Leap

Leaping over a gap to unsuspecting zombies.

Leap (named Leap Attack prior to March 2012) is a Defensive Barbarian skill unlocked at level 8, making the Barbarian leap, causing damage and knockback upon landing. When using this skill the Barbarian leaps at a high rate of speed from his current location to the targeted spot, dealing considerable damage upon impact.

Hover for latest stats

The rune effects provide a variety of modifications and bonuses, both to offense and defense.

This skill is one of the Barbarian's movement abilities.

Post-Release Changes

Patch v1.0.4 improved Leap by making it a better movement skill. The Barbarian can now use it even while immobilized by CC effects.

v1.0.4 changes:[1]

• Leap
  • Can now be used while immobilized by crowd control effects (such as Jailer)
    • Note: Leap will not break CC effects, but that it can still be used while under the effect

This means that a Barbarian who is jailed or otherwise stuck can use Leap while in that state. Leap will not dispel the effect (the way Furious Charge or Wrath of the Berserker do), but a Barbarian who is jailed can at least move (taking the jail cell with him) out of the way of AoE dangers such as Plagued, Desecrator, Arcane Enchanted, etc.

Skill Rune Effects

The following is a very quick summary. Hover over the links for the stats of the latest live versions.

Icon	Name (Hover over for latest stats)	Level Unlocked
	Iron Impact	14
	Launch	21
	Toppling Impact	32
	Call of Arreat	44
	Death from Above	60

Skill Design

Barb SMASH!

Once the player activates the skill, the Barbarian will leap from his current location, to the location of the mouse cursor, damaging and knocking enemies back upon landing. This skill is best used to reach ranged monsters, who are behind enemy lines and to escape tight situations, if such occur.

Leap has not changed much from D2, and has been demonstrated repeatedly in the gameplay movies. The main difference with the D3 version of this skill is that minor damage is dealt to everything nearby when the Barbarian lands, rather than major damage to one particular monster.

Video

A video of Leap in use can be seen below, courtesy of the DiabloInc You Tube channel.

Synergies

The following Barbarian passives provide a benefit to Leap, runed or not:

• Bloodthirst - The Barbarian gains life based on the amount of damage he deals always.
• Weapons Master - Provides a damage bonus when the Barbarian is wielding a sword or dagger.
• Berserker Rage - Inflicts additional damage while the Barbarian is at maximum Fury.
• Brawler - Increases the Barbarian's damage when he is swarmed.

Development

Leaping at a few Fallen in the Borderlands.

Leap (as Leap Attack) was revealed at WWI 2008 when Diablo III debuted. Originally, it was a Tier III skill in the Berserker Skill Tree. By BlizzCon 2009, Leap Attack was at Tier IV but was otherwise unchanged.

At BlizzCon 2010, with just one point in it the Barbarian could leap all the way to the visible edge of the screen, over any number of enemies, and at a very high speed. Flux enjoyed using it in the Battle Arena:[2]

I loved it in the Arena, even though I seldom hit with it, just since the visual is great. The 3D works nicely with it, since your perspective lurches upwards when the Barb jumps, and you feel like you’re flying for a second. There’s a great grunting “RAHHH!” sound too, and you must want to knock something in half with a massive club when you trigger this skill. Ideally that Wizard whose been sniping you with that damn Disintegrate from the far edge of the screen for the entire round. “Hold still and die, maggot!”

Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, allowing skills to unlock steadily from levels 1 to 30. Consequently, all skill levels were adjusted and Leap Attack became a level 6 skill.

Beta

The Diablo III Beta started in September 2011, and while it ran, all of the skills continued to undergo extensive iteration. Skill changes varied from changing the levels the skills are unlocked, to changes in resource cost, damage, and even function. A few skills were removed altogether, and a few new ones were added. Also, the entire skill system received an overhaul with the Beta Patch 13 update in February 2012, with physical runes replaced by rune effects that automatically unlock at various levels for the different skills.

Leap Attack remained at level 6 when the beta started. With the Patch 13 changes, it was classified as a Tactics skill and moved to level 9. For the Beta Patch 14, Leap Attack was renamed Leap, re-classified as a Defensive skill, and moved to level 8.

Previous Versions

See the Barbarian skill archive for more details on previous versions of Leap (or Leap Attack) and other Barbarian skills.

In Other Games

Leap seems to combine Leap and Leap Attack from Diablo II, whilst requiring Fury to use. The main difference with the D3 version of this skill is that minor damage is dealt to everything nearby when the Barbarian lands, rather than major damage to one particular monster.

Media

Leap can be seen in action on video here:

• Gameplay: WWI 2008
• Gameplay: Blizzcon 2010 (in the Arena)
• Video: Blizzcon 2010 Rune Effects

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

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Leap Attack specific gallery contents
• Leap specific gallery contents

• 

  Leaping a chasm in the dungeons below Tristram.

• 

  Leaping at a few Fallen in the Borderlands.

References

• BlizzCon 2009 Full Barbarian Skill Trees and Stats
• BlizzCon 2010 Barb Hands-on Report
• BlizzCon 2010 PvP Hands-on Report
• Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report — IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
• Silva's Barbarian Runestone Effects — IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
• Barbarian Active Skills — Blizzard's Official Diablo III Site

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