Demon Hunter Hero Talents — The War Within (11.2)

This page only covers the new Hero Talents available in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents and complimenting builds for Havoc Demon Hunter, check out our Talents page:

The Raid recommendation is Aldrachi Reaver. In pure single-target, Fel-Scarred is competitive.

Aldrachi Reaver has strong single-target, some additional free cleave and strong priority target damage. The downside is it can be harder to execute with more abilities to juggle, and is punished by target swapping so bear that in mind. It also provides more defense via Army Unto Oneself or Incorruptible Spirit.

Fel-Scarred has the advantage of more potent burst AoE, and more powerful cooldown windows thanks to the Metamorphosis empowerments. It currently outperforms in pure single-target situations, but has very limited cleave in an optimized build. This means while it's a strong option and can easily keep up, its slightly less flexible.

The Mythic+ recommendation is Aldrachi Reaver in all situations.

Aldrachi Reaver has the edge solely due to Wounded Quarry, which provides an incredible amount of funnel to your priority target with Reaver's Mark. It has many of the same AoE tools as Fel-Scarred as well, so its stronger universal kit makes it the better pick, despite it being punished for target swapping. It also provides significantly better active defense due to Army Unto Oneself or Incorruptible Spirit.

Fel-Scarred can deal frontloaded burst AoE around its Eye Beam and Metamorphosis casts. It uses Cycle of Hatred to access 20-second burst cycles, making it well suited for the start of each pull while relying on Burning Blades to keep its single-target relevant. The freedom to target swap without needing to set up on each pull makes it easier to execute, so you may find it worth trying if you are struggling.

Season 3 Tier Sets are unique in that the bonus granted is dynamically changed based on your current hero talent choice. Both trees want to switch to this bonus as soon as possible, and once you acquire it the recommendations are as follows:

• Raid - Aldrachi Reaver or Fel-Scarred
• Mythic+ - Aldrachi Reaver

The section below covers what each of the two bonuses are when using the respective hero talent:

2.

Season 3 Tier Sets

You can use the switch below to view each of the respective set bonuses:

Hero Talents
Aldrachi Reaver	Fel-Scarred

2.1.

Aldrachi Reaver Set Bonuses

The Aldrachi Reaver set focuses on Reaver's Glaive and its follow-up effects:

• Demon Hunter Aldrachi Reaver 11.2 Class Set 2pc — Reaver's Glaive damage increased by 50%, and other Physical-only damage increased by 25%.
• Demon Hunter Aldrachi Reaver 11.2 Class Set 4pc — Fury of the Aldrachi now causes Blade Dance to trigger 12 slashes when used after Chaos Strike. Additionally, Reaver's Mark now stacks up to 3 times and further empowers Chaos Strike when cast after Blade Dance by applying a second stack at full duration.

This set improves one of the key aspects that sets Aldrachi Reaver apart as a spec - its funnel. Improving effects that all feed into Wounded Quarry while also providing powerful, flexible amplifiers means the bonus leans into its strengths moreso than any past set bonus.

2.2.

Fel-Scarred Set Bonuses

The Fel-Scarred set focuses on Immolation Aura and your Demonic windows:

• Demon Hunter Fel-Scarred 11.2 Class Set 2pc — Immolation Aura deals 30% increased damage and while active increases the damage of Chaos Strike by 20%.
• Demon Hunter Fel-Scarred 11.2 Class Set 4pc — Entering Metamorphosis via any means immediately triggers a Demonsurge pulse and shatters a Demon Soul Fragment. When collected, this fragment increases all damage dealt by 20% for 10 seconds.

This set provides solid increases to key abilities in Immolation Aura and Chaos Strike, locking in the supporting talent A Fire Inside in single-target. Adding additional burst on-top of each Metamorphosis entry also further improves its short cooldown burst. It does, however, tip the scales on Burning Blades, effectively pushing Blade Dance out of the rotation outside of Demonsurge activations.

Below are brief explanations of the effects the above-recommended hero trees have in each given content type.

4.

Best Hero Talent Builds for Havoc Demon Hunter

Aldrachi Reaver Fel-Scarred

4.

Best Aldrachi Reaver Build for Havoc Demon Hunter

Aldrachi Reaver adds a powerful proc to Throw Glaive in Reaver's Glaive, triggered by consuming souls. Due to this, it takes most supporting talents alongside Screaming Brutality to activate it rotationally. After casting Reaver's Glaive, our next cast of both Chaos Strike and Blade Dance are empowered. The playstyle is fairly similar to regular Havoc with the extra twist of cycling through procs to maintain Reaver's Mark.

Defensively, the tree generates a lot of Soul Fragments which provides extra passive healing, alongside Incorruptible Spirit for absorb shields. Alternatively, Army Unto Oneself is a strong extra defensive following each Felblade cast, giving it a lot of flexibility.

For the 3 choice nodes on the tree, there are the following options:

• Unhindered Assault vs. Evasive Action - having a guaranteed reset on Felblade to jump back to a target after Vengeful Retreat is great comfort. Evasive Action is more niche, as it doesn't grant an additional trigger of effects like Tactical Retreat.
• Army Unto Oneself vs. Incorruptible Spirit - both are solid options here. The first provides active defense if timed while, while the second converts souls into absorbs for consistent sustain.
• Keen Engagement vs. Preemptive Strike - a simple single-target or AoE choice. Keen Engagement for single-target, and Preemptive Strike for AoE.

4.

Best Fel-Scarred Mythic+ Build for Havoc Demon Hunter

Fel-Scarred in makes use of the huge follow-up burst window after each Demonic activation and Metamorphosis cast to trigger Demonsurge. It has a very standard Havoc gameplay style but significantly elevates the power of both your Demonic follow-ups and your 2-minute burst window.

For the 3 choice nodes on the tree, there are the following options:

• Wave of Debilitation vs. Pursuit of Angriness - both are niche effects, with Pursuit of Angriness generally being better for the small amount of extra mobility vs. the extra M+ utility of Wave of Debilitation.
• Set Fire to the Pain vs. Improved Soul Rending - this is a choice between passive damage reduction or self sustain. Generally, staggering some damage with Set Fire to the Pain so you can leech it back is the preferred choice but it's quite minor.
• Student of Suffering vs. Flamebound - especially with the Season 3 set bonus, Flamebound wins out due to Immolation Aura being a strong damage source, especially in AoE.

Aldrachi Reaver centers around generating and consuming Souls to trigger Reaver's Glaive. It can also use The Hunt to snap generate a use when needed. Following each of these casts, Blade Dance and Chaos Strike are empowered and the ability you use second will be enhanced further. A rule of thumb is:

• Single Target - Always consume Blade Dance second. The Season 3 buffs Fury of the Aldrachi more.
• AoE - always make sure to consume Blade Dance second to enhance Fury of the Aldrachi AoE.

Ideally, you will always maintain Reaver's Mark on your primary target. Avoid target swapping unless you have to.

Fel-Scarred is much simpler in execution, as it empowers your abilities further when triggering Demonic or entering Metamorphosis. Make sure to trigger each of the Demonsurge charges each time you do, two for Demonic and 5 for Metamorphosis (due to Demonic Intensity).

With the Season 3 set bonus considered, also make sure to stagger Immolation Aura to maintain the buff, and focus on casting as much Chaos Strike / Annihilation as possible to feed into Burning Blades.