Recently I've been playing poison molten strike with cascade but wanted to improve my clear speed so I gem swapped to give lightning strike a shot and it feels stronger than molten strike. video is a short dps comparison on infinite hunger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZjbeMB12KY

I still had the 3 points in pierce allocated in the molten strike test and lightning strike was only lvl 18. I don't really know how to calculate molten strike dps but lightning strike seems like a better skill for single target before you start scaling projectiles on molten strike (awakened gmp, helm enchant, etc). Clearspeed however Lightning strike is obviously infinitely better.

I know there is some tech with less projectile speed for shotgunning on molten strike which might help the damage but it hurts clear speed too much for me to take it. pob used in video: https://pobb.in/beCTu5X8lz8x