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Spectral Blade

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'''Spectral Blade''' is a [[Wizard]] Tier 1 [[Wizard skills|skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|level]] 2, dealing powerful damage in [[melee]] range.

|active= Active

|ranks= 15

|user= Wizard

|tree= ~~Conjuring~~Tier 1

|description= Summons a spectral blade that strikes each enemy in front of the [[Wizard]] 3 times causing X-Y physical damage with each hit.

|type= Direct Damage

Also note that the level 1 and 2 values are projected, since "new" Wizards in the Blizzcon demo started off at level 12, with all 12 points already placed. Three of which were in this spell.

~~===Hands On Description===~~

Flux's BlizzCon [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ Wizard gameplay report] offered extensive coverage of the lower level [[Wizard]] skills. Here's what he said about Spectral Blade.

::''Spectral Blade is a magical attack that deals physical damage to enemies very near the [[Sorceress]]. The skill creates a lattice of straight lines of power that overlap like a half dozen toothpicks tossed down in a heap. It's got a cool, sword-slashing sound to go with it, and can be seen (and heard) repeatedly in the Wizard game play movies from BlizzCon. The skill hits each enemy in front of the Wizard up to three times, dealing 1-5 damage.''

[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wizard cleaving some [[Zombie]]s.]]

::''Using this skill is almost like using [[Bash]], or [[Cleave]], or some melee [[Barbarian]] attack, if those skills had extra range. Spectral Blade hits enemies at [[melee]] range, but can also nail them a yard or two distant, though it seemed like the multiple hits of damage were more likely to occur if the [[monster]] was right in front of you, where the lines overlapped. The initial temptation is to use this skill against anything that can be hit by it, but after a bit of practice (and a lot of running out of [[mana]]) I realized that it was more effective if I aimed it. So I started letting the monsters get into range, and tried to position myself so that I had several [[zombie]]s in a bunch, where each slash of the Spectral Blade would have a chance to hit all of them more than once. This immediately cut my mana use since I was using the spell less often, and it was more fun to use it that way. It became a bit of a challenge to try to take out zombies or [[skeleton]]s in one Spectral Blade, instead of 2 or 3. Especially when I had a couple of them overlapping.''

::''I was not able to use it enough to figure out just what the odds of getting multiple hits were, or if they could all hit even when there were multiple enemies in the target zone, since the damage can vary so much. Spectral Blade can deal 1-5 damage with 1-3 hits, so I could do 1-15 damage with each use of it. Plus, since all 3 hits were added up and dealt at once, there was no way to tell if I'd landed 1, 2, or 3, especially since 3 hits might only do 3 or 4 damage, while a single hit could do 5. Still, it was a fun skill to use, and the multiple hits to multiple targets over a larger-than-melee range made it fun to play with. I enjoyed using it in crowds and watching multiple enemies take hits.''

::''It's not a spell that can be used machine gun style though, even if enemies are in range. There's a short delay after each cast, a [[cooldown]] that's longer than the Wizard has with her projectile spells. As a result Spectral Blade doesn't look like a real boss-killer. It also didn't seem to [[stun]] or [[interrupt]] the attacking motion of monsters, the way melee attacks sometimes did, so it's not a way to render targets helpless while you slash them to bits.''

==Skill Rank Table==

* '''Rank 1:''' 3 Hits with 1-2 physical damage per hit. (A)

* '''Rank 2:''' 3 Hits with 2-4 physical damage per hit.(A)

* '''Rank 3:''' 3 Hits with 3-6 physical damage per hit.

* '''Rank 4:''' 3 Hits with 4-8 physical damage per hit.

==[[Synergies]]==

Spectral Blade benefits directly from the following [[Wizard traits]]:

* [[Glass Cannon]]: Increases damage done by spells and increases armor.

* [[Intimidation]]: Increases damage done and reduces vendor costs.

* [[Power Surge]]: Increase critical strike damage.

* [[Penetrating Spells]]: Reduces the resistances of your target to your spells by 20%.

'''Note:''' The current [[trait]] list is very out-of-date and will no doubt be overhauled before game release.

==Development==

'''Spectral Blade ''' was first shown at [[BlizzCon 2008]] when the [[Wizard]] was unveiled~~. It was changed slightly~~ , as a Tier I skill in the [[~~BlizzCon 2009~~Conjuring Skill Tree]] ~~version~~. Originally, ~~increasing the number of~~ it dealt 1-6 damage with 1-3 hits ~~to always be 3~~, ~~but lowering the~~ so it could do 1-18 damage ~~per hit instead~~ with each use, meaning it required some strategy to ~~even~~ use effectively. Also, it ~~out. At [[BlizzCon 2010]]~~wasn't the best skill in all situations, as [[Flux]] ~~found its short range to be a handicap~~explained:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/~~hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega~~wizard-~~pvm~~gameplay-report~~-wizard~~/P2/]

<blockquote>''It’s not a spell that can be used machine gun style though, even if enemies are in range. There’s a short delay after each cast, a cool down that’s longer than the Wizard has with her projectile spells. As a result Spectral Blade doesn’t look like a real boss-killer. It also didn’t seem to stun or interrupt the attacking motion of monsters, the way melee attacks sometimes did, so it’s not a way to render targets helpless while you slash them to bits.</blockquote> It was changed slightly in the [[BlizzCon 2009]] version, increasing the number of hits to always be 3, but lowering the damage per hit instead to even it out, removing some of the strategy involved in using it. At [[BlizzCon 2010]], [[Flux]] found its short range to be a handicap:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-wizard] <blockquote>''I used it a few times in the demo this year; it did potentially more damage than MM, even with fewer skill points, but the melee range thing isn’t what you want to be doing with a Wizard. Better you kill them from a distance with MM than use a slightly more damaging skill at melee range, when they can hit you back. Being hit is for grunting meat shields like Barbarians and Monks; sophisticated classes like Wizards don’t like to get their uniforms smudged by filthy monster paws.</blockquote> ===Previous Versions===See the [[Wizard skill archive]] for more details on previous versions of Spectral Blade and other Wizard skills.<br> Or see [[Spectral Blade (BlizzCon 2008)]] for the original version of this skill.

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==Media==

You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 III screenshot and picture gallery:* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/ Diablo 3 III screenshots and pictures]* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/search.php?keywords=Spectral+Blade&cat=all~~&x=10&y=8~~ '''Spectral Blade''' specific gallery contents]~~<br><br>~~

Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|Spectral ~~Blades~~ Blade in action.

Image:Wiz-spectral-blade2.jpg|[[Mirror Image]]s casting Spectral Blades.

Image:Wiz-spectral-blade3.jpg|Closeup of the blades.

==Related Articles==

* [[Improved Spectral Blade ~~(BlizzCon 2008)~~]] ~~(outdated)~~* [[Improved is a retired skill whose only purpose was to increase the efficiency of Spectral Blade~~]] (outdated)~~. Skill runes made it unnecessary.

==References==

* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ BlizzCon 2008 Wizard Gameplay Report]

* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/full-wizard-skill-trees/ BlizzCon 2009 Full Wizard Skill Trees]

* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-wizard BlizzCon 2010 Wizard Hands-on Report]

* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvp-arena-report/ BlizzCon 2010 PvP Hands-on Report]

MrFrye

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