Difference between revisions of "Aura"

Revision as of 09:56, 30 January 2010

An Aura is a skill, spell or ability effect that works as a continuous AoE of some kind. The aura usually applies primarily to allies, giving those within a radius a buff. In some cases an aura can be debuffing foes instead.

Auras can also be applied to areas or items in some cases, as well as monsters.

Auras in Diablo 2

Auras are used by the Diablo 2 Paladin. They are also granted by some special weapons, and can therefore be used by other classes. Auras provide a passive buff to the player (and usually to others in the party) or they functions as a debuff on all enemies within the aura's range. Only the Paladin, who has 20 of them, possess auras as skills, though a few special items provide an aura when equipped. Paladins can only keep one aura active at a time, though multiple different types of auras can stack, whether they come from multiple Paladins, multiple items with an aura on them, or some combination of the two.

Auras in Diablo 3?

It was long assumed that there would not be Auras in Diablo 3, since the Paladin is not returning as a playable character. That presumption was shaken by Jay Wilson during an October 2009 interview with Diii.net. [1]

Diii.net: We saw 8 Monk skills at BlizzCon. All were melee offensive or defensive. Can you give us some idea of what other skills the Monk will have at his disposal?

Jay Wilson: Most of the Monk's skills will focus on combat skills and attacks, along with his various escape skills. And we talked at Blizzcon that we're likely to put some defensive and supportive abilities on him. Possibly Auras. We've not done the next round of skills on him yet so we’re not exactly sure.

Diii.net: Really? That's handy, since I was also going to ask if he'd have any co-op or party-boosting skills.

Jay Wilson: We definitely want to do that with one class. Whether or not it's the Monk hasn't yet been decided. The Monk does seem to be the logical choice. The only reason we might not do with him is that he's too logical.

From this it seems certain that we'll see auras on at least one of the characters in Diablo 3; most likely the Monk. The question then becomes how will they be controlled, since the D2 method seems incompatible with the limited RMB hotkeys/interface allowed by Diablo 3.

Aura Controls

The Diablo 3 interface only allows a character to use 7 hotkeys, of which only two can be easily cycled between via the right mouse button (RMB). Other hotkeys are tied to the left mouse button, and the 1-4 keys. This format seems to work well enough for normal play, but it seems inimicable to aura use.

In Diablo 2, any given Aura was active as long as it was selected to the RMB skill option. Players did not "cast" auras, or click with the mouse to enable them. Auras simply became active once they were set to the RMB, and most players regularly cycled between 4-8 auras, depending on the circumstances. Fanaticism or Concentration for damage during combat, Vigor for quick escapes or to race around in town, Cleansing to heal and cure poisons/curses, Conviction to debuff enemy resistances, etc.

Since that sort of control isn't possible in Diablo 3, the team will have to design auras so that players will only want to team one or two during their character's life, or else auras will have to be cast from the 1-4 keys like regular skill buffs. They could have some set duration that additional skill points would increase, much like the Barbarian's Warcries, or Auras might remain active until another aura is cast.

Media

There have not yet (December, 2009) been any images released of Auras being used in Diablo 3.

Reference

• Diii.net Exclusive Jay Wilson Interview