Demon Hunter Hero Talents — The War Within (11.1.0)

This page is covers only the new Hero Talents available in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents and complimenting builds for Havoc Demon Hunter, check out our Talents page:

Currently the recommendation for raid content is Aldrachi Reaver. While Fel-Scarred is easier to execute, its performance is a little too far behind in single-target scenarios.

Aldrachi Reaver has strong single-target, some additional free cleave and priority target damage. The downside is it can be harder to execute with more abilities to juggle, and is punished by target swapping so bear that in mind. It also provides more defense via Army Unto Oneself or Incorruptible Spirit.

Fel-Scarred has the advantage of more potent burst AoE, and more powerful cooldown windows thanks to the Metamorphosis empowerments. It suffers less with downtime due to that, but the throughput it brings is not enough to warrant using outside of preference.

The Current recommendation for Hero Talents in Mythic+ is Aldrachi Reaver due to its extremely powerful priority damage. Fel-Scarred still has suitable builds and can be competitive.

Aldrachi Reaver has the edge solely due to Wounded Quarry, which provides an incredible amount of funnel to your priority target with Reaver's Mark. It has many of the same AoE tools as Fel-Scarred as well, so its stronger universal kit makes it the better pick, despite it being punished for target swapping. It also provides significantly better active defense due to Army Unto Oneself or Incorruptible Spirit.

Fel-Scarred can deal huge frontloaded burst AoE around its Eye Beam and Metamorphosis casts. It uses Cycle of Hatred to access 20-second burst cycles, making it well suited for the start of each pull while relying on Burning Blades to keep its single-target relevant. The freedom to target swap without needing to set up on each pull makes it easier to execute though, so you may find it worth trying if you are struggling.

Below are brief explanations of the effects the above-recommended hero trees have in each given content type.

3.

Best Hero Talent Builds for Havoc Demon Hunter

Aldrachi Reaver Fel-Scarred

3.

Best Aldrachi Reaver Build for Havoc Demon Hunter

Aldrachi Reaver adds a powerful proc to Throw Glaive in Reaver's Glaive, triggered by consuming souls. Due to this, it takes most supporting talents alongside Screaming Brutality to activate it rotationally. After casting Reaver's Glaive, our next cast of both Chaos Strike and Blade Dance are empowered. The playstyle is fairly similar to regular Havoc with the extra twist of cycling through procs to maintain Reaver's Mark.

Defensively, the tree generates a lot of Soul Fragments which provides extra passive healing, alongside Incorruptible Spirit for absorb shields. Alternatively, Army Unto Oneself is a strong extra defensive following each Felblade cast, giving it a lot of flexibility.

Of the 3 choice nodes on the tree, Keen Engagement is the pick in single-target for extra Fury generation, while we swap to Preemptive Strike in AoE. We also play Unhindered Assault for more frequent Felblade casts, which makes playing Inertia much more comfortable.

3.

Best Fel-Scarred Mythic+ Build for Havoc Demon Hunter

Fel-Scarred in makes use of the huge follow-up burst window after each Demonic activation and Metamorphosis cast to trigger Demonsurge. It has a very standard Havoc gameplay style but significantly elevates the power of both your Demonic follow-ups and your 2-minute burst window.

For the 3 choice nodes Student of Suffering, is the pick in single-target to add an extra cooldown to your windows, while Flamebound wins in AoE by empowering Immolation Aura. Set Fire to the Pain provides better defense, and Wave of Debilitation has niche M+ value to help the tank, but Pursuit of Angriness provides a small amount of extra mobility, so it is up to preference.

Aldrachi Reaver centers around generating and consuming Souls to trigger Reaver's Glaive. It can also use The Hunt to snap generate a use when needed. Following each of these casts, Blade Dance and Chaos Strike are empowered and the ability you use second will be enhanced further. A rule of thumb is:

• Single Target - the order does not matter much, as Reaver's Mark can be stacked. Aim to have two stacks for your burst windows in particular by using Chaos Strike second.
• AoE - always make sure to consume Blade Dance second to enhance Fury of the Aldrachi.

Ideally, you will always maintain Reaver's Mark on your primary target, and should avoid target swapping unless you have to.

Fel-Scarred is much simpler in execution, as it empowers your abilities further when triggering Demonic or entering Metamorphosis. Make sure to trigger each of the Demonsurge charges each time you do, two for Demonic and 5 for Metamorphosis (due to Demonic Intensity). You should also align Sigil of Flame (to trigger Student of Suffering) with every other Eye Beam cast when playing with it.