Difference between revisions of "Cleave"

Revision as of 23:41, 10 February 2011

Cleave is a Barbarian Tier 1 skill unlocked at level 2, which hits all enemies 180 degrees in front of the Barbarian.

Background

Diablo III Skill [e]
Cleave Active, 5 ranks
Used by:	Barbarian
Skill Description:
The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing X% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
Skill Details:
Type:	Direct Damage
Quantity:	% of weapon dmg.
Effect:	Semi-Circular AoE
School:	Physical
Fury cost:	Unknown
Cast time:	None
Duration:	None
Cooldown:	None
Synergies:	None
Requires:	N/A
Prereq of:	N/A

The Barbarian swings his weapon with all his might, cleaving in twain any enemies in his path.

Skill Design

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.

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.

Skill Rank Table

• Rank 1: The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 100% of normal damage to each.
• Rank 2: The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 110% of normal damage to each.
• Rank 3: The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 120% of normal damage to each.
• Rank 4: The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 130% of normal damage to each.
• Rank 5: The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 140% of normal damage to each. (A)

(A) = Assumed

Synergies

Cleave benefits directly from the following traits:

• Intimidation: Increases damage done and reduces vendor costs.
• Cruelty: Increases your chance of dealing critical strikes.
• Weak Spot: Increases critical strike damage.

Cleave may benefit from the following traits:

• Frenzied Attacks: Increases the chance to deal critical strikes and increases critical strike damage when the Barbarian is wielding two weapons.
• Thunderous Blows: Increases damage done when the Barbarian is wielding a two-handed weapon.
• Beast Hunter: Damage bonus against Beasts.
• Demonsbane: Damage bonus against Demons.
• Just...Stay...Dead!: Damage bonus against Undead.
• Massive Blow: You have a chance to hit all nearby targets with a single hit. Requires a two-handed weapon.
• Pig Sticker: Increases damage done when the Barbarian is wielding a polearm, spears or when he throws weapons.
• Die by the Sword: Increases damage done when the Barbarian is wielding swords.
• Axe Murderer: Increases damage done when the Barbarian is wielding axes.
• Brain Basher: Increases damage done when the Barbarian is wielding maces.

Note: Traits will no doubt be revamped before game release.

Skill Rune Effects

• None known.

Development

Cleave was introduced in the WWI 2008 gameplay demo, smashing enemies to bits. The skill was been slightly re-balanced between the BlizzCon 2008 and 2009 demos, 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.

Cleave has 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 had this to say about it in his BlizzCon 2010 hands-on report:[1]

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.

Previous Versions

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

Earlier Games

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

Media

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

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Cleave specific gallery contents

• 

  Cleave smash closeup.

• 

  Ghouls being cleaved on a bridge.

• 

  Goatmen being cleaved.

• 

  Improved lighting effects are visible in Aug, 2010.

References

• BlizzCon 2009 Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats
• BlizzCon 2010 Barb Hands-on Report