Difference between revisions of "Cleave"

Latest revision as of 01:54, 3 November 2017

Cleave is a Primary Barbarian skill unlocked at Level 3, which hits all enemies 180 degrees in front of the Barbarian for extra damage.

Hover for latest stats

Post-Release Changes[edit | edit source]

Cleave in action.

The v1.0.4 patch buffed the base skill considerably, as well as adding additional bonuses to the Reaping Swing, Broad Sweep and Gathering Storm rune effects.

Cleave changes in v1.0.4:

Weapon damage increased from 120% to 140%

Skill Rune Effects[edit | edit source]

The following is a very quick summary. See the Cleave 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.

Icon	Name (Hover over for latest stats)	Level Unlocked
	Rupture	9
	Reaping Swing	18
	Scattering Blast	30
	Broad Sweep	47
	Gathering Storm	55

Skill Design[edit | edit source]

A close up of Cleave, notice the red curve representing cleave. The blue "orbs" are from the hits of the frost enchanted axe.

Mighty Cleave in action!

Cleave is a good skill to hit multiple enemies, it works with all combination of weapons, including a weapon and a shield, a duel wield combo or one big 2-handed weapon. It is unclear what factors the % damage on Cleave, is it Weapon Damage? or the resulting damage that a normal hit would've done? Make assumptions at your own risk.

With the latest changes in Fury mechanics, this skill would end up generating more Fury than was initially spent.

Here are cleaved Goatmen. You can see the graphic distortion as well as the red lines from swinging a cleave.

Video[edit | edit source]

A video of Cleave in use can be seen below, courtesy of the DiabloInc You Tube channel.

Synergies[edit | edit source]

Base Skill[edit | edit source]

The following Barbarian passives provide a benefit to Cleave, runed or not:

Bloodthirst - The Barbarian gains life based on the amount of damage he deals always.
Weapons Master - Provides a damage bonus when the Barbarian is wielding a sword or dagger.
Berserker Rage - Inflicts additional damage while the Barbarian is at maximum Fury.
Brawler - Increases the Barbarian's damage when he is swarmed.

Scattering Blast[edit | edit source]

The following Barbarian passives provide a benefit to Scattering Blast:

Ruthless - Increases critical hit chance and critical hit damage always.
Weapons Master - Increases critical hit chance when the Barbarian is wielding a mace or axe.

Development[edit | edit source]

Cleave was introduced in the WWI 2008 gameplay demo, where it could be found in the Juggernaut Skill Tree at Tier II. At the time, it would hit for 130% weapon damage on 2 enemies at rank 1, with weapon damage and maximum number of targets scaling per rank.

For BlizzCon 2009, Cleave had been slightly re-balanced with slightly less damage, and had also changed appearance slightly between the WWI gameplay video and the later demo. Strangely enough, the animation has been made less overwhelming, only cleaving in one direction, when the older one swung in both directions. Flux still enjoyed using it:[1]

Probably the most useful active attack skill the Barbarian had in the Blizzcon build. I used this one most of the time, especially when I had a group of enemies, and it cut right through them. It dealt enough damage to replenish the fury it cost any time I hit two or more enemies, so I’d usually ignore single small targets, and try to swing towards several enemies, or would do some very simplified herding to group up Fallen Imps or other small targets so that one Cleave would take them all out, and boost my fury as well.

By BlizzCon 2010, the only change to Cleave was the removal of skill trees. Flux shared some new insights on using it in his hands-on report:[2]

Cleave with the spear was extremely effective. It bumped up my damage enough that I began to one-hit kill virtually all of the regular monsters, and that was very fun. I’d usually run up to groups of 4-8 monsters, let them crowd in close, and then cut the whole damn bunch of them down with a single swing. Watching their bodies fly back like eviscerated ragdolls, was, to quote Jay Wilson, “Awesome!” It was all that “make the player feel godly” stuff they’re always talking about during the design panels, come to life. I was putty in their hands, and felt slightly dirty at being so easily manipulated.

Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, allowing skills to unlock steadily from levels 1 to 30. Consequently, all skill levels were adjusted and Cleave became a level 5 skill.

Beta[edit | edit source]

The Diablo III Beta started in September 2011, and while it ran, all of the skills continued to undergo extensive iteration. Skill changes varied from changing the levels the skills are unlocked, to changes in resource cost, damage, and even function. A few skills were removed altogether, and a few new ones were added. Also, the entire skill system received an overhaul with the Beta Patch 13 update in February 2012, with physical runes replaced by rune effects that automatically unlock at various levels for the different skills.

Cleave was dropped to level 4 soon after the beta started. With the Patch 13 changes, it was classified as a Primary skill and moved to level 3.

Previous Versions[edit | edit source]

See the Barbarian skill archive for more details on previous versions of Cleave and other Barbarian skills.

In Other Games[edit | edit source]

Cleave was probably inspired by WarCraft 3, since the modifier that changes to "hit all enemies in front" is called Cleave.

Media[edit | edit source]

Cleave can be seen in action on video here:

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

Cleave smash closeup.
Ghouls being cleaved on a bridge.
Goatmen being cleaved.
Improved lighting effects are visible in Aug, 2010.

References[edit | edit source]

BlizzCon 2009 Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats
BlizzCon 2010 Barb Hands-on Report
Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
Silva's Barbarian Runestone Effects — IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
Barbarian 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

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

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Cleave''' is a Tier II [[skill]] from the [[Barbarian]]'s [[Juggernaut Skill Tree]], which hits all enemies 180 degrees in front of the Barbarian.
+[[File:IconCleave.png|left]]
+'''Cleave''' is a Primary [[Barbarian skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 3, which hits all enemies 180 degrees in front of the Barbarian for extra damage.
+<strong>[https://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/cleave Hover for latest stats]</strong>
+<br><br><br>__TOC__
+==Post-Release Changes==
+[[File:Barb-cleave2.jpg|thumb|200px|Cleave in action.]]
+The [[v1.0.4 patch]] buffed the base skill considerably, as well as adding additional bonuses to the [[Reaping Swing]], [[Broad Sweep]] and [[Gathering Storm]] rune effects.
+[[Cleave]] changes in v1.0.4:
+* Weapon damage increased from 120% to 140%
+==Skill Rune Effects==
+The following is a very quick summary. See the [[Cleave 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.
+<table>
+<tr>
+<th>Icon</th>
+<th>Name (Hover over for latest stats)</th>
+<th>Level Unlocked</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>[[File:runee.png]]</td>
+<td class="name">
+[https://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/cleave#e+ Rupture]</td>
+<td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>[[File:runed.png]]</td>
+<td class="name">
+[https://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/cleave#d+ Reaping Swing]</td>
+<td>18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>[[File:runec.png]]</td>
+<td class="name">
+[https://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/cleave#c+ Scattering Blast]</td>
+<td>30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>[[File:runea.png]]</td>
+<td class="name">
+[https://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/cleave#a+ Broad Sweep]</td>
+<td>47</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>[[File:runeb.png]]</td>
+<td class="name">
+[https://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/cleave#b+ Gathering Storm]</td>
+<td>55</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
-==Background==
-{{Skillbox
-|game= Diablo III
-|portrait= Barb-cleave1.jpg
-<!-- |portrait-width= -->
-|active= Active
-|name= Cleave
-|ranks= 5
-|user= Barbarian
-|tree= Juggernaut
-|description= The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing X% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
-|type= Direct Damage
-|quantity= % of weapon dmg.
-|effect= Semi-Circular [[AoE]]
-|school= Physical
-|resource= Fury
-|cost= 1 Orb
-|cast-time= None
-|cooldown= None
-|synergies= None
-}}
-The Barbarian swings his weapons with all his might, cleaving any enemies caught in twine.
 ==Skill Design==
-[[Image:Barb-cleave2.jpg|thumb|250px|left|A close up of Cleave, notice the red curve representing cleave. The blue orbs are from the hits of the frost enchanted axe]]
+[[Image:Barb-cleave2.jpg|thumb|250px|left|A close up of Cleave, notice the red curve representing cleave. The blue "orbs" are from the hits of the frost enchanted axe.]]
-Cleave is a good skill to hit multiple enemies, it works with all combination of weapons, including a weapon and a shield, a duel wield combo or one big 2-handed weapon. It is unclear what factors the % damage on Cleave, is it Weapon Damage? or the resulting damage that a normal hit would've done? Make assumptions at your own risk.
+[[Image:Barb-cleave1.jpg|thumb|250px|Mighty Cleave in action!]]
+Cleave is a good [[skill]] to hit multiple enemies, it works with all combination of weapons, including a weapon and a shield, a duel wield combo or one big 2-handed weapon. It is unclear what factors the % damage on Cleave, is it Weapon Damage? or the resulting damage that a normal hit would've done? Make assumptions at your own risk.
 With the latest changes in [[Fury]] mechanics, this skill would end up generating more Fury than was initially spent.
@@ Line 36: / Line 77: @@
 [[Image:Barb_cleave3.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Here are cleaved [[Goatmen]]. You can see the graphic distortion as well as the red lines from swinging a cleave.]]
-==Skill Rank Table==
+===Video===
-(A) = Assumed
+A video of Cleave in use can be seen below, courtesy of [http://www.youtube.com/Diablo3Inc the DiabloInc You Tube channel].
+<youtube>-UJvNZpK4SY</youtube>
+==Synergies==
+===Base Skill===
+The following [[Barbarian passives]] provide a benefit to Cleave, runed or not:
+* [[Bloodthirst]] - The [[Barbarian]] gains life based on the amount of damage he deals always.
+* [[Weapons Master]] - Provides a damage bonus when the [[Barbarian]] is wielding a [[sword]] or [[dagger]].
+* [[Berserker Rage]] - Inflicts additional damage while the [[Barbarian]] is at maximum [[Fury]].
+* [[Brawler]] - Increases the [[Barbarian]]'s damage when he is swarmed.
-*Rank: 1/5
+===[[File:IconMedRuneC.png|30px]] Scattering Blast===
-**The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 100% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
+The following [[Barbarian passives]] provide a benefit to [[Scattering Blast]]:
-*Rank: 2/5
+* [[Ruthless]] - Increases [[critical hit]] chance and critical hit damage always.
-**The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 110% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
+* [[Weapons Master]] - Increases [[critical hit]] chance when the [[Barbarian]] is wielding a [[mace]] or [[axe]].
-*Rank: 3/5
-**The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 120% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
-*Rank: 4/5
-**The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 130% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
-*Rank: 5/5
-**The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 140% of normal damage to all targets in front of him. (A)
-*Fury Cost: 1 Fury Orb
+==Development==
+'''Cleave''' was introduced in the [[WWI 2008]] gameplay demo, where it could be found in the [[Juggernaut Skill Tree]] at Tier II. At the time, it would hit for 130% weapon damage on 2 enemies at rank 1, with weapon damage and maximum number of targets scaling per rank.
+For [[BlizzCon 2009]], Cleave had been slightly re-balanced with slightly less damage, and had also changed appearance slightly between the WWI gameplay video and the later demo. Strangely enough, the animation has been made less overwhelming, only cleaving in one direction, when the older one swung in both directions. [[Flux]] still enjoyed using it:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/full-barbarian-skill-trees-and-stats1/]
-==Synergies==
+<blockquote>''Probably the most useful active attack skill the Barbarian had in the Blizzcon build. I used this one most of the time, especially when I had a group of enemies, and it cut right through them. It dealt enough damage to replenish the fury it cost any time I hit two or more enemies, so I’d usually ignore single small targets, and try to swing towards several enemies, or would do some very simplified herding to group up Fallen Imps or other small targets so that one Cleave would take them all out, and boost my fury as well.</blockquote>
-* None known.
+By [[BlizzCon 2010]], the only change to Cleave was the removal of skill trees. [[Flux]] shared some new insights on using it in his hands-on report:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-barbarian]
+<blockquote>''Cleave with the spear was extremely effective. It bumped up my damage enough that I began to one-hit kill virtually all of the regular monsters, and that was very fun. I’d usually run up to groups of 4-8 monsters, let them crowd in close, and then cut the whole damn bunch of them down with a single swing. Watching their bodies fly back like eviscerated ragdolls, was, to quote Jay Wilson, “Awesome!” It was all that “make the player feel godly” stuff they’re always talking about during the design panels, come to life. I was putty in their hands, and felt slightly dirty at being so easily manipulated.</blockquote>
-==[[Rune|Skill Rune]] Effects==
+Skill tiers were removed for the [[July 2011 Press Event]], allowing skills to unlock steadily from levels 1 to 30. Consequently, all skill levels were adjusted and Cleave became a level 5 skill.
-* None known.
+===Beta===
+{{Beta skill notes}}
+Cleave was dropped to level 4 soon after the beta started. With the Patch 13 changes, it was classified as a Primary skill and moved to level 3.
-==Development==
+===Previous Versions===
-Skill was introduced in the [[WWI 2008]] gameplay demo, smashing enemies to bits.
+See the [[Barbarian skill archive]] for more details on previous versions of Cleave and other Barbarian skills.
-''Cleave'' was seen in every Diablo 3 game demo to date, and was balanced, judging from the latest demo. The old Cleave would hit for 130% weapon damage on 2 enemies at rank 1, with weapon damage and maximum number of targets scaling per rank.
+===In Other Games===
 Cleave was probably inspired by WarCraft 3, since the modifier that changes to "hit all enemies in front" is called Cleave.
@@ Line 75: / Line 128: @@
 ''Hide this section unless there really is some trivia about the skill. Add the skill to the [[:Category:Easter Eggs|Easter Eggs]] category as well if the article contains Easter Egg information.''
 -->
+==Media==
+Cleave can be seen in action on video here:
+* [[Gameplay WWI2008|Gameplay: WWI 2008]]
+* [[Gameplay: July 2011]]
+* [[Skill Animations Videos#Barbarian Video|Video: August 2011 Barbarian Skill Animations]]
+You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:
-==Media==
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/ Diablo III screenshots and pictures]
-You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/search.php?keywords=Cleave&cat=all '''Cleave''' specific gallery contents]
-* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
-* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Cleave Cleave-specific gallery contents]
@@ Line 87: / Line 143: @@
 Image:Barb-cleave1.jpg|[[Ghoul]]s being cleaved on a bridge.
 Image:Barb cleave3.jpg|[[Goatmen]] being cleaved.
+File:Skill-cleave1.jpg|Improved lighting effects are visible in Aug, 2010.
 </gallery>
-<!--
-==Related Articles==
-''Articles that are related, but not emphasised enough in any other section, or articles that just need further attention.''
--->
 ==References==
-* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-barbarian-skill-trees-and-stats1/ Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats]
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/full-barbarian-skill-trees-and-stats1/ BlizzCon 2009 Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats]
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-barbarian BlizzCon 2010 Barb 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/showpost.php?p=8007726&postcount=1 Silva's Barbarian Runestone Effects] — IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
+* [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/barbarian/active/ Barbarian Active Skills] — Blizzard's Official Diablo III Site
+{{Skill navbox Diablo III|Barbarian|primary}}
-{{Skill_navbox_juggernaut}}
+[[category:Barbarian skills]]
-{{Skill_navbox}}
+[[category:Active skills]]