Havoc Demon Hunter DPS Easy Mode — The War Within (11.1.0)

Last updated on Mar 04, 2025 at 10:00 by Wordup 59 comments
General Information

On this page, we explain how to easily play Havoc Demon Hunter in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.0), using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.

1.

Foreword

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

2.

The Basics of Havoc Demon Hunter

Havoc has a relatively simple baseline toolkit, but each ability has a lot of talent support in the tree to broaden its use. The core is quite easy to get started due to how straightforward Fury management is, but there are some aspects that add in a satisfying learning curve on top. If you are completely new to Havoc and need more information on the abilities available to you, you can check out our Spell Summary page.

Currently, Aldrachi Reaver is generally the strongest option in all situations, bringing a much more unique damage profile and better throughput with the new talent options. Fel-Scarred can still bring extremely strong AoE and burst though, so can be played in Mythic+. For the purposes of this page, we will be recommending the strongest options.

3.

Beginner's Guide to Havoc Demon Hunter in The War Within

Aldrachi Reaver
Single-Target Talents
Aldrachi Reaver
Mythic+ / AoE Talents
Basic Havoc Demon
Hunter Rotation
Havoc Demon Hunter
Defensive Spells
Havoc Demon Hunter
Stat Priority
4.

Beginner Single-Target Talents for Havoc Demon Hunter

Havoc has a few different single-target build options, but the optimal pick currently is an Aldrachi Reaver loadout. This picks up Throw Glaive Icon Throw Glaive talents to support Reaver's Glaive Icon Reaver's Glaive, using Screaming Brutality Icon Screaming Brutality to activate it rotationally. If you are more interested in alternative or more complex builds, check our talent page:

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

Havoc Single Target - Aldrachi Reaver
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4.

Beginner AoE and Mythic+ Talents for Havoc Demon Hunter

In AoE both hero talents have suitable builds, but Aldrachi Reaver provides the unique benefit of extremely good funnel via Wounded Quarry Icon Wounded Quarry, meaning it needs to maintain Reaver's Mark Icon Reaver's Mark on your priority target. In AoE it also still picks up movement talents, but they are more optional if you're looking for an easier time with execution for very little performance loss.

It otherwise plays very similar to single-target builds, using Reaver's Glaive Icon Reaver's Glaive whenever available alongside its 20 and 40-second burst windows. If you are more interested in alternative builds, check our talent page:

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

Havoc AoE - Aldrachi Reaver
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4.

Beginner Havoc Demon Hunter DPS Rotation

Havoc has a lot of moving parts, and many of its big damage moments are combos of different abilities that need to be overlapped to make the most out of them. At its most basic, the following rules should cover the most important aspects:

3.1.

Single Target

  • Cast Felblade Icon Felblade to generate Fury.
  • Spend Fury on Blade Dance Icon Blade Dance / Death Sweep Icon Death Sweep on cooldown, and any extra can be spent on Chaos Strike Icon Chaos Strike / Annihilation Icon Annihilation.
  • Cast Vengeful Retreat Icon Vengeful Retreat and on cooldown, using Felblade Icon Felblade to re-engage and trigger Inertia Icon Inertia.
  • Cast The Hunt Icon The Hunt and Eye Beam Icon Eye Beam on cooldown.
    • Cast Essence Break Icon Essence Break after every other Eye Beam Icon Eye Beam, and follow it up with Death Sweep Icon Death Sweep and two Annihilation Icon Annihilation casts.
  • Metamorphosis Icon Metamorphosis is your big damage cooldown, make sure that Eye Beam Icon Eye Beam and Blade Dance Icon Blade Dance are on cooldown before casting it as it resets them.
  • Cast Reaver's Glaive Icon Reaver's Glaive whenever it triggers.
    • The order you cast Chaos Strike Icon Chaos Strike and Blade Dance Icon Blade Dance does not matter too much, as repeat triggers will stack. Aim to do Chaos Strike Icon Chaos Strike second when setting up for burst and triggering Thrill of the Fight Icon Thrill of the Fight though.
3.1.

AoE

Havoc is similar in AoE. With the addition of A Fire Inside Icon A Fire Inside and some AoE talents though, there are a couple of extra notes:

  • Aim to have Reaver's Mark Icon Reaver's Mark applied to your priority target to deal heavy funnel damage via your AoE with Wounded Quarry Icon Wounded Quarry.
  • Cast Immolation Aura Icon Immolation Aura on cooldown, especially whenever at 2 charges. Pay close attention in case it resets itself, and always be near targets as it is expiring for Ragefire Icon Ragefire.
  • In AoE, always aim to cast Blade Dance Icon Blade Dance second following each Reaver's Glaive Icon Reaver's Glaive to empower Fury of the Aldrachi Icon Fury of the Aldrachi.
4.

Defensive Spells for Havoc Demon Hunter

Blur Icon Blur provides a 20% damage reduction and 50% increase to Dodge chance for 10 seconds, on a 1-minute cooldown. This is Havoc's consistent defense tool and, due to the low cooldown, can be used liberally to reduce the incoming damage from dangerous attacks.

Netherwalk Icon Netherwalk grants complete damage immunity for 6 seconds, alongside 100% increased movement speed on a 3-minute cooldown. This should be used to avoid lethal mechanics, but you cannot attack while this is active. Also, bear in mind that while you are immune to damage, you are not immune to debuffs being applied while this is active.

Aldrachi Reaver has access to Army Unto Oneself Icon Army Unto Oneself, which causes Felblade Icon Felblade to reduce damage taken by 10% for 5 seconds after casting. This has a fairly high uptime as you should be casting this frequently, and can even be timed for dangerous moments during encounters.

During the Metamorphosis Icon Metamorphosis cast animation, you are briefly immune for 1 second which can, on rare occasions, be used to avoid dangerous mechanics.

Darkness Icon Darkness provides you and nearby allies a 15% chance (increased to 30%) to avoid damage taken from attacks for 8 seconds. This can be extremely powerful, but is best used for frequent instances of damage rather than gambling on avoiding lethal ones.

While not an active defensive tool, Havoc comes with a lot of built-in Leech thanks to Soul Rending Icon Soul Rending giving 10% plus an additional 10% during Metamorphosis Icon Metamorphosis. Alongside this, Demonic Appetite Icon Demonic Appetite and enemy deaths often trigger Soul Fragments which provide additional healing in combat.

5.

Havoc Demon Hunter Stat Priorities

The Havoc stat priority is fairly straightforward and is as follows:

  1. Critical Strike = Mastery;
  2. Haste;
  3. Versatility;
  4. Agility.

Stat priorities will change based on other talents taken in different encounter types but, in general, this should serve you well. For finer details regarding each stat and the reason behind why they are picked can be found on our full stat page linked below.

6.

Changelog

  • 04 Mar. 2025: Added movement talents back to Aldrachi Reaver AoE for now.
  • 24 Feb. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.1.0.
  • 15 Dec. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.7 with much simpler basic rotation breakdown.
  • 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Updated to reflect new Fel-Scarred recommendations.
  • 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4.
  • 21 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5, no changes necessary.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2.
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1, added section highlighting Essence Break's importance.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 31 Dec. 2022: Raised Mastery in Stat Priority.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight Pre-Patch.
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