Difference between revisions of "Fists of Thunder"

Revision as of 02:59, 28 March 2012

Fists of Thunder in action.

Fists of Thunder (known as Hands of Lightning prior to July 2011) is a Primary Monk skill unlocked at Level 1. The Monk charges his strikes with lightning in a three-stage attack.

Background

The Monk charges his strikes with lightning in a three-stage attack that ends with an area of effect blast.

Skill Rune Effects

The following is a very quick summary. See the Fists of Thunder rune effects page for a more thorough description of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.

<skill class="Monk">Fists of Thunder</skill>

Skill Design

Welcome to electric avenue.

This skill first appeared at BlizzCon 2010, playable in the demo. It adds lightning damage to the Monk's strikes.

The attack has three phases. Each strike deals X% weapon damage as lightning damage, varying by rank and other factors, which may be valuable for later difficulty settings with enemies who are resistant to physical damage. Each strike also has a chance to interrupt the enemy being struck.

Combo skills are the cornerstone for Monks. Combos do bonus damage, grant special properties (i.e. lightning damage and interrupt attacks on Hands of Lightning), and build up the Spirit needed to cast other skills. All combos have three stages, each progressively more powerful and flashier.

Synergies

The following Monk passives provide a benefit to Fists of Thunder:

Skill	Unlocked	Description

{{{icon}}}

[[{{{name}}}]]

10

{{{desc}}}

{{{icon}}}

[[{{{name}}}]]
See: Spirit Generators

50

{{{desc}}}

Development

Fists of Thunder was first shown at BlizzCon 2010, then named Hands of Lightning. Blascid reported on using the skill at BlizzCon:[1]

In the Monks case, with her actual lightning fist skill (I do not remember the name), the first hit would be a claw sweep with lightning damage, the second one granted more lightning damage with more lightning graphics, and the third hit was a lightning blast that created a nice AOE arc. (The third move’s animation {Monk’s move and spell effect} reminded me of how Ryu and Ken’s Hadouken looked in Street Fighter 2 {Sorry, I have not played any more recent than that} if your opponent was right in front of you.)

Flux also wrote about using this skill at BlizzCon. A small excerpt:[2]

The only drawback of Hands of Lightning was the fun factor. It was a fairly plain attack. It looks pretty with the big lightning blasts, but it’s basically just a straight ahead right, left, right combo. It doesn’t hit multiple enemies, it doesn’t debuff them, it doesn’t let you dash across the screen to start hitting, etc. It’s the lowest level combo skill for a reason; it’s just a damn powerful attack to use against a single or a few enemies, and sure, killing them quickly and efficiently is fun. But if I were playing for real, I’d probably respec it to another combo when I had the chance. (Though it might be handy long term for the huge lightning damage.)

Before the July 2011 Press Event (when skill tiers were removed), Hands of Lightning was renamed Fists of Thunder.

Beta

The beta started in September 2011, and Fists of Thunder became a level 1 skill. The skill system was once again overhauled for the Beta Patch 13 in February 2012, and Fists of Thunder was classified as a Primary skill (but remained at level 1). For Beta Patch 14, it was buffed a bit.

A male Monk poses while delivering the second stage hit.

Previous Versions

See Hands of Lightning for the original version of this skill.

The three hits of Hands of Lightning, with the big blast on the final hit (from 2010).

Media

Fists of Thunder can be seen in action on video here:

You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:

Posing the final strike.
Monk using Hands of Lightning.
Arcing lightning damage.
The three-hit sequence.

References

BlizzCon 2010 Hands-on Blascid
BlizzCon 2010 Monk Hands-on Report
Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
Silva's Monk Runestone Effects — IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
Monk Active Skills — Blizzard's Official Diablo III Site

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer primary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer secondary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer corpses

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer bloodandbone

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer reanimation

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer curses

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:IconFistsThunder.png|left]]
-'''Fists of Thunder''' (known as [[Hands of Lightning]] prior to July 2011) is a Spirit Generator [[Monk skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 1. The Monk charges his strikes with [[lightning]] in a three-stage attack.
+[[File:hol.jpg|thumb|300px|Fists of Thunder in action.]]
+'''Fists of Thunder''' (known as [[Hands of Lightning]] prior to July 2011) is a Primary [[Monk skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 1. The Monk charges his strikes with [[lightning]] in a three-stage attack.
-This is one of the Monk's [[Combo]] skills. Combo skills generate Spirit.
+<br><br><br>__TOC__
-<br><br>__TOC__
 ==Background==
-[[File:hol.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Fists of Thunder in action.]]
 The [[Monk]] charges his strikes with lightning in a three-stage attack that ends with an [[area of effect]] blast.
 ==Skill Rune Effects==
-The following is a very quick list. See the [[Fists of Thunder rune effects]] page for a more thorough summary of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.
+The following is a very quick summary. See the [[Fists of Thunder rune effects]] page for a more thorough description of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.
 <skill class="Monk">Fists of Thunder</skill>
@@ Line 25: / Line 22: @@
 [[Combo]] skills are the cornerstone for Monks. Combos do bonus damage, grant special properties (i.e. lightning damage and interrupt attacks on Hands of Lightning), and build up the [[Spirit]] needed to cast other skills. All combos have three stages, each progressively more powerful and flashier.
+{{clear-left}}
-{{clear-left}}
 ==Synergies==
-* No [[synergies]] with any of the [[passive skill]]s are yet known.
+The following [[Monk passives]] provide a benefit to Fists of Thunder:
+{{Passive skills header}}
+{{Monk Passive Resolve}}
+{{Monk Passive Combination Strike}}
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 <blockquote>''In the Monks case, with her actual lightning fist skill (I do not remember the name), the first hit would be a claw sweep with lightning damage, the second one granted more lightning damage with more lightning graphics, and the third hit was a lightning blast that created a nice AOE arc. (The third move’s animation {Monk’s move and spell effect} reminded me of how Ryu and Ken’s Hadouken looked in Street Fighter 2 {Sorry, I have not played any more recent than that} if your opponent was right in front of you.)</blockquote>
-[[Flux]] also wrote about using this skill at Blizzcon. A small excerpt:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-monk/]
+[[Flux]] also wrote about using this skill at BlizzCon. A small excerpt:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-monk/]
 <blockquote>''The only drawback of Hands of Lightning was the fun factor. It was a fairly plain attack. It looks pretty with the big lightning blasts, but it’s basically just a straight ahead right, left, right combo. It doesn’t hit multiple enemies, it doesn’t debuff them, it doesn’t let you dash across the screen to start hitting, etc. It’s the lowest level combo skill for a reason; it’s just a damn powerful attack to use against a single or a few enemies, and sure, killing them quickly and efficiently is fun. But if I were playing for real, I’d probably respec it to another combo when I had the chance. (Though it might be handy long term for the huge lightning damage.)</blockquote>
-Before the [[July 2011 Press Event]], [[Hands of Lightning]] was renamed Fists of Thunder. Skill tiers were also removed, and Fists of Thunder became a level 1 skill.
+Before the [[July 2011 Press Event]] (when skill tiers were removed), [[Hands of Lightning]] was renamed Fists of Thunder.
+===Beta===
+The [[beta]] started in September 2011, and Fists of Thunder became a level 1 skill. The skill system was once again overhauled for the [[Beta Patch 13]] in February 2012, and Fists of Thunder was classified as a Primary skill (but remained at level 1). For [[Beta Patch 14]], it was [[buff]]ed a bit.
 [[File:Lightning-hands1.jpg|center|frame|A male Monk poses while delivering the second stage hit.]]
 ===Previous Versions===
 See [[Hands of Lightning]] for the original version of this skill.
-[[File:Lightning-fists-sequence1.jpg|center|thumb|700px|Compilation image showing the three hits of Hands of Lightning, with the big blast on the final hit.]]
+[[File:Lightning-fists-sequence1.jpg|center|thumb|700px|The three hits of Hands of Lightning, with the big blast on the final hit (from 2010).]]
@@ Line 71: / Line 75: @@
 </gallery>
-<!--
-==Related Articles==
-''Articles that are related, but not emphasised enough in any other section, or articles that just need further attention.''
--->
 ==References==
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-2010-hand-on-blascid/ BlizzCon 2010 Hands-on Blascid]
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-monk/ BlizzCon 2010 Monk Hands-on Report]
-* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7960229#post7960229 Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report] -- IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7960229#post7960229 Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report] — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
-* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8008273#post8008273 Silva's Monk Runestone Effects] -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8008273#post8008273 Silva's Monk Runestone Effects] — IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
-* [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/monk/active/ Monk Active Skills] -- Diablo III 12th Sep 2011
+* [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/monk/active/ Monk Active Skills] — Blizzard's Official Diablo III Site
@@ Line 89: / Line 88: @@
 [[category:Monk skills]]
 [[category:Active skills]]
-[[category:Combo skills]]

Fan-made Classes			Fan-made Skills [e]
• Alchemist • Arcane Warrior • Artisan • Aurian Mage • Bard • Channeller • Dragon Warrior	• Flagellant • Giant (U) • Hollow Man • Nomad • Onaga Manji • Phase Knight	• Ranger • Slayer (U) • Techpriest (U) • Telepath • Untainted (U) • Zealot	Dragon Warrior Skills • Bow and Throwing Skill Tree • Dragon Disciplines Skill Tree • Martial Arts Skill Tree	Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree	Aurian Mage Skill • Holy Power Skill Tree • Shadow Spells Skill Tree • Nature Forces Skill Tree
(U) = Unfinished				Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree