Diablo III class guide

The Demon Hunter

The Demon Hunter is a class made for those who like to strike from the distant shadows. The Hunter is capable of setting traps, summoning shadow minions and firing off a wide array of special arrows. The Demon Hunter uses two resources: Hatred and Discipline. Hatred is for offensive spells and Discipline is for more defensive moves. Discipline also regenerates much slower.

The Demon Hunter can be ready for any situation. Dexterity gear should fill the majority of your item slots, with only a little Vitality gear in the mix to boost up your low health pool. Attack speed plays a big role for a Demon Hunter and you should always aim to have a very fast attack speed, even if it means the weapon you use has a lower base damage. Remember that a fast weapon can make up for its lower base damage with a much higher damage over time rating.

Solo Build

• Primary: Entangling Shot (Chain Gang)
• Secondary: Rapid Fire (Withering Fire)

Action Bar:

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• Smokescreen (Lingering Fog)
• Marked for Death (Contagion)
• Multishot (Fire at Will)
• Vault (Rattling Roll)

Passive Skills:

Tactical Advantage, Vengeance, Brooding

When soloing you will want to keep a healthy mix of Hatred and Discipline spells available. Moves like Vault and Smokescreen can keep you alive when things get tough and you need to make a quick escape. Once you unlock Rapid Shot you should set it to one of your mouse buttons, since it’s one of the Demon Hunters best Hatred skills. It decimates single targets, even without its first rune. Always remember to keep a move like Entangling Shot available for when your Hatred runs dry. Each time you fire it you will regenerate a small amount of Hatred which is very useful on top of your base regeneration.

Group Build

• Primary: Grenades (Tinkerer)
• Secondary: Rapid Shot (Withering Fire)

Action Bar:

• Multishot (Fire at Will)
• Marked for Death (Contagion)
• Rain of Vengeance
• Companion (Bat Companion)

Passive Skills:

Vengeance, Steady Aim, Archery

When rolling with a group you don’t want to be in the middle of the action, but just to the side. Set yourself up with area of effect moves like Chakram, Multishot or Rain of Vengeance (when you unlock it). This will help you smash through the hordes of enemies while they all cluster around your tanks. Keep Rapid Shot equipped as it is useful at basically every point in the game and will always come out on top in a 1 vs 1 situation.

Boss Build

• Primary: Entangling Shot (Chain Gang)
• Secondary: Rapid Fire (Withering Fire)

Action Bar:

• Smokescreen (Lingering Fog)
• Marked for Death (Contagion)
• Multishot (Fire at Will)
• Companion (Bat Companion)

Passive Skills:

Tactical Advantage, Vengeance, Brooding

Bosses will be tough for a Demon Hunter when alone. With very low health, even at the best of times it won't take much to kill you. Entangling Shot is great for slowing down the big baddies and Rapid Shot is amazing at taking down their health. Use Vault or Smokescreen to quickly remove yourself from danger and then continue to whittle away their HP. When in a group bosses should be treated like other monsters. Just stay back and hammer them with everything you have. With people up front tanking, you should just stand back and be a constant source of damage.

Above is an example build for your typical boss fight. However, do to the unique nature of each boss and the wide array of skills available to Demon Hunters you may need to alter things on the fly. Bosses who fight you solo need to be approached with high damage single target moves. Other bosses that summon minions will require AoE skills. Keep this and other variables in mind before running headlong into a boss battle.

Best Follower

The Templar. He’s incredible ability to soak up damage is invaluable to you. His skills will also help you to regenerate your health and resource pools faster and his Heal spell just can't be missed. Smokescreen is amazing in conjunction with the Templar. When you go invisible, all hostiles will look towards him and lose their focus on you. It is a great way to shift aggro around and save you.