This post does not ask how they do it in ARC Raiders; I'm asking how it could be repeated in real-life physics, even if a thing or two needs to be bent or worked around. This is why the title brackets are strange.
I had originally posted this in r/askscience, but they don't work with fictional or hypothetical questions.
If there is a subreddit that could better answer this question, or if this is deemed too Watsonian, please redirect me there.
I have been working on a fictional, grounded(ish) sci-fi worldbuilding project and have seen the new Turbine enemy from ARC Raiders and dubbed its lightning-bolt weapon worthy of appropriation. I cannot seem to add images of how the weapon is depicted, so I will just explain it. First, trails of a dark powder or fog are trailed behind a launched projectile. Once these projectiles have led the trail to a target position on the ground, a bolt of lightning is released along the trail and strikes the target.
I do not know much about lightning or any physics related to it, but I presume these trails are clouds of fine conductive materials that guide a large discharge of electricity through them. I also wondered whether these clouds would be designed to conduct static electricity, helping lightning find a path through them (if that's even how it works, I'm unsure).
My question is:
Firstly, whether it would be possible to do this, even if slightly beyond our current capabilities, or whether I am forever limited to the chaotic electric discharges that I know exist.
Secondly, what is required to theoretically do this, and if it is beyond our capabilities (which I presume it is), what technology, material, or technique would we need to recreate it or a similar effect?
Thank you for the help!