Whirlwind (Diablo II)

Whirlwind is a Skill in Diablo II.

Lore
'' Of the Barbarian people, the Tribe of Thunder was the first to draw upon the primal forces of the weather. Tornadoes would ravage their plains as summer turned to the harvest season. The shaman of the tribe would interpret the tornadoes as an omen of evil during times of peace, and as a harbinger of great victory during wartime. Observing the strength of the whirlwind, these Barbarians learned to emulate the swirling mélange of the cyclone in their attacks. As time went on and the tribes intermingled, the ability to attack in the manner of the whirlwind was passed down to all of the Barbarian people. ''

Synergies
Whirlwind is one of the most valued high-level Barbarian skills, as it quickly inflicts massive damage to multiple foes, and has the ability to cut a path through enemies, preventing them from surrounding the Barbarian. However, hits are not automatic, and are subject to Attack Rating.
 * Gives synergy to: None
 * Receives synergy from: None

Initially, Whirlwind deals reduced damage compared to normal blows, but even against two foes, it is beneficial. Adding new skill points negate this penalty, eventually leading to spinning strikes being more powerful than usual attacks.

Whirlwind is not channeled; instead, for a fixed cost of 25 Mana, it cuts the path from the current point to the destination, moving in a path as straight as possible, or to the closest available point (if no direct path is available due to impassable obstacles). Until it finishes, no other skills can be used. Destination can be either ground or monster (in latter case, it pursues the fleeing foe). Long Weapons such as Spears and Polearms make Whirlwind even more effective as it will hit monsters in a wider radius. Since Whirlwind consumes a lot of Mana, Mana Steal is highly useful. When high enough, it allows the skill to be used non-stop. Potions and any inventory items cannot be used while using Whirlwind.

Whirlwind does not work with: "On Attack", "On Striking", or "When You Kill an Enemy" item properties. While under this skill, the user cannot die, but if Life drops to zero, death occurs when the cast ends. It can be used to advantage (for instance, to Save and Exit before the Whirlwind ends). Whirlwind cannot be interrupted by effects that normally would stop the Barbarian. It is even possible to be stuck in this state, if, for example, target is rapidly escaping the player. Stun attacks have no effect on spinning hero, and knockback does not affect them. Even if the weapon breaks, it breaks only after Whirlwind ends.

Whirlwind against Players
On Casters, this attack usually deals a lot of damage, and hits often unless the enemy is of a much higher level or has very high defense. However, whirlwind can be tricky to use against ranged opponents due to its predictable speed.

Weapon Speed
Whirlwind is affected by weapon speed. After clicking to start the Whirlwind attack, the game checks for a hit on a target in range at the 4th and 8th animation frames (recall that the game runs at 25 frames per second). After the first two "free" hit-checks, the frames elapsed in-between subsequent hit-checks will depend on the weapon speed. Increased attack speed from items outside of the weapon does not affect Whirlwind; only the speed of the weapon itself counts.

The dependence on weapon speed is obtained by subtracting the weapon's increased attack speed (IAS) to its base weapon speed and checking where the number obtained fits in the table:


 * One-handed weapons
 * Breakpoints: 15, 10, -10, -34.
 * Number of frames in-between hit-checks after frame 8: 12, 10, 8, 6, 4
 * Two-handed weapons
 * Breakpoints: 15, 0, -10, -30, -60.
 * Number of frames in-between hit-checks after frame 8: 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4

Two-handed swords are treated as one-handed weapons for Whirlwind purposes, regardless of the sword being held in one-handed or two-handed mode.