In Shadowlands, the Devs have promised a lot of un-pruned abilities and baseline abilities for all classes. Now what does this mean for Demon Hunters, as we’ve only been around for two expansions, and one patch in WoD? I suspect much of our current talent trees and Artifact weapons will play a heavy role in the decisions shaping DH’s in Shadowlands. Here’s my Wish List:
1.Demon Hunter Class Baseline Abilities:
1.1. Immolation Aura- This is a great steady flow of fury for both specs. It helps smooth out the jarring acquisition of resources from our fury generators. With certain builds, you can feel Fury starved at some points (especially early in an expansion) and Immolation Aura is really impactful for keeping the combat flow. It also ties into the class fantasy.
1.2. Blur- This would MASSIVELY improve Vengeance DH’s tool kit. They are severely lacking in the cooldown department, and Blur has great mitigation on a reasonable 30 sec cd.
1.3. Darkness- See Blur. This would bring more utility for the Veng spec.
Havoc Baseline:
2.1 Fel Barrage/Fury of the Illdari- I think we should have one of these baseline. Personally, I would take FB over FotI, simply because tanks have an annoying habit of moving mobs right as you drop it. So, because of that I think Fel Barrage is a great candidate for Havoc’s toolkit. It would really drive home that high burst/low sustain AoE. I think it’s a great spell that hasn’t had enough time in the spotlight because it can’t compete with other talents on its row by itself.
2.2 Demonic Appetite- Every time I consume a soul I have this feeling that I should get Fury from it. It took my so long to remind myself it’s just a heal without DA. It feels wrong without it. The deadlier I am, the more I should be able to steamroll. I would honestly be fine with a healing nerf to souls in favor of fury.
2.3 Demonic- It’s absolutely core to the spec. Ever since Chaos Blades were removed, this has been a set it and forget it talent. This must be baseline for Havoc above all others.
Vengeance Baseline:
Vengeance is kind of a mess and a bit lacking right now. I think a good chunk of their talents need to be baked into their toolkit to bring them up to par with other tanks NOW, not even talking about when all the other tanks get their abilities back and make the gap even larger.
3.1 Abyssal Strike/Flame Crash: More set it and forget it talents. These two work in tandem with each other and are essential for the Veng DH kit. Flame crash is great for AoE threat that would otherwise take a few ticks of Immo Aura or Spirit bomb to generate. And Abyssal Strike provides the highest amount of mobility for pulling trash or kiting which is staple of the spec.
3.2 Spirit Bomb/Fracture: Essential to any Veng DH that does meaningful content. These should replace Sheer and Soul Cleave. Not much more to say about these two, they should’ve been baseline as you pretty much need them.
Havoc Un-pruning
4.1 Balanced Blades- (Increases damage dealt by Blade Dance by 3% for each target within 8 yards.) Doesn’t affect single target dps, but helps us scale with scaling mob pack density
4.2 Demon Speed- (Blur now grants a 30% movement speed bonus.) How can a spell be called Blur and not give you increased movement speed? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
4.3 Rage of the Illidari- (When Fury of the Illidari ends, 60% of the damage it dealt erupts in an explosion of fel energy, dividing that Chaos damage among all nearby enemies.) I think this should come back for Fury of the Illidari/Fel Barrage, BUT as a talent for one of these baseline abilities. Again, doubling down on Havoc’s burst capability.
4.4 Warglaives of Chaos- I think the old refund method for Chaos Strikes should return. Having a baseline percentage for fury refunds reduces the effectiveness of Crit rating for this spell. Additionally, it will scale with the player throughout the expansion so you can more accurate feel yourself becoming more powerful.
4.5 Deceiver’s Fury- (You generate 5 Fury each time you dodge an attack or spell.) A nice little gimmick, especially in PvP with blur.
4.6 Unleashed Demons- Metamorphosis feels terrible as a 4-minute cooldown. It’s so hard to line it up with other classes big cooldowns. Like a fight where there’s a big burn phase and you can’t use your Meta on pull because you’ll need it for that part of the fight, and it won’t be off cooldown. But all the other classes with their 2- and 3-minute cooldowns will have them back up no problem.
4.7 Demon Reborn- (Invoking Metamorphosis also resets the cooldowns of Eye Beam, Chaos Nova, and Blur) Should be baked into Metamorphosis as it’s been pretty core to the spec since 7.3
The reason I did not include Chaotic onslaught and Inner Demons is because I don’t want more random uncontrollable damage procs. Random damage procs are the Titan Forging of spells. You always want the proc for maximum benefit, but you have zero control over it.
Vengeance Un-pruning
Soul Carver-(Deal initial Fire damage and additional damage every second for 3 sec. Shattering 2 souls on impact and 1 every sec for the debuff.) I feel like this could be an improved talent for Fracture. Then generation of extra souls is useful
CHARRED WARBLADES- (You heal for 15% of all FIRE damage you deal.) This would be a massive improvement for the spec. This would be amazing for AoE tanking and provide a nice little bump to single target self-healing
Painbringer- (Consuming a soul gives 3% ALL damage reduction for 4 seconds, stacking up to 5 stacks (15% DR) (Any extra souls refresh the debuff and add a stack up to 5)). This would make consuming souls a more engaging mechanic as you would want to get the max DR before a big hit, whilst having max souls to immediately heal from that hit.
Fiery Demise- (Fiery Brand puts a second debuff on your target, increasing Fire damage you deal to the target by 40%.) Greatly increases the utility of Fiery brand with self-heals.
Empower Wards- (Reduces magical damage taken by 30% for 6 sec.) Why was this ever removed? Vengeance should be the #1 magic tank hands down.
And also I REALLY wish I could play something besides a Blood Elf/Night Elf.
Fellow Demon Hunters, tell me your thoughts below and what abilities/changes you would like to see.