Diablo III – Taming The Demon Hunter: In The Beginning
Diablo III released yesterday and it’s all over the community. Whether it’s players who have already shot through the game or those who can’t even start it, there’s still plenty to talk about. I was able to attend a release event Monday night for the game and it turned out to be a blast. I came back home and got my install on, and I’ve been playing through the beginning of the game, which is pretty much the same as what was offered in the beta, though there are a few different features.
Since the game has released and many players will be trying out different things, I wanted to get a post up about my initial run through the game. My aim is to offer tips and hints that may help new players as well as those who are looking to get into the game. So, with that said, let’s get right to it.
For my first run through Diablo III I chose the Demon Hunter. I chose it mostly because it’s a neat-looking class, but also because Demon Hunter happens to be one of my favorite bands. I played this class through the beta and of all the classes available it seems the most versatile. Not to mention it’s a really fun class to play, especially when in a party.
Demon Hunters are small in number. They live to hunt demons for countless days on in the hopes of saving lives. They believe that even if they can save one life the world will be better for it. Demon Hunters are plagued by nightmares of claws tearing flesh and men and women being drowned in their own blood. They are at war with themselves, using both Hatred and Discipline to govern their daily lives. Hatred burns within them to fuel their maddening attacks, tipping each arrow with a bit of spite, and their Discipline serves them well to take caution at those around them so that they may live to see, and kill, another day.
Through the beginning levels you’re just going to be shooting stuff. Just keep your distance from enemies and continue to lob arrows into them relentlessly. The Demon Hunter has a great beginning skill called Hungering Arrow which attacks enemies and bounces off of them. This makes crowd control a bit easier when dealing with mobs. As long as you stay at a safe distance from enemies you shouldn’t have a problem.
As you level, though, notice that your attacks won’t do as much damage and enemies will require more shots to defeat. This is important because it makes you stay on the move. Holding down Shift will allow you to shoot from a standing position, and it’s a good tactic to use so you’re not click-running all over the place to get to enemies. What you’ll want to do, however, is know your limit. When an enemy begins to close the gap between the both of you, either retreat to a safe distance away or circle around the enemy and continue to fire. Using the circling method helps keep the distance tight between you while preventing you from wandering too far away from your starting point.
You’ll soon gain a different type of primary attack called Entangling Shot which works a bit differently than Hungering Arrow. If I remember right, this skill wasn’t available in the beta. Instead of hitting multiple enemies this arrow has the ability to snare, or slow down, up to two enemies at once. I’ve found that this skill is helpful when fighting larger enemies though it really hinders you when going against multiple enemies at once. The added snare feature can sometimes work when needing to slow enemies down, but I found it much more useful to just bounce attacks between them and kill them quicker than it is to snare them at all with a shot.
Another thing is that the Demon Hunter gets an ability called Caltrops which is a snare all on its own. You basically set a trap down on the ground which will activate when enemies walk over it. This will slow all enemies for a rate of 60% within 12 yards of the trap. With this ability at your disposal you don’t really need to make use of Entangling Shot. You can just run up, pop Caltrops, then run back and bounce your Hungering Arrows off the slowed enemies. It’s a much better recipe for destruction.
The next skill in your arsenal is Rapid Fire. This skill is amazing and comes very much in handy. Using this skill will allow you to rapidly fire arrows for 228% the normal rate. This skill makes mowing down weaker enemies a cinch, and it really helps to get you out of tight situations. When you’re being overwhelmed by enemies or trapped in a corner just spam this skill and make a break to safety. You can then pelt arrows back at enemies while your Hatred meter refills and unleash again when the time is right.
These are some of the skills you’ll receive in the early levels of the game that will help you through the first part of Act I. This is where I’ve come to take a break in my game so these tips are what I’ve got to offer at this point. I hope you find them helpful, and are enjoying the Demon Hunter class as much as I am. Do you have any tips of your own? If so, post them below! I’ll be back soon with another post full of Demon Hunter tips.
