Warcraft 3 demon hunters

[Kyux]

Where did the Warcraft 3 Night Elf hero demon hunters come from?

Had Illidan been training them before he was imprisoned after the Sundering? How could he have because demons were unknown. Was someone else training demon hunters? But why, demons weren't seen for 10,000 years.

Or had Night Elves been practising this form of lite-fel combat for ages anyway, and then the demons arrived and it proved really handy and they learnt more about demons?

[Sluvs]

Wanst it from the skull of guldan?

[bmjclark]

Are the WC3 demon hunters even canon really? Or just there for gameplay purposes. I think Illidan was the only one in the campaign.

[Kyux]

The Skull of Gul'dan just made Illidan more demonic and gave him more power. He was already a demon hunter and the skull certainly didn't create more demon hunters.

I'm not sure if WC3 DHs are cannon. The simplest answer is that they are there just for gameplay, but there's that DH in Darkshore under the whirlpool, and the one in the Blasted Lands that don't seem to be Illidari, ie trained by Illidan post-WC3.

[Razion]

[...] But why, demons weren't seen for 10,000 years. [...]

It's a pretty iconic motto of Illidan and Demon Hunters to be prepared because, although demons hadn't been seen for thousands of years doesn't change the fact that they knew the Legion would eventually return - the Legion said as much. The Legion almost destroyed the world once, and at least at one point the Night Elves saw it as their duty to be the guardians of Azeroth and a lot of the elves who lost family, loved ones, friends, and so much more to the Legion they had a personal vendetta to see the Legion's end.

[Lindon]

Illidan is basically the only Demon Hunter in existence during Warcraft 3. He didn't start training new Demon Hunters en masse until The Burning Crusade expac (with like 2-3 exceptions).

[bmjclark]

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Loramus_Thalipedes

This is the one in blasted lands/azshara. It says he's an original member of the illidari so i'm guessing Illidan trained him and he ended up coming back to/staying on Azeroth somehow? He's also the only demon hunter to appear pre tbc. The least interesting (but probably true) answer is that they're all supposed to be Illidan's demon hunters and any inconsistencies is because blizzard hadn't decided on their exact lore yet when they implemented them.

[Aucald]

Some Night Elves, like Loramus Thalipedes and Feronas Sindweller, admired Illidan for his actions in the War of the Ancients and sought to emulate him. Feronas, for example, was able to emulate the Spectral Sight ability by using a blindfold drenched in the blood of demons - Illidan may have also passed along of few of his secrets to his admirers before he was sealed away in the Barrow Deeps. Loramus' dialogue during the Razelikh quest-chain implies his "master," likely Illidan himself, assisted him with the ritual removal of his eyes and granted him Spectral Sight. It's quite possible that Illidan was able to anoint a few Demon Hunters in the time between his alteration by Sargeras and his imprisonment at the hands of Malfurion.

[Kyux]

Ok so bottom line is Illidan trained himself as the first DH before the demons ever arrived, he trained a couple more, then the first demon invasion, 10,000 years imprisonment, and then training en masse?

That makes me wonder how he every trained as a DH before he met a demon? How could he consume a demon soul to use metamorphosis? Or perhaps canonically he couldn't until he consumed the Skull of Gul'dan?

[Aucald]

Ok so bottom line is Illidan trained himself as the first DH before the demons ever arrived, he trained a couple more, then the first demon invasion, 10,000 years imprisonment, and then training en masse?

That makes me wonder how he every trained as a DH before he met a demon? How could he consume a demon soul to use metamorphosis? Or perhaps canonically he couldn't until he consumed the Skull of Gul'dan?

Illidan sort of codified what it was to be a Demon Hunter due to his own arc of experiences, pretty much. Spectral Sight came first, a "gift" from Sargeras when Illidan pretended to be loyal to the Legion and Azshara - Sargeras burnt out of his eyes with Fel fire and replaced them with orbs of Fel energy, as well as gifting him with the Fel tattoos that would become emblematic of the Demon Hunters. Similarly he took up the powerful Warglaives of Azzinoth from a powerful demon he defeated, and became exceedingly proficient with wielding them and their powers in battle. Metamorphosis came later, when he consumed the Skull of Gul'dan at Felwood and became a quasi-demonic creature himself. It's not known if Feronas, Loramus, or any of the ancient Demon Hunters were capable of Metamorphosis without undergoing the ritual consumption of a demon's flesh and essence as Illidan directed the Illidari order at the Black Temple. Loramus essentially consumed the spirit of Razelikh the Defiler later on, but that process was rather botched and now Loramus more or less is in possession of Razelikh's body with the two of them eternally fighting for control of their shared vessel.

[Ulfric Trumpcloak]

The only demon hunter in WC3 was Illidan. His powers were given to him by Sargeras. How did Illidan learn to make other DHs though?

[Sangris]

Illidan wasn't the only Demon Hunter in existence during Warcraft 3, although he was the first. There were others, like Illysanna Ravencrest, that became Demon Hunters during or after the War of the Ancients. While most Demon Hunters (including the PC) are from the new generation trained during classic and TBC, they were not the first Demon Hunters to come after Illidan.

[Aucald]

The only demon hunter in WC3 was Illidan. His powers were given to him by Sargeras. How did Illidan learn to make other DHs though?

Many of the random Demon Hunter heroes have been canonized later on in WoW - whose random names were: Shadowsong, Shadowfury, Shadowstalker, Flameseeker, Darkweaver, Darkterror, Darksorrow, Sindweller, Painkiller, Hellbourne, Wrathbringer, Ragerunner, Firebrand, Bloodwrath, and Terrorblade. These became Feronas Sindweller, Jace Darkweaver, and Lyana Darksorrow in WoW. A few "newer" Demon Hunters also fall into the timeline at or around the War of the Ancients, such as Kor'vas Bloodthorn and Altruis the Sufferer.

[Ielenia]

Where did the Warcraft 3 Night Elf hero demon hunters come from?

Had Illidan been training them before he was imprisoned after the Sundering? How could he have because demons were unknown. Was someone else training demon hunters? But why, demons weren't seen for 10,000 years.

Or had Night Elves been practising this form of lite-fel combat for ages anyway, and then the demons arrived and it proved really handy and they learnt more about demons?

As far as I know, there are no "other demon hunters" in the lore before Illidan got released from his imprisonment. He was the only one.

I think the "Warcraft 3 demon hunter heroes" you're thinking of are the ones you can recruit in the multiplayer maps. Those are not canon.

[Baroclinic]

As far as I know, there are no "other demon hunters" in the lore before Illidan got released from his imprisonment. He was the only one.

I think the "Warcraft 3 demon hunter heroes" you're thinking of are the ones you can recruit in the multiplayer maps. Those are not canon.

So, totally ignore Illysanna Ravencrest in lore like Legion half did. Oh, and those other two...

[Ardenaso]

WC3 Demon Hunters aren't canon, just as how recruiting a Firelord on a Tavern as a Human isn't canon

- - - Updated - - -

also, Blood Elves on Human techtree isn't canon since they already left the Alliance at that point

[cparle87]

The Skull of Gul'dan just made Illidan more demonic and gave him more power. He was already a demon hunter and the skull certainly didn't create more demon hunters.

I'm not sure if WC3 DHs are cannon. The simplest answer is that they are there just for gameplay, but there's that DH in Darkshore under the whirlpool, and the one in the Blasted Lands that don't seem to be Illidari, ie trained by Illidan post-WC3.

My understanding was that Illidan had his eyes burned out, getting some demonic power in the process, got the tatoos, killed the demonlord for his weapons and all that jazz 10,000 years ago. Other night elves saw how effective he was during the War of the Ancients and asked him to teach them. The practice simply required catching a demon and imprisoning it to mimic the internal demonic power that Illidan got from Sargeras. Although it isn't shown in source, the war was probably quite long in duration. Huge armies don't move and aren't defeated quickly, and there were multiple theaters of battle. Plenty of time for Illidan to train more night elves in his styles. It was only later in WC3 that he consumed the skull, became seriously part demon with the metamorphisis and such. Which he would then pass on and teach to the player demon hunters. So in short the development of demon hunters was in two steps, most of it first, then meta later.

[Ielenia]

So, totally ignore Illysanna Ravencrest in lore like Legion half did. Oh, and those other two...

I'm talking about in Warcraft 3, as per the thread title and opening question. There were no "Warcraft 3 Night Elf hero demon hunters" in Warcraft 3 other than Illidan himself.

[SirBeef]

I'm talking about in Warcraft 3, as per the thread title and opening question. There were no "Warcraft 3 Night Elf hero demon hunters" in Warcraft 3 other than Illidan himself.

Right, but the OP insists that there were no demons or demonic invasion prior to Illidan becoming a DH, which just isn't true.

[Aucald]

I'm talking about in Warcraft 3, as per the thread title and opening question. There were no "Warcraft 3 Night Elf hero demon hunters" in Warcraft 3 other than Illidan himself.

I'm assuming the OP is talking about the WC3 era, and not the events of WC3 specifically. Multiple Demon Hunters were extant and operating in the era of WC3, but the story of WC3 only concerns Illidan as a Demon Hunter.