Think about this then:
A chain lightning does 1d6 damage per level to its first target (20d6, so about 60), then it jumps to a next target and does half damage and so on untill it hardly (or no) does any damage anymore. (reflex for half)
A maximised fireball does 1d6 damage per level for everyone it hits, maximise this and you get 10 times 6 = 60 damager per hit at all targets instead of half each time.
(reflex for half)
Everybody his own style though, try it for fun though.
