Difference between revisions of "Ray of Frost"

Latest revision as of 07:17, 8 June 2012

Ray of Frost in action in the beta.

Ray of Frost is a Secondary Wizard skill unlocked at Level 2. It fires a straight beam of cold that chills and damages a single enemy, while draining Arcane Power steadily.

This skill is often compared to Disintegrate as both fire a straight beam of energy, but they are quite different in function. Both have a high resource drain while active, but Ray of Frost does not pierce, making it much less damaging against multiple enemies. It does do good damage to a single target though, and the chilling effect slows enemies, making it helpful to land more hits on an approaching foe.

Background[edit | edit source]

The skill is fun to use and very effective against single targets, with good damage and the slowing property. However the Arcane Power drain is quite high, and thus the damage per second is much lower than a number of other early-game Wizard skills.

Skill Rune Effects[edit | edit source]

Refer to the Ray of Frost rune effects article for thorough descriptions of all five rune effects in this skill, including screenshots, videos, strategy tips, and other related information.

Name	Level	Description

<skill class="Wizard">Ray of Frost</skill> <skill class="Wizard" rune="Numb">Ray of Frost</skill> <skill class="Wizard" rune="Snow Blast">Ray of Frost</skill> <skill class="Wizard" rune="Cold Blood">Ray of Frost</skill> <skill class="Wizard" rune="Sleet Storm">Ray of Frost</skill> <skill class="Wizard" rune="Black Ice">Ray of Frost</skill>

Skill Design[edit | edit source]

This skill targets much like Disintegrate, but trades the piercing of that skill for a slowing cold effect. This makes Ray of Frost excellent against single targets, but much less damaging on the whole, especially against large groups of enemies.

Video[edit | edit source]

A video of Ray of Frost and all of its rune effects can be seen below, courtesy of the DiabloInc You Tube channel.

Synergies[edit | edit source]

The following Wizard passives provide a benefit to Ray of Frost, runed or not:

Name	Level	Description

<skill class="Wizard">Glass Cannon</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Arcane Dynamo</skill>

Development[edit | edit source]

Ray of Frost was first seen at BlizzCon 2008, but only in the gameplay movie; the Wizard used it against the trap laid out by the Skeleton King. It was available in the gameplay demo at BlizzCon 2009, but was unfortunately too high level to try out by the fans.

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 Ray of Frost became a level 21 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.

Ray of Frost remained at level 21 when the beta started. With the Patch 13 changes, it was classified as a Secondary skill and dropped all the way down to level 5, giving players their first opportunity to try it out. For March's Beta Patch 14, it was dropped even further to level 2, but its damage output was increased slightly.

Previous Versions[edit | edit source]

See the Wizard skill archive for more details on previous versions of Ray of Frost and other Wizard skills.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

This is one of the spells that seem to be coming from the dungeons & Dragons inspiration we've seen in Diablo III. The new D3 Team obviously spent a lot of time in mom's basement....

Media[edit | edit source]

Ray of Frost can be seen in action on video here:

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

Ray of Frost used in the middle of the Skeleton King trap.
Casting the spell before the hordes of skeletons arrive.
Ray of Frost with all five rune effects.
Players finally getting to use it with Beta Patch 13.

References[edit | edit source]

BlizzCon 2009 Full Wizard Skill Trees
Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
Silva's Wizard Runestone Effects — IncGamers 5th Sep 2011
Wizard 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: @@
-'''Ray of Frost''' is a [[Wizard]] Tier 5 [[Wizard skills|skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|level]] 14, shooting a constant beam of [[cold]] from the hands of the Wizard.
+[[File:IconRayFrost.png|left]]
+[[File:Ray-of-frost1.jpg|thumb|400px|Ray of Frost in action in the [[beta]].]]
+'''Ray of Frost''' is a Secondary [[Wizard skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 2. It fires a straight beam of [[cold]] that chills and damages a single enemy, while draining Arcane Power steadily.
+This skill is often compared to [[Disintegrate]] as both fire a straight beam of energy, but they are quite different in function. Both have a high resource drain while active, but Ray of Frost does not pierce, making it much less damaging against multiple enemies. It does do good damage to a single target though, and the chilling effect slows enemies, making it helpful to land more hits on an approaching foe.
 ==Background==
-{{Skillbox D3
+The skill is fun to use and very effective against single targets, with good damage and the slowing property. However the Arcane Power drain is quite high, and thus the damage per second is much lower than a number of other early-game Wizard skills.
-|portrait= Ray_of_Frost.jpg
-<!-- |portrait-width= -->
-|name= Ray of Frost
-|user= Wizard
-|tier= 5
-|clvl= 14
-|description= Project a beam of cold energy that deals X cold damage per second.
-|type= Direct [[Damage]]
-|resource= Costs [[Arcane Power]]/time
-|alabaster= Unknown
-|crimson= Unknown
-|golden= Unknown
-|indigo= Unknown
-|obsidian= Unknown
-}}
-The Wizard uses her powers of the elements to gush forth a beam of pure cold, damaging anyone that comes in its way.
-==Skill Design==
+==Skill Rune Effects==
-This [[skill]] sounds like a cold based Disintegrate, minus the piercing ability, but it's never been seen in use since the very first Wizard gameplay movie, from [[BlizzCon 2008]]. It was too high level to try out at [[BlizzCon 2009]].
+Refer to the [[Ray of Frost rune effects]] article for thorough descriptions of all five rune effects in this skill, including screenshots, videos, strategy tips, and other related information.
+{{skill description header}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Ray of Frost</skill>
+<skill class="Wizard" rune="Numb">Ray of Frost</skill>
+<skill class="Wizard" rune="Snow Blast">Ray of Frost</skill>
+<skill class="Wizard" rune="Cold Blood">Ray of Frost</skill>
+<skill class="Wizard" rune="Sleet Storm">Ray of Frost</skill>
+<skill class="Wizard" rune="Black Ice">Ray of Frost</skill>
+==Skill Design==
+This [[skill]] targets much like Disintegrate, but trades the piercing of that skill for a slowing cold effect. This makes Ray of Frost excellent against single targets, but much less damaging on the whole, especially against large groups of enemies.
-==Skill Rank Table==
+===Video===
-* '''Rank 1:''' 8 damage per second.
+A video of Ray of Frost and all of its rune effects can be seen below, courtesy of [http://www.youtube.com/Diablo3Inc the DiabloInc You Tube channel].
+<youtube>k2Uo2X8iF0U</youtube>
+==Synergies==
+The following [[Wizard passives]] provide a benefit to Ray of Frost, runed or not:
+{{skill description header}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Glass Cannon</skill>
+<skill class="Wizard">Arcane Dynamo</skill>
-==Trait Synergies==
-Ray of Frost benefits directly from the following [[Wizard traits]]:
-* [[Black Ice]]: Frozen targets take 25% more damage from all sources.
-* [[Glass Cannon]]: Increases damage done by spells and increases armor.
-* [[Intimidation]]: Increases damage done and reduces vendor costs.
-* [[Quickening]]: Increases spell casting speed.
-* [[Beast Hunter]]: Damage bonus against beasts.
-* [[Demonsbane]]: Damage bonus against Demons.
-* [[Just...Stay...Dead!]]: Damage bonus against undead.
-* [[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==
+'''Ray of Frost''' was first seen at [[BlizzCon 2008]], but only in the gameplay movie; the Wizard used it against the trap laid out by the [[Skeleton King]]. It was available in the gameplay demo at [[BlizzCon 2009]], but was unfortunately too high level to try out by the fans.
+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 Ray of Frost became a level 21 skill.
-==Skill Rune Effects==
+===Beta===
-* [[Crimson Rune]] - Beam increases in damage the longer it remains in use, to a cap.
+{{Beta skill notes}}
-* [[Indigo Rune]] - Wizard is surrounded by a swirling vortex of sleet, damaging any foes that come into contact.
-* [[Obsidian Rune]] - Decreases beam damage, but increases reduction in target movement and attack speed.
-* [[Golden Rune]] - Arcane Power cost reduced.
-* [[Alabaster Rune]] - Enemies slain by Ray of Frost have a chance to leave an area of ice on the ground where they die, damaging other enemies if they move through it.
-==Development==
+Ray of Frost remained at level 21 when the beta started. With the Patch 13 changes, it was classified as a Secondary skill and dropped all the way down to level 5, giving players their first opportunity to try it out. For March's [[Beta Patch 14]], it was dropped even further to level 2, but its damage output was increased slightly.
-'''Ray of Frost''' was first seen at [[BlizzCon 2008]], but only in the gameplay movie; the Wizard used it against the trap laid out by the [[Skeleton King]]. It was available in the gameplay demo at [[BlizzCon 2009]], but was unfortunately too high level to try out by the fans. The skill is assumed to still be available in Blizzard's internal game build today.
 ===Previous Versions===
@@ Line 66: / Line 52: @@
 ==Trivia==
-This is one of the spells that seem to be coming from the dungeons & Dragons inspiration we've seen in [[Diablo III]]. The new [[D3 Team]] obviously spent a lot of time in mom's basement...
+This is one of the spells that seem to be coming from the dungeons & Dragons inspiration we've seen in [[Diablo III]]. The new [[D3 Team]] obviously spent a lot of time in mom's basement....
@@ Line 83: / Line 68: @@
 Image:Ray_of_Frost.jpg|Ray of Frost used in the middle of the [[Skeleton King]] trap.
 Image:Ray_of_Frost2.jpg|Casting the spell before the hordes of [[skeleton]]s arrive.
+Image:Rayoffrost_runed.jpg|Ray of Frost with all five [[rune]] effects.
+File:Ray-of-frost4.jpg|Players finally getting to use it with [[Beta Patch 13]].
 </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/full-wizard-skill-trees/ BlizzCon 2009 Full Wizard Skill Trees]
+* [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=8007624#post8007624 Silva's Wizard Runestone Effects] — IncGamers 5th Sep 2011
+* [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/wizard/active/ Wizard Active Skills] — Blizzard's Official Diablo III Site
+{{Skill navbox Diablo III|Wizard|secondary}}
-{{Slave navbox Diablo III|Wizard}}
+[[category:Active skills]]
+[[category:Wizard skills]]
+[[category:Wizard active skills]]

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