALL allies Block.
Channel 2 Frost.
Hibernate works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsThis turn, your Frost grants ALL allies Block.
Channel 2 Frost.

Relics that synergize with Ball Lightning

Gold-Plated Cables
Gold-Plated Cables triggers the rightmost orb twice.Your rightmost Orb triggers its passive an additional time.
Emotion Chip
Emotion Chip works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsIf you lost HP during the previous turn, trigger the passive ability of all Orbs at the start of your turn.
Metronome
Metronome works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsThe first time you Channel 7 Orbs each combat, deal 30 damage to ALL enemies.
Runic Capacitor
Runic Capacitor works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsStart each combat with 3 additional Orb Slots.
Data Disk
Data Disk works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsStart each combat with 1 Focus.
Infused Core
Infused Core works with the Orbs Ball Lightning ChannelsAt the start of each combat, Channel 3 Lightning. Lightning deals 1 additional damage.
✦
Lightning Rod
Skill
1
Gain 4 Block.
At the start of the next 2 turns, Channel 1 Lightning.
Storm
Power
1
Whenever you play a Power, Channel 1 Lightning.
Zap
Skill
1
Channel 1 Lightning.
Rainbow
Skill
2
Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.
Tempest
Skill
X
Channel X Lightning.
Voltaic
Skill
3
Channel Lightning equal to the Lightning already Channeled this combat.
Exhaust.
Cold Snap
Attack
1
Deal 6 damage.
Channel 1 Frost.
Coolheaded
Skill
1
Channel 1 Frost.
Draw 1 card.

Changes by version

  1. 26 Jun 2025Bug fixInternal playtest
    Added Lightning Orb hovertip to Ball Lightning card

Internal playtest notes are from before the Early Access release. Names and numbers in them can differ from the game today.

Purchase today
If you haven't bought Slay The Spire 2 yet, it's time. Support the devs, they made an amazing game.Get it on Steam