Cleave

Cleave is a Tier II skill from the Barbarian's Juggernaut Skill Tree, 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:	1 Orb
Cast time:	None
Duration:	None
Cooldown:	None
Synergies:	None
Requires:	N/A
Prereq of:	N/A

The Barbarian swings his weapons with all his might, cleaving any enemies caught in twine.

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

(A) = Assumed

Rank: 1/5
- The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 100% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
Rank: 2/5
- The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 110% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
Rank: 3/5
- The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 120% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
Rank: 4/5
- The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 130% of normal damage to all targets in front of him.
Rank: 5/5
- The Barbarian swings at multiple targets at once, dealing 140% of normal damage to all targets in front of him. (A)
Fury Cost: 1 Fury Orb

Synergies

None known.

Skill Rune Effects

None known.

Development

Skill was introduced in the WWI 2008 gameplay demo, smashing enemies to bits. Cleave was seen in every Diablo 3 game demo to date, and was balanced, judging from the latest demo. The 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 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 3 screenshot and picture gallery:

Cleave smash closeup.
Ghouls being cleaved on a bridge.
Goatmen being cleaved.

References

Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats