In the playable BlizzCon demo, which begins in the overgrown and mostly abandoned Tristram Woods before progressing into the Tristram Church Dungeon, the Wizard starts off with the Charged Bolt and fire-ball esque Magic Missile spells.

Frost Nova, Tornado and Blizzard attacks return from past Diablo games, and can be found alongside the new Electrocute attack in the Storm skill tree. The Arcane skill tree sports Teleport, Slow Time, Mana Recovery and the Disintegrate damage spell. The Conjure tree boasts Meteor and Hyrda.

As Tornado was a Druid class skill in Diablo 2, its inclusion in the Wizard's arsenal may indicate that the Druid will not return for Diablo 3. The skill trees are still a work in progress, with the certain portions still incomplete.​

Skill Runes are skill-modifying items that are randomly dropped by monsters and used across all classes. They can be attached to each skill like an item, often completely changing the gameplay of each skill.
The lead designer showed off the Teleport skill with a Striking rune, turning the spell into an offensive skill that can destroy enemies. The Skull of Flame skill was modified by the Multistrike Rune, which split the single fireball into multiple splashing attacks, to the crowd's enormous delight.​