Shadowhunter PvP Identity

Shadowhunter's Identity is Demonize.

During the course of a match, as Shadowhunter lands skills, the Identity Gauge will fill up.

Once it is full, it will glow and unlock the Demonize skill. When using the Identity Skill, Shadowhunter's transform into their demon form, giving a completely new set of abilities as well as passive Paralysis Immunity for as long as the transformation remains. Access to "human" form skills is disabled during this period, which completely changes the way Shadowhunter plays during transformation.

Specialization will increase the damage dealt by these abilities, however, there is no way to change their skill slot assignment on the hotbar, nor are there any pods or special effects that can be used to customize them. Specialization will also increase both the gauge gain and demon form duration.

Although some pods may prevent skills from generating gauge, such as Encroachment Discharge, one can expect to be able to use the form once or twice a game, depending on Awakening usage.

The act of using Demonize will provide Shadowhunter with All Immunity as well as radiate a low damage Hitstun (not Paralysis!) inflicting AoE damage around her. The transformation will also increase her maximum HP and heal 7,558 HP on use.

When the gauge runs out, Shadowhunter will immediately return back to human form. If using Cancel Demonize, then the detransform animation will also have All Immunity, but it has no healing or AoE damage associated with it.

Demonize is what allows Shadowhunter to turn the pace of the match. It has tremendous burst potential and the complete Paralysis Immunity can utterly invalidate many classes. With strictly melee skills and no readily available Pushes or Push Immunities though, it can be very high-risk to use.

It is best reserved either following a Push on a target with no Stand Up (securing a Leaping Blow + Blood Massacre combo), to make space for allies by dissuading engages from classes that struggle with the Paralysis Immunity, or for heavy rushdown opportunities by making use of the unreactable Ruining Rush engage.

Every single skill during transformation has full Paralysis Immunity — even just standing still and doing nothing is fully Paralysis Immune. Basic attacks are regular hitstun, but everything else inflicts Paralysis as base, with Leaping Blow also inflicting Earthquake (Hard CC) on its final hit and Blood Massacre applying Push.

• Ruining Rush

Deals roughly 4,000 damage per cast. Animation-locked for full duration.

Ruining Rush is a straightforward dash engage tool. Since it applies Paralysis and is almost unreactable even at max range, it is a great way to initiate from a neutral position. It true combos into both basic attack strings and Gore Bleeding, for nearly 25,000 damage total.

It can also be used as a standard repositioning tool as the dash speed is very fast, all the while having full Paralysis Immunity. The low cooldown of 6 seconds means even on a missed engage, Shadowhunter can just bide their time to do it again shortly after. This is their primary threat tool in the neutral game while transformed and when combined with passive Paralysis Immunity, and means that Shadowhunter becomes a threat just by walking close — as being within range of Ruining Rush forces pre-emptive skill usage by enemies or risk being caught.

• Death Claw

Deals roughly 8,000 damage per cast. Animation-locked until first swipe.

Death Claw is not particularly useful in PvP. It has low cooldown, but it does not true combo from Ruining Rush or basic attacks. Situations where one could land it, such as a grounded target with no Stand Up or after Leaping Blow is not worth it when Destruction and Blood Massacre do far more damage.

It can be worth using when there are no other skills to combo with, as it will hit harder than basic attacks, but it does not offer much else.

• Destruction

Deals roughly 15,000 damage per cast. Animation-locked until roar.

Destruction is a generic damage spell that can be used on targets after catching them with Leaping Blow or if they are grounded with no Stand Up. It does not really combo from Ruining Rush or basic attacks, but it has a wide AoE and allows for animation cancelling early while still inflicting full damage, which means it can be a safe way of getting some burst and then retreating with Rift Walk in case the enemy has a skill ready to self-peel in between hits.

It is not really combo filler, but it is the fastest burst option Shadowhunter has in transformation and relatively safe due to lax animation-locks. It has its place on specific combo strings or enemies without Stand Up and is generally low-commitment with high reward if landed.

• Gore Bleeding

Deals roughly 15,000 damage per cast. Animation-locked for about 1/6th of the swipe barrage animation.

Gore Bleeding is Shadowhunter's core combo tool while transformed. Its startup is nearly instant, which means it combos off of every demon form skill. It does as much damage as Destruction, and though it takes longer to output its full damage value, the fact that it true combos from Ruining Rush or basic attacks make it easy to convert with.

The final hit of the skill will shove enemies too far to be hit by other skills. This means that it is usually the only damage skill used as part of a combo string, but its low 6-second cooldown lines up perfectly with that of Ruining Rush, so looping quick initiations into Gore Bleeding, then retreating and picking another target is a great way to continuously harass the enemy team.

One can force a forced knockdown from scales by using Ruining Rush, then three basic attacks, then Gore Bleeding. If the enemy has no Stand Up, then that is a perfect opportunity to combo finish with Destruction followed by Blood Massacre:

• Leaping Blow

Deals roughly 25,000 damage per cast and inflicts Earthquake (Hard CC) on the final, third hit of the leap, with the first two applying Paralysis. Animation-locked for its full duration.

Leaping Blow is the high risk, highest reward tool available to Shadowhunter during transformation. It is fully animation-locked and does not apply its Hard CC until the final hit which give enemies plenty of time to use a Push skill to stop it from landing. It has good range on both its leap and the AoE, but it also has a very distinct animation that is easy to react to.

When it lands though, it deals incredibly heavy damage and sets up for a perfect combo into Blood Massacre or Destruction. If Shadowhunter is not interrupted, that is at least 50,000 damage that cannot be escaped with Stand Up.

What makes people fear Shadowhunter in demon form is the explosive potential that comes with Leaping Blow combos. If used early during the transformation, it is possible to fit two uses within a single form, but do not greed trying to get two usages, as even just a single successful hit can turn the tide of a match.

• Blood Massacre

Deals roughly 25,000 damage per cast and inflicts Push. Animation-locked for half the orb charge up duration.

Blood Massacre is the ultimate burst skill during transformation. It has a distinct animation and a slow startup, making it easy to interrupt if enemies are ready, but it has a wide AoE that deals heavy damage if it goes off.

It can only be used on grounded targets without Stand Up or after landing Leaping Blow, as it is too slow to land otherwise, but the high burst damage and wide AoE it provides makes it an ideal way of capitalizing off of allied teammate catches or as an immediate damage tool after a knockdown on vulnerable targets (e.g. Rising Claw, then Demonize and immediately go into Blood Massacre on a target without Stand Up if there are no human form damage abilities to use).

It has the longest cooldown out of any transformation skill at 20 seconds, but it can still be used twice within a single form if used right after using Demonize. The high damage value but ease of interruption means that it is usually better to be conservative with its use and get guaranteed damage on incapacitated targets.