Hammer of the Ancients
Hammer of the Ancients is a Secondary 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 weapon damage.
Contents
[hide]Background
The Barbarian calls for aid from his ancestors, and they respond by lending him this huge hammer.
Skillrune Effects
The following is a very quick summary. See the Hammer of the Ancients rune effects page for a more thorough description of rune effects, or any of the individual rune pages for numbers, screenshots, blue quotes, and much more.
<skill class="Barbarian">Hammer of the Ancients</skill>
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.
Synergies
The following Barbarian passives provide a benefit to Hammer of the Ancients, runed or not:
- Bloodthirst - The Barbarian gains life based on the amount of damage he deals always.
- Weapons Master - Provides a damage bonus when the Barbarian is wielding a sword or dagger.
- Berserker Rage - Inflicts additional damage while the Barbarian is at maximum Fury.
- Brawler - Increases the Barbarian's damage when he is swarmed.
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. The skill system was once again overhauled for the Beta Patch 13, and Hammer of the Ancients was classified as a Secondary skill (but stayed at level 2).
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
- Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report -- IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
- Silva's Barbarian Runestone Effects -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
- Barbarian Active Skills -- Diablo III 13th Sep 2011
| 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 |
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| The Barbarian | Fury - Barbarian Active Skills (Archive) | Barbarian Passive Skills (Archive) [e] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 |
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