Shard of Hate

The Shard of Hate is a Legendary sword in Diablo III. It requires character level 70 to drop.

It grants the wielder a 100% chance (regardless of Proc Coefficient) on attacking to unleash a power that depends on whether they use the elements of Cold, Lightning, or Poison. This includes the weapon's own elemental damage, should the proper type roll. The attack does not need to hit its target; even attacking idly in town can activate the Shard of Hate's power. The effect seems to possess little internal cooldown, if any.

Freezing Skull unleashes a piercing skull that flies through a straight line, dealing Cold damage to enemies foolish enough to stand in its way, and Freezing them for 3 seconds. Poison Nova is a short-ranged blast of Poison damage, similar in function to that of a helm fashioned in the likeness of the Maiden of Anguish. Charged Bolt works just like the Wizard's Shock Pulse, sending forth erratically moving sparks in the direction the hero attacks.

For a hero specializing in Lightning skills, the Shard of Hate is definitely a good choice, as the Charged Bolts are helpful against large crowds of enemies, or enemies with a large hitbox, such as a Colossal Golgor.

Development
The weapon was designed in five stages as part of a "Design a Legendary" program. Players of the fanbase voted on elements such as weapon class, name, etc. When Reaper of Souls was released, it was the most powerful weapon in game because of the bug (chance to unleash an elemental attack was 100% regardless of the attack's Proc Coefficient). The item was then buffed back to its original state.

Trivia

 * Visually, the Shard of Hate is reminiscent to Frostmourne from the Warcraft universe.