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[[File:IconFistsThunder.png|left]]
[[File:hol.jpg|thumb|300px|Fists of Thunder in action.]]'''Fists of Thunder''' (known as [[Hands of Lightning]] prior to July 2011) is a Spirit Generator Primary [[Monk skill]] unlocked at [[clvl|Level]] 1. The Monk charges his strikes with [[lightning]] in a three-stage attack.
==Background==
The [[Monk]] charges his strikes with lightning in a three-stage attack that ends with an [[area of effect]] blast.
==Skill Rune Effects==
The following is a very quick listsummary. See the [[Fists of Thunder rune effects]] page for a more thorough summary description of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.
<skill class="Monk">Fists of Thunder</skill>
[[Combo]] skills are the cornerstone for Monks. Combos do bonus damage, grant special properties (i.e. lightning damage and interrupt attacks on Hands of Lightning), and build up the [[Spirit]] needed to cast other skills. All combos have three stages, each progressively more powerful and flashier.
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==Synergies==
<blockquote>''In the Monks case, with her actual lightning fist skill (I do not remember the name), the first hit would be a claw sweep with lightning damage, the second one granted more lightning damage with more lightning graphics, and the third hit was a lightning blast that created a nice AOE arc. (The third move’s animation {Monk’s move and spell effect} reminded me of how Ryu and Ken’s Hadouken looked in Street Fighter 2 {Sorry, I have not played any more recent than that} if your opponent was right in front of you.)</blockquote>
[[Flux]] also wrote about using this skill at BlizzconBlizzCon. A small excerpt:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-monk/]
<blockquote>''The only drawback of Hands of Lightning was the fun factor. It was a fairly plain attack. It looks pretty with the big lightning blasts, but it’s basically just a straight ahead right, left, right combo. It doesn’t hit multiple enemies, it doesn’t debuff them, it doesn’t let you dash across the screen to start hitting, etc. It’s the lowest level combo skill for a reason; it’s just a damn powerful attack to use against a single or a few enemies, and sure, killing them quickly and efficiently is fun. But if I were playing for real, I’d probably respec it to another combo when I had the chance. (Though it might be handy long term for the huge lightning damage.)</blockquote>
Before the [[July 2011 Press Event]](when skill tiers were removed), [[Hands of Lightning]] was renamed Fists of Thunder. Skill tiers were also removed ===Beta===The [[beta]] started in September 2011, and Fists of Thunder became a level 1 skill.The skill system was once again overhauled for the [[Beta Patch 13]] in February 2012, and Fists of Thunder was classified as a Primary skill (but remained at level 1). For [[Beta Patch 14]], it was [[buff]]ed a bit.
[[File:Lightning-hands1.jpg|center|frame|A male Monk poses while delivering the second stage hit.]]
===Previous Versions===
See [[Hands of Lightning]] for the original version of this skill.
[[File:Lightning-fists-sequence1.jpg|center|thumb|700px|Compilation image showing the The three hits of Hands of Lightning, with the big blast on the final hit(from 2010).]]
</gallery>
==References==
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-2010-hand-on-blascid/ BlizzCon 2010 Hands-on Blascid]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-monk/ BlizzCon 2010 Monk Hands-on Report]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7960229#post7960229 Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report] -- — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8008273#post8008273 Silva's Monk Runestone Effects] -- — IncGamers 6th Sep 2011* [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/monk/active/ Monk Active Skills] -- — Blizzard's Official Diablo III 12th Sep 2011Site
[[category:Monk skills]]
[[category:Active skills]]