The wait is finally over!
... For the fifth class.
Today at Blizzcon, the Demon Hunter was revealed to us all. A bow slinging, demon hunting, trap setting conventional ranged character has been given to us.
-Development-
During development dual daggers were tried out, but Blizzard felt this really took away from the ranged feel, thus they made the move to dual wielding crossbows. At first, the Demon Hunter wasn't even human. It started out as a full demon, and more recently, a demon/human hybrid. Now, with the released version, the Demon Hunter is fully human. A sleek medieval look has been settled upon, with a signature scarf and arm guard present on all concept models shown.
-The Lore-
Abd al-Hazir has brought us yet another class story, with a dark, demonic flavor to it. The Demon Hunters are essentially nomads, having lost all they knew and loved to the hells, they chose to pursue a life of vengeance above all else. They number in the hundreds, and choose to make their home in the Dreadlands. All demon hunters have an innate ability to resist the demonic taint present in the Dreadlands, allowing them to use demonic magics against their enemies while retaining their sanity.
But what could this mean? From the sounds of it, the Demon Hunters will use anything and everything at their disposal to take the fight to their sworn enemies. In one of the panels on the Demon Hunter, Jay Wilson briefly talked about using demonic organs as weaponry. Whether this was a definite "yes, you can craft with demonic organs" or not, is yet to be seen. However, in the release video the Demon Hunter is shown as using an arrow crafted from the tooth of a demon, thus, I personally believe we will be able to use demonic trophies to enhance our skills and items. I can expect this to take the form of special crafting recipes.
-The Skills-
Currently, the Demon Hunter has traps & gadgets, shadow magic, and various bow skills at her disposal. We've been shown several skills so far, and here they are.
Molten Arrow
The Demon Hunter shoots a crossbow bolt infused with flame which passes through enemies, and leaves behind a flaming wake, dealing damage to all enemies to try to cross it. Essentially, it's a fire wall that you can shoot.
Grenade
Seems to function similarily to the Witch Doctor's Skull of Flame. The video shows the Demon Hunter throwing out 3 small globes, which bounce briefly, then explode, dealing AOE to all nearby enemies. It was also shown to break a shield skeletons shield, which suggests AOE damage dealt from behind the shield can disarm them, giving this skill a spot as a sort of "combat utility" skill.
Bola
This skill allows the Demon Hunter to shoot a bola arrow, which wraps around whatever it hits. The enemies are not slowed however, but several seconds after being hit they exploded. AOE damage was dealt to everything nearby.
Vault
The obligatory movement skill. The Demon Hunter performs an acrobatic roll to reach new locations, or to escape from enemies. I can definitely see this skill being combined with Molten Arrow, allowing the Demon Hunter to quickly set up a wall, and retreat behind it before being in the line of fire.
Spike Trap
Taking a hint from the Assassin, the Demon Hunter sets up a trap that lies in wait for enemies. Upon being walked over, the trap opens up and enemies above it.
Fan of Knives
The Demon Hunter twirls in place, sending knives in all directions around her. AOE damage is dealt to all nearby enemies. This skill was shown being used with Vault, the Demon Hunter would roll into position, and release knives directly into a mob of enemies.
Entangling Shot
The Demon Hunter shoots out an arrow that bounces between several enemies, linking them with a blackish purplish line, slowing each down. The linking seemed to have to affect, though perhaps the slowing affect is made more serious based on how many enemies are linked to the same arrow?
-Tactical Considerations-
From the sounds of it, this character will take some planning to use effectively. With the theme of traps in mind, Demon Hunter players will no doubt benefit from careful planning and preparation. Jay Wilson himself said in one of the panels that this was the feel they were going for, as a bounty hunter they wanted the Demon Hunter to be prepared for battle. With the various skills she has at her disposal, she will be able to dictate the flow and pace of combat on her own terms.
Things to keep in mind, are the ways the skills functioned. If you watch the Bola video, you will notice the bola wrapping around a pillar, then exploding soon after. Tactics like this would allow the Demon Hunter to preemptively shoot a Bola, and run away while her enemies drew closer to the "trapped" environment. This skill may even be able to bring down walls after a delayed timer, allowing for more tactical use of the environment than other characters.
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"One in every 10 million people can potentially have a headache from this pill." God forbid she is the 0.000000001% of having a headache.
Whilst the name and the look make think of a love child between Illidan and Sylvanas, the concept reminds me more of Vanhelsing, or perhaps Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love it. Fits like a charm to me.
Awesome class. I think it will be an excellent class to play, right now I'm thinking "THIS IS DEFINITELY MY FIRST CLASS!" but that is likely just the excitement of having a new class to drool over. I think it will be very fun. It essentially is an Assassin/Amazon hybrid. Perfect, really. Man, I think all 5 classes are really phenomenal. Each bring their own unique styles to the table. I'm almost too excited to read about the new PvP information posted on the Blizzard site! But alas, I must get it over with!
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A belief in no God is a belief in everything. It is a belief in the unfathomable number of events of blind chance required for every living thing to be here.
I heard the male will be "sexy" as well which scares me, I don't play Diablo to have a "sexy" character. The male better look like a badass and not some emo looking vagina.
The male better look like a badass and not some emo looking vagina.
like the male Wizard?
anyways on topic i'll most likely keep the Wizard for first and Demon Hunter as the second option. Witch Doctor next and i don't care when i'll play Barbarian and Monk
it did cross my mind that the male Demon Hunter will look like Van Helsing. Wondering when we'll get to see him.
You know, I've decided. This Demon Hunter class is going to be my very first character for sure.
I remember in Diablo 2 that after 8 years of playing every single build imaginable, from a Melee Sorc to a Hammerdin, I ended up settling on an Assassin-based build called the 'Ghost'.
The Ghost basically used traps to stunlock enemies, and then teleporting in for a clean Whirlwind kill. I would also have a Widowmaker bow on switch, enchanted with Venom, to take out enemies from range.
Seeing that Blizzard now took the liberty of combining both the Assassin and Amazon class into one, it makes me believe that this will be the absolute ultimate class to play.
I heard the male will be "sexy" as well which scares me, I don't play Diablo to have a "sexy" character. The male better look like a badass and not some emo looking vagina.
Meh, I agree totally. He'd better be freaking malevolent looking. I want "malevolent" to be the word that best sums him up. Not some "sexy", sleek looking emo tool.
On a side note, I think the PvP system is pretty awesome! I hope they do put in 1v1 duels, but the team duels will be a blast. It wouldn't be too bad it they implemented item rewards for PvP points. Not the best items, but good items nonetheless. Maybe PvP-oriented items too.
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A belief in no God is a belief in everything. It is a belief in the unfathomable number of events of blind chance required for every living thing to be here.
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... For the fifth class.
Today at Blizzcon, the Demon Hunter was revealed to us all. A bow slinging, demon hunting, trap setting conventional ranged character has been given to us.
-Development-
During development dual daggers were tried out, but Blizzard felt this really took away from the ranged feel, thus they made the move to dual wielding crossbows. At first, the Demon Hunter wasn't even human. It started out as a full demon, and more recently, a demon/human hybrid. Now, with the released version, the Demon Hunter is fully human. A sleek medieval look has been settled upon, with a signature scarf and arm guard present on all concept models shown.
-The Lore-
Abd al-Hazir has brought us yet another class story, with a dark, demonic flavor to it. The Demon Hunters are essentially nomads, having lost all they knew and loved to the hells, they chose to pursue a life of vengeance above all else. They number in the hundreds, and choose to make their home in the Dreadlands. All demon hunters have an innate ability to resist the demonic taint present in the Dreadlands, allowing them to use demonic magics against their enemies while retaining their sanity.
But what could this mean? From the sounds of it, the Demon Hunters will use anything and everything at their disposal to take the fight to their sworn enemies. In one of the panels on the Demon Hunter, Jay Wilson briefly talked about using demonic organs as weaponry. Whether this was a definite "yes, you can craft with demonic organs" or not, is yet to be seen. However, in the release video the Demon Hunter is shown as using an arrow crafted from the tooth of a demon, thus, I personally believe we will be able to use demonic trophies to enhance our skills and items. I can expect this to take the form of special crafting recipes.
-The Skills-
Currently, the Demon Hunter has traps & gadgets, shadow magic, and various bow skills at her disposal. We've been shown several skills so far, and here they are.
Molten Arrow
The Demon Hunter shoots a crossbow bolt infused with flame which passes through enemies, and leaves behind a flaming wake, dealing damage to all enemies to try to cross it. Essentially, it's a fire wall that you can shoot.
Grenade
Seems to function similarily to the Witch Doctor's Skull of Flame. The video shows the Demon Hunter throwing out 3 small globes, which bounce briefly, then explode, dealing AOE to all nearby enemies. It was also shown to break a shield skeletons shield, which suggests AOE damage dealt from behind the shield can disarm them, giving this skill a spot as a sort of "combat utility" skill.
Bola
This skill allows the Demon Hunter to shoot a bola arrow, which wraps around whatever it hits. The enemies are not slowed however, but several seconds after being hit they exploded. AOE damage was dealt to everything nearby.
Vault
The obligatory movement skill. The Demon Hunter performs an acrobatic roll to reach new locations, or to escape from enemies. I can definitely see this skill being combined with Molten Arrow, allowing the Demon Hunter to quickly set up a wall, and retreat behind it before being in the line of fire.
Spike Trap
Taking a hint from the Assassin, the Demon Hunter sets up a trap that lies in wait for enemies. Upon being walked over, the trap opens up and enemies above it.
Fan of Knives
The Demon Hunter twirls in place, sending knives in all directions around her. AOE damage is dealt to all nearby enemies. This skill was shown being used with Vault, the Demon Hunter would roll into position, and release knives directly into a mob of enemies.
Entangling Shot
The Demon Hunter shoots out an arrow that bounces between several enemies, linking them with a blackish purplish line, slowing each down. The linking seemed to have to affect, though perhaps the slowing affect is made more serious based on how many enemies are linked to the same arrow?
-Tactical Considerations-
From the sounds of it, this character will take some planning to use effectively. With the theme of traps in mind, Demon Hunter players will no doubt benefit from careful planning and preparation. Jay Wilson himself said in one of the panels that this was the feel they were going for, as a bounty hunter they wanted the Demon Hunter to be prepared for battle. With the various skills she has at her disposal, she will be able to dictate the flow and pace of combat on her own terms.
Things to keep in mind, are the ways the skills functioned. If you watch the Bola video, you will notice the bola wrapping around a pillar, then exploding soon after. Tactics like this would allow the Demon Hunter to preemptively shoot a Bola, and run away while her enemies drew closer to the "trapped" environment. This skill may even be able to bring down walls after a delayed timer, allowing for more tactical use of the environment than other characters.
Damn I just posted that
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
best class trailer EVAR!!!
Now who's going to be my first. This foxy lady or did someone call for the Doctor?
Join the chat!
anyway, the new class looks awesome! definitely want to play early on, but i still think Wizard will be my very first.
I hate the way you cling to ignorance and pass it off as innocence
I wanna see the male Demon Hunter xD
Yeah.. My thoughts altso. Barbarian from a second place to a third. Uuuh, that gotta hurt!
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
Hah same
like the male Wizard?
anyways on topic i'll most likely keep the Wizard for first and Demon Hunter as the second option. Witch Doctor next and i don't care when i'll play Barbarian and Monk
it did cross my mind that the male Demon Hunter will look like Van Helsing. Wondering when we'll get to see him.
I remember in Diablo 2 that after 8 years of playing every single build imaginable, from a Melee Sorc to a Hammerdin, I ended up settling on an Assassin-based build called the 'Ghost'.
The Ghost basically used traps to stunlock enemies, and then teleporting in for a clean Whirlwind kill. I would also have a Widowmaker bow on switch, enchanted with Venom, to take out enemies from range.
Seeing that Blizzard now took the liberty of combining both the Assassin and Amazon class into one, it makes me believe that this will be the absolute ultimate class to play.
I seriously. can. not. wait.
Diablo Forever!!!
Wizard > DH > Monk > Barb > Never play the Witch Doctor
I hate the way you cling to ignorance and pass it off as innocence
Meh, I agree totally. He'd better be freaking malevolent looking. I want "malevolent" to be the word that best sums him up. Not some "sexy", sleek looking emo tool.
On a side note, I think the PvP system is pretty awesome! I hope they do put in 1v1 duels, but the team duels will be a blast. It wouldn't be too bad it they implemented item rewards for PvP points. Not the best items, but good items nonetheless. Maybe PvP-oriented items too.