Havoc Demon Hunter DPS Easy Mode

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply 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.

1. The Basics

Havoc comes with one of the skinnier ability packages, but all abilities within the toolkit are very focused on what they are good at. The talent tree provides additional complexity that can in some cases overwhelm new players to the specialization, often times adding too much at once to wrap your head around. In this section I will be taking time to go over a less intensive build that allows for players to grasp the basics of the spec, and still perform at a relatively solid level.

The most important mechanic to bear in mind as elaborated upon in the more advanced section is your Fury. Managing this is very simple, with 40 Fury you are able to cast Chaos Strike Icon Chaos Strike, which will refund 20 of that Fury if it critically strikes. This is the crux of Havoc gameplay, and reacting to that refund is the first step to grasping Havoc.

Lastly, the heavy damage cooldown Metamorphosis Icon Metamorphosis supercharges your Fury spenders Chaos Strike Icon Chaos Strike and Blade Dance Icon Blade Dance, turning them into Annihilation Icon Annihilation and Death Sweep Icon Death Sweep, increasing Haste by 25% and granting 30% Leech. You should try to line this up with other cooldowns and enter into it with a bank of Fury, using it to deal huge damage in a short period.

2. Talent Choice

The talents listed below are selected either for ease of use, or for more a more simple to understand gameplay style. Whilst in a number of cases there are alternatives on the tree that will provide more if played well, they create much more room to play incorrectly and reduce your performance. Due to this, treat this as a starting point and a primer.

Level 99: Felblade
Level 100: Demon Blades
Level 102: Chaos Cleave
Level 104: Soul Rending
Level 106: Nemesis
Level 108: Demon Reborn
Level 110: Chaos Blades (single target) or Fel Barrage (multi target).

3. Stat Choice

The current Havoc stat priority is as follows when using this build:

Critical Strike;
Haste;
Versatility;
Agility;
Mastery.

With the talents chosen, Critical Strike wins out with Haste close behind due to the high reliance on resets and additional Fury generation from Demon Blades Icon Demon Blades.

4. Basic Rotation

Cast Fel Rush, to avoid capping charges at 2.
Apply Nemesis to your main target.
Use Chaos Blades, this can be delayed if Metamorphosis is available to use them together.
Cast Fury of the Illidari.
Cast Fel Barrage on cooldown.
Cast Eye Beam at 2 or more targets.
Cast Felblade if 30 or more Fury below your cap.
Use Metamorphosis as a large damage cooldown, try to have 80+ Fury ready before activating it.
Cast Death Sweep/ Blade Dance with 3 or more targets nearby at 35 Fury or above.
Cast Annihilation/ Chaos Strike at 40 Fury or above.

Note that with this build, most of your Fury is coming from Demon Blades Icon Demon Blades procs and Felblade Icon Felblade resets coming from them, so there will be some downtime between Fury spenders. This is normal, and should be expected. Be ready to react to the Felblade resets however to provide a surge of Fury, but do not generate too aggressively that you waste any.

About Our Author

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Kib, a lead theorycrafter for Havoc Demon Hunters, alongside playing in Strawberry Puppy Kisses in the world top 40. You can watch his stream on Twitch or follow him on Twitter.

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