Hammer of the Ancients is a Barbarian Tier 3 skill unlocked at level 6, which causes a big 2-handed hammer to appear in the Barbarian's hands, with which he smacks an enemy for increased % of weapon damage.
Contents
Background
Diablo III Active Skill [e] | |
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Hammer of the Ancients | |
Used by: | Barbarian |
Enabled at: | Clvl 6 |
A massive attack that deals X% weapon damage plus an additional Y physical damage, and has a Z% increased chance to critically hit | |
Type: | Direct Damage |
Resource Use: | Costs Fury |
Alabaster rune: | Unknown |
Crimson rune: | Unknown |
Golden rune: | Unknown |
Indigo rune: | Unknown |
Obsidian rune: | Unknown |
The Barbarian calls for aid from his ancestors, and they respond by lending him this huge hammer.
Skill Design
This is a really fun skill to use, and is very powerful. The increased chance to critically hit is assumed to increase the Hammer of the Ancients critical chance, instead of normal melee hits. It's a huge attack, and hits quickly, but the Barbarian takes a second to recover after the strike, leaving him vulnerable to nearby enemies. This looks like a skill that's best used against single large targets, rather than while swarmed. It's not clear if the strike will hit multiple enemies, or just the targeted enemy.
Skill Rank Table
- Rank 1: A massive attack that deals 175% weapon damage plus an additional 12 physical damage, and has a 25% increased chance to critically hit.
- Rank 2: A massive attack that deals 200% weapon damage plus an additional 18 physical damage, and has a 30% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
- Rank 3: A massive attack that deals 225% weapon damage plus an additional 24 physical damage, and has a 35% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
- Rank 4: A massive attack that deals 250% weapon damage plus an additional 30 physical damage, and has a 40% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
- Rank 5: A massive attack that deals 275% weapon damage plus an additional 36 physical damage, and has a 45% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
(A) = Assumed
Trait Synergies
Hammer of the Ancients benefits directly from the following Barbarian traits:
- Intimidation: Increases damage done and reduces vendor costs.
- Cruelty: Increases your chance of dealing critical strikes.
- Weak Spot: Increases critical strike damage.
Hammer of the Ancients 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: 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 Hammer of the Ancients are known.
Development
Hammer of the Ancients was first seen when Diablo III debuted at WWI 2008. At the time, the skill was at Tier II on the Battlemaster Skill Tree; it dealt 100% weapon damage, an additional 2 physical damage and increased the damage of critical hits by 20% at rank one.
By BlizzCon 2009, this skill had gotten a small boost to all of its stats, and had been bumped up to Tier III. Aside from the removal of skill trees, this skill hasn't noticeably changed since then. Flux described using it at BlizzCon 2010 (or maybe BlizzCon 2009) as:[1]
The impact zone seemed very small, like a single monster in radius, which felt weird. Like it should be called Snow Shovel of the Ancients, with a narrow, blade-thin hitting end. As big as the hammer was, it should have had a crushing impact, capable of hitting multiple enemies in the area. Even basic Rank One Cleave did that, and with a much faster, more accurate, and less Fury-costly attack.
Previous Versions
See the Barbarian skill archive for more details on previous versions of Hammer of the Ancients and other Barbarian skills.
Media
Hammer of the Ancients can be seen in action on video here:
You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:
References
Diablo III Classes [e] |
Barb skills Barb traits DH skills DH traits Monk skills Monk traits WD skills WD traits Wiz skills Wiz traits |
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The Barbarian - Barbarian skills - Barbarian traits - Fury - Barbarian skill archive [e] | ||||||
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Tier One/Clvl 2 | Tier Two/Clvl 3 | Tier Three/Clvl 6 | Tier Four/Clvl 10 | Tier Five/Clvl 14 | Tier Six/Clvl 20 | Tier Seven/Clvl 26 |
• Bash |
• Ground Stomp • Ignore Pain |
• Frenzy |
• Leap Attack |
• Ancient Spear • Battle Rage |
• Furious Charge |
• Call of the Ancients |
The Barbarian - Barbarian skills - Barbarian traits - Fury - Barbarian skill archive [e] | |||||
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Level Req: Under 10 • Bad Temper (trait) |
Level Req: 11 • Pound of Flesh (trait)
|
Level Req: 19 • Inner Rage
|
Level Req: 27 • Cruelty (trait) Level Req: 31 Level Req: 35 |
Level Req: 39
|
Level Req: 47 • Disbelief
|
The Demon Hunter - Demon Hunter skills - Demon Hunter traits - Discipline/Hatred - Demon Hunter skill archive[e] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tier One/Clvl 2 | Tier Two/Clvl 3 | Tier Three/Clvl 6 | Tier Four/Clvl 10 | Tier Five/Clvl 14 | Tier Six/Clvl 20 | Tier Seven/Clvl 26 |
• Bola Shot
• Grenades |
• Entangling Shot
|
• Vault | • Molten Arrow | • Shock Spike
Unknown Tier: |
None yet known | None yet known |
The Demon Hunter - Demon Hunter skills - Demon Hunter traits - Discipline/Hatred - Demon Hunter skill archive [e] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Only five Demon Hunter traits have yet been revealed, all with a level requirement under 10.
• Lightning Reflexes |
The Monk - Monk skills - Auras - Combos - Monk traits - Spirit - Monk skill archive [e] | ||||||
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Tier One/Clvl 2 | Tier Two/Clvl 3 | Tier Three/Clvl 6 | Tier Four/Clvl 10 | Tier Five/Clvl 14 | Tier Six/Clvl 20 | Tier Seven/Clvl 26 |
• Hands of Lightning |
• Circle of Wrath • Lethal Decoy |
• Blinding Flash |
• Dashing Strike |
• Exploding Palm |
• Breath of Heaven |
• Resist Aura |
The Monk - Monk skills - Auras - Combos - Monk traits - Spirit - Monk skill archive [e] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level Req: Under 10 • Precision |
Lvl Req: 11 Lvl Req: 15 |
Lvl Req: 23 |
Lvl Req: 35 Lvl Req: 39 |
Lvl Req: 43 • Thunderous Blows Lvl Req: 47 |
The Witch Doctor - Witch Doctor skills - Witch Doctor traits - Mana - Witch Doctor skill archive [e] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tier One/Clvl 2 | Tier Two/Clvl 3 | Tier Three/Clvl 6 | Tier Four/Clvl 10 | Tier Five/Clvl 14 | Tier Six/Clvl 20 | Tier Seven/Clvl 26 |
• Summon Zombie Dog |
• Zombie Charger • Corpse Spiders |
• Poison Dart • Grasp of the Dead |
• Firebats |
• Acid Cloud • Firebomb |
• Gargantuan |
• Fetish Army |
The Witch Doctor - Witch Doctor skills - Witch Doctor traits - Mana - Witch Doctor skill archive [e] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level Req: Under 10 • Toughness |
Level Req: 11 Level Req: 15 |
Level Req: 19 • Rituals Level Req: 23 |
Level Req: 27 • Assassin Level Req: 31 |
Level Req: 35 • Superior Skill Level Req: 39 |
Level Req: 43 • Fetish Leader Level Req: 47 |
The Wizard - Wizard skills - Wizard traits - Arcane Power - Wizard skill archive [e] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tier One/Clvl 2 | Tier Two/Clvl 3 | Tier Three/Clvl 6 | Tier Four/Clvl 10 | Tier Five/Clvl 14 | Tier Six/Clvl 20 | Tier Seven/Clvl 26 |
• Magic Missile
• Charged Bolt |
• Ice Armor |
• Frost Nova |
• Arcane Orb • Diamond Skin |
• Disintegrate |
• Arcane Torrent • Blizzard |
• Familiar • Teleport |
The Wizard - Wizard skills - Wizard traits - Arcane Power - Wizard skill archive [e] | |||||
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Level Req: Under 10 |
Level Req: 11 • Energy Reserves Level Req: 15 |
Level Req: 19 • Blur Level Req: 23 |
Level Req: 27 Level Req: 31 |
Level Req: 35 Level Req: 39 |
Level Req: 43 • Expanded Mind Level Req: 47 |