Next Tuesday a new class will be added to World of Warcraft for the first time since September 2012. It's called the Demon Hunter, and it's one of the most well-known and respected classes in Warcraft lore.
Whether or not you plan to play a Demon Hunter, there are some things you should know about the class. Let's look at what it's all about.
Most Talents Won't Be Available Immediately
During the coming weeks you'll be able to play as a Demon Hunter, but only at a limited capacity. While all talents will be available to every other class, the Demon Hunter will only have access to two out of seven talents. This greatly impacts the number of skills available as well as how the class players.
Due to this, you shouldn't judge the Demon Hunter based on the pre-patch. This class is much more fun at level 110 thanks to the introduction of skills such as Fel Eruption and Chaos Blades, let alone its artifact abilities.
Demon Hunters Have History in WoW
If you look closely enough, you'll find that Demon Hunters have a noticeable presence within World of Warcraft. It isn't just Illidan that I'm talking about, you can find a variety of NPCs around the game world, from Vanilla to Cataclysm.
Take for example Altruis the Sufferer in Nagrand, who offers several interesting quests to players who are leveling. There's also Feronas Sindweller in Felwood, a character who has been around for a very long time. This is all on top of a heavy presence of Demon Hunter in the Burning Crusade expansion. It's been a long time since then, and only now are we finally being allowed to play the class.
It Isn't As Popular As You'd Think
If you've seen any of the pre-Legion polls you might be deterred from playing a Demon Hunter simply because it sounds like everyone is going to play one. While it will be popular during pre-patch, beta indicates that most players are going to go back to their veteran characters once the expansion hits later this month.
The Demon Hunter is only available to one race per faction, and only has two specs available. Vengeance is also quite difficult to play well. Furthermore, it is extremely likely that the usually popular classes, including Paladin, Death Knight, and Druid, are going to remain much greater in number than the Demon Hunter.
Easy Or Challenging Depending On How You Play
The Havoc Demon Hunter has earned a reputation for being one of the easiest specs to play in the game. However, that isn't always the case. There are certain talent build configurations that result in a much more challenging rotation.
In addition, Vengeance Demon Hunter is arguably the second most difficult tank to play in World of Warcraft (behind Monk Brewmaster) thanks to its active playstyle and dependency on well timed mobility and AoE skillshot skills. Ultimately, how difficult the Demon Hunter is to play effectively is up to you and your talent choices.
Rogue Killers
The Demon Hunter is a great counter to the Rogue, one of the most widely reviled classes in World of Warcraft. Not only does the Demon Hunter have several cooldowns that offer counter-strategy to the Rogue's abilities, but they have an ability called Spectral Sight.
ALSO READ: Everything We've Learned About Legion
Spectral Sight allows you to see Rogues and Druids that are stealthed. In effect, it is the first hard counter to the Rogue Vanish, one of the abilities that Rogues use often to control PvP situations, or get out of harms way. By popping Spectral Sight you can quickly re-acquire the Rogue and jump on him before he can get reset. This is a huge advantage for the Demon Hunter in PvP situations.
Class Exclusive Mount
The Felsaber is a new mount in World of Warcraft: Legion. It is essentially a saber corrupted by fel magic. If you want one, you're going to need to play a Demon Hunter.
The Felsaber can only be ridden by the Demon Hunter, and is earned around five minutes into the leveling experience. Even if you don't plan to ride one, you may want to make a Demon Hunter if only to add another mount to your collection for the sake of achievements.
Low Resilience
The Demon Hunter is similar to the Rogue in that it is very susceptible to taking monstrous melee damage thanks to its leather armor. However, it does have a toolkit that allows it to survive and compete in PvP confrontations.
This toolkit includes some of the most capable mobility in the game, which is commonly compared to the Monk. It also includes Soul Fragments, which is a system where orbs of health spawn around you during combat. You also have leech during your Metamorphosis, which makes the cooldown extremely potent.
Warglaives Are Only One Option
The Demon Hunter is most iconic for its blindfold, tattoos, and warglaives. Although warglaives are its main option when it comes to weaponry, it isn't the only option.
As a Demon Hunter you will have access to daggers, axes, fist weapons, maces, and swords. This assortment of options is sure to provide transmog fans with a greater selection of options.
Customize Your Wings
There are three glyphs available to the Demon Hunter that allow the player to alter the style of their wings. These include the Tattered Wings, Fel Wings, and Fallow Wings.
Your wings are put on full display when you glide, which is achieved by double jumping and then tapping jump one more time. By altering how your wings look along with your gear you can become a character that stands out from the masses.
Broken Shore Incompatible
Most players will be busy with the Broken Shore scenario during the next few weeks, as it serves as an introduction to World of Warcraft: Legion. However, the Demon Hunter will not have access to this scenario.
Instead, the Demon Hunter will complete a level 98 to 100 starting area that is exclusive to the class. This area can be completed in around 90 minutes. Players will want to play another level 100 character in order to experience the story of Broken Shore.
