Difference between revisions of "Charged Bolt"

Latest revision as of 21:47, 18 August 2011

This skill was removed from the game prior to the press event of July 2011. This is archived for future curiosity and reference. This page is not to be updated with current info; see the Wizard skills page for current skill information.

Charged Bolt is a Wizard Tier 1 skill unlocked at level 2, launching electric charges that travel randomly on the floor, dealing lightning damage.

Background[edit | edit source]

Diablo III Active Skill [e]

Charged Bolt
Used by:	Wizard
Enabled at:	Clvl 2
Skill Description
Launch a volley of 3 electric bolts that deal X-Y lightning damage each.
Type:	Direct Damage/AoE
Resource Use:	Costs Arcane Power
Skill Rune Effects
Alabaster rune:	Unknown
Crimson rune:	Unknown
Golden rune:	Unknown
Indigo rune:	Unknown
Obsidian rune:	Unknown

The true essence of Electromagnetism exists on the threshold of the Ethereal and the Physical Realms. While it is very efficient to transform Mana into electrical energy, it is extremely difficult to control. This spell calls into being multiple pockets of lightning which seem to have a will of their own.

The Wizard has not only the fancy illegal spells at her disposal. Charged Bolt, something even the newest of Vizjerei neonytes learn, is one of the few spells she picked up in actual classes at the old mage clan, or possibly at Zann Esu before they kicked her out.

Skill Design[edit | edit source]

The Wizard and her carpet.

The spell familiar from Diablo I and Diablo II returns in Diablo III. As previously, Charged Bolt send out a smattering of randomly-scattering charges, each of which deal minor damage to any enemy that passes over them. The strength of Charged Bolt comes not from the damage of each bolt, but from the carpeting effect of repeated casts, since it's a spell with very low mana cost. These can turn the floor into a field of death for any enemy without lightning immunity.

Skill Rank Table[edit | edit source]

Rank 1: 1-2 damage per bolt.
Rank 2: 2-4 damage per bolt. (A)
Rank 3: 3-6 damage per bolt. (A)
Rank 4: 4-8 damage per bolt. (A)
Rank 5: 5-10 damage per bolt. (A)

(A) = Assumed

Trait Synergies[edit | edit source]

Charged Bolt benefits directly from the following Wizard traits:

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.

Skill Rune Effects[edit | edit source]

No rune effects for Charged Bolt are known.

Development[edit | edit source]

Charged Bolt was first shown at BlizzCon 2008 when the Wizard debuted, where it was at Tier I on the Storm Skill Tree. Flux was able to try it out:[1]

Three little crackling bits of lightning are sent forth along the ground, where they zig and zag a bit, but move in a more or less straight line away from the Sorceress. I didn’t use this spell much, but it seemed to me that the bolts spread out quite a bit more than they did in D2, and that made it hard to hit anything in front of me with more than one bolt. That’s now how it looks in screenshots though, where the bolts seem to carpet the dungeon floor quite nicely. More testing will be required.

It was still in the game at BlizzCon 2009; there, it had a much lower mana cost, and significantly lower damage than in 2008, indicating the spell was intended to be used more for the "carpet effect" of previous games.

At BlizzCon 2010, it was still in the game but wasn't one of the Wizard's starting skills.

Previous Versions[edit | edit source]

See the Wizard skill archive for more details on previous versions of Charged Bolt and other Wizard skills.
Or see Charged Bolt (BlizzCon 2008) for the original version of this skill.

In Other Games[edit | edit source]

Charged Bolt was introduced in Diablo I, where it was, as it is now, a very cheap spell to cast multiple times in hopes of killing many enemies with a carpet of lightning. The spell calls in pockets of lightning that just crawls around randomly, in a general direction.

The second iteration of Charged Bolt was a Sorceress spell in Diablo II, and is basically identical in design. It's one of few Tier 1 spells in the skill trees that scale well even at higher levels, being quite useful at max level.

Media[edit | edit source]

Charged Bolt can be seen in action on video here:

Gameplay: Blizzcon 2008

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

Magic carpet of death.

References[edit | edit source]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Charged Bolt is a tier 1 skill from the [[Wizard]]'s [[Storm Skill Tree]].
+<span style="color:red;">'''This skill was removed from the game prior to the press event of July 2011. This is archived for future curiosity and reference. This page is not to be updated with current info; see the [[Wizard skills]] page for current skill information.'''</span>
+'''Charged Bolt''' is a [[Wizard]] Tier 1 [[Wizard skills|skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|level]] 2, launching electric charges that travel randomly on the floor, dealing [[lightning]] damage.
-===Charged Bolt===
-[[Image:Wiz-charged-bolt1.jpg|thumb|350px|Charged Bolts carpet the dungeon floor.]]
-* Active Skill
-* '''Description:''' Launch a volley of electric bolts. Critical hits from lightning damage stun targets for 2 sec.
-* '''Rank 1:''' 3 bolts. Each deals 1-8 damage.
-* '''Mana cost''' 8
-* '''Prerequisites: '''None
-* '''Damage Type: '''Lightning
-The spell, familiar from Diablo I and Diablo II, returns in Diablo III. As previously, Charged Bolt send out a smattering of randomly-scattering charges, each of which deal minor damage to any enemy that passes over them. The strength of Charged Bolt comes not from the damage of each bolt, but from the carpeting effect of repeated casts. These can turn the floor into a field of death for any enemy without lightning immunity.
+==Background==
+{{Skillbox D3
+|portrait= Wiz-charged-bolt1.jpg
+|portrait-width= 200px
+|name= Charged Bolt
+|user= Wizard
+|tier= 1
+|clvl= 2
+|description= Launch a volley of 3 electric bolts that deal X-Y lightning damage each.
+|type= Direct [[Damage]]/[[AoE]]
+|resource= Costs [[Arcane Power]]
+|alabaster= Unknown
+|crimson= Unknown
+|golden= Unknown
+|indigo= Unknown
+|obsidian= Unknown
+|catexclude=
+}}
+The true essence of Electromagnetism exists on the threshold of the Ethereal and the Physical Realms. While it is very efficient to transform [[Mana]] into electrical energy, it is extremely difficult to control. This [[spell]] calls into being multiple pockets of lightning which seem to have a will of their own.
+The [[Wizard]] has not only the fancy illegal spells at her disposal. Charged Bolt, something even the newest of [[Vizjerei]] [[neonyte]]s learn, is one of the few spells she picked up in actual classes at the old [[mage clan]], or possibly at [[Zann Esu]] before they kicked her out.
-==Hands on Report==
-Flux discussed the Charged Bolt skill in his [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ Blizzcon Wizard gameplay report].
-::Charged Bolt is the third Tier 1 skill, this one from the Storm Skill Tree. Charged Bolt has been featured in Diablo I and Diablo II, and I’m sure everyone is familiar with it by now. Three little crackling bits of lightning are sent forth along the ground, where they zig and zag a bit, but move in a more or less straight line away from the Sorceress.  I didn’t use this spell much, but it seemed to me that the bolts spread out quite a bit more than they did in D2, and that made it hard to hit anything in front of me with more than one bolt. That’s now how it looks in screenshots though, where the bolts seem to carpet the dungeon floor quite nicely. More testing will be required.
+==Skill Design==
+[[Image:Wiz-charged-bolt1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Wizard and her carpet.]]
+The spell familiar from [[Diablo I]] and [[Diablo II]] returns in [[Diablo III]]. As previously, Charged Bolt send out a smattering of randomly-scattering charges, each of which deal minor damage to any enemy that passes over them. The strength of Charged Bolt comes not from the damage of each bolt, but from the carpeting effect of repeated casts, since it's a spell with very low [[mana]] cost. These can turn the floor into a field of death for any enemy without lightning immunity.
-::As soon as a Wizard leveled up, she earned a skill point, with all of the Tier 2 skills were available. The Tier 1 skills were open as well, but since Active skills could only get 1 point in the Blizzcon build, there were only passive skills to put that point into, on the first tier. I doubt that too many people at Blizzcon spent their points on skills like Arcane Power out of their great eagerness to add 12% more damage to all of their Arcane skills. (Not that that would have necessarily been a bad strategy, but most players were eager to see and try out the other active skills, not to incrementally boost their existing ones.)
+{{clear-left}}
+==Skill Rank Table==
+* '''Rank 1:''' 1-2 damage per bolt.
+* '''Rank 2:''' 2-4 damage per bolt. (A)
+* '''Rank 3:''' 3-6 damage per bolt. (A)
+* '''Rank 4:''' 4-8 damage per bolt. (A)
+* '''Rank 5:''' 5-10 damage per bolt. (A)
+(A) = Assumed
+==Trait Synergies==
+Charged Bolt benefits directly from the following [[Wizard traits]]:
+* [[Glass Cannon (trait)|Glass Cannon]]: Increases damage done by spells and increases armor.
+* [[Intimidation (trait)|Intimidation]]: Increases damage done and reduces vendor costs.
+* [[Quickening (trait)|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.
+==Skill Rune Effects==
+* No [[rune]] effects for Charged Bolt are known.
+==Development==
+'''Charged Bolt''' was first shown at [[BlizzCon 2008]] when the [[Wizard]] debuted, where it was at Tier I on the [[Storm Skill Tree]]. [[Flux]] was able to try it out:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/]
+<blockquote>''Three little crackling bits of lightning are sent forth along the ground, where they zig and zag a bit, but move in a more or less straight line away from the Sorceress. I didn’t use this spell much, but it seemed to me that the bolts spread out quite a bit more than they did in D2, and that made it hard to hit anything in front of me with more than one bolt. That’s now how it looks in screenshots though, where the bolts seem to carpet the dungeon floor quite nicely. More testing will be required.''</blockquote>
+It was still in the game at [[BlizzCon 2009]]; there, it had a much lower mana cost, and significantly lower damage than in 2008, indicating the spell was intended to be used more for the "carpet effect" of previous games.
+At [[BlizzCon 2010]], it was still in the game but wasn't one of the Wizard's starting skills.
+===Previous Versions===
+See the [[Wizard skill archive]] for more details on previous versions of Charged Bolt and other Wizard skills.<br>
+Or see [[Charged Bolt (BlizzCon 2008)]] for the original version of this skill.
+===In Other Games===
+{{iw|D1_Spellbooks#Charged_Bolt Charged Bolt}} was introduced in [[Diablo I]], where it was, as it is now, a very cheap spell to cast multiple times in hopes of killing many enemies with a carpet of lightning. The spell calls in pockets of lightning that just crawls around randomly, in a general direction.
+The second iteration of {{iw|Charged_Bolt Charged Bolt}} was a {{iw|Sorceress Sorceress}} spell in [[Diablo II]], and is basically identical in design. It's one of few Tier 1 spells in the skill trees that scale well even at higher levels, being quite useful at max level.
+<!--
+==Trivia==
+''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==
+Charged Bolt can be seen in action on video here:
+* [[Gameplay: Blizzcon 2008]]
+You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/ Diablo III screenshots and pictures]
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/search.php?keywords=Charged+Bolt&cat=all '''Charged Bolt''' specific gallery contents]
+<gallery>
+Image:Wiz-charged-bolt1.jpg|Magic carpet of death.
+</gallery>
-See more screenshots of [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=charged+bolt Charged Bolt] in the Image Gallery.
+<!--
+==Related Articles==
+-->
+==References==
+* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ BlizzCon 2008 Wizard Gameplay Report]
+* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-wizard-skill-trees/ BlizzCon 2009 Full Wizard Skill Trees]
+{{Slave navbox Diablo III|Wizard}}
-[[category:wizard]]
+[[category:Wizard skill archive]]
-[[category:wizard skills]]
+[[category:Archives]]
-[[category:skills]]
+[[category:skill archive]]

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