Demon Hunter

The Demon Hunter is the fifth Diablo III class. It is based around ranged combat.

Lore
"Rage. Hate. Fear. They all feed upon one another. A demon hunter learns how to direct hate. But such a balance is precarious. And when that balance is lost, the cycle begins: Hate begets Destruction. Destruction begets Terror as Terror begets Hate." &mdash;Josen File:Demon Hunters.jpg|thumb|A group of demon hunters

Demon hunters are relentless vigilantes who execute their infernal targets with an arsenal of ranged weapons at their full disposal. They crouch and take aim far from danger, relying on bows, deadly traps, and projectiles to swiftly bring an end to the creatures that haunt Sanctuary|their world. With sweeping blasts of shot, wide salvos of arrows and timed explosives at their disposal, demon hunters excel at devastating groups of foes who cluster together. Hunters’ pinpoint accuracy also allows them to deal with stronger monsters at a distance: they can snipe at key targets or fall back while snapping off kill shots at advancing foes.However, demon hunters’ focus on ranged combat and limited melee-weapons training leave them in danger when they’re cornered or surrounded. Evasive skills like defensive rolls and jumps, as well as targeted attacks that hamstring and slow enemies, are as crucial to survival as any arrow in a hunter’s quiver.

File:Escudo.png|thumb|The demon hunter sigil Sworn to the destruction of the creatures of the Burning Hells, the demon hunters are few in number &mdash;only in the hundreds and do not owe their allegiance to any one king or country. Rather, demon hunters are those who have lost their homes and loved ones to demonspawn. When their homes are burnt and their families butchered by demons, most newly scarred refugees give up on living – but a few bury their dead, band together, and swear vengeance. There is something in all demon hunters that gives them the strength to resist the demonic corruption that would drive lesser men to madness. They hone this power, for their resistance to this taint enables them to use the demons' power as a weapon. Yet they dare not dream of victory, or, even less likely, peace. They cannot hope to return to their former lives, and are perpetually at war within themselves, striving to balance their hatred of demons with the need for discipline. But still, they hunt, hoping that if they can save but one life from the forces of Hell, the world will be better for it. Haunted by their pasts and fueled by vengeance in the present, they can do nothing else.

File:artwork-class-demonhunter02-large.jpg|thumb|A female demon hunter Demon hunters are feared by some of the same people they aim to save. Some say that demon hunters are no better than the demons they hunt, that they bring death and destruction with them. And indeed, sometimes, a demon hunter loses their ability to control their fear or hatred, and consequently lose themselves to their violent impulses. Criminals amongst the demon hunters are given three days food and water and banished. Many demon hunters' eyes glow with hellfire, due to peering into demons and seeing vengeance.

The demon hunter order is currently based in the Dreadlands. This is so they can live and train without the interference of any nation that would worry over having such a group camped within its borders. Additionally, the abundance of demons and other foul creatures in the area gives recruits plenty of opportunities to hone their skills. At any given point in time, over half of the demon hunters are operating outside the Dreadlands, hunting down hellspawn wherever they may be found in Sanctuary.

Tactics and Capabilities
File:ss108-hires.jpg|thumb|left|Demon Hunter attire Demon hunters train to hold back the darkness with unconventional combinations of weaponry and fighting styles that only they can employ. They are masters of the Hand Crossbows|hand crossbow – quick-reloading, fast-firing ranged weapons that they use to turn demons into their temporary quivers. Demon hunters are so adept in the hand crossbow’s use that they can dual wield them. Other elements of their arsenal include longbows, grenades, and hand-thrown weapons. When hunting packs of demons, demon hunters rely on traps to deal with their foes. Demon hunters can also wield apocryphal magics, to sneak through the shadows and deal with their prey, or escape their foes' notice.

Fledgling demon hunters wear light, flexible leather to guard their wrists and throat, and hoods to hide their faces and blend in with shadows. As they grow in skill, they may don more protective armor, that also allows them to store more of the gear on which they rely to hunt their foes.

Gameplay
File:Armadura.jpg|thumb|Class armor progression The Demon Hunter was the last Diablo III class to be revealed, done so during Blizzcon 2010. Demon hunter deals the least damage at this time but can attack from the distance evening it up

Of the five classes the Demon Hunter was introduced as a character built around ranged combat. They can dual-wield crossbows, launch explosives, place traps, and cast shadow magic (which compliments their dark nature). Due to these capabilities, this class is apparently a combination of both the Amazon and Assassin classes from Diablo II.

Blizzard made the Demon Hunter darker than the other classes as they wanted a character that would have a different feel from the others.

Unlike the other four classes, the Demon Hunter uses two resources – the fast-regenerating Hatred (used for offensive skills) and the slow-regenerating Discipline (used for tactical skills and evasion).

The class resource orb is divided in two halves accordingly – the left half (red) represents Hatred and the right half (blue) represents Discipline.

Skills
File:Hatred_discipline.gif|frame|All Demon Hunter skills are based in the Hatred/Discipline.The Demon Hunter's dual resources grants them access to a wide variety of offensive and defensive abilities, making them uniquely suited to deal with a large variety of situations. Hatred fuels offensive abilities while Discipline fuels the Demon Hunters tactical abilities. Both ability types must be used in tandem to exploit the maximum efficacy of the class. The Demon Hunter's split resources can be a double edged sword however. While exhausting all of one does not leave them helpless like other classes, it effectively locks them out of half of their skillset. For example, a Demon Hunter who quickly exhausts all their Hatred would be forced to rely upon their Discipline fueled abilities until their Hatred regenerated, putting them into a purely defensive stance. If they use all their Discipline they would be left with only the option of being offensive, without any defensive abilities to keep them from being harmed. Learning to balance the two resources effectively is a key pillar of mastering the Demon Hunter.

The Demon Hunter's Active Skillset is divided into six sub-categories: Primary Attacks, Secondary Attacks, Defensive Maneuvers, Hunting Skills, Devices, and Archery Skills. Each ability in each skillset may be outfitted with a rune that will modify the skill it is paired with.

Development
"For the demon hunter, sexy was a word that we focused on." &mdash;Non Thareechit, animator File:NE090CHYDIKE1337391802899.jpg|thumb|Concept art The developers of Diablo III always knew that the game's fifth class would be a ranged one. The earliest designs depicted a woodland hunter, but the character was deemed to lack an edge. Revisions showing him with a pair of swords were popular, but this drifted away from the class's original intent. A desert ranger class was also explored, but the designers ran into artistic problems&mdash;his cloth clothing made him look too bulky, and as more gear was added, the problem only got worse. Thus, it was decided to reboot the class's development.

In the revised concept, the hero was designed to have a gothic feel. The designers wanted the class to have a unique insight into the coming demonic invasion, and began exploring how the class might wield demonic artifacts and runes against his foes. With this "hunter of demons" taking shape, the demon hunter class was thus settled upon.

Physically, the class was meant to be quick and agile. The legs and body were free moving, while a cape was added to symbolize the enigmatic nature of the demon hunters. Further inspiration was taken from characters such as w:c:starwars:Boba Fett|Boba Fett, wikipedia:Abraham Van Helsing|Van Helsing, and even wikipedia:Angus MacGyver|MacGyver.

Known Demon Hunters
File:AvatarD.jpg|thumb|A Demon Hunter
 * Delios
 * Greyscarr
 * Josen
 * Tyla Shrikewing
 * Valla

Trivia
File:ss103-hires.jpg|thumb|Opening fire The Demon Hunter is the first class to ever use two resources to fuel their abilities.

The Male Demon Hunter is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. The Female Demon Hunter is voiced by Anna Graves.

http://www.wowpedia.org/Demon_hunter Demon hunters are a class that also exist in Blizzard's Warcraft series. The class also makes an appearance in Heroes of the Storm.