How It Feels
Havoc is fast, fluid and uncompromising. You charge into battle with two warglaives, whirl through packs of enemies, leap over chasms and glide across the battlefield with spread wings. Your signature is Eye Beam, a beam of fel fire that burns down everything in front of you.
No other melee spec feels this free. Where others walk to the next enemy, you are already there. That makes Havoc not only strong but simply a lot of fun, especially while questing and in the open world.
How Havoc Works
Havoc uses Fury:
- Build Fury: Demon's Bite is your basic attack and generates Fury. Immolation Aura adds more Fury and deals damage around you.
- Spend Fury: Chaos Strike is your main single-target attack. Blade Dance hits all nearby enemies.
- Eye Beam: your big beam hits all enemies in front of you and is especially strong against groups.
- Metamorphosis: your big cooldown turns you into a demon for a few seconds and empowers your abilities.
Fel Rush and Vengeful Retreat are movement and attack at once, so you weave them straight into your rotation.
Key Abilities
- Chaos Strike: your main attack, spends Fury and with some luck refunds part of it.
- Blade Dance: hits all enemies near you.
- Eye Beam: a beam of fel fire against all enemies in front of you.
- Immolation Aura: engulfs you in flames, damages enemies around you and generates Fury.
- Fel Rush: a quick dash forward that burns everything in your path.
- Vengeful Retreat: a leap backward that removes slows.
- Metamorphosis: turns you into a demon and empowers your abilities.
Lore: Illidan's Legacy
Demon Hunters trace back to Illidan Stormrage, Malfurion's twin brother. He absorbed demonic energy to fight the Burning Legion and trained his followers, the Illidari, the same way. Every Demon Hunter sacrifices their sight and binds a demon within their body to draw on its powers.
For a long time the Illidari were outcasts, imprisoned in the Vault of the Wardens or hidden in the Black Temple. In Legion they returned to the story on the demon world Mardum and became allies of Azeroth. Havoc embodies their offensive spirit: strike fast, hunt demons, show no regard for yourself.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- the highest mobility of any melee,
- strong against groups thanks to Blade Dance and Eye Beam,
- an understandable loop, good for newcomers,
- very fast travel while questing.
Weaknesses
- leather instead of plate, less sturdy than a Warrior or Death Knight,
- defense relies heavily on movement and cooldowns,
- fewer races to choose from than most classes.
Who Is the Havoc Demon Hunter For?
A good fit if you …
- want a fast, mobile melee,
- love the dark fantasy of Illidan and his Illidari,
- want a beginner friendly damage dealer.
Probably not if you …
- prefer fighting at range, in which case the Devourer is the alternative,
- want a very sturdy class in plate.
Havoc, Devourer or Vengeance?
Vengeance is the mobile tank with Soul Fragments, Devourer the new ranged spec with Void magic. Havoc remains the pick for everyone who wants to leap into the fray with warglaives.
More about the class on the Demon Hunter in WoW Midnight page.
Images: © Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Source: worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com
