Wave of Light

Wave of Light is a Monk skill unlocked at level 27. The Monk emits a rolling wave of Holy fire that scorches enemies in its path.

Background

Diablo III Active Skill [e]
Wave of Light
Used by:	Monk
Enabled at:	Clvl 27
Skill Description
Summon a mystic bell to damage enemies in front of the Monk.
Type:	Damage/Line AoE
Resource Use:	Costs Spirit
Skill Rune Effects
Alabaster rune:	Unknown
Crimson rune:	Unknown
Golden rune:	Unknown
Indigo rune:	Unknown
Obsidian rune:	Unknown

This skill is best known for one of its potential rune effects, in which the Monk summons a large mystical bell, which he then strikes with his fist. The bell, charged with holy energy, smashes into and through enemies in a straight line. This was demonstrated in a Blizzcon panel, while the actual skill has not yet been properly seen.

Skill Design

This skill first appeared at BlizzCon 2010, though it's too high of a level to have been tested out by players yet. Our information comes from the skill description, and one panel-demonstrated runestone effect.

Skill Rank Table

• Rank 1: The Monk summons a rolling wave of holy fire that scorches everything in its path, dealing X holy damage.

Synergies

• No synergies with any of the passive skills are yet known.

Skill Rune Effects

One possible key runestone effect is known, which causes this skill to summon a huge bell, like the sort that hang outside of Eastern Monasteries. The Monk punches this bell, sending it blasting through enemies which it smashes out of the way like a fast-rolling boulder.

Development

This skill was first shown at BlizzCon 2010, although due to the level required to purchase the skill, it was not playable in the demo. Wyatt Cheng spoke briefly about it:

Wave of Light. He summons a mystical bell that he shoots out at range. It's kind of a combination of a melee and ranged attack. One of the things that I really like about this skill is that we need to differentiate the Barbarian from the Monk, they are both melee classes and in his case he's about combining mystic arts with martial arts and I like the evocative imagery that happens here. The concept of a mystical bell that he fires off, it's very vivid.

The bell itself threw some players off at first, but bells are a mainstay throughout temples in history. It is an easy association to make with a monk. What is curious, however, is that the skill description from BlizzCon 2010 for Wave of Light does not mention the bell at all. The player who chooses this skill may have a bit of a surprise on their hands.

Because Wyatt Cheng did not say if the skill was runed in the presentation, it is not certain if the bell is a runestone effect or not. Since the bell is not mentioned in the known skill description, it is possible that the fact that it is indeed a rune's effect was omitted from the skill's unveiling by mistake.

Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, and Wave of Light became a level 27 skill.

Media

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

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Wave of Light specific gallery contents

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  The bell in Wave of Light.

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  The skill deals holy damage.

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  Another shot.

References

• JudgeHype.com July 2011 Press Event Coverage - The Monk (Translated by Zediono)