Vengeance Demon Hunter Tank Spec, Builds, and Talents — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

Below, you will find talents recommended for a variety of content. Do note that while the talents below suggest specific hero talents, the reality for Vengeance is that the base talents do not change all too much depending on your choice of Hero Talents, and if you have a preference for either Hero Talent Tree, you can switch between them without the regular talents needing a significant amount of shifts, the main one being that you make sure you have Sigil of Spite talented with any build as Aldrachi Reaver.

For more specific recommendations and alternative build choices for Mythic+ you can visit the pags dedicated to it by following the link below.

2.

Vengeance Demon Hunter Talent Builds for The War Within

Note

At the time of publication (January 18th) there were still several major bugs for Vengeance Demon Hunter, and this page is written under the assumption that these bugs will be fixed. The pages will be updated in case some of the bugs that have major impact on the gameplay are not patched out post-launch.

Choose a Hero Tree to see builds below

Hero Talents
Aldrachi Reaver	Annihilator

Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator
Raid / Single-Target Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator
Weekly Mythic+ / AoE Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator
High-Key Pushing Mythic+ / AoE Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator
Delves Build Talents Explained

3.

Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator Raid / Single-Target Build

With current Pre-patch tuning Aldrachi Reaver appears slightly behind in pure single-target damage, while also featuring a slightly more punishing rotation, it also loses slightly more damage and defensive value when you are forced out of melee range of enemies. The raid build focuses primarily on offensive value, taking defensive and mobility nodes to fill out the tree. Last Resort is opted out for Soul Carver for a small offensive gain, but if you want to have a cheat death effect, especially if you are progressing a boss you find tough, you can switch that talent point. It has also opted into all the offensive Hero Talents at the cost of some defensive value.

With current Pre-patch tuning Annihilator offers the best single-target damage, with heavy burst damage centered around Metamorphosis and syncing up Fiery Brand with the bursts around Voidfall. It is also loses less damage by being forced out of melee range since more of your damage is centered around your cooldown windows. The raid build focuses primarily on offensive value, taking defensive and mobility nodes to fill out the tree. Last Resort is opted out for Soul Carver for a small offensive gain, but if you want to have a cheat death effect, especially if you are progressing a boss you find tough, you can switch that talent point. It has also opted into all the offensive Hero Talents at the cost of some defensive value.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into the game!

3.

Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator Weekly Mythic+ / AoE Build

Aldrachi Reaver is strong for weekly keys, especially if you want to just go through the dungeons to fill up your weekly vault. However, it is not as strong offensively as Annihilator, and targets generally do not live long enough for the funnel potential of Wounded Quarry to really begin to shine, and the damage intake is not high enough for the increased generation of Soul Fragments to make Aldrachi Reaver a much tankier option. The Weekly Mythic+ build still picks up a few extra defensive nodes that come at fairly low offensive costs such as Feed the Demon, Calcified Spikes, and Last Resort. These talents can be exchanged for small offensive gains if you wish. It has also opted into all the offensive Hero Talents at the cost of some defensive value.

Annihilator offers an extremely potent cooldown centered damage profile around Metamorphosis and Fiery Brand which buff your Voidfall meteors significantly, allowing you to pull aggressively around your and your groups cooldowns for very fast paced weekly keys. It has the potential to deal more damage than Aldrachi Reaver, and while it lacks some of the healing capabilities of Aldrachi Reaver it makes up with relatively strong passive defensive nodes including World Killer which gives cooldown reduction on Metamorphosis. For these reasons it is recommended in most Weekly Mythic+ situations in key levels where you are not in any significant danger. It has also opted into all the offensive Hero Talents at the cost of some defensive value.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

3.

Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator High-Key Pushing Mythic+ / AoE Build

Aldrachi Reaver is very strong for High-Key Pushing in Mythic+, due in part to its good talent flexibility and really strong self-sustain in keys where damage intake is a lot higher. While it is not as strong offensively as Annihilator, the damage profile with the really strong funnel capabilities from Wounded Quarry is a very potent tool to increase damage on priority targets. Aldrachi Reaver also excels at healing, with several strong defensive nodes focused around increased generation of Soul Fragments as well as increasing the amount they heal. The High-Key Pushing Mythic+ build also picks up a few extra defensive and utility nodes that come at fairly low offensive costs. For these reasons it is recommended in most High-Key Pushing Mythic+ situations.

Annihilator offers a potent damage profile centered around Metamorphosis, allowing you to pull aggressively around your and your groups cooldowns. It deals more damage and while it lacks some of the healing capabilities of Aldrachi Reaver it makes up with plenty of strong passive defensive nodes. While it does not have to dedicate all too many talents around offensive value at a defensive cost, the playstyle itself favors combinating your defensive cooldows for massive damage bursts, which means you at times have to choose between doing as much damage as possible or maximizing your defensive uptime.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

3.

Aldrachi Reaver Annihilator Delve Build

Aldrachi Reaver takes advantage of its great self-sustain to power through Delves, and can make use of smaller enemies to take out more dangerous targets through Wounded Quarry. These tools make it more than capable to manage by its own in delves. This build has also opted into most mobility nodes.

Annihilator utilizes the very strong burst damage profile around Metamorphosis and Mass Acceleration to allow you to quickly take care of large groups of enemies before they pose a serious danger. While it does fall slightly behind on self-sustain it provides good damage to let you quickly finish Delves without spending all too much time doing so. This build has also opted into most mobility nodes.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

3.

Talent Explanations for Vengeance Demon Hunters

Note that we do not explain EVERY Talent in the tree on this page. We only explain Talents that are part of our optimal builds. For full details and explanations of every Talent, please visit our Spells page via the button below.

Vengeance Demon Hunter Spell Glossary for The War Within

3.1.

Talent Rows 1-4

3.1.1.

Noteworthy Talents

Talent	Description/Effect
Fel Devastation	A channeling cooldown that deals heavy fire damage to all enemies in a cone in front of you, healing you a medium amount while channeling. Interacts with Demonic to grant 7 seconds of Metamorphosis when used. It costs 50 fury to use and has a 40-second cooldown. The cooldown can be reduced by the Darkglare Boon talent.
Fiery Brand	Brand your target and yourself, dealing heavy fire damage to your target and causing you to take 40% less damage from all sources for 12 seconds. A strong defensive that interacts with several other strong talents further down the talent tree.
Fracture	Replaces Shear, it has two charges on a 5-second cooldown and generates 25 Fury and spawns 2 Lesser Soul Fragments when cast. A great ability that enables a large part of your class toolkit. It is highly recommended to path down and get Fracture in all content.
Felblade	An active ability with a 15-second cooldown that generates 15 Fury. Felblade is on a shorter global cooldown than normal abilities and is a great tool to generate extra fury in a very short time.

3.1.2.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Consume Magic	Purges the target, removing 1 beneficial magic effect on the target. It has a 30-yard range and a 10-second cooldown. Strong for any content that requires dispelling magic effects on targets.

3.2.

Rows 5-7

This section of the talent trees provides several core passive talents that generally support your base kit.

Talent	Description/Effect
Chaos Nova	A 2-second AoE-stun on a 45-second cooldown. It costs 25 Fury and deals a low amount of chaos damage to every target hit. A great addition to your toolkit in Mythic+ and PvP content.
Frailty	Causes enemies hit by Sigil of Flame to get a stack of Frailty, causing you to heal for 8% of all damage you deal to them for 6 seconds. It interacts with several talents further down the talent tree, empowering Frailty and making it a core part of the Vengeance identity.
Void Reaver	Targets afflicted by Frailty now deals 4% less damage to you. Causes enemies struck by Soul Cleave to be afflicted by Frailty. A potent defensive talent when paired with Soulcrush further down in the tree which doubles the effect.
Fallout	The initial damage of Immolation Aura now has a high chance of spawning a Lesser Soul Fragment for every target hit. Up to a maximum of 5 Lesser Soul Fragments. This Talent scales extremely well, the more enemies you are fighting. It has a lower value in Raid encounters with only 1 target. However, in Mythic+ and Raid encounters with multiple targets, it becomes a very potent talent, especially when paired with Spirit Bomb.
Sigil of Spite	You place a sigil dealing massive Chaos damage to all enemies hit after 2 seconds. Dealing damage with Sigil of Spite will summon 3 Lesser Soul Fragments. A strong, active ability that deals a lot of AoE damage. Activates Art of the Glaive for Aldrachi Reaver.
Feed the Demon	Reduces the cooldown on Demon Spikes by 1 seconds every time you spend 20 Fury. A strong defensive talent which effectively guarantees 100% uptime on Demon Spikes.

3.2.1.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Sigil of Chains	Places a Sigil on the ground, and 2 seconds later grips all enemies into the center of the Sigil, slowing them by 70% for 6 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown. A strong utility cooldown for Mythic+ and certain raid encounters where displacement effects are of great worth, the talent cost is still somewhat noticeable. Starting with the Midnight Pre-patch this spell replaces Sigil of Misery which makes it a significantly more niche choice.
Fiery Demise	Causes targets afflicted by Fiery Brand to take 30% increased fire damage from you. Great for overall offensive output and leads to strong talents, especially for Raid encounters with fewer enemies. Taking it will incentivize you to use Fiery Brand as an offensive cooldown, despite it being one of your few defensive cooldowns. So only take it when you are aware of the tradeoff and can make use of the damage increase.

3.3.

Rows 8-10

3.3.1.

Noteworthy Talents

Talent	Description/Effect
Vulnerability	Increases damage done to targets affected by Frailty by 3% per talent point . A strong talent which gains significant value with the Talent following it, Soulcrush.
Soulcrush	Doubles all effects of Frailty. Overall, this is one of the strongest Talent on the Vengeance tree when combined with all the previous talents, and should generally be taken in all content if possible.
Soul Carver	A 1-minute cooldown that deals a large amount of fire damage and leaves a 3-second damage over time effect dealing additional damage. It spawns 3 Lesser Soul Fragments on initial damage and another Soul Fragment every second for 3 seconds. A strong talent both offensively and defensively, and worth taking if you can spare the talent point.
Last Resort	A cheat death ability that will heal you if you sustain lethal damage, granting you 15 seconds of Metamorphosis. It has an 8-minute cooldown after saving you. Overall, it is decent in challenging content; the long cooldown means that you can only rely on it to save you once in most Raid encounters and usually only a handful of times over a full Mythic+ dungeon. However if there are some extremely hard parts of a fight Last Resort can be utilized as an additional, strong defensive cooldown.
Down in Flames	Grants a second charge of Fiery Brand and reduces the cooldown of Fiery Brand by 12 seconds. This lets you use a second charge and lower the cooldown to maintain defensive uptime while also utilizing Fiery Demise and Burning Alive for increasing total damage output.

3.3.2.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Darkness	A 5-minute defensive cooldown that affects you and all allies inside the effect. It spawns a could of darkness for 8 seconds that causes all damage you or an ally inside the darkness to have a 15% chance to be negated, the chance doubling outside of Raid content. It works best against frequent and periodic hits since it is random if the damage will be negated or not.
Pitch Black	Reduces the cooldown of Darkness by 120 seconds. This Talent gains value in raid situations where it lets you use Darkness on at least one more dangerous mechanic. It is generally more useful than Long Night, however hard to motivate spending points on it unless it adds Darkness casts to vital parts of the specific encounter.

Aldrachi Reaver focuses very heavily on the consumption of Soul Fragments to grant access to Reaver's Glaive which is the foundation of the entire Hero tree. Wounded Quarry grants a very strong funnel profile, where fighting more enemies lets you increase the damage you deal to a priority target. This can be useful in both raid in fights with many enemies as well as in Mythic+ to deal a lot of damage to dangerous enemies and bosses. The defensive profile of Aldrachi Reaver is incredibly focused on healing, making it a strong choice for self-sustain, it does lack tools to mitigate damage from large hits to compensate for this.

Annihilator is designed around building Voidfall stacks with Fracture which you then consume to rain down meteors on enemies once you reach 3 stacks. Annihilator excels in dealing strong, bursty damage around Metamorphosis thanks to the Mass Acceleration talent, especially if you buff the damage with Fiery Demise. The defensive profile has two parts, one through passive stat bonuses from talents like Swift Erasure, Phase Shift and eextending them with Final Hour. The second major part of Annihilator is World Killer which reduces the cooldown of Metamorphosis by 10 seconds whenever you call down a set of 3 meteors which in itself enhances the loop through Mass Acceleration.

The talents above only show a few variations of talent choices, and it might happen that any specific Raid encounter or Mythic+ dungeon might encourage switching your talents about. The links below take you to our dedicated pages where you can find

Considering the varied Talent builds recommended for different types of content, there is also going to be some variation in your rotation. Visit the rotation page linked below to figure out more about how your rotation works.

You have the option to enter into "War Mode" in your Factions Capital city. Enabling War Mode provides the following benefits:

• Grants access to PvP talents in the open-world.
• 10% increase in World Quest rewards at max level.
• 10% more experience gained while leveling.
• Earn Conquest Points, which can reward gear every week.

With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended to enable the feature to maximize your leveling and rewards at maximum level. However, you will enable yourself for open-world PvP and the possibility, so be aware of hostile enemy players who could interfere with you, and this is a risk you will have to take.

Generally, the selections are made to optimize your ability to kill enemies faster, increasing your pace when moving through content.

1. Everlasting Hunt is a passive ability that increases your movement speed by 15% for 3 seconds when dealing damage. This ability is designed to move from pack to pack quickly and more efficiently.
2. Jagged Spikes reflects damage back to the attacker for 30% of the damage received when Demon Spikes is active.
3. Illidan's Grasp crowd controls 1 target for 6 seconds. If the ability is activated again, throw the target at a location within 40 yards and stun everything in the target area for 3 seconds. This ability provides additional crowd control and is fun to use.
4. Tormentor debuffs the target when taunted, applying the Focused Assault debuff, which increases the damage received by 3%. Your melee attacks refresh the duration of Focused Assault. Each unique target up to 5 that hits the target will stack Focused Assault by an additional 3%. This ability will provide a decent single-target damage buff in a party.
5. Detainment increases the duration of Imprison by 1 second and makes the imprisoned target immune to damage and healing. This Talent is amazing for arenas and battlegrounds, but it should not be picked for leveling. Imprisoning a target while using this Talent will put you into combat and prevent monster skipping in PvE content.
6. Unending Hatred increases Fury generation based on magic damage received. Larger attacks will increase the Fury generation. This Talent is quite situational and should not be used in normal content.
7. Cleansed by Flame removes all magical effects when you cast Immolation Aura. This Talent is situational, but it can be very strong depending on the situation.
8. Demonic Trample transforms you into a demon and increases your movement speed by 175%. Any enemy hit with the trample will be knocked and receive physical damage. You are immune to snares while trampling. Demonic Trample shares cooldown with Infernal Strike. This ability is very strong in battlegrounds to remove snares and for pseudo-crowd control with the knockdown.
9. Sigil Mastery reduces the cooldown of sigils by 25%. This Talent should not be used.
10. Reverse Magic removes all harmful magic effects on you and all allies within 10 yards and, if possible, returns them to their caster. It has a 1-minute cooldown.
11. Blood Moon empowers your Consume Magic to now affect all enemies within 8 yards of the target and grants 5% leech for 5 seconds after using it.
12. Chaotic Imprint makes your Throw Glaive deal damage from a random school of magic, leaving a mark increasing their damage taken from that school by 10% for 20 seconds.
13. Cover of Darkness increases the radius of Darkness by 4 yards and increases its duration by 2 seconds.
14. Rain from Above launches you up in the air and grants access to Fel Lance allowing you to deal damage to enemies on the ground.
15. Glimpse grants you immunity to loss of control effects while under the effect of Vengeful Retreat and reduces damage taken by 35% until you land.