wow Demon Hunter in Legion: Everything we know so far

[Zadina 923]

World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion, Legion, is bringing a brand new class: Demon Hunter. We have gathered the most important details on Demon Hunters from Blizzard's official site and from the Alpha in this post.

 

Introduction

 

 

World of Warcraft Official Site

Demon hunters, disciples of Illidan Stormrage, uphold a dark legacy, one that frightens their allies and enemies like. The Illidari embrace fel and chaotic magics—energies that have long threatened the world of Azeroth—believing them necessary to challenge the Burning Legion. Wielding the powers of demons they’ve slain, they develop demonic features that incite revulsion and dread in fellow elves.

(source)

Blizzard has fulfilled the wish of a large percentage of the playerbase and has finally made Demon Hunter into a playable class. A few years ago, when we faced the Lich King, we had to enlist the help of Death Knights; created by the Lich King himself, they broke free of his control and turned their weapons against their cruel former master. In a similar manner, the stakes are higher than ever now with the Burning Legion threatening to destroy Azeroth. The only ones who can offer an edge in the fight against the Legion are Demon Hunters, Night Elves and Blood Elves who made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced the powers of their own enemies as the only way to fight back at them.

 

 

Lore

 

Illidan Stormrage

 

World of Warcraft Official Site

Demon hunters ritually blind themselves in exchange for spectral sight that enables them to better sense their prey. This enhanced awareness, together with their great agility and magical prowess, makes demon hunters unpredictable adversaries. An Illidari’s quarry has much to fear. (source)

The story of the Demon Hunters goes back to the very first invasion of Azeroth by the Burning Legion. It was back then when Illidan Stormrage became enchanted with the fel powers of the Legion and decided to adopt them himself. He even went as far as to seemingly pledge alliance to Sargeras, the creator of the Burning Legion and arch-villain of the Warcraft universe; in return, Sargeras burnt Illidan's eyes as a "gift", creating the very first Demon Hunter. However, it was Illidan's intention to use his new demonic powers against the Legion itself. No-one trusted him anymore, though, and he was imprisoned by his own brother, Malfurion.

No-one, but a group of Night Elves who chose to follow Illidan's example and become Demon Hunters, also known as the Illidari. Indeed, at a primary stage Demon Hunters were solely Night Elves, who were shunned by the rest of their community because of their choice. It was at a later stage that few Blood Elves joined the Illidari ranks, along with other races too. Illidan story's goes on through numerous twists and turns up until the events of the Black Temple: Illidan is defeated, his body and the remaining of his followers imprisoned in the Vault of the Wardens by Maiev Shadowsong.

The story of Illidan and the Demon Hunters is too long to tell in a single article and some events are not entirely relevant for the presentation of this new class. However, it is important to note the main theme of Illidan and the Demon Hunters' lore: occasionally they side with the demons of the Burning Legion, but only as a desperate solution, as a means to obtain more power from them and then use it against them. Also, the rest of the world thinks that they are not to be trusted since they meddle with dangerous forces, while in reality they are doing everything it takes to beat the Legion. It is time for Demon Hunters to redeem themselves...

 

General facts

 

(source)

• The Demon Hunter is a Hero class. They start at level 98. You need to already have a level 70 character and you can only have one Demon Hunter per realm.
• While in the lore all races could become Demon Hunters, you can only create a Night Elf or Blood Elf Demon Hunter. Blizzard has stated that this may change in the future.
• Demon Hunters are a melee class and their primary stat is Agility.
• Demon Hunters have only two specialisations: Havoc (DPS) and Vengeance (Tank).
• Demon Hunters wear leather armor. They dual-wield Daggers, Fist Weapons, One-Handed Axes, One-Handed Maces, One-Handed Swords and new Demon Hunter-only weapons, Glaives.
• They have unique customisations: horns, tattoos, blindfolds and skin textures. They also have completely unique new voice overs.
• Their resource is Fury. It is similar to Rage, its colour is purple.
• The Demon Hunter class colour is fel green.

 

 

Starting zone

 

(source)

 

Demon Hunters have a unique starting experience. In the beginning, you start back in time, 10 years before Legion's events. Illidan sends you on an important mission in Mardum, the Shattered Abyss. This used to be a prison world for demons, but Sargeras managed to shatter it open. The Demon Hunter's quest is to retrieve the keystone that kept the demons imprisoned in this world. However, the end of your adventure in Mardum coincides with Illidan's defeat in the Black Temple. Maiev Shadowsong arrests and imprisons you in the Vault of Wardens for many years. This is the first stage of the starting experience; it was available to play in Blizzcon and it is currently available to play in the Alpha.

 

 

Class Order Hall and Artifacts

 

 

In the second stage of their leveling, which will probably be available in the Beta, Demon Hunters go back to Mardum and reclaim this world, where they establish their Order Hall. We have already previewed the Demon Hunter Order Hall, along with all the other Order Halls, in another article.

The artifacts for both Demon Hunter specialisations are sets of Glaives. For the damage-dealing (Havoc) specialisation, the artifact Glaives are called Twinblades of the Deceiver. The specific names of this pair of weapons has been datamined: Verus and Muramas. The artifact Glaives for the tanking (Vengeance) specialisation are called the Aldrachi Warblades.

I am sure Blainie will cover the Demon Hunter artifacts in his artifact series, when the time is right. Until then, you can read the official blog post about them!

 

 

Skills and Abilities

 

In this last section, we will briefly cover some main skills and abilities that are mostly common to both Demon Hunter specialisations. This is to better understand the feel and the style of the class, without overanalysing each and every one of its abilities. For a full overview of all Demon Hunter general and specialisation-specific spells and talents, you can visit a site like Wowhead.

 

1. Mobility

 

World of Warcraft Official Page

Unrivaled mobility: Demon Hunters can double jump, vault in and out of combat, and even unfold their monstrous wings to perform gliding descents and surprise enemies from above. (source)

 

• Double Jump: You are able to jump again while near the apex of your first jump.
  •  Check out this cool gif to see a majestic Double Jump. Blizzard has clarified that they will make sure this skill may not be used for exploits or skipping.         
• Glide: Reduces your falling speed. You can activate this ability with the jump key while falling.
• Fel Rush: Rush forward, incinerating anything in your path for 10,018 (@98) Fire damage. (Havoc only)

 

2. Transformation

 

 

World of Warcraft Official Page

Metamorphosis: Demon Hunters transform into hellish forms, enhancing their chosen role: damage-focused Illidari can teleport into combat, while those who prize defense can grant powerful supportive Auras. (source)

 

Demon Hunters shamelessly stole this skill from Demonology Warlocks. Jokes aside, it is part of the Demon Hunters' lore that as they tap more and more into demonic energies to become more powerful, their appearance changes to reflect their growing strength. This is apparent with the in-game animation of Metamorphosis: the Demon Hunter will grow wings and hooves.

 

3. Enhanced "vision"

 

World of Warcraft Official Page

Spectral Sight: The Demon Hunters’ apparent blindness belies their true powers of perception. They rely on magically augmented sight to detect enemies, even those that hide behind obstacles. (source)

• Spectral Sight: Allows you to see enemies and treasures through physical barriers, as well as enemies that are stealthed and invisible.

 

4. Other skills: a mixture of physical and magical skills & self-healing

• Demon's Bite: A quick attack that causes 5,343 (@98) Physical damage and generates 20 to 30 Fury.
• Throw Glaive: Throw a demonic glaive at the target, dealing 12,099 (@98) Physical damage. The glaive can ricochet to 2 additional enemies within 10 yards.
• Shattered Souls: When you kill a target that grants experience or honor, the target's soul will sometimes be shattered, leaving a Soul Fragment behind for 30 sec. The Soul Fragment will be consumed when you approach it, healing you for 25% of maximum health. If the Soul Fragment came from a Demon, you will deal 20% increased damage for 15 sec.
• Voidblade: Deals 10,686 Shadow damage and heals you for 100% of the damage inflicted. (Vengeance only)