I don't think the 'disorient' from the electrical powers is real, I think they can still act normally if they have a power recharged.
I've found that without a tank or some mez protection being a sapper is really risky, possibly too risky. Doesn't stop me doing it, but with the Leadership Pool a stun, sleep or disorient really messes me up.
@Unthing ... Mostly on Union.
I've seen a few people say they fire of Short Circuit then Ball Lightning. I tend to do it the other way round because I can fire off Ball Lightning from a distance, and for a few seconds the mobs are "disoriented" (jerking around from the "shocking" effect) after Ball Lightning, making it easy to zip in and fire off Short Circuit (have to be quick of course, as SC has an irritatingly long activation time).
Whereas if I try to zip in first and fire off Short Circuit, I sometimes get hit hard as soon as I get into aggro radius.
So I think BL-SC is just a bit safer.
What do my esteeemed fellow Kinetice/Electric Defenders think?