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Combat

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Every class in [[Diablo III]] is a [[DPS]] class; all are capable of prolifically slaying the enemies, whether by spells, skills, brute force, or a clever combination of all three.
Aspects of combat are addressed throughout this wiki. [[Weapons]] and [[skills]] are detailed, monsters are described, [[strategy|strategies]] are promoted, and more. This page covers the basics of combat, and how the game is designed to facilitate it, with numerous quotes from the [[D3 Team]]. Keep in mind that many of these fundamentals have changed during development, and that full details will not be known until after release.
** Diseased units suffer a damage debuff; they take more damage and deal less.
[[Poison Damage]]: Green in coloration. (Also known as Acid.) (Poison and Disease are similar, but not the same.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-damage-types-and-resistances/])
* Critical hit: Poison crits deal an unknown bonus.
* Resisted by Poison resistance.
The actual formula for spell damage is one of the biggest changes to [[combat]] in Diablo III. It's been changed to work much like physical damage does; spells now come with a fairly low base damage, much like weapons, and that value is acted upon by attributes, spells, traits, and equipment bonuses, all of which factor in to the final spell damage. The ratios and relationships in this have changed repeatedly during development, and the final details are not yet finalized.
Early in Diablo III's development, equipment with +%spell damage was said to be of great importance, especially to mage type characters, who were destined to value it as combat characters do +% weapon damage equipment. This system evolved during development, and as of January 2012 such equipment is quite rare in the Beta test, with most +damage now delivered by attributes, especially gear with +[[Attack]] stats.
* See the [[Spells#Spell_Damage|Spell Damage]] article for full details.
===Damage Types Update=Health Bar==
Blizzard[[Image:Bosshealth.jpg|thumb|Boss's health]]The display of monster health bars has changed repeatedly during development (as has everything in the [[@Diablointerface]] Twitter feed added some clarification about damage types in posts made in early December 2010.[http:) As of the beta test, the display of regular monster health bars can be toggled on//diablooff.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-damage-types-Only [[bosses]] and-resistances/[[champions]]always show their health bars atop the screen, when they are targeted.
<blockquote>any change Special quest event bosses, such as the [[Skeleton King]] or [[Siegebreaker]] show their health bars in a special scrollwork frame, in the range top center of damage types to include holythe screen for the duration of the battle, shadow, voodoo or anything else to match even if the classes? —Scyberdragon<br>Damage types will likely change some but are character is not currently Physicaltargeting the boss, Fire, Lightning, Cold, Poison, Disease, Arcane, and Holy. —Diablo<br><br>Whats or even on the difference between poison and disease damage?—WickedBubba<br>Disease has a damage debuff (both intake and output), and poison has a health debuff (regen/heal). Subject to change of course.—Diablo<br><br>Is there much difference between poison and disease? They’re both internal maladies that hurt over a period of time.—Grug<br>Fairly significant in their difference, but both countered screen with a single resistance. Damage/resists aren’t design complete thoughthem.—Diablo</blockquote>
=Health Bar=
[[Image:Bosshealth.jpg|thumb|Boss' health]] In the Blizzcon 2008 build monsters' health bar were displayed in the centre of the screen above the opponent's head, but this has since been changed for various reason, not least it was distracting. The regular monsters' bar is now displayed at the bottom of the screen. The bar for uniques and bosses, (seen in the image on the left) was and remains in the top right of the screen.  ==Target Outline==
One of the surprise controversies of Blizzcon 2009 was the [[red target outline]]. A new feature just added to the game was a glowing red outline around the monster being pointed at. This outline was meant to help players identify what they were pointing at on the frequently-crowded and chaotic battle screens of Diablo 3. Most players didn't mind or didn't even notice while playing at the show, but for some at Blizzcon, and for many others viewing screenshots and gameplay movies over the Internet, the red outline was bright and too obvious and distracting.
[[File:Red-target-outline5.png|right|thumb|250px|Red target outline seen in PvP Arena, Blizzcon 2010.]]
This became a minor issue of contention, but the D3 Team is very strongly behind the inclusion of never wavered in their opinion that the feature, as Jay Wilson made quite clear during an October, 2009 interviewwas essential. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/]It seems to have been accepted over time, and has been a non issue during the [[Diablo III beta]].
::'''Jay Wilson: '''I consider it absolutely essential * See the [[Red Target Outline]] page for target selection. We tried tons of other systems, and that’s the one that worked really well. The complaint we get is that it makes the monsters pop out from the worldmuch more on this, and our response is that’s exactly what it’s supposed to doincluding numerous [[Blue]] quotes.
This feature [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783237 remained controversial] when it was seen in Blizzcon 2010 gameplay footage, though virtually no fans who have actually played the game have any complaints about it. It just stands out more noticeably in still images.
==Information Through Graphics==
[[Image:Barb-cleave2.jpg|thumb|300px|Cold [[crits]] freezes the target. (The orange slash is part of the [[Cleave]] skill graphic, not fire.]]
The visuals tied to damage types are meant to add eye candy, but also to inform the player about events occurring on the screen. As [[Julian Love]] explained during BlizzCast #8, in March 2009. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcast-8-live-with-diablo-iii-goodies]
=Information Through Graphics=<blue>Bashiok: A lot of the effects that you make factor in to the abilities that the characters are using, so fire and arcane and all that stuff, but in the world of Diablo it seems like there are very specific magic types that exist... it is actually a pretty broad spectrum, but is there any limitation there to what you can do with different damage types?
[[ImageJulian:Barb-cleave2.jpg|thumb|300px|Cold [[crits]] freezes Yeah in fact that’s a common input that I’ll receive is “Hey this guy’s a fiery this or whatever, but can we make that fire look green?” And that’s where the sort of designer in me has to kind of come out and say, wait a minute if we make fire green all of a sudden it’s a bit of a miscommunication in terms of the targetgameplay. (The red slash And so there is part a bit of the [[Cleave]] skill graphicconstraint there that, not fire.]]The visuals tied to damage types are meant at one point I’m trying to add eye candymake things look as epic as they can, but also at the same time they have to be really clear to inform the player about events occurring on so that they’re not confused that you know, green fire might mean poison. Then there’s the screen. As Julian Love explained during BlizzCast #8, other part of it which is it’s really easy in March 2009my department to make a big mess. [http://wwwWe can just clobber the screen with so many effects that you just can’t see the game anymore.diiiSo those are really the two constraints we really work with most.net/blog</comments/blizzcast-8-live-with-diablo-iii-goodies]blue>
::'''Bashiok: '''A lot of the effects that you make factor in to the abilities that the characters are using, so fire and arcane and all that stuff, but in the world of Diablo it seems like there are very specific magic types that exist... it is actually a pretty broad spectrum, but is there any limitation there to what you can do with different damage types?
::'''Julian: '''Yeah in fact that’s a common input that I’ll receive is “Hey this guy’s a fiery this or whatever, but can we make that fire look green?” And that’s where the sort of designer in me has to kind of come out and say, wait a minute if we make fire green all of a sudden it’s a bit of a miscommunication in terms of the gameplay. And so there is a bit of constraint there that, at one point I’m trying to make things look as epic as they can, but at the same time they have to be really clear to the player so that they’re not confused that you know, green fire might mean poison. Then there’s the other part of it which is it’s really easy in my department to make a big mess. We can just clobber the screen with so many effects that you just can’t see the game anymore. So those are really the two constraints we really work with most.  ===Critical Hit Visuals===
[[Image:Critical-hit2.jpg|thumb|250px|Cold critical hit, with highlighted gore.]]
==In Depth Combat==
The combat in Diablo I and Diablo II was often criticized for being simplistic. Not only could most characters "[[spam]]" the same one or two skills over and over again, this was actually the best way to play, in most situations. Diablo III is attempting to change this mechanic in various ways, most notably the better balance to [[skills]], the way that skill damage scales up with [[attributes]], and the removal of [[skill points]].
One criticism of earlier games in the series is that they are fairly one-dimensional, in terms of combat. One or two skills can be used over and over againAs a general design goal, in almost every situation, and there's little thought required. This was especially the case in [[Diablo II]], where players were nearly god-like in their powers and could easily escape almost any dangerous situation by running or [[teleport]]ing away. The [[D3 Team]] wants to make combat much more tactical in D3; it will . Diablo III is still be a fast-paced, click-intensive Action RPG, but there should be a bit more strategy required than "click 'til dead." [[Jay Wilson]] talked about spoke on the shallowness of combat in D2, and his plans to deepen it in D3 [http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=0&cId=3172030&p=1 with 1up.com] in December 2008.
::The combat model doesn't have a lot of depth in the previous games. It was very much a "one-skill spam" kind of game, which I think works great for the Normal [difficulty] playthrough. I think most of the audience is just fine with that, and through most of the Normal difficulty, it's going to be like that. But as you go into Nightmare and Hell difficulties, I think that the more serious player will appreciate a game that's a little deeper on the combat-mechanic side.
::'''1up.com: What makes Diablo 3's combat deeper than its predecessors?'''<br>
::Jay Wilson: Combat is as deep as the options the designers give themselves. Whenever you add a new capability to a [[monster]] -- potentially something that feels unbeatable -- it's more of an opportunity to expand the depth of your characters so they can respond to those threats. A good example would be if you look at [[Diablo 2]]: There were a couple of problems with just the power of the characters and the way they were made powerful. A player could run faster than any [[monster]], so you could escape just about any threat. You had endless [[health]] and [[resource pool|resource]] -- by resource, I mean [[mana]] -- because of [[potion]]s. And you had the [[Town Portal]], which could instantly get you out of any problem. Those were incredibly powerful mechanics to escape danger and were not class-specific. So every kind of class really had no need for anything like an escape skill or reactionary ability. They simply needed to attack, and if they ever got in over their heads, they simply ran away or drank potions. And it's the same response across the board.
::So one of the things we focused on is that response -- 1) setting up scenarios where the players can't easily get out of danger without the use of class-specific [[skill]]s, and 2) giving them really simple controls to use a broader range of skills without making the game that much more complex to play. I really distinguish the difference between complexity and depth; to me, complexity is adding more buttons, while depth is making a single button more powerful and versatile. So that's always been our goal -- reducing the amount of controls while making each button mean more. So that's one of the reasons we added the Hotbar; it's one of the reasons why we avoided the potion-health system. And when people play the game, they may not notice this next point that much, but we leveled out the movement speed somewhat so that the player moves at a more reasonable rate compared to the monsters.
 
Most of Jay's design goals from 2008 are evident in the finished game, though changes like the removal of town portals, much slower character foot speed, long cooldowns after using health potions, and more.
 
The disincentives to spamming the same skill over and over again are not very visible in the beta test, such things are not meant to come strongly into play until higher difficulty levels
==More Immersive/Difficult CombatWeapon Damage on Skills==
The damage of all skills and spells in Diablo III does not are determined by a character's attributes (chiefly Attack) and their weapon damage. This include [[Town Portals]]spells, life such as [[leechMagic Missile]] is very rare, and [[Healing Potions]Poison Dart] carry a substantial [[cool down]] after each use. These changes (amongst others) were made to improve the combat and immersive feeling of the game. The developers felt that potions, life leech, and town portals were exploited in Diablo II, and were a chief reason for all the game being very easy 99rest.9% of the timeThis change equalizes equipment needs, and unfairly hard (due as now mage classes need to one-hit kills) the other .1%hunt for big damage weapons just as combat classes always have.
The design goal of Diablo III [[Image:Bash.png|thumb|300px|Bash speed and damage stem from item stats and attributes.]]Casting speed is to make combat more immersive and challengingalso affected by weapon choice, just as attack speed always has been. Characters cannot heal so easily and cannot flee combat at any time (via town portals)As a result a Wizard or Witch Doctor can use a large two-handed weapon, thus the monsters are more difficult and dangeroustheir spell damage will increase, even without the potential for cheesy/buggy one-hit killsbut they will generally suffer a much slower casting rate as a result. The developers hope this will create a more tenseappropriate mage weapons, exciting atmosphere such as wands for Wizards and make daggers for Witch Doctors, also tend to have appropriate bonus stats, such as + to their resource regen rates, that will never spawn on combat feel more real and intenseweapons.
==% Weapon Damage on Skills==[[Off-hand weapons]] are another important factor. Wizards can use [[Orbs]], Witch Doctors can use [[Totems]], and Demon Hunters can use [[Quivers]], all in their off-hand slot along with a regular weapon. These off hand items tend to spawn with very useful bonuses, and as a result a Wizard with a good Orb and a good [[Wand]] will almost always do more damage than the same Wizard with a big damage two-handed weapon. Plus the Wand and Orb will have more useful bonuses.
Nearly all skills How well this ratio will balance out in Diablo 3 are based on the late game is unknown, but as of the beta, a Wizard or Witch Doctor is always better off with a one-handed weapon damage value. This measurement can be confusing because weapon damage can be misinterpreted to and their class-specific off-hand item than they would be the damage listed on your individual with any available two-handed weapon tooltip itself, rather than your actual final "Character damage" after modifiers (such as +attack).[[Image:Bash.png|thumb|300px|Typical Skill using % Weapon Damage]]
When Skills refer to doing "X% weapon damage", it is referring to your final adjusted "Character Damage" after passives and all stats/items, not the damage listed on the weapon itself. Character damage includes the total +Attack modifier (from the Attack Attribute) and any other item stats that affect your damage. It is simply your final damage as if you are attacking with a base attack. This does in fact mean that slower weapons will do more damage than faster weapons for that swing or cast, but it will take longer to perform the cast or swing. While this may appear to favor slow weapons, it is offset by both the ability to attack faster therefore more often, as well as faster resource generation via generator skills. Skills with cooldowns may favor slower weapons depending on your play-style, as you cannot perform that skill more than once, however the faster resource generation of faster weapons is used to offset this advantage by giving you extra resources hence doing more damage.
==Dual wielding and Weapon Damage when using Skills==
[[Image:Broadaxe.png|thumb|300px|The base raw Damage on a Weapon is NOT the % Weapon Damage that Skills refer to.]]
When performing a dual-wielding character performs a skill that is based on % weapon damage and you are dual wielding, your the character will alternate hits with the two equipped weapons. Unlike Diablo 2, Diablo 3 is smart enough to calculate everything individually, bonuses aren't simply added up between both two weapons that are equippedand applied equally with either one. For example [[Damage Over Time]], if you swing with your right hand for instance, is calculated individually by whichever weapondelivered the hit, than with the "tick rate" of the DoT determined by the next attack you perform will be with your Left-hand speed of the weapon, and that will be used delivered it. Earlier in the %weapon damage calculation. This may give the illusion that D3's development, dual-wielding is inferior was said to 2-handed weapons because you are in essence using a 1-hand weapon grant an inherent bonus to perform the skill (which has lower damage than a 2 hand weapon), however dual-wielding offers a passive 15% attack speed bonus which increases your resource generation as you are attacking more often, as well as but this feature can not be discerned in the added stats granted by equipping a second weaponbeta test.
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