Introduction
Welcome to the Method Havoc Demon Hunter guide written by Faithy. I have participated in the RWF event since the launch of Shadowlands and I'm a melee player for the Method raid roster.
In this guide we will deep dive into Havoc Demon Hunter and I will try to explain the class and how it is going to function in Dragonflight with the newly implemented systems.
First Impressions
With the release of Dragonflight and the reintroduction of the old-school Talent Tree revamp it opens up for multiple different builds and options for the general class and spec. Abilities we have grown accustomed to being baseline have become an option to pick and/or choose between in the General Class Tree. This opens up options to focus more on damage, survivability or Crowd Control, or a mixture of whatever you desire in certain scenarios.
Some new abilities have also been added as a pickable talent in the tree such as the following Shadowlands Covenant abilities: The Hunt, Fodder to the Flame, Elysian Decree and much more.
Why play Havoc Demon Hunter?
High Survivability
Havoc Demon Hunter is infamous for being very tanky. This is due to their super short Defensive Blur, and the crazy amount of self healing that you can gain throughout the Talent Tree such as:
- Soul Rending (5-10% Leech + 5-10% additional Leech in Metamorphosis)
- Fodder to the Flame (spawns a Demon which upon death heals you for 25% HP)
- Demonic Appetite (Spawns high amounts of Lesser Soul Fragments)
- The Hunt (25% of damage done heals you for 30 sec.)
- Charred Warblades (You heal for 5% of all Fire damage you deal.)
- Illidari Knowledge (3-6% Magic damage reduction)
And much more depending on your own picking throughout the Talent Tree.
Sustained AoE Damage + Burst
Havoc Demon Hunter has a super strong kit for AoE pretty much whatever way you go down the Havoc specific talent tree, and due to Havoc’s abilities other than Metamorphosis having a super short cooldown the damage you can burst is super consistent, however it’s also possible to focus more on Burst heavy AoE depending on your situation.
High Moveability
Havoc Demon Hunter is most likely the fastest moving class in World of Warcraft, this comes down the the base Demon Hunter tree having lots of movement abilities such as Fel Rush and Vengeful Retreat, which both have a short CD. Additionally there’s other talents which increase your move ability indirectly such as Pursuit and Felfire Haste.
Good Crowd Control and Raid Utility
Demon Hunter is pretty much a mandatory class in a Raiding environment due to the Chaos Brand passive they bring so it’s a guaranteed raid spot if you’re the only one in your guild/group. They also provide Darkness which is a strong Raid Cooldown which has the potential to heal a high amount if used correctly.
Havoc also brings a AoE Stun, slow and a single target stun if there’s a demand. They also have a True CC with Imprison and an AoE Fear with Sigil of Misery.
What has changed
Patch 10.2.5 Changes
There were no changes to Havoc DH in Patch 10.2.5 that impact the guide.
10.2 Guardians of the Dream for Havoc Demon Hunter
The introduction of patch 10.2 came with a class rework for the Demon Hunter class for both specs including Havoc which we will be covering through this guide.
The main changes of the class are introduction of new talents, removal of old talents, talent tuning and talent reposition in the talent tree. If you want a full overview of all the changes to Havoc you can find them in the official Blue Post.