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'''Spectral Blade''' is a Tier 1 [[skill]] from the [[Wizard]]'s [[Conjuring Skill Tree]], dealing powerful damage in [[melee]] range.
{{Archived|[[BlizzCon 2008]] |Spectral Blade}}
==Background==
{{Skillbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait=Wiz-spectral-blade3.jpg
|portrait-width= 150px
|active= Active
<!-- |name= -->
|ranks= 1
|user= Wizard
|tree= Conjuring
|description= Summons a spectral blade that strikes each enemy in front of the wizard 3 times causing physical damage with each hit.
|type= Direct Damage
|quantity= 1-5
|effect= Melee
|school= Physical
|resource= Mana
|cost= 7
|cast-time= Instant
|duration= None
|cooldown= Unknown
|synergies= [[Improved Spectral Blade]]
}}
Spectral Blade is used for [[Wizard]]s willing to meet their enemies toe to toe. It's a powerful [[melee]] spell that will kill most enemies early on.
==Skill Design==
[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Mirror Image]]s casting Spectral Blade.]]
This skill was the default left click attack at the [[BlizzCon 2008]] build, and it worked quite nicely. It was a [[melee]]+spell, hitting anything up close with all 3 slashes, but extending the slashes far enough that targets out of melee range would be hit by one or perhaps two of the attacks. Each slash could also strike multiple targets, making this one potentially quite damaging against multiple, close-range enemies.
There is a slight casting delay on Spectral Blade, making it too slow to stun lock enemies. A Wizard who uses this one at the point blank range where it's most effective will be hit back by any targets who do not succumb to the first assault.
===Hands On Description===
Flux's BlizzCon [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ Wizard gameplay report] offered extensive coverage of the lower level [[Wizard]] skills. Here's what he said about Spectral Blade.
::''Spectral Blade is a magical attack that deals physical damage to enemies very near the [[Sorceress]]. The skill creates a lattice of straight lines of power that overlap like a half dozen toothpicks tossed down in a heap. It's got a cool, sword-slashing sound to go with it, and can be seen (and heard) repeatedly in the Wizard game play movies from BlizzCon. The skill hits each enemy in front of the Wizard up to three times, dealing 1-5 damage.''
[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wizard cleaving some [[Zombie]]s.]]
::''Using this skill is almost like using [[Bash]], or [[Cleave]], or some melee [[Barbarian]] attack, if those skills had extra range. Spectral Blade hits enemies at [[melee]] range, but can also nail them a yard or two distant, though it seemed like the multiple hits of damage were more likely to occur if the [[monster]] was right in front of you, where the lines overlapped. The initial temptation is to use this skill against anything that can be hit by it, but after a bit of practice (and a lot of running out of [[mana]]) I realized that it was more effective if I aimed it. So I started letting the monsters get into range, and tried to position myself so that I had several [[zombie]]s in a bunch, where each slash of the Spectral Blade would have a chance to hit all of them more than once. This immediately cut my mana use since I was using the spell less often, and it was more fun to use it that way. It became a bit of a challenge to try to take out zombies or [[skeleton]]s in one Spectral Blade, instead of 2 or 3. Especially when I had a couple of them overlapping.''
::''I was not able to use it enough to figure out just what the odds of getting multiple hits were, or if they could all hit even when there were multiple enemies in the target zone, since the damage can vary so much. Spectral Blade can deal 1-5 damage with 1-3 hits, so I could do 1-15 damage with each use of it. Plus, since all 3 hits were added up and dealt at once, there was no way to tell if I'd landed 1, 2, or 3, especially since 3 hits might only do 3 or 4 damage, while a single hit could do 5. Still, it was a fun skill to use, and the multiple hits to multiple targets over a larger-than-melee range made it fun to play with. I enjoyed using it in crowds and watching multiple enemies take hits.''
::''It's not a spell that can be used machine gun style though, even if enemies are in range. There's a short delay after each cast, a [[cooldown]] that's longer than the Wizard has with her projectile spells. As a result Spectral Blade doesn't look like a real boss-killer. It also didn't seem to [[stun]] or [[interrupt]] the attacking motion of monsters, the way melee attacks sometimes did, so it's not a way to render targets helpless while you slash them to bits.''
==Skill Rank Table==
* '''Rank 1:''' 1-5 physical damage 1-3 times, 7 mana.
Only Rank 1 is currently known.
==Synergies==
* '''[[Improved Spectral Blade]]''' - Flat damage increase.
==[[Rune|Skill Rune]] Effects==
* None known.
==Development==
Spectral Blade was first shown at [[BlizzCon 2008]] when the [[Wizard]] was unveiled. It's still assumed to be available as of 8 July 2009.
<!--
==Trivia==
''Hide this section unless there really is some trivia about the class. Add the skill to the [[:Category:Easter Eggs|Easter Eggs]] category as well if the article contains Easter Egg information.''
-->
==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Spectral+Blade Spectral Blade-specific gallery contents]
<gallery>
Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|Spectral Blades in action.
Image:Wiz-spectral-blade2.jpg|[[Mirror Image]]s casting Spectral Blades.
Image:Wiz-spectral-blade3.jpg|Closeup of the blades.
</gallery>
<!--
==Related Articles==
''Articles that are related, but not emphasised enough in any other section, or articles that just need further attention.''
-->
==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ Wizard Gameplay Report]
{{Skill_navbox_conjuring}}
{{Skill_navbox}}
{{Archived|[[BlizzCon 2008]] |Spectral Blade}}
==Background==
{{Skillbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait=Wiz-spectral-blade3.jpg
|portrait-width= 150px
|active= Active
<!-- |name= -->
|ranks= 1
|user= Wizard
|tree= Conjuring
|description= Summons a spectral blade that strikes each enemy in front of the wizard 3 times causing physical damage with each hit.
|type= Direct Damage
|quantity= 1-5
|effect= Melee
|school= Physical
|resource= Mana
|cost= 7
|cast-time= Instant
|duration= None
|cooldown= Unknown
|synergies= [[Improved Spectral Blade]]
}}
Spectral Blade is used for [[Wizard]]s willing to meet their enemies toe to toe. It's a powerful [[melee]] spell that will kill most enemies early on.
==Skill Design==
[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Mirror Image]]s casting Spectral Blade.]]
This skill was the default left click attack at the [[BlizzCon 2008]] build, and it worked quite nicely. It was a [[melee]]+spell, hitting anything up close with all 3 slashes, but extending the slashes far enough that targets out of melee range would be hit by one or perhaps two of the attacks. Each slash could also strike multiple targets, making this one potentially quite damaging against multiple, close-range enemies.
There is a slight casting delay on Spectral Blade, making it too slow to stun lock enemies. A Wizard who uses this one at the point blank range where it's most effective will be hit back by any targets who do not succumb to the first assault.
===Hands On Description===
Flux's BlizzCon [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ Wizard gameplay report] offered extensive coverage of the lower level [[Wizard]] skills. Here's what he said about Spectral Blade.
::''Spectral Blade is a magical attack that deals physical damage to enemies very near the [[Sorceress]]. The skill creates a lattice of straight lines of power that overlap like a half dozen toothpicks tossed down in a heap. It's got a cool, sword-slashing sound to go with it, and can be seen (and heard) repeatedly in the Wizard game play movies from BlizzCon. The skill hits each enemy in front of the Wizard up to three times, dealing 1-5 damage.''
[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wizard cleaving some [[Zombie]]s.]]
::''Using this skill is almost like using [[Bash]], or [[Cleave]], or some melee [[Barbarian]] attack, if those skills had extra range. Spectral Blade hits enemies at [[melee]] range, but can also nail them a yard or two distant, though it seemed like the multiple hits of damage were more likely to occur if the [[monster]] was right in front of you, where the lines overlapped. The initial temptation is to use this skill against anything that can be hit by it, but after a bit of practice (and a lot of running out of [[mana]]) I realized that it was more effective if I aimed it. So I started letting the monsters get into range, and tried to position myself so that I had several [[zombie]]s in a bunch, where each slash of the Spectral Blade would have a chance to hit all of them more than once. This immediately cut my mana use since I was using the spell less often, and it was more fun to use it that way. It became a bit of a challenge to try to take out zombies or [[skeleton]]s in one Spectral Blade, instead of 2 or 3. Especially when I had a couple of them overlapping.''
::''I was not able to use it enough to figure out just what the odds of getting multiple hits were, or if they could all hit even when there were multiple enemies in the target zone, since the damage can vary so much. Spectral Blade can deal 1-5 damage with 1-3 hits, so I could do 1-15 damage with each use of it. Plus, since all 3 hits were added up and dealt at once, there was no way to tell if I'd landed 1, 2, or 3, especially since 3 hits might only do 3 or 4 damage, while a single hit could do 5. Still, it was a fun skill to use, and the multiple hits to multiple targets over a larger-than-melee range made it fun to play with. I enjoyed using it in crowds and watching multiple enemies take hits.''
::''It's not a spell that can be used machine gun style though, even if enemies are in range. There's a short delay after each cast, a [[cooldown]] that's longer than the Wizard has with her projectile spells. As a result Spectral Blade doesn't look like a real boss-killer. It also didn't seem to [[stun]] or [[interrupt]] the attacking motion of monsters, the way melee attacks sometimes did, so it's not a way to render targets helpless while you slash them to bits.''
==Skill Rank Table==
* '''Rank 1:''' 1-5 physical damage 1-3 times, 7 mana.
Only Rank 1 is currently known.
==Synergies==
* '''[[Improved Spectral Blade]]''' - Flat damage increase.
==[[Rune|Skill Rune]] Effects==
* None known.
==Development==
Spectral Blade was first shown at [[BlizzCon 2008]] when the [[Wizard]] was unveiled. It's still assumed to be available as of 8 July 2009.
<!--
==Trivia==
''Hide this section unless there really is some trivia about the class. Add the skill to the [[:Category:Easter Eggs|Easter Eggs]] category as well if the article contains Easter Egg information.''
-->
==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Spectral+Blade Spectral Blade-specific gallery contents]
<gallery>
Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|Spectral Blades in action.
Image:Wiz-spectral-blade2.jpg|[[Mirror Image]]s casting Spectral Blades.
Image:Wiz-spectral-blade3.jpg|Closeup of the blades.
</gallery>
<!--
==Related Articles==
''Articles that are related, but not emphasised enough in any other section, or articles that just need further attention.''
-->
==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/wizard-gameplay-report/P2/ Wizard Gameplay Report]
{{Skill_navbox_conjuring}}
{{Skill_navbox}}
