Demon Hunters

"My family was butchered by hellspawn. To witness such a thing is enough to leave your mind in ruins. The madness killed my sister, and left me frightened and alone. Until I was rescued. Rescued by survivors, who had joined together to rid the world of the creatures of Hell. They saw in me the strength to resist the demons. And they forged me into a weapon. Now, I am ready. A meteor has fallen in Tristram, and the dead have risen in its wake. I will send them back to their graves. Once, I was hunted. Now...I am the hunter."

- A Demon Hunter^(src)

The Demon Hunter is the fifth Diablo III class. It is based around ranged combat.

Lore

"Rage. Hate. Fear. They all feed upon one another. A demon hunter learns how to direct hate. But such a balance is precarious. And when that balance is lost, the cycle begins: Hate begets Destruction. Destruction begets Terror as Terror begets Hate."

- Josen^(src)

A group of Demon Hunters

Demon Hunters are relentless vigilantes who execute their infernal targets with an arsenal of ranged weapons at their full disposal. They crouch and take aim far from danger, relying on bows, deadly traps, and projectiles to swiftly bring an end to the creatures that haunt their world. With sweeping blasts of shot, wide salvos of arrows and timed explosives at their disposal, Demon Hunters excel at devastating groups of foes who cluster together. Hunters’ pinpoint accuracy also allows them to deal with stronger monsters at a distance: they can snipe at key targets or fall back while snapping off kill shots at advancing foes.However, demon hunters’ focus on ranged combat and limited melee-weapons training leave them in danger when they’re cornered or surrounded. Evasive skills like defensive rolls and jumps, as well as targeted attacks that hamstring and slow enemies, are as crucial to survival as any arrow in a hunter’s quiver.

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The Demon Hunter sigil

Sworn to the destruction of the creatures of the Burning Hells, the Demon Hunters are few in number—only in the hundreds and do not owe their allegiance to any one king or country. Rather, Demon Hunters are those who have lost their homes and loved ones to demonspawn. When their homes are burnt and their families butchered by demons, most newly scarred refugees give up on living – but a few bury their dead, band together, and swear vengeance. It was from one such act that the creed of the Demon Hunters was created.

There is something in all Demon Hunters that gives them the strength to resist the demonic corruption that would drive lesser men to madness. They hone this power, for their resistance to this taint enables them to use the demons' power as a weapon. Yet they dare not dream of victory, or, even less likely, peace. They cannot hope to return to their former lives, and are perpetually at war within themselves, striving to balance their hatred of demons with the need for discipline. But still, they hunt, hoping that if they can save but one life from the forces of Hell, the world will be better for it. Haunted by their pasts and fueled by vengeance in the present, they can do nothing else.

A female Demon Hunter

Demon Hunters are feared by some of the same people they aim to save. Some say that Demon Hunters are no better than the demons they hunt, that they bring death and destruction with them. And indeed, sometimes, a Demon Hunter loses their ability to control their fear or hatred, and consequently lose themselves to their violent impulses. Criminals among the Demon Hunters are given three days worth of food and water and banished. Many Demon Hunters' eyes glow with hellfire, due to peering into demons and seeing vengeance.

The Demon Hunter order is currently based in the Dreadlands. This is so they can live and train without the interference of any nation that would worry over having such a group camped within its borders. Additionally, the abundance of demons and other foul creatures in the area gives recruits plenty of opportunities to hone their skills. At any given point in time, over half of the Demon Hunters are operating outside the Dreadlands, hunting down hellspawn wherever they may be found in Sanctuary. Few traditions exist within the order, as every Demon Hunter must walk their own path. However, a master can still train an apprentice Demon Hunter, and may even pass on their armor to their apprentice—an honor that few apprentices would refuse.

Tactics and Capabilities

"We can wear the demons’ armaments, their very flesh, upon our bodies, and become something more than human — a nightmare reflection of demonkind — to sow chaos and death among them."

- Esche Maithe^(src)

Demon Hunter attire

Demon Hunters train to hold back the darkness with unconventional combinations of weaponry and fighting styles that only they can employ. They are masters of the hand crossbow – quick-reloading, fast-firing ranged weapons that they use to turn demons into their temporary quivers. Demon Hunters are so adept in the hand crossbow’s use that they can dual wield them. Other elements of their arsenal include longbows, grenades, and hand-thrown weapons. When hunting packs of demons, Demon Hunters rely on traps to deal with their foes. Demon Hunters can also wield apocyral magics, to sneak through the shadows and deal with their prey, or escape their foes' notice.

Fledgling Demon Hunters wear light, flexible leather to guard their wrists and throat, and hoods to hide their faces and blend in with shadows. As they grow in skill, they may don more protective armor, that also allows them to store more of the gear on which they rely to hunt their foes. Demon Hunters can also wear armor worn by demons, and can even wear demons' flesh in an effort to sow chaos and death among their foes. Fear is one of the greatest weapons in a Demon Hunter's arsenal, and whenever possible, they use this to make their foes break ranks so they can be picked off.

Gameplay

Class armor progression

The Demon Hunter was the last Diablo III class to be revealed, done so during Blizzcon 2010. The Demon Hunter was introduced as a character built around ranged combat. They can dual-wield crossbows, launch explosives, place traps, and cast shadow magic (which complements their dark nature). Due to these capabilities, this class is apparently a combination of both the Amazon and Assassin classes from Diablo II. Blizzard made the Demon Hunter darker than the other classes as they wanted a character that would have a different feel from the others.

Demon Hunters mostly use Physical damage, with a portion of Fire skills, but can tune their skills to deal Lightning or Cold damage. Some, very few, runes were originally dealing Poison damage as well, but were changed to Cold after patch 2.1.2.

Unlike the other classes, the Demon Hunter uses two resources – the fast-regenerating Hatred (used for offensive skills) and the slow-regenerating Discipline (used for tactical skills and evasion). The class resource orb is divided in two halves accordingly – the left half (red) represents Hatred and the right half (blue) represents Discipline. Demon Hunters are very poor at absorbing damage, but have the largest assortment of skills that allow evading it altogether. In group, they deal very high damage from considerable range, supporting their allies by Slowing, Immobilizing and Stunning enemies.

Three types of Demon Hunter-exclusive items exist in game: Quivers, Hand Crossbows and Cloaks. Demon Hunters typically use ranged weapons in combat, although some custom builds for melee combat exist as well. Demon Hunters can dual-wield Hand Crossbows, but not any other weapons.

There are five Demon Hunter class sets in game:

• Danetta's Hatred (60 minor weapon set, 2 items)
• Natalya's Vengeance (60 full set, 7 items, 6 are required to complete)
• The Shadow's Mantle (full 70 set, 6 items)
• Embodiment of the Marauder (full 70 set, 6 items)
• Unhallowed Essence (full 70 set, 6 items)

Skills

All Demon Hunter skills are based in the Hatred/Discipline.

The Demon Hunter's dual resources grants them access to a wide variety of offensive and defensive abilities, making them uniquely suited to deal with a large variety of situations. Hatred fuels offensive abilities while Discipline fuels the Demon Hunter's tactical abilities. Both ability types must be used in tandem to exploit the maximum efficiency of the class.

The Demon Hunter's split resources can be a double edged sword however. Exhausting all of one does not leave them completely helpless, but locks them out of half of their skillset, greatly reducing their capabilities. Learning to balance the two resources effectively is a key pillar of mastering the Demon Hunter.

The Demon Hunter's Active Skillset is divided into six sub-categories: Primary Attacks, Secondary Attacks, Defensive Maneuvers, Hunting Skills, Devices, and Archery Skills. Many of these require a ranged weapon to be equipped. Rockets are a special mechanics of the Demon Hunter skills, providing independent fire support when necessary.

Popular Demon Hunter skill combinations:

• Pet Zoo (Wolf Companion + Embodiment of the Marauder + The Cloak of the Garwulf)
• Rocket Man / Rocket Lady (Ballistics + Shooting Stars or Rocket Storm or Arsenal or Spitfire Turret)
• I Am Vengeance (Vengeance + Rain of Vengeance + Natalya's Vengeance)
• Strafing Rain (Strafe + Rain of Vengeance + Natalya's Vengeance + Crashing Rain)
• Thin the Herd (Ambush + Loaded for Bear + Sharpshooter)
• Team Fortress (Sentry + Embodiment of the Marauder + Bombardier's Rucksack + Custom Engineering + Cluster Arrow)
• Marksman (Archery + Ambush + Steady Aim)
• Acrobat (Vault + Tactical Advantage + Danetta's Hatred + Omryn's Chain + Caltrops)
• Blue Hatred (Multishot + Yang's Recurve + Unhallowed Essence + Dead Man's Legacy + Elemental Arrow + Kridershot + Wraps of Clarity + Hunter's Wrath + Bastions of Will)

Exotic Builds:

• Melee Assassin (The Shadow's Mantle + Impale + Fan of Knives + Smoke Screen + Shadow Power + Vault + Vengeance + melee weapon)
• Suicide Bomber (Grenadier + Grenades + Loaded for Bear or Cluster Bombs + Personal Mortar + Sticky Bomb + Demolition + The Demon's Demise + Valla's Bequest)

Demon Hunter Skills

Primary Skills
Hungering Arrow • Entangling Shot • Bolas • Evasive Fire • Grenade
Secondary Skills
Impale • Rapid Fire • Chakram • Elemental Arrow
Defensive Skills
Caltrops • Smoke Screen • Shadow Power
Hunting
Vault • Preparation • Companion • Marked for Death
Devices
Fan of Knives • Spike Trap • Sentry • Vengeance
Archery
Strafe • Multishot • Cluster Arrow • Rain of Vengeance
Passive Skills
Thrill of the Hunt • Tactical Advantage • Blood Vengeance • Steady Aim • Cull the Weak • Night Stalker
Brooding • Hot Pursuit • Archery • Numbing Traps • Perfectionist • Custom Engineering
Grenadier • Sharpshooter • Ballistics • Leech • Ambush • Awareness • Single Out

Development

"For the demon hunter, sexy was a word that we focused on."

- Non Thareechit, animator^(src)

A Demon Hunter

The developers of Diablo III always knew that the game's fifth class would be a ranged one. The earliest designs depicted a woodland hunter, but the character was deemed to lack an edge. Revisions showing him with a pair of swords were popular, but this drifted away from the class's original intent. A desert ranger class was also explored, but the designers ran into artistic problems—his cloth clothing made him look too bulky, and as more gear was added, the problem only got worse. Thus, it was decided to reboot the class's development.

In the revised concept, the hero was designed to have a gothic feel. The designers wanted the class to have a unique insight into the coming demonic invasion, and began exploring how the class might wield demonic artifacts and runes against his foes. With this "hunter of demons" taking shape, the demon hunter class was thus settled upon.

Physically, the class was meant to be quick and agile. The legs and body were free moving, while a cape was added to symbolize the enigmatic nature of the demon hunters. Further inspiration was taken from characters such as Boba Fett, Van Helsing, and even MacGyver. An early idea for the class was to have the Demon Hunter stand on the shoulders of the Barbarian, shooting from atop him/her.

Known Demon Hunters

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A Demon Hunter

• Aoron Gunes
• Bayne
• Bytor
• Celsa
• Cie Wyrtam
• Danetta
• Darnal
• Delios
• Esche Maithe
• Greyscarr
• Josen
• Kee Morse
• Kovan the Merciless
• Kunai
• Lidra (formerly?)
• Marteks
• Mynton
• Natalya (formely an Assassin)
• Tully Yates
• Tyla Shrikewing
• Val Amark
• Valla
• Yang

Images

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Female Demon Hunter Model

Male Demon Hunter Model

Demon Hunter #1

Demon Hunter #2

Demon Hunter #3

Demon Hunter #4

Demon Hunter #5

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

Opening fire

• The Demon Hunter is the first class to ever use two resources to fuel their abilities.

• The Male Demon Hunter is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. The Female Demon Hunter is voiced by Anna Graves.

• Demon hunters are a class that also exist in Blizzard's Warcraft series. The class also makes an appearance in Heroes of the Storm, as represented by Valla