wow Artifact Series: Demon Hunter

[Valks 2,375]

If Demon Hunters are already blind, can Rogues still blind them? A dilemma for another day perhaps, since the Artifact Series is back! Check out the weapons of the newest additions to the World of Warcraft: Demon Hunters.

 

A message from Blainie:

 

In preparation for this post, I apologise for the length! The Demon Hunter class hasn't quite been established in lore as much as we would like it to have been. There is a very limited amount of information to draw from, but we've done our best to fill in the gaps and make our own suggestions. Enjoy!

 

Dilemmas about their blindness aside, we need to take a look at what specialisations are available to the Demon Hunter:

• Havoc is known for its ability to harness the chaotic energies around them in an attempt to harm their attackers.
• Vengeance attempts to focus their powers in order to resist the damage done unto them and then riposte with their own arsenal.

Havoc Demon Hunter - Twinblades of the Deceiver 

 

Despite being a new class, it seems Blizzard have managed to implement some of the old Burning Crusade lore into these artifacts. Let's take a look at the backstory for the Twinblades:

 

"These glaives belong to the former demon hunter Varedis Felsoul. Once a member of the Illidari and a sworn enemy of the Burning Legion, he was slain at the Black Temple. After the Legion's leader, Kil'jaeden, revived him in the Twisting Nether, Varedis surrendered to the demon within him, forsaking his mortality. In the process, he and his glaives were infused with great power by Kil'jaeden's eredar allies." (source)

 

 

So, in order to fully understand who the "Deceiver" is, we need to take a look at the backstory of Varedis Felsoul. We first hear this name from Altruis the Sufferer, a quest giver in Nagrand, a demon hunter opposed to Illidan as the leader of the order.

 

Varedis Felsoul was one of the five new recruits sent to Illidan by Kael'thas Sunstrider to receive the training of Demon Hunters. This was the first case recorded of a Blood Elf ever being able to take part in the training. Illidan ensured that he tested the new recruits to their extremes and they paid with their lives. Three of the elves died while the training was still ongoing and a fourth was eventually driven to insanity. 

 

The last one standing was Varedis. He succeeded.

 

To pass such a rigorous test during training marked Varedis as a prodigy within the ranks of the Demon Hunters. He went on to quickly surpass many of the veterans of the army, with his command of his powers growing by the day. Illidan noticed the potential of the incredible strength Varedis held and assigned three of his most talented Demon Hunters to train the Blood Elf.

 

Varedis had surpassed all of them within the year. He was hungry for more power and eventually infiltrated the Shadow Council, an organisation of Warlocks that serve the Burning Legion. He learnt of a book, the Book of Fel Names, that contained the true names of every demon to have ever existed. 

 

This book is used against Varedis, implying that there is some connection between his power and the book. If you tear a page out of the book, you can deprive him of his power while he is in Metamorphisis when fighting him. 

 

 

Varedis as he appears in-game.

 

Upon his return to the Black Temple, he was tasked with training other Demon Hunter recruits. The Legion lore picks up from here, stating that, after his death at the hands of the Aldor and Scryers, he was resurrected by Kil'jaeden in the Twisting Nether. Varedis was always extremely power hungry and so, when offered the power of the demon within him in return for his loyalty and mortality, he agreed. Kil'jaeden and his allies granted Varedis the power he sought in the form of his glaives, eventually bringing us the Twinblades of the Deceiver.

 

I really love the fact that they are building on previous lore that was already established in the Burning Crusade rather than starting fresh. The foundations were already laid and it would have been a shame to see it all scrapped in favour of newer lore.

 

I think Varedis is a fantastic basis on which to set the Havoc artifact. His whole image is based upon the idea of hunting more power and the ability to use it, an appropriate trait for the DPS specialisation.

 

Alternative Artifacts for Havoc Demon Hunters

 

The Blade of Mannoroth

 

While I think this artifact is already a good choice, I'm going to suggest an alternative anyway. I think it would be fantastic to see the Demon Hunters wielding a creation of the demons against them. When Mannoroth was slain in the alternate timeline, it might have been possible that his weapon was taken and melted down, initially being constructed from a form of fel-enchanted metal. 

 

 

Mannoroth wields his mighty double-bladed sword.

 

This metal could have been used to reforge a weapon usable by our Demon Hunters that would utilise the magics initially bestowed upon the weapon by Mannoroth, as well as those created by the Demon Hunters. The weapon could draw upon the strength of Mannoroth, then the magic from the Demon Hunters could reform this strength into a force made specifically to slay Demons.

 

This would most likely bring the utmost happiness to any Demon Hunter wielding the weapon, since they are using the strength of the Legion against the Legion itself.

 

Vengeance Demon Hunter - Aldrachi Warblades

 

It looks like we've got some new-found lore for the Vengeance specialisation! Let's take a look:

 

"In ages past, the dark titan, Sargeras, offered the mighty aldrachi people a place in his Burning Legion. But the aldrachi proved incorruptible: they slew innumerable demons before their race was wiped out. Sargeras personally killed their greatest champion and seized his weapons. Much later, a demon hunter willingly became the servant of Sargeras' lieutenant Kil'jaeden. Pleased, Kil'jaeden bestowed the warblades on her, that she might wield a portion of the aldrachi's bygone might, and devastate the mortals of Azeroth with it." (source)

 

 

Unfortunately, we don't know a great deal about this one. The lore is completely new, with no reference to the Aldrachi ever being made before. From what we can see, it seems the Aldrachi were a race that the Burning Legion tried to recruit. It was quickly found out that the Aldrachi were completely incorruptible by the Legion's masters, so they had to be eradicated. They managed to slay a huge number of demons before finally falling to the might of the Legion. 

 

Their defeat was mainly due to the fact that Sargeras himself took to the battlefield in order to kill the greatest champion of the Aldrachi, the first wielder of the Aldrachi Warblades. The Warblades were claimed by Sargeras, who kept them until he found a wielder worthy of the power. He granted them to a Demon Hunter that willingly joined the service of Kil'jaeden. Kil'jaeden believed the weapons would allow the Demon Hunter to fully unleash the power of the blades on the people of Azeroth, spreading destruction wherever they struck.

 

From a visual perspective, I think these glaives match the specialisation very well. They are slightly more practical for a defensive fighting style, with a thicker and sturdier blade, as well as a handle that can be used to protect from and parry attacks. The long, thin blades of the Havoc artifact would have been completely impractical from a defensive point of view.

 

I think the lore is pretty solid, with a strong backstory. The Demon Hunters are essentially being given the weapons of one of the few races that managed to withstand the Burning Legion, as well as the weapons of an individual that actually fought the former Titan, Sargeras.

 

Alternative Artifacts for Vengeance Demon Hunters 

 

Since there is no notable Demon Hunter that we can draw our potential Vengeance artifact from, we're going to need to improvise somewhat. Here comes "Lore Invention Time", or LIT as I like to call it.

 

Everything the Demon Hunters stand for is the ideal of defeating the demons and the Burning Legion. On this assumption, one would expect them to defend the population of Azeroth against a Legion invasion. The artifact could have been based on the first battle within the Legion expansion. A Demon Hunter that you meet during the starting zone fought within the first battle against the Legion. 

 

During the battle, a pack of infernals are headed straight for a large group of soldiers, both Horde and Alliance. The Demon Hunter stands alone watching, but realises the soldiers will never be able to repel such a force. He is aware of the fact that he can indeed help them and allow for a much larger force to continue fighting the Burning Legion. 

 

 

The Legion march on through the portals into Azeroth.

 

He moves forward and steps between the forces and the infernals, calling upon his powers as a Demon Hunter. As he moves to strike the first infernal, another infernal attacks him with a fel-based magical attack. Instead of harming him, he uses his blades to absorb the energy and re-direct it into his own attacks.

 

The Demon Hunter could eventually fall during the battle, but his weapons are reclaimed by the soldiers he saved and brought to one of the faction leaders that saw it all happen. They are passed on to the Demon Hunters in Mardum, where it is preserved for the player to take up after proving themselves worthy as a Vengeance Demon Hunter.

 

The blades themselves could have some form of proc that allows the player to absorb a certain % of an attack if the attacker is a minion of the Burning Legion, or a demon, and redirect a portion of the damage back into their own damage via some form of buff. 

 

This is merely a suggestion of sorts, since there is very little lore to work with on the topic. The main weapons wielded by Demon Hunters are the Warglaives of Azzinoth and those have already been implemented into the game. 

 

That wraps it up for the Demon Hunters. A sadly short experience, especially with only two specialisations, but hopefully you learnt a bit about their lore. Coming up next time, we move from the pupils of Illidan Stormrage to the pupils of his brother, Malfurion Stormrage. Druids!