Havoc Demon Hunter DPS Gear and Best in Slot — 12.1.5

Welcome to our Gear and BiS Page for Havoc Demon Hunter for Midnight! Check this page to learn everything you need to know about gearing an Havoc Demon Hunter, including the BiS Gear from all sources, Raiding, and Mythic+, information on the best Trinkets, Tier Sets, and much more.

Upgrading gear in Midnight continues to use the Crest system, allowing you to increase the item level of gear along tracks relating to the level of content it was obtained from. Harder content drops gear on higher level tracks, thus reaching higher Item Levels. For more information, read up on our dedicated page on how the gearing system works in Midnight.

The 12.1.5 update brings with it the release of Ascendant Venomstones, allowing 334 Weapons, Trinkets, and Necklaces to be upgraded all the way to 340 item level. Additionally, it brings the new boss Kith'ix, which drops powerful new loot, with some good pieces on offer for Havoc.

OverallMythic+Raid

The list below contains gear from all possible endgame sources, including Raids, Mythic+, Crafting, Delves and The Great Vault. It aims to provide the absolute best possible setup, but bear in mind that each individual item may not be the strongest in your particular gear setup. Tier pieces have the drop locations of ideal Catalyst pieces listed if they're stronger than the standard version.

This gearset aims to optimize your Critical Strike and Mastery rating as much as possible.

FAQWhich Items Do I Use in the Catalyst?

In Midnight Season 2, the Catalyst now retains the secondary stats and cantrips of any item you convert. Therefore, it doesn't matter which slots you use to activate your set bonus, and instead what matters is the items you input.

The absolute best pieces currently available to Catalyze in each slot are:

• Helm – Gaze of the Coiled Watcher from Ula'tek
• Shoulders – Frothing Venom Spaulders from Vashnik
• Chest – Chestwrap of Palpable Terror from Kith'ix
• Gloves – Abyssal Doomhound's Studded Gauntlets from Entombed Sentinels
• Legs – Coiled Hex Legguards from Coiled Altar

Similar to Season 1, your number one priority is to acquire the 4-piece bonus through any means to unlock Catalyst Unbound for Season 2.

FAQAre There Any High Priority Great Vault or Voidcore Items to Look Out For?

Any of the cantrip items available in Season 2 raids are extremely valuable, even if they aren't at item level 344 from Mythic. The following items are strongly worth considering even from a Heroic Vault, and are even worth using Voidcores on to obtain if you don't expect to progress Mythic quickly:

1. Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance – Coiled Altar
2. Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique – Coiled Altar
3. Font of Venomous Rage – Ula'tek
4. Aqirbane Reliquary – Ula'tek
5. Gaze of the Coiled Watcher – Ula'tek
6. Chestwrap of Palpable Terror – Kith'ix

Two of the three items on the Kith'ix loot pool are also very strong, adding to the list of pieces worth seeking out. These are strong enough that if you aren't killing any Mythic bosses for higher vault rewards, you always have the option to pick up a Voidcore from your Great Vault if none of these show up.

Havoc Demon Hunter

1.1.

Overall Best in Slot

Abyssal Doomhound's Relentless Stare Helm

Catalyst from Ula'tek Empowered Rune of Avoidance

Abyssal Doomhound's Studded Gauntlets Hands

Entombed Sentinels

Aqirbane Reliquary Neck

Ula'tek

Sash of the Forlorn Vessel Waist

Coiled Altar

Abyssal Doomhound's Jaws Shoulders

Catalyst from Vashnik Amirdrassil's Grace

Abyssal Doomhound's Legwraps Legs

Catalyst from Coiled Altar Forest Hunter's

Silken Voodoo Drape Cloak

Coiled Altar

Sand-Shined Snakeskin Sandals Feet

Temple of Sethraliss Lynx's Dexterity

Abyssal Doomhound's Coreguard Chest

Catalyst from Kith'ix Mark of the Worldsoul

Vile Alchemist's Band Ring

Vashnik Eyes of the Eagle

Shirt

Charged Sandstone Band Ring

Temple of Sethraliss Eyes of the Eagle

Tabard

Font of Venomous Rage Trinket

Ula'tek

Silvermoon Agent's Deflectors Bracers

Crafted by Leatherworking

Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique Trinket

Coiled Altar

Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance Main Hand

Coiled Altar Rite of the Hash'ey

Spellbreaker's Warglaive Off Hand

Crafted by Blacksmithing Rite of the Hash'ey

The gearset below contains the best items available from Mythic+, using gear only available from dungeons in the Season 2 pool, alongside your ideal Tier Set catalyst locations and Crafted items for Embellishments. Note that this is a list of the best items available from Mythic+ dungeons, not a strict list of what you should be using in Mythic+ content.

FAQWhich Items Do I Use in the Catalyst?

In Midnight Season 2, the Catalyst now retains the secondary stats and cantrips of any item you convert. Therefore, it doesn't matter which slots you use to activate your set bonus, and instead what matters is the items you input.

The best Dungeon only pieces to Catalyze in each slot are:

• Helm – Hood of the Slithering Loa from Temple of Sethraliss
• Shoulders – Somber Spaulders from Voidscar Arena
• Chest – Vest of Reverent Adoration from King's Rest
• Gloves – Desiccator's Blessed Gloves from King's Rest
• Legs – Breeches of Deft Deals from Murder Row

Similar to Season 1, your number one priority is to acquire the 4-piece bonus through any means to unlock Catalyst Unbound for Season 2.

TipsWhich Dungeons Should I Farm?

All of Havoc's big ticket items are sourced from Raids in Season 2, but there are some worthwhile alternatives to hunt while you wait to get hold of them:

1. Void Execution Mandate – Voidscar Arena
2. Resonant Bellowstone – Murder Row
3. Sand-Shined Snakeskin Sandals – Temple of Sethraliss
4. Charged Sandstone Band – Temple of Sethraliss

Havoc Demon Hunter

1.2.

Best Gear from Mythic+

Abyssal Doomhound's Relentless Stare Helm

Catalyst from Temple of Sethraliss Empowered Rune of Avoidance

Abyssal Doomhound's Studded Gauntlets Hands

Catalyst from King's Rest

Graft of the Domanaar Neck

Voidscar Arena

Primal Dinomancer's Belt Waist

King's Rest

Abyssal Doomhound's Jaws Shoulders

Catalyst from Voidscar Arena Amirdrassil's Grace

Abyssal Doomhound's Legwraps Legs

Catalyst from Murder Row Forest Hunter's

Speakeasy Shroud Cloak

Murder Row

Sand-Shined Snakeskin Sandals Feet

Temple of Sethraliss Lynx's Dexterity

Abyssal Doomhound's Coreguard Chest

Catalyst from King's Rest Mark of the Worldsoul

Charged Sandstone Band Ring

Temple of Sethraliss Eyes of the Eagle

Shirt

Signet of Snarling Servitude Ring

Murder Row Eyes of the Eagle

Tabard

Void Execution Mandate Trinket

Voidscar Arena

Silvermoon Agent's Deflectors Bracers

Crafted by Leatherworking

Resonant Bellowstone Trinket

Murder Row

Thorntalon Edge Main Hand

Blinding Vale Rite of the Hash'ey

Spellbreaker's Warglaive Off Hand

Crafted by Blacksmithing Rite of the Hash'ey

The gearset below is your raid Best-in-Slot list, using gear from only raid drops, as well as ideal Tier Set pieces (or items to use in the Catalyst) and crafted items to activate Embellishment effects. Note that this is a list of the best items available within the Raid, not a strict list of what you should be using inside the raid.

FAQWhich Items Do I Use in the Catalyst?

In Midnight Season 2, the Catalyst now retains the secondary stats and cantrips of any item you convert. Therefore, it doesn't matter which slots you use to activate your set bonus, and instead what matters is the items you input.

The best Raid only pieces to Catalyze in each slot are:

• Helm – Gaze of the Coiled Watcher from Ula'tek
• Shoulders – Frothing Venom Spaulders from Vashnik
• Chest – Chestwrap of Palpable Terror from Kith'ix
• Gloves – Abyssal Doomhound's Studded Gauntlets from Entombed Sentinels
• Legs – Coiled Hex Legguards from Coiled Altar

Similar to Season 1, your number one priority is to acquire the 4-piece bonus through any means to unlock Catalyst Unbound for Season 2.

TipsWhat Are My Top Items To Chase?

Havoc has some extremely high value cantrip picks available in Season 2 raids, weighted heavily toward the final two bosses of The Venomous Abyss. Nearly all of these items are worth obtaining due to their increased item level, but some are particularly strong:

1. Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance – Coiled Altar
2. Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique – Coiled Altar
3. Font of Venomous Rage – Ula'tek
4. Aqirbane Reliquary – Ula'tek
5. Gaze of the Coiled Watcher – Ula'tek
6. Chestwrap of Palpable Terror – Kith'ix

Havoc Demon Hunter

1.3.

Best Gear from Raid

Abyssal Doomhound's Relentless Stare Helm

Catalyst from Ula'tek Empowered Rune of Avoidance

Abyssal Doomhound's Studded Gauntlets Hands

Entombed Sentinels

Aqirbane Reliquary Neck

Ula'tek

Sash of the Forlorn Vessel Waist

Coiled Altar

Abyssal Doomhound's Jaws Shoulders

Catalyst from Vashnik Amirdrassil's Grace

Abyssal Doomhound's Legwraps Legs

Catalyst from Coiled Altar Forest Hunter's

Silken Voodoo Drape Cloak

Coiled Altar

Bespittled Slitherslippers Feet

Twin Fangs Lynx's Dexterity

Abyssal Doomhound's Coreguard Chest

Catalyst from Kith'ix Mark of the Worldsoul

Vile Alchemist's Band Ring

Vashnik Eyes of the Eagle

Shirt

Apex Brute's Claw Ring Ring

Sszorak Eyes of the Eagle

Tabard

Font of Venomous Rage Trinket

Ula'tek

Silvermoon Agent's Deflectors Bracers

Crafted by Leatherworking

Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique Trinket

Coiled Altar

Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance Main Hand

Coiled Altar Rite of the Hash'ey

Spellbreaker's Warglaive Off Hand

Crafted by Blacksmithing Rite of the Hash'ey

Itemization

Enchants and Stat Priority

Looking to optimize your character? Check out our Enchant and Stat Priority guides for more information!

EnchantsStats

Havoc generally seeks to use one on-use trinket that aligns with Metamorphosis to enhance its burst windows, and then one strong passive trinket to go with it. Both stat procs and damage effects are useful due to Know Your Enemy, so there's a good amount of flexibility on offer.

Aim to pick up one trinket from each of these categories as a pair:

Trinkets to Hunt in Midnight Season 2

On-Use – Font of Venomous Rage or Voracious Heart of Ula'tek
Passive – Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique or Twisted Horror's Tendril

You can click below to open a ranking chart for other trinkets, in case you've picked something else up and are looking to check how it stacks up.

Click for Havoc Season 2 Trinket Rankings

Ranking	Trinket
S Tier	Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique - Click for Details A strong direct damage trinket, but gets stronger when paired with the cantrip weapon, Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance. Due to how much damage trinket effects deal through Know Your Enemy, this is so strong that it even extends into AoE situations, and is the most powerful trinket available in most Venomous Abyss encounters when enabled. Font of Venomous Rage - Click for Details Font was already on Havoc's radar due to Know Your Enemy, and due to some additional findings after live release, its performance is much better than expected. The ability to line it up with Initiative to deal incredible damage at key moments makes it an excellent on-use tool regardless of the situation. Voracious Heart of Ula'tek - Click for Details This is by far the best stat boosting on-use option available in Season 2, despite being on an awkward 1m30s cooldown. This and Font compete for your on-use slot, depending on whether you want to boost your own damage more frequently, or deal front-loaded burst via the trinket itself. Both of these are strong picks. Twisted Horror's Tendril - Click for Details New in Patch 12.1.5, this is extremely powerful for Havoc in AoE situations, and only slightly behind a set-bonus enabled Guillotine Technique. Providing bulk Critical Strike (and even more if there's frequent add spawns) makes it perfectly suited for multi-target situations.
A Tier	Void Execution Mandate - Click for Details Try to always use this on a target that will live long enough for you to stack up the Crit buff, otherwise most of its value is lost. Vile Vial of Volatile Venom Keeper's Seething Core Vashnik's Sanguine Rancor
B Tier	Gebbo's Bottomless Bag - Click for Details Triggers a variety of different stat boosting effects, and different buffs can overlap. While it does have a negative proc in the pool, it's a solid stat trinket. Resonant Bellowstone Freightrunner's Flask - Click for Details Can be used on cooldown in single-target, but hold for Metamorphosis in AoE. Lustrous Golden Plumage Drum of Renewed Bonds - Click for Details Go to the Jan'alai altar in Zul'Aman to set this to Mastery, or the Akil'zon altar to set it back to Critical Strike, depending on your gearset. Lightspire Core - Click for Details While this is tuned well, staying within the zone of the proc is extremely restrictive, especially for Havoc which moves around frequently. Pair that with both the large arenas in raid encounters and the hectic movement in dungeons, and your mileage may vary in reality when using it. Sapling of the Dawnroot - Click for Details Very single-target focused direct damage trinket, but is an alternative while you hunt for Guillotine Technique. This can, however, have some issues hitting some bosses, so isn't always as strong as sims imply. Glorious Crusader's Keepsake
C Tier	Fiber of Living Agony Tiny Electromental in a Jar Void-Reaper's Libram Effigy of Ula'tek's Faithful
D Tier	Spirit-Rending Poison Sylvan Wakrapuku Darkmoon Dominion: Hunt - Crafted Trinket Details While these trinket options aren't bad, Embellishments are stronger in Season 2 compared to before. That means the opportunity cost of using them is too high, and they've fallen even further behind than they already were. Darkmoon Dominion: Blood Darkmoon Dominion: Rot Darkmoon Dominion: Void Magister's Alchemist Stone Lost Idol of the Hash'ey Ophidian Bone Whistle

Season 2 brings forward the bonus roll system introduced in Season 1, providing a way to target big ticket items:

Nebulous Voidcores can be spent after completing endgame dungeons or defeating raid bosses, granting you an item at random from its respective loot table. Once an item has been received through Voidcore rolls, it cannot appear again. In Season 2, one Voidcore is used to roll on dungeon loot or individual raid bosses, granting loot equivalent to the item level you'd receive from a weekly Great Vault reward.

One can be acquired each week from Orin Straylight next to the Catalyst, following the release of Patch 12.1.5. Additionally, one can be selected from The Great Vault instead of an item, provided you unlocked three total rewards.

Which item you should target is strongly influenced by what pieces you already have access to, items available through the Great Vault, and what bosses you have currently killed. While they are now more freely available following the addition of weekly rewards in Patch 12.1.5, taking one from The Vault should be treated as a consolation prize in the event that nothing better appears.

When it comes to where you should use Voidcore rolls when you do pick one up however, the answer is quite simple:

Season 2 Voidcore Uses

1. Ula'tek (Heroic/Mythic) Havoc Loot Spec
   • Font of Venomous Rage
   • Voracious Heart of Ula'tek
   • Aqirbane Reliquary
   • Gaze of the Coiled Watcher
2. The Coiled Altar (Heroic/Mythic) Havoc Loot Spec
   • Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance
   • Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique
3. Kith'ix (Heroic/Mythic) Havoc Loot Spec
   • Chestwrap of Palpable Terror
   • Twisted Horror's Tendril

Following the release of Patch 12.1.5, you can now acquire Ascendant Venomstones, allowing you to upgrade specific item slots all the way up to item level 340 (or 338 for crafted pieces). Using these follows a similar priority to your crest usage:

1. Main-Hand Weapon first, always.
2. Trinkets second & third.
3. Off-Hand Weapon fourth.
4. Necklace last.

You also want to prioritize Myth track items over Hero track pieces, unless you don't expect to acquire a Myth track variant of the piece you're upgrading. The exception to this is one of the most difficult items to obtain from Ula'tek in The Venomous Abyss - Font of Venomous Rage. As this is an extremely powerful on-use pick for Havoc that doesn't have an easier to acquire alternative, it's worth the investment even on a lower track.

Crafted gear provides one of the easiest ways to pick up high value items in a season, allowing you to target key pieces to fill out your gearset. With the release of Season 2, each craft requires two Spark of Tides.

Unless secondary stats are already assigned by the item, you should use a Thalassian Missive of the Peerless for Critical Strike and Mastery on your crafts.

Havoc Crafting Order

Spellbreaker's Warglaive ➜ Silvermoon Agent's Deflectors ➜ Optional Crafts

• Craft a weapon first, as it has the biggest impact early. Warglaive is best, as it allows you to switch specs. Attach Hunter's Ritual Stone for your first embellishment.
• Craft an off-piece second - we recommend Silvermoon Agent's Deflectors in the Wrist slot. Attach Arcanoweave Lining as your second embellishment.
• Following this, craft items based on gaps in your current gear.

Once you have your two main Embellishment crafts, you should have a solid setup. Your priority when optimizing your gear further should be toward crafting high item-level pieces to cover holes in your gear. Good candidates are jewellery pieces, as while there are unique strong options available, they're often extremely contested.

For more information about crafting gear you can visit our Professions page.

Early into the season, or if you have just started playing an alt, you will have limited access to upgrade crests such as Myth Mistcrest. These can be used to upgrade gear to higher item levels. Crests are limited to 100 per week, and upgrades cost 20 crests regardless of the slot. Due to that, you should prioritize your usage of these on items you don't plan on replacing any time soon, or specific slots that offer larger stat benefits:

Havoc Demon Hunter Crest Upgrade Priority

Weapon (Main-Hand) ➜ Trinkets ➜ Helmet/Chest/Legs ➜ Shoulders/Gloves/Belt/Boots

These are not the only items worth upgrading, of course. They simply offer the highest DPS gain early into the tier when your upgrade currency is limited. Note that exceptions are possible, such as special cantrip items that have additional procs attached to them, for example Aqirbane Reliquary.

While all Rings and Necklaces come with one socket by default, three additional sockets can be acquired on the Helmet, Belt and Bracer slots as a bonus when they drop. These can also be added manually using the Miasmic Jewelbinder consumable, which can be purchased using 6 Thalassian Token of Merit, the pity currency from The Great Vault.

When using these, it's always best to put them on pieces you don't expect to ever replace. This means Mythic items, or any crafted pieces in these slots, since they can't have them added in any other way. Due to them being a very limited currency, if you have these, it's best to plan long term before using any.

Throughout this page and elsewhere in our guide, we regularly refer to the importance of simming yourself on Raidbots. This is because every character is unique, and each gear piece you have access to can change what is best right now for you.

While we do offer recommendations for gear and trinkets, these are not complete replacements for simming yourself. The only way to truly optimize your character to that degree is by making use of the tools available!

Optimization

Simulations and Tools

For further reading on how to truly maximize your character's potential, check out our guide on Raidbots!

Go to Guide

Wordup

Guide Author

Follow Wordup

This guide has been written by Wordup, a frequent theorycrafter involved in a number of class communities. He is also an experienced player who has been in the world top 100 since the days of Sunwell, currently raiding in Echoes. You can follow him on Twitter.

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