Advantage of not doing physical damage?

[Rechan]

One of my players just received a Lightning axe. When looking at the ability, he noticed that as a free action he can turn all the damage the weapon does into lightning.

The player wants to know if there is ever a time that this is advantageous?

Outside of "Monster is resistant or vulnerable to energy", is there any property that would make doing all energy damage a benefit over good ol' physical?

 

[Dragongrief]

It can benefit from certain fears and powers.
The Stormborn Genasi racial would affect it i believe (adds damage to any lightning powers), and there's a feat that gives bonus damage to lightning effects. If the weapon effect doesn't add/have the lightning keyword, this might not work though.

 

[blargney the second]

Frost weapons + Wintertouched + Lasting Frost are traditional.
-blarg

ps - Is there a radiant weapon property? That'd be very useful in certain circumstances.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Outside of "Monster is resistant or vulnerable to energy", is there any property that would make doing all energy damage a benefit over good ol' physical?

Apart from any mechanical benefits from synergies with feats or class features, there's also the important note that lightning is one-point-twenty-one times as awesome as physical damage.

-Hyp.

 

[small pumpkin man]

Lightning? nah, that's not going to come up much, Fire & cold, yeah, there are things you can do with that (lasting frost or hellfire blood) and resistances/vulnerabilities come up a bit. Lightning may never actually come up though.

 

[DracoSuave]

If you're using a power that deals fire damage, using the lightning damage power will let you evade resistances.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Using your sword to grant Lightning Damage on an attack that does Fire damage will make it do Fire & Lightning damage - thus meaning only opponents with Fire and Lightning resistance will be able to protect themselves. This could be critically important.

 

[Ginnel]

There is zero advantage to doing lightning only damage as opposed to physical and lightning damage.

 

[Starbuck_II]

There is zero advantage to doing lightning only damage as opposed to physical and lightning damage.

What if the enemy has Resist Weapon damage? Then Lightning will ocercome that.

 

[Ginnel]

What if the enemy has Resist Weapon damage? Then Lightning will ocercome that.

I don't believe I've ever seen resist weapon, just resist all.

Also if an attack is physical and lightning wouldn't it overcome the reduction anyway because the attacks made up of lightning as well?

Hmm also am I right into thinking a lightning weapon only does physical damage, until it crits? and then it does physical damage for everything and 1D6 lightning per + on the weapon and the damage would seperately go against the resistances the physical versus all resistances and then the lightning.

Or

would all the damage be lightning and physical and that would go versus all resistances.