Vault

Vault is a Demon Hunter Tier 3 skill unlocked at level 6. The Demon Hunter vaults forward, moving as a shadow with a flair for acrobatics.

This is the Demon Hunter's movement ability.

Background

Diablo III Skill [e]
Vault Active, 5 ranks
Used by:	Demon Hunter
Skill Description:
Dance through the shadows to escape your enemies.
Skill Details:
Type:	Damage
Quantity:	None
Effect:	Target
School:	Physical
Mana cost:	Low
Cast time:	Instant
Duration:	NA
Cooldown:	None
Synergies:	None
Requires:	N/A
Prereq of:	N/A

The Demon Hunter melts into the shadows, using them to spin forward with a series of acrobatic somersaults and flips.

Skill Design

I could do that...if I wanted to.

Every character in Diablo III has a movement ability, and for the Demon Hunter, that would be Vault.
Once activated, the Demon Hunter moves over the ground in a series of flips and such, in a shadow form, until she reaches her destination. The Demon Hunter is assumed to be invulnerable during this time; however, she cannot Vault through doors, walls, or other obstacles.

Skill Rank Table

• Rank 1: Tumble acrobatically X feet.

Synergies

• None known.

Skill Rune Effects

• None known.

Development

This skill was first shown at BlizzCon 2010 as one of the originals when the Demon Hunter was unveiled. Wyatt Cheng had this to say about it:

This a movement skill. The Barbarian has Leap Attack, the Wizard has Teleport and we wanted to make sure all our classes had a way to get around the battlefield. In this skill we wanted to sell the Shadow theme. Initially we talked about Shadow Vault and stuff like that, but we decided to just call it Vault and let the art peak for itself. There's no need to have to weave these concepts into every single skill. The artistic representation has some acrobatics and has some shadow themes to it. It's basically a way to take a solid mechanic and wrap it up with the aesthetic we are trying to sell and deliver something we think will be fun for the players.

Flux also weighs in on the skill from his time on the BlizzCon 2010 demo:

Vault was the last Demon Hunter skill the pre-made demo characters had, and it was useful to rush through the dungeon or to escape from boss packs. It was a fast moving cartwheel that covered about 1/2 the screen. It’s seen a few times in the DH cinematic. This skill allows the DH to pass through any monsters in the way, though it’s stopped by obstacles such as walls or doors or the huge, chopping cleaver booby traps that filled this year’s demo dungeon.

Graphics

Transform and roll out.

Vault is one of the skills from the Demon Hunter's kit that emphasizes the shadowy nature of her abilities, along with other skills like Spike Trap. This may be the most prominent of her shadow abilities thus far.
The Demon Hunter enters the realm of shadow, performing a series of acrobatic flips. Each different posture is represented by a shadowed silhouette of the Demon Hunter until she reaches her destination. Once there, the shadow merges into her as she sets herself upright. This is a very fast animation.

Media

You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:

• Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures
• Vault specific gallery contents

• 

  The Demon Hunter mid-Vault.

• 

  Another shot of the multiple shadows.

• 

  Each shadow has its own posture.

• 

  By now, you should be sick of the word 'vault'.