Difference between revisions of "Traits"

Revision as of 01:41, 23 November 2010

Traits are a separate set of skills, all of which are passive, that provide strong bonuses for the active skills and general character abilities. Characters do not earn enough points to use every trait, or even most traits. Choosing which traits to spend point in allows each character to specialize their play style in unique fashion.

Every trait in the game is described in its own wiki article. View them all on the Traits master list further down this page, or click to any of the individual class traits pages to see which are available.

Overview

Traits implemented into the game during 2010, when all passive skills were removed from the skill trees. Many existing passive skills were (more or less) directly transformed into traits, while lots of others were added to fill character needs. Traits were first revealed during the Diablo 3 Gameplay Panel in Blizzcon 2010 by Jay Wilson. Traits provide substantial bonuses to all active skills and stats, essentially allowing a player to upgrade a specific skill or playstyle which defines them and their build.

Jay explained the logic behind moving passive skills out of the skill trees and into a traits tree in an interview in the Blizzcon 2010 show program:^[1]

Jay Wilson: The skill system has been totally revamped, and we’ve added an all-new traits system. The skill system we showed last year was fairly Diablo II-like. We knew at the time that the basic mechanics were sound, but we felt it was intimidating, and that it overly encouraged spreading your points around into as many different skills as possible instead of focusing on the skills that fit your play style. If you’ve spread your points into 30 different skills, then you’ve broken your character. The system wasn’t facilitating playing the game well.

We also moved passive skills into their own UI, and renamed then traits—because no matter how good a passive skill is, it’s hard to pass up picking an active skill instead. The traits tree allows us to expand the number of passives and focus on core character customization ideas like, “I want more health,” or “I want more damage.” It replaces attribute-point spending, which we didn’t consider to be a very good customization system because there was always a *correct* way to spend points. With traits, players will find there are a lot more choices to make that will be better balanced against one another, and will include flavorful or role-playing choices to cater to a broader group of players.

As of October 2010, trait points are awarded every other level (1, 3, 5, etc). There are about 30 traits per character, though this number may be reduced/condensed in further development. Traits can have 1, 3, or 5 points placed in them, with the number varying between traits.

Traits are not all unique to each character. About one-third of the traits are found on two or more classes, with a fair number spread across all five classes, though their Clvl requirements may vary between classes. Many traits are unique to individual classes, and have special bonuses that are only of use to that class.

Traits Allow Customization

The main goal of traits is to allow players to really customize the build of their character. This is accomplished by the large number of traits providing a lot of bonuses, and the fact that each trait makes a considerable difference. They're not just +1% minor passive bonuses; they're all big chunks of effect, usually +20% or more, per point.

Jay Wilson spoke to this fact in an interview from Blizzcon 2010. ^[2]

Jay Wilson: We wanted more customization, and we wanted customization that really spoke to the idea that, ‘I’m going to roleplay my character and focus in one area.’ Skills are really awesome, but when players think of who they are as a character, they don’t tend to think of, “I like to Whirlwind.’ They’ll use Whirlwind with their Barbarian, but it’s not how they define themselves. They think, ‘I’m a Barbarian who’s exceptionally strong or exceptionally tough!’ And that’s what traits are. The affect the core attributes of your character to let you customize and expand them.

For the Barbarian we can focus on Inner Rage, which really defines who he is. For the Wizard we can focus on something more magical in nature. So it’s a great opportunity to tell the player more about their character.

Traits Master List

The Prismatic Cloak trait, shown as an example during BlizzCon 2010

An alphabetical listing of all known traits. There were 81 traits seen at Blizzcon 2010, though some of the highest level traits were not recorded, and the newly-revealed Demon Hunter class had only five traits. All of these traits are listed on the various class traits pages.

A Traits

Anti-Magic Shield -- Wizard
Arcane Channeling: Wizard
Assassin -- Witch Doctor
Axe Murderer -- Barbarian

B Traits

Black Ice -- Wizard
Ball of Lightning -- Wizard
Bad Temper -- Barbarian
Battering Ram -- Barbarian
Beast Hunter -- Barbarian, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard
Blood Rites -- Witch Doctor
Blur -- Wizard
Brain Basher -- Barbarian

C Traits

Care of the Master -- Witch Doctor
Conjured Armor -- Wizard
Cruelty -- Barbarian, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard

D Traits

Death Pact -- Witch Doctor
Die by the Sword -- Barbarian, Monk
Demonsbane -- Barbarian, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard
Disbelief -- Barbarian
Drain Power -- Wizard

E Traits

Expanded Mind -- Wizard
Energy Reserves -- Wizard

F Traits

Ferocity -- Witch Doctor
Fetish Leader -- Witch Doctor
Flight before Fight -- Wizard
Fleet -- Monk
Frenzied Attacks -- Barbarian, Monk

G Traits

Glass Cannon -- Wizard

H Traits

Healer -- Monk

I Traits

Intimidation -- Barbarian, Monk, Wizard
Insane Courage -- Barbarian
Inner Rage -- Barbarian
Iron Skin -- Barbarian

J Traits

Just...Stay...Dead! -- Barbarian, Monk, Wizard

L Traits

Leader of the Pack -- Witch Doctor
Legendary Might -- Barbarian
Lightning Reflexes -- Demon Hunter
Lucky -- Barbarian, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard

M Traits

Massive Blow -- Barbarian
Mana Regeneration -- Witch Doctor
Mind and Body -- Witch Doctor
Meditation -- Witch Doctor

N Traits

Natural Leader -- Barbarian, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard
Natural Resistance -- Barbarian

P Traits

Pig Sticker -- Barbarian
Plagued -- Witch Doctor
Pound of Flesh -- Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk
Power Surge -- Wizard
Prismatic Cloak -- Wizard
Precision -- Monk
Penetrating Spells -- Wizard

Q Traits

Quickening -- Witch Doctor, Wizard

R Traits

Ritual of Blood -- Witch Doctor
Rituals -- Witch Doctor
Right-Handed -- Witch Doctor
Ranged Weapon Specialization -- Demon Hunter
Rapid Strikes -- Monk

S Traits

Spirit Vessel -- Witch Doctor
Staff Specialization -- Witch Doctor, Wizard
Spirit Link -- Witch Doctor
Spiritual Attunement -- Witch Doctor
Superior Skill -- Barbarian, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard
Soul Split -- Wizard
Second Wind -- Barbarian
Shield Slam -- Barbarian
Sixth Sense -- Monk
Slaughter -- Barbarian
Shield of Iron -- Barbarian

T Traits

Telekinesis -- Wizard
Temporal Flux -- Wizard
Temperature Control -- Monk
The Wall -- Barbarian
Thunderous Blows -- Barbarian, Monk
Toughness -- Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard
True Spirit -- Monk

U Traits

Unbreakable Will -- Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Wizard
Unrelenting Assault -- Witch Doctor

W Traits

Wand Specialization -- Wizard
Weapon Master -- Wizard
Weak Spot -- Barbarian, Monk

Z Traits

Zombie Master -- Witch Doctor

References

BlizzCon 2010 Diablo 3 Gameplay Panel

↑ Jay Wilson Interview @ Blizzcon 2010 Program - IncGamers October 25, 2010
↑ Jay Wilson Interview @ BlizzCon 2010 - IncGamers transcript of G4TV interview, October 25, 2010

[1] Jay Wilson Interview @ Blizzcon 2010 Program - IncGamers October 25, 2010

[2] Jay Wilson Interview @ BlizzCon 2010 - IncGamers transcript of G4TV interview, October 25, 2010

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-interview-jay-wilson-g4tv/ Jay Wilson Interview @ BlizzCon 2010] - IncGamers transcript of G4TV interview, October 25, 2010</ref>
-<blue>Jay Wilson: We wanted more customization, and we wanted customization that really spoke to the idea that, ‘I’m going to roleplay my character and focus in one area.’ Skills are really awesome, but when players think of who they are as a character, they don’t tend to think of, “I like to Whirlwind.’ They’ll use [[Whirlwind]] with their Barbarian, but it’s not how they define themselves. They think, ‘I’m a Barbarian who’s exceptionally strong or exceptionally tough!’ And that’s what traits are. The affect the core attributes of your character to let you customize and expand them.
+::Jay Wilson: We wanted more customization, and we wanted customization that really spoke to the idea that, ‘I’m going to roleplay my character and focus in one area.’ Skills are really awesome, but when players think of who they are as a character, they don’t tend to think of, “I like to Whirlwind.’ They’ll use [[Whirlwind]] with their Barbarian, but it’s not how they define themselves. They think, ‘I’m a Barbarian who’s exceptionally strong or exceptionally tough!’ And that’s what traits are. The affect the core attributes of your character to let you customize and expand them.
-For the [[Barbarian]] we can focus on [[Inner Rage]], which really defines who he is. For the [[Wizard]] we can focus on something more magical in nature. So it’s a great opportunity to tell the player more about their character.</blue>
+::For the [[Barbarian]] we can focus on [[Inner Rage]], which really defines who he is. For the [[Wizard]] we can focus on something more magical in nature. So it’s a great opportunity to tell the player more about their character.
 ==Traits Master List==