Avatar of Galaxy119 #1463
Galaxy119 #1463
Rocketman!!(1)Category: Demon HunterAugust-19-2014 10:47 AM PDT (10 years ago) Go to Blizzard forum post
So - I was looking around at DH builds and came across the one I am now using. It doesn't seem well known as far as I can tell, yet it preforms extremely well.

Hungering Arrow - Serrated Arrow
Cluster Arrow - Shooting Stars
Vengence - Seeth (Or Dark Heart)
Vault - Tumble (or Action Shot)
Companion - Wolf
Rain of Vengence - Flying Strike
Passives:
Ballistics
Blood Vengence
Ambush
Archery(or Perfectionist)

Basic concept: get mobs into a bottleneck/group and CLUSTER ARROW SPAM!!!!!!!!!!
At level 69 in T2 (view my DH on my profile) Cluster Arrow rockets crit for 1.5-1.8mil(2.1-2.4 with companion buff) each. Vengence rockets are critting ~600k, Flying Strike crits about 1-1.3mil and keep either elites, bosses, or big groups of mobs stunned for roughly 7sec in total (effect lasts 5sec, stun is 2sec longer than the last ground strike). As the beasts have a very tight small area it is effective for keeping single targets stunned, but also big enough to CC large groups.

Advanced concept:
Get as many cluster rockets off as you can as fast as you can. Other rockets are amazing because of Ballistics aswell, but cluster arrow's are the strongest.
I've tried various top 25% build variations using sentry and ballistics but have not had as much luck with any of them as with Rocketeer build.
It is slightly gear-dependant, as having +phys dmg % is EXTREMELY helpful, tho I didn't use it with it for awhile. So I don't think it is a make or break for the build.

Explination of each ability and why it's used will follow:
Hungering Arrow (Serrated Arrow) - Primary Hatred-Generator. Used over Entangling shot because of it's homing-arrow, tho if you get a dmg bonus to ent. shot you can use that instead with 'Justice is Served'.

Cluster Arrow (Shooting Stars) - Primary nuke. Arrow explosion is powerful, rockets are doubly(actually, triply) as powerful. Best targeted in the middle of a group, however it's not required, as the explosion itself is only 1/4th of it's overall damage(1/5th with anything beyond a 5% phys dmg increase)

Vengence (Seethe or Dark Heart) - The rocket damage from it is wonderful, it fires 4 rockets per attack, meaning the faster you attack the more you kick their butt with Vengence. The Dark Heart is good for situations where you are able to be close-range without taking too much damage, but Seethe is usually a better choice as it provides a significant boost to Hatred-generation. It is the recommended choice.

Vault (Tumble or Action Shot) - This ones tricky, it depends what you're doing and your playstyle. If you prefer (or need) to be more mobile, Tumble is an obvious choice. If you prefer the little boost to damage (esp. with +%phys dmg) Action Shot is still a wonderful choice. You don't use a whole lot of Discipline with this build anyways, so it's not a crucial choice either way.

Companion (Wolf) - Obvious choice, +30% on demand damage for 10seconds? /drool I have toyed with the idea of using Bat instead for more burst Hatred, but Wolf seems to be alot more useful. Also there's always that legendary cloak to give you +2 wolves ;). Also the Wolf is a pretty solid !@# tank (I use the enchantress instead of Templar now because of this)

Rain of Vengeance (Flying Strike) - Another obvious one. The damage increases with phys dmg increases, up to a total of 4600% wep dmg, and that stun is a life saver. I consider this a make or break choice, without the stun I'd have spent many many more hours killing Urzael or Adria. It is also great for stunning a huge group or Horde elite in a bottleneck, popping vengeance and going ape-$%^- on them for a solid 7 seconds uninterrupted. (Usually you will roflstomp most packs like that in 5-10seconds, assuming your gear is up to snuff with the TLvl you're on)

Passives -
Ballistics - Makes the spec viable. +100% rocket dmg. Without this you wouldn't have a rocket spec at all. The secondary effect of this is a 20% chance on attack to fire an extra rocket. This DOES trigger from Vengeance rockets as far as I know. Meaning every attack you do in vengeance will fire one of these rockets. (20% for the main attack, 20%x4 for the rockets and 20%x2 for the side cannons)

Blood Vengeance - The main reason I choose Vault instead of Smoke Screen for this build. This is amazing for retreating, aswell as rolling to a far-off health orb for health and a boost to your damage.

Ambush - Wonderful for when you first open up on an elite, boss or large pack. This plus the 30% from Companion (Wolf) is amazingly effective. If you're fighting lone bosses (Such as Butcher, Beliel, Azmodan, Diablo, Urzael, Adria and (I assume, haven't fought him yet) Maltheal, swap Ambush for Single out, Awareness, Steady Aim and Sharpshooter, in that order of preference.

Archery - If you have a single 1-handed crossbow and a quiver, this is the best choice for the last passive. 50% crit damage bonus is rofl-lmao-omg amazing. With any other weapon, I prefer Perfectionist or Sharpshooter.

Passives can be replaced for specific fights as needed. For example I used Ballistics, Awareness and Hot Pursuit with the Templar set with all of his healing abilities to kill Adria.
I know there was probably a build to do it better, but I love this one too much and I didn't want to give it up, with some patients and playing around, I finally made it work, and work it did like a charm.

Welp. While downtime remains. Let's rate and discuss this build.

Till then..

ROCKETMAN!!
Rocketman burning out his fuse up here alone!
Avatar of Tyvalir
Tyvalir
Rocketman!!(24)August-19-2014 5:13 PM PDT (10 years ago) Go to Blizzard forum post
Posted by: Galaxy119

So - I was looking around at DH builds and came across the one I am now using. It doesn't seem well known as far as I can tell, yet it preforms extremely well.

I really like the idea behind this build, Galaxy119. It looks like you're doing well leveling and having fun while you're at it. I'll be watching and rooting for your success!

We shared a similar build for Play Your Way Thursday recently. On that note, if any of you have an unusual-but-fun build you'd like to submit for the column (for the Demon Hunter or any class), feel free to send them our way:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/12943774993

Posted by: Drittz

I am passionate about this class tho. Keep an open mind as not each DH is for T6. Some for t1-2. Some for T3. Some for challenge. Some for.... wait for it... fun.

Totally! I prefer to stick to one character per class, but I absolutely get the idea of having builds that you take out for a spin from time to time, so to speak. That includes builds that are played for fun, rather than for pure farming efficiency. :)
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