Lightning Storm

Power Lightning Storm
Cole using the Lightning Storm
Mission gained:	Vengeance
Location obtained:	Historic District
Attributed to:	Electrokinesis Weather Control
Upgradeable:	No
Appears in:	inFamous inFamous 2 (Beginning Only)

Lightning Storm, not to be confused with Ionic Storm, is the final and most powerful ability Cole MacGrath gains in InFamous. The attack was later replaced by Ionic Storm in InFamous 2.

Characteristics

Cole calls down from the sky a storm of lightning that does massive damage to the surroundings, vehicles, and anyone in its path and continuously drains Cole's Battery Core‘s. He can use Lightning Storm until his battery cores are completely depleted, until he chooses to stop the attack, or if he moves the attack over a body of water, which it will automatically shut off.

A Lightning Storm Explosion.

Lightning Storm's attributes are the opposite of Precision, a power that is all about accuracy; Lightning Storm is a trail of carnage carved by brute force. It is very effective when encountering a large group of enemies and/or enemy vehicles. However, wield this ability with caution: even though a band of enemies can be quickly destroyed by Lightning Storm, the exploding cars and flying debris can easily injure Cole and passing bystanders, leading to a loss of Karma.

Unleashing a Lightning Storm.

The ability is used by holding down the Down button on the D-pad and "steering" the lightning with the tilt control of a PS3 SIXAXIS or Duel Shock 3 controller. It can be steered forward and to the sides, but not pulled backwards towards Cole.

Advantages

• This is the only attack Cole can use while using Polarity Wall.
• This attack is a one-hit kill on any opponent (except Bosses and golems) or vehicle caught in its path.
• This is the only attack where one can change the direction after activation without an upgrade or additional attack.
• It only takes one and one-third Battery Cores to activate.
• Golems can be killed in 2 or 3 hits by this move

Restrictions

• Because it requires open access to the sky, Lightning Storm cannot be used underground or if the opponent is under a bridge.
• This move cannot be used over the Ocean and will automatically deactivate after doing so.
• One cannot activate Lightning Storm when Cole's feet are not firmly planted on a large flat surface, so it cannot be used while balancing on a wire, on the ledge or climbing a building. It also does not work on sloped roofs.
• It continually drains energy.
• It can only moves away from Cole.

Trivia

• John called this power "Lightning Strike" instead of "Lightning Storm." It isn't known if this mistake was accidental or intentional.
• As mentioned before, this power easily hurts bystanders. Good players should take care while using this power, while evil players can use this without fear of innocent injury.
• This is the only attack Cole can use while using the Polarity Wall.
• This was the only attack that can damage the city itself during inFamous.
• When Lightning Storm shuts off, the player will always hear a clap of thunder in the background. This is also true for Ionic Storm.
• Also when one activates Lighting Storm, the city's lights turn off, only to come back on once deactivated, suggesting that Cole sucks the power right out of the city to be able to use this move, or that the sudden presence of a huge amount of electricity temporarily knocks out the city's power, similar to real life when the lights sometimes shudder during lightning storms.
• Unleashing this attack while Cole is standing on a car will cause the car to explode, but instead of harming Cole, the car's explosion will launch Cole vertically in the air. Perhaps, as a consequence of a glitch, Cole will not be interrupted by the car's explosion and maintain his stance, even when in the air.
• Ironically, it is one of the first powers seen in the story, yet Cole becomes aware of this power and gains control of it at last.
• The attack was acquired during Vengeance.
• Though it normally only works when Cole has his feet planted, Cole can be seen using Lightning Storm without this restriction in the beginning of inFamous 2 while he is fighting the The Beast for the first time.
• In inFamous 2 this power has been replaced with the Ionic Storm. Unlike the Lightning Storm, the Ionic Storm cannot be steered with the SIXAXIS motion control.
• During the mission Hunt for the Ray Sphere, if Cole activates Karmic Overload before using Lightning Storm on the satellite jammers, holding the button down will allow Cole to continue using the attack even after the satellite's destruction, in a manner very similar to Ionic Storm.
• In the final boss fight, Lighning Storm causes little to no damage to Kessler in the actual fight partly due to him teleporting away too quickly.

Gallery

Unleashing a Lightning Storm.

Infamousagainsttheworld 03.jpg

Cole uses Lightning Storm on a poison emitting balloon in Against the World.

Taking down one of Kessler's balloons.

Evil Cole Activating Lightning Storm after activating the Ray Sphere a second time

Sources

InFamous
InFamous 2
InFamous 2: Festival of Blood

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