Difference between revisions of "Passive skill"

Latest revision as of 21:28, 20 May 2012

Passive skills are skills that add bonuses, usually modifying other skills, that work all the time. They boost overall stats, or modify other skills, but are not used directly.

For instance, an active skill would be one that shot a Fireball. A passive skill would add say, +50% damage to all Fire Skills. Passive skills differ slightly from buffs, which can be very similar bonuses, but with a fixed duration.

In 2010 Blizzard announced that due to recent game changes, there were no longer any passive skills in the Diablo III skill trees. Passive skills remained in the game, but as was revealed at BlizzCon 2010, they were accessed via the traits system. [1] [2]

In July 2011 Blizzard announced that the traits system had been revamped and turned back into a passive skills system.

See the various class skills pages for more details.

Description[edit | edit source]

Passive skills are not used directly for attacks, and tend to provide bonuses to numerous other skills, or add percentages to damage, to hit, defense, resistances, and other useful stats. Some effects also comes from passive skills, such as activating a bonus under special circumstances, such as a critical hit, or being hit.

Passive skills are often as or more important than some active skills, but usually receive less attention since they are not flashy or obvious in their effects. An example is making the possibility

Passive skills seldom possess synergistic properties. Passive skills are not signature skills.

Passive Skills Master List[edit | edit source]

Below find an alphabetical listing of all known passive skills. There were 64 of these seen in July 2011 when the new skill tree system was revealed, and many of them were shared between classes. The number of passive skills increased during further development, and all passive skills are now unique to each class, with none shared between classes.

Name	Level	Description

<skill class="Barbarian">Animosity</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Arcane Dynamo</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Archery</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Astral Presence</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Bad Medicine</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Ballistics</skill> <skill class="Monk">Beacon of Ytar</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Berserker Rage</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Blood Ritual</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Bloodthirst</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Blur</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Boon of Bul-Kathos</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Brawler</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Brooding</skill> <skill class="Monk">Chant of Resonance</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Circle of Life</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Cold Blooded</skill> <skill class="Monk">Combination Strike</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Conflagration</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Critical Mass</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Cull the Weak</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Custom Engineering</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Evocation</skill> <skill class="Monk">Exalted Soul</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Fetish Sycophants</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Fierce Loyalty</skill> <skill class="Monk">Fleet Footed</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Galvanizing Ward</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Glass Cannon</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Grave Injustice</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Grenadier</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Gruesome Feast</skill> <skill class="Monk">Guiding Light</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Hot Pursuit</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Illusionist</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Inspiring Presence</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Juggernaut</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Jungle Fortitude</skill> <skill class="Monk">Near Death Experience</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Nerves of Steel</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Night Stalker</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">No Escape</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Numbing Traps</skill> <skill class="Monk">One With Everything</skill> <skill class="Monk">Pacifism</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Paralysis</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Perfectionist</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Pierce the Veil</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Pound of Flesh</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Power Hungry</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Prodigy</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Relentless</skill> <skill class="Monk">Resolve</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Rush of Essence</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Ruthless</skill> <skill class="Monk">Seize the Initiative</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Sharpshooter</skill> <skill class="Monk">Sixth Sense</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Spirit Vessel</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Spiritual Attunement</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Steady Aim</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Superstition</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Tactical Advantage</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Temporal Flux</skill> <skill class="Monk">The Guardian's Path</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Thrill of the Hunt</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Tough as Nails</skill> <skill class="Monk">Transcendence</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Tribal Rites</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Unforgiving</skill> <skill class="Wizard">Unstable Anomaly</skill> <skill class="DemonHunter">Vengeance</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Vision Quest</skill> <skill class="Barbarian">Weapons Master</skill> <skill class="WitchDoctor">Zombie Handler</skill>

Development[edit | edit source]

At BlizzCon 2008, there were far more passive than active skills in the three character trees, bit it changed in May 2009 and was shown with more detail at BlizzCon 2009.

Read more about skill development.

Over time the number of passive skills were reduced, and as of Blizzcon 2009 there were about 35 skills for the Wizard, Witch Doctor, and Barbarian, with around a dozen of those passive.

The first big change came in 2010, when the skill trees were completely overhauled, more active skills were introduced, and all of the passive skills were removed. Removed from the skill trees, not from the game, they were turned into the traits system.

The second big change came in July 2011, when passive skills were re-introduced into the game and the traits were removed.

Over the course of development, many passives that were introduced to the game have been later removed.

See the list of removed passives.

References[edit | edit source]

BlizzCon 2008
Skill Tree Overhaul
No more passive skills?
Kastigar's Really Big Barb thread -- IncGamers 8th Sep 2011
HardRock's Monk Passive Skills -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
HardRock's Wizard Passive Skills -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
HardRock's Demon Hunter Passive Skills -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
HardRock's Witch Doctor Passive Skills -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011

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 27: / Line 27: @@
 Below find an alphabetical listing of all known passive skills. There were 64 of these seen in July 2011 when the new skill tree system was revealed, and many of them were shared between classes. The number of passive skills increased during further development, and all passive skills are now unique to each class, with none shared between classes.
-{{Passive skills header}}
+{{Skill description header}}
-{{Barbarian Passive Animosity}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Animosity</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Arcane Dynamo}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Arcane Dynamo</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Archery}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Archery</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Astral Presence}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Astral Presence</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Bad Medicine}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Bad Medicine</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Ballistics}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Ballistics</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Berserker Rage}}
+<skill class="Monk">Beacon of Ytar</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Black Ice}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Berserker Rage</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Blood Ritual}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Blood Ritual</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Blood Spatter}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Bloodthirst</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Bloodthirst}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Blur</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Blur}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Boon of Bul-Kathos</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Boon of Bul-Kathos}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Brawler</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Brawler}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Brooding</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Brooding}}
+<skill class="Monk">Chant of Resonance</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Chant of Resonance}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Circle of Life</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Circle of Life}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Cold Blooded</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Combination Strike}}
+<skill class="Monk">Combination Strike</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Conflagration}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Conflagration</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Critical Mass}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Critical Mass</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Cull the Weak}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Cull the Weak</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Custom Engineering}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Custom Engineering</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Death Trance}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Evocation</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Evocation}}
+<skill class="Monk">Exalted Soul</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Exalted Soul}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Fetish Sycophants</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Fetish Sycophants}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Fierce Loyalty</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Fierce Loyalty}}
+<skill class="Monk">Fleet Footed</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Fleet Footed}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Galvanizing Ward</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Fundamentals}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Glass Cannon</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Galvanizing Ward}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Grave Injustice</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Glass Cannon}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Grenadier</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Grenadier}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Gruesome Feast</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Gruesome Feast}}
+<skill class="Monk">Guiding Light</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Guiding Light}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Hot Pursuit</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Hot Pursuit}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Illusionist</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Illusionist}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Inspiring Presence</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Inspiring Presence}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Juggernaut</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Juggernaut}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Jungle Fortitude</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Jungle Fortitude}}
+<skill class="Monk">Near Death Experience</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Near Death Experience}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Nerves of Steel</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Nerves of Steel}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Night Stalker</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Night Stalker}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">No Escape</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive No Escape}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Numbing Traps</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Numbing Traps}}
+<skill class="Monk">One With Everything</skill>
-{{Monk Passive One With Everything}}
+<skill class="Monk">Pacifism</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Pacifism}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Paralysis</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Paralysis}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Perfectionist</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Perfectionist}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Pierce the Veil</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Pierce the Veil}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Pound of Flesh</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Pound of Flesh}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Power Hungry</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Power Hungry}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Prodigy</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Prodigy}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Relentless</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Relentless}}
+<skill class="Monk">Resolve</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Resolve}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Rush of Essence</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Rush of Essence}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Ruthless</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Ruthless}}
+<skill class="Monk">Seize the Initiative</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Seize the Initiative}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Sharpshooter</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Sharpshooter}}
+<skill class="Monk">Sixth Sense</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Sixth Sense}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Spirit Vessel</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Spiritual Attunement}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Spiritual Attunement</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Spirit Vessel}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Steady Aim</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Steady Aim}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Superstition</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Superstition}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Tactical Advantage</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Tactical Advantage}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Temporal Flux</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Temporal Flux}}
+<skill class="Monk">The Guardian's Path</skill>
-{{Monk Passive The Guardian's Path}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Thrill of the Hunt</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Thrill of the Hunt}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Tough as Nails</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Tough as Nails}}
+<skill class="Monk">Transcendence</skill>
-{{Monk Passive Transcendence}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Tribal Rites</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Tribal Rites}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Unforgiving</skill>
-{{Barbarian Passive Unforgiving}}
+<skill class="Wizard">Unstable Anomaly</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Unstable Anomaly}}
+<skill class="DemonHunter">Vengeance</skill>
-{{Demon Hunter Passive Vengeance}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Vision Quest</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Vermin}}
+<skill class="Barbarian">Weapons Master</skill>
-{{Wizard Passive Virtuoso}}
+<skill class="WitchDoctor">Zombie Handler</skill>
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Vision Quest}}
-{{Barbarian Passive Weapons Master}}
-{{Witch Doctor Passive Zombie Handler}}
 ==Development==
@@ Line 116: / Line 114: @@
 The second big change came in July 2011, when passive skills were re-introduced into the game and the [[traits]] were removed.
+Over the course of development, many passives that were introduced to the game have been later removed.
+* See the list of [[:Category:Passive skill archive|removed passives]].
@@ Line 131: / Line 132: @@
 {{Skill_navbox_Diablo_III|Barbarian}}
-[[category:skills]]
+[[category:Skills]]
-[[category:Passive skills]]
+[[category:Reference]]
-[[category:reference]]

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