Shared skill

A shared skill is a term for a skill that provides a bonus to the caster, as well as to others in the party. These may directly boost all players, such as a buff, or they might provide their benefit by a debuff on monsters that all players benefit from.

There were numerous shared skills in Diablo II, including most of the Auras and Warcries, plus many of the Necromancer Curses, which debuffed the monsters in ways that all characters in the game could benefit from.

There are few shared skills in Diablo III, (though Runestone add more) which some players have taken as a bad sign, since it seems to remove one of the major reasons for co-op play.

Confirmed Shared Skills

This list includes actual shared buffs, as well as monster debuffs that are of benefit to any character in the area. Runestone effects will be added to this list once they are finalized in the game.

Barbarian:

• War Cry -- Boosts Defense of all characters in range.
• Ground Stomp -- Stuns enemies.
• Threatening Shout -- Debuffs enemies, lowering their damage temporarily.

Demon Hunter:

• Entangling Shot -- Slows enemies.
• Caltrops -- Slows enemies.
• Marked for Death -- Debuffs one enemy, causing them to take extra damage temporarily.

Monk Skills:

• Breath of Heaven -- Heals the Monk and all his friends.
• Mantra of Evasion -- Increases the Dodge chance for the Monk and his allies.
• Mantra of Retribution -- Adds a thorns effect to the Monk and all allies, reflecting enemy damage back.
• Mantra of Healing -- Heals the Monk and his allies.
• Crippling Wave -- Dazes enemies, slowing them temporarily.
• Blinding Flash -- Blinds enemies, stopping them temporarily.
• Inner Sanctuary -- Creates a rune barrier that enemies can not pass over.

Witch Doctor skills:

The Wizard's Frost Nova slows enemies.

While the WD is similar to the Necromancer in many ways, his few mind control skills have nothing like the effect that Necromancer Curses did on enemies.

• Horrify -- Frightens enemies, causing them to break off combat and run away for a few seconds.
• Mongrels -- Tanks that provide useful meat shields.
• Gargantuan -- Huge minion that can tank for the party.
• Fetish Army -- Fetish minions that can tank or distract enemies.
• Grasp of the Dead -- Slows enemies temporarily.
• Hex -- Transforms enemies into chickens rendering the helpless and temporarily increasing the damage they take.
• Big Bad Voodoo -- Temporarily boosts movement, casting, and attack speed of all allies in range.

Wizard skills:

• Blizzard and Frost Nova -- Cold attacks slow enemies. (Runestone effects grant cold damage to a wide variety of other Wizard skills.)
• [[Slow Time] -- Creates a protective bubble that greatly slows enemies and their projectiles.