Hey I'm new to the game, and recently started playing demon hunter (i'm loving it!)
For the most part, i've been just casually shooting and blowing stuff up, but now i'm starting to be interested in which skills may be more effective.
So, i began wondering.. when would you use bola vs. grenades?
(or do you generally not use them at all much as primary skill? Are other skills picked instead?)
From looking at the numbers, they seem to do pretty much the same thing: doing 160% aoe dmg around the target.
So what are the differences? and which ability would you use depending on what situation?
Sorry if this question is a bit vague or such nooby. I do have one specific question: If you fire bola at the same target again before it explodes, does it remove the bola that was attached to it before?
Therefore, if i were to use bola, should i be firing it on different targets each second?
Thanks and i hope to learn a lot about demon hunters!
A: to trigger a cc effect (chill, freeze, snare, root, etc)
B: to regain hatred (Evasive Fire/Focus=7 hatred per shot, Entangling Shot/Justice is Served=6 hatred per shot are most significant ones)
C: to reduce cooldown of Rain of Vengeance if you use Natalya's Vengeance set
D: to trigger a certain buff requiring use of primary skills like Focus & Restraint ring set or some legendary gems.
Moreover, there's an Unhallowed Essence set build based on the unique piercing mechanics of Hungering Arrow/Devouring Arrow synergizing with Buriza-do-Kyanon
So they are not utterly useless as some missleading posts stated above..
Ok, the rune that most use with Evasive Fire is the one that generates 7 Hatred per cast and it doesn't have much of an animation since the evasion skill is lost with the gain of the increased hatred. It just hits 3 targets, that's it.
I don't expect you to be playing end game so I'm not going to discuss that, you can learn that later. But, grenades as a primary skill aren't that good. Bolas are much better. Contrary to what what might have been understood from a previous post IceBlink isn't that good at crowd control. It only hits 3 enemies. So if you are in a hoard, you are not going to chill all of them. Where it is good is that because of EV's Focus generation balanced with IceBlink's ability to add a chilling effect to all cold spells is where it balances. Before IceBlink EV Focus was only used to generate Hatredl. It doesn't do much damage and it didn't chill. Chill is important because the Passive skill Cull the Weak along with the Legendary Gem Bane of the Trapped to proc the bonus damage. Before IceBlink, DH had to rely on using Sentries to "zone" areas where they would be chilled. Like EV Focus, it didn't do much damage either. But, that tandem of the passive and gem more than make up for those 2 skills weaknesses. The polar station also took up a skill bar slot, so it was pretty much a waste from a damage perspective.
The only 2 gems DH should always use is Bane of the Trapped and Zei's Stone of Vengeance. All classes use Bane of the Trapped, because the damage increase is ridiculous. It is by far the best gem out there. It is a straight up multiplier to damage. Zei's is particularly good for DH because it improves with range. DH is a ranged class is is very "squishy" so being far away from the enemy synergizes well. You can equip 3 Legendary Gems and the third one was always decided by each player. Bane of the Powerful is good, but in Greater Rift Fights that last more than 2 minutes, it isn't that good. Other gems provided damage by adding speed or more hits per second or by increasing damage by building up "stacks" in the case of Taeguk. There are other gems, but, these are the ones that a lot used. They aren't that good, but, you might as well equip something.
Before the changes to Natalya's or the addition of Unhallowed Essence the only viable Set to use was Marauders. Since Sentries are required skill for that set, Polar Station didn't hurt too much since they will also cast your Hatred Spenders. But, the first Sentry rune (Spitfire Turrets) that you unlock is easily the best. It's not apparent at first. Mostly because you need the Passive skill Ballistics that doesn't unlock until much later. Spitfire shoots 3 Rockets all by itself for a lot of damage. But Ballistics double that damage. So there is considerably more damage than Polar Station that only shoots a single bolt. Now that most people are using the other sets, adding the Sentry skill is a big waste if you only need it to proc the chilling effect. So, with a choice of a third gem being IceBlink, it opens that slot in the skill bar for something that actually does damage. With Marauders, you have companion Bat so it helps generate Hatred quickly. A lot of people were adding Preparation with the Rune Punishment to add another skill to quickly generate Hatred. With UE, you will use Preparation but, Punishment is replaced with the rune Invigoration to get Discipline rather than Hatred. Discipline fuels the damage with UE so, the more you have the more damage you do. If you had Sentries just to chill, you probably wouldn't have enough Hatred to deal damage efficiently. So, most are replacing that with the only skill left to generate Hatred quickly which is Vengeance with the Seethe Rune. So IceBlink works well, because you don't want to waste any Skill Slots and there is a 3rd Gem socket that is pretty much open.
Anyway, getting back on topic, if you want to use Bolas, you need the quiver Emmeil's Duffel. It removes the delay on the explosion. It makes Bolas a lot better. Also if you use the Fire rune, they will spread to nearby enemies in a chain reaction. There is also a bow that will bunch your targets together. This is very useful because you can use Cluster Arrows to damage all enemies in within it's radius of effect.
Grenades are pretty useless as Primary skill. They are slow and you have to wait. While you are waiting for the explosion, you will probably die. So don't use this skill in higher difficulties. Grenades aren't bad, just the primary skill is. If you use Cluster Arrows with the Rune Loaded for Bear, it use Grenades, in fact most Cluster Arrows have grenades. There are a couple of exception that use Rocket, but LfB uses really powerful Grenades.
To tell you the Truth, I really like Bolas, but, past T4 they lose their effectiveness. But they are really fun with that quiver and the fire rune. There is an achievement were have to kill something like 150 scarabs in act 5 with a single blow. This combination will do it if you have a Buriza that penetrates 2 times. If you actually have a Buriza as your weapon, you can use the Cold rune with IceBlink. You lose out on some Hatred generation, but Crowd Control is much improved over Evasive Fire Focus so, you will gain some survivablity.
Anyway learn the skills. Read all the details about the Runes. The game is always changing as they add items and fix set bonuses. The more you understand, the better you will be to adapt to these changes. Maybe if you learn them well, you can come up with new build. This is the fun. Anybody can copy a build, this is the meta-game. But when you can change the meta-game because your creation is better, then you really did something.
Good luck and mostly have fun.
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Hey I'm new to the game, and recently started playing demon hunter (i'm loving it!)
For the most part, i've been just casually shooting and blowing stuff up, but now i'm starting to be interested in which skills may be more effective.
So, i began wondering.. when would you use bola vs. grenades?
(or do you generally not use them at all much as primary skill? Are other skills picked instead?)
From looking at the numbers, they seem to do pretty much the same thing: doing 160% aoe dmg around the target.
So what are the differences? and which ability would you use depending on what situation?
Sorry if this question is a bit vague or such nooby. I do have one specific question: If you fire bola at the same target again before it explodes, does it remove the bola that was attached to it before?
Therefore, if i were to use bola, should i be firing it on different targets each second?
Thanks and i hope to learn a lot about demon hunters!
Thanks for the replies
Fortunately, one of my favorite skills is Evasive fire! haha
I just happen to like its animation and sound effect a lot.
Another of my favorite is rapid fire lol. I hope that's also viable at end game.
I'll make sure i try every skill while i level though!
You use primary skill;
A: to trigger a cc effect (chill, freeze, snare, root, etc)
B: to regain hatred (Evasive Fire/Focus=7 hatred per shot, Entangling Shot/Justice is Served=6 hatred per shot are most significant ones)
C: to reduce cooldown of Rain of Vengeance if you use Natalya's Vengeance set
D: to trigger a certain buff requiring use of primary skills like Focus & Restraint ring set or some legendary gems.
Moreover, there's an Unhallowed Essence set build based on the unique piercing mechanics of Hungering Arrow/Devouring Arrow synergizing with Buriza-do-Kyanon
So they are not utterly useless as some missleading posts stated above..
Ok, the rune that most use with Evasive Fire is the one that generates 7 Hatred per cast and it doesn't have much of an animation since the evasion skill is lost with the gain of the increased hatred. It just hits 3 targets, that's it.
I don't expect you to be playing end game so I'm not going to discuss that, you can learn that later. But, grenades as a primary skill aren't that good. Bolas are much better. Contrary to what what might have been understood from a previous post IceBlink isn't that good at crowd control. It only hits 3 enemies. So if you are in a hoard, you are not going to chill all of them. Where it is good is that because of EV's Focus generation balanced with IceBlink's ability to add a chilling effect to all cold spells is where it balances. Before IceBlink EV Focus was only used to generate Hatredl. It doesn't do much damage and it didn't chill. Chill is important because the Passive skill Cull the Weak along with the Legendary Gem Bane of the Trapped to proc the bonus damage. Before IceBlink, DH had to rely on using Sentries to "zone" areas where they would be chilled. Like EV Focus, it didn't do much damage either. But, that tandem of the passive and gem more than make up for those 2 skills weaknesses. The polar station also took up a skill bar slot, so it was pretty much a waste from a damage perspective.
The only 2 gems DH should always use is Bane of the Trapped and Zei's Stone of Vengeance. All classes use Bane of the Trapped, because the damage increase is ridiculous. It is by far the best gem out there. It is a straight up multiplier to damage. Zei's is particularly good for DH because it improves with range. DH is a ranged class is is very "squishy" so being far away from the enemy synergizes well. You can equip 3 Legendary Gems and the third one was always decided by each player. Bane of the Powerful is good, but in Greater Rift Fights that last more than 2 minutes, it isn't that good. Other gems provided damage by adding speed or more hits per second or by increasing damage by building up "stacks" in the case of Taeguk. There are other gems, but, these are the ones that a lot used. They aren't that good, but, you might as well equip something.
Before the changes to Natalya's or the addition of Unhallowed Essence the only viable Set to use was Marauders. Since Sentries are required skill for that set, Polar Station didn't hurt too much since they will also cast your Hatred Spenders. But, the first Sentry rune (Spitfire Turrets) that you unlock is easily the best. It's not apparent at first. Mostly because you need the Passive skill Ballistics that doesn't unlock until much later. Spitfire shoots 3 Rockets all by itself for a lot of damage. But Ballistics double that damage. So there is considerably more damage than Polar Station that only shoots a single bolt. Now that most people are using the other sets, adding the Sentry skill is a big waste if you only need it to proc the chilling effect. So, with a choice of a third gem being IceBlink, it opens that slot in the skill bar for something that actually does damage. With Marauders, you have companion Bat so it helps generate Hatred quickly. A lot of people were adding Preparation with the Rune Punishment to add another skill to quickly generate Hatred. With UE, you will use Preparation but, Punishment is replaced with the rune Invigoration to get Discipline rather than Hatred. Discipline fuels the damage with UE so, the more you have the more damage you do. If you had Sentries just to chill, you probably wouldn't have enough Hatred to deal damage efficiently. So, most are replacing that with the only skill left to generate Hatred quickly which is Vengeance with the Seethe Rune. So IceBlink works well, because you don't want to waste any Skill Slots and there is a 3rd Gem socket that is pretty much open.
Anyway, getting back on topic, if you want to use Bolas, you need the quiver Emmeil's Duffel. It removes the delay on the explosion. It makes Bolas a lot better. Also if you use the Fire rune, they will spread to nearby enemies in a chain reaction. There is also a bow that will bunch your targets together. This is very useful because you can use Cluster Arrows to damage all enemies in within it's radius of effect.
Grenades are pretty useless as Primary skill. They are slow and you have to wait. While you are waiting for the explosion, you will probably die. So don't use this skill in higher difficulties. Grenades aren't bad, just the primary skill is. If you use Cluster Arrows with the Rune Loaded for Bear, it use Grenades, in fact most Cluster Arrows have grenades. There are a couple of exception that use Rocket, but LfB uses really powerful Grenades.
To tell you the Truth, I really like Bolas, but, past T4 they lose their effectiveness. But they are really fun with that quiver and the fire rune. There is an achievement were have to kill something like 150 scarabs in act 5 with a single blow. This combination will do it if you have a Buriza that penetrates 2 times. If you actually have a Buriza as your weapon, you can use the Cold rune with IceBlink. You lose out on some Hatred generation, but Crowd Control is much improved over Evasive Fire Focus so, you will gain some survivablity.
Anyway learn the skills. Read all the details about the Runes. The game is always changing as they add items and fix set bonuses. The more you understand, the better you will be to adapt to these changes. Maybe if you learn them well, you can come up with new build. This is the fun. Anybody can copy a build, this is the meta-game. But when you can change the meta-game because your creation is better, then you really did something.
Good luck and mostly have fun.