Demon Hunter: How It Could Work

[sweepdeepsPL]

Demon Hunter, from a lore and gameplay perspective, has a lot of potential to be included in WoW. I have a cool few ideas that I'd like to share on how it could be implemented to be both fun and sticking to the book in the lore.



Class Overview

-The Demon Hunter would be a Cloth-wearing class (because there are no Cloth-class tanks and melee dps), with an emphasis on melee dps and tanking. Their resource would be either energy or fel energy, dependent on spec.

-The class would be open to selection for Blood Elves and Night Elves (for lore reasons stated below).


-The three specs would be Demonology, Swiftblade, and Immolator.

-Demonology would be the tanking spec, taking on the form of the demon within to mitigate damage and unlock fel-enhanced abilities. Seeing as this is the most well established one in the lore and in the game, little is left to the imagination as to what abilities and techniques this spec would possess. This class would use Fel Energy for their resource when in demon form. This class could use Metamorphosis indefinitely, and it would be their tanking mode.


-Swiftblade would be the 100% physical melee dps spec, relying on quick blade strikes and evading incoming blows to deal damage and survive. This spec would dual wield One-Handed Swords, Fist Weapons, and Maces. Think if a Fury Warrior could mix with a Combat Rogue, but with the ability to use Metamorphosis infrequently to empower their abilities. This spec would use energy when not in a short Metamorphosis cooldown, and Fel Energy when in it.


-Immolator is what would happen if a really really angry Fire Mage mixed with an Arms Warrior. Many of the abilities that this class uses focuses primarily on manipulating spells that you and your opponent casts. The abilities could work like spell steal, or spell reflect. Additional abilities include a sort of Mana Burn that deals damage based on how much an opponent's resource (energy, rage, etc.) is depleted, or how much health a boss has left. Relative to Swiftblate, this spec is more focused on taking down spellcasters, or the spells that melee opponents use and all the while burning them with fel fire.
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The Lore

Like Death Knights, the starting area for this class must be relevant to the expansion in which they are introduced. There must also be a compelling story in the starting zone enough to both A) allow them to seamlessly integrate into the Alliance and Horde, and B) provide enough content to fulfill ~4 experience levels starting at 55. Bear with me for this next pseudo tin-foilery and fanboying.

I should note that much of the lore surrounding Demon Hunters and the way they interact with their demons is taken from the Demon Hunter resurrection quest line in Blasted Lands (to which I initially got this idea)

The Demon Hunter starting zone would be the Well of Eternity, 10,000 years ago. You are one of two pupils under the tutelage of a Demon Hunter master (could be Illidan Stormrage or another character created for this purpose). If you pick a Night Elf, the other pupil is a High Elf, and if you choose to roll a Blood Elf the other pupil would be of the purple variety. The Master teaches you about the process of becoming a Demon Hunter, including actually sealing a demon inside oneself binding the two together to effectively fight demons.

Basically the quest lines would be you trying to defend the countryside from ever increasing numbers of demons, while also continuing your training as a Demon Hunter. While you do not have a Demon yet, there is still a need to repel these fel invaders. While questing you would be assisting both Cenarius and the Red Dragonflight in fending off the invaders.

The last and final quest chain involves the final climactic battle where you are holding the line while the portal is sealed. In one last act of sacrifice, you seal a powerful demon inside of you several seconds prior to the implosion of the Well of Eternity. This demon, when fused with you, becomes your metamorphosis. The process also taxes the body so much that you are rendered in a coma to be woken up as some Expansion relevant event wakes you up from your slumber.


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What are yall's thoughts on this?

[Lamortykins]

The Demon Hunter starting zone would be the Well of Eternity, 10,000 years ago. You are one of two pupils under the tutelage of a Demon Hunter master (could be Illidan Stormrage or another character created for this purpose).

This really might not be necessary. Metzen has said himself he wants an Illidan redemption story; if we are dealing with the burning legion in our universe, who better to train us to fight demons than Illidan himself? There's enough speculation (see: warlock green fire quest) that Illidan isn't really dead.


I think demon hunters would be an awesome addition to the game, on par with how awesome death knights were when Wrath was launched. However, a lot of characteristic demon hunter abilities were given to priests, warlocks, etc. They might have to take more of a blood mage route, or a diablo 3 demon hunter route.

[l33t]

What are yall's thoughts on this?

-The class would be open to selection for Blood Elves and Night Elves (for lore reasons stated below).

No.
You know, I love game lore too, but limiting brand new class as wanted as demon hunter to pointy ears monkeys is ridiculously dumb.

[Traveler Voltin]

Sigh teriz is going to show up soon and try to destroy you

[Deleted]

DH won't be blocked only for elves.

[Irian]

A few things:

Demon hunter should not and will not be open to only elves. This creates an awkward situation where people who don't like elves would be forced to play them. While I personally like both blood elves and night elves, I consider it practically necessary for them to bend lore to at least give a few more options.
I'd say every race with any sort of lithe form and/or a particular hatred for demons should be able to be a demon hunter. I would include in this list: Humans, draenei, night elves, worgen for Alliance and orcs, trolls, undead, blood elves for Horde.
At least as far as the Warcraft RPG books - which are basically halfway-canon, with them taking many ideas and concepts from them - go, there have been non-elven demon hunters and I think they would fit just fine.

No cloth armor. A melee combatant in cloth armor doesn't look or feel right. Demon hunters clearly wear leather and should be a leather class, potentially having mail as an option for tanking demon hunters.
Before anyone brings up monks and the high competition for leather, remember that WoD introduced and has been pushing personal loot pretty heavily. I think at this point armor types are largely just there for flavor.

[Deleted]

It will not work.
Demon Hunter as a class is on par with Death Knights in terms of sheer awesomeness.
The best blizsigners could do after WotLK was the monk.

[huth]

No.
You know, I love game lore too, but limiting brand new class as wanted as demon hunter to pointy ears monkeys is ridiculously dumb.

You mean flat-faced trolls.

[Belisaurio]

It can be created with alot of other ways too. The most that I prefer, the ones like DK: Another Heroic class (unique starting area, unique lore, unique characters, chain quest to know the NEW lore).
The main focus that devs need to work is the main NEW skills that the DH should have.

[l33t]

It will not work.
Demon Hunter as a class is on par with Death Knights in terms of sheer awesomeness.
The best blizsigners could do after WotLK was the monk.

What's wrong with monk? Monk is awesome. He may have somewhat meh damage dealing spec, but both his tank and healing specs are among the most fun and engaging specs to play nowadays. Are you sad because monk was not an unbalanced OP piece of shit like DK was (and still is, tbh)?

You mean flat-faced trolls.

Dobbies, whatever.


Strictly on topic: If I was a class designer and had to make demon hunter possible, I would not plainly add new class, because it is dull and not interesting, yet adds a lot of complications in design and balance. Instead, I would make heroic classes for existing classes, thus making anyone who desires to develop their existing class into demon hunter.

[FuxieDK]

Of all the Demon Hunter concepts that have been proposed, this one probably takes the prize.... for the LEAST well thought..

[Life-Binder]

I like it


and yeah I really want the DH class

[Bubblebeard]

I don't think if DH are introduced in the game they will be cloth wearers. I don't think DH will be introduced at all in fact, they run around in piyama trousers and barechested, they only wield warglaives. That leaves very little possible itemization without moving miles away from the archetype.

[Dezminion]

Who do we have as a mail tank btw...?
I know we have mail melee/caster/healer/opspecialclass, but a tank?

[l33t]

Who do we have as a mail tank btw...?

Enhancement shaman *trollface*

[Deleted]

Jesus this again?? Please stop with this, with tinkerer, with high elves, with ogre with telling us what you think Blizzard needs to do.

We should play their game, on their terms, that's how it was when the game was good and 'twas ever thus. Stop wasting your time. I'm not angry, I'm just amazed that you bother wasting your time with these huge 'we need this class because..' rambling posts.

[Traveler Voltin]

Any race can be a demon hunter and some of their items are mail

[DeadmanWalking]

Personally I would like a mechanic where instead of wearing Mail armor they could Imbue their tattoos with the stat properties of pieces of mail gear. So if they get a chest Mail piece they click imbue, click the chest piece and then click the chest slot and a tattoo shows up in that slot with the +agility and other stats from the chest piece.

Then each piece of gear could have a different pattern and color and you could tmog what you wanted. This way they get tattoo protection of mail armor without breaking the lore that their mystical tattoos are the source of their protection.

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Jesus this again?? Please stop with this, with tinkerer, with high elves, with ogre with telling us what you think Blizzard needs to do.

We should play their game, on their terms, that's how it was when the game was good and 'twas ever thus. Stop wasting your time. I'm not angry, I'm just amazed that you bother wasting your time with these huge 'we need this class because..' rambling posts.

Then don't click on them and add to them. God forbid something should exist on the internet without your personal approval. I don't like the ideal of the tinkerer class so I dont click on the link and take part in it, and if I did I certainly wouldn't do it to take a big crap on it just because I am feeling nihilistic and salty at the same time.

Stop trying to police the forums, its not your job.

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I would love to see a ranged class that animates their glaives to fly across the room and attack the enemy. If you want to change targets the blade has to fly over to that enemy to start attacking costing time but the caster would be safer in the back of the room than on the bosses butt.

[Talen]

The real problem with Demon Hunters as a new class isn't game play or lore.

Lore, history, traditions, rituals can be added as needed, gameplay can be created


The real problem is that a DH class would need to be separated from the thematic elements that help define what it is in order that it can avoid thematic overlap with Warlocks....but if you take that away, you don't have a DH.

Do I want a DH in game? Yes. Do I see any possibility of one ever being added? Not as a class

EJL

[Jessicka]

So long as they use Mail and have Tanking, Melee DPS and Ranged Weapon specs I'd be fine with them, it would basically cover the bases in the game where there's a few gaps.