Diamond Skin

Diamond Skin is a Wizard Tier 4 skill unlocked at level 10, protecting the caster from incoming damage.

Background

Diablo III Skill [e]
Diamond Skin Active, 5 ranks
Used by:	Wizard
Skill Description:
Turns the Wizard's skin to diamond for x seconds absorbing up to y damage from incoming attacks.
Skill Details:
Type:	Defensive
Quantity:	10 damage/second
Effect:	Circular AoE
School:	Unknown
Arcane Power cost:	Unknown
Cast time:	Instant
Duration:	10 sec
Cooldown:	10 sec
Synergies:	None
Requires:	N/A
Prereq of:	N/A

Calling upon Arcane forces, the Wizard can make her skin hard as diamond for short period of time.

Skill Design

Diamond Skin in the Arena.

Diamond skin absorbs all types incoming damage. The skill expires after the duration runs out, or it absorbs the maximum possible damage. There is a substantial cool down before it can be recast, and the short duration makes it wise to cast just before damage is to be taken.

Skill Rank Table

• Rank 1: Absorbs 20 damage of any type. Lasts for 8 seconds. (A)
• Rank 2: Absorbs 40 damage of any type. Lasts for 8 seconds. (A)
• Rank 3: Absorbs 60 damage of any type. Lasts for 8 seconds. (A)
• Rank 4: Absorbs 80 damage of any type. Lasts for 8 seconds. (A)
• Rank 5: Absorbs 100 damage of any type. Lasts for 8 seconds.

(A) = Assumed

Synergies

• None known.

Skill Rune Effects

• Unknown rune: Grants 50% more damage absorption.

Development

Diamond Skin was originally named Stone Skin.

Stone Skin was first shown at BlizzCon 2008 when the Wizard debuted. It was originally just one of many shielding skills for the Wizard. By BlizzCon 2009, the Stone Skin visuals had changed from a rough textured sort of graininess that didn’t show up well, to a glowing blue crystal sheath, almost like some superhero made from sapphires. Soon afterwords, the development team changed the name to Diamond Skin to better fit the new visuals.

Diamond Skin was one of the Wizard's skills in the BlizzCon 2010 PvP demo, where it was occasionally a life saver, but only if used properly. Flux explains:[1]

At level 5 with a rune it absorbed 150 damage of any type, but the duration was quite short, so you had to cast it just before you needed it. Also, 150 sounded like a lot, but a Meteor or grinding Barb could do double that in a second, and Wizards with Diamond Skin on tended to feel invulnerable, and stuck around in dangerous, melee situations longer than they should have.

Media

You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:

• Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures
• Diamond Skin specific gallery contents

• 

  Diamond skin in use in the Battle Arena.

Related Articles

• Stone Skin -- Original name.

References

• BlizzCon 2008 Wizard Gameplay Report
• BlizzCon 2009 Heroes and Monsters panel
• BlizzCon 2009 Full Wizard Skill Trees
• BlizzCon 2010 PvP Hands-on Report