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→Active and Passive Skills
Active skills are used by clicking their icon, and are generally direct attacks; things like [[Spirit_Skill_Tree#Soul_Harvest|Soul Harvest]], [[Battlemaster_Skill_Tree#Hammer_of_the_Ancients|Hammer of the Ancients]], or [[Arcane_Skill_Tree#Magic_Missile|Magic Missile]]. Active skills attack, cast a protective armor, stun monsters, etc.
Passive skills grant the character some sort of bonus that is always in effect. Passive skills do not need to be cast to activate them; they give a bonus all the time, as soon as points are placed into them. These are skills and spells like [[Arcane_Skill_Tree#Efficient_Magics|Efficient Magics]] or [[Battlemaster_Skill_Tree#Power_of_the_Battlemaster|Power of the Battlemaster]]. (No passive Witch Doctor skills have yet been named.) Passive skills boost the damage of other spells, lower the mana cost of casting them, increase their duration, etc. Passive skills were often called "masteries" in Diablo II, and that term is still applicable to many of them in Diablo III.
==Abilities==
[[Abilities]] are actions all characters can perform, such as [[throw]], [[attack]], [[unsummon]], and [[resurrect]]. Just how many of these we'll see in Diablo 3 is not yet known, and this coverage is somewhat speculative, but we're assuming that at least the ones from Diablo 2 will return.
==Skills Define Characters==