Hammer of the Ancients
Hammer of the Ancients is a Barbarian skill unlocked at level 2, which causes a big 2-handed hammer to appear in the Barbarian's hands, with which he smacks an enemy for increased % of weapon damage.
Contents
[hide]Background
| Diablo III Active Skill [e] | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hammer of the Ancients | |
| Used by: | Barbarian |
| Enabled at: | Clvl 2 |
| A massive attack that deals X% weapon damage plus an additional Y physical damage, and has a Z% increased chance to critically hit | |
| Type: | Direct Damage |
| Resource Use: | Costs Fury |
| Alabaster rune: | Unknown |
| Crimson rune: | Unknown |
| Golden rune: | Unknown |
| Indigo rune: | Unknown |
| Obsidian rune: | Unknown |
The Barbarian calls for aid from his ancestors, and they respond by lending him this huge hammer.
Skill Design
This is a really fun skill to use, and is very powerful. The increased chance to critically hit is assumed to increase the Hammer of the Ancients critical chance, instead of normal melee hits. It's a huge attack, and hits quickly, but the Barbarian takes a second to recover after the strike, leaving him vulnerable to nearby enemies. This looks like a skill that's best used against single large targets, rather than while swarmed. It's not clear if the strike will hit multiple enemies, or just the targeted enemy.
Skill Rank Table
- Rank 1: A massive attack that deals 175% weapon damage plus an additional 12 physical damage, and has a 25% increased chance to critically hit.
- Rank 2: A massive attack that deals 200% weapon damage plus an additional 18 physical damage, and has a 30% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
- Rank 3: A massive attack that deals 225% weapon damage plus an additional 24 physical damage, and has a 35% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
- Rank 4: A massive attack that deals 250% weapon damage plus an additional 30 physical damage, and has a 40% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
- Rank 5: A massive attack that deals 275% weapon damage plus an additional 36 physical damage, and has a 45% increased chance to critically hit. (A)
(A) = Assumed
Synergies
- No synergies with any of the passive skills are yet known.
Skill Rune Effects
- No rune effects for Hammer of the Ancients are known.
Development
Hammer of the Ancients was first seen when Diablo III debuted at WWI 2008. At the time, the skill was at Tier II on the Battlemaster Skill Tree; it dealt 100% weapon damage, an additional 2 physical damage and increased the damage of critical hits by 20% at rank one.
By BlizzCon 2009, this skill had gotten a small boost to all of its stats, and had been bumped up to Tier III. Aside from the removal of skill trees, this skill hasn't noticeably changed since then. Flux described using it at BlizzCon 2010 (or maybe BlizzCon 2009) as:[1]
The impact zone seemed very small, like a single monster in radius, which felt weird. Like it should be called Snow Shovel of the Ancients, with a narrow, blade-thin hitting end. As big as the hammer was, it should have had a crushing impact, capable of hitting multiple enemies in the area. Even basic Rank One Cleave did that, and with a much faster, more accurate, and less Fury-costly attack.
Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, and Hammer of the Ancients became a level 2 skill.
Previous Versions
See the Barbarian skill archive for more details on previous versions of Hammer of the Ancients and other Barbarian skills.
Media
Hammer of the Ancients can be seen in action on video here:
You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:
References
- BlizzCon 2009 Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats
- BlizzCon 2010 Barbarian Hands-on Report
- JudgeHype.com July 2011 Press Event Coverage - The Barbarian (Translated by Zediono)
| Classes of the Diablo games |
Skills - Active skills - Skill runes - Passives - Resource - Movement ability [e] Barbarian Demon Hunter Monk Necromancer Witch Doctor Wizard Followers Other Classes Fan-made |
|---|
| The Barbarian | Fury - Barbarian Active Skills (Archive) | Barbarian Passive Skills (Archive) [e] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Primary Might |
Secondary Tactics |
Defensive Rage |
Pound of Flesh (10) |
Superstition (30) |
| (X) = the level at which the skill becomes unlocked. | |||||
| Barbarian skill categories: Primary Secondary Defensive Might Tactics Rage |
|---|
