Hello guys! I started a thread over at incgamers so I'll post one here too.
In 1.0.5 (so far on the PTR), the DH saw some lovely changes. Strafe had its cost reduced, Perfectionist got buffed, Gloom got quasi-buffed, Sentry got buffed and we can have 2 out vanilla, we got cool new pets and other stuff. Strafe also got the ability to WW through mobs, meaning you can cram in a lot more hits.
Nighstalker fuels discipline as you rake in the crits from various skills (mostly Strafe)..
Actives 1) Chakram - Shuriken Cloud; free damage, 33% proc scalar, breaks destructibles for you, and looks awesome Variants: none
2) Strafe - Demolition; strafe into mobs, it will AoE lots of them for great damage (see: demolish), 50% proc coefficient Variants: none; Emberstrafe would be great if the fire trail could proc crits and did more damage, but alas it does none of those things and behaves similarly to the nerfed Trail of Cinders.
3) Shadow Power-Gloom; Mitigates damage and heals for tough spots Variants: probably none, only possible with very high-end gear and LoH
5) Preparation - Punishment; use it as your hatred extinguishes to fill it back up Variants: SS/Vault if 2H Crossbow, see further down
6) Personal choice: Sentry - Chain of Torment; The chain has a 75% proc coefficient (LoH, Crits) and deals good damage Sentry - Guardian Turret; plop one of these in a mob to WW inside it Rain of Vengeance - Dark Cloud; free damage that follows you SS - Lingering Fog
Vault - Tumble, Acrobatics
-- You will use a 1H:
** 1H/shield for crit chance on shield and defensive stats
** 1H/Quiver for hatred regen on quiver, IAS, and crit chance
** 1H/1H for maximum life/hit and other goodies at the cost of crit chance and defense
-- Depending on playstyle and character durability, you may need at least one skill like SS or Vault to break Jailer, etc. Some DHs will just be able to tank through getting CC'd, though.
So of course, you'll gear with defense in mind. You'll need LoH. Get your crit chance high to fuel discipline (1H crossbow with Archery for +10%, btw). Use discipline to fuel hatred. Use hatred to fuel strafe. Use strafe to explode things.
Also, strafe can get "+% increased crit chance" on Cloaks and stuff like SoJ.
Happy demolishing!
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The final test of the Serpent's Form takes place in "The Pit of 12 Vipers." The initiates are not told about the 13th.
I like Shadow Power for RD as WizArt said, but with 2.8% Leech and life on hit I don't need it. If your fire resist/LoH is low you shouldn't be stafing into molten or you'll get fried pretty quick!
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The final test of the Serpent's Form takes place in "The Pit of 12 Vipers." The initiates are not told about the 13th.
I agree that this might be a fun build to try in order to break the regular monotony of farming, but it seems to me that it will cause a lot of horrible, horrible death..
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In 1.0.5 (so far on the PTR), the DH saw some lovely changes. Strafe had its cost reduced, Perfectionist got buffed, Gloom got quasi-buffed, Sentry got buffed and we can have 2 out vanilla, we got cool new pets and other stuff. Strafe also got the ability to WW through mobs, meaning you can cram in a lot more hits.
First, the skills overview:
Passives
Archery, Vengeance, Nightstalker
Variants: Perfectionist (gear dependent)
Nighstalker fuels discipline as you rake in the crits from various skills (mostly Strafe)..
Actives
1) Chakram - Shuriken Cloud; free damage, 33% proc scalar, breaks destructibles for you, and looks awesome
Variants: none
2) Strafe - Demolition; strafe into mobs, it will AoE lots of them for great damage (see: demolish), 50% proc coefficient
Variants: none; Emberstrafe would be great if the fire trail could proc crits and did more damage, but alas it does none of those things and behaves similarly to the nerfed Trail of Cinders.
3) Shadow Power - Gloom; Mitigates damage and heals for tough spots
Variants: probably none, only possible with very high-end gear and LoH
4) Companion - Bat; Hatred regen
Variants: Boar (gear dependent)
5) Preparation - Punishment; use it as your hatred extinguishes to fill it back up
Variants: SS/Vault if 2H Crossbow, see further down
6) Personal choice:
Sentry - Chain of Torment; The chain has a 75% proc coefficient (LoH, Crits) and deals good damage
Sentry - Guardian Turret; plop one of these in a mob to WW inside it
Rain of Vengeance - Dark Cloud; free damage that follows you
SS - Lingering Fog
Vault - Tumble, Acrobatics
-- You will use a 1H:
** 1H/shield for crit chance on shield and defensive stats
** 1H/Quiver for hatred regen on quiver, IAS, and crit chance
** 1H/1H for maximum life/hit and other goodies at the cost of crit chance and defense
-- Depending on playstyle and character durability, you may need at least one skill like SS or Vault to break Jailer, etc. Some DHs will just be able to tank through getting CC'd, though.
Video of functional 1H/Shield with no Life on Hit, 40k dps (courtesy Poekel):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MVbpj0zR_yI
So of course, you'll gear with defense in mind. You'll need LoH. Get your crit chance high to fuel discipline (1H crossbow with Archery for +10%, btw). Use discipline to fuel hatred. Use hatred to fuel strafe. Use strafe to explode things.
Also, strafe can get "+% increased crit chance" on Cloaks and stuff like SoJ.
Happy demolishing!
Thanks for this.