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Conjuring Skill Tree

2009-07-08T22:13:11Z

Froboy449: /* Damage Resistance */

{{class_navbox}}
The Wizard's skills are divided into three skill trees, each of which has about 18 known spells. These were first seen at Blizzcon 2008, and while they are very much subject to change during the game's continued development, viewing them in this state is still informative. The three trees are:

* [[Storm Skill Tree]]
* [[Arcane Skill Tree]]
* [[Conjuring Skill Tree]]

==Diablo 3 Skill Trees==

Unlike the skill trees in Diablo II, the trees in Diablo III are not focused on just one aspect of a character. All known D3 skill trees have a wide variety of skills, with more passive than active skills, and all allow for a variety of play styles.

All active skills in the BlizzCon build were capped at 1 skill point (or rank, as skill levels are called in D3), while most passives went up to 15 points. This will not be the case in the final game; active skills will allow more than 1 point, and passives may have different maximum ranks, to allow better game balancing. Know that skills will be modified, that some will be removed, that others will be added, and that the numbers are almost certain to change.

[[Skill Runes]] could only be socketed in active skills, in the Blizzcon build. This may or may not remain true in the final game.

==Tier 1 Skills==
These skills are available for use as soon as new Wizard is created.

===Spectral Blade===
[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|thumb|250px|Spectral Blades in action.]]
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Summons a spectral blade that strikes each enemy in front of the wizard 3 times causing 1-5 physical damage with each hit.
*'''Rank''': 0/1
*'''Mana cost:''' 7

This skill was the default left click attack at the Blizzcon build, and it worked quite nicely. It was a melee+ spell, hitting anything up close with all 3 slashes, but extending the slashes far enough that targets out of melee range would be hit by one or perhaps two of the attacks. Each slash could also strike multiple targets, making this one potentially quite damaging against multiple, close-range enemies.

===Spell Speed===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases the speed of your magic missile projectiles.
*''' Max Rank:''' 15
** '''Rank 1:''' Increases speed by 8%.
** '''Rank 2:''' Increases speed by 16%.
** '''Rank 3:''' Increases speed by 24%.

===Damage Resistance===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases armor and resistances.
*'''Max Rank:''' 15
** '''Rank 1:''' Increases armor by xx% and all resistances by x%.
** '''Rank 2:''' Increases armor by 10% and all resistances by 8%.
** '''Rank 3:''' Increase armor by 15% and all resistances by 12%.

This seems like a tremendously powerful passive, if the increase per skill point remains constant.

===Weapon Mastery===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases physical damage done by all weapons by 15.
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

This skill is something of a mystery, since there's little else to indicate that the Wizard would be using weapons for damage. It is known that the Wizard's equipment will have some bearing on his spell damage, so perhaps some skills derive their damage from the weapon damage, and this skill would boost that damage?

Either that or it's a harbinger of more melee/weapon type skills, or just something the D3 team was playing around with in their character development.

==Tier II Skills==
These skills are available as soon as a Wizard reaches level 5.

===Stone Skin===
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Shield yourself with rock and stone absorbing 30 damage.
*'''Rank:''' 0/1
*'''Duration:''' 8 seconds
*'''Mana cost:''' 12
*'''Cooldown:''' 15 seconds

One of the many shielding skills, all of different types, the Wizard has at her possession.

===Mirror Image===
[[Image:Wiz-mirror-image1.jpg|thumb|Reinforcements!]]
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Create an illusionary duplicate of yourself.
*'''Rank:''' 1
*'''Duration:''' 8 seconds
*'''Mana Cost:''' 18

This skill is seen in the Blizzcon cinematic, in which the Wizard creates 5 duplicates, all of which have a small white circle over their heads. They are not just decoys either; they join the combat, which makes this seem like a very interesting spell.

===Conjured Armor===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Magical armor surrounds the wizard increasing block chance by 2%.
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

===Conjured Health===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases total health by 8% and the health of your conjured images by 12%.
* '''Rank:''' 0/15

===Duplicate Conjuring===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases the images from your mirror image skill and Hydras from your Hydra skill by 1.''
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

A number of the passives in D3 boost two or three other skills, but not every skill in the skill tree. It's an interesting way to add more variety and specialization to the game.

==Tier III Skills==
A Wizard must be at least Clvl 10, and have spent at least 10 skill points in the Conjuring skill tree before he/she is able to put points into any of the skills at this tier.

===Meteor Storm===
[[Image:Wiz-meteor1.jpg|thumb|Laser-like Meteors descend.]]
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Meteorites pelt the targeted region dealing 10 to 20 damage per second.
*'''Rank:''' 0/1
*'''Mana cost:''' 12 mana per second

The Meteor skill from D2 has been upgraded and modified. Now it calls down multiple meteors over a wider area, much like the Blizzard skill. Furthermore, Meteor Storm can be cast for as long as the Wizard wishes, with a mana cost per second, rather than per use.

===Acid Cloud===
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Drop a cloud of acid on the targeted area. Deals an initial 1-4 poison damage followed by 4-8 poison damage per sec to enemies who remain in the area.
*'''Rank:''' 0/1
*'''Mana cost:''' 15

===Conjured Power===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases damage done by spells by 1% for every 10 points of vitality.''
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

===Conjuring Duration===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases the duration of your Stone Skin and Acid Cloud spells by 1 sec and duration of your mirror image images by 2 sec.''
*'''Rank:''' 0/15:

===Improved Spectral Blade===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases the damage of Spectral Blade by 14%.
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

==Tier IV Skills==
A wizard must invest 15 points in the Conjuring tree before the skills in this tier become available.

===Hydra===
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Creates a multi-headed beast that attacks your enemies with bolts of fire.
*'''Rank:''' 0/1

===Magic Weapon===
* Active Skill
* '''Description:''' Imbue your weapon with magical energy granting it increased damage.
*'''Rank:''' 0/1
*'''Mana cost:''' 10

===Magical Impact===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Increases damage of all spells by 15% of your weapon damage.
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

An interesting reversal on this one, boosting spell damage by weapon damage. This would create some very odd weapon choices for wizards, with huge damage weapons potentially more useful than the various spell-caster type wands and orbs mage classes generally specialize during the end game.

===Slowing Strikes===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Enemies damaged by your melee attacks, Spectral Blade or Magic Weapon have their movement speed reduced by 30% and their attack speed reduced by 20% for 4 sec.
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

===Armor Piercing===
* Passive Skill
* '''Description:''' Conjured and physical damage decreases the armor of armored enemies.
*'''Rank:''' 0/15

[[Category:Wizard]]
[[Category:Skills]]
[[Category:Wizard skills]]

{{Skill navbox}}

Battle.net

2009-03-18T21:57:46Z

Froboy449: /* Current Status */

[[Image:Battle.net_2.0.jpg|thumb|right|The Battle.net 2.0 logo.]]'''Battle.net''' is [[Blizzard]]'s online match-making component for several of their game franchises. The network features both [[PvP]] and [[cooperative play]] for [[multiplayer]]. It will soon be upgraded to '''Battle.net 2.0'''.

==Description==
Battle.net is supported for [[Diablo I]], [[StarCraft]], [[Diablo II]], [[WarCraft II|WarCraft II: Battle.net Edition]] and [[WarCraft III]], including expansions. It is announced to also support [[StarCraft II]] and [[Diablo III]] when those games are released. The network will get a complete overhaul with the release of StarCraft II, and games media are anticipating a great range of features.

*'''[http://www.battle.net/ Battle.net Main Page]'''
**'''[http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/ Battle.net Diablo III Section]''' (Arreat Summit)
*'''[http://forums.battle.net/index.html?sid=3000 Battle.net Forums]'''
**'''[http://forums.battle.net/board.html?forumId=12007&sid=3000 Battle.net Diablo III Forum]'''

==Current Status==
Already, Battle.net is quite popular, but Diablo II players are on average 1.2 players per game, meaning the overwhelming majority of games are really net-based [[Single Player]] experiences. Blizzard is putting focus on making sure people will have a good time alone, and an even better time in groups.

==Cheating==
[[Jay Wilson]] said this about [[cheat]]ing:
::''The way we handle cheating is almost the same across all our games. Battle.net is the same group for all of us except WoW - but they have representation there as well. Can I give specific examples? Not really, because it's kind of technical and I'm not very technical. But the same group that work on Diablo 2 worked on WoW; worked on StarCraft; worked on StarCraft 2 - Security is their obsession. I would hazard to say we have the most security conscious and experienced staff in the world at solving this problem and that's what they will focus on. It's one of the reasons why the online group is a common support group for all us - we all benefit from the experience of all the previous games.''

==Details==
{{wl|[http://www.diii.net Diii.net]}} have an article series about Battle.net and Battle.net 2.0 in their articles section that handles all known features of Battle.net 2.0:
* {{wl|[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/battlenet-20-the-next-generation-gaming-network/ Battle.net 2.0 - The Next Generation Gaming Network]}}
* {{wl|[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/definite-battlenet-20-features/ Definite Battle.net 2.0 Features]}}
* {{wl|[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/rumoured-battlenet-20-additions/ Rumoured Battle.net 2.0 Additions]}}
These are also mirrored over at {{wl|[http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/comments/battlenet-20-article-series StarcraftWire.net]}}.

You can also find more general information on the [[Diablo 3 Basics]] page.

==Cost==
It is not an current priority, to make the Battle.net 2.0 subscription free of cost.
::''In terms of the financial model, our ideal, our goal has always been to make the game first. You know, what’s going to make the best game? And then we’ll figure out what we need to do to support that on a financial model side.''[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/diablo-iii-gamestar-interviews-leonard-boyarsky/ Gamestar Interviews Leonard Boyarsky]

[[Category:Game terms]]
[[Category:Battle.net]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]
[[Category:Basics]]

Skill Runes

2009-03-18T20:58:23Z

Froboy449: /* Trivia (Rune History) */

'''Runes''' in [[Diablo 3]] are small items that are socketed into [[skill]]s, not [[item]]s. The runes grant special bonuses to the skill. There are many types of runes, all found in various quality levels, and they work across skills; each rune will (in theory) work in every skill, adding something similar to the skills.

==D3 Runes vs. D2 Runes==

Runes in Diablo III are nothing like the Runes found in Diablo II. In D2 there were 33 kinds of {{iw|Runes Runes}}, which were small items that had no use on their own, but that could be placed in item sockets to add various bonuses to the item. Certain combinations of runes could also be used to create {{iw|Runeword RuneWords}}, very powerful items with pre-set stats.

In Diablo III, Runes are still small objects that must be placed in sockets to take effect, but in D3 the sockets are in skills, not items. (Items may also have sockets, but runes won't be used in them if they do.) Active skills have sockets in the skill tree interface, and when a valid rune is placed into the socket, the skill gains an appropriate bonus, depending on the type and quality of rune used. Bonuses vary greatly, depending on the skill and the type of rune used, and include such things as extra hits, extra damage, increased spell duration, and many more.

==Rune Function==
[[Image:runeskill.jpg|thumb|Rune Socket]]Skill Runes in Diablo III improve a character's active skills in various creative ways. Runes don't just add damage; they modify the skill in some way, making it more powerful and fun to use, as well as allowing for character customization. Runes can be used very strategically; different runes in the same spell will do things. For example: the Wizard skill, Blizzard, would gain different benefits from different runes. A few hypothetical Blizzard bonuses: more falling projectiles, longer duration, more damage per projectile, longer chill time, better to/hit, better chance of critical hit, and so forth. Also, each of those types of bonuses would be increased in power by the quality of the rune used, allowing for a huge variety of potential bonuses and play styles.

As of the BlizzCon demo (October 2008), only some Active Skills had sockets for runes; none of the Passive skills did. Furthermore, no skill had more than one socket. It is not known if any of this will remain that way in the final game.

Runes can be removed from sockets at any time and without any penalty. Theoretically, players could juggle their runes around constantly, sticking in a multi-strike rune to deal with big mobs, changing to a power rune to up the single target damage before a boss battle, and so forth. It's likely that Blizzard will take steps to limit this "rune juggling", perhaps forcing players to return to town before they can change the rune socketed in a spell, putting a cool down time on resocketing the same skill, limiting the number of times a particular rune can be socketed, or even causing runes to lose quality when unsocketed.

===Function Examples===
The D3 Team gave several examples of rune functions during a panel at Blizzcon (October 2008) when Skill Runes were first revealed as a game feature. ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouYP1zGfd0s Watch the demonstration] on YouTube.)

====Wizard's Mirror Image====
* '''Mirror Image Skill:''' This skill, from the [[Conjuring Skill Tree]], creates a duplicate of the [[wizard]], which is capable of moving around and using spells to attack monsters. (It's not just a decoy or an illusion.)
** '''Multistrike Rune: '''Socketing this rune would increase the number of duplicates. Higher quality levels of the multi-strike rune would presumably add more duplicates.
** '''Power Rune: '''Socketing this rune would increase the hit points of each duplicate, and increase the spell's duration.

====Wizard's Teleport Skill====
* '''Teleport skill:''' This skill, from the [[Arcane Skill Tree]], teleports the Wizard to the targeted location. The spell isn't quite as quick as it was in Diablo or Diablo 2, since the Wizard leaps up into the air before vanishing, and appears in the air, then falls down to earth.

* With '''Striking Rune:''' Adds damage to targets near where the Wizard appears, functioning something like the Barbarian's Leap Attack skill.

[[Image:teleport_striking.jpg|center]]

* With '''Multistrike Rune:''' Creates a temporary duplicate of the Wizard that will attract enemy fire and will fight and deal damage as well. (This seems to be basically a free way to cast Mirror Image when you Teleport.)

[[Image:teleport_multistrike.jpg|center]]

====Witch Doctor's Skull of Flame====
* '''Skull of Flame skill:''' The Witch Doctor lobs a flaming skull, grenade style, which explodes on impact, dealing substantial fire damage to nearby targets.

* With '''Multistrike Rune:''' Socketing this rune causes the flaming skull to skip along the ground, like a stone over water, creating multiple explosions. Higher quality runes would allow additional bounces.

[[Image:skullofflame_multistrike.jpg|center]]

* With '''Power Rune:''' Socketing this rune adds a firefield property to the Skull of Flame, creating a small patch of flame on the ground that persists after the skull's explosion and damages any monsters that cross over it.

[[Image:skullofflame_power.jpg|center]]

====Wizard's Electrocute====
* '''Electrocute skill:''' This skill, from the [[Storm Skill Tree]] creates a strand of lightning that locks onto an enemy like a beam weapon, dealing steady lightning damage. It will chain to a second enemy if one is in range, dealing damage to both.

* With '''Multistrike Rune:''' Socketing this rune allows the lightning to chain to multiple targets.

[[Image:electrocute_multistrike.jpg|center]]

* With '''Lethality Rune:''' Socketing this rune causes some of the monsters killed by Electrocute to explode in a nova, dealing damage to other nearby enemies.

[[Image:electrocute_lethality.jpg|center]]

==Rune Types==
Skill Runes will be found in a variety of types. Known runes:

* Energy Rune
* Lethality Rune
* Multistrike Rune
* Power Rune
* Striking Rune

(Players have spent a lot of time [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?p=6871952 thinking up other types of runes], and discussing their potential benefits.)

More runes will almost certainly be added during development as the team thinks of useful types to include in the game. The team won't be adding a lot of odd types of runes, though; D3 Lead Designer Jay Wilson has stressed that runes must add a useful function to multiple types of skills. The D3 Team wants all the runes to be useful to all characters, so they won't add runes that just boost one type of skill, or one character's skills. They have to think up rune bonus properties that work across the board, so there are probably not going to be 50 types of runes. (Utility doesn't equal equality, since not every skill can receive exactly the same level of improvement from every rune.)

==Rune Quality Levels==

It's been stated that runes will have various levels of quality, in a fashion somewhat akin to the different quality levels of {{iw|Gem gems}} in Diablo II. At BlizzCon 2008, [[Jay Wilson]] said there were 5 or 6 quality levels of runes, but that the number could go up or down during development. Higher qualities of runes will (of course) be dropped by higher level monsters, and the higher qualities will be much rarer. The function of each type of rune will not change at higher quality; instead the bonuses will be increased.

The D3 team hasn't yet revealed much information about how item crafting will work in D3, other than to say that they won't have any {{iw|Horadric_Cube Horadric Cube-style}} converting items. We therefore know nothing about the potential for runes to be upgraded by type, though it's certainly possible that something along those lines could be implemented.

==Rune Storage==
At the [[BlizzCon 2008]] demo, runes were stored in an inventory grid on the skill tree menu; not in the normal inventory. There were 10 rune slots below the skill trees. It's not known if they will still be stored there in the final game, if there will be ways to increase the number of slots, or if they can be stored in the inventory instead.

==Further Reading==
You can find out more of the essential information about Diablo I and Diablo II runes in the {{iw|Main_Page Diablo 2 Wiki}}.

=== Diablo II Runes ===
* {{iw|Rune Runes}} - The main page for D2 runes.
* {{iw|Rune_FAQ Rune FAQ}} - All your questions about runes are answered here.
* {{iw|Rune_List Rune list}} - All the runes in Diablo II, and how you can create a {{iw|Zod Zod}} rune from a fourteen trillion {{iw|El Els}}.
* {{iw|Runewords Runewords}} - See how runewords work.
* {{iw|Sockets Sockets}} - Get to know more about the socket mechanic.

=== Diablo I Runes ===
[[Diablo I: Hellfire]] had runes, and you can read more about that on the {{iw|D1_Hellfire_Runes Diablo I Runes}} article.

==Trivia (Rune History)==
What do you really know about runes? The ones from our world come from the ancient Vikings, and their "futhark" (equivalence of our 'Alpha Bet(a)'). They allegedly hold magic powers, and the magicks of the 'runa' are still practiced today. These practices, called "Seden", are of course done mostly as a pastime, but some forms of the old runes were used in proper form as late as early 20th century in the 'Dalarna' area of Sweden...

[[Image:Runes.jpg|center]]

In [[Sanctuary]], however, runes are magically inscribed symbols. Though their use has changed slightly in the last 20 years, they used to grant (sufficiently prepared) [[items]] magical properties. For sages of these runes, magical {{iw|Runeword RuneWords}} would be created to remake a mundane item into a Runic Item, with powers competing with magical artifacts.

Besides the fact that these supposedly ancient runes hold great and mystic powers, we know little about them. Who created them or how they are created is unknown. They seem to attract [[demon]]s of different kinds, as they are often found on their corpses. If the runes are of demonic origin is not known either. They could have been the simple writing language of the first inhabitants of Sanctuary, who themselves were more powerful than Demons or [[Angel]]s. Whatever the origin, they are of great use to heroes wishing to dethrone [[Diablo]] or [[Baal]].

[[Category:Runes]]
[[Category:Items]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:Trivia]]