Tornado shot and chain?

How does Tornado shot interact with chain?

Does the first (main) projectile chain on first hit, and only split into sub-projectiles when it reaches the end of the chain sequence?

Does the first projectile split into sub-projectiles when it hits, but also chain out a child main projectile?

I'm planning a TS Deadeye, but without knowing how TS works with chain it's hard to see when it would be best to take Endless Munitions (extra arrow) and when Ricochet (free chain).

Nothing that clarifies this interaction in the wiki, that I can see.

Initial shot has 100% pierce chance so it won't chain,only these 3 arrows created by explosion.

Extra arrows are pretty much always the best option for Tornado Shot.

Chain only applies to the submunition projectiles; those will chain, but the parent arrows have guaranteed auto-Pierce until they explode. You can only hit a critter with one submunition per parent projectile, so one TS parent with three submunitions can hit a given critter once.

One TS parent with five submunitions (Uberlab enchant) can still only hit a given critter once.

One TS parent with any number of submunitions and Ricochet (+1 chain) can, once again, only hit any given critter once.

Two TS parents with default three submunitions and no chains, however, can hit a given critter (such as a large damage-soaky boss) twice - once per parent projectile. Extra submunitions from Lab enchantments increase the chances of doing so/the skill's overall coverage, while chains increase the skill's pack-clearing and coverage but do not offer any extra DPS against boss entities.

This is why Reach of the Council Tornado Shot is busted as all hell - you get +4 parent munitions, which acts as a ~400% 'More' modifier (assuming at least one submunition from all five parents hits) against single targets and drastically increases Tornado Shot's coverage. With a +1 quiver and, in this case, Endless Munitions, you'd end up with a 600% 'More' modifier, without having to accept the drastic 'Less' penalties of either Multiple Projectiles gems.

Chain just can't compete. it's great to have if you can find room in a build for it somewhere somehow, but it's pretty much never worth sacrificing an extra parent projectile for.

1453R: Thank you for that very detailed explanation.

I also didn't realise the lab enchant boosted submunitions, not parent projectiles. So thanks for that too.

Sure thangle.

Tornado Shot starts as absolute garbage with just the base 1 parent/3 subs, but it snowballs very quickly once you start building up around it. More so than pretty much any other archery skill. Each parent gives you more shotgunning potential and thus more boss killaging. 100% Pierce is extremely good for Tornado Shot because it means each of your subs can hit multiple critters, heavily increasing your clearing speeds, which also compounds with extra parents. More parents, more subs, and more Pierce all build up and compound with each other until you're covering the entire screen in an omnidirectional carpet of arrows that just pwnooblerates everything in sight.

It doesn't feel even the least little bit like a proper archer, but it has its own charms if you can get by that and are looking primarily for game efficiency rather than aesthetics.